Episode 8 - Flu Shot
22 March 2012
Synopsis: It’s almost time for Liz’ special vacation and the crew are coming down with the flu. When Liz discovers that there is only enough flu vaccine for the important people she refuses to take it and enjoys her new popularity with the crew. Tracy and Jenna decide to do something nice for the crew to make themselves look good, but they are so useless that they fail at all of their attempts. Jack wants to take Elisa out on a date but she works every day including with Mr Templeton, who suffers from dementia. Jack takes her out and brings Mr Templeton with them.
The Good: Jack and Elisa continue their charming romance story. Taking Mr Templeton with them is a clever way to avoid Elisa neglecting him. One nice joke to come from this was Elisa bemoaning the sad people that would come into Dunkin Donuts – cue a flash to Liz coming to find free donuts. Liz also points out that Jack made excuses about how busy Celeste was when they dated (last season), so it’s good to see the writers acknowledging Jack’s growth as a character when he finds a way to spend time with Elisa.
Liz has one nice line when she tells Jack that in Cuba everybody gets equal health care. “You’ve seen the Michael Moore movie” Jack assumes but Liz trumps that “Think again Jack! I saw the trailer when I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks.” It fits Liz’ character to take any victory she can, even a self defeating one like that.
The Bad: Jack’s story doesn’t have a very interesting conclusion. It turns out Mr Templeton is more lucid than anyone had believed but him coming to leads only to a cheap “old man” joke about wanting to go to a “Negro bar.”
Liz’ story is about as predictable as a television show can get. Liz is always wrong remember, and now the ongoing story has become that she resists Jack’s elite lifestyle until she realises that she wants it (see 213 for example). So as soon as she becomes popular with the crew we know where this is going. The moral of Liz’ story is summed up by Jack as “not everyone gets a shot, not everyone gets to go to the Caribbean. But you’re special. You’re better.” Is that really the moral of the story which arch-satirist Tina Fey wants to send out to the world. Or is this “morality of the elite” all part of the joke about what a useless person Liz is? It’s not very funny if it is.
Tracy and Jenna cross a line into completely unbearable here. Neither of them have a shred of reality in them and their conversations lack any real comedy as a result. Some of the humour choices throughout are really poor. I have no time for Liz cutting off Tracy in the middle of a montage. You can’t acknowledge that this is a TV show and I’ve never heard “montage” used in any other context. Dr Spacemen asking Jack to drop his pants for no good reason is pretty much stolen from Scrubs (406 when Turk is diagnosed with diabetes). Interestingly Jack’s discomfort at saying Puerto Rican mirrors Scrubs obsession with race (see 309 for the joke most like this one) but also Seinfeld made the same joke only more effectively (915).
Comic Highlight: For pure classic sit com delivery I loved this exchange:
(Jack to Liz) “Leo’s giving out flu shots.”
(Dr S) “Not my favourite part of the medical profession. My favourite part is attending executions.”
(J to L) “Can I ask you a question as a woman?”
(Dr S) “You may Jack. Are you going to alter your voice or dress up in any way?”
The Bottom Line: A poor episode in most respects. Jack’s story is passable though.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
|
)