CALIFORNICATION: The Great Ashby

Hey GMMR readers its Sarah and I’m back with a little review of last night’s Californication episode, The Great Ashby.The new episode picks up right were we left Hank last week, stuck in the slammer. After accidentally hooking up with the wrong gal and getting arrested, Karen decides leaving Hank behind bars will do him some good! How much trouble, while mulling over the obvious, can Hank get into?

Well for starters Hank makes friends faster than Joe Biden can say “I Repeat”, so avoiding trouble in a cell full of convicts and drunken misfits is quite impossible. Instead the troubled author catches himself in a room full of rock stars, and one man who might just have a man crush. Yes, from the start rock icon, Lew Ashby, a man who makes everything turn to gold, thinks “The Hank” is one hot number! Apparently Lew just didn’t catch who Hank was during their brief encounter over alka seltzer tricks and Hank’s “rapey kind of guy” incident..

After the “Great Ashby” fawns all over Hank he suggests that Moody stop blaming L.A. for his trouble, dump the whole moving back to Mecca bit and write his biography!

Meanwhile, Hank’s not the only one with big opportunities on the horizon, or lack of. While Hank is rotting in the clink making a possible book deal, one he isn’t the least excited about yet, Karen is across town signing up for a new restoration project with a friend, Sonya. Runkle on the other hand lands himself into a bit of hot water after rejecting Danny California’s advances.

The blonde witch decides to get even with Charlie by filling the boss in on what it is exactly Runkle’s been working so hard on in his office! Yes, after fifteen years in the biz Runkle loses his job due to some explicit video footage, some hilarious video footage at that!

Returning home from her business meeting Karen has to deal with the very angry Becca, who wants her Dad out of the big house. The poor kid even dips into her piggybank for the bail money! After Becca makes Karen feel bad for expecting Moody to change his ways, which is impossible, Karen leaves Mia and Becca to go bail “the Hank” out. Too late for that though, Lew Ashby has already come to Moody’s rescue.

After bailing out the ladies man Ashby talks Hank into a one drink only before returning to his spiel about Hank taking the book deal seriously. At the same time Lew is being serviced by an unseen woman under a table at the Rainbow room! Talk about awkward and strange?!

Meanwhile Runkle and his queen, cokey smurf, are hulled up in a hotel suite while Marci snorts line after line. Definitely a problem since Runkle hasn’t let the news drop that he’s out of a job! After pacing in a lobster bib with only a pair of boxers on Runkle just can’t seem to get Marc to listen to what he is saying. Upset he locks himself in the bathroom causing Marci to freak and phone Moody!

After Moody and Lew’s arrival Runkle regains a hold on his emotions with the news that Moody is about to pen the rock icon’s biography!

On their way home Lew makes one last stop by his ex-wife’s house. Lew and Moody have more in common that the author previously thought and after a sad tale of self destruction Lew’s story seems to tug on old Hank’s heart. It seems the Great Ashby has lost the love of his life leaving him with a pile of cash, blow and ladies he doesn’t much care for, something Moody can relate too!

Finally the night comes to a close with Moody’s return home to a very somber Karen. Apparently Karen has decided that sometimes love just isn’t enough.

Don’t forget to watch next week when Moody has a very interesting reunion with Trixie the hooker!

Come on GMMRers, who is watching with me?

–posted by Sarah

Sarah is from Massachusetts and currently writes for several TV and music websites. She loves Smallville, Heroes, Everwood, and of course Californication.