GROUND-TURKEY-HOG DAY

Tape: October 21, 2005
Air: November 18, 2005

Starring
Amanda Bynes (Holly Tyler)
Jennie Garth (Valerie Tyler)
Wesley Jonathan (Gary Thorpe) 
Leslie Grossman (Lauren)
Nick Zano (Vince)
Allison Munn (Tina Haven)

Special Guest Stars
Dan Cortese (Vic Meladeo)
Ed Kerr (Rick)

Co-Starring
Amanda Tosch (Bianca)
 (Auctioneer)

Written by
Caryn Lucas

Directed by
Steve Zuclerman

EPISODE SYNOPSIS

     Thanks to the WB's order cut, tonight's "What I Like About You" episode marks the exact halfway point of the season, and as in the previous year, showrunner Caryn Lucas takes the occasion of the winter hiatus to bring some type of sweeping changes to our character set, while reintroducing someone who has become a sort of nemesis for one of the characters. And the title of this year's Thanksgiving episode, "Ground-Turkey-Hog Day", signifies that things have changed quite a bit in a year for our main characters. It also signifies that there's no big turkey this year.

     Thanksgiving at the Tyler's loft is different this year for so many reasons. Unlike last year, when Rick's pre-nuptial infidelity was revealed, Val is now a married woman. Holly and Vince are in the midst of what may be a lasting relationship if they can only keep clean-shaven. And Lauren may be about to start one: her online poker guy wants to meet her in person on Thanksgiving day. As you all remember, he's a married fellow, and probably having to do a lot of dancing around to keep this a secret from his wife, Jul -- uh oh, getting ahead of ourselves there a little bit. Another big difference is that to save time, instead of one big turkey, Val has whipped up a nice feast of individually-sized squabs. While Val is cooking the birdlets, Vic comes down from upstairs and tells Val he's off to an bachelor auction which benefits St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Holly tells Vic there's one little hitch: he's married, and technically not auctionable. Vic then tells Holly "We're neither here nor there." Driving that point home as well is Tina, who trots into the loft carrying a "personal and confidential" envelope with the annulment papers inside. Wanting to make Val happy, Holly drags Val to the auction, where they make an aggregate bid of $223 and a lipstick for the date with Vic (which includes two uncooked turkeys). The girls seem to have it cinched, until a woman in the back bids $5000. It's Vic's old girlfriend Bianca (played with sexy swagger by Amanda Tosch). Holly then tries to set it up so that Thanksgiving can be maximized for Val. Holly coordinates the two daters by having them meet at the loft before their date, where Holly will make further maneuvers. 

     Gary then meets Holly, Vince and Tina in the line at the Little Pie Company, to pick up pies for that day's Thanksgiving feast. He tells the gang that Lauren has indeed agreed to meet her online poker guy. Nearer the head of the line, Lauren spots the man, holding a carnation as a cue sign. He reveals himself to be Rick (Ed Kerr), who is astonished that Lauren could be so sensitive and candid online. Something clicks, and the two begin making out in the line after being so chatty online -- as witnessed by Holly and her pals. 

     Returning to the loft, Holly gives each of her friends a task. Vince is supposed to keep Bianca and Vic apart so that Holly can steer Vic toward Val. Gary has to keep Lauren away from Val so that she doesn't tell Val her online poker guy is the man she was supposed to marry one year ago. And she tells Tina not to have sex with anyone. The maneuvers don't work as planned. Vince is seemingly so smitten with Bianca that he can't really intercede when Bianca and Vic are sharing stories from when they were dating. And Gary, who took great umbrage about Lauren even agreeing to meet her online poker guy, drops all sorts of snide hints about how low what she has done is, and what it could do to Val in the long run. It comes to a head for Gary, whose riding of Lauren is eventually overheard by Val. Gary wants Lauren to apologize, but after she says she's not sorry, Gary tells her that Val is a worthy woman "with a kind face", and that Val needs to know the truth. Lauren finally tells Val that she loves Rick. After Val leaves to think that one over, Holly tries to comfort her. Vic steps in and tells Holly, "I've got this. I'm her husband." That line takes Bianca out of the picture, with Vince eagerly offering to take her to the taxi stand and Holly just as eagerly reeling him back in.

     After dinner, Val won't speak, maybe only in shrugs, about her state. When Vic presses her about Rick, Val says that it's not so much about Rick, but about her. How breezy and fun Bianca was post-feast! Val secretly wants to be like that, and tells Vic so, but confesses she's too confused to act on those impulses. Vic isn't confused now. He plants an extremely hot kiss on Val, who reciprocates with one of her own. As those two start swapping spit, Holly and Vince walk in -- then step right out. Holly starts babbling about how her "breaking up her wedding" last year would now be likely forgotten, and Vince can only silence her by clamping his mouth over hers. To end the show, Vic promises to woo Val properly, though they're married, and that means he has to go back to the firehouse for that. And Val confirms that it's her best Thanksgiving ever.

     It is hard to top the wonderful sentiments and familial love expressed in the Season One entry "Thanksgiving" (written by ex-series scribe Kirker Butler), but Caryn Lucas has come darn close. The show has a bit of a different look than the previous Lucas-written entries, since her lead director, Shelley Jensen, is not present here. Steve Zuckerman more than ably fills in. As for the construction of the episode, Lucas follows up all the conflicts, big and small, of the previous year's Thanksgiving episode. They range from the wedding itself, doomed to failure by Rick's calling his ex-fiancee (now wife) Julie to try to get that started again, to the whipped-cream fight in Vince's old apartment causing Vince, still hot for Holly, to have sex with Tina, even down to minutiae like Lauren's eat-it-all-in-an-hour crash diet. Things follow a more logical conclusion and are perhaps a bit more thought out dramatically than they were at the season-opener, "I Want My Baby Back", with Lucas a little less set this time on making the series play out like "One Tree Hill". And there are two main themes now that Lucas and company can effectively carry over to the second half of the season: for one, the courtship of Vic and Val, Vic wanting to take it slower perhaps than Val. There could and should be more fallout from Lauren's tryst with Rick...how much does the obviously romantically confused Rick want to give the less-shrewish Lauren a shot? One possible side effect of this could be Bianca, who could still have some attraction to Vince and give Holly a rival of her own.

     All the performers play to their strengths tonight, given well-defined roles in the romantic game of chess by Lucas. Amanda Bynes (with hair nearly black this outing) is at her scheming best, with many funny and cute lines. She reminded us of the Holly of old tonight, and that's a nice reminder. Jennie Garth as Val played off her native nervousness, only to burn the doors off the show with some very sensuous kissing scenes. Wesley Jonathan seems to work well on this show as the conscience of others (with some of his dialogue and scenes more or less lifted from Season One's "The Party"), and his status as manager of Sugar Babies can give him more opportunities to wield his power. And Lucas' script turns Allison Munn's Tina into a one woman Greek chorus, bubbling over at the entrances of Lauren, Bianca and Rick at the feast with lines like "Let the games begin!" and "This is gonna be good!" Our adult corps makes an equally good showing, with Ed Kerr, always a pro, making a nice return visit. Dan Cortese proves why all the gals who work on this show admire him, with charms from inside and out (with a FDNY muscle tee and suspenders and carrying two turkeys at the bachelor auction).

     Repeats will more than likely rule the roost until January (starting with a repeat of this very episode next week -- how about that?), when WILAY begins the final leg of the 2005-2006 season with nine episodes which could be the final nine. With all the possibilities brought up by tonight's show, the ride should be good as each of the writing teams has at least one, maybe two more shots to hit it out of the park on this series.

SHOW NOTES

Chili's returned to the episode to throw support behind the WB's "Watch and Give" initiative. Chili's donated a buck to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital for every visit to thewb.com/chilis accompanied by the password "Watch and Give". After the episode Amanda Bynes and Nick Zano appeared in a promo describing the promotion. A 30-second PSA for the hospital also aired, featuring actors Morgan Freeman and Marlo Thomas, the daughter of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas. 

Amanda Tosch (Bianca) is the first actress named Amanda other than Bynes to appear on "What I Like About You".

From "What I Like About You" Fan Site at ABNOW! (http://www.amandabynesnow.com/wb/)