Welcome to the Captain: 1.3 ‘The Letter’ Recap
February 22, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: February 18, 2008
One morning in his apartment, JOSH informs MARTY that he and Shampoo Girl (her real name is EDWINA, which is why Marty prefers the nickname) have got to leave because the sounds of them having sex is ruining the peace and quiet he needs to work on his screenplay. He then heads downstairs to go jogging and winds up sharing the elevator with HOPE. When Hope reveals that she’s been feeling lonely because her boyfriend Lucas is in New York, Josh invites her to his apartment that night at 8pm for a casual, friendly dinner.
In the lobby, the two bump into UNCLE SAUL and JESUS. After Hope leaves, Uncle Saul asks Josh what he’s going to make for the woman he loves. When Josh reveals he just plans to cook up spaghetti and meatballs, the older man attempts to convince him that he needs to do something more elaborate in tune with Hope’s greatest culinary desires.
Josh walks into his bathroom later that day and finds Edwina giving Marty highlights over the sink. He has a meeting with JOEY FATONE and wants to impress the celebrity to gain his business. The conversation is interrupted by Uncle Saul and Jesus, who are at the door with a bag of Hope’s trash.
Josh is initially opposed to their idea of going through the garbage to find out what kind of food Hope likes, but he’s all for it when the contents reveal she’s a vegan, which means spaghetti and meatballs is not such a good idea for dinner. The two busybodies also discover half of a torn note that seems to be a breakup letter Hope wrote to her boyfriend Lucas.
It then becomes Uncle Saul and Jesus’ mission to find the other half of the note to verify whether or not they’re correct. Since Hope had asked Jesus to replace a lightbulb in her apartment earlier, he uses that service request as a way to get inside. He spots the other half of the letter behind the kitchen counter while he’s there. But, as he’s on the floor trying to reach it, Hope walks in and catches him before he can.
During the dinner of burnt tofu turkey at Josh’s, Hope reveals that her acupuncture partner is the one who comes over with vegan food all the time. She personally thinks it tastes like Band-Aids. So, Josh makes something with meat in it, and in gratitude afterwards, Hope offers to get more wine from the kitchen.
While she’s inside the room, she finds the torn note in the trash. Aware that Josh has been through her garbage, she leaves in a hurry. Moments later, Uncle Saul and Jesus arrive with the news that the note was in fact a breakup letter, which Jesus confirmed when he went back into Hope’s apartment after she left for Josh’s.
Marty returns soon with his hair a mess, and he tells Josh about how his bangs fell into Joey Fatone’s ponzu sauce at their business meeting. He now must break up with Shampoo Girl because he can’t have his hair doing that.
Since Josh doesn’t want Hope to think he’s some crazy stalker, he decides to take his bag of trash to her apartment so she can get even by going through it. She’s reluctant, just like he was earlier with her garbage. But, when he starts taking embarrassing items out himself, she gets into it, especially when she sees he uses Secret brand deodorant for women. Josh explains the slogan does say it’s strong enough for a man.
During the visit, Josh works up the nerve to ask Hope if everything’s okay between her and her boyfriend. Hope acknowledges that the long-distance relationship has been a strain. As a result, her boyfriend is thinking about moving to California to be closer to her. Uncle Saul and Jesus are listening at the front door, and Jesus screams aloud when Hope breaks the news.
MY TAKE: Once again, Welcome to the Captain isn’t all bad, but it isn’t good either. I’ll never understand why anyone thought this specific series needed to be on television, what with all the shows that get pitched each season. It will be forgotten (or ignored) by most before it even leaves the schedule. Oddly enough, though, I like Fran Kranz, the guy who plays Josh, more and more each episode. Maybe it’s the hair, which looks like it’s never seen a comb before most of the time…
