Episode
Reviewed: Fast As I
Can
(671)
Writers: Marshal Younger, Paul McCusker
Director: Dave Arnold
Sound Designer:
Christopher Diehl
Music:
John Campbell
Theme: Fasting
Original
Airdate: 10/30/10
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
Wooton, Eugene, Connie, and Matthew try to
apply the discipline of fasting and, through their comedic antics, realize
that it's far more difficult than they imagined.
The Review
Think the "split-episode" format is dead? Nope.
Fast As I
Can is a split-episode "on steroids". How so? It
refuses to create a single storyline with a handful of characters but
chooses quantity over quality instead. Is it just me, or did
today's episode feel a little bit too cluttered? Each individual's fast felt
like it was fighting for time, and in the end, none were developed to their
full potential. "The more" often isn't "the merrier". Sometimes large
amounts of characters and plots can be weaved together well, and have even
become classics as a result (Do
Or Diet,
A Lamb's Tale)
but it doesn't always work. For instance, episodes such as
Buddy Guard,
Wooing Wooton,
Potential Possibilities
could have been much better if they hadn't had two competing storylines.
Thankfully, most of these post-hiatus episodes have concentrated on
carefully developing only one storyline per episode, with the occasional
sub-plot that compliments, instead of takes away from, the larger story.
I felt
Fast As I
Can was the result of Marshal Younger not being
able to decide between a number of good ideas brought up in a writer's
brainstorming session. It was as if the writers compiled several different
fasting scenarios with different characters and, in the end, Marshall simply
decided to combine every idea into one episode, giving time for only one or
two scenes per character. It's a shame, since some of the different fasts
the character's attempt could have been good ideas for full length episodes
simply on their own; after all, both Connie's obsession with makeup and
Matthew's obsession with computers reflect two of the biggest problems with
North American youth. Would it have been better if the episode had focused
on fewer characters? I honestly don't know, but the episode struck me as a
tad bit too messy. You'll find out why...
Because of the need to "cram" so much into 25 minutes, the main message or
theme was negatively affected. Essentially, this episode wasted away so many
opportunities to say something meaningful and was obviously trying to be a
light-hearted and entertaining episode instead. First, Whit begins and ends
the episode referencing John the Baptist, Jesus, and Moses, who all fasted
in order to deny the body "something it enjoys so that it can concentrate on
something spiritual, like our relationship with God". Now, how on earth did
we go from Mr. Whittaker's clear definition of fasting to the whole mess
that ensued? The characters in today's show spent remarkably little time
focusing on spending time with God but only seemed focused on overcoming
their temptations. Now, I'm not quite sure whether the writers were
presenting the character's "fasts" themselves as the model for good fasting
or whether they were deliberately presenting their experiences as a guide to
"how not to fast". I'm assuming the answer is...partially both. Some of you
may say, "Well, that was the point of their individual journeys--for
Wooton, Connie, Eugene and Matthew to learn from their fasts". And, yes,
that's true. But what lessons did they learn?
Although Whit makes it clear that he is fasting from newspapers in order to
raise "awareness" and to "have the conversations like this with the kids",
"fasting" didn't seem like the topic for this show. If everyone is fasting
to raise awareness, then fasting doesn't strike me as very important, does
it? Rather, aside from a few scattered references, the episode had very
little to do with the showing the need for prayer and spending time with
God. That, I thought, was the point that the episode was wanting to
get across...but didn't. While Whit and Chris (and Wooton at one point)
mention what the Bible has to say about the importance of fasting throughout
the show (Chris explains to be the purpose of fasting: "getting rid of the
chaos and clutter"), there was scarcely enough shown in the story lines
themselves that recognized the second half of this particular theme:
"for prayer and bible study [...] [to] focus on Him alone".
At the very end of the episode, when Whit brings the gang upstairs to view
the new displays, I was hoping that he would clear everything up and explain
what fasting is really about. As shown through Connie, is it about spending
less time focused on oneself? And as shown through Wooton and Matthew, is it
about spending more time focusing on others? As an eight year old (I'm not
one, but let's pretend I am for a minute), I'm not sure what fasting is
about! Why? Because Wooton's DUCK needlessly interrupted the chance to bring
the episode to a nice, smooth and thought-provoking ending. By no means did
I want to have a
Hallowed Be Thy Name
type of episode, where Whit and Connie sit together at in front of the
"BEAVERS" program and provide listeners with a 25 minute scholarly lecture
about biblical interpretations of fasting--until our our brains melted. But
for a show whose main intention was to explain how fasting worked, it seemed
like it needed some character saying one or two extra sentences at the end
to explain the full message. Essentially, this episode reminded me of a bad
essay, where the student ends up proving half his main thesis. Marshall
Younger made up a clear thesis at the beginning (Whit's opening talk about
fasting) and even had a nice conclusion at the end (Chris's wrap-up), but
the argument in between didn't seem to show enough evidence of either the
thesis or the conclusion.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how many fans have been concerned about
this same issue. It reassures me to know that it isn't just me
thinking these things. Mind you, I'm not totally convinced myself whether
this episode does a good job or not at showing the true meaning of
"fasting". But, for one reason or another, other people have had similar
reactions and opinions, and they've
provided better examples over at The Town of Odyssey. That means there
must be some truth to it, right? Check out what they have to say!
Moving on...(finally)
Ignoring the fact that they are still dishing out ice-cream and haven't
progressed beyond the walls of Whit's End in over twenty-years, for the
first time in a long while, I thought Connie and Eugene had the show's most
memorable moments. Specifically, I thought Eugene's fast from more than
two-syllable words to be the most entertaining storyline; it ranks up there
with other humorous Eugene-related moments: his over-competitiveness with
Bernard in
Poor Loser,
or his hidden shame for not being a valedictorian in
The Graduate.
Those older episodes portrayed Eugene's intelligence as less of a gift but a
curse...to himself and those around him. On the other hand, newer episodes,
thankfully, show a much more adjusted Eugene who uses his intelligence for
more positive results. For instance, more recently, Eugene helped solve
mysteries in The Mystery of
the Clock Tower, helped explain abstract concepts in
Wooton's Broken Pencil Show,
or teach guitar in
Finish What You...
This change to his character makes sense; after having been around for so
long, placing Eugene into situations that would perpetuate the portrayal of
his intelligence as a burden or for solely humorous purposes would be
counterproductive to his character...and boring too. In other words, while
I'm glad Eugene has been humanized in recent years, it is nice to
occasionally hear him run into new situations that challenge the very part
of his character that made him so endearing to us.
I mentioned Connie, earlier. She too was a highlight of the show. And while
I don't usually enjoy "ditsy" Connie, I did find her fast from "makeup" very
amusing and thought Katie Leigh performed well with the supporting role she
was was given.
In comparison, Wooton and Matthew story lines were much less interesting.
Wooton's personal fast felt rehashed from
Do Or Diet
and therefore, did not seem as original as the other story lines did. And
while Matthew's scene in the imagination station was a brilliant one, I felt
Marshall Younger did not know what else to do to with Matthew's storyline,
simply shrugged his shoulders and said to himself "Yup, that's all I got".
Matthew's obsession with technology and his desire to abstain from it, might
have made a great episode all by itself. And if you count
My Girl Hallie,
Idol Minds,
Gloobers
or Barrett's subplot in next week's
Opposite Day as episodes
that remind listeners to abstain from becoming too involved with technology,
then Matthew's own storyline, I suppose, could be considered "rehashed" too.
Was this episode especially insightful? Not really. Was it inspirational?
Sure. After listening to this episode, I was inspired to abstain from
logging into Facebook for a week. Yes, I failed. In my defense, I realized I
needed to reply to a few messages. Regardless, I both admire and appreciate
this episode for focusing on characters who would follow through with their
"fasts" at all costs, and in Eugene's case, no matter how ridiculous the
results may be. And though the episode didn't do a very great job teaching
kids about the need to strive for tranquility, peace, and prayer, it does a
terrific job portraying the other side of fasting: perseverance.
Fast As I
Can is a fun and entertaining theme-focused
episode, albeit an uneven one, that contains enough "highs" than "lows" to
keep listeners pleased with yet another entry in this season.
Rating
More Information
Back to Reviews
