WHO'S WHO
Starring
Amanda Bynes (Holly Tyler)
Jennie Garth (Valerie Tyler)
Simon Rex (Jeff)
Wesley Jonathan (Gary Thorpe)
Guest Stars
Keith Diamond (Eugene)
Michael McMillian (Henry)
Reid Scott (Hunter)
Samantha Esteban (Sasha)
Nicholas DiNardo
(Scott)
Cacey Riggan (Girl in Line)
Written by
Stacy Traub
Directed by
Shelley Jensen
SYNOPSIS
Jeff is out of town, and Val takes the opportunity to she Holly eight
Meryl Streep films in a row. Holly wants to be the one to decide what they
do on a night with no dates, so she opts to take Val out for the evening
at a restaurant.
Hunter, a boy Holly has had his eye on, meets and flirts with Holly, but things take a strange turn when
Hunter then makes a play for Val, kissing her. A hurt Holly confronts
Val, but Val can't justify either's behavior. Holly is doubly offended
when Val tries to fix her up with Henry, who's a bit shy. When Hunter's
girlfriend suddenly shows up, Holly steps in to protect her sister.
Also appearing at the restaurant is Gary. He
notices that Eugene, an eighth-grade math teacher who belittled him back in the
day is working there. Gary wants to make his night particularly harrying
by taking all night to order, sending food back, and the like. But Eugene
covers for his natural surliness by telling Gary a tale about a beloved
dog, Waffles, who passed away when Gary was in his class. But Gary sees
through the charade when he overhears Eugene telling the same story -- but
with differences -- to other diners. The jockeying for an enhanced tip is
not appreciated by Gary, so he gets one more opportunity to show teacher
up.
HIDING BOB
Bob is now officially out of hiding. This was the first episode taped in
2003, about a month after Jennie Garth gave birth to daughter Lola Ray
Facinelli. And doesn't she look smashing!
NEXT LINE PLEASE
HOLLY: Another movie?
VALERIE: You got it! Oooh, "Silkwood"! Meryl gets killed in this
one!
HOLLY: Is it at the beginning?
VALERIE: What?
HOLLY: I'm just wondering...why Meryl Streep?
VALERIE: She has sentimental value! I've told you this story before.
You were like a year old, and you were sleeping on my lap. We were
watching TV, and "Out of Africa" was on. And as soon as Meryl
Streep said her first words, you woke up, crawled off my lap, and took
your first steps!
HOLLY: Awwww! Was I trying to get out of the room?
OUR REVIEW
The very first sign you got tonight that something was slightly different
about tonight's episode of "What I Like About You" was that
Amanda Bynes had her legs positioned squarely on top of Jennie Garth's
stomach. Probably because there's so much room there now.
No more wearing
black.
No more hiding behind coffee tables.
No more lugging around laundry baskets, coats or
teddy bears.
No more standing like her feet were encased in
cement.
Cripes, near the end they could've gotten a
Muppet to play Valerie Tyler.
Usually we gush over how toothsome Amanda Bynes
is on these pages, but tonight's special. For weeks we've waited for
Jennie Garth to have her baby so that we could better appreciate her
womanly charms, which are many. And tonight you viewed the first episode
of "What I Like About You" taped since she and husband Peter
Facinelli had their second child, Lola Ray, on December 6.
I was a little disappointed that the writing
staff didn't kid around or make inside jokes about Jennie's condition. But
wouldn't it have been cute for Holly one night to have had a dream that
Valerie was going to have a baby -- only Holly didn't know or couldn't
remember who the father was? That's hindsight for you.
But now, Jennie's had her baby.
Bob's out of hiding.
You'd do the town too.
And who better than Stacy Traub to give Valerie
Tyler her wings? The name may not be familiar to casual fans of "WILAY",
but around here she's known as the writer of one of the series' best
episodes, "Cool Older Sister", one of the first episodes to
minimize the physical comedy and punch up the relationship content.
Tonight it's all about the night on the town, romantic conflict between
the sisters, and just plain fun.
With Jeff out of town on restaurant business (he
only appears in the first minute and a half of the show, Valerie has a big
night planned for Holly: a Meryl Streep film festival ("Another
accent, another Oscar!"). So Holly, in an attempt to equalize the age
gap between the sisters and minimize viewings of "Sophie's
Choice", drags Val on a night on the town -- one of those
"just-us-girls" type of outings for two. They invade a theme
restaurant where all the waiters are dressed like engineers, and Holly
designates Val as her "wingman" -- out on the prowl for cute
guys. Holly swiftly couples with a fellow named Hunter (a guy she once saw
in a band), and they play pool. All is well until Hunter makes a bold and
impulsive play for Val, kissing her rather boldly. This causes friction
between the sisters and a heated argument in, of all places, the
"gents" room. Things get worse when a shy guy whose had his eye
on Holly is encouraged by Val to strike up a conversation with her. Holly
blows up again when she finds out it was Val's matchmaking at work again.
But when Sasha, Hunter's somewhat beefy girlfriend, shows up and threatens
Val physically, it's Holly who comes to the rescue, emphatically outlining
the evening's events and standing up to the brute-ess. At the end, even
though she admits liking the shy fellow, Holly tells him she'd rather play
pool with "my friend" -- her sister Val.
With Jeff out of the picture tonight, Gary gets
the subplot all to himself, when he enters the restaurant and sees one of
his old teachers working there. Turns out Gary still has a bit of a grudge
against the guy, so he craves payback.
As in her earlier script "Cool Older
Sister", Stacy Traub plays up the dynamic between the sisters to
great effect. Even with Gary's subplot, Traub fixes our focus squarely on
Holly and Val, engaging in a more adult pursuit of fun and romance.
Careful use of double entendre, a new source of comedy for the series
(Holly innocently tells Hunter at the pool table "Don't touch those
balls until I get back!"), helps advance the maturity level of the
series...it's nothing most teens can't handle. (I'm wondering now how much
Holly has to pay her dad when she says "ass".) Jennie Garth,
freed of the bonds of pregnancy, is allowed again to be more of a
presence, and is given a spiffy physical bit where she walks around in the
men's room with paper towels (the last two, might we add) under her
open-toed shoes. Plus, her characterization is given more zip tonight as
we learn she's somewhat of a pool shark having learned the finer points of
the game at Nana's knee. Needless to say, Amanda Bynes again proves why
she's the WB's #1 comedienne with her wide-eyed looks, her rapier-sharp
delivery, and that little something extra you just can't quite put your
finger on.
Again next week, more romance in the offing as we
dip back into the Val/Jeff continuity. We introduce Jeff's mom as a source
of irritation and embarrassment for Val, while Holly takes a bit of a
breather for all her yeoman work during Jennie's pregnancy. But hey --
Jennie Garth in a cheerleader costume? Beats the hell out of Simon Rex in
a tank top!
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EPISODE IMAGES
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A lazy day at the apartment, and Holly's hungry. |
All she wants from Valerie is to make her a grilled cheese
sandwich. |
Holly has her reasons for
not making it herself. |
Jeff shows up to announce he's going to Minneapolis on
restaurant business. |
But Holly's still hungry. |
Val has just the cure for the No-Jeff blues... |
...a full day of Meryl Streep movies on video! Eight in all!
(If you blinked, you missed Jeff.) |
Another film wraps up in the Streep-a-thon! |
And Holly can wait for the next one! |
Usually when it's just the girls at home by themselves... |
...it's usually doing the things Val wants to do. |
Val has a pretty full itinerary, including making a rare
public appearance at a bank. |
Holly wants hang with Val, as friends rather than sisters. |
Val agrees that she's had the upper hand in the activities
department, and lets Holly decide on the night's activities. |
Holly suggests a restaurant in the city with good music,
lively atmosphere and pool tables. |
Val needs to know in case there's "Coyote
Ugly"-style dancing at the restaurant... |
...but Holly tells her she's wearing a decent enough bra for
that. |
Val outlines the fact that there used to be a veterinarian's
office on that very spot. |
But it's a better spot now for party animals Val and Holly.
|
It's a veritable butt supermarket, especially around the
pool table. |
Holly sees a fellow she is quite enamored of... |
...his name is Hunter, and he plays with a band. |
They also see Gary, who notices that Eugene, one of his old
math teachers is now working in the restaurant. |
An incident involving an airhorn not very long ago left Gary
somewhat scarred... |
...and now, with the infinite power of a restaurant patron,
aches to give the payback. |
Our girls are taking in the view around the pool table,
including Hunter.. |
Holly's a mite too shy to instigate anything, so Val
suggests that she be her wingman. |
The wingman is well schooled on all facets of club life... |
...including this observation about low
rise jeans and mad money. |
Val suggests a pool match: Hunter and Holly vs. Val and
hunter's buddy. |
Lucky for Hunter's buddy, Val is a pool shark. But she
really wants to make sure Holly ends up a winner -- with Hunter. |
Not knowing much about pool, Holly listens to Val delineate
her strategy. |
Which maybe includes a bit too much technospeak for anyone
too much in love to care. |
Holly just wants a little comprehension --
and for Val to get down to some serious wingman business. |
Val busts out laughing and comments on how pretty girls
aren't supposed to be this funny. (cf. Amanda Bynes) |
Hunter is bemoaning his lack of pool skills against those of
the pro, Valerie. |
Val talks up Holly, and mentions that she's had her eye on
him. |
She thanks Hunter for the gift of music. |
Hunter suggests they swap e-mail addresses. |
Holly errantly scrapes her cue stick across her face... |
...leaving a trail of telltale chalk behind. |
Hunter wipes off the chalk... |
...and he's not going to find anything cuter with chalk on
it in the restaurant. |
Holly swoons. "Chalk!" (she's in love...whaddaya
want?) |
Holly congratulates Val on her status as her new wingman,
and that she's getting the job done. |
Not like Gary, who has a little more direct
approach to the whole thing. |
Holly's hungry (again!). |
She excuses herself and urges Val to keep the wingman duty
strong. |
Holly advises Hunter to hold everything until she gets back.
Or not. |
She wants Gary to order her chili fries. |
Gary tells the story of Eugene, the onetime teacher reduced
to waiting tables... |
...and how he tormented Gary in his youth. |
Hearing that, Holly takes back the money for the chili
fries. |
And Holly leaves him with some restaurant
math. |
But this doesn't add up...Holly sees Hunter kissing
Valerie! |
Holly's waiting in line to use the ladies', and she's not
happy with the evening's events. |
Val tries to smooth things over, but Holly's too upset to
talk to her. |
In the men's room, Holly notices no more towels -- except
for Val's shoe protectors. |
After greeting the fellow who enters the room to do his
business... |
Val again tries to make nice with the little sis... |
...but she's devastated. Devastated. Did we mention she was devastated? |
Val explains that sometimes the wingman accidentally gets
lucky. |
Not luck so much as skill...Holly accuses Val of using a
little too much body English at the pool table. |
She doesn't have to speak slower...we understand. |
Val denies she was attracted to Hunter, so why did she take
such pains to point out his butt? |
Holly's betrayed and hurt...and confused. Shot down by her wingman! |
Unbeknownst to our moping sweetheart, Henry, the boy doing
his business is smitten with Holly, but is painfully shy. So Val
has set up a little tryst. |
Henry introduces himself as the boy who didn't whiz. |
Looks like it's gonna go well, but... |
...Valerie's hovering over, and she whispers "He likes
you!"
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Now Holly's incensed. |
How dare she fix her up with a guy she found in the
bathroom! |
"I just can't talk to you right now." |
But someone who does wanna talk is Hunter's girlfriend,
Sasha. |
Actually, she heard all about the night from Hunter, and now
she wants a piece of Val. |
Now Holly steps in and saves her sister's honor, now
learning that Hunter is taken. |
Holly explains that Hunter is basically slime. |
She's seen enough of Hunter to know what he's really like... |
...given ample opportunity, he will stray, and he will
score. Not just on the green felt, either. |
So Holly tells her to wake up and
smell the reality...and that there will be no fight. |
Holly's convincing as heck...and she basically sends Sasha
whimpering away. |
Holly apologizes for blowing up... |
...and Holly assures Val she'll get over it. |
Finally, Holly waves Henry off to play some pool with...her
friend. |
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