S.P. Charles
August 1, 2011 at 12:09 amSo we’re going to spend a day on each of Les’s (probably stupid) questions?
If he “gets” the part about movie, TV and theater rights, what’s not to get about electronic media? If you think that we, the readers are in for a rough week, query how Ann Apple must feel, having to entertain Les’ doucheball questions. I, for one, would love to see Lisa’s Story: The Video Game…in 3-D!
TheDiva
June 19, 2011 at 2:01 pm…[Batiuk] can indulge in Les heroically facing his strawman accusers, while Cayla stands by her man and Susan ultimately takes the blame and willingly sacrifices her career so Les’ will survive.
Not sure if TheDiva peeked ahead to today’s strip, but I don’t imagine there could be any other outcome, since Batiuk can’t allow our “Absen-teecher of the Year” to become embroiled in such scandal. I really want to interpret Susan’s dispassionate demeanor as a prelude to a psychotic episode where, realizing at last that Mr. Moore can never be hers, she takes out half of Westview before offing herself. But that would be too entertaining, not to mention it would also fullfill O.B. Dan’s TGF prophecy. Most likely, Susan Smith Westbrook will vanish from this strip just as abruptly as she reappeared.
So Susan has also been summoned to Principal Nate’s office, and Nate’s waving a blank piece of paper and giving them hell, throwing in a completely random climate-change reference just to keep it 1/4″ from reality. Before Les can give his side, which I’d really be interested in hearing, Susan goes into her dead-eyed zombie mode and takes the fall.
The exposition on awesome continues as we learn that the move back to Westview is more than just a broken dream…it’s two broken dreams. Why two? Well from the counter of Montoni’s, Darin will be financing Jessica’s documentary (an painful digging into the past)…and the second broken dream? It would appear that all the research Jessica needs conveniently sits in a small file box in Les’ office…for it was Les who wrote a book about the murder of John Darling in his first of many futile attempts to secure a book deal. I’d like to see the look on his face when his co-opted material gets Jessica the regional Oscar. Speaking of painful digging into the past, I suspect a bit of revisionist history…as it would appear that Jessica was the popular cheerleader and not at all a member of the AV club.
-Stuck Funky
Like the way a screenwriter hits plot points like a grocery list, or how a baseball player touches all four bases while recording what is accepted as a run, our story arc checks all the fun boxes that make FW what it is. Smirk? Check. Thorough research? Check. ‘Cute’ punchlines? Not yet. Today’s milepost: exposition placed on stilts as high as the moon. In honor of such eloquence, this humble author will do the same…that is to say, put this post on stilts, too. Rather than succinctly say he saw the layoff coming and therefore took the lead parachute, Darin mentions that the writing on the wall was in fact done by hand; pausing in the middle to explain to us what he is doing with his jittery, withdrawal-addled hands. Such a scenario begs the observation: of course he took the offer, the handwriting on the wall said “we’re letting you go with this small severance – unless you go to rehab.” Would he have cleaned himself up? With that cocaine happy MBA degree of his? I think not. The encouragement is welcome, but also confusingly returned with nonsensical jibberish about how that won’t help feed his five dollar per day latte habit sold at starbucks. Speaking of which, thanks for feeding that habit, Les. Why not head over to Montoni’s with a box of rum balls next? Sure, Darin’s habit began innocently as a way to get face time with his boss and fit in at the office, but such efforts to parlay favor didn’t pay off…and now Darin is left holding the coffee bean bag…that sweet, sweet bag full of coffee.
Son of Stuck Funky 
