Inspector Bucket

An inspiring and heart-warming episode. But... I've hated extensive "New Yawk" theming for a long time. And that store is themed so hard now. Heavy-duty New York eateries can work nationwide...in Chicago that's usually a challenge. (We're Chicago! We have our own Jews and Poles, thank you very much.) And I think bagels should all be super-chewy. They should not be flavored toast. And the interior of the store was an assault on the eyes. And it might make a zillion dollars. …so I'm conflicted.

Probably not infomercials. More like straight up commercials. I can't tell you why, but the more I watch this show, the more hooked I become. And clip shows where Marcus and Amber comment on stuff? I cannot get enough.

One more thing. I am calling bullshit on Marcus being "100% in charge." He isn't. He doesn't want to be. He doesn't own the whole business, he doesn't manage the business, he is offsite, and he gets 500 texts a day. And I adore Marcus. And I think the Big Fat Gyro parents are idiots and ingrates. (I don't know what happened with Swanson's Fish Market. Seems like that business was heading for disaster with or without Marcus.) A. Stein was a very sad story, indeed, with those owners stuck on a Scoudrels/Losers axis.

I don't blame reality tv -- phoney storytelling, deceptive editing, staged scenarios -- that isn't the thing here. The thing is the power dynamics. Take the "handshake deal." Preposterous. It is a great narrative device. But. So very vague. So legally and morally ambiguous. On the one side, you have failing owners -- total financial collapse of some sort is on the horizon. On the other side, you have a confident, smart, wealthy guy who specializes in buying damaged assets. He hands you a check (that is a prop) makes the statement that he is "100% in charge" and away we go! Of course with this "handshake deal" somebody is going to end up legally and/or emotionally hosed.

Cutie Dog! Dogs can have really strong reactions to poop and pee. Sometimes they react negatively and other times they will roll in it. So...in a place like DogWorks, I understand that some dogs start pooping and peeing anywhere and everywhere.

Lemonade kid stuff was a nightmare. My theory: Marcus promised somebody their kid could be on the show; later, a producer told the editors to make the sequence as fast as humanly possible. Still, I enjoyed the episode. Two relatable owners in a complicated relationship who are strong actors! But there was too much dumbing down. The husband didn't know Baby Bump's crucial numbers. That became "he's like a 6th grader who doesn't understand percentages." And even worse: "by sitting here with Marcus and a P&L Statement for 45 seconds on camera, the husband is repairing his marriage" Come on, tv, we can handle complexity. Finally, "OMG will they be ready for the big opening?!?!?!" Again. I'm watching that again on this show.

Did Marcus really say that he wanted Kool Kids to be a "safe space"? (As we all know, Sweet Pete's and Tonnie's Minis have ego-crippling customer limitation policies. And, oh Jesus, don't set foot in Tea2Go if you're Norwegian-American -- they will kick your ass!) I must have heard him wrong.

Kool Kids with a "K" and with sunglasses??? That's as cool as Poochie!

That was a weird episode. And I have found the eps this season so fun! Side Note: Susana Monaco is a terrible reality tv character. Stone-faced. Stiff. Maybe she turns off when cameras are on and she is actually a dynamic weirdo. Main Note: when your protagonist structures her day so that she has minimal contact with TWO EMPLOYEES, maybe that person will freak out gloriously when on your tv show. Or maybe that person will be a total bore. We got total bore.

I had no idea Hinsdale IL had so many stunning 19th century buildings. Am I crazy or did Marcus say his building was from the "very early 1800's" ? That has to be wrong, right? Based on what I was able to see from the show, the lighting choices for that building were impressive but aggressively ahistorical. As advertising, it is probably quite effective. As design it is borderline vulgar? (Is America still going to be in love with pendant-style Edison bulb lighting ten years from now? Feels like a trend more than a revival to me...)

Those two broke up. And, like most breakups, this breakup has engendered resentment, negative feelings, and unhealthy power dynamics. I think it is fair to say that these two should not be working side-by-side as co-owners AND employer-employee. Duh.

Finally, based on what we saw in this episode, the Overtones do not know anything about acoustics. I bet everything they learned about physics happened in high school. The "test" with the app on the phone was ridiculous. When the Hard Rock guy said he was going to rely on them to come up with acoustic solutions to shield the hotel rooms from the noise of the club below, I thought "well, they better hire some people who have expertise in sound to handle that for them."

The weirdest part of the ep was when Marcus returned and found the Overtones still homeless and using intern labor. According to the ep, this was after they had gotten their investment. What complex and bizarre personal problems prevented them from saying -- ok! We're going to pay ourselves $600 a week and get some housing? Drug problem? Huge undisclosed debts? Or maybe the producers were misleading us with the chronology of events. The Marcus-Comes-Back-and-Things-are-Bad narrative element is in most eps, right?

This was an episode where Marcus provided all the value: money, expertise, marketing, sales, connections, manufacturing, business space AND home space. What did the Overtone Acoustics guys provide? They provided one thing: a really good story that could be on The Profit television program.

"The Konnery" "Konebinations" (sp?) That's a Homer Simpson-level of brainstorming! (P.S. There is nothing new about waffle cones with savoury foods.)