My Boys, "Spring Training": For love of the game

I've been meaning to write about the "My Boys" season finale for a couple of days now, but other things keep getting in the way. In the interests of giving the small group of that show's fans who hang around here a chance to discuss the episode -- and this brief season as a whole, which was a welcome return to form after last year -- I'm just going to ask what you all thought of it. If I have time later, I'll pop into the comments. Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Facebook the Past": Man vs. machine

Quick spoilers for last night's "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I contemplate a second cookie...

As someone who's gone through periods of spending way too much time on Facebook, and having way too many Facebook friends(*) and activities, I sure found a lot to relate to and laugh at in this one, particularly Mike's desperate attempts to get the Dalai Lama to join his Mafia Wars team.

(*) FYI, in order to keep my virtual life manageable, I'm trying to keep my Facebook friends limited to people I actually know in some way, so if you've sent me a request and it was ignored, my apologies.

That said, Mike's subplot was kinda silly even by "My Boys" standards. Once he made the object of his and Brendan's desire into a Facebook friend, wouldn't she start to suspect that all these amazing overlaps in their personal taste was really just Mike reading her profile? I bought that Mike would be oblivious when a woman tried to do it to him, but I kept waiting for a punchline where the one he was pursuing revealed that she was onto him.

Beyond that, though, there were a lot of funny throwaway moments, whether it was Kenny's Walter Winchell impression ("to all the ships at sea!") or Andy asking, re: Bobby's ex-girlfriend Suzanne, "Is she the deputy secretary of Yowza?"

I'm really glad the show got its fastball back this season. What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Madder of Degrees": The weather outside's delightful

Quick spoilers for last night's "My Boys" (as well as belated thoughts on last week's episode) coming up just as soon as I deal with my cat allergy...

"My Boys" is a show I watch with my wife, which means sometimes it has to wait until we both have the chance to watch it together (and after we've already watched other shows together that are higher on the blog priority list), so last night we wound up doing a double-feature with both "Madder of Degrees" and last week's "Carpe Burritoem."

I don't necessarily have a lot to say about either one, because when "My Boys" is clicking the way it has been all season, it's just... fun. I have a good time watching it, whether the behavior is on the more realistic side (PJ realizing she and Bobby are moving too fast because of the warm temperature) or sillier (last week, Kenny getting way too serious about his band, or Mike playing emotional crash test dummy). Any episode that gives Jamie Kaler a chance to do his McConnaughey is alright, alright with me, and if they can find a way to work in somebody like Felicia Day on top of that, so much the better.

I'd say "Carpe Burritoem" was probably the better of the two, as it featured that great climax with Bobby warning Mike that "it's a trap!" and Brendo describing his adventures in Tulsa, but both episodes just made me happy.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Decathalon, Part Deux": Games couples play

I watched tonight's "My Boys" a few weeks ago and found it maybe my favorite of the season so far -- I loved the board game decathalon, the guys all being lazy slobs in front of Stephanie, and Kenny's realization that he was trapped on a team with the couple -- but if I stopped to do a lengthier blog post, I wouldn't be able to go to sleep. And I want to go to sleep. So fire away with your own thoughts on Coldplay, curling and the Angola 1992 Olympic basketball team. Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "The Boyfriend Hat": The greatest bar in the world

Quick spoilers for last night's "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I choose a name for my club...

I'm usually wary whenever "My Boys" tells a story about PJ's job, because she always comes across as amazingly naive about her own profession, despite being a beat reporter (and now columnist) for one of the bigger newspapers in the country(*), covering one of the most popular teams in baseball. Those stories always tend to ruin the illusion the show has created about PJ the cosmopolitan sportswriter in the same way the "Studio 60" sketches always ruined the illusion that we were watching a great comedy show. But "The Boyfriend Hat" didn't trouble me much, even though it somehow hadn't occurred to PJ that her looks might have played a role in the promotion, and even though PJ had to once again turn to Jack Briscoe to ask him to explain her career to her.

(*) This episode, of course, took place in an alternate universe -- or a time bubble -- where newspapers aren't in danger of extinction and where most reporters' first, second, and third concern isn't their continued employment. But I'm okay with that. The real world of newspapers is depressing enough without bringing it into one of my favorite bits of pure sitcom escapism.

"The Boyfriend Hat" worked for me more than most PJ work stories because PJ for the most part did seem dialed in, and because the story's focus was less on her own conflict than it was on Bobby struggling to wear the titular hat, with typically hilarious advice from Andy. (Gaffigan, as always, gets all the best lines, like, "Everyone knows what men want: a nap.") And I thought Jack's explanation -- that the Sun-Times passed on hiring an even hotter woman, which means they must really like PJ's writing -- was both surprising and funny.

The story was also interesting because it created, even temporarily, some real tension between PJ and Mike. They've toned down Mike just enough this season that they could use him in a (relatively) dramatic scene like the one where he compared her to a boxing kangaroo -- while still being able to tell jokes about him carrying a beeper(**) -- and it's interesting to see occasional moments where things aren't all light and banter-y for the gang.

(**) Do you think he got the thing as a hand-me-down from Avon Barksdale's crew on "The Wire," or from Liz Lemon's ex-boyfriend Dennis?

Another good episode, including Kenny's vastly different experience at the beer commercial bar. What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Private Eyes": In a van down by the restaurant!

Quick spoilers for last night's "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I order a pizza...

And here we get confirmation, once again, that resolving a will-they-or-won't-they? scenario in no way signals creative death for a comedy. Bobby and PJ are together, and two episodes in, this season has been much stronger than last year's Unresolved Sexual Tension-laden episodes.

"Private Eyes" paid off a lot of the potential I saw in the idea of PJ dating within the group. Though the guys were ultimately fine with it -- preferred it, actually, to seeing her go off with somebody new they don't like -- but the episode had a lot of fun with PJ and Bobby's fear of what would happen when the truth came out, as well as Bobby briefly letting himself be swayed by everybody's theories about PJ. (I love how much this show seems to despise Jeremy Piven. Brendan name-checking Piven was the last straw in the Douchebag Intervention (and if you haven't watched that in a while, enjoy), and here the name was enough to give Bobby genuine second thoughts about PJ.

Just a funny episode all around, with other highlights including:

• The entire subplot about Andy trying to enjoy his brief escapes from baby-ville, particularly his complaint that he doesn't want to spend that time talking about his sister's love life, so "Let's make the switch to sports and reality TV."

• Mike letting his mustache slowly transform him into a 1970s cop.

• Kenny, upon discovering that Bobby's dating PJ, asking, "Are her feet soft?"

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Welcome Back, Kalla Fotter": Police those moo-stashes!

Quick thoughts on the "My Boys" third season premiere coming up just as soon as I get a bicycle with one giant wheel and one tiny wheel...

I don't have much to add to yesterday's "My Boys" column, other than one bit of praise and one complaint.

First, the praise: they got the hell out of that unfunny wedding set-up as fast as they could and quickly jumped back into the things that make "My Boys" so much fun, like mustaches, and PJ's ignorance of girly things (the Keira Knightley discussion with Stef), and Andy wandering in and out of scenes making comments about everyone else. (Also, if you haven't watched Jim Gaffigan's "King Baby" special on Comedy Central this week, you really must. Genius.) And even PJ finally getting together with Bobby at the end felt like a part of the show, since they've been circling each other since the pilot, and since putting her in an ongoing relationship with one of the boys has a lot of comic potential (some of which is realized in the next few episodes).

Now, the complaint: how do you spend most of an episode on the boys growing mustaches in a contest and not tell us who won? It's an outrage! An outrage!

What did everyone else think? Click here to read the full post

'My Boys' review, 'House' goes POV - Sepinwall on TV

In today's column, I review the return of "My Boys" on TBS, which seems much improved over the previous disappointing season, as well as tonight's point of view gimmick episode of "House," which very much echoes the famous episode of "M*A*S*H" that Ken Levine co-wrote. Click here to read the full post

TBS renews My Boys

Quite the week for cable renewals, now with the news that TBS has ordered a third season of "My Boys." (This should once and for all, I hope, explain that the first two batches of episodes were part of one season and not two separate seasons. Man, I hate cable "seasons.")

Like season two, it'll be only 9 episodes, and is set to debut sometime in early '09. I wasn't that happy with most of last season, but I still like hanging out with these characters. Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "John, Cougar, Newman Camp": DOF Man!

Very quick spoilers for the "My Boys" season finale coming up just as soon as I reload my flask...

Disappointing end to a disappointing season, I thought. If last week was all set up, then last night was... mostly more set-up. There were a couple of scenes that felt like the show -- the guys divvying up best man duties, the gang (minus Andy, who was irritatingly separate from everybody for both these episodes) getting drunk on Bobby's last night as a bachelor -- but overall this two-parter failed to be an exception to the rule that sitcom vacation episodes stink.

I'm not sure how many of the problems of season two can be pinned on the shift down to only nine episodes. (Betsy Thomas says she had to cut a lot of planned stories out, though many of them sound like stuff about PJ's career, in which case we were probably better off.) But the stories often felt rushed, we didn't get enough of the guys just hanging out, the characterization was inconsistent (especially for Mike) and there were only a couple of subplots (Andy discovering the downside to a hot nanny, Kenny the super-stud, Dr. Brendo, maybe the shirt contest) that were laugh-out-loud funny.

In that same interview I linked to, Thomas says she's confident about them getting a third season. Let's hope it's one more in line with season one.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Jack and Bobby": I never drink... wine

Quick spoilers for last night's "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I take a nap...

We're one week away from the "summer finale"(*), and most of "Jack and Bobby"(**) was devoted to setting up cliffhangers that will have to be dealt with there. So we spend a lot of time foreshadowing another Jack/Bobby wrestling match, and Mike going to bed with Mimi Rogers, and, in the one that I'm sure they thought would be shocking but was actually the most obvious, Kenny and Stephanie hooking up.

(*) Have I mentioned lately how annoying I find most basic cable scheduling?

(**) Which makes me think of the Greg Berlanti show more than it does the Kennedys, and I'm not sure what that says about me.

Anyway, maybe some or all of these payoffs will be worth the time spent setting them up, but it made much of "Jack and Bobby" feel labored. What entertainment there was to be found came on the margins, like the guys' quest to not nap, or Mike getting sloshed on wine. (The latter may only have been amusing because my wife interjected "I'm not drinking any f---ing merlot!" in the middle of it.)

One reminder: next week's episode airs at 10 instead of 9:30 because TBS is airing two "Bill Engvall Show"s. It'll be a regular length episode, but if you don't have a DVR season pass of some kind that will automatically note the change, plan accordingly.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Opportunity Knocks": I can't believe it's not margarine!

Brief "My Boys" spoilers coming up just as soon as I smash a guitar...

Not crazy about this one, other than the writing of Mike, and some of Bobby's panic about the seating chart. This was the first episode all season where Mike didn't seem mentally-challenged, or so obnoxious that the gang should have performed some kind of intervention, and the "profit margarine" joke" was both really funny and the kind of natural-sounding banter the show hasn't used as much lately. And Bobby's whole "There's a system!" mantra and insistence on getting the RSVP cards by mail rang very true.

But the rest of it? Meh, at best.

Martin Mull was sort of amusing as the self-involved therapist, but that storyline completely glossed over the suggestion that Andy was on the verge of an affair with Jo, or that his marital problems were in any way Jo-related. The punchline to the Mafia/ticket story felt cheap and sitcommy, and I got tired of the parallels between PJ and Brendan's situation about five minutes in.

They've done better, and hopefully they will again. What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

Burn Notice & My Boys: All about the Benjamins

Haven't reviewed more than one show in the same post in a while, but it's press tour and my time is limited. Spoilers for, in order, "Burn Notice" and then "My Boys," coming up just as soon as I buy both five drinks and a new coffee maker...

I continue to be pleased with "Burn Notice" season two. Though I'll admit to losing the plot a few times with the Sophia/Raul story (why exactly did a DEA agent need a mercenary to help pull off an undercover op?), I was glad to see that the writers intend to have Michael keep doing work independently of whatever scavenger hunts Carla sends him on. (Plus, it offered us Bruce Campbell's marvelous line reading of "I didn't know he had a Mac-10. I thought it was, like, a regular gun.")

Carla herself turns out to be quite the compelling villain, as Tricia Helfer finds a way to play a smug and sexy character in a way that's not remotely evocative of the smug and sexy Head Six from "Battlestar Galactica." And while I usually have little use for Michael's mom, I thought the writers did a good job with her here. The lookalike therapist gag was really funny, and on occasion Mom can be used to give us a little psychological insight into a guy who usually refuses to let himself appear vulnerable.

I really liked last night's "My Boys" as well. Usually it's just a light and goofy show, but they did some interesting, slightly darker things here with Andy blowing off PJ's attempt to protect his marriage, and with PJ confessing the truth about the Italy trip to Bobby, in a way that didn't feel tonally inappropriate. Setting PJ up with another guy -- and Bobby's brother, to boot -- at the exact moment where he's found out how she feels about him is sort of a classic Unresolved Sexual Tension sitcom trope, but they've been playing the whole thing so low-key that I think it can work.

I also liked the running gags like Kenny being uber-prepared for the party and Brendan complaining about the cost of everything. Every bachelor party I've been to seems to have one of each guy, and the last one I was at featured a noticeable divide between those who could afford to go eat at the meat-on-swords place and those who either went home or hit up one of the other guys for a loan. Mike was a little over-the-top, but not as bad as he's been in a lot of other episodes this season.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys: Talking with Jordana Spiro

I watched this week's "My Boys" while still disoriented from jet lag, so I don't feel qualified to discuss it. So instead, after the jump I'll put a few excerpts from my conversation with Jordana Spiro at last night's Turner networks party. Feel free to talk about the episode if you want; I just have no idea whether it would have actually been funny to someone with access to all their faculties.

I asked Spiro about the removal of the sports metaphors from PJ's narration. She said that she loved the idea of the sports metaphors back when she first got the pilot script, but that in the original draft, the references were much more specific, the kind of thing you'd get only if you were a serious baseball fan. TBS was worried that this would alienate anyone who didn't know about, say, OPS or the infield fly rule or whatever (these are my suggestions; she didn't provide examples), and so they asked "My Boys" creator Betsy Thomas to make the references as generic as possible. And, after a while, the writers ran out of sports metaphors that were both easy to understand and actually interesting.

"People got tired of the sort of cliche aspect of them," she said. "As soon as you start to make them general, they get a little bit annoying. I think they just started to annoy people."

She said she misses the focus on PJ's job this year, though she understands why they were toned down.

"The writers had to decide whether this was a workplace show or a friends show, and they knew that it was a show about friends. But PJ is so much like me, and the one big difference was her passion for baseball, and so I miss getting to play that side of her as often."

She said Thomas has described the arc of the series to her as "to watch the evolution of someone in this extended adolescence into becoming a woman," and talked for a while about the laid-back atmosphere on the set, which in turn contributes to the chemistry between her and the rest of the cast.

On the day of the first table read, before Kellee Stewart had even been hired to play Stephanie, she and the guys all felt really nervous -- "You could cut the tension with a knife and serve it on a plate" -- so as soon as it ended, "We all looked at each other and were like, 'Can we all just go and get a beer?' And it was, like, noon." So they walked out in search of the bar closest to the set, started swapping stories, and that esprit de corps was born. Click here to read the full post

Yes, and... S&M?

Round-up time, with spoilers for, in order, "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," "In Plain Sight" and "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I take a suggestion from the audience...

Nobody seemed too put out by my lack of blogging on last week's "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," and based on the early reactions and the declining ratings (it's now drawing about half of the "Weeds" audience, despite debuting at the same level), I doubt anybody cares at this point. But I watched all the episodes and thought this was one of the better ones, so blog it I shall.

Despite the general sauciness of Billie Piper, I find Hannah/Belle to be quite a bland, empty character, and so when the show focuses on her and her various existential crises, I don't much care. But when it focuses on the minutiae of life as a call girl, it can be entertaining in the same way that "Burn Notice" is whenever Michael's explaining how to kill a man using nothing but duct tape and a melon baller. So while Hannah's schism with Ben, and her eventual decision to come out of the ho closet for him, wasn't very interesting, Belle walking us through her fitness/grooming routine and then getting a crash course in dominatrix work was amusing.

That's two "In Plain Sight" episodes in a row now where I spent the entire time staring through the holes in the plot. So it's bad for someone in WitSec to have their picture appear in a wedding announcement in the local paper, but it's totally fine for someone else in the program to be the star player on a successful college basketball team, even if it's in Division-II? Huh? And is there any circumstance in which a player got caught up in fixing games -- even though he was doing it under duress, it was his own gambling problem that put him in this situation -- would only get a one-year suspension that wouldn't derail his NBA prospects? (And, again, shouldn't Mary be shutting down any talk of going pro, vis a vis the whole anonymity thing? I get that he was just a kid when he went into the program and looks different, but it still makes no sense.) The stuff about Mary's dad the gambler, and about Marshall hooking up with his old prof weren't bad, keeping with the tradition of the character work being much better than the plots, but next week's episode is going to seem like it takes place in a completely different universe from the last two.

Finally, the latest "My Boys" made me want to retract the previous week's statement about Brendan being the least relevant character on the show, because the Dr. Brendo running gag was the funniest part of this episode. (I had a stomachache over the weekend and wandered around the house declaring my intention to place ice on my belly.) Unfortunately, it was really the only funny part. Mike being terrible at improv and using it to blatantly and unsuccessfully hit on women was both labored and a pale imitation of Michael Scott's improv classes from "The Office," plus it continues the transformation of Mike from abrasive goofball to possibly brain-damaged loser. I'm assuming the bit about Nia Vardalos being Andy's new best friend will be some kind of ongoing storyline, which doesn't exactly excite me, and the writers are going to have to be very careful with the PJ/Bobby/Elsa triangle to avoid making their heroine look bad.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "The Shirt Contest": Spike TV

Spoilers for last night's episode of "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I find a tablecloth...

Just when I let myself get fooled into thinking the writers were wise enough to never, never, ever show PJ doing her job, they had to go and devote an episode to it. Razza-frazza...

"The Shirt Contest" had a number of problems -- the storytelling felt very ragged, Brendan's never really been that interesting (other than his D-bag period) to merit his own storyline -- but the biggest was the latest failed attempt to make PJ seem in any way credible in her profession.

I suppose I should be thankful for the small favor that PJ didn't get romantically entangled with Spike, as I feared she would as soon as we got a look at the guy. But even though the relationship stayed strictly professional (or, at least, platonic), it became yet another storyline about PJ being clueless and her having to turn to Jay Tarses (who didn't even get any good jokes) so he can explain to her how the world works.

PJ's not a kid. As she said last week, she's nearly 30. She's the beat writer for one of the most popular baseball teams in the country, for one of the two main newspapers in one of the biggest cities in the country, and she wouldn't somehow know that Spike Upton has left a trail of failed ghostwriters in his wake? I'm sorry, but that just makes her look foolish. I'll grant the writers some dramatic license on the notion that PJ thinks this book will be a big career-changer ("as told to" athlete memoirs are a dime a dozen, but at least PJ would have gotten her foot in the door of the book industry, and those things make nice supplemental income), but it just baffles and frustrates me that the "My Boys" writers don't understand how bad it makes their heroine look that she always has to have her own profession explained to her by men.

The titular shirt-making contest provided a few yuks here and there -- I particularly liked the way that Bobby's relationship with Elsa has turned him into Andy's personal errand boy -- but overall this was not one of the show's better efforts.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "Dinner Party": Pants-free in the Love Zone

Spoilers for "My Boys" coming up just as soon as I tell a Charlie Rose lie...

If the season premiere was half-funny, half-obligatory, then "Dinner Party" is "My Boys" firing pretty much on all cylinders. PJ isn't necessarily funny by herself, but put her in a situation where she has to hold the leash for some of her boys -- notably Kenny and Mike here -- and Jordana Spiro can do something amusing with that. So last week's half-boys/half-PJ (with a sprinkling of Bobby) formula wasn't that great, while this week's half-Andy/half-PJ+boys worked quite nicely.

Andy's nanny situation started out cliched but kinda funny (notably with Bobby's Chris Farley-esque "Do you guys remember the time she was here?") and then became unexpected and very funny as he realized the downside of having an ultra-hot nanny. (It's no coincidence that the lamest part of that subplot, and of the whole episode, was the scene where Brendan and Bobby both show up at the house to drool over Elsa, as it's the part that plays most into the cliche.) Andy's desire to take off his pants, eat junk food and watch "Point Break" was a nice commentary on the priorities of a happily-married guy in his late '30s, and well-played by Jim Gaffigan. (His monologue about the two women being "the perfect level of attractive" was particularly nice.)

But for once, an Andy story wasn't the highlight of a "My Boys" episode. I really got a kick out of the whole situation with Mike and Kenny and the two musicians, whether it was PJ shutting them up with the self-tanner/pillowcase-underpants warning (as I said in last week's column, funny shorthand for how much dirt she has on them both), Mike complaining that "my girl's broken," or Kenny inexplicably turning out to be the evening's real drawing card. (In fairness, his only real competition was Mike, but under normal circumstances, I can see how the two would be equally girl-repelling -- just as, under the right circumstances, either one could suddenly seem strangely appealing.)

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

My Boys, "The Transitioning": Alright, alright, alright!

Spoilers for the "My Boys" season premiere coming up just as soon as I put my integrity up for sale...

I talked a bit about the premiere in today's column -- specifically, that I'm forever grateful that they dropped the sports metaphors from the narration, and that the stuff at Crowley's was a lot more entertaining than the stuff in Italy -- so I'll just hit a few points I couldn't in the paper, either for space or spoiler reasons.

First, we have Bobby as P.J.'s mystery date, which was probably the best option, all things considered. I didn't care about any of her three potential boyfriends -- and didn't want the Cubs/Brewers pitcher back under any circumstances, because that relationship made P.J. look like a complete idiot -- and the show has spent enough time dancing around the idea that P.J. might have feelings for one of her buddies (or vice versa) that they needed to come right out and deal with it sooner or later. They already dismissed a P.J./Brendan coupling at the start of last season, and even though it's been implied that Kenny has a crush on her, I just can't see her with him or Mike, and so that leaves Bobby, whom she almost slept with back in the series premiere. So, good choice, and I think there's real potential in terms of how P.J. tries to deal with her desire to take things to the next level with one of her friends without destroying the dynamic among all of her friends. As Mike puts it, "That (sex among two group members) changes everything. This is sacred."

And speaking of Mike, I'm not sure what was funnier: his lame McConnaughey impression, or the fact that the Crowley's waitress fell for it. (And is McConnaughey now the go-to impression for men under a certain age? I'm surprised by how many guys I know, myself included, who'll launch into a bit of MCConnaughey-as-Wooderson bit under the right circumstances.) Really, I enjoyed all of the shenanigans at Crowley's: Andy getting a little too into his new merchant-of-death gig, Brendan despairing at the thought of having to play adult contemporary, Kenny convincing himself that Bobby was in danger, and everybody else telling Kenny to leave it alone.

Glad to have the show back. And if next week -- also free of both sports metaphors and scenes of P.J. doing her job -- is any indication, the producers actually recognized their weakest points and tried to eliminate them.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

Sepinwall on TV: 'My Boys' review

Today's column previews tonight's return of "My Boys," which I couldn't be more pleased about -- especially since the show has finally dropped the lame sports metaphors from P.J.'s narration. I'll be back with a spoiler post tonight, but if you want to get yourself into the mood, it's always a good time to watch the douchebag intervention. Click here to read the full post

My Boys: Where's Abe Froman when you need him?

Spoilers for the "My Boys" season finale coming up just as soon as I drive my Ferrari backwards...

TV Promotion 101: If you promise viewers that they won't want to miss the last two minutes of a show, you're supposed to give them something that will make them say, "Boy, I'm glad I didn't miss that!" In other words, you don't run those ads and then pair it with a final scene that leaves the identity of PJ's Italian date a complete mystery. I blame the TBS promo department far more than the "My Boys" producers (showrunners have little to no control over what kind of ads their network runs), but that was still badly handled.

TBS has ordered a third season, so we should find out the mystery man's identity next summer. I just sure as hell hope it's not the ballplayer. Talk about still not getting it. The problem with PJ dating an athlete isn't the ethical conundrum it creates; it's the perception it creates that she's not a serious reporter, but just some chick who got into sportswriting so she could bag herself a rich jock husband. That's always the problem with this scenario, and even after Jay Tarses explained it to her last time -- and for the independent-minded heroine of the show, PJ needs her own life explained to her an awful lot by guys, doesn't she? -- she somehow thinks everything is cool now that Dudemeister has been traded to the Brewers? Doesn't work that way. Not only do I not want to see these two dating when season three begins, but I really hope we avoid her career altogether, as those scenes rarely add anything but an excuse to do the godawful narration (which I also hope vanishes).

All that said, the rest of the two-episode finale had lots of what I like about this show. These last few episodes haven't had anything nearly as funny as the douchebag intervention (that scene may be the "My Boys" equivalent of "Let's Go To the Mall (Today)," a comedy high water mark that's going to be hard to live up to week to week), but as I've said in the past, it's just fun to spend time with these guys, whether they're taking hard pitches at the batting cage or attempting to one-up Ferris Bueller with a day off trip to the finest landmarks Chicago has to offer. (I especially liked Andy's continued "see anything good today?" calls to the Cameron-esque Brendan). Since the show is determined to turn "hang" into a noun, I'll go along and say that PJ and her pals are a good hang.

A few other brief notes, as I won't be writing about the show again for a while:

• The actor who plays Kenny does a good Silvio Dante impression, so does that mean he can also do Pacino in "Godfather III"? (Also, "Capitano di Crunch"? Hah!)
  
• Boy, that Andy is a lucky guy to have a friend he apparently never sees who can get him a corporate law job that will pay for a Chicago home with a yard and space for two kids, with enough left over for private school. Clearly, I have the wrong friends -- or the wrong career.
  
• Am I the only person who has a hard time distinguishing between Michael Landes, who played Evan the botanist (and was the first Jimmy Olsen on "Lois & Clark"), and Jay Harrington? I actually assumed it was Harrington when Evan was introduced last week and couldn't figure out why the credit wasn't on his IMDb page.
  
• Given that Jeremy Sisto is now representing the people in one of two separate yet equally important groups, I'm guessing Thorn is out of the running for mystery date, unless the show comes back next season with PJ explaining how the Italy trip was a disaster and she never intends to see that guy again. (Then again, that'd also be an easy way to get rid of Dudemeister.)

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post