TMP-a-thon: Season 1: Episode 4 - "Halloween"

SCORE:

3 Golden Rings

Strengths include: 

• Continuity - picking up with Josh; Josh being a dick; Josh as Inigo Montoya after stalking Mindy on the internet
• Return of Tom and Mindy sentimentally rewatching his embarrassing hot pizza video
•  Mindy’s rejected Halloween costumes, including Little Wayne on the Prairie and Dirty Harry Potter.
•  “In Sickness, Health and Murder”
•  Stray cat!
• Doro Wat reference

 Weaknesses:

The obvious*

Gwen continues to suck as a best friend and really isn't used in any pivotal way.

Riley, especially as a Princess for Halloween which was so unoriginal. Sorry kid, you ARE boring.
*Post-review note - see my review of the Episode 6 "Thanksgiving" which has expanded my understanding/softened the Grinch.

Danny & Jeremy at the DMV

Their interaction is cute but their surreptitious DMV visit was way too random and also a waste of the Halloween theme. Who wouldn't have loved to see Danny in his Halloween costume? I know it's a comedy but in stronger episodes, the side plot is better integrated into the main story line. An easy way to resolve this disconnect (although I would have preferred a side plot related to the actual Halloween theme), would have been to ground Danny's reason to get his driver's license to something related to another character (most obviously, Mindy - see below*) and not just the arbitrary motivation of "a license to be a man." Also, Danny crashing the car during his road test was too obvious to be especially funny.

BELOW: This episode strays too far from Mindy and Danny's relationship - not that their interaction has to consume every episode or that they need to be in every scene together. However, the previous "In the Club" episode demonstrated how, even when Mindy and Danny are not interacting, the show hasn't abandoned exploring and furthering their relationship - even in a scene of Mindy simply eyeing Danny getting into a cab with another woman. In fact, this episode could have picked up from the last one. Danny and the mystery woman from the club the other night are going out to a Halloween party; mystery woman shows up in a costume (further maintaining the mystery- for example, if she's wearing an eye mask) identical to one Mindy was planning (and even wearing), and thus this costume idea is also ruined/rejected last minute - leaving Mindy in a lurch both costume-wise and emotionally.

Halloween Costume

Mindy is really cute as Diane from Cheers but that show is too dated to resolve Mindy's earlier angst and "nail it" as a costume that is "both hilarious and sexy." Realistically, she'd be unrecognizable to anyone but hardcore Cheers fans, i.e. mostly middle-aged (practically elderly) folks. 

My alternative "cool and witty girl who kills it in bed" finale costume – Mindy should have gone to Josh's party as (one of) the hot girl(s) from the Office (wink, wink). 
Here's how I imagine the dialogue could go:
Josh (enthusiastically, in recognition of Mindy's Halloween costume): Kelly Kapoor from the Office!
Mindy: What? No - do you think all Indian girls look alike? I'm obviously Pam. 

Loved Little Wayne on the Prairie