"What Happened" To Awkward.?

Article first published as "What Happened" To Awkward.? on TheTVKing.

After a first episode back that was positively painful, more because of events in the episode rather than lack of quality, MTV's Awkward. recovers completely with "And Then What Happened." Jenna (Ashley Rickards) is isolated in her room, not talking, and friends and family try to figure out if she and Matty (Beau Mirchoff) have broken up or not. Each person only has one piece of the picture.

I liked this episode because of the lack of lots of Jenna and Matty, not in spite of it. They are at a really terrible place in their relationship, Jenna having cheated on him with Collin (Nolan Funk). Who wants to be around a warring couple who had lots of ugly things to discuss? It's a dark time for them, and Awkward. is not really a drama, for the most part, so it's gratifying that the episode skips right over it.

Instead, the meat of the half hour involves all of the supporting and recurring players humorously piecing together the events immediately falling last week's climax and trying to figure out the pair's status. This includes not only Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed), Ming (Jessica Lu), and Jake (Brett Davern), as one might expect, but also Fred (Kelly Sry), Lissa (Greer Grammer), Clark (Joseph Haro), and even eventually Sadie (Molly Tarlov).

Many of these characters do not often get enough screen time. Clark isn't even shown in the previous episode, though he is worked well enough into the tale after the fact. Making them the center, and showing how they interact as a group without the series' main leads, is as enjoyable as it is interesting. There's a great dynamic among the cast as a whole, and I hope we get the opportunity to see them play together more often.

As this unfolds, we also have Lacey (Nikki Deloach) and Valerie (Desi Lydic) on the phone fishing for info, too. I enjoy the kids on the show a lot, but these adults are equally good, and it's sweet to see the friendship that has developed between Val and Lacey over the first few seasons. They're their own clique, both similar and dissimilar to the students, wanting to be involved, but also a little bit off on their own, too. The parallel between them and the teens is well formed.

"And Then What Happened" is a light-hearted romp, gleefully told out of order in little bits. I'm not saying Awkward. can't get too heavy, but when it does, as it did in the mid-season premiere, that should be followed up with something like this, an episode that doesn't take itself too seriously. This helps maintain the overall flip tone and sunny mood.

One of the elements I most appreciate about Awkward. is its realism, and, admittedly, "And Then What Happened" is a lot less realistic than most. The way Val and her bat lines up with Lissa, who is then trampled and put back in a neck brace is hokey. As is Ming's fascination with guacamole at the wrong time. Yet, because of the timing of the program, I find myself reluctant to complain, left thoroughly satisfied by the way this plays out.

The episode ends with the dissolution of the Jenna / Matty pairing. Matty thinks he can move past her mistake, given time, but Jenna decides just to call it quits. While this does not completely line up with the rest of the episode's presentation, being much more depressing, it does fit because, after all the musing, it's time for some answers. It would have been rougher had Awkward. made its fans wait another week for resolution, so even the final scene feels right.

"And Then What Happened" doesn't necessarily fix all the mistakes of the previous week, and I feel like this half-season will be quite rocky, perhaps less happy than what came before. But as long as there are islands like this scattered through the churning sea, a place to relax and regroup, I think it will be viewed favorably overall.

Awkward. airs Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET on MTV.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY Sort of Welcome

Article first published as WELCOME TO THE FAMILY Review on Seat42F.

NBC tosses another family-centered sitcom into a very crowded field this fall with WELCOME TO THE FAMILY. Valedictorian Junior Hernandez (Joseph Haro, Awkward.) is surprised to learn that his barely-graduated girlfriend, Molly Yoder (Ella Rae Peck, Gossip Girl), is pregnant. But not as surprised as their families are when they finally meet one another.

There is nothing about WELCOME TO THE FAMILY that is original or fresh. It is the melding of two groups of people who dislike each other, rubbing one another the wrong way in a comic style that will soften as the series goes on. The culture-clash and the parent-child relationships are familiar and predictable. Plot “twists” are seen coming from a mile away. And even those that aren’t (such as the big one at the end of the first episode) don’t seem surprising in the context.

Yet, I did find myself enjoying the “Pilot,” despite these glaring flaws. The reason must be the cast, which has oodles of charm, and the writing, which remains amusing, even as it is uninspired. The show goes for the guaranteed laughs, but they’re laughs all the same.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY’s “Pilot” pretty much belongs to the patriarchs. Mike O’Malley (Glee) plays Dan Yoder, the free-wheeling, non-controlling daddy, while Ricardo Chavira (Desperate Housewives) is Chuey Hernandez, the proud papa who fulfills the role of dad his father never did. Unfortunately, the two men get off on the wrong foot before they even realize their kids are dating during a first meeting that seems far too contrived.

Dan and Chuey are the main focus of this premiere. Yes, their kids have to deal with a pregnancy, but they have to deal with one another. The series understands that it has two great male leads who can carry the story on their own, and thus gives them more than their share of the first half hour, banking on their charm and humorous competition with one another to draw viewers. This gamble may just work out for them.

Though, Ricardo and Mike aren’t the show’s only weapons. Despite having much less to do in the “Pilot,” their wives are equally talented actresses. Caroline Yoder (Mary McCormack, In Plain Sight) and Lisette Hernandez (Justina Machado, Private Practice) pretty much get along right away, of course, because the calm, rational wives have to balance their crazy husbands in these types of series, so their subplot is small and uninteresting. However, McCormack and Machado are better than what they get to show in the premiere installment.

For a series to have any legs, the episodes will have to diversify away from the central conflict, and the rest of the ensemble will be required to pull their weight, too. With these particular ladies in the major roles, I have no doubt that it will not be a problem.

I also have to give props to Peck and Haro. Peck stands out, even in such a familiar trope, and earns her own place in the cast, balancing being stupid with actually being aware of her mental limitations. And Haro is appropriately earnest as the boy who wants to do the right thing, even if it means giving up his dreams of college and career, which seem secondary to him right now, just wanting to be happy with his girl.

Both characters are pretty one-sided in the “Pilot,” but surely that will change in later episodes. That good news is, I like them already, and if they have even a little bit of depth in them, they should be OK. In time, they might even be as interesting as their TV parents.

Junior also has a younger brother named Demetrio (Fabrizio Zacharee Guido), but he is mainly set dressing in the “Pilot.”

Also, props to the hashtag #wttf as a way to reference the show. Not super novel, but edgier than I would have given ABC credit for.

In short, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY is nothing that critics will fawn over nor awards will flow to. But it’s a well-made situation comedy about two families coming together, populated with an experienced, highly talented cast. In this, it should do well enough.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY premieres Thursday, October 3^rd, or watch the “Pilot” now on Hulu.