TVSquad

(S01E08) "Guy I Don't Know is starting to look like Guy I've Known My Whole Life." - Noser

Yo, Wendy Watson. Thanks for wearing the skimpy dress in the very first scene of the show.

For the most part, scenes with two attractive young people flirting with each other while spouting flippant duologue has been done to death. For some reason that I can't quite identify, the scenes in tonight's show worked for me. Maybe it's the huge crush I have on Natalie Morales, maybe it's the fact that The Middleman is chock full of that kind of dialogue, maybe it's because I still feel bad about what happened to Brendan Hines on The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

(S01E06) "Bring it, Marvin." -- Wendy Watson

It seems that the writers of The Middleman have decided to stop opening the show with sexy scenes featuring Natalie Morales and start also including sexy scenes featuring Brit Morgan. Watching her do those dance moves more than made for the ham-handed way the writers attempted to get me to care about Varsity Fanclub. Clearly my taste in music is tragically unhip, since I thought the band was fictional until about three hours before the episode aired.

I know Pip is supposed to be the unlikable douchebag of the show, but his character isn't interesting enough for me to care about. His dialogue reminds me of a non-animated Cartman. Someone who thinks they're better than everyone he knows and yet he still seeks approval from those people. The difference is Drew Tyler Bell is no Eric Cartman.

At least that's the somewhat sarcastic conclusion I'm jumping to. As I started watching the east coast feed, an email bounced into the TV Squad inbox from reader 'Jay.' He noted that when he tried to record The Middleman on his PC, he was greeted with an error message. I had to wait three hours for the regular airing on the left coast, but I dusted off an old Media Center PC and got that very same error, as you see in the picture. I like to think that Wendy is showing her shock and outrage at the snafu in that shot. But wait, there's more ... after the jump.

(S01E02) "I'm as serious as a hefty bag full of Rottweilers." - The Middleman

One thing I noticed about last week's episode carried over into the opening scene of this week. When Wendy is "off the clock" she seems to always dress in very relaxed clothes; skimpy shorts, halters, etc. Her hot roommate not only enjoys the freedom that shorts and tanks offer but apparently has no problem with public nudity as well, especially if it's in the name of freedom. I'm not sure what these fashion choices mean but it's something I couldn't help notice.

I have a feeling Ida is going to be my favorite character on this show. Not because Mary Pat Gleason is a talented veteran actress but because she seems to have an endless array of functions. Not only can she produce a cup of coffee from her midsection but it comes in a to go cup with the logo of an imaginary coffee shop already printed on it. Very cool.

(S01E01) "I think Jughead's a real hoot." - Wendy Watson

From the beginning, I can tell this show is going to be pretty campy. That always tends to make me nervous. There are very few shows that can do camp and still be truly entertaining. I consider Batman to be one of those shows, although I know there are many who disagree. The corny looking mutant, the cheap special effects, the conversation about dating; all these things point straight towards camptown, but it's only the first three minutes.

Generally, I am not a fan of shows with quickly spoken dialog. It reminds me of how great Bruce and Cybill did it on Moonlighting. However, when it's done right, it not only sets a tone for the show but also gives the characters more freedom to have fun with the script. In the case of Middleman, I think it really works. Matt Keeslar and Natalie Morales have a nice rapport and their serious tone is a nice juxtaposition to the outrageous situations. One more point for the show.