As this episode begins, the news crew at WURG are told to stretch after Kelly ends the newscast with a raccoon story. For a few minutes the banter gets strained. After that's over, Marsh gets his fellow male colleagues to participate against a rival station teams' bowling competition to Gary's consternation since his wife has threatened divorce if he keeps missing their wedding anniversary. It also happens to be Gracie's 11th birthday so Chuck-Gracie's father though only Kelly knows about that-resolves to pick up the cake especially after Marsh leaves the previous one on the roof as they were all driving. As they arrive at Kelly's house, they find that the raccoon that was on the news is now in the attic which Ryan, reluctantly after the other males chicken out, goes to check for himself. That animal goes under the sofa and through the fireplace (with the fire still in it!) culminating in a smoky disaster just before Gracie, her friends, and a divorced father of one of the friends arrive while Kelly shoots herself in the foot shouting at Chuck's condescending behavior...This episode threatened to be bland to me until the raccoon showed up to cause havoc during some of the first and most of the second act. Nice showcase to have the whole cast be at the same place at the same time in order to exploit the chemistry among everyone. The ratings, however, don't seem to indicate that the show could last any longer especially since the writer's strike could prolong "Back to You"s absence for the rest of the season. However, since the strike could also mean that no pilots could be made for potential series for the following fall, maybe the show could conceivably come back when all this is over. Whatever happens, I will keep watching.
Review of Something's Up There
Something's Up There had a raccoon steal the show on "Back to You"
17 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers