Guys with Kids: Trivia Night is Better than Faking an Injury!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

What I loved most about this episode? Sheila's scoff at camp counselors having tons of enthusiasm. Guys, most of you have no idea how true this is. I did it for two summers of resident camp, a winter session of resident camp, and another summer of day camp, and you have to have enthusiasm or you're not going to make it. People who've never done it think it's an easy job, but you work sixteen-hour days, take your lunch WITH the kids, and on your breaks you do your laundry and check your email (smartphones weren't a thing back when I was a counselor, so every staff member shared one computer in the lodge, or you spent more of your break driving to the library). Otherwise, you're "on" the entire time. But you know what? I loved it. And, I bet Chris did, too. I could see Gary playing the cool guy at camp and Marny and Sheila being "too good for camp," while Nick rocked out and Emily did everything by-the-books to earn every possible badge. Actually, after all of this I hope we get another flashback of sorts, haha! What do you associate with enthusiasm?

Guys with Kids "Me Time" (S01E13): Gary is getting cabin fever from being home with the kids all the time, but Marny is too tired to talk when she gets home from work, making Gary even more anxious. [poor guy!] Nick suggests that she build some "alone time" into her day by lying to Gary about working late. Well, it works until the family is on a walk and sees Marny at the gym. [figures!] He calls her on it, and though he believes her story about wanting to look good for him, he decides to go as well, and he wants to sing and hold hands on the treadmill. [whoa. WHO DOES THAT??] She decides to fake an injury but he starts going overboard helping her around, going so far as to hire an acupuncturist and get her a motorized scooter. [hahaha at him bringing her into the guys' locker room for comparison!] She winds up coming clean in a "Tell-Tale Heart" scenario, blaming it on Nick, who told her to lie.

Chris signs up he, Nick, Emily, and Sheila for a bar trivia game, and Sheila names their team "Let's Get Quizzical." [whoa.] She and Nick soon become fiercely competitive, actually working in tandem. Unfortunately, when Chris and Emily keep costing them points, Sheila tasks Nick with firing Emily and Chris. Instead, Nick just lies and says that he's running late and they're not going to trivia this week. [how odd! the ONE thing these two have in common is trivia??] Unfortunately, Chris and Emily figure out they've been duped when Sheila and Nick will both be 35 minutes late and sound like they're calling from the same place. They go down to the bar and ruin Sheila and Nick's chance of winning. [that totally sucks!] Gary, fresh from hearing that Nick told his wife to lie to him, joins them and clinches the loss, preventing Nick from ever entering the establishment again. [I'm pretty sure a bar wouldn't go along with such a ban. they want the business, LoL. more importantly, I'm wondering where all of the kids were... ALL with Marny??]

Vivian Zink/NBC