Last week, I tried to convince people that I enjoy this show and that I am recapping it for more reasons than wanting to use 5000 words to make fun of it for not being a good crime drama. I still say that if the writers are trying to play that game, they should at least pretend to have researched what they are writing about. But we are past that now, and I'll try not to obsess about it for the next nine months.

We start the episode with our usual breakfast banter, which we missed last week when Ryan was having flashbacks to the shooting. If there is any single reason why these three guys need Kirsten back in the house, it's that without her, they have turned into complete slobs. I haven't made my bed since I moved out of my parents' house, so I know the feeling. Some call it laziness, but I like to call it my attempt to challenge the traditional social constructs that suffocate western society. Look, I see no reason to make my bed. I am going to toss around the covers during the night anyway, and I'll probably eat just as many spiders in my sleep either way, so why bother, really?

Without Kirsten, these guys have apparently forgotten how they are supposed to take care of themselves. And I am not talking difficult things that require some physical labor like scrubbing your bathtub. I'm talking the most basic of the basic, like throwing away food that is old and has gone unused. You know, stuff like trashing pizza boxes and getting rid of milk that is four weeks past its expiration date. When I saw how messy the kitchen was, I thought to myself "you know, it wasn't messy last week, what's going on?" I then checked the previous episode on the Tivo and, sure enough, there were pizza boxes laying around in the kitchen last episode. Bravo! I make fun of the show enough for breaks in continuity, so I am more than happy to say I was wrong this time. It doesn't explain why they are the only people in Newport who don't have a maid to clean up and make quesadillas, but I forgive them. In fact, we never see domestic help outside of the people who Marissa sleeps with, so I can see why they decided not to add a whole bunch to start the third season.

There are a lot bigger things to worry about, like school. When the four kids are in the diner, eating their last breakfast before they are big bad seniors, Summer mentions that it is their last chance to make something great. As she says, nobody is in juvey or in a jump suit, so that is a success. While it is true that none of them were institutionalized for anything, whether it be violent crime, alcohol or drugs, it may be a little too soon to buy tickets for the prom. Before Ryan and Seth had gone off to school, Julie Cooper showed up at the Cohen's house and let Sandy know about a little bit of a petition that was going around, with "little" meaning more than 1000 signatures. It looks like some people were really concerned about their kids being influenced by sex and violence. They confiscated all of the copies of San Andreas and now they want to keep Marissa and Ryan out of school.

Julie and Sandy aren't about to let that happen, so they talk to the principal of the school, Dr. Kim. Whenever I see her, I always think of that crazy Chinese restaurant she runs that has the fortune cookies that causes mother and daughter to switch bodies until they reach a life-altering epiphany about just how difficult it is to live like the other. I am not sure what sort of dessert you give when you are trying to rescue troubled teenagers, maybe some orange wedges or fried green tea ice cream? Whatever it is, Dr. Kim doesn't have a chance to work her magic. She wasn't the one trying to keep Marissa and Ryan out of school, it was the school board, and they were taking the recommendation of the new Dean of Discipline, which is the fanciest name for truancy officer that I have ever come across.

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Posted by J-Unit on September 16, 2005 2:12 AM