October 24, 2006: Conor McNamara
I always know I'm going to like an episode of any TV show when they include flashbacks to the childhood of one of the characters, especially when we get to learn something new about that character. That was the case tonight when we discovered that Sean himself had a facial deformity as a youth and had plastic surgery to correct it. No wonder he's been freaking out about Conor's situation and about his eventual corrective surgery. As Julia told Sean: "That kid is why you're a plastic surgeon." Glad they ended up going forward with the surgery, and so far, Conor seems to be OK. Didn't the promos for tonight, with Sean saying to Julia "I have something to tell you," make you think he was going to come clean about his affair with the tragically departed Monica? But now Julia has something to hide from Sean - her little kiss with Marlowe. Interesting line that Marlowe muttered as he walked out: "That's why I have to leave." You could tell he was into Julia, but I didn't think she reciprocated those feelings. Yes, I know she respects him ("You are my rock") and was very much into the book he got her, but does she like him romantically? We shall see. For a change, Julia had one of the best lines in the episode, explaining to Marlowe the difference between a surgeon and God: "God doesn't think he's a surgeon."
Last week, I pointed out how disappointed I was that Christian was so evil to Kimber after using her for sex. Tonight, his soft and tender side was back, and I never thought the person who would get that sweetness out of him would be plastic-surgery addict Mrs. Grubman (the fabulous
Ruth Williamson). Some of you pointed out how you wish they'd stop with the dream and fantasy sequences, but as long they don't involve Escobar, I'm all for them. I can just imagine writer
Jennifer Salt's thought process: "Let's have Christian play singer-wannabe Mrs. Grubman's demo CD during her post-death prefuneral plastic surgery and have him imagine her performing it all decked out and looking marvelous atop a grand piano while Burt Bacharach accompanies her! Oh - and let's get the
real
Burt Bacharach!" Brilliant. Burt: "Ladies and gentleman, Mrs. Grubman." I had to watch that part twice. Were any of you thinking of Burt's hilarious Geico commercial during that scene, like I was?
Mo'Nique cracked me up as Evetta, Mrs. Grubman's caretaker. Some of her zingers:
- Referring to transporting Mrs. G as "Drivin' Miss Crazy"
- After Mrs. G compared her to
Star Jones: "Let's see Star Jones wipe your ass and change your Depends for 12 dollars an hour!"
- Giving her view on liposuction: "I don't need no Hoover vacuum stealin' my ass. Where I come from, I don't get lipo to attract a man. I eat another cherry pie and put more junk in my trunk. You know what I'm sayin'?"
Although it was rather pathetic that no one showed up for Mrs. Grubman's funeral due to her two-year self-seclusion, it was a good excuse to see Mo'Nique do a scene alone opposite
Julian McMahon. After seeing him with
Rosie, we know he plays well opposite funny plus-size women. I guess it made sense that Mrs. Grubman left all her money to Christian to form the "Hedda Grubman Plastic Surgery Fund for people who need a little work and don't want to pay for it." Of course, Evetta changed her mind and now wants some free lipo, so I hope she comes back. You know what
I'm sayin'?
Christian proved he really does have a heart during that scene when he was saying goodbye to Mrs. Grubman: "Life was more interesting with you in it, and I'm gonna miss you. And I love
you, too. Goodbye, Mrs. Grubman." Aww... sweet. But I bet he'll be back to his not-so-sweet ways
next week.
Nice casting for Sean's parents and for Sean in the flashbacks. That was
Allison Smith (formerly of
The West Wing) as Sean's mother and
Anthony Starke (formerly of
Prison Break) as his father. Throughout the years, I've seen Allison do several things as an adult actress, but I will always remember her as
Jane Curtin's daughter Jennie on
Kate & Allie. In the photo they finally showed towards the end, Kendall Ryan Sanders had the same closed-mouth smile as little-boy Sean and that present-day Sean -
Dylan Walsh - now has. It's almost as if Sean smiles that way today thinking he still has the scar.
Stephen Lee (most recently on
Grey's Anatomy) was Mr. Thompson, the protective dad who wanted to sue Sean for punching him out. Sean's got to watch that temper of his, but when Conor was called a "crab boy" by that chubby little punk kid (
Travis Flory from
Everybody Hates Chris), we now know Sean was just getting a déjà vu from his own youth. I hope they revisit Sean's parents in more flashbacks since it really helps to figure out why he's as intense as he is, especially the distant father/son relationship. Oh, and you know what starring role Stephen Lee will always have on his résumé? How about
Tom Arnold in
Rosanne & Tom: Behind the Scenes? You gotta respect a guy for taking on
that role.
Props, yet again, go out to whoever chooses the music for this show. As soon as I heard the first few notes as Conor's surgery began, I said out loud: "Jesus to a Child" by George Michael. Perfect.
For those of you who refuse to watch the scenes from next week and consider them spoilers (I don't, but I respect you if you do), read no further.
SPOILER SPACE
Seriously... look away... OK....
Now that they're gone, "You Oughta Know" that I'm pretty psyched for next Tuesday since it is the first of three episodes featuring
Alanis Morissette as Poppy, a new love interest for Liz. To impress Poppy, Liz gets lipo. But can Poppy be trusted?
Jackie Bisset is back as James, and
Sanaa Lathan returns after a week off as Michelle and it looks like they want Christian to be their next victim. Creepy! Next Tuesday
is Halloween. Can't wait.
Not enough of a spoiler? How about
two weeks from now?
How about
three weeks from now? Check out
Ask Ausiello...4 questions from the bottom and see page 8's Ausiello Report in the new
TV Guide magazine for a photo from the episode Michael reports about.
