REVIEW OF "TRACEY TAKES ON...": Hollywood January 11, 1998
by Roger Reini (rreini@wwnet.net)
What happens when a New York cabbie goes out to Hollywood, trying to peddle a hot property? You get a great episode of "Tracey Takes On...", that's what!
Tonight's episode was what I call a unified format, with several distinct but interrelated story lines (as opposed to the usual format of long sketches and short bits). The unified format allows for more interaction between the characters, and that's what we get. The main storyline involves Chic trying to peddle a script which Penny Marshall had left in his cab. In the course of his travels, he encounters a documentary crew which is interviewing Ruby; he almost buys a donut from Mrs. Noh; he has a reunion with agent extraordinaire (and former customer) Candy Casino; he considers having an encounter with Sydney; and he has a heck of a time at an awards show. At the same time, Fern is in town for a special appearance on "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman" (she won a contest).
This episode had a high raunch quotient, beginning with Chic using the first four words of English he ever learned on two starlet wanna-bes: "Show me your t*ts". And they do! Only on premium cable ... Later, we see Chic talking to his you-know-what, persuading it to rise to the occasion (ooh, that's bad) of an encounter with Sydney. But along with a high raunch quotient, the episode had a high laugh quotient. What should I mention -- Sydney's license plate which reads "BITE ME"? Mrs. Noh autographing her picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger? Ruby's musings on the value of European hair? I could go on on on.
NEW RATING SCALE: Since I've been giving a lot of partial-star ratings, I'm going to use a new rating system of bells. The first three stars are a given, and would be represented by zero bells. Each bell represents a 1/4 star under the old system. So..
RATING (old scale): 3 3/4 to 3 7/8 stars (I can't decide) RATING (new scale): 3 to 3 1/2 bells
NEXT: Smoking (tobacco and other substances). I saw a clip from this on the Rosie O'Donnell show, and it was great!
This review is Copyright 1997 R. W. Reini(rreini@wwnet.com)
