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Episode Recap: The Butterflies
Hey people! It's been quite the Monday night for yours truly. Not only did I get to catch an advanced screening of the new Tina Fey/Amy Poehler flick Baby Mama, I also got to return home to brand spankin' new eps of Gossip Girl and Samantha Who waiting for me on my DVR. I love technology! If you have yet to get on board the GG bandwagon, I strongly advise you do so now cause with this one-two punch you get a nice dose of teen drama and amnesic slapstick. What more could you want out of a Monday evening?
As Sam walked to work recounting her recent run-in with Todd to Dena, she ran into her boss in the lobby of her office building. After overhearing Dena compare dating to being a dog, he insisted to Sam that she set him up with her. Though completely against the idea at first, Andrea was quick to remind Sam of the advantages of having a friend dating their boss. Despite still being against the idea, Sam quickly found herself in a situation that would require her boss' help when she wanted to back out of a construction project that would destroy the natural habitat of a rare butterfly. Time for Sam to pimp out Dena to save the blue butterflies! Later that night, Sam and Dena just happened to run into Mr. Chapman (Sam and Andrea's boss) at the bar.
The next day, the girl met up at the coffee shop where Dena dished on her evening with Chapman. The couple really seemed to hit it off which gave Sam and Andrea the perfect opportunity to express their frustrations with work in the hopes that Dena would relay them to Mr. Chapman. As the gal pals sipped their lattes, Dena spotted Todd lingering outside the coffee shop. After a quick breath-check Sam went out to see if Todd had anything to say about their little kiss. He didn't. He only mentioned that he got a job as a freelance photographer for the local paper.
That night, Sam and her mom chatted about her recent relationship issues as Sam prepared to meet up with Dena and Andrea at a store called Clip Clip Hooray. While the girls clipped away, Sam explained the butterfly problem to Dena and Dena agreed to bring it up to Mr. Chapman. At the office, Andrea got her new chair and Sam was all smiles believing that her friend would convince her boss that the millions of dollars that would be lost on the mall project would be worth it to save a species of butterfly. However, Mr. Chapman was able to convince Dena that the mall project was actually a good idea.
Sam continued to search for a way to save the butterflies and came across some old blueprints for the mall that wouldn't kill off her insect friends. Mr. Chapman was too obsessed with Dena to listen to Sam's proposal and so Sam decided to let old Sam come out to play a bit. She told both Mr. Chapman and Dena that they were smothering each other and they needed to back off a bit. When Mr. Chapman couldn't take it anymore he agreed to postpone the mall project so that Sam would talk some sense into Dena. She did but when Dena and Chapman went out again, they realized that Sam was playing them the whole time. Dena went off to confront Sam at her house. Dena was genuinely upset that Sam would manipulate her emotions like that. She took Andrea to a karaoke bar and told Sam that the bulldozers would be rolling in the morning. Later that night as Dena and Chapman were about to have a nightcap, they saw Sam protesting the mall project on the local news. She made a heartfelt apology to Dena but her attempt to save the butterflies was unsuccessful even after sleeping in front of a bulldozer. Although she wasn't able to control the construction job from breaking ground, she realized she could at least control her situation with Todd. After quitting her job, she made her way to the apartment and waited outside with Frank until Todd came out. She kissed him and told him it was his turn to lose some sleep.
Another great episode! Following Timothy Olyphant’s stint last week, I was glad to get to know Rick Hoffman’s character, Mr. Chapman, a little better. I was also really happy to see Dena have a little bit of fun. And as always, I loved Jean Smart this week too. Her one-liners are so amazing but are sometimes hard to catch upon first viewing. The one thing I was also really happy about was that Sam didn’t succeed in stopping the construction job. It would have been a little unbelievable to have her boss sacrifice millions of dollars and Sam did say “There are some things you just can’t control.” So what do you all think of Rick Hoffman’s character? Do you like him paired up with Dena? And how much did we miss the Funk this week?
Memorable Moments:
-Sam's first line of the episode:
"I was reading an article the other day, by which, I mean I was watching tv"
-Dena being able to relate to Sam's issue with Todd:
"I got yelled at by a guy once right after he kissed me and my braces got stuck in his chewing gum. He was a bad therapist."
-"Parenting books, Golf, Ohio" "What are you doing?" "Just listing off other things I don't give a crap about"
-Andrea's knowledge of butterflies:
"Oh I don't think they have blood, they're like birds"
-Andrea playing up her aching back upon learning that Dena is dating Mr. Chapman
-Mr. Chapman's disappointment at being ignored by Dena:
"She wouldn't even come to see my band...and I play cowbell during Sister Christian!"
-Dena confronting Sam about her trick:
"I'm beginning to think you didn't want to do Topiary!"
Quote of the week:
Regina Newly (Jean Smart) responding to Sam confessing that she kissed Todd:
“Of course you did. He only makes like $800 a year!”
And check out our Online Video Guide for more fun with Sam and the gang!
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Apr 22, 2008 10:01 AM
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This is a cute little show. I almost forgot it was on though (horror!) and missed the very beginning so thanks for the great recap. I think my favorite part was the fact that Andrea actually hated her new chair--so funny!
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Apr 22, 2008 11:15 AM
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I think Sam and Todd are so cute together but I agree with you that they should have kept Funk in the picture for awhile. Would like to have Sam and Todd slowly get back together without being forced.
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Apr 22, 2008 11:45 AM
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This show is just adorable. I just think that Christina Applegate is so endearing in this role - and even jennifer esposito as the bitchy yet lovable Andrea. I even catch my husband chuckling at some of the lines! Jean Smart is just fantastic. I agree - should have kept Funk around. I too liked the fact that she didn't win out on the whole bulldozing thing - would have been way too cliche.
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Apr 22, 2008 2:08 PM
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I absolutely adore Christina Applegate's character,and it seems whoever is in charge of incorperating great characters around her is a genius...Dena and her love interest are absolutely hilarious. I have seen him many times before and always jump when he appears on my screen. He makes everything funnier than it is..I think his character name is Chapman...Great actor...Would love to see more of those two...The show is great and it deserves an emmy...Thanks
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Apr 22, 2008 8:03 PM
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I like this show too. Really starting to get into it.
I think someone on the writing staff must be from Albany, NY. The whole mall being built in an area indigenous to a rare butterfly sounds like what happened with The Crossgates Mall in the Pine Bush area of Albany, NY in the early 1980s. The name of the butterfly? The Karner Blue Butterfly!
There are even posters and diaramas in the mall dedicated to the Karner Blue Butterfly. The fight between the locals and the developers went on for years before ground was broken on that mall.
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Apr 23, 2008 12:19 PM
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what really made me laugh was the caption when Sam was on the news: "Samantha Newly - Chapman & Funk VP and Environment Terrorist"
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Apr 24, 2008 4:39 AM
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I too really love this show. Christina Applegate is hilarious! I love the chats between her and her mother. When she confessed to her mother that she kissed Todd and her mother said "Of course you did. He only makes like $800 a year", was so funny. There are so many funny parts. All the characters are so good with each other. I love Barry Watson and hope this show is on for along time. I hope they keep the relationship between Chapman and Dena going for awhile too. I also like that they are showing a different side of Andrea and not just the bitchy alcoholic person. LOVE LOVE THIS SHOW. I tell all my friends and family about it.
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Apr 24, 2008 11:39 AM
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Rare is it that my grandmother and I enjoy the same show, but this one is the exception. It is funny, smart, and a bit naive without being cheesy. What a great combination! I LOVE Mr. Chapman - he always makes a show better. I heard Jerry O'Connell is coming to this show. Another love interest to get in the way of Samantha and Todd? Great!
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Apr 24, 2008 1:50 PM
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Rick Hoffman who plays Chapman has a really sort of funny role in the movie Cellular with Kim Basinger and Chris Evans. It's a really good movie. He was also on a show with John Stamos a couple years back called Jake in Progress. I really liked it but as usual, ABC dumped it before it really got hold of a strong audience. Just like Eyes, The Nine, Traveler and Karen Sisco!
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Apr 25, 2008 6:38 PM
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