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« Andy Barker, P.I.
March 22, 2007: "Give Me a Deviled Egg"
Here we are, nine hours later, and Guy Halverson sprinting down the fairway, a hoagie bursting with "three kinds of ham" in his grasp, still haunts my noggin. What made the recurring image so damn funny, though, isn't its subject matter — large man plus flailing sandwich plus slow motion — but Andy Richter's expression of disbelief each time he went into and out of the flashback. "Ah, yes [his mistress was] jealous.... Ya think?" The theme song for Guy's last gallop didn't hurt either.
And that, folks, brings us to a discussion of Week 2 (of 6) of NBC's Andy Barker, P.I.. As I said before, what makes this show sing is the casting. Clea Lewis is the supportive wife every guy wants (and, in this case, wants Guy). And Tony Hale opposite Nicole Randall Johnson shows seriously funny promise. I love how Nicole (as Nicole the self-hired assistant) "switches on" that perky, entirely false demeanor en route to making the person she's talking to feel like a fool.
Perhaps my only recurring quibble is that the cases Andy takes on have outcomes ("twists" is too generous a word) you see coming down Broadway. Even if you don't work near Broadway, as I do. But if I had to choose, I'd always take Andy Barker's warmed-over Columbo with fresh, crackling humor over brilliant mystery-telling saddled with lame jokes.
The bullets:
• Guy's ice-cream carton half-full outlook on life: "I like to think that I'm 66 percent not body fat."
• A variation on the Platoon score as Guy collapsed to the ground.
• Nicole to Andy: "The fact that you hired me as your assistant more than makes up for [her getting fired at the archives]." But he didn't hire you.
• Andy cocking his eyebrow at wife Jenny's confession that she, too, was hot for Guy: "But he was so huge. And he was kinda dirty. And pretty smelly, too." Jenny's retort? "Those are called pheromones , Andy, and he was lousy with 'em!"
• Simon's come-ons to Nicole: "We could watch Jungle Fever... or Taxi with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah" — and then later suggestively biting at a (yes) black-and-white cookie.
• Question for my fellow 30 Rock ers: Do you think golf pro June Park is related to NBC page Grace Park and/or the Battlestar Galactica chick?
• Jenny IMing Andy in bed, "Why the long face?" Don't you just love her?!
• Andy on stakeout: "'I wonder who,' said the owl.... "
• Nicole — whom Andy didn't hire — badgering him about the health plan, because, "I'm trying to schedule some elective surgery." Then later griping, "I busted my ass to get here by 11 o'clock!"
• Lew evoking a mental image that, unlike Guy on the greens, we'd like to forget: "You look lower than the nipples on a wet nurse at an orphanage." OK, ewwwww.
• Andy "clubbing" the murderer at the climax of this week's clumsy chase scene: "Now that's how you hit a pitching wedge!" — and the groundskeeper correcting him.
I'm gonna miss Guy, though. Coulda been a fun recurring character.
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Mar 23, 2007 8:07 AM
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I love Nicole, she is hilarious!! It was so amusing when Simon drooled about Nicole!!
I agree with Matt that the supporting cast is hilarious.
I think this show will get better with time like 30 rock. I hope this show will come back next season, may be midseason like scrub did few years back!
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Mar 23, 2007 9:04 AM
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I enjoyed this episode so much more than the first. The image of Guy running with the sandwich is still with me this morning and STILL makes me laugh. What was that song that was playing as he ran anyway?
I love, love, love seeing Tony Hale back on TV (besides my beloved AD repeats). I love when I catch a little glimpse of Buster in his performance!
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Mar 23, 2007 9:09 AM
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A good episode...the series is making nice progress (ala 30 Rock).
I agree w/ Kikiki: Guy running was funny and I also want to know that song. Additionally, Buster (sorry, Simon) had me cracking up. The whole show is good, but Tony Hale is a highlight for me! Everything he did was great.
The use of that take my breath away song was excellent, too 
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Mar 23, 2007 9:34 AM
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Maybe June Park is the younger sister of pro golfer Grace Park?
Another great line from Lew, trying to intimidate the golf pro into giving up the video (which he was going to hand over anyway): "You take your orders from me, not Charlie Manson!"
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Mar 23, 2007 10:21 AM
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I laughed way too long when Jenny IMed Andy with the "long face"... I just found it very poignant - something I'm sure I would do with my husband if we had two laptops...
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Mar 23, 2007 10:37 AM
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Another great line from Lew, trying to intimidate the golf pro: "You take your orders from me, not Charlie Manson!"
ITA, I love he how he's still fighting the Russkies in his mind.
What was that song that was playing as Gus ran?
I wondered, too! I flicked on the CC to get lyrics for Googling/title determination, but all CC showed was the little musical notes icons.
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Mar 23, 2007 11:26 AM
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The song during Guy's run is WAR's "Me and Baby Brother".
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Mar 23, 2007 11:45 AM
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Thank you TheMatt- that was driving me crazy!
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Mar 23, 2007 12:51 PM
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THAT was the recurring gag that was supposed to make me laugh every time? I'm sorry, but I didn't laugh once during this episode. I'm done.
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Mar 23, 2007 12:54 PM
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Master Moron, it's like you have this bottomless bag of sunshine that you sprinkle all over the TVGuide.com site.
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Mar 23, 2007 1:57 PM
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>it's like you have this bottomless bag of sunshine that you sprinkle all over the TVGuide.com site -- LOL! Though I suspect you just gave the shout out that person is looking for.
I did like the show a bit more than last week's, which I know was just to setup the characters. Quite a few bullets this week and I am sure it will keep getting better.
As for the weekly mystery, it seems as though it would be difficult to set up a non-obvious mystery plot in 22 minutes. Maybe not, but you have limited time to set up suspects. I will watch this for the same reason I watch Psych - strictly for the laughs. If a good mystery does appear -- bonus!
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Mar 23, 2007 2:27 PM
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They really loaded up the fat jokes about Guy, like ludicrously piled on higher than the hams of his sandwich until he was an absurd caricature -- and it was their absolute dedication to this heightened ridiculousness, I think, that let them get away with it (in addition to levelling it out by having every female character (and even the boob-loving psycho male character!) wildly attracted to him).
But the absolute topper was when they had him clutch his chest, sink to his knees and reach out to the sky with his sandwich still firmly in his grasp, then roll down the hill. I lost it at that point -- so so bad but sooo funny.
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Mar 23, 2007 4:08 PM
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Matt, I'm so glad you're doing the recap blog for this show. You really capture everything I like about it.
Thanks from me too, TheMatt, for identifying the song. I knew it was WAR, but couldn't think of the name of the song.
I really hope this show sticks around because I love Andy Richter, and the supporting cast is great. I loved Clea Lewis on Ellen, and she's great here too, as well as Nichole Randall Johnson.
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Mar 23, 2007 5:14 PM
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Parts of the show were hilarious - Buster (whatever his name is on this show) and the secretary, especially.
But I really, really hate that the last acceptable form of public mocking seems to be against overweight people. I thought it was a cheap shot, personally, and I didn't laugh once during those scenes. There's an obesity problem in America so I'm sure everyone knows and loves a family member or friend who was made to feel pretty low if they watched last night's episode. That makes me sad.
I can't get enough Andy Richter, so I'm not giving up the show. I just wish they'd taken a higher road on that one.
Oh, and Matt, I am glad you're doing these recaps. I really enjoy your sense of humor on the Entertainment News page.
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Mar 23, 2007 7:53 PM
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