Monday, July 25, 2011

What I’m Watching: Love Bites (Last Episode)


Love Bites: Season 1, Episode 8 “Modern Plagues” (B-)

It’s sad to me that this is likely the last episode of this show that will ever see the light of day. It’s a series that was never great and was only occasionally good, but the premise was nifty and it technically had three new chances to prove and reinvent itself each week. It delivered decently in its first third here, bringing back together Bret Harrison and Michelle Tratchtenberg for another round as they encountered the very modern plague of bed bugs and put their newly domicile-oriented relationship to the test. I loved seeing another NBC regular, Adam Baldwin of “Chuck,” drop by for a momentary appearance as the no-nonsense hotel employee. The second installment with Judd accidentally causing some friction in his friends’ relationship wasn’t all that interesting, notable only for its exploration of a same-sex couple rather than a heterosexual one, which has been the only route previously for this show since episode two (and that time was much better). I was thinking before the third installment that it’s sad that Becki Newton’s sole role on this entire series was to crack one-liners about how she was pregnant, and I was therefore a bit more relieved to see her reappear in the lackluster third act as she reconnected with Matt Long’s Matt, only to have the two singles pass each other without knowing it at the end of the episode. It’s a fitting ending for this show that might have developed more and improved over time. I’m hoping we’ll get to see the unaired ninth episode, but I imagine that’s doubtful.

Series grade: B-
Series MVP: Becki Newton

No comments: