My Boys - My Men

Network: TBS
Time: Sundays, 10:00-10:30pm
Cast: Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Jamie Kaler, Michael Bunin, Kellee Stewart

Summary: Brendan must make a decision that could affect everybody. Stephanie receives an offer to work in London, and P.J. can't help Mike plan a birthday party for Marcia.

Review: Summer is no longer the season when networks burn out their crappiest episodes and show countless reruns of Law & Order and CSI. The new shows this summer were edgy, clever, dramatic and funny, and My Boys was no different.

My Boys has always been a summer show, and each of its four seasons is fewer than ten episodes long, which is sad considering what a great show it is. I spent the beginning of the summer catching up on seasons two and three, so most of the series is fresh in my mind following Sunday night's season four finale.

The finale left me feeling massively disappointed... disappointed because it turned out to be the series finale (TBS canceled My Boys on Tuesday) and now I don't get to see what happens next.  I'll try to be careful to word this in a way that doesn't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet.

There are two major twists in this episode; one is predictable, the other is not. The unpredictable one was very easy to mess up. It could have been over the top or too rushed, but it wasn't. In fact, I'd argue that it was done perfectly because never, at any point in the episode, did I believe anything was out of character or unbelievable. The more predictable twist, which was revealed only in the last moments of the episode, just gave me a good, warm feeling that next season will be a lot of fun.

The episode as a whole dealt with priorities. PJ was trying to sort hers out when she was offered the possibility of a new "dream" job. Mike wanted to plan a birthday party for his girlfriend Marcia, and he enlisted the entire gang's help (which led to some wonderfully funny Bobby moments). And Stephanie got a job offer in London for a few months, leaving Kenny to decide whether or not he was going to go with her.

There's something about the chemistry between the characters that takes a theme that could be trite and keeps it fresh. Sure, there's nothing new and shocking going on in this show, but great writing coupled with perfect timing keeps you laughing, even if you knew the joke was coming. It's what I've always liked about My Boys, and it's just as true in this episode as any other.

The finale had an added bonus of getting to see a new side of Mike--the side that's in a serious relationship where he honestly cares about making his girlfriend happy. The title of the episode, "My Men," is fitting because PJ's boys really are growing up. This episode did actually feel like a series finale for me (particularly the title), but there were still loose ends that could have been tied up next season, had TBS renewed it.  I guess now we'll be left to imagine what happens next.

Rating:
[5] Excellent[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad