Loveday Writing

When Joyce arrives at work with boards for the first issue, she finds the police raiding the Bottom Dollar Publications’ office. When she asks one of the police officers what has happened, he in turn asks if she works there, she tells him she does and he takes her boards away. When she gets inside, Richie tells her that it’s a raid, which happen a few times a year, the police take their stuff, Doug pays the fine, and the police give their stuff back to them. When Doug and Tina arrive, another police officer tells them that the raid is due to a new local councilwoman.

After the police leave, Doug calls a meeting and asks everyone if they have anything saved. Richie tells him he has a few negatives and Joyce reveals that she has mimeographs of the first issue, which leads to Doug bringing the release date a month forward. Unfortunately, the news of the raid spreads, leading to all of Joyce’s contributors backing out. Doug tells her to use old articles of hers with fake names, as she’d have plenty of content due to spending years on the magazine’s development.

Doug goes to City Hall to see Councilwoman Westbury with a bouquet of flowers and hoping to bribe his way out of trouble. However, she reveals that she is on a mission to close adult entertainment businesses to restore family values in the city. Doug points out that there’s nothing illegal about the businesses and that it’s still a free country, no matter how distasteful she might find them, however this doesn’t convince her to stop. She leaves to go to a Daughters of the American Revolution meeting with the troop she runs, and Doug leaves, taking a bag of patches for the troop members and the Councilwoman’s sash as he goes, out of spite.

Back at the Bottom Dollar office, Shelly shows up with boxes of Joyce’s old articles with her 13-year-old son, Tommy, in tow, who has been kicked out of summer school for setting his classmate’s, Eugene, arse on fire in an attempt to light his fart. Shelly gets Tommy to get more boxes out of her car and then sit in the lobby, before going on a tour of the office with Bambi. Meanwhile, Doug and Tina discuss the Westbury situation, with Tina questioning his choice to steal the patches and sash, and telling him that they need to follow the rules as they have real assets to protect now.

Later, Bambi, Shelly and Richie give Joyce feedback on the articles and it’s not what she wants to hear, with their main points being they were difficult to read due to their college-level jargon and aggressive tone. Joyce goes through all her old articles by herself, trying to sort them into ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘maybe’ piles, only for everything to end up in the ‘no’ pile. She feels even worse when she finds a pile of rejection letters from other magazines where she tried to get the articles published. As Joyce is doing this, Richie and Bambi are having fun with Shelly by giving her a makeover and giving her a ride inside the pop out cake on wheels.

After they find Joyce sorting boas in the office, Richie, Bambi and Shelly show her some new pages they’ve come up with, which includes an infographic accompanying an article on contraception, Shelly changing some of the article’s headlines, and Bambi creating a matching game with rejected centrefold photos to provide a transition from an article on female genital mutilation to the nude, male centrefold. However Joyce chastises them for not taking the magazine seriously, insulting Shelly’s skills as a housewife in the process, which leads to her leaving, and Bambi and Richie giving up.

Whilst Joyce is trying to put the first issue together, Doug tries to find and retrieve the stuff taken in the raid by bribing a security guard and City Hall employee, only to be caught by Westbury. When Tina sees Joyce ripping down the draft pages of the magazine in frustration, she calls in a favour, whilst Doug tries to get some “associates” of his to dig up dirt on Westbury. Joyce catches him and tries to talk him out of it, chastising him.

Later, Joyce finds Westbury getting ready for a group photo with her troop, and gives her the patches and sash back, and apologises. She tells her that Doug isn’t so bad as she gave her magazine a chance, and Westbury is intrigued by it as Joyce describes it, only for the meeting to end abruptly when the troop girls go through Joyce’s bag and find Bambi’s centrefold game, to Westbury’s horror. When Joyce tells Westbury not to take herself so seriously, she goes back to the office to apologise to Bambi and Richie and asks for their help, which they’re happy to give her and they manage to put the issue together. When Doug sees it, he loves it and Joyce thanks him for giving her magazine a chance.

Later, Joyce goes to see Shelly with cupcakes and an apology. They sit in Joyce’s car and eat the cupcakes, with Joyce offering Shelly a job at Minx. Meanwhile, Tina meets Doug in a bar and gives her a folder with dirt on Westbury in it, however he asks her to hide it somewhere he can’t find it as they need to stay straight. The episode ends with Westbury putting the troop photo up in her office, discovering that the number on her sash was changed from 17 to 69.

Overall, I felt that this was another solid episode due to the fact that Minx is facing a real-world obstacle to being published and Doug seems to have met his match in Westbury. I also appreciated Shelly becoming more involved with Minx, her intelligence being put on display, and the appearance of her sons, especially Tommy. I found Tommy bonding with the centrefold models both sweet and hilarious, especially when they help him make a get well sign for Eugene. I also appreciated Joyce finally starting to face the fact that maybe she, or rather her attitude, towards Minx is her main problem, and that she needs to be open to feedback and compromise.

Stray Observations:

Episode title – Norman Mailer, Samantha Shortcake, are suggestions Doug gives to Joyce for fake writers’ names to use, to cover up the fact that they are using her old articles to fill the pages of Minx’s first issue.

Running gag – Doug buying a bouquet of flowers to bribe Councilwoman Westbury, only for him to try and give them to another Council employee, Carole, after Westbury refuses to accept them, only for Westbury forbidding Carole to keep them. Doug ends up giving the bouquet to one of his “associates” to give to his wife, Svetlana.

-According to Doug, there have been 19 raids of the Bottom Dollar Publications’ office.

-When Joyce and Shelly are talking in Joyce’s car, Bobby moons them and Shelly is able to tell it’s him because apparently his anus is bluer.

-The names of the centrefold models that help Tommy with his get well sign for Eugene are: Nikki, Jade, Lola, Amber, Roxy, and Cherry. The sign includes a bunny with a band-aid on its bottom.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Oh babes, do me a favour and stuff this in your bra.” (Richie to Joyce, giving her a roll of film during the raid)
• “I want those tassels back, Wayne.” (Bambi to a police officer during the raid)
• “What are you trying to do here, cut out the Valley’s heart?” “Or its tumour.” (Doug-Councilwoman Westbury on shutting down adult entertainment businesses)
• “Where should I park this little pyro here?” (Shelly to Joyce on Timmy at the office)
• “Yeah I looked it up, I looked all of these up. I guess I mostly read the dictionary.” (Bambi to Joyce on the terms used in her articles)
• “I have seen the future and it is terrifying!” “Like you at 4pm?” “Scarier!” (Joyce-Bambi-Joyce)