‘Dr. Ken’ Episode Review: “Ken’s Banquet Snub”

Dr. Ken, Season 2, Episode 3: “Ken’s Banquet Snub”
Original airdate October 7, 2016.

Doctor, doctor, gimme the news.
Pat is asked to host the Welltopia banquet this year, instead of Ken, who has done the honors for the past five years.  Allison counsels him to “take the high road” and allow someone else to have the spotlight for a change.  Damona and Clark reconsider their relationship instincts and briefly swap strategies, Damona holding her tongue in check with her boyfriend, and Clark speaking his peeves with his boyfriend.  Dave has an admirer in the girl next door, who has a creepy way of hanging around.

Prognosis negative.
This episode is all over the place, and the only thing holding it together is the well-established chemistry of the characters.  Each of the plots is thin and uninteresting, although the A story had some potential.  Tapping into Pat’s continued confusion over his now-ended relationship with Damona can pay off, not to mention what could be some remorse by Ken over what might have been a career in standup comedy.  The resolving scene in Ken’s car is a good effort, but it lacks any of the heft it shoots for with these characters.  It’s also becoming clear that the writers don’t know what to do with Dave, Molly, and D.K. at home.

I’m detecting a pulse.
Pat takes a well-aimed shot at Ken Park the doctor and Ken Jeong the actor when he says, “I guess maybe they wanted more a thinking man’s comedy, and less desparate man’s comedy.  You know, more cerebral humor and less of the rubber-faced clowning that is your trademark.”  It’s one of the few memorable lines.  Clark and Damona have a cute scene where they do some awkward mugging while they await Ken’s reaction to finding out that Pat’s taken his gig.  In fact, Damona and Clark are really the highlight this week: their relationship is turning into quite a nice friendship.

Refills: 20.
The nice thing about an episode like this is that, unlike the vibe last season, it doesn’t feel like it’s bombing the audition.  A bad-to-mediocre week is just a stone in the road now, and there’s no reason to get depressed about it, the way I might have last year.  We’ve got 20ish more to go, so let’s get some bed rest and come back in a week.  2 bedpans out of 5.