What I’m Watching: Abby’s

Abby’s: Season 1, Episode 5 “Mail Bin” (B)

It doesn’t surprise me at all that Abby doesn’t open any of her mail, just one of the many things about this show that requires a considerable amount of suspension of disbelief. Paying some bills online without opening the paper versions at least makes sense, though her disregard for the necessity of a property tax bill was decidedly irresponsible. Her dad definitely sounds like the worst, and everyone had a terrible story about what he did to them. Abby suggesting that they spend the money on something dumb felt fitting, and James choosing his pop-dog machine was a great stupid idea for them to pursue. Fred finding the envelope that explained that the money was supposed to be to make up for all the birthdays he had missed, split into installments, helped to give Abby some hope that her father wasn’t all the bad, but that dream was burst almost immediately when the check bounced. Everyone chipping in far too little money to cover the cost of the pop-dog was sweet, and naturally it didn’t serve the unnecessary purpose they so wanted it to quite that well. It’s good to know that Bill, who got drowned out by the loud sound of the pop-dog and apparently worked at his bully’s wedding without realizing it, isn’t the only punching bag at the bar, with Dan getting constantly forced to make impactful decisions and do things that he doesn’t want to do thanks to peer pressure and mostly because of Beth’s intimidating demeanor.