Miss last night’s episode? Here’s what you need to know about THE L.A. COMPLEX’s “Vacancy”
AIRDATE: 7/17/12 WRITER:: Martin Gero DIRECTOR: Martin Gero SYNOPSIS: Wasting little time following the after-math of last spring’s shocking season finale, Kaldrick attempts to make things right between himself and Tariq, Raquel must do her best to keep her pregnancy a secret from Connor who decides to move back to the LUX after ‘accidentally’ burning down his house, while Nick and Abby attempt to juggle their new found status as a couple with some unexpected career opportunities. INTRODUCED: Alan Thicke as Donald the director/star/moral center of a 7th HEAVEN-esque family drama that takes itself a little too seriously and Winnipeg brother sister duo Simon and Beth, the latter of which hopes to parlay the former’s commercial prowess into a career and a home in Hollywood. NOTABLE QUOTABLES: Despite the fact that this won’t exactly translate to print, Abby’s misinterpretation of a Bible quote that had her reading “Philippians 4:13” as “Filipinos” during an audition is reason enough to re-watch the episode. LESSON LEARNED: At $25 per hour the LUX pays their cleaning staff surprising well, assuming of course one doesn’t have a problem with scrubbing down an entire apartment complex in a mere two hours! CRITIQUE: Truth be told, by the surprisingly high standards set during THE L.A. COMPLEX’s initial six outings, this first episode back was somewhat uneventful as it struggled to balance paying off last season’s finale with setting the table for what’s to come in season two. That said, it’s hard to argue with “What’s to come.” Or at least that was our takeaway from an episode that left us with the distinct impression that audiences are going to get to delve even deeper into Hollywood’s murky underbelly of dianetics (Yes, that’s code for Scientology!), child actors and what life is really like behind-the-scenes of a hit television show. And while the episode may have lacked some of the show’s trademark crazy moments including but not limited to arson, morning-after pills and adult-only video shoots, it more than made up for with what has become the show’s calling card: That of a chilling cliffhanger of a final scene that anxiously leaves us counting down the moments until we find out what happens next. GRADE: B
THE L.A. COMPLEX airs Sundays at 8PM on ABC (7PM on CTV in Canada) Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv