What I’m Watching: Life in Pieces

Life in Pieces: Season 1, Episode 18 “Sexting Mall Lemonade Heartbreak” (B-)

It’s hard to grade this show because some of the segments land very well while the others just fizzle. The weakest of the plotlines this week was definitely John buying a pet that just wasn’t practical. It seems that John is often the one who detracts from this show, which isn’t to say anything about James Brolin’s entertaining performance, just that his character is written the least well. Heather sexting Tyler by accident was definitely presented as the end-all and be-all of faux-pas, and it’s hard to imagine that its content really could have been that outrageous. I like that Tim was most concerned with Tyler thinking that he was the one doing the unspeakable actions to Heather and not the other way around, while he managed to solve the problem by getting Heather and Tyler to talk to each other after he suggested that the dimwitted teenager drive to Mexico. I think this show’s most valuable player might be Zoe Lister-Jones, whose incredible deadpan as Jen is simply unmatchable. Watching her give advice to Samantha that backfired right away was a delight, and I also like how she dealt with Greg’s unfortunate enthusiasm for his hat. After the unexpectedly serious development in Matt and Colleen’s relationship at the end of last week’s episode, it’s nice to know that she’s not gone forever, and Heather and Jen invited her over not realizing that she was the one who broke up with Matt. They did pretty well until he showed up, and I’d like to think that all hope is not in fact lost for them.