John from Cincinnati: Episode Six: Time Well Spent on Honey?

"Time well spent" - that was the last line of last night's John from Cincinnati (Episode 6, Day 5 - please, don't ask me why). A part of me was hoping maybe I had misunderstood the count of episodes and "Days" of John's visit on the show even more than I have, and maybe that was the last line of the last episode of the series, which I had somehow just seen On Demand tonight, but ... no such luck ... no, no, I'm only kidding ... well, maybe not completely but at least partially, I think...

Tonight's episode featured: no Mitch (Bruce Greenwood had the Day off), Cissy a little less shrill, Cass looking better than ever in those blue jeans, Tina looking good, too, and everyone else in fine form (though I have to say, Shaun's deadpan character is beginning to wear thin ... though I don't know Greyson Fletcher's acting well enough to say whether it's his fault or the writing and direction ... hmmm... didn't this come up with Hayden Christensen and George Lucas about Star Wars?)

The plot, as usual, can be summarized in two minutes: Cissy feels bad that Shaun hears her badmouthing his mother Tina, and puts Butchie up to getting her back to see Shaunie after all. There are some profound family reveals (but not really surprising for this family) and deep currents of guilt. John also saves another soul - Cissy - in her case, from possibly committing suicide. John tells her to "baptize the pistol," a good line.

And the dialog, as usual, was excellent in parts, and this episode features a brilliant riff-sermon from John, who is finally speaking and not the "human parrot" that Bill says he is (correctly, until last night).

You can read it somewhere over on hbo.com - it's one fine piece of writing. It even has John saying stuff about the Internet - and the "zeroes and ones" in Cass's (digital) camera ...

Gratifying ... I've been saying for years that immortality would be digital code somewhere out there in the cosmos that describes our DNA and our lives.

Actually, there are a bunch of better lines on the show - not in John's riff - but in Butchie talking about Tina sucking ... but I'm trying to take the high, or at least, academic road here, folks ... so good for John for recognizing the digital revolution.

There was also some dead guy that John pulled out of the motel - I'm not sure who he is ... John's father? Maybe it's a good thing this wasn't the finale, so we can find out who this guy is ... Dead, but he delivered a stronger performance than one or two of the others ...

I'm still liking that intro theme song a lot. If you want the honey, don't kill the series....

Wait - maybe the whole Day Six - Episode Seven - next week will be just 60 minutes of silence and black ... and then-


See also reviews of other episodes ... Episode One ... Episode Two ... Episode Three ... Episode Four ... Episode Five ... Episode Seven ... Episode 8 ... Episode 9 ... Episode 10

See also John from Cincinnati: The Meaning in a Sentence or Two