Go On: Janie Planned Ryan's Birthday in Advance

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So just a couple of quick notes on this episode... the B-story was weak and useless... it felt like they needed something different to do with Sonia for some reason and that's all that the writers could conjure. I thought that the entire concept was cute - a fun birthday planned for someone recently widowed, but it turns out that his late wife did think ahead a little in that respect. In the end, Anne and Mr. K dancing was pretty interesting but a tad unbelievable... how much do you have to love a specific dance to a song to take part in it with someone for whom you're not too crazy?

Go On "Any Given Birthday" (S01E07): Ryan doesn't want to celebrate his birthday this year because Janie always made a big deal out of it and he wants something more low-key. [while it sounds okay in theory, I would bet he'd miss a big event.] Yolanda pays a lot of money (everyone was supposed chip in TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS each!) to have a company organize a Ryan-themed scavenger hunt, which he decides to take part in anyway. ["chant" and "content" WERE a mess!] Anne, Lauren, and Mr. K are on Ryan's team, and the first task is to get Ryan's photo on the wall at a dry cleaners. (by the way, Sonia isn't competing because she's taking Ryan's place in helping Steven around, who just had a colonoscopy. Problematically, she lets him do whatever her wants, including dropping a ton of money while shopping. This was an odd storyline and that's all I'm saying.) He talks the guy into it and the next clue asks for someone to streak. Mr. K. (and Danny for the other team) take part before everyone heads to Ryan's office to use t-shirt guns to shoot at Ryan cut-outs. [funny!]

(Photo by: Vivian Zink/NBC)

Then, they hop in a limo, and Ryan tells Lauren that it's the first birthday he's enjoyed in years. Turns out, the limo isn't from the hunt but was a pre-planned birthday gift from his wife, which takes them to an elaborately decorated hotel suite. They give up on finishing the scavenger hunt, and Janie appears to wish Ryan his annual happy returns. [I wanted to see them finish!]