Watercooler: Travis Moves Out of Cougar Town
Dan Byrd
OK, quit playing Movie Mashup and wine-up, everbody! We need to talk about Cougar Town.
Is it as warm and fuzzy as Modern Family? No. Is it as sassy and gay as Glee? Almost. Is there enough to love about this show that it deserves some praise? Definitely. It's got one of current TV's most entertaining ensembles, some hella clever writing (Greysonships, nonversations) and, like its edgier cable counterparts — yes you, It's Always Sunny — Town gets away with being really wrong sometimes. Dead-baby lasagna, anyone? Sure, it may not be your pick for a family-friendly night in, but if you want to cut loose with a goofy, bawdy group of friends, this here is what you're looking for.
And last night, we also found us a goodly amount of Dan Byrd, one of television's rare non-annoying teen characters, as Travis headed off to college. Kid kills it every time he's on screen, which is no small feat seeing how he's going toe-to-toe with a cast that has quite a few more years on him. And his work with Courteney Cox is always a spot-on mix of adolescent annoyance and parental adoration, which was in full flair last night after he (and we) saw Jules descend into a pit of that codependent crazy that Cox rocks so well. If you doubt me, I will direct you to the entire run of Friends. Monica was a two-dollar mess and we loved her for it.
Thankfully, Travis' moving out doesn't mean Byrd is flying the nest. As they kept assuring us last night, his school is only 20 minutes away, and with our boy now a college man, that could mean some major on-campus antics for the adult crew down the line. Now if only they could figure out how to turn Penny Can into a drinking game.
Are you a Cougar fan? Do you love Dan Byrd, too?
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