Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | 2 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Double Your Mothers, Double Your Fun
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.11.2004
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.So like, you guys? Remember when this episode was supposed to air last week, but no one knew if it was going to be pre-empted in some markets, and Strega awesomely tried to save my sanity by volunteering to cover the recaplet, but then we weren't sure if she'd get the episode either, and then it didn't end up airing anywhere? Yeah, well, that sucked. But was it worth the wait? Hell, yes. It starts innocently enough, as a young student who's taken a shine to Veronica asks her for help in locating his missing dad. Unbeknownst to her, the dad was reported dead years ago. But when she gets a response to her earlier efforts to track down the dad, things get more serious. In the end, she and the kid eventually track down the dad, who's...not so much a dad as she is a mom. Awesome reveal -- I had no clue until then, even though it was foreshadowed. The kid's understandably devastated, but some pointed advice from Veronica on the looooong car ride home convinces him to give his dad a chance. Aw. Now, in the land of the non-one-offs, we discover that Duncan's lack of affect can be attributed to the fact that he's been on antidepressants for months. When he tries coming off them, however, his behavior is erratic, and by the end of the episode he's back to his old robotic self. That's not, however, before his dead sister appears to him and tells him the official version of her death doesn't add up. Well, thanks for taking a break from Purgatory to tell us that. Meanwhile, Veronica hems and haws about Icetwin, but after a failed attempt to track down her mom, she seeks solace in his arms. And Weevil? Not in the episode at all, and despite the fact that I like him, he had no place in this one, and I'm glad that they didn't write him in just because he has to be paid. Just another smart decision made by those responsible for this show. Now, can we see some more advertising? Because seriously, Kevin Hill? We get it. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Before I start, huge props to Strega for volunteering to do last week's recaplet and send me a tape when it looked like only New York's UPN station was pre-empting the show for the debates. Of course, the new episode didn't end up airing anywhere, but, when offering to do someone else's work for them for nothing in return, it's really the thought that counts. And also, thanks, Wing, for being so chill about the disaster that wasn't.Previously: The pilot. And then the second episode. They rocked.
School, outside. Quick pan by some girl who's probably supposed to be Paris Hilton, from the look of things. Damn, I thought I got rid of her. Better get that special shampoo out again. And I appreciate the effort, show, but that's one of the few kinds of continuity I could do without. A young kid and a couple of slightly older-looking, extremely dorky guys are checking out some blonde girl. The young kid thinks the girl is hot, but the dork without glasses thinks that she's only so in the Hilary Duff sense. Incidentally, Dork Without Glasses is a dead ringer for a young Michael Dukakis. Given that as I write this, the last Presidential debate is only an hour away, I'm going to spin around a couple of times and throw salt over my shoulder, and perform whatever other anti-hex rituals I know. Anyway, Young Kid next points out Veronica, expositing that she comes into "the video store," prompting Dorks With and Without Glasses to tell Young Kid that her dad's a PI, and she works with him. Dork Without Glasses looks at Veronica appraisingly and says, "Eight and a half. That's my final offer." Eight and a half…hundred dollars for her to make out with you? Loosen the purse strings, Geek Boy.
Icetwin catches Veronica and asks her what she thinks he's doing that weekend. Veronica: "I'm guessing it involves autoeroticism." Veronica, the guy's sixteen or seventeen. "Guessing" doesn't enter into it. Icetwin, unfazed, says he's going to take his dad's luxury sailboat out, and mumbles something about the Strokes blasting through the speakers and "a wide-eyed, impressionable vixen" by his side. Well, Icetwin, I don't mean to rain on your pop-culture credentials, but I keep up with music trends these days about as much as I keep up with Maxim magazine, and I saw the Strokes live almost three years ago, so you might want to step into the present here. Also, "vixen"? Veronica takes a different tack, pointing out that she's not impressionable, which falls right into his obvious trap, as he says he wasn't talking about her. "You might want to check your ego at the door there, missy." Why not, Veronica -- it's not like Icetwin doesn't have enough for the both of you. Actually, Veronica's pretty intimidating, so Icetwin, I can see why you're playing this schtick with her, but you're still coming close to bugging me, so watch it. Anyway, Veronica's charmed, and it's nice to see a big smile from her, which lasts until some clod runs into her, causing her to drop her books. She's assisted in gathering them up by her knight in unsmiling armor, Duncan. He wordlessly looks at her, and then walks away with Logan as VMVO tells us, "The weird thing about going to high school with your ex is they're inescapable." Bad grammar, however, is not. Not with edit and ban powers, anyway. I think Logan's wearing a shirt he's worn before, which is such nice realism for high school, unlike, say, Buffy Summers, who was supposed to be poor and yet had a wardrobe so extensive that you had to wonder if she was killing a race of vampire cows on the side. Hey, there was a time when UPN would have produced that concept.
Stylish cut to the blue sky as "No Blue Sky" by the Thorns kicks up. Duncan floats on a raft in a pool, which was mentioned in the forums as being an homage to/rip-off of The Graduate. Considering the only Mrs. Robinson type we've seen so far is his mother, I'm sentencing Foreshadowing to ten to twenty years. Anyway, a parental unit does appear, but it's his father, and judging from the forums, Duncan's not the only one who could use a dip in that pool right about now. Jake suggests Duncan get involved in politics the next summer, and gives him the name of a senator to write to for an internship. While his dad's still talking, Duncan replaces his earphones, and the music goes full blast again. The last word I hear Jake say before the music drowns him out is "Schwarzenegger," and I am officially in love with the writing and editing staff of this show. Not to mention the fact that it looks like my hex-killing worked. (Damn! Better do it again, just to make sure!)