(S02E07) Leave it to Veronica, the master of manipulation, to use an employee's death to increase productivity. Actually, she was only following the company's orders, which were to keep everyone working 14-hour days until, like Jenkins, they all dropped dead. In defiance, Ted took his sleepy little daughter and walked out of the office to a thundering round of applause. It sure was nice of everyone to pause their clapping while little Rosie had a tinkle.

It's always great to see Ted sticking his neck out for the worker drones. He cares about the people in his department, and he usually does his best to help them out, especially when they're too stupid to help themselves. Ted's attempt to snap one drone out of the company's spell led to my favorite exchange of the night:

Ted: The company is exploiting Jenkins' death to make people work harder.

Drone: The company said that Jenkins said that some people would say that.

Linda's subplot was embarrassingly thin, but so what? It was funny. She spent the entire episode trying to stay "in the moment" by grabbing people's faces, soliciting sex from Ted and trying to sweep people's legs. We even got a reference to her cheesy Wisconsin roots. I hope that becomes a running gag, similar to Rose's St. Olaf stories on The Golden Girls.

I still don't get why Lem would ditch Phil to take smoke breaks with the "cool" accountant jerks. I guess Veridian is like one big giant high school, which naturally makes it even more evil.

This episode wasn't a homerun like last Friday's, but even mediocre Better Off Ted is better than most of the other comedies clogging up the tube these days (I'm looking at you, 'Til Death.)

No Veridian commercial again. I guess I can live with it. The show continues to be consistently witty, charming and very, very entertaining. It's too bad a third season seems about as likely as a lesbian love affair on The Bachelor. (Now ABC's marketing folks will never send me a copy of "Veronica in the Key of Love.")

Five – and only five! – quotes:

- All the hard work, late nights and no rest have paid off. We've cured sleeplessness. And demonstrated irony.

- If you feel yourself dying, well, tell your supervisor.

- Goodbye Jenkins, I hope you're throwing coffee at God right now.

- Just once I wish you would greet me with sparklers and cotton candy and tell me I have the number one album in America.

- Together we're like Gandhi. I'm skinny and you're tan.