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 Episode
Reviewed:
Groundhog Jay
(723)
Writers: Bob Hoose,
Dave Arnold
Director: Dave Arnold
Sound Designer:
GAP Digital
Music: John Campbell
Theme: Responsibility
Scripture: Proverbs 20:11
Original
Airdate: 12/01/12
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
After Jay pushes
Priscilla into an unexpected trip in the Room of
Consequence, the two of them experience the same
event over and over again.
The Review
 The
kids have carried this season. Although last season we mostly followed
the escapades of Jason, Eugene, Katrina and Sergeant York, this season's
most interesting characters have been Matthew Parker (The
Perfect Church), Emily Jones, (Great
Expectations) and Barrett Jones (For
Three Dollars More). Once again these kids have been given smart,
relatable issues to deal with―not the sort
of insignificant problems they had back in
Take it from the Top. With Jay
Smouse now at the helm,
Groundhog Jay concludes the season's run of leading, full-fledged
child protagonists.
Thinking back, a more appropriate title for this episode would have been
"Smouse Code". If
The Eternal Birthday
was a knock-off of the 1993 film "Groundhog Day", then I'd say
Groundhog Jay more
closely resembles the 2011 film "Source Code". Much like today's
episode, "Source Code" tells the story of a man forced to relive the
same period of time over and over again while solving a mystery. Jay
steps into Jake Gyllenhaal's shoes, wondering what this time-loop means
for him. If I hadn't seen that movie before, I might have thought the
idea of turning the "Groundhog Day" concept into a mystery was absolute
genius. That said, seeing "Source Code" beforehand did not prevent me
from appreciating the episode's strengths.
One of the things that made
Groundhog Jay feel
fresh was finding out that the mystery Jay Smouse had to solve was one
in which he initially caused. If you think about it, there's plenty of
logistical issues the writers had to figure out to make that work; for
instance: how much of the action should take place before the actual
episode, and how much should the listener know before Jay enters the
Room of Consequence? How on earth do we get Priscilla―a
character solely needed for Jay to communicate his thoughts to―to
enter the Room of Consequence with him? What sort of "crime" does Jay
commit, and how do we prevent characters like Harry from coming out and
telling Jay outright what he did? From deciding that Harry thinks that
Jay is Barrett the whole time, to deciding Jay that believes Barrett
programmed the show for himself, there were so many details that they
had to get right during the script-writing process. Though, in the end,
the entire set-up and overall structure was very well done.
That said, I sometimes wish these high-concept episodes had matching
high-concept stories. It wasn't until a few hours later that I wondered
whether they could have created a larger pay-off than simply Jay
stealing a bike. Don't get me wrong, I liked the ending, and I enjoyed
it when Jay decided to set things straight with Harry; however, in same
way the neat concept in
Someone to Watch Over Me
matched the severity of Jimmy Barclay's situation, I wondered if the
crime committed by the protagonist in
Groundhog Jay should
have felt bigger. I feel like complex, high-concept projects like
this one automatically warrant a story with greater importance and/or
significance.
The greedy overly-critical side of me felt like the writers were
practicing restraint. For one thing, I wondered whether they could have
made this episode into a two-parter. The fun of the "Groundhog Day" and
"Source Code" concept lies in witnessing the character reliving the same
event over again, making different decisions, and interacting with
people differently, either changing or repeating the outcome each time.
Here, the only experience that Barrett was re-living was the birthday
party―a nod to
The Eternal Birthday,
it seems―and the arrival of the bully. That
was it. For an episode which claims such strong ties to "Groundhog Day",
the concept is used preciously little. In fact, it's almost abandoned at
the halfway mark. A two-parter might have allowed the episode to have
more fun with it.
Another concern―and one I discussed in my
review of For Three
Dollars More―is how Barrett Jones was
able to orchestrate this whole mess. In other high-concept episodes such
as
Gloobers,
Hindsight,
and
Another Man's Shoes,
I bought that Whit and Eugene took the time to program complex
adventures in order to help kids learn valuable lessons. Can I really
buy that Barrett was even partially behind the idea of creating this
elaborate Room of Consequence adventure? Not really. Furthermore, I
think there's also a danger in taking away "powers" of characters such
as Whit and Eugene. Is Bruce Wayne really needed to save Gotham if all
his tools/weapons are given to the boy wonder, Robin? Likewise, aren't
we taking something taken away from the roles of Whit and Eugene if some
12 year old kid can suddenly program machines and teach other kids
lessons? Yeah, I think so.
It's much easier to point out an episode's flaws, but what's certain to
me is that Groundhog Jay
is a courageous effort. This is a fun and engaging little episode. And
while it doesn't quite embrace its concept as much as it could have, I
found myself pulled in by its inventive story and humor.
Rating
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