"Our Other Cops Is On!"
After last week's episode got down to some serious karma business, I had high hopes for this one. Personally, though, this one left a little to be desired as we were "treated" to another flashback gimmick episode. Not even a year ago, "Our
Cops Is On!" aired, which was hysterical while providing great insight into the characters. "Our Other
Cops Is On" runs twice as long with half the appeal.
Kathy Kinney and
Mike O'Malley were back as the stars of another fictional episode of
Cops, along with
Billy Gardell, who you might remember from O'Malley's
Yes, Dear years. They try to keep the peace at the local Fourth of July carnival but are no match for Earl, Randy and the rest of the gang's criminal behavior. Eventually, they get their hands on $50,000 worth of Homeland Security equipment the cops showcase at the carnival.
There were all sorts of 9/11 and terrorism jokes right from the get-go. I'm usually all for pushing the envelope, but when dealing with a topic that is serious for many people, the jokes better be pretty funny. I feel they fell a little short. Probably the smartest play on the terrorist theme was having Earl and Joy's neighbor, an immigrant who the characters might wrongly pigeonhole as a possible "terrorist," be the only character to actually be terrorized - by his wacky neighbors.
Now, I can't be completely glum about the episode because I can say this: It's still
Earl and, of course, every week can guarantee us a fair amount of creative and humorous moments. The clear standout this time was Randy.
Tim Stack, who cowrote the first "Cops" episode and wrote this one, had quite a few outlandish moments himself. But while quite good on screen, I just hope he doesn't cross the picket line if the much-rumored writers' strike does indeed happen. Much more could've been done with an hour-long episode, and while I'm not opposed to flashback episodes, they should be done with more purpose at this point in the season. Earl may be in the stir, but he can still move forward without stopping to look back every other week.
But without further ado, let's get to the many undeniably laugh-out-loud moments this episode had to offer:
" Joy gives Earl quite the lesson in his marital duties when she yells "... feed me, do me, and die!"
" The patriotic toaster slogan: "
French toast? Not anymore!"
" As Earl and Randy play with the thermal camera, Randy exclaims, "Wow! Turns everything into a fruit roll-up!"
" Kenny recounted details of his unhappy childhood, once being forced to play catch with his dad for a full hour while his mom cooked without using the pot holders he'd made her.
" Excited about learning a new fact about
Michael J. Fox, Randy yells "MJF is from Canada?"
" Instead of commenting on a wartime tour of Vietnam, Tim Stack recalls his Vietnam "sex tour in the '80s."
" Randy and an inmate end up doing their own rendition of the
Cops theme song. The lyrics? "Tim Stack, Tim Stack, set him on fire. Set him on fire, watch him burn to death."
" A multitasking Catalina strips while babysitting, as a patron yells, "Take it off! Take the baby off!"
" Randy yells at the immigrant neighbor: "You need to cool it, Magic Genie!"
" The thermal camera provided the funniest and most creative sight gag I've seen in a long time, and Randy adding his own sexual glow at the end made the scene.
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