Episode
Reviewed: How to
Sink a Sub
(700)
Writer: Kathy Buchanan
Director: Bob Hoose
Sound Designer:
Nathan Jones
Music: John Campbell
Theme: Love always trusts
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:7
Original
Airdate: 12/03/11
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
When Katrina
becomes their substitute teacher, Jay and
Valerie rouse the class to revolt, even
persuading Olivia to help with a plan to get
Katrina fired.
The Review
A few months ago I watched Warrior, a
mixed-martial arts film featuring two protagonists destined to fight
each other at the end of the film. And when that moment finally arrives, as
they stand on opposite ends of the ring, you aren't sure whose side you're
on. Today's show, How to Sink
a Sub reminded me that film; the episode's two main characters, Katrina
Meltsner and Olivia Parker, are both sympathetic characters and, in their
own ways, both in the right, but must face each other on opposite ends of
the classroom.
At first, I found myself on Olivia Parker's side. All students have
experienced "bad" substitutes or teachers. Just a year ago, my new
literature professor gave me grades I didn't think I deserved. All my other
professors, in all my other classes, consistently gave me the same grade in
every literature essay I handed in to them. Not this one, however. Like
Olivia, I approached him and showed him how his grades were so different
from the other professors, but he wouldn't budge. It was frustrating.
Not only was Olivia's situation easy to identify with because I had a
similar experience, but because the students themselves were given
legitimate frustrations. Although Jay and Valerie complained simply because
they seemed to enjoy it, I rarely felt like the episode automatically made
the complaints of the students invalid simply because they were children and
Katrina was an adult. When writing this episode, it would have been easy to
have made the student's complaints unreasonable; however,
Buchanan ensures we notice how
detached and unfair Katrina is on her first day to help us empathize with
Olivia and the other students.
After all, how dare she, as a substitute, extend the length of Mrs. Gomez's
papers! How dare she make them submit "properly formatted reference page"!
How dare she give Olivia a lower grade on an assignment already graded by
Ms. Gomez. Five minutes into the episode, the listener is quickly on the
student's side, plotting with them, and yelling "this is unjust!".
And then the listener's perspective changes. Halfway through the episode, we
slowly begin to sympathize with Katrina. As she wins Olivia over, she wins
us over, too. Helping this transition are the quieter, domestic exchanges
between Eugene and Katrina interspersed throughout the classroom scenes.
Hearing them discuss the problem at school humanized her. What is also
unique about How to Sink a
Sub is the fact that Katrina usually plays second fiddle to Eugene
Meltsner's character...but not today. The roles have reversed. The less
Eugene hides Katrina away in his home like Mr. Rochester's hid his mad wife,
the better.
Including the strong addition of Principal Vogler and a significant
improvement on Olivia's personality, careful attention to character helped
to carry the episode just as much as the story did. Those who listened to
this episode on CD or Digital Download probably noticed a bonus feature in
which Bob Hoose directs
Rochelle Greenwood on how to
capture the right attitude and personality of Valerie. While I don't know
whether this episode was recorded before
Anger Mismanagement
or
You're Two Kind, she certainly
seems to have settled more comfortably into her role, staying away from the
cruel, "mean girl" stereotype. Jay, too, was noticeably at the top of his
game. The recurring joke that he really did know everything Katrina
taught despite his complaints was hysterical. He and Valerie make a strong,
antagonistic pair. However, this begs the question: what happened to Vance
King?
Some of my favorite episodes have taken place inside a classroom or
school-yard, such as Faster
Than a Speeding Ticket and
Another Man's Shoes.
Episodes such as these work so well because they focus on the injustices of
the student, exploring them without trivializing and diminishing the
seriousness of their situation. For this reason, I was amazed how involved I
was in How to Sink a Sub.
Its characters are well-utilized and fully realized, the story is
well-plotted and nicely paced. This may not be the show's 700th good
episode, but it is invariably a good 700th episode. This also is one of my
personal favorites since the hiatus and one of
Kathy Buchanan's best episodes to
date, too.
Rating
PS: There
were several references made to famous works of literature throughout this
episode: Robert Frost's poems, Moby Dick, Uncle Tom's Cabin, A Tale of Two
Cities. Just how many works of literature are these kids studying?
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