If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I might not have believed that Rules of Engagement was premiering a season in the fall. Season two had a fall start, but that was following a successful spring premiere for the initial season, and, while it made it from September to May that year, it aired only fifteen episodes. Might this be a sign that a full A-Z season is before us?
I certainly hope so, because this show is worth it, and it definitely has the material to churn out 22 or more episodes. In fact, most episodes have no connection to a greater story line, so that has got to make it an even easier thing to do.
Take last night’s premiere. It picked up exactly where things left off … four episodes ago in the preceding season. You remember that one episode all season long that Jaime Pressly guest starred on, as Pam the surrogate? The three episodes after that one had nary even a mention of her. Yet there she was last night getting onto an elevator after agreeing to carry Audrey and Jeff’s baby, being followed by Russell. And as the elevator doors closed, there was Jeff watching in horror. And go.
Most of the episode saw Jeff chasing after Russell, attempting to stop the inevitable. Jeff’s chase included Timmy (So glad he’s back. I’m not sure why, but I feared he wouldn’t be), Adam (who seemed even dimmer than last year’s already dim bulb), and Jennifer. While the hijinx and good time vibes were all the same, something was a bit off. I’m not sure what — could the characters be too mature to be acting so goofy? Did Jeff seem just a tad too much like an over-the-top caricature of himself? I’m not sure.
I liked how Jeff’s cover about running down the stairs resulted in him and Audrey exercising on them, but what was with Adam and his disappearing butt? He deserved to get tripped by Jeff.
I’m kind of not surprised that Russell’s more afraid of Audrey than he is of Jeff, but they were both just a little too mean to Russell. Everyone finds it gross that he sleazes from woman to woman, but their reaction to the news that he’d slept with Pam indicated that the mere thought of Pam and Russell meeting was too disgusting to digest. That’s a little much.
What I thought would happen — and what eventually did via Audrey’s dream — was a concern that Russell’s sperm would beat Jeff and Audrey’s fertilized egg to Pam’s womb, thus leaving them with a progeny of Russell’s to raise as their own. That would frighten me too. It made sense both that Audrey decided to stay with Pam and that she later changed her mind. I just wish she’d done so before the money transfer.
I definitely enjoyed the premiere, but I think maybe it was a case of everyone being a little too old not to have grown at all. There needs to be character progression on every show, and I think the premiere of Rules was missing that. Hopefully that’s a quick fix.
“Oscar, did you see a blond lady with what looks like a smaller blond lady?” – Jeff to Oscar the doorman, after missing Pam and Russell in the lobby
“I mean, what do you think? I’m the one doing all the talking.” – Audrey
“It’s been that way since the wedding.” – Jeff
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 21, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
