so, has anyone else thought that Clay Burton is Fred Kwan’s demented long-lost brother?

yes, this. Take away the names "USA" and "USSR" (and how as good Westerners we're supposed to only root for 'Murica). Who wouldn't love a story about a pair of sympathetic, dedicated-yet-tempted, hypercompetent-yet-outgunned, incredibly-attractive hero-agents trapped behind enemy lines?

@avclub-046a1132e37c3405512b13be444c14d5:disqus I'm genuinely curious - you're not invested in the characters, you don't buy into the execution or plot, you don't find the stakes compelling - so why do you continue to watch this show?

the Bammer! Nice to see she got another gig, what with Benched getting, well, benched…

Triple-whammy: Newhart, St.Elsewhere, Sopranos!

First - the surprise appearance of Bert is no longer a surprise when the headline (well before the show airs) for What's On Tonight is "Benched closes out its season with a full hour and the surprise return of BERT!"

Talented people (with a minimum of artifical personal drama), performing their craft well while interpreting the nuances and navigating the restrictions of the particular challenge - why can't we have this more often?
Enjoyed this episode!

Finding it kinda cool to get a bit of civic enlightenment along with my laughs and weekly dose of Eliza Coupe :-)
And also the realization that Benched is pretty much the comedy Wire?!?! Multifaceted & complex characters, no actual "villans" because the institution itself is the enemy… think about it!

Really want to like this show, and bits & pieces do work or get a snort, but as a whole it's just not gelling for me quite yet. & that's a hopeful "yet"…

great quote from Hugh's blog: "I think Aaron is a brash young chef. I don’t think he’s a poor cook but he needs to learn a lot more, a lot. His brags about not been trained. He insults his peers. He is selfish and headstrong. Someday he will
realize that patience and skill are much better than being an antagonistic…

Ding-dong the dick is dead!
Although to be fair he was a gracious loser in the end.

JIMMY JAMES!
[apologies if this has already come up, but I just now finished watching the episode and couldn't possibly have taken the time needed to read any of the other comments before reveling in the appearance of the man so nice they named him twice…]

it occurs to me that he's probably an unrelenting dick to everyone, so the producers can cut an unrelenting-dick edit for any possible pairing involving him

Bobby Cobb! Getting an overly-complex Penny Can game log tattoo?

well, as far as believeable superhero build, there's the MMA fighter from the Soderberg pic a couple years back - Gina Carala or something like that

so how is it possible that Faxon's lead character makes me want to slap him until his eyes bleed, yet I really like this show?

I tend to fall in love with and then get my heart broken by cancelled-before-their-time shows*, so I was reluctant to start on Enlisted in spite of the glowing reviews. But I had some unexpected free time this afternoon, so what the hell, I'll check out one episode…

Although I never got to the point of hating the show (by the end I was
closer to about 75% active dislike), I just couldn't stop watching it. Cuz every now & then, for sequence or a scene or a half-scene or even a line, Kapinos/Keefe/whoever would somehow just absolutely hammer a dagger into the soft & sentimental &…

Actually, I think you misread - IMDB states that Alex Price (as Proteus) has 2 episodes, and Rory Kinnear (as the Creature) has 7

Yes please (to putting him back together again) - fantastic job by Mr. Price!
But then I had to go squash my own hopes: