Today on Non Sequitir Time's Gadget Corner, Tim and Al are looking at a new contraption called Suck-A-Bug, which is a combination fly swatter/vacuum cleaner. It sucks the bugs right out of the air. How much would you pay? Fifty cents. At home, Tim is gearing up for the big poker party that night with Harry, Benny, Al and Marty, while Jill is heading off to her book discussion group. It sounds innocent until Tim finds out the Chris that's coming to pick her up is not a woman, but a man. Tim tries to reason that it's no big deal, but Marty and Harry think Jill is actually going out on a date with this guy, and they even recall the events from "Satellite on a Hot Tim's Roof." Remember, that Rondo guy was hitting on her right in the house? Anyway, all Tim wanted to do was play cards, but Benny and Harry just wouldn't let the issue go. Trying to make Tim think his wife is running around on him. Sure enough, several hours later, when only Tim is left in the game, Jill comes home. She acknowledges her tardiness, saying she and Chris spent the time talking. She swears it was completely innocent, but Tim isn't so sure. Even a talk with Wilson fails to completely lift his suspicions, so Tim decides to employ a little "if you can't beat'em, join'em." Before picking up Randy after hockey practice, Tim went and bought the book Jill and Chris are reading, Madame Bovary. He probably just got the cliff notes, right? Nope, book on tape.
Tim blows off his poker game in lieu of joining the book discussion group that would be held at the Taylors' house. Despite Jill's objections, the rest of the group invites Tim to join right in. He starts by insisting they fast forward to chapter 10 and talks about an unsung hero of the book: the handyman. After all, had he not set up the chairs, Madame Bovary wouldn't have had a place to sit at the fair. Then he says the real hero of the story was the husband, because he was the only one who had the right to go anywhere near "Madame's ovaries." Needless to say, the meeting became very awkward after that. So when the discussion ends, Jill tries again to reassure Tim that there was nothing between her and Chris, and that his participation in the discussion was pointless. Tim persists, having actually convinced himself that Chris may actually be her soul-mate, as they both have more in common. Turns out, similar interests alone do not a soul-mate make. As you may have guessed, Tim worried all for nothing, Jill appreciates the gesture, and things were the same as they always were. Tim makes up for his missed poker night by playing against the boys...and winning. Then Randy employs Tim's strategy of listening to a book on tape by deciding to listen to A Tale of Two Cities as opposed to reading about it. Unfortunately, Jill was way ahead of him.
This one was pretty good, even though it isn't very memorable and the plot isn't interesting. It was an interesting concept getting Tim to read a romance novel and join a book club. It just shows how far he'll go to make sure his marriage stays strong. It seems sitcoms always do an episode where spouses suspect one another of looking at another guy, and those episodes are always lackluster and threadbare, because we KNOW neither husband or wife would ever be with another. I guess they mandate these types of episodes because real life couples can relate. Maybe we sort of worried about the characters when this cliché was brand new, but we've seen it so many times now that we know it's just that: a cliché, and nothing will come of it. So while Her Cheatin' Mind isn't very funny or very memorable, it's still an alright episode to see. And if you've ever wondered what Madame Bovary is about, this episode will... keep you wondering.
Tim blows off his poker game in lieu of joining the book discussion group that would be held at the Taylors' house. Despite Jill's objections, the rest of the group invites Tim to join right in. He starts by insisting they fast forward to chapter 10 and talks about an unsung hero of the book: the handyman. After all, had he not set up the chairs, Madame Bovary wouldn't have had a place to sit at the fair. Then he says the real hero of the story was the husband, because he was the only one who had the right to go anywhere near "Madame's ovaries." Needless to say, the meeting became very awkward after that. So when the discussion ends, Jill tries again to reassure Tim that there was nothing between her and Chris, and that his participation in the discussion was pointless. Tim persists, having actually convinced himself that Chris may actually be her soul-mate, as they both have more in common. Turns out, similar interests alone do not a soul-mate make. As you may have guessed, Tim worried all for nothing, Jill appreciates the gesture, and things were the same as they always were. Tim makes up for his missed poker night by playing against the boys...and winning. Then Randy employs Tim's strategy of listening to a book on tape by deciding to listen to A Tale of Two Cities as opposed to reading about it. Unfortunately, Jill was way ahead of him.
This one was pretty good, even though it isn't very memorable and the plot isn't interesting. It was an interesting concept getting Tim to read a romance novel and join a book club. It just shows how far he'll go to make sure his marriage stays strong. It seems sitcoms always do an episode where spouses suspect one another of looking at another guy, and those episodes are always lackluster and threadbare, because we KNOW neither husband or wife would ever be with another. I guess they mandate these types of episodes because real life couples can relate. Maybe we sort of worried about the characters when this cliché was brand new, but we've seen it so many times now that we know it's just that: a cliché, and nothing will come of it. So while Her Cheatin' Mind isn't very funny or very memorable, it's still an alright episode to see. And if you've ever wondered what Madame Bovary is about, this episode will... keep you wondering.
