tvdinner&amovie

Previously on Bent: HD and A-Game

NBC was smart to put Bent on the air, but in a fashion completely typical of the network, one good idea is closely followed by several idiotic ones (i.e., rushing through six new episodes in three weeks and barely advertising the show). Last night we saw the last of two new episodes, as well as what will likely be the end of the series. It was a brief (but good) run and given the opportunity, Bent probably would have continued to grow into an amazing show. Alas, we’ll never really know….unless somehow, some way this is just a brief interlude and additional episodes are ordered. Doubtful, but I have to at least address the possibility.

Mom and Tile Date weren’t all that comedic, but both demonstrated that the show is/was willing to play around with different dynamics and give the characters the chance to develop. In Mom, we saw Pete dealing with the return of his mommy and Alex finally demonstrating (yet not quite admitting) that she cared for Pete. In Tile, Walt is putting on an original play and Alex has a sexy dream about Pete. If this show were to stay on the air, these two episodes would have been the turning point for the star-crossed lovers. While neither episode was hilarious, they still demonstrated that this show deserves much better treatment from NBC. Here are the best and funniest moments:

Mom

• Marcia Gay Harden as Pete’s mom Vanessa. Her off-and-on British accent was cute, but to me she’ll always be creepy Mrs. Carmody from The Mist.
• “…and I need to be in a good head-space for our ‘woo'”. -Pete
  “What ‘woo’?” -Alex
  “Ben is out of town, this is our ‘woo’. Window of opportunity.” -Pete
• “Don’t micro-manage me, OK?” -Clem after Pete (rightly) advised him to eat the ice cream slowly
• Gary babysitting the diabetic cat for Screwsie.
• “There is a carnal attraction that’s just primitive in its essence.” -Walt eloquently explaining how he feels about his ex-wife
• Pete, who isn’t allowed to say ‘moms’ according to Clem, adding to the “white man can’t jump” theory while playing basketball.
• “I’m gonna make some tea, Johnny let me know about that Earl Grey situation.” -Clem
• “You know who’s like dry, hard clay? Pete.” -Alex
  “I’m gonna let you sit with that for a bit.” -Screwsie
• The aforementioned diabetic cat getting stuck in the wall (Sweet Dee!) and Gary making the moment even better by playing House of Pain’s Jump Around.

Tile Date

• Doll Head Open, the golf game that uses doll heads instead of golf balls. Innovative.
• Kyle Bornheimer as Alex’s neighbor Dan. The character seemed like a cast-off from Up All Night but he fell asleep during the mediation and people falling asleep in social settings always makes me laugh.
• “Pumpernickel muthaf*cka.” -Clem’s angry reaction to the egg salad sandwich Pete brought him.
• We only saw a few seconds of Walt’s original play, The Fisher Brothers and his partner Gerald (played by Joel Brooks) prematurely evacuated the performance, but it was probably worth the full three hours and seven minutes. Also, Walt’s failed career as an actor always reminds me of Tobias from Arrested Development. So much wasted potential to bring David Cross on as a director or talent agent.
• Gary finally leaving the friend zone (or friend box as it’s called on the show) and kissing Screwsie. The other potential couple (Alex and Pete) only took a few baby steps closer, but maybe things will progress in the next episode. Oh wait…

Nicole is a TV junkie and TVDM helps her feed a lifelong addiction. She can be found here, providing biased commentary (sprinkled with a few Pop Up Video-esque insights) on her favorite shows, every week.