Wilfred: Season 1, Episode 3 “Fear” (B+)
Though this show functioned quite well with just Wilfred and Ryan hanging around and getting in trouble together, it’s still fun to add a few more characters and see what happens. Ryan really does spend an awful lot of time with his neighbors, to the point that we don’t even see Jenna for the entire length of this episode. Instead, we have the opportunity to see the violent, bipolar Spencer, played by a slimmed-down Ethan Suplee, doing a variation on the usual dumb characters he’s played in other fare, sort of a compromise between the well-meaning Randy on “My Name is Earl” and skinhead Seth from “American History X.” Ryan did think quickly on his feet despite constant sabotage from Wilfred, and I’m not sure whether getting Spencer to relax and bring his porn over for an all-night viewing marathon was better or worse than ultimately telling him the truth. Wilfred telling Ryan what to say to scare away Jesse was cool, and I like that Wilfred is having an occasional good influence on Ryan, who fortunately stopped short of threatening to slit the throats of his family members if he even saw him again. It was an awfully close call for Wilfred in this episode, as he nearly got put down after attacking that one neighbor. Yet this show doesn’t let something as trivial as the imminent threat of death get in the way of its characters having a good time, which is a rarity and a distinct pleasure.
1 comment:
Really enjoying this so far, although I think it's got a long way to go before it's up to the level of, say, "Parks and Rec". This was probably my favorite of the first three. Good stuff.
Post a Comment