What I’m Watching: Life in Pieces

Life in Pieces: Season 3, Episode 8 “The Twelve Shorts of Christmas” (B)

I suppose this show gets some credit for a harmless double entendre in its title and in trying out something new to celebrate the holiday. Perhaps it also suggests that each of this show’s vignettes are so unsubstantial that they can be boiled down to even shorter segments and still be just as effective (or less than memorable). Out of this bunch, I was entertained by Greg’s little dance number in the car though I find it hard to believe that both he and Matt could be stopped at the same traffic light without getting honked at by cars behind either of them. I’m not a fan of Martin Starr’s creepy repair guy, and I don’t love Martin Mull’s depressed patient either. The suicidal rumba was a strange but moderately clever bit, and the big Christmas party in the little house was predictably claustrophobic. The plotline that felt the most like this show featured the three adult siblings in the bathtub together, with Matt trying to use this as a gift from just him since he’s notoriously terrible at such things. Heather getting angry about her perceived love of cherries was fun, especially considering the gift Sophia, who also starred in her own accidentally alcohol-enhanced scene, had gotten her, and Tim being upset about being left out of the family photos that weren’t all from before he joined the family was a nice way to make him seem less stupid and a little more serious than usual. As Christmas episodes go, this one was at least different.