(S02E14) Well it took a little more than half the season for the new staff of producers and writers to turn around What About Brian, but it's finally reached that point. This is a whole new show now. The Marjorie story is done, and while I'm not discounting another potential return for Sarah Lancaster, I'm not sure what the point would be.

You have to look at this way. Would the series have really worked if Marjorie was just hanging around, constantly getting in the way of everyone's relationships? Don't forget -- I relentlessly lobbied for her return too. However, the more I think about, it would have gotten stale fast. Using Marjorie to help introduce everyone in the first season and help create the atmosphere was great. But if you look at the big picture, that was her only role. The characters, Adam and Brian especially, need to develop beyond that initial boundary.

Amongst the big changes was a shake-up in the opening credit sequence. Sarah Lancaster, as I mentioned, is gone. Bumped from recurring characters to full cast are Jason George (Jimmy) and Amanda Foreman (Ivy). That presence was noted immediately. I think the two of them had more to do in this episode than they have all season. Ivy had lines outside of her bar. My only gripe with that is that it seems like they were integrated perhaps a bit too fast. Thus far, they had only been seen as casual friends. Now they're full-blown BFFs with everyone.

The other cast addition? Jessica Szohr. Who's that? Brian's new downstairs neighbor, Laura. We can be certain of one thing. She's in the cast now and that probably means she'll be a love interest for someone. Most likely Brian, especially since he and Briget continue to go up and down in their relationship.

There was a lot that developed in this episode though. From Dave moving back in with Deena, to Adam's vow of celibacy, to Nic's crush on her Manny (Jamie), everyone is moving away from the character they were early on in the season. It feels good to see progress on this show.

Three other things I loved...

• All the One Day at a Time references. OK, so there weren't many, but it was hilarious that everyone kept calling Brian "Schneider" after he got the building manager's job.
• Ever since it came out on film, The Notebook has had this almost cult following among female viewers. This episode took full advantage of that. Really well played out and it was great how they gave it sort of the Top Gun treatment (everyone loves Top Gun) by getting Adam, Jimmy, and Dave into it as well.
• Stacy Keibler. Enough said.

So now we wait. Plenty is developing and we just get to watch and see what happens. Who's going to sleep with who? Will Adam make partner? What about Jimmy and Ivy... will they decide to have a baby? Will Brian's dad resurface? Lots of new questions and none of them involve Marjorie. I never thought I'd say it, but that's a good thing.