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<i>Dr. Ken</i> – “Dr. Ken: Child of Divorce” Review. Korean Tom Selleck.

Season 2, Episode 4

Air Date: Friday, October 14, 2016, 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Grandma and Grandpa Park have gotten divorced.” – Allison

Can Ken handle the truth?

Keeping with Welltopia Medical Group tradition, Pat (Dave Foley) takes his staff out for lunch to officially welcome Ken’s (Ken Jeong) wife Allison (Suzy Nakamura) to their practice. The casual gathering takes an unexpected turn when Ken’s father D.K. (Dana Lee) is spotted making out with a woman. Unbeknownst to Ken, D.K. has been divorced from Ken’s mother In-Sook (Alexis Rhee) since 2014. Needless to say, Ken is shocked at the news.

D.K.: “I can explain; we thought you couldn’t handle it.”

Ken: “Based on what?”

D.K.: “Based on your long history of not handling things.”

The revelation of D.K.’s divorce has been inevitable to many ever since he moved in with Ken and Allison during “Allison’s Career Move.”. While divorce is often difficult, I love the way Dr. Ken’s writers have found a way for D.K. to be around for a while. Lee is an extremely entertaining actor and his character’s no-nonsense approach to life is a delight to watch. It’s always enjoyable watching Lee’s chemistry with Jeong, as well as how his character engages with Ken and Allison’s kids.

It’s hard not to laugh as Ken struggles to come to terms with the news of his parents’ divorce. Making matters worse for Ken is how he begins to notice similarities between his parents’ relationship and his own marriage. It has to be hard for Nakamura to keep a straight face during her scenes with Jeong as Ken attempts to overcompensate for his perceived flaws in their marriage. While divorce has not impacted my life, I can appreciate the lengths the writers take to find a balance between treating divorce seriously and finding the humor that can come from it. I got a kick out of the expression Pat uses to describe D.K’s skills with the ladies. Ken’s reactions are amusing but it’s clear he’s hurting. This leads to a touching scene at the end of “Dr. Ken: Child of Divorce” as father and son have an earnest heart-to-heart conversation.

A cute couple.

Meanwhile, Ken isn’t the only one worried about the impact of the divorce. His son Dave (Albert Tsai) questions if his fate is already sealed as a child of divorce when it comes to his budding relationship with his new girlfriend Emily (Zooey Jeong). Tsai is priceless as Dave contemplates how the stigma of divorce will impact him.

One of the things I enjoyed about the short-lived ABC comedy Trophy Wife was watching Tsai interact with both his adult co-stars and the young actors and actresses who played his siblings. I still laugh just thinking about Bert (Tsai) and Warren’s (Ryan Lee) bubble gum reviews on that show. While there have been occasional guest star visits on Dr. Ken from child actors such as Ian Chen as Henry, Tsai’s scenes with kids around his age are few and far between. The addition of Emily provides some entertaining material for Tsai to work with rather than just being the kid in a scene filled with adults.

Child actors are nothing new on television and yet, I struggled to come up with recent examples of a father and daughter appearing on the same TV show other than Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus. I’ve gotten to know Jeong through social media over the course of the past year and two of the things I’ve learned is he’s one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood and his family is immensely important to him. While Zooey has appeared alongside her father on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and other projects, I can’t imagine the pride Jeong must feel as Zooey makes another appearance on Dr. Ken. Zooey’s quiet demeanor as Emily creates a fun quirkiness that’s a perfect fit for Dave’s personality. I hope the writers keep Zooey around.

There’s been a noticeable shift in tone this season on Dr. Ken as the series takes on more serious topics. That’s not to say there is any decrease in the humor because there isn’t. This adjustment isn’t without risks, though, as some viewers might expect the quirky version of Jeong from Community or The Hangover film franchise. Perhaps Zooey’s appearance is her father’s way of making a statement that Dr. Ken is different from other projects he’s done in that the series is a show the whole family can enjoy.

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Dr. Ken: Child of Divorce.”

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All photos © 2016 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.