TVSquad

(S02E04) Although I am a big fan of this show, I was never high on the Randy character. Except for a few moments here and there, I thought his non-sequitors and otherwise sheer "dumbness" brought each episode down or notch or two. That is, until last night's episode, where Randy shined like the noonday sun.

I mentioned in an earlier post where I expected to see more character development this season, and we're already seeing it with a good chunk of time devoted to Joy and Catalina. However, last night we saw the spotlight on Randy, and we learned that despite his "Baby Huey" persona on the outside, he really is a sensitive soul looking for love and respect. (Aren't we all, on some level?)

(S02E03) Who would have thought that we would have gotten a lesson in acceptance and tolerance of others from, of all people, Earl Hickey?

After watching the classic movie "Freaks" this past weekend, I had wondered if we'd see anything in the mass media that depicted people who were considered "freaks" anymore without encountering a great deal of controversy. Leave it to My Name Is Earl to bring it forward, but doing it in such a way that it warms your heart in the end.

(S03E01) OK, I know I sound like a broken record, but The Office is hands down the best sitcom on television. If this season's first episode is not considered an instant classic, then there's something really wrong going on here.

(S01E10) "Acceptance" and "love" were two major themes of this latest episode. Margene, feeling a bit unwanted and unappreciated, is having thoughts of leaving the Henrickson home(s) and heading out on her own, mostly due to the fact that she was accepted into the family by a 2-1 vote and not unanimously, with Nicki casting the dissenting vote. One definitely gets the feeling that she is still maturing and married Bill and had two babies before she knew it, and at 23 years of age and a polygamist, it could be that she still needs time to grow and find herself.

We are introduced to Barb's sister Cindy, who is obviously disapproving of Barb's situation and is doing all she can to ingratiate herself into the family so she can "educate" the kids about "choosing the right path" and not becoming like their parents. Her involvement leads to a huge scene when she enters into Barb's home and Nicki angrily confronting Cindy and throwing her out. It'll be interesting to see if Cindy continues trying to influence Ben, Sarah, and Teenie away from acceptance of their parents' lifestyle.

You know, just when you thought you've seen the funniest episode of The Office, you get blown away by the next one. This one was IMHO the best episode yet this season. The writers will be hard-pressed to come up with a better story than this one.

The office staffers bring their little girls (and even including Meredith's son) to the Dunder Mifflin office for "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," and Michael lets it known that he is uncomfortable having kids around the office. If any of you reading this have ever worked in an office setting, you may well agree that having kids come in--yours and your co-workers'--almost always turns into chaos, no matter how cute and adorable they are.

After last week's premiere where we got to meet all the players amidst a blizzard of plots and subplots, this week things settled down a bit for The Book of Daniel. We last left Reverend Daniel Webster' getting the news that the stolen money ($3.2 million) that was earmarked for the construction of a new school has been located, but the situation becomes a bit sticky when the Mafia-connected priest tells him that if the construction job does not go to Vaporelli Construction, then there is no found money. Daniel spends a good bit of time wrestling with the question and, in a case of mistaken identity, agrees to the deal. It seems that Daniel has offered his acceptance to the situation, but he (obviously) has his doubts about going along with this extortion.