What I’m Watching: Life in Pieces

Life in Pieces: Season 3, Episode 12 “Toilet Shaving Stuck Fertility” (C)

This show has a lot of things going for it, and some genuinely funny characters, mainly Tim, Jen, Sophia, and Colleen. But then it has episodes like this which, for the most part, focus on uncreative and completely random plotlines that just didn’t need to exist. The two most lamentable examples from this week’s episode are the ones that include over-the-top guest characters who can’t even pretend that they’re anything like the universe around them. Finn, Greg’s scary neighbor, wanted to bond with him again, and for some reason Greg and Jen thought it was a good idea to confess that they had lied about Lawyer-Con existing when they knew that this man, while apparently off cocaine for the moment, was crazy and had rage issues. The fact that he thought Greg was the trunk guy and not the dog guy didn’t help matters at all. And much as I love Rhys Darby, I’d rather see him as a band manager on “Flight of the Conchords” or even a hapless husband on “How to Be a Gentleman” than a holistic fertility doctor who wants to literally suck the negative energy out of expectant parents. Colleen, funny as she is, is also a wild character, one who just admitted to being on mood stabilizers sent to her from Mexico by her mom? Sophia’s desire to start shaving her legs, leading to a bloodbath and a horrible realization that this is just the beginning, was moderately funny. And Tim accidentally having his $2,000 Japanese robot toilet delivered John as a misinterpreted gift was good for a laugh or two but not much more. I’d hope for better all around from this show.