Six Degrees

Hi all. I've been checking ABC's website periodically to see when they might make a new episode available and I'm happy to report the wait it over. I'm not sure how they'll be rolling out the remaining episodes, but I'll keep you posted.

If you have any comments please feel free to post them here. I'll add my two cents soon.

You might have already heard here, but Six Degrees is off the schedule effective immediately. I'll let you know if I hear anything about plans to air the remaining episodes.

Although the official name of this episode is "Get a Room," I think "Missed Connections" is more appropriate since everyone’s romantic life is out of whack. "730,000 apartments on 23 square miles of land" and everyone’s looking for love. And an apartment. Whitney, Carlos and even Steven are on the hunt for new digs. Whitney wants to get out of the place she shared with her scheming ex and “put down roots.” Carlos seems ready to have a place on his own, and Steven is considering getting a place where he can give Max an actual bedroom and possibly have more privacy for himself and Anya. The best laid plans….

The whole “missed connections” thing starts when a gargoyle falls off the roof of Laura’s building. A mystery man is disappointed he didn't have the courage to speak to her at the time so he posts a short message to her on craigslist. Laura responds to his post and they meet for coffee. Laura’s expression upon meeting her mystery man is priceless. He did seem pretty young, but sometimes a little harmless fun with someone who isn’t long-term material is exactly what you need.

And that’s exactly what Whitney found with hunky Jason Lewis (who recently guest-starred on Brothers & Sisters). Well, there were two connections but Whitney isn’t looking for anything long-term. She tells him she’s tired of serial monogamy and needs to spend some time alone and find out who she is. Unfortunately, Todd would have been the next-door neighbor to her dream apartment, and she just isn’t willing to deal. With the way Manhattan real estate is, I would have advised her to keep the apartment and just see what happens with Todd. Things would only be awkward if she let them be. And as a bonus, if she gets lonely she can “borrow a cup of sugar” from him whenever the mood hits. Is that crass? He is very pretty.

I'm a little disappointed in Carlos' story this week. If he wasn’t such a nice guy who genuinely seems to care about Mae, I might call him a stalker. Mae tells Carlos she isn’t ready for anything more than a friendship, although later seems to change her mind. I just knew she’d somehow find Carlos had moved on (a little quickly, in my opinion) as soon as she showed up at his place. And why would his realtor Lisa leave her own apartment, get in a cab with Carlos to his apartment, get out to kiss him goodbye — only to jump back in the cab? Maybe she was on her way somewhere, but I think it was kind of sloppy storytelling. And the moment Carlos walked into a furnished apartment, I knew it was Lisa’s place. The previews last week kind of clued me in, but there really is no such thing as a furnished apartment in Manhattan. Well, there are furnished apartments but they're scary (unless they're super high-end, which Carlos can't afford).

I was not prepared for Carlos' roommate to be Anya. You know what that means, right? The ecstasy Steven accidentally took when he went trick-or-treating with Sam belonged to Carlos. I admit I don't think we know enough yet about Carlos to believe those were his drugs, but it seems a little out of character. Maybe Mae saved herself a world of hurt by rejecting Carlos before they really had a chance to go anywhere. I mean, he seems way too responsible to be doing drugs. But I digress. Back to Anya. Since Shiri Appleby is merely a guest star, I knew her days were numbered. The "other man" obstacle was interesting to throw into the mix. I loved Steven's response to Anya's "nothing's happened yet." Clearly something has happened if she's even willing to give Lucas a chance. But I'm not complaining. I think he's now one step closer to having Laura in his life, which would make me very happy.

My favorite line from this episode: “It’s the best fake sex I’ve had in a very long time.”

I am so happy this show is back on the air. I can remember when it aired after Grey’s Anatomy. Then Men in Trees took over that spot, and October Road is currently living there. All I can say is, I’m glad Six Degrees is back because I missed it. I’m happy to watch it whenever and wherever ABC wants to air it.

If anyone is new to the show, you probably have questions. I’m going to try to summarize the show as simply and quickly as I can. There will probably be important things that I leave out. Here goes. Laura is the mom of Eliza. She is recently widowed and trying to get back on her feet and find a job. Whitney is a PR dynamo who just ended her engagement to her cheating, lying fiancé. She and Laura are friends. Steven is a photographer who is just getting back into being a photographer after a serious bout with the bottle. He is trying to have a relationship with his son Max, whom he almost never sees. He's also dating the much younger Anya. Damian is trying to get his business venture as a sedan driver off the ground. He’s being held back by his shady brother and the secret that he shot someone. Mae (or Maggie) is finally ready to settle down after being on the run from the law. She is Eliza’s nanny and is looking for her mother, who seems to have disappeared. Carols is a young lawyer working in the DA’s office. He’s got a thing for Mae but is trying to prove himself at his job. That brings us pretty much up to date.

“Image is everything.” Whitney is so focused on portraying herself in a positive light to the W Magazine interviewer that she loses sight of almost everything else. Of course, it’s flattering to be recognized as one of the 35 most influential women under 35 in New York City. But it so overwhelms her that she doesn’t get to deal with her very mixed emotions about working with her ex Roy. As her boss says, “You’re a smart business woman who can man up when she needs to and think with her head.” The only problem is that she is all heart when it comes to her ex. He cheated on her and embarrassed her, and she’s very angry about it. In the end, Whitney tells Roy she can never have anything to do with him again. And with that she has the closure she needs.

“I haven’t been on a date since the Reagan administration. How do I make small talk? How do I make big talk?” Whitney's good friend Laura finally seems ready to get back in the dating pool. After a fun lunch date with Andrew, whom she met at the Halloween party, Laura kind of loses it when she sees a photo of herself crying on a gallery wall. Steven is the photographer, and he’s just gotten an offer from a prestigious publisher to put that photo on the cover of a book. Laura is pretty resistant to let Steven do anything with the photo, especially after she meets him. He doesn't make a good impression and he doesn't really get a chance to explain that having this photo published could herald his big comeback. Later when Eliza finds the photo and says she thinks mommy looks pretty in it, Laura finally relents. She admits to Whitney that Andrew isn’t the one who will help her move on, but she is ready to do just that. Was it me, or did Laura give Steven an appraising look there at the end? I like Shiri Abbleby a lot (remember her from Roswell?), but I would love to see Steven with Laura. It might be wishful thinking, but I think Whitney noticed the look as well. And even though Whitney shared a drunken kiss with Steven, I don’t think she’s jealous.

Although Laura seems to be ready to start something new, Regina is definitely done with Damian. And I can’t say I blame her. Damian thought he was doing the right thing by hiding who he really was but that’s not a good basis for a relationship, let alone a marriage. I was so proud of Damian when he was ready to step up and take responsibility for what he’d done. I was not at all pleased when Carlos’ client was very conveniently let off the hook. Carlos justified his actions by saying he’s not a prosecutor and that Damian showed he could do the right thing. But you know what the right thing is? To turn yourself in for a crime you committed. Those two are going to have to do some work to redeem themselves in my eyes. Hello? A man is in the hospital. Damian could have killed him.

Where was Mae this week? She literally had one little tiny scene. Hopefully we’ll see more of her next week.

Other random thoughts:

I’m so happy this show is filmed in New York. You get a real sense of the city from all the exterior shots. Steven meets Laura at the famous Bubby’s, located in Tribeca and well-known for its comfort food. And Carlos runs up the steps of the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. I think the city is a character here and they make great use of it.

I loved it when Whitney accidentally shot Roy in the leg with an arrow. I laughed out loud. I also enjoyed her scene with Roy and Steven out on the street the night of the dinner. Her little come-and-get-it shimmy was pretty funny.

“The kid’s still in the picture.” I didn’t realize Steven and Anya were still together. I haven’t re-watched any of the old episodes (but they are available on ABC’s website, if you want to) but I thought they had broken up. Guess not.

Curious about what two of the show’s executive producers have to say about their creation? Check out TV Guide’s interview with them here. Beware, there are some spoilers.