The Class: The Class Learns About Hurricanes

(S01E03) I saw a rough-cut version of this episode about a week ago; it was so rough that the video time stamp was sitting not only in the corner of the screen, but in the corner of the TV picture Kyle and Aaron were watching. But no matter; the jokes were the same. It's sort of ironic that, in this episode, the storyline that had the least amount of plot -- Kyle and Aaron watching Holly do one of those "poor schmuck reporter in a hurricane" reports -- had the most laughs. I mean, who didn't laugh when Holly got knocked cold by a stop sign?

Anyway, the rest of the episode shows that The Class is going in a funny direction. It also shows that it's willing to take some time and figure out which stories work and which don't.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the friendship between Kat and Ethan. Don't get me wrong; Lizzy Caplan is great as the snide Kat. I get the feeling the writers are throwing them together because they're the only ones who don't have some sort of strong connection to each other, whether it was old (Duncan and Nicole, Kyle and Holly) or new (Richie and Lina). They don't seem compatible, but they're moving towards something of an unlikely romance just because the writers can do it. Yes, Ethan wrote dirty notes to his former fiancee, which Kat liked. And I like how Kat tried to get Ethan to not be so nice to his ex, which he finally realized at the end ("This is for my lover," he says as he grabs a leather jacket that Kat liked from his ex. Kat kept telling the ex she was Ethan's lover when she showed up). So, maybe there's a bond forming. It just seems kind of forced right now.

Richie and Lina are sweet. He's just accident-and-suicide-prone. It was really funny at the start of the episode how, when he finds out Lina still likes him right after swallowing a bottle of pills, casually tells the 911 operator to take him to the same hospital where Lina is staying. But of course, he reveals info about her condition she didn't know, then loses her in the hurricane when he wheels her out of the hospital. All the while, though, Lina wants to stick it out with him. Awwww. The only thing that may mar this whole story is Heather Goldenhersh's weird speaking manner. Not sure if that's her or the character, but it may start to get to me after a while.

Oh, did I mention that Holly's gay-but-doesn't-know-it husband was nowhere to be seen? Maybe that's why I liked the story so much.

Finally, Duncan and Nicole. This is just a continuation of the previous week; Nicole tries to keep Duncan from accepting the job, but Yonk meets Dunc's ridiculously high quote. So he chooses a bucket of money and figures he can deal with being around his former flame. Of course, Nicole's not sure. But I can see where Duncan's coming from; he lives with his mother, for crissakes. Again, this is going to either be really funny or turn into Ross-and-Rachel-style wallowing, complete with furtive looks into the rain. If it goes to the latter, I hope they keep those scenes short.

Like I've been saying, the show is getting better. I was surprised at how many times I laughed out loud at this episode, which is a good sign. As everyone hits their groove, the show should get better. Let's just hope it gets a chance to do just that.