The SmarK TV Rant for Joey – Episode Four

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The SmarK TV Rant for Joey: Season 1, Episode 4

“Joey and the Book Club”

– Originally aired September 30, 2004

“Joey, let me explain how this agent thing works — first you get famous, THEN I kiss your ass.”

Joey and reading never leads to good things, and you’d think he’d know better by now.

So this time around our theme is Michael, rapidly becoming king of the dorks, throwing his weekly book club bash at the apartment and planning on making his move on a fellow dorkette at the same time. Joey, not understanding the delicate nature of non-book-club-dating regulations, also wants in on the action and elects himself a member, due to the fact that he pays the rent and all.

Gina, meanwhile, still upset that Joey turned down “Nurses” and all the great hairstyling contacts that would have come with it, makes him show her portfolio to his agent, who gets a couple of really funny ultra-sarcastic digs at him (“Hello, Halle Berry?…”) and explains to him the facts of celebrity life, as detailed above in the quote. However, she DOES think hairstyle model Michael is a”¦um”¦yummy piece of chicken or something. That part was a little disturbing and I think I blocked it out.

Back at the book club, Joey, who is of course a big blob of sex (despite his protests to the contrary) casually picks up two of the members and then unwittingly has Michael’s crush falling in love with him, too. Michael is mildly upset at that, but is even MORE upset that Joey DIDN’T READ THE BOOK. Either one is heinous, to be sure. And, it turns out, more widespread than originally thought.

Without show-biz contacts via Joey, Gina gets so desperate that she actually forces herself to be nice to Alex for a week in exchange for doing the hair of one of Alex’s mildly famous friends, which results in something as close to female bonding as Gina and Alex could ever engage in. There’s a really funny dynamic there that they can tap big-time. And of course Michael forgives Joey and all is well, although Joey may be dating two women “exclusively”. Poor bastard.

The Good

– They’re setting up all sorts of hilarious character interactions for the future, like good girl Alex v. crass Gina in an odd couple friendship deal, obnoxious agent Bobby’s infatuation with Michael, and Joey and Michael conflicting over women.

– Alex is getting funnier by the week as she starts to find the character. I’m glad they’re not going the love interest route with her, but I’m not convinced she’s actually married.

– Joey facing his arch-enemy, books, is always good for laughs.

The Not-So-Good

– Why no Howard? WE WANT HOWARD! And after teasing us with Huggsy the Bedtime Penguin Pal last week, I thought they’d throw the Big White Dog in this week, but NO. Bastards.

– The girl that Michael liked wasn’t particularly attractive, although maybe that was the point.

– A week is too long to wait between episodes.