SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Universal Basic Guys Season 3, Episode 1.
Universal Basic Guys has flown somewhat under the radar, but the Season 3 premiere is one of the best episodes yet. “Rhoda” sees the FOX comedy utilize familiar elements from other animated sitcoms—and then, in typical Universal Basic Guys fashion, throw them into a blender and do a Spinal Tap-style turning up to eleven. The result is something comfortingly familiar and hilariously absurd at the same time.
“Rhoda” is named that because Mark and Hank’s mom decides to waltz back into their lives. But this is no “Mother Simpson.” Instead, Rhoda is hell-bent on making Mark’s life as difficult as possible. The duo play a game of psychological warfare that’s exponentially worse since Mark can never choose the simple option. Rhoda successfully uses his ego against him to get what she wanted all along: moving into the family’s spare room.
What makes the Universal Basic Guys Season 3 premiere special is that once again, the show takes some massive swings to get to that point. It goes from Mark claiming that the spare room is Tammy’s art studio, to Mark getting Tammy an entire art exhibition by using David’s paintings, to Tammy having to paint a public mural for all of Glantontown, to David having a public meltdown. It’s one absurd twist after another in the way that only animation can pull off.
Animation buffs will be able to draw some parallels to King of the Hill‘s “Ceci N’est Pas Une King of the Hill,” in which Peggy Hill also mistakenly believed she was an artist, as well as the Bob’s Burgers episode “Art Crawl,” where Gayle Gennaro also showcased some controversial art. Yet Universal Basic Guys isn’t copying its predecessors. Just as in Season 2, the show is playing on such a larger scale that the audience can’t predict where the plot ends up. It’s not just about Tammy’s art, or Mark’s mom—there’s also David having some serious issues, and poor Hank having to mourn the murder of his beloved houseplant Grassie. Which is very much treated like a murder and not just a blade of grass tossed out a window.
“Rhoda” is funny for how bizarre it is, which is Universal Basic Guys‘ stock in trade. But unlike some other animated shows, it’s not weird for the sake of being weird or for shock value; it’s weird in an earnest way. This episode also maintains that. Underneath all Mark’s lies and the increasingly poor decision-making, there are some mini-emotional arcs for the characters. The most obvious is Hank, reclaiming his life after Rhoda gives his place an unsolicited makeover; the final scene of him introducing Grassie 2 to all of Tammy’s paintings is genuinely heartwarming, both for him and for Tammy even if she’ll probably never know it. There’s also Tammy wanting so much to believe she’s an artist, and even Mark trying (unsuccessfully) to deal with his mom issues. The premiere moves the Hoagies family forward and lays the groundwork for the rest of the season—how long will Rhoda actually be part of the show? Series creators Adam and Craig Malamut could pull the character out every week if they wanted to.
Three seasons in, Universal Basic Guys has crafted a successful framework. Whatever strange or arrogant idea Mark has easily creates a “plot of the week” to build around. But that alone is not enough to sustain a show, and the Malamut brothers have figured out how to weave character beats in between the next unpredictable things. They’re clearly having fun writing the big stuff, yet they haven’t forgotten the little stuff. And the Season 3 premiere feels exactly as any TV premiere should, animated or otherwise; it gets viewers excited for what comes next.
Universal Basic Guys airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Photo Credit: Courtesy of FOX.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
