Abby’s Review: Liquid Courage (Season 1 Episode 6)
After five episodes establishing its pace and tone, Abby’s Season 1 Episode 6, “Liquid Courage,” is an opportunity for NBC’s young and unfortunately low-rated comedy to stop treading water, and begin pushing its characters into more interesting, dynamic situations.
The only path to evolution is conflict, and “Liquid Courage” takes two distinct approaches to achieve the same goal of bringing more depth to its (intentionally) small world; the arcs of James and Bill through the episode are interesting case studies in what kind of show Abby’s could become as it continues to mature.
The contrast between the two is structural: James contemplating taking a new, more important job is an external, nearly invisible drama, its stakes mostly contained to the world outside the bar. It is not something most of the other patrons, save for the central cast are invested in, which makes it feel like an ancillary plot, even though it’s definitively the “A” plot of “Liquid Courage”.
Considering how small the scope of Abby’s is (it’s literally two sets set at a single location, the most apt of the many lazy Cheers comparisons thrown onto the show), this is a tall task to weave a compelling story from; it’s much easier for a sitcom like Abby’s to lean on the Bill/Fred story of the episode, in theory a much more tangible, visible – and most importantly, internal – source of dramatic friction.
But both stories aim for the same goal of strengthening the bonds between characters, to varying effect; seeing Abby and the patrons of her bar try and motivate James into challenging himself (no matter how unhealthy or wrong-headed their attempts to get him wasted are) is a moving moment, an organic way to deepen the bonds between characters without relying on saccharine sentimentality or overtly cheap plot tactics.
Sure, James fretting over a new job is a markedly low-stakes affair (and one littered with tropes), but it serves an essential role, adding nooks and crevices to the world of Abby’s (like the group’s knowledge of Tequila Jimmy), which keeps it from reeking of that aforementioned cheapness.
As harped on in previous reviews, the easiest pathway to success for Abby’s is to build layers within its ensemble (and the tiny world they inhabit), and getting James wasted is an easy pathway to do that, if only in observing the other characters and how they react to him.
Seeing someone like Beth, the most cynical of the bar’s personalities, be surprisingly (and dangerously) supportive of James’ professional pursuits is a small moment, but an abundantly important one for the development of the upbeat freshman sitcom.
Bill and Fred’s debate over the facets of an Irish goodbye are an inverse of the same narrative exercise; contained to two specific, known characters, it exists to begin deepening a friendship I fully expect Abby’s to explore in future episodes.
On “Liquid Courage,” it is purely about building a rapport between the two – and it is here where “Liquid Courage” comes up a bit short.
By its very nature, there’s much more nuance to capture between Bill and Fred’s approach to conversation, and friendship: while “Liquid Courage” goes to great lengths to find the humor in it, the underlying connection the show wants the audience to feel at the episode’s conclusion doesn’t exactly feel earned.
There’s an exciting dynamic to explore between the two, but “Liquid Courage” comes up short in making that feel compelling, beyond some vague sense of the generational gap between the two.
It also doesn’t help their story is constantly being backgrounded for drunk James or Richard Allison, the disgruntled neighbor who understandably doesn’t enjoy the loud bar hanging out in his backyard.
Strangely, Abby’s goes from having a lack of conflict in its early episodes to having arguably too much in the short 21 minutes of “Liquid Courage,” – because of that, the Bill/Fred plot is relegated to a few easy punch lines, and a rather stunted resolution tucked into the final minutes.
“Liquid Courage” is an episode on the precipice of being something powerful; while this show’s struggled to explore the personalities of its characters in uniquely compelling ways, there’s a fantastic sense of community felt between all the characters, big and small, of the young NBC comedy.
That is what ultimately keeps “Liquid Courage,” an interesting, uneven exercise in narrative symmetry, afloat – it may not be a particularly compelling entry, but it does a lot of the leg work of continuing to develop the atmosphere of the show’s titular bar, and offers just enough humorous moment to make the rushed attempt at a cathartic ending meaningful.
What did you think of this episode of Abby‘s? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Abby’s airs Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.
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Randy Dankievitch
Randy Dankievitch is a TV critic living in Portland, Maine, whose obsession with pop culture began as a child, watching reruns of The Muensters while listening to Paul's Boutique on repeat. A writer since 2011, Randy is currently the writer of TV Never Sleeps, TV Editor at Goomba Stomp, and a columnist for Up Portland, with previous bylines at Sound on Sight, Processed Media, TV Overmind, and many others.