Episode 11 - The Head and the Hair
25 March 2012
Synopsis: Liz and Jenna flirt with two MSNBC guys who they nickname “The Head” and “The Hair.” Liz decides to get her personal life back on track by asking out “The Head” but instead Gray – “The Hair” asks her out. On their date she feels inadequate but they eventually bond. All is going well until they discover that they are third cousins. Meanwhile the corporate “Bottom’s Up Day” means Jack becomes Kenneth’s subordinate for the day. And Tracy realises that he has one day to complete his autobiography.
The Good: The Liz story is really strong and makes good use of her character. She is so confused by the idea that this handsome man would be interested in her that her reactions to him are funny and believable: “What?...Why?...What?” Once on the date she feels out of her depth, trying to make small talk about Heroes to the beautiful people at the restaurant. The way that she and Gray bond over telling off a guy at the store was really fun too. Not just that this display of consumer solidarity sparks romantic attraction but that the store owner looks so confused by their change in demeanour. Jack gets a really nice moment, as Liz’ mentor, when he lets her take a sick day to be with Gray.
Of course anyone who has watched TV for long enough knows no relationship can go this well without somehow tumbling down. The fact that they turn out to cousins is actually an unusual and amusing twist on the usual clichés which keep couples apart. It’s sad to see Liz conclude that this is punishment for trying to be someone she’s not. But at least they get off a couple of good jokes before she leaves. They agree to both say how far removed they need to be as cousins to continue their relationship. As he says “Fifth?” hopefully, she says “Unacceptable no matter what.”
Kenneth’s love of television is well characterised as is Jack’s attempt to help him get a better job. Their mocking of NBC News hosts will amuse depending on how well you know them. Jack dressed up as a page and taking food orders certainly led to one of those classic “what’s going on moments” just as Liz and Jenna were freaking out about “The Hair.” And Josh continued his fun streak of naïve behaviour as he chews Jack out just to simulate how he would treat Kenneth.
The Bad: Poor Liz. There’s an element of humiliation comedy which I don’t like much but we’ll see if it continues in the long run. Seeing Kenneth negotiate for his own show was odd. The show didn’t work out and his life remained the same so I’m not sure what the point of it was. Ditto Tracy Jordan’s autobiography. The big joke is that he is a flake and having made Toopher and Frank write his autobiography he remembers that Random House rejected his idea. It’s a one-note joke, consistent but not really funny.
Comic Highlight: Liz gave you plenty to chuckle at. For some reason this line from Jenna just got me: “What? The ‘The Hair’?”
The Bottom Line: Liz’ story took advantage of her geeky, low self esteem to create a charming tale for her with plenty of laughs. The rest was passable.
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