(Season 2, Episode 9 – “Badge Bunny”)
We need some CliqueClack groupies. Maybe call them ‘Clique Cuties’ because both men and women can be cute. These ‘Clique Cuties’ could follow us all around, date us, share us amongst the others in the group, and get to know every single intimate detail about our lives. It would be like they were stalking us.
Um … maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea after all. Forget I said anything. Really, forget I said it. Or, at least blame someone else on the CC team for saying it. Hey, I’m not proud!
As you’re forgetting that someone who wasn’t me ever mentioned the idea of ‘Clique Cuties’, here are a few items of interest from this week’s Life.
I’m kidnapped? No, you’re kidnapped: Leave it to the creators of Life to throw us a huge curve at the very ending of the episode. And, with no closure as to what happens to Crews when the show comes back after Thanksgiving break (they’re spending it with family — doesn’t everyone?). It was quite the shock since, normally, it’s Charlie who’s surprising the members of the Conspiracy with some of his findings. Not Mickey Rayborn. This former cop, who is played by the actor William Atherton, looks to have the upper hand on Charlie. Looking forward to see how this is resolved in a few weeks.
The Badge Bunnies: Yes, they’re beautiful. Sure, they’re willing to do practically anything to please you. Yes, they like to swim naked in other people’s pools. But, the Badge Bunnies who were swarming around those police officers seemed to be swaying over to the edge of obsessive stalking. To me, they are more of a distraction than anything. For the Los Angeles police who accepted them, it seemed like the Bunnies were tearing them away from their jobs as well as their families.
The Surreal World of Reese and Tidwell: What the hell is going on between these two? I’m starting to believe that a sober Reese is not a smart Reese. And, it’s not because Tidwell is just the total opposite of Dani. It’s because she’s a detective and he’s her boss. Should someone higher up find out, there’s going to be hell to pay.
Despite this, the funniest moments of this installment of Life involved both of them. Not during their time at the firing range, which was sexy in a creepy way, but once they reached the location where the murder weapon was found. The questions were flying as Charlie asked if Reese and Tidwell came together and why they were using the wrong guns. Even funnier was when Dani asked why Charlie had glitter on his face.
Stark’s sister: We viewers haven’t really had a chance to know Charlie’s former partner except towards the beginning of last season (and one important moment towards the end). All we’ve gotten is dribs and drabs of his life. One more of those drabs came up this week when we found out that Bobby’s sister was one of the Badge Bunnies. This was another funny moment in the episode. Particularly when Stark found her out and she had to get dressed again. At the same time Crews, Stark and Ted all said for her to re-dress outside. You had to be there to see the hilarity.
Ted and Olivia: These poor lovers! You can see that they truly care for each other. But, Olivia is going to marry Crews’ father in a month (a man we have yet to meet), which means she won’t be able to get together with Ted in that way again. However, at least she can help him get his life in order. Getting people to enroll in his business class helped out a lot towards that end. I do hope that these two remain friends at the minimum.
The brighter, darker side of Los Angeles: Last thing to talk about this week is the environment that surrounds Crews and Reese. Despite being broken and battered by life, both of these detectives work in the bright and shiny version of Los Angeles. Even the scum of the city are pristine. I compare this to the Los Angeles of The Shield, which is dark and bleak and fits the characters to a ‘T’. It’s not connected to the episode in any way. It’s just an observation of the show’s ambiance that makes it the success it is with its fans.
Next on Life – Hopefully, the kidnapping issue with Charlie is resolved as he and Reese work on a case in the middle of an Indian reservation.
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on Nov 20, 2008 @ 23:00 EST5EDT
What was up with the next episode preview? It didn’t even mention the cliffhanger. I guess Charlie being reversed kidnapped or whatever isn’t a big deal. This was only a so-so episode for me. I find it really hard to believe that there’s such a thing as badge bunnies…I mean, maybe I’m just overly bitter about that $114 jaywalking ticket from 2005, but I can’t buy a bunch of hot chicks flinging themselves at some cops.
I’m also irked by the relationship between Dani and Tidwell. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Donal Logue (remember back in like, 1995, when he helped co-host that episode of MTV’s 120 Minutes with Greg Dulli from the Afghan Wigs and they did their Scarface impression-comedy gold!), but there’s no way Reese would fall for his character. At least not romantically-there’s something off about the whole thing.
They really screwed up their cliffhanger with the opening clip of the preview of the next episode.
I loved this episode, even though I found the Badge Bunnies and the clan-like attitude of the “other” cops very unrealistic. I agree with Richard — the Tidwell/Reese gun mixup was hilarious.