Stanley gets wind of an impending party that Jack, Janet & Chrissy intend to throw. Feeling that their last one was much too loud, he'd forbade them from having any more. Soon, he's resorted to a dirty trick to make sure the party doesn't take place. Helen, disgusted, takes her leave of him for a couple of days.
In this effective and sometimes hilarious episode (with Jack generating most of the laughs), Stanley is made a multi-dimensional character. As much as he can come across as a party-pooping old crank a lot of the time, he realizes just how much he misses Helen, and how much she means to him. He even takes Janets' advice to get his act together to make himself more presentable upon her return. Previously, he'd dealt with his loneliness and inability to prepare a meal for himself by mooching off the kids.
Some of my favorite moments: Jack pigging out on the snacks, trying to convince Stanley that the food in the kitchen is all for him, Stanley's parakeet uttering a "wolf whistle" upon seeing him in his dress clothes, and his final "breaking the fourth wall" moment, which he plays straight for once instead of grinning for the camera. "I knew there'd be a catch."
Eight out of 10.
In this effective and sometimes hilarious episode (with Jack generating most of the laughs), Stanley is made a multi-dimensional character. As much as he can come across as a party-pooping old crank a lot of the time, he realizes just how much he misses Helen, and how much she means to him. He even takes Janets' advice to get his act together to make himself more presentable upon her return. Previously, he'd dealt with his loneliness and inability to prepare a meal for himself by mooching off the kids.
Some of my favorite moments: Jack pigging out on the snacks, trying to convince Stanley that the food in the kitchen is all for him, Stanley's parakeet uttering a "wolf whistle" upon seeing him in his dress clothes, and his final "breaking the fourth wall" moment, which he plays straight for once instead of grinning for the camera. "I knew there'd be a catch."
Eight out of 10.
