REVIEW OF "TRACEY TAKES ON...": SCANDAL and HAIR, Jan. 20 1999

by Roger Reini (rreini@wwnet.net)

Once again, we have been treated to back-to-back episodes of "Tracey Takes On...", this week covering Scandal and Hair. And the momentum from last week's premiere keeps on building....

SCANDAL

Long sketches included Fern receiving some additional services from her dentist, Sydney freaking out about an alleged pubic hair in her bed, and Janie becoming intensely interested in a friend of Olivia's. Short bits included Madame Nadja observing "it's not who you know, it's what you know about them" that counts, Hope commenting on the scandal surrounding selling copies of exams and the answers, and Linda complaining about unwanted publicity - or is she?

All of the sketches and short bits were great, especially Fern's encounters with the dentist and Janie's near-encounter with her daughter's school friend. The episode comes close to perfection.

HAIR

Special mention must be made of Tracey's theory on why Elton John's hair looks the way it does. Long sketches included Linda getting a role in a production of "Hair" in Cerritos, Trevor recalling when he got a Beatle-cut in the mid '60s, Fern learning that her long-time hairdresser has died, and Erin having some bad encounters with cacti, thus learning what it feels like to be a tree. Short bits included Kay's secret to haircut success, Ruby on the four types of hair, and Madame Nadja on hair care for her girls (it can be profitable).

This episode also comes close to perfection. Linda's show-stopping performance in "Hair" cracked me up, and Erin's becoming entangled in cacti was … well, it might have been the most hilarious sketch of the series to date.

OVERALL

By themselves, the episodes are near-perfect. But airing back-to-back as they did, their strongest parts counteract the weak parts, with the result being a perfect combination. Several of these sketches could contend for the best-of special.

RATING FOR "SCANDAL: 3 bells (out of 4) RATING FOR "HAIR: 3 bells RATING FOR THE COMBO: 4 bells. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

NEXT WEEK: Lies

Review Copyright 1999 R. W. Reini (rreini@wwnet.net)