What I’m Watching: Californication

Californication: Season 3, Episode 5 “Slow Happy Boys” (B+)

Bringing in a main character’s old friend who’s never once been mentioned always seem like a strange thing, and it often either presents the opportunity to showcase a terrific guest performer or detracts from the overall arc of the series. In this case, it does neither, and merely offers a regular but still quite fun excerpt of Hank and company’s lives. Kevin Corrigan (recent guest star on “Mercy” and “Damages”) isn’t exactly a terrific actor, but the role suits him well and he brings out the best in those around him. Clearly he’s a good friend of Hank if the man puts in the effort to send the girl he just spent the night with to lie down with him as if the two of them slept together. Sue really is quite a character, and the revelation that she has a husband, played by the fabulous Stephen Root (recent guest star on “Pushing Daisies” and “True Blood”), is surprising but hardly out of the ordinary for the wild woman. The quite unexpected return of another former partner of Charlie’s, the lovely porn star Daisy, pretty much ruins any chance of normalcy for Charlie and Marcy in their reconciled relationship. Hank’s very conveniently-timed trip to take his bud back to the airport produced the most wonderful of surprises: the return of Karen. Even if it’s not permanent, having her back in Los Angeles is going to make things even juicier, especially considering the fact that Hank already has three women hanging off his arm.