TVSquad

(S02E04) Tom Peters may be a man who's "full of ideas" but he hasn't held down many jobs. This becomes a problem when he finds out one of his stepsons is having a career day at his school where parents come in to talk about their occupations. Tom decides to pay the Mayor a visit with a fruit basket consisting entirely of bananas, and he slips his resume in for good measure. Tom's resume flashes on the screen for only a few seconds, but his list of "jobs" includes such things as being a spokesmodel for chronic nocturnal emissions ("An illness I know all too well"), his ill-fated job as vice mayor of Hoboton, and his stint as a voluntary zoo guide (it felt like real work).

The Mayor decides Tom would be perfect as CEO of the Department of Special Projects, a new venture created by the Mayor that is explained to Tom in a slideshow that actually doesn't explain anything. Tom is thrilled about his new job, but since he doesn't like wearing a tie he buys a bolo instead from a local bolo shop run by a slick salesman (Michael Hitchcock) who also sells Tom a new giant calfskin briefcase. Tom soon learns that "CEO" doesn't mean he's the head of the company, it actually stands for "Certified minEr On duty," which means Tom is stuck digging underground with a team of miners all played by Louis Anderson (think of Deep Roy playing all the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Nobody knows why they're digging, and after a particular harsh nightmare during which Tom wets his pants, he decides to quit the project, only to find out the point of the nine-year mining operation which cost ninety-nine percent of the town's budget was to unearth a time capsule the Mayor had buried in 1990 that contained a Seinfeld poster and a calender featuring the Married News Team.

Like South Park, this new season just looks better than the first, but the show still maintains its minimalist charm. Tom, as usual, has the respect of absolutely no one (I love how he tells his stepsons they don't have to call him "dad" they can just refer to him as "Tom Peters" if they wish). The Mayor is eccentric and aloof per usual, but somewhere in his random mind lurks a very calculating man who can easily persuade his town into doing pretty much anything he wants, even digging for almost a decade to uncover a picture of Jerry Seinfeld.