A sharp and funny episode of this great show, perhaps up there for me with the best of S3.
With a good plot and some unexpected pathos, this is wonderful.
With a good plot and some unexpected pathos, this is wonderful.
2 Reviews
Stud Muffin
studioAT30 June 2020
Mandy is rather unlikeable here
FlushingCaps22 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The title plot involves the Baxter's learning that their dog, Muffin, has impregnated the Larabee's German shepherd. We have some lines about getting Muffin fixed, but this was really a setup for learning that Chuck and Carol had a big fight and Chuck moved out a week earlier. There is a funny scene where Carol is trying to tell an upset Vanessa how she likes to keep these things private and that's why she didn't tell her about it, while Vanessa seems more upset than Carol.
The fight was about the recently retired Chuck being annoying to Carol by being home with nothing to do all day. Near the end, Mike suggests he find something to do, telling him he needs to go home.
The other plot deals with a Mandy that is less likeable than ever before. She and Eve come home telling how Mandy hit a parked car. She wanted to dash away but Eve insisted on leaving a note so their insurance would pay for the damage to both cars. Mandy goes to meet with the owner of the car she hit. It turns out he owns an electronics store and for her honesty (she doesn't let him know it was her sister who left the note) he rewards her with a free I-Pad.
Not only is Mandy not planning on even sharing the I-Pad with Eve-the one who was honest-but she goes back to the store and says that because he gave her a basic model, not the higher-priced version, she'd like to just exchange it for cash. The owner is infuriated-naturally-and now insists on telling her insurance company and making them pay. He gloats that Mandy's car-outside the window-is being towed for parking in a handicap spot, which is another reasons to dislike Mandy in this episode.
Kristin, Ryan and Boyd are barely in this one and Ed and Kyle are not in it at all. Mandy's dishonesty, selfishness and otherwise bad behavior take this down a couple of notches from an otherwise decent plot-decent, not great. I feel a 6 is about the right score-one of the weakest of the season.
The fight was about the recently retired Chuck being annoying to Carol by being home with nothing to do all day. Near the end, Mike suggests he find something to do, telling him he needs to go home.
The other plot deals with a Mandy that is less likeable than ever before. She and Eve come home telling how Mandy hit a parked car. She wanted to dash away but Eve insisted on leaving a note so their insurance would pay for the damage to both cars. Mandy goes to meet with the owner of the car she hit. It turns out he owns an electronics store and for her honesty (she doesn't let him know it was her sister who left the note) he rewards her with a free I-Pad.
Not only is Mandy not planning on even sharing the I-Pad with Eve-the one who was honest-but she goes back to the store and says that because he gave her a basic model, not the higher-priced version, she'd like to just exchange it for cash. The owner is infuriated-naturally-and now insists on telling her insurance company and making them pay. He gloats that Mandy's car-outside the window-is being towed for parking in a handicap spot, which is another reasons to dislike Mandy in this episode.
Kristin, Ryan and Boyd are barely in this one and Ed and Kyle are not in it at all. Mandy's dishonesty, selfishness and otherwise bad behavior take this down a couple of notches from an otherwise decent plot-decent, not great. I feel a 6 is about the right score-one of the weakest of the season.
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