I don’t know how to tell you this so I’m going to come right out and say it: this is another in a series of less-than-entertaining episodes. In my opinion, Season One has taken a real turn for the worse since episode 18 and I am none too pleased. I’m sorry you have to suffer with me but, then again, at least we’re together?

This episode is another dog’s breakfast of plot lines the most significant of which involves Maggie and Jason grappling with career decisions (as the title so clearly implies). The long and the short of it is: Maggie’s got a front page story in the local paper and she is so grateful that Jason moved his practice back home so her career could shine. But then an old colleague comes by to offer Jason a job heading the psychiatry department in his old hospital and now we have what I like to call a conundrum. Who gets to pursue their career? Only time will tell.

What viewers will endure is about fifteen minutes worth of Jason making pro-con lists and debating whether to tackle career conversations with Maggie with integrity or selfish desires to escape the house every day. Maggie will wrestle with pressure to support her husband while still maintaining her own career. Viewers will wonder why someone needs to be at home with the kids after school when Mike and Carol are both old enough to take care of Ben for a couple hours. Alas, clearly Maggie and Jason are implicitly opposed to latchkey kids.  Personally, I loved the couple hours of perceived absolute freedom between when I got off school and my parents came home from work. I got to watch Much Music (the Canadian equivalent of MTV) and eat snacks I probably shouldn’t have been eating. That’s a big win for an 11 year old. Once again, I digress.

For a brief moment, it seems that Jason will be spared having to compromise on his career. Maggie gets lambasted for a typo in an article. Her editor is a bit of a hothead and seems to think that putting the wrong initial in someone’s name is the end of the world, and then Maggie somehow determines the best way to deal with this work mishap is to simply quit.  She talks to Jason about it, and he does the unthinkable: he takes the low road and quasi-manipulates Maggie into thinking quitting might just be the right choice. This is a rarely seen path for Jason and it does not suit him well.

What ensues is a classic sitcom misunderstanding in which Jason thinks Maggie has gone to work to quit, but Maggie has really gone to work to tell her editor she’s the shit. Jason storms in to try to stop her from quitting and Maggie tells him in no uncertain terms that was not her plan and we all have a good laugh. In the end, Maggie gets to keep her career and Jason has to give up his job…but not really, because he’s still gainfully employed.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, Carol, Mike and Ben all pretty much have nothing going on in this episode.

At the end of this episode, I’m left wondering:

• Aren’t there fact checkers for newspaper stories to make sure minor typos like that don’t happen? As I write this, I suspect maybe not at a Long Island community paper…
• Really, couldn’t both Maggie and Jason have had their dream careers? I’m living proof that latchkey kids turn out just fine.
• What is happening at the tail end of season 1? The episodes are getting painful to watch.