Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The inaugural season of TBS’ brand new anthology series The Guest Book just finished airing its tenth and final episode on September 28th and we’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on what an intriguingly mindless mess it was. Brought to you by Emmy-winning writer Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl), each episode of the comedy features a totally new story with brand new guest actors that also somehow intertwines with the plot. Despite its lack of coordination, Garcia recruited an exceptional lineup of stars and produced a series that is just goofy enough to be funny.
Let’s first talk about the recurring aspects of the series, like the two random office co-workers who start off each episode with a “Previously On” dialogue. They have nothing to do with the actual show but appear prior to each new storyline, with one of them recapping the previous episode to his visibly uninterested colleague. There’s also a band, HoneyHoney, who are not involved in the plot but perform the show’s theme song as well as appear at the end of each episode to perform a closing tune. There are also five or so main recurring characters who appear in each episode and are involved in the show’s storyline, which often takes a backseat to the individual plot of each episode.
First you have Wilfred (Charlie Robinson), the owner of the show’s rental cottage “Froggy Cottage” where the guests from each episode stay and narrate their experience while writing in the guest book. Vivian (Carly Jibson), the owner of Chubby’s strip club, and her stepson Frank (Lou Wilson), end up involved in almost every story and are also blackmailing Charlie who had made the mistake of visiting the shady small town club once. Kellie Martin also recurs as Officer Kimberly Leahy, who is often oblivious to the happenings at Froggy Cottage while trying to develop a potential relationship with the cabin’s neighbor Dr. Andrew Brown (Garret Dillahunt).
Some of the show’s noteworthy guest actors have included Community’s Danny Pudi, Jenna Fischer, Casual’s Tommy Dewey and Michaela Watkins, Michael Rapaport and Jaime Pressly. Each episode presents a different bizarre scenario that landed each of these new characters at Froggy Cottage for a brief stay, all of which are pretty funny to watch unfold. The Michael Rapaport episode seems to be one of the standout episodes from the first season, with one of the strangest backstories and a very goofy dance party to bring it all to a close. Oh, and Wilfred’s wife also straight up says “pussy fart” during the episode (on a family network), but that’s besides the point.
Overall The Guest Book is an entertaining half-hour series that we feel is worth a watch. While there are some aspects of the show that don’t quite seem to make sense, the brand new cast each week is always a refreshing surprise and it doesn’t require a whole lot of brainpower to follow. You never know what you’re going to get, which is perfect if you’re just looking for something silly to unwind to. Season 2 is slated to premiere in 2018, but until then, you can catch up on all 10 episodes of the first season via the newly reformatted TBS app, which is available on most digital platforms.
Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor
