What I’m Watching: Men of a Certain Age

Men of a Certain Age: Season 1, Episode 4 “The New Guy” (C+)

I’d love to watch an episode of this show without squirming in my chair the whole time. There always has to be at least one part of each episode which is so devastatingly uncomfortable and unbearable that it almost makes the rest of it not worth the trouble. This installment was a notch better than the previous one, but still had that despicable awkward arc to bring it down. The universe is way too small in the world of this show. There’s no reason that Dave needed to attend the school function and run into Terry. As a character, he’s infuriatingly obnoxious and offers no positive qualities. At least Owen’s disapproving father helps shape him into a stronger, more resilient person, but Dave’s presence adds nothing and takes away so much. Dave jokingly bidding four million dollars, bidding against himself, and then shouting that his kid better get into the school was a horrific chain of events I wish I could erase from my memory. This episode did do something right, and that’s having the fundraiser, a way to bring all (or at least most) of its characters together. Owen also had his best plotline yet, listening closely to the stories recounted by Sonia and her new guy and doing his best to “get the timeline straight.” He may not be a terribly effective car salesman, but he’s going to stick up for his friend. This was a particularly pathetic hour for Joe, who went on a bender with his bookie and then woke up to the harsh reality that he still has to pay off his debts. Confessing to Owen that he had been e-mailing with another woman before his wife cheated on him was another sad step, and that guy really has to start pulling his life together.

Don’t be surprised if there’s no review of this show next week; I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep watching it or not since a number of shows return next week. Anyone have an opinion?