What I’m Watching: The Detour

The Detour: Season 3, Episode 5 “The Boat” (B-)

More than anything this season, we’re seeing our characters experience delusion and see other people’s faces when they’re talking to them. So much for Edie’s investigation and getting close to Nate, who was so excited to see Robin at the end of the last episode but now just left her for nearly a year to go work on a fishing boat. Leave it to him to not ask any questions about the salary of “up to” $150,000, resulting in him nearly throwing up every day and experiencing a whole lot of cabin fever for a pretty low salary that definitely wasn’t worth that much. The crystal meth also contributed considerably to the whole thing, helping him to hallucinate his children when he was trying to cheer himself up with some high quality visioning. This show must be a lot of fun to film, particularly in this episode when Robin stood in for his opponent and then got replaced by Vanessa when Nate heard him challenge his dedication to his family. I’m not sure what episodes like this really accomplishes, though I suppose the idea is that there are infinite detours on their path towards prosperity and happiness and, eventually, their latest arrest and court case. I prefer the antics back on land, if not the mainland, with the whole family together and Edie getting closer and closer to taking down the Parker family once and probably not for all. We still have the season left, so let’s get things as focused as they can be on this singularly derailed show.

What I’m Watching: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 5 “The Boat” (B+)

Spending 3.9 million pounds on a boat – excuse me, yacht – isn’t going to solve the problems that this team is having. But putting them in a new environment was helpful in drawing out some other issues and having them all talk about them. Ewan doing a terrible job flirting led to the ground crew member being more aggressive, only Ewan hilariously had to pretend to be their butler so that he would think of him on the same level. Getting exposed by an extremely high Watto was unfortunate, but it was sweet that, thanks in part to Leon putting in a good word, they took a little swim together and maybe this relationship could go somewhere. Leon didn’t get much good news, particularly when he discovered where the red stain on the couch came from. Putting acid in the water so that they could be a bit more amped-up was a terrible idea, though it did seem that Watto took some comfort in the conversation he had with the Chinese fisherman he thought was his mom. Josh was initially furious to hear that Leon had an ex-Mossad agent following Abi, but then he was all too eager to use the drone once he got suspicious. Fortunately, he didn’t blow that, and it seems like they’ll be fine going forward. Naomi got herself busted pretty quickly when she tried to e-mail Casey from Leon’s computer, and good for her for letting loose and standing up to Casey, which immediately got her a raise while she continues doing the same thing.

What I’m Watching: The Office

The Office: Season 9, Episode 6 “The Boat” (B+)

This was easily the best episode of this show in a long time, even if it wasn’t perfect. Andy’s father running off with his mistress and leaving the Bernard family estate in jeopardy did present a surprisingly motivated and efficient Andy, though the pressure was obviously getting to him. It was sweet to see Erin suggest going to the boat to cheer him up, and refreshing to see her offer up an intelligent and productive suggestion. Unfortunately, things weren’t quite as they had hoped on the boat, and the unexpected presence of Andy’s brother left Erin out in the cold rather than alongside Andy on the boat. I’m less impressed by Pete’s continued flirtation with Erin, since, once upon a time, Erin and Andy were in fact perfect for each other, and Pete’s inappropriate efforts to court the boss’ girlfriend are becoming tiresome. Kevin overhearing Oscar’s confirmation of his affair with the Senator to the camera crews was a disaster waiting to happen, and having him forget when he easily could have blabbed about the whole thing was a funny way to resolve it, temporarily at least. Dwight’s enthusiasm for his radio interview was a prank just waiting to happen, and Nellie, Jim, Pam, and Darryl pulled it off exceptionally. Getting Dwight to strip down because of a supposed microphone malfunction was entertaining, and his phone call to David Wallace, which could have ruined the whole thing, turned out to be pretty damn funny too. Let’s see more this kind of stuff throughout this final season.