About: Traffic Light "No Good Deed"

There are a lot of things I really like about Traffic Light. The first of which is the characters. While I wouldn't say I'm completely invested in any of them just yet I can see that kind of relationship forming in the future. I enjoy the ease of the comedy. The show doesn't rely on over-contrived plots; it works well with the little quirky things that make life funny. I tend to dislike shows that rely too heavily on meta-humor or reuse the same stale tropes I've seen so many times before (with the exception of last week's "Breaking Bread" I haven't seen this as a problem for Traffic Light). I also like the natural style of the dialogue. I find that some shows use overly-manufactured language that feels like a chore rather than a conversation. Traffic Light uses a much more natural speech pattern that makes the whole thing look and feel effortlessly funny.

So after that little 'ode to Traffic Light' let's get into the meat of the episode.Overall, I really enjoyed this week's episode "No Good Deed". Adam leaves Callie's car running; keys in the ignition, doors unlocked and... it gets stolen?! In Chicago?! Maybe not his best move but his intentions were pure, weren't they? If you haven't noticed the pattern forming in my last few reviews, I'll just point it out. I like Adam. He is probably my favorite character at this point. There is something about him that is so charming and so naive that you can't help but side with the guy on pretty much everything. He gets his girlfriends car stolen and I'm still fixated on the fact that he got her an oil change. He's got that awful word vomit (Mean Girls, look it up.) quality that makes you cringe whenever he opens his mouth. Why he ever thought pulling a "Callie move" was a phrase worth coining, I will never understand. But no matter what he says he always manages to whip out a little charm and redeem himself.

So Callie's car get's stolen and the obvious next move is for Adam to take her insurance check, sneak out and buy her a new one, right? Well, maybe in Adam's world. So he brings Mike and Ethan along to do the negotiating which is probably a good idea considering his obvious gravitation toward extended warranties. Watching Mike and Ethan go head to head was entertaining. The competition was a nice way to add a little more depth to their relationship. We still don't know much about who these characters are beyond the superficial and I'm glad to see these baby steps leading in the right direction. Ethan goes straight for the sale leader board and pinpoints Glenn, the only salesman with nothing to show for it. Mike chooses to go straight for negotiation. Adam eats donuts.

I can't say I was shocked by the Callie-bought-the-same-car twist. She obviously needed a new car, she had insurance money coming in the mail and she just finished designing her dream car online the night before. So while it wasn't a surprise, it was just as entertaining to see what I feared would happen come to fruition.

The Mike and Lisa storyline left a little something to be desired but it did offer a deeper look at Mike's character and his relationship with Lisa. Frozen yogurt, huh? Who knew that could be a 'move'. More importantly we learned that Mike is the kind of person that would have a "little brother" and actually keep up with him and his accomplishments. We also learned that Mike can't stand not getting credit for his own accomplishments. This probably isn't a foreign concept to any of us. I definitely would have been pissed off if my "little brother" dedicated his book to someone else. But unlike Mike I would never have admitted it and I definitely wouldn't have tried to confront him about it. That tells us a little more about his character.Of course Charlie offered a perfect explanation for the dedication which would make anyone feel like an ass.

Ethan taking Glenn under his wing was unexpected but I really liked it. So far we know that Ethan is a bit of a womanizer and not what anyone would consider boyfriend material. But we also know that he is a loyal friend.  He seems to have a habit of befriending people that probably don't have many other companions in their lives.  He's got his faceless neighbor who he communicates with on a daily basis via the vent in his apartment. And he had Glenn for a short while until he taught him too well and lost him. While Ethan may be the most shallow of the main characters I think he's got a lot of heart that we have yet to see. I'm really interested to see how the writers develop his character over the course of the season(s) (fingers crossed!)

This is the part where I usually write the lines I thought were funny or make any other random observations. Unfortunately, I only watched this episode once this week (and the review is STILL late) and I watched without a pen and paper. Rookie mistake. So feel free to remind me of anything I may have forgotten. And as always, thanks for reading!