Uncle Buck continues the double episode scheduling that started a few episodes ago. Last week saw the series pick up in terms of a successful recipe of Buck and kids with less Mom and Pop. These latest two episodes “The Interrogation” and “Block Party” shifted the formula around yet again and regardless of screen time both episodes were funny and enjoyable.
Sadly this change in the series comes to late to save it. The two episodes are the last of Uncle Buck. This will be discussed below.
In “The Interrogation” Will and Alexis return home to find a glass door broken into bits. Will is furious. The family are scattered about the house. Maizy is wearing a bee costume and her lips are surrounded with blue coloring. Tia comes out wearing a towel and Miles appears with a blue snow cone. Uncle Buck comes out with another snow cone and asks how the movie was as Hector puts out a fire on the patio.
Will and Alexis interrogate the family and not one of the kids or Buck know how the “window” (as Will calls it although it is a glass door) was broken. Will suggests that they question the group a ‘la Law and Order, “Bing bong,” says Will.
(Sidenote: It was a running gag that between each interrogation segment the “Bloink bloink” noise from the cop show played.)
While the episode’s main comedy focus was the lack of progress from the parents questioning the suspects, the best bit was the way that Tia and Buck see each other.
To Tia, Uncle Buck is a walking example of a 1980s hipster. To Buck, Tia is a dictionary spouting child that uses long words to confuse.
Equally funny is Miles seeing himself as rapper and hip-hop artist Big Sean as shown in his flashback sequence.
Each suspect gives their version of what happened prior to the window breaking. No one knows what really happened. Although Buck, Miles and Tia agree that the wood chipper was used to make ice chips.
(Sidenote: The recollection of Hector, played by Oscar Nuñez, has everyone talking like the Mexican bandit from The Treasure of Sierra Madre.)
After all is said and done, and all those “bloink, bloink” sound effects from Law and Order have ended, the truth comes out that Uncle Buck and Miles were making a giant snow cone. It is also revealed that only one member of the family who knows how the window (glass door) was broken; the family dog.
The show ends with Buck filming the dog stealing food from the rubbish bin and as the two interact Buck breaks the window.
In “Block Party” Tia makes a documentary about Will and Buck’s old neighborhood. The film shows the “hood” to be violent and scary. Uncle Buck tells Tia that his old stomping grounds are nothing like her filmed depiction.
When Alexis and Will come home, Buck announces that the entire family are going back the old neighborhood for the annual block party. Over Will’s protests the entire family go to the hood for the festivities.
Down at the party, Will gets back his bicycle, Uncle Buck gets overprotective with Tia and Alexis learns that she will always be family. The second episode was funny but easily the weaker of the two. Although the end of the episode, where Tia shows her new documentary to the neighborhood, was touchingly funny.
In “Block Party” the focus was on Buck, Tia, Will and Alexis with Miles getting some notice while Maizy was just along for the ride. The episode was humorous but not nearly as funny as “The Interrogation.”
These last two aired episodes were the season finale for series and the show will not be back. Variety reported that ABC cancelled the show and one of the stars of the show; James Lesure, tweeted confirmation that Uncle Buck would not be back.
It is a shame that the network appeared to have so little faith in the show. Granted, it took a while to find its feet but in eight episodes Uncle Buck overcame a slow start and was gelling nicely. The child actors delivered in each and every episode and that is unusual in a series with young characters as an integral part of the storyline.
The show was uneven as the last two episodes proved but still held promise as the cast and the stories began to click. Perhaps if the series had a few more episodes, like 13 for instance, it could have really started finding a firm audience. Although they were pulling in 3.8 million live viewers.
So it is official, Uncle Buck has ridden off into the “manny” sunset, not to return.
CAST:
- Mike Epps – Uncle Buck
- Sayeed Shahidi – Miles
- Iman Benson – Tia
- Aalyrah Caldwell – Maizy
- Nia Long – Alexis
- James Lesure – Will
- Special guest: Big Sean – Flashback Miles
Mikes Film Talk 