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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: February 29, 2012
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Happy Endings, “Cocktails and Dreams” (Season 2, Episode 16) [Stream on Hulu]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Happy Endings only lasted three seasons, but in just that short time, they secured a legacy for themselves as one of the best ensemble comedies of the 2010s. This was a show that owed its debt to Friends on its sleeve — six friends, living in a major American city (this time it’s Chicago), two of them are siblings — and while it wasn’t the hit right out of the gate that Friends was, it managed a more interesting accomplishment: the rare show that builds itself from a disappointing pilot to a cult hit by the end of its first season.
“Cocktails and Dreams” finds Happy Endings midway through its second season, arguably its sweetest spot. Max (Adam Pally) has a boyfriend (played by dreamy James Wolk), Dave (Zachary Knighton) is making it happen with his food truck, and the Year of Penny is in its 17th month. The major plot here is that Dave has opened a pop-up restaurant, an offshoot of his Steak Me Home Tonight food truck called Cocktails & Dreams, which serves fancy hipster drinks that get Dave’s friends good and drunk. And — fun side effect — it gives Dave’s friends a bunch of sex dreams about Dave. Sex dreams scored to the “Baker Street” sax solo.
While it’s always fun to watch Brad, Jane, and Penny react in horror to Dave sex dreams (“bitch, it is 5:30!”), the rest of the episodes subplots are woven in so effectively. Penny’s ill-advised juice cleanse in particular leads her to this cold-open gag where she confused Dave’s offer of a hipster cocktail (“Whore’s Bath?”) for an insult.
Casey Wilson’s delivery is so sublime. Somehow, every single word in that outburst is hilarious completely on its own? She’s a genius. As is this episode. As was Happy Endings.
