2.08 'The Park' Mon 23 E4
These days with US sitcom it's the less-documented which turn out to be funnier; see Samantha Who? Not a lot of people seem to know what it is. Some particularly annoying people deem it funny to crack the joke 'Samantha who?!'. Those who do watch are richly-rewarded with a number of fine comic creations, mostly women: there's the Samantha of the title, an amnaesiac who has decided to become a nicer person post-coma. There's her mother Regina (played with wonderful quirks by Jean Smart), her fat friend Dena, who lives in her own fairy-world bubble, and her sassy Latin friend Andrea.
The setup may sound tired - post-trauma a girl vows to become a better person - but it's perfectly-pitched. Samantha, portrayed with a dizzy twist by a flexible Christina Applegate, does mean well, but she still lies and finds herself in awkward, genuinely hilarious predicaments. She bounces off Regina (not literally, mind) with sparkling chemistry. Often though the scenes are stolen by Andrea, who seems to glide around like a whispy cloud, flicking insults in the direction of her admirer Seth whilst boasting of her seductive existance.
Tonight Samantha lies to her new boyfriend Owen about being too ill to join in with environmentalist work at the local park. Obviously everything goes wrong - she's spotted by Owen's housemate whilst out shopping - and ultimately she decides to end it, but not before he thrusts a laughably grand gesture her way. Andrea's delusions about dating a celebrity are brought crashing down, to the delight of Seth, who throws some shapes on the dancefloor which every living person should be obliged to try. When it's not laugh-out-loud funny it's cheeky and leaves you smiling; not to be missed.
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