Californication – When will Hank abandon Becca at his local firehouse?

What’s going on out there on the West Coast, folks? For two seasons, you carried Californication high on your shoulders, through different plots and different settings, everything gelling together for one great and interesting series.

But now? Ever since entering the realm of the classroom, the show’s failed for me — well, these last two weeks — whenever it’s ventured outside of it (“it” including people, places, and things). Where’s Jill? Why must we enjoy Felicia only as she relates to a mad Karen? Even Jackie was MIA … so is Professor Hank merely a tool for filling in the down-times?

Yes, there was about a half-a-second of an uncomfortable moment when Jill hung around after class, and when Jackie asked Karen what her name was, and then when Felicia walked in on Karen and Hank in his classroom. But beyond that? Karen’s annoying, Becca could use a punch in the side of the head, and even Charlie’s spinning off the planet at a ferocious velocity.

The suggestions to move back to New York are getting a bit old, inasmuch as it’s clearly not going to happen — or else they’d have to change the name of the show to some weird mash-up of a different city. And Karen being back alters the trajectory of everything I’ve enjoyed thus far this season. It makes me kind of annoyed to imagine that these three women are on the show for no more purpose than to be complications in Karen and Hank’s relationship. What a waste that would be.

I did enjoy the Karen-to-Jackie-to-Karen-to-Jill-to-Karen-to-Felicia-back-to-Karen action in Hank’s classroom, but it never went beyond a little tension, so what’d we gain? I was surprised, though, that Jill was the one who ended up seemingly flustered — I had my money on Jackie not keeping it together, because of her crazy and all. But there’s still time. And of course, as I said above, there was barely a hint of the affair when Felicia and Karen interacted, because Karen was so focused on Chelsea and her terrible influence. There’s more to come, I’m sure, but so far it fell kind of flat to me, all around.

It was rather funny, however, that Natascha McElhone (Karen), born in London and playing an American, made fun of Embeth Davidtz’s (Felicia) faux British accent (she’s from Indiana). Cute little poke at McElhone’s own country.

I didn’t expect Rick Springfield to return. Seriously — who in the world is he? I have no idea, and so a lot of the references mean nothing to me. What I didn’t miss was how disgusting Marcy is, though. No one should be excused for cheating, but Marcy seems to always forget that her spiraling drug-addiction was the first debit in the Runkle ledger. Even if they’re still not even, having sex with another man, loudly, with your husband, estranged husband, ex husband, or whatever, walking around in the house? Repulsive.

I’ll say it for the second week in a row — here’s hoping next week steps it up. What did you think about last night’s episode?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Nov 02, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT