Episode 203: Hiatus

Episodes to see: For a proper Lindenson introduction, you might want to see “Identifying A Body”.

Cast:
Brendon Small – Brendon Small
Jason Penopolis – H. Jon Benjamin
Melissa Robbins – Melissa Bardin Galsky
Coach Jon McGuirk – H. Jon Benjamin
Paula Small – Janine Ditullo
Mr. Lynch – Ron Lynch
Dwayne – Brendon Small
Ken Addleburg – Bill Braudis
Cynthia – Jennifer Kirkman
Arnold Lindenson – Andy Kindler
Walter & Perry – H. Jon Benjamin & Brendon Small

Synopsis: After a less-than-great movie, Brendon, Melissa & Jason decide to take a break and have a hiatus. Brendon meets a new friend, Jason meets two new friends and Melissa is just pretty much bored the whole time. Paula’s high dropout rate combined with budget cuts cause Lindenson to make some changes. Meanwhile, McGuirk wants Lynch to come with him to Mexico (to save money).

History:
· This is the first episode where we learn Melissa’s last name is Robbins (by her mail box). We also learn Ken Addleburg’s name for the first time.
· This episode introduces everybody’s favorite character, Cynthia.

Lawn Gnomes: (Click for picture)
· Bed Shot while Brendon is talking to Melissa about boredom

Brendon’s Filmography:
· “Jazz Fighters” – A man getting a divorce from his wife (as well as being represented by his wife) gets mad when Richard (Jason) tries to get with her. After a sword battle, they have to resort to other methods of fighting. JAZZ FIGHTING!
· “Jazz Fighters 2” – Pretty much the same as the first one. Perhaps worse.

The Movie-Episode Connection:
· “Jazz Fighters” is so awful that it gives the trio the idea of taking a hiatus in the first place.
· I always thought it was appropriate that the trio came back to do the exact same thing they went on hiatus for in the first place.

Song Lyrics:
· Jazz Fighters Theme (Ski
Skip-dop-diddly-doddley dow!
Scop-skid-dip-a-zappidy-zo (And so on…)

· Crazy Legs #1
Well I found five bucks so I bought some fancy shoes
Gonna put on my feet put them to some good use
Well I’m 15 years old and I don’t like being told what to do
I got, two legs they’re crazy legs they’re very very leggy and they’re crazy legs I said..
Ooh! I got those crazy legs!
Woo-oo-oo-oo, I got those crazy legs!

· Crazy Legs #2 (Ballad)
Ooh! You’re such a pretty girl (yeah you are)
And you like to spin and a twirl
I said ooh; you’ve got those crazy legs
I said ooh; you’ve got those crazy legs…Guitar!

Random Observations & Facts:
· Brendon cuts off part of Jason’s Afro in “Jazz Fighters”.
· This is the first time Brendon has ever looked right into the camera (during “Jazz Fighters”).
· There appears to be a banana on Paula’s desk.
· In any scene between Brendon and Dwayne, the actor Brendon Small is talking to himself.
· As Brendon leaves the table to go outside, you can see he did successful cut his pants off.
· Hasta manana compadre = See you tomorrow,
· Scab’s playing of the opening of Home Movies is actually pretty in tune with the music.
· Paula’s shoe (from the shoebox) looks a lot like Dwayne’s shoes.
· Dwayne’s skull has a crack in it. Dwayne’s bones also bend (this is probably just to fit the animation style).
· The way Dwayne is sitting after he gets electrocuted the first time, it looks like his legs have melted. After Dwayne gets electrocuted the second time, it looks like his whole body has melted.
· After Brendon goes, “Dwayne I am so sorry”, Dwayne gives Brendon a thumbs-up sign.
· On Lynch’s Spanish board: Ir = Go, Taberna = Bar, El, La, Los, Las = The, Bano = Bathroom, Ayuda = Help, Comer = Eat, Si = Yes, No = No
· Pencils McGuirk has thrown at the ceiling gradually fall during the classroom scene.
· Tu eres el profesor de soccer actually should be Tu eres el profesor de futbol, since futbol in Spanish means soccer.
· Although Lindenson obviously drank most of the wine, Paula looks like she’s had a little herself.
· Lindenson has made a Gandhi-style sash using toilet paper, and also a toilet paper bandana.
· Jason’s face turns red when he says “No More!” to Walter & Perry.
· Paula is looking at the classified ads towards the end of the episode.
· In the recycling bin: “Wino”, “Grape Death”, and another one I can’t make out.
· This is the first time we see Lynch drunk.
· A drunken Lynch says (in Spanish) “My name is hotel.”
· As far as I could tell, there is no Josie in this episode.

End Credits: “Crazy Legs” (#1)

Reviews: WARNING: Spoilers

Spectre: A big improvement over last week, "Hiatus" was a pretty good HM episode. Greatest parts would have to be Paula's boss (once again), every Jazz part, Jason narrating his journal entry, Dwayne - him even speaking is freaking hilarious, everytime Brendon messed up at Dwayne's dance rehearsals, McGuirk at his Spanish lessons, the whole "Me - he - co" sequence, and even the ending was fairly good. I really enjoyed this episode. Although not as good as "Politics," it's at least the second best episode so far in this new season. Grade: A-

Randomguy: Wow. That was quite an episode. Better than Politics or Identifying a Body, I think. The intro (Let us Fight with Jazz!) was truly hilarious, and more or less let you know you were in for a good episode. Let's see.

Good Points:
-The whole Cancun subplot with Lynch and McGuirk was awesome. These two play really will off each other, and their interactions here were almost as funny as in Mortgages and Marbles (Not quite though)
-The Premise. After the so-so premise of Identifying a Body, this was a great idea for an episode. Just taking time to show the Home Movies cast sort of dawdling and doing nothing is really pretty clever.
-The Re-appearance of Dwayne. I was really waiting for him to come back in, and I have to say, I was not disappointed. His speaking voice is just perfect, and the new song was great too. I'd love to see a Home Movies soundtrack with all of Dwayne's songs.
-Jazz Film. I already mentioned it, but it was gut-bus tingly funny.
-Jason's diary entry was funny too. He wasn't in the episode a ton, but that was classic moment right there.
-Ending. Having Jason, Melissa, and Brendan come back from hiatus and realize they still suck was appropriate.

Bad things-
-Paula's boss. I realize some might like him, being an obvious Jerry Lewis homage, but me, I find him annoying and over-the top.
-Under usage of Melissa. Once again, I just think Melissa doesn't get the screen time she deserves. It's like she could be an interesting character, but they don't give her any real scenes of her own. At least the telephone call was something...

Overall, this episode was really great. A definite step in the right direction. Grade A. I urge you to catch it Thursday if you missed this run.

StrangerAtaru: There are those episodes where just, well, nearly everything works. "Hiatus" is just one of those shows where the magic of second season starts truely making itself present. It all opens with one of the worse movies that our trio of filmmakers have made, but of course this one has the now famous "Jazz Fight", which while we think is hilarious (including myself), adds to the crappiness quotient of the commentary. (Like Jason's comeback to Melissa: "It's an alternative to good") Thus leads to the kids going there seperate ways for once, with Melissa moping a lot (wish we saw more with her), Jason spending some time with Walter and Perry, and Brendon just getting into mischief until getting recruited to Dwayne's latest project. I love the little interchange between Brendon and Paula as the moping continues, showing how desperate she is to get him out of her hair. But then, the episode sort of slows down once we get to meet the infamous Cynthia. Personally, I don't hate her as much as some people (in fact she inspired one of my favorite HM scenes coming up soon), but the whole Brendon hitting on a girl making himself look stupid in the process just never works for me. (well, except the "looking stupid" part: the part where he electrocutes Dwayne is one of the best parts of the episode!) Meanwhile, Paula has to put up with another episode with Lindenson, which while similar to the previous episode in annoyance, at least appears better with the whole home sequence where he gets drunk. Then, of course, I've been saving the best part of the episode for last: McGurk and Lynch's Mexican expedition. This is one of those episodes where the chemistry of the two just works into overtime making one of the best interactions in the whole series. (it was rather simple: Lynch tries to get them prepared for the trip, McGurk just acts like himself) And who doesn't laugh when Lynch, the only Spanish speaker, gets drunk himself at the end? Overall, all this put together makes for one heck of an episode!

Superloud: I love this episode... Brendon electrocuting Dwayne, the jazz fight, the, uh, other jazz fight, the drunk Mr. Lindenson, McGuirk in the Spanish class, the drunk Mr. Lynch, donde esta the hotel that we were staying at! Who cares what everybody else says, this is one of my favorites.

Mynd Hed: The jazz battle really made this episode for me. The rest of the episode was good, although I thought Brandon's whole unrequited-love plot fell a little flat. McGuirk and Lynch were good, and I found Mr. Lindensen great as always (I swear I feel like I'm the only person in the world who likes this guy), but the jazz battle was GREAT.

"We'll have to continue this battle without weapons."
"You mean a battle of wits?"
"Close. We'll fight... with jazz!"

DrWeird: A good episode that could've been a classic.

First off, the opening movie was great. From the bad dialogue in the beginning to the Jazz Fighting itself to Melissa, Jason and Brendon complaining about it afterwards, everything worked.

The main premise in this episode was great, as well. However, I thought one of the problems in this one is that it got a little too Brendon-orientated. I know he's the main character and everything, but another Jason with Walter & Perry scene would've been great, as would seeing what Melissa did besides being bored. I just would've liked some equal time.

As for Brendon's hiatus antics, it was great. Brendon being bored at home was great (he actually does turn his pants into shorts if you look really closely), Dwayne was hilarious (as always), Brendon's interactions with Dwayne were great. It was all great except for one thing: Cynthia. Cynthia is my vote for least favorite character ever on the show. She had 1 good line in this episode (Did you just say, awesome?), and in this (and future episodes) she takes away from Dwayne's character and takes away from Brendon's character. I never liked Cynthia and never will.

As for the topic of Lindenson, I couldn't help but like him in this episode. Even when he was drunk. I'm sorry, but "Aren't you a fine young lady?" gets me every time, as does "That's your call!" Paula's storyline just seemed to be there so Lindenson could get involved, but Lindenson was funny, so I guess it evens out.

And finally, the best part of this episode (and one of the best McGuirk storylines the show has ever had) was McGuirk's trip to Mexico. Every scene Lynch & McGuirk had was great, whether it be dialogue humor (the first scene where McGuirk invites Lynch) a funny situation (Lynch teaches Spanish to a non-caring McGuirk) or just seeing Lynch drunk (Mexico). "Where's the hotel?!!" is a great line.

"Hiatus" was a basically strong episode that had some problems. I'll go with a B.

Positives: "Jazz Fighters", McGuirk & Lynch, Lindenson, Dwayne
Negatives: Cynthia, Lack of Jason & Melissa (both big negatives, BTW)