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'Big Shots': Wedding bell blues
Why, hello there Big Shots. It's been ages! Let's take a moment to get reacquainted, shall we?
When we last saw our favorite Desperate Businessmen: James was all set to reveal his feelings to Katie when she broke the news that she's back with Oliver the Married Jerkface; Duncan slugged mortal enemy Terrence and pleadingly asked/told Lizzie not to marry him at her lavish birthday party; Terrance, on the precipice of Lizzie breaking up with him, said he'd make amends for leaking the Prostitute story by combining his quietly obtained shares of Reveal with hers to get Duncan his job back if she'd still marry him (which he did so we all know what her answer was); Cam discovered Zack really isn't her half-brother but, before she can let anyone know, she got trapped in her car which won't start with Zack standing next to the window asking her to get out; I don't remember what Karl was doing and frankly I don't care; and Brody, again, didn't have enough to do.
A lot happened this week so bear with me. This might take awhile. Behold the spoilers!
Duncan & Lizzie & Cameron & Zack
We start off with Zack as he pleads with Cameron to give him a chance to explain himself face to face. Understandably suspiscious, she agrees to giving him the requested ten minutes...with a can of mace in hand. Smart girl. Zack, apparently, has had a rough life (though we've yet to hear of any stories) and he really did think that Duncan was his father. When the DNA tests were returned negative, he paid the lab technician to fake the results. He didn't do it for the money or anything, he just liked having a dad. Single tear. Cam, feeling some sympathy, tells Zack that he has until tomorrow morning to come clean with Duncan or else she'll have to do it. Meanwhile, Duncan visits Lizzie at her house as she talks to a florist about the floral arrangements for her wedding to give her a present - a little ceramic lilly pot that she loves - and ask why he wasn't invited to the wedding. After assuring her he won't be any trouble and only wants her to be happy, he's invited.
Next on his to-do list is stealing a Japanese supermodel named Riko Mara from a rival company to be Reveal's newest spokesmodel. This will allow them to break into the Asian market and truly be worldwide. Duncan meets Riko and her manager as they're walking to their limo with the driver. Bluffing his way into the car, Duncan begins his sell on the way to the city but the manager isn't translating. As they drive, Duncan notices her eyes light up when they pass Yankee Stadium (and that she asked her manager something which was denied) and he continues his spiel. When he says he's from Reveal, they leave him on they side of the freeway. Nice. Duncan makes it back to the office a bit bedraggled but still focused. He calls Brody to track down where Riko will be having lunch with the rival company and Cam comes in. She asks if Duncan's talked to Zack yet but no, he hasn't. So she takes it upon herself to not-so-gently break the news. To say he is unhappy would be an understatement (royally pissed is more accurate), but the show must go on.
He crashes Riko's business lunch and, apologizing to Larry the Rival Exec, asks the translater to tell Riko that he's schedule a tour of Yankee Stadium. Both Larry and the manager tell the translator not to while Duncan says to do it and back and forth they go until Duncan also mentions he got Hideo Matsuki to be the personal tourguide. Riko, to everyone's surprise, agrees to go...in English. Some time later, Duncan interupts a meeting to introduce Riko to everyone. When he brings up the Board of Directors, someone breaks it to him that two members have been bought out, the rumor being by Terrence. The news is a total buzzkill. After getting one of the ladies to show Riko to the Observation Deck, Duncan closes the door and goes a little ballistic. It doesn't help that Zack picks this time to show up. Duncan yells at him and tells him to get out. When Zack asks for a chance to explain, Duncan threatens to call security.
That night, Lizzie sits in a chair and stares at the ceramic lilies somewhat sadly. She hides it well when Terrence walks in on his way to his bachelor party. He eyes the ceramic bauble suspiciously on his way out the door and, as he drives off in his car, we see Zack in another car begin to follow.
The next day, Duncan is on the phone with Cam who is helping get everything ready. He's having second thoughts about attending but she refuses to have to endure the wedding alone. She also adds that she's not sure Lizzie knows what she wants since two days prior she was ready to call off the wedding. Hmmm...isn't that when Duncan got his job back? As he's putting two and two together, there's a knock at the door - it's Zack. Cam tells Duncan to have mercy on the poor boy before she hangs up. Zack looks like a slice of hell, disheveled and beaten about the face. He followed Terrence to the strip club where the bachelor party was and managed to snap some pictures of the groom and an overly friendly performer, his cuts and bruises courtesy of the bouncers that noticed the amutuer photography. Zack came to give Duncan the photos to help him stop the wedding. Having a small moment of empathy, Duncan offers him $1,000 as part of the inheirtance that never was. Zack doesn't want the money but Duncan insists and then promptly kicks him out, telling him to start a new life elsewhere. Zack reluctantly takes the money and leaves, looking like Duncan just run over his dog, kicked him in the balls, pointed and laughed, and drove away.
Duncan arrives at the wedding site and visits Lizzie. He brings up the while job/marriage connection but she sidesteps it and says that everyone may not be getting what they want, but they're getting what they need. Even though Duncan doesn't want her to go through with it, he decides against showing her the pictures and leaves. The wedding goes trhough as planned. At the reception, Duncan comes by to congratualate them, telling Terrence that being his subordinate just isn't going to work and that he's going to resign the next day. Terrence tells Duncan not to be silly and that he should stop thinking that every move that's made is against him. Duncan agrees to stay on, though I'm pretty sure he's doing it more for Lizzie sake than anything else. And as if the day couldn't get worse, he comes back to his apartment to find an open door, some knocked over furniture, and an unconcious Zack dressed in a tuxedo clutching an empty bottle of pills.
James & Katie
James runs into Oliver the Cheating Jerkface on the street and make amends with him since he's with Katie again. Only when James remarks that he's sorry that work has been taking up so much of her time, Oliver reveals that Katie broke up with him weeks ago - meaning Katie lied. At work, James mans up and asks Katie to be his date to Lizzie's wedding - a "date" date - and drops his knowledge about her lying about being back with the Cheating Jerkface. When she tries to throw the "it was like kissing my brother" line, he slaps that down too. She finally says that they've been friends so long that she doesn't want to jeopardize it and walks out before he can respond.
Later, James catches her in the hallway and gives her another big account to work on...and a cd mixtape entitled "Songs for Katie." How much do I want to squeeze Michael Vartan right now? Katie must be thinking the same thing as she put the cd into her computer and, with her headphones on and the first track playing, gazes into the hallway at James with a little smile on her face. She listens to it throughout the day and, while standing in the back of a crowded elevator, she looks at James contemplatingly with a much bigger smile. The next day she goes into James' office and gives him the cd back. When he aks what she thought, she confesses that it was a lot to take in. He's happy she agrees with him and says he knew the ad didn't need any music. Huh? Well, that mixtape was really potential songs for a photo-related ad they're doing. Oops. Katie manages to play off her shock pretty well and leaves.
At Lizzie's wedding, James is about to take off before the reception...until Duncan alerts him to Katie presence. She's changed her mind about the whole brother thing and we last see them slow dancing. Katie begins to say something, but then stops herself and James tells her he's glad she came too. Nia
Long did excellent work in this episode, as always. She and Michael Vartan work really well together.
Brody
Holy crap, Brody gets a centralized plot! It's a Festivus miracle! It's Brody and Jenelle's anniversary and, as a present, he's promised to make sure the contractor finishes the renovations to their kitchen. On his way to the house to check on things, he stops to help a pretty, sarcastic girl stranded on the side of the road...who just happens to be Charisma Carpenter, or Heather as her name is here. He fixes her tire and they flirt through witty banter. She asks him out and he turns her down, stating that he's involved and flashing his wedding band. She's doesn't mind so much as she's seeing someone too. But, being the good guy he is, he still says no.
He did, however, give her his business card early on to assure Heather that he wasn't a crazy killer so when she text messages him to meet for lunch, Brody agrees (he just got off the phone with Jenelle and she was being particularly bitchy). At the restuarant, she asks him why he decided to show up. When he says it's because a guy's gotta eat, Heather sighs and says that she'll go first and then maybe he'll catch on. She explains that she feels like she's competing for the attention of her man with his friends and the fact that he's always on the go. It makes her feel lonely and she doesn't like the person she becomes in response to it. Brody confesses that he loves his wife and has never given her any reason to think he'd be unfaithful, yet she still insists on constantly calling him and knowing where he is every second of the day. While he's at the end of his rope, it's still long enough for him to pull his hand away when she places her hand on top of it. On the way out of the resturuant, Heather throws herself at him again but Brody doesn't bite. She tells him to get in touch if he changes his mind, kissing him before she leaves (he just stood there, surprised).
The next day, he has another terrible fight with Jenelle and breaks down and texts Heather that he's ready to meet. He arrives at her hotel room and she pulls him inside. Surely he doesn't go through with it. I mean...this is Brody. He's so much smarter than that, right? Wrong. He slept with her. He slept with her! AND he tells her that he loves her. Wtf? Heather laughs and says he must be begging for her to end it, and he is. He says he wants his wife back. Heather smiles...because Heather is really Jenelle. This was a whole elaborate fantasy scenario for their anniversary. Whew! I have to give it up to the writers and Christopher Titus and Charisma Carpenter. They totally had me going on this one. When I rewound and watched their scenes again, some things that were slightly odd to me totally made sense (like how his phone had the same personalized ring when Jenelle and "Heather" called/texted). Seriously, snaps to all involved. They had me snookered.
Karl
With the ex-mistress and wife off at the ex-mistress' high school reunion, Karl gets a week all by himself. And we get an episode in which he's in only two scenes. Awesome. It's not that I'm against the character altogether, it's that I'm against his tired storyline.
Quotes of the Night:
- "Ten minutes...otherwise you and I are going to christen my can of Manhattan girl mace." - Cam stating the consequences of trying anything funny before stepping out of the car
- "More like a 'I'll always love you even though you're marrying someone else but look what a good guy I am' gift." - Duncan to Lizzie when asked if his present to her was a wedding gift
- "You really should listen to me once in awhile. This guy doesn't even speak Japanese and he figured it out." - Riko Mara to her manager before leaving the lunch meeting with Duncan
So, are we all happy to have the Big Shots back? For a show I was sure I was going to hate, I've grown surprisingly fond of it. How long until Lizzie's marriage to Terrence implodes? Will Duncan ever show her the photos...or will he use them for something far more sinister? Did anyone miss Karl? How do we feel about Katie and James going full speed ahead? Do you think they really killed off Zack? Did I miss your favorite scene or quote?
Thanks for the recap, Tamara. I didn't even know that ABC was going to put this show on last night, and I missed the first 10 minutes or so. Hope ABC has the guts to at least show the remaining episodes that were filmed before the strike. Sure beats all the reality crap that's on tv right now.
This show is like a little guilty pleasure for me. I know I shouldn't like it or watch it, but I just can't help myself. I blame it all on Dylan McDermott.
I was completely snookered too regarding the whole Jenelle/Heather thing. Kudos to the writers for that one! I'd like to rewatch those scenes again like you did, but since I didn't know the show was on to begin with, I didn't tape it. Oh well. And I refuse to watch any show online until the strike is settled.
And, frankly, the whole Karl storyline can/should be dropped. I find it ridiculous. Surely they can find something else for this guy to do.
Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure they didn't kill off Zach. Rather, since he is now no longer Cam's brother, that leaves him wide open to be her boyfriend later on.
Linda | Jan 11, 2008 5:00:10 AM | #I really enjoyed the episode and I too had to rewind the parts with Brody after the then unseen Janelle reveal. I am glad they did not leave her unseen, like Maris on Frasier, and now maybe Christoper Tytus can have more to do than act PWhipped.
Was anyone else surprised that Big Shots was on all of the year-end worst show lists??
Don | Jan 11, 2008 8:20:47 AM | #when did this show become entertaining? i was ready to be done with it, but last nights show was really good! loved the janelle/heather story......
lish | Jan 11, 2008 10:01:02 AM | #you had me at..Charisma Carpenter.
sanya | Jan 11, 2008 10:10:56 AM | #i loved the jenelle/heather plot too. i also was surprised when heather turned out to be jenelle. it was awesome though.
cady | Jan 11, 2008 10:44:53 AM | #Slightly cheesy though it was, I think my favourite moment of the night was when Duncan said to Cam: "I love your mom, but you're the love of my life." So cute!
AA | Jan 11, 2008 10:58:00 AM | #Does anyone know what song/artist Katie was first listening too when she got the CD?? I think I love that song :)
Sara | Jan 11, 2008 11:04:51 AM | #LOved your recap!! Festivus Miracle! Hysterical! I was also very happy that they gave Brody (and love his wife) a real storyline.
I really enjoyed last night's episode, and i hope they keep this one rolling for awhile....it really is mindless entertainment, and I personally love looking at Brody, James and DUncan!! MMMM :-)
Loved James and Katie but I always do. Loved their scenes. I agree with Tamara about Nia's performance last night. It seemed to be from Katie's pov of where things can go for the pairing. Katie imo is bring realistic in her concerns of taking her and James' relationship to another level. But I still love this pairing and hope they have a great future. Michael and Nia have a comfortable acting flow and chemistry and it's nice to watch. They are my fave actors/chracters on the show.
Loved Duncan calling Cam the love of his life. Dylan and Peyton have a nice chemistry as father/daughter. I love Duncan and Cam loads more than Duncan with Lisbeth.
Brody finally got some story. It was great and Chris Titus did a great job. Charisma is a nice addition. Hopefully the show will remain after the strike and we'll get more of Janelle.
I would have like a few more Karl scenes even if at the wedding. And Zach..yikes. I think he's got a few issues for sure.
I also want to know the song and artist of the song played when Katie was in her office...it was great.
Monique | Jan 11, 2008 12:35:29 PM | #Do ABC want people to watch their shows or not? They didn't tell us why the pulled it from the regular schedule and then they failed to tell us that it had returned. We get endless plugs for Greys and Boston Legal (shows I also love) but nothing for Big Shots which is truly the male Desperate Housewives.
"I thought you understood men better" a sentence that is oh so true! Women still love to delude themselves. Elizabeth marrying a man she doesn't love just because she's afraid of her feelings, for Duncan. And God forbid the result of women being independant is to marry a man who is "good to us" but passionless. I thought the idea was to have hot sex not compromising.
I can't believe it took Duncan so long to work out how he got his job back - I mean really, he should have been checking that out first.
I knew Heather was Janelle from the beginning, I mean come on people we've been talking about this perfect casting for a few weeks now although I must confess I did wonder what they were up to for a little while. But all the clues were there, the over flirting, the hitting on an unwilling guy - even if I hadn't known it was Janelle the fact that she said her man spent too much time with his friends was a big enough clue, that and the personalised ring tone and the fact that Brody would be far too scared to have an affair and if he did he would have told his friends right away. But yes, kudos to the writers for the set up and this is why we miss them all during the strike.
I wish Cam would start calling Duncan Dad she's beginning more like his girlfriend than his daughter.
How hot was Katie's frock at the wedding - talk about upstaging the bride!
I wish they would give Karl a better storyline, I quite like him. He's very sweet and the only one who plays the everyman who can't believe his luck at how far he's advanced.
Solly | Jan 11, 2008 1:27:52 PM | #James and Katie very nice romantic dance, the looks the whimsical smiles, the blushing..loved it.
Brody, an underused comedic talent, finally we meet Jenelle. I was a little disappointed, I wanted Jenelle to be a fire breathing dragon, using words like a machete, the bane of all his friends.
Duncan, the writers made a mistake when they made him the primary focus, they gambled on fans finding him interesting and fun and I think that's where the show fell apart, they should have gone for a more ensamble group like GreysA/Heroes equal billing to all.
Seth | Jan 12, 2008 3:32:56 PM | #This is an awesome show! ABC was forced to bring it back and use the remaining episodes. They really need to re-evaluate their decision to cancel and use the talent of Titus. Molina needs a new storyline like yesterday!
Raj | Jan 12, 2008 11:24:20 PM | #Ok, one of them is by Matt Nathanson, Come on Get Higher. Still don't know the other
The World | Jan 12, 2008 11:38:01 PM | #what is Brody's ringtone for his wife?
kylie Bamberger | Jan 13, 2008 12:52:04 AM | #what is Brody's ringtone for his wife?
kylie | Jan 13, 2008 12:52:10 AM | #Brody's "Janelle ringtone" is the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. And speaking of Brody, they should've brought in Charisma Carpenter and put a lot more emphasis on Brody/Janelle from the beginning, the show might have been picked up already if they had. Hopefully we'll get to see more.
Pogo | Jan 13, 2008 8:34:05 AM | #PLEASE SOMEONE FIND THE NAME & ARTIST OF THE SONG KATIE WAS LISTENING TO IN HER OFFICE.
Akay | Jan 13, 2008 2:17:44 PM | #Hold On by Julia Othmer. Check out her website. http://www.juliaothmer.com/main.html
sandy | Jan 14, 2008 10:33:27 AM | #I don't know what you guys are talking about "canceled" and "forced to use the remaining episodes" or "bring it back"...
I've been following the show every week and the January 10 (and later) air dates have been listed on TV.com since the previous episode first aired in late November.
I remember being mad I was going to have to wait almost a month and a half to see if Zach would attack Cam in the car...
John | Jan 15, 2008 2:46:55 AM | #
I've loved every episode so far. I wish that ABC would keep the show on. I think it's way better then Grey's .
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