5 episodes that show why we’re still mourning Happy Endings

[TMC]

http://www.avclub.com/article/5-epis...py-endi-230968

Happy Endings is one of those shows whose cancellation still inspires gnashing of teeth and rending of garments from its audience—while people who never saw the sitcom during its three-season run on ABC look on perplexed. On the surface, the show just looks like any of a number of urban ensemble “hangout comedies,” like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, My Boys, even Seinfeld. But the show—following six Chicago friends who try to keep the gang together after flighty Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) leaves wannabe “cool guy” Dave (Zachary Knighton) at the altar—deserves a closer look. It shares an unbridled group chemistry with the shows mentioned above, but its bizzaro dialogue and deep reserve of pop-culture references—all delivered at light speed—were unlike that of any other series. What other hangout sitcom would drop jokes about flowy pants from Angela Bassett’s fictional fashion line (“Bassett By Angela For Angela Bassett”), a homemade trashcan stove (a.k.a. “trove”), or a food truck called Steak Me Home Tonight?

Happy Endings fearlessly delivered pratfalls and slapstick along with its non sequiturs and cutaway gags, setting it all against the apparent backdrop of a heartwarming comedy. But its ultimate goal was hilarity, which it achieved by bypassing loftier ideals that tripped up lesser sitcoms (such as learning, or loving). All six players—Cuthbert, Knighton, Eliza Coupe, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr., and Casey Wilson—brought something new to the sitcom table, and the meshing and shuffling of their characters made for a sitcom that felt newer still.

The following are five episodes that will help the unitiated become familiar with this brilliantly funny show. They might begin with a familiar setup—Brad’s straitlaced dad comes to town! The gang tries to avoid an old friend!—but they soon take a U-turn, and then navigate a few unexpected turns before reaching a destination that’s very unfamiliar, but still funny.