The Crazy Ones – The Spectacular

• Title: The Crazy Ones – The Spectacular
• IMDB: link

While her father dabbles with a pro-bono project involving ducklings and Andrew (Hamish Linklater) mopes around because of Simon’s (Robin Williams) preferential treatment to Zach (James Wolk), Sydney (Sarah Michelle Gellar) struggles to deliver a spectacular stunt promised by her father to launch the new campaign of Windy City Coffee.

Thinking outside the box, Sydney comes up with a giant coffee pot pouring pipping hot coffee into a giant coffee cup outside the store’s main location. Although momentarily successful, the firm goes immediately into damage control mode when high winds cause the crowds to be sprayed on by burning hot coffee. Despite her initial failure, Sydney figures out how to turn the event to the brand’s advantage and comes up with just the kind of exciting campaign they were looking for.

Both stories are pretty simple. The role reversal between Andrew and Zach teaches both a lesson, and the over-the-top coffee fiasco gives Sydney a moment of bad press but also the chance to use it to the firm’s ultimate advantage. For a show the concepts are continually lightweight, and the show is still hurt by and overabundance of improvisation. That said, “The Spectacular” holds together slightly better than the show’s Pilot episode.