A Televisual Feast

A sitcom not ending on a laugh–and not a “very special” episode either… It’s like Weithorn realized it at the last minute and tried to pull it around but couldn’t. Schmaltzy. It was a schmaltzy end.

Otherwise, the episode starts strong, peaks early and then the bicycle goes down the hill. The episode opens the morning after Ned and Stacey’s wedding, features a fine pre-title open, some good banter following, but when Amanda shows up (the always fantastic Nadia Dajani) it dips again. Amanda and Stacey don’t have anything interesting to say to each other and they should. The subsequent scene with Ned and Rico at the office, excellent. John Getz shows up in his first appearance and he’s okay… Natalija Nogulich is far better as Getz’s wife.

The episode’s big scene, a cocktail party where Stacey embarrasses Ned, doesn’t work. Debra Messing apes for the camera. She can’t get honest laughs. It’s sad.

Then the awkward tack-on ending. I might be dinging the episode a half point, but it really needed some tightening.

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