From Rehab to Rivals. Retrospective, Necessary Roughness, Mid-Season Premiere - "Frozen Fish Sticks"

Mid-Season Premiere, S2 E12 – “Frozen Fish Sticks”

Air Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013, 10 pm ET/PT on USA Network

Rating: ★★★★★

Peter MacNichol guest stars as Dr. Albert Gunner

We pick up the season 28 days after the death of the Hawks’ team owner, Marshall Pittman (Evan Handler). Much to her dismay, Pittman has left the team to his daughter Juliette (Danielle Panabaker). Joe “Toes” Kittredge (Robbie Jones) is the new star of the Hawks, something that doesn’t sit well with the sidelined Terrence “T.K.” King (Mehcad Brooks). After suspending her therapy practice, Dr. Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is having trouble getting back in the saddle, while her son, Ray J (Patrick Adams), must deal with the fallout from being caught growing marijuana.

Observations:

Dani and Dr. Gunner are happy to see each other after such a long time.

T.K. has successfully completed one month of rehab and after receiving a hearty welcome back to the team, expects to return to his position. Who can blame him? He was the star receiver until he was shot, which led to him becoming addicted to pain pills. Needless to say, Toes has no intention of giving up the spotlight, leading to quite the rivalry between the two men. But you know as well as I do, T.K. isn’t going down without a fight. It’s nice to see him acting as team player, though, and not the self-centered jerk we’re used to seeing. Too bad Toes doesn’t do the same. I just wonder whether this new T.K. will stay around. I enjoyed the banter and ‘trash talk’ between them; Brooks and Jones play off each other very well, and both are extremely believable as NFL stars.

Dani can’t seem to get her head together—so much so, she’s keeping the family’s dead fish in the freezer because she can’t bring herself to bury it. Of course, the “frozen fish sticks” are indicative of a much more serious problem, which includes her kissing Nico (Scott Cohen) after learning of Pittman’s death, and not being able to restart her practice. Poor Dani—she can’t decide whether to go with the man she loves, and shouldn’t (Matt), and the man she’s dangerously attracted to, and shouldn’t be (Nico). Looks like we have a Team Nico vs. Team Matt situation on our hands. Who are you rooting for?

Dani doesn’t exactly like what Dr. Gunner has to say.

Dani wisely seeks help in the form of her former college psychology professor, Dr. Albert Gunner (Peter MacNichol). I am a huge fan of MacNichol’s. I have never seen him in a TV show or movie where he didn’t impress me with his acting prowess. He easily takes on the persona of the character he’s portraying, and does an excellent job with Dr. Gunner in “Frozen Fish Sticks.” Wiggling his fingers while saying “intrigues me,” as he explains why he’s going to take Dani on as a private case gave me a good chuckle, as does his use of the word, “twaddle,” when commenting on the pity party Dani seems to be having for herself. For me, MacNichol steals the show right out from under everyone else.

Juliette is furious that her father left the Hawks to her. She hates everything about football and tells Nico she wants to sell the team. What? She’s going to sell a billion dollar football team because it reminds her of all the birthdays she spent alone in her father’s skybox? What is wrong with this girl? Why doesn’t she realize she doesn’t have to lift a finger for the team, other than picking the right people to manage it? All she has to do is sit back and collect the paychecks. Selling the team immediately isn’t what Hank Griffin (Michael O’Neill), the league representative, wants to do but after a few choice words from Nico and Matt (Marc Blucas), he wisely changes his mind, insisting the league pick the new owner. Juliette has her own man in mind, though, when she introduces Dwayne Brewer (Quinton Garvin), aka rapper “Deez Balls,” to Nico and Hank. It is a pleasure to watch Juliette’s character development. In the past, she was known as a hard partier, not giving a damn about anything or anyone. Now, in “Frozen Fish Sticks,” we see a mature young woman who knows her mind and what she wants. I’m used to seeing Panabaker in such things as Friday the 13^th, Mr. Brooks, and The Crazies, and it’s nice to see she’s doing an excellent job growing up both off and on screen.

One of the things I like about Dani is how she handles her kids. She doesn’t pull any punches when letting them know how she feels about their various antics. With Ray J, not only does she point out how lucky he is to have received only community service, she assigns him an additional 20 hours of chores at home. I wish all parents would watch Necessary Roughness and take advantage of the parenting skills Dani teaches us each week. I’m sure we’d end up with a generation of kids who don’t feel as entitled as our current generation.

A relationship between Juliette and Ray J might be forming if I’m any judge of the looks that fly between them when she drops in at Dani’s to discuss her parents. And what a cute expression—“Don’t yuck my yum”—Ray J uses when Juliette criticizes his choice in ice cream. Did you catch the look in her eyes when he feeds her a bit and she licks her lips? Oh yeah, this is something Mama Dani isn’t going to like at all.

Memorable lines:

Dani to Ray J, who’s complaining about his community service: “Yeah, well, it’s a helluva lot better than an orange jumpsuit and some cellmate named Spaz or Muscles.”

T.K. to Toes: “Listen, I know in my absence you became the toast of the town, but I’m still the king of this castle. Comprendo?”

Toes: “Uh, I believe that’s ‘comprendé.’”

T.K. to Dani: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom … not to take Toes out and beat him like a rented government mule!”

Juliette to Hank: “So, until I sell, I will hire whoever I like and I will fire whoever I like, and if I want to sell to Deez Balls, or dem balls, or any other kind of balls, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

I don’t want to spoil the end of “Frozen Fish Sticks” for you in case you haven’t seen it yet. So let’s just say, Juliette changes her mind about selling the team to Deez Balls. And her choice brings a resounding “YES” from me upon learning what she’s planning to do, and who’s affected by her decision. What did you think?

Tune in to Necesssary Roughness, Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT, only on USA Network.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!