The new season of Men Of A Certain Age premiers December 6^th and I got the chance to catch the first two episodes of the new season. In the season finale of season One there were a lot of changes (step away if you haven’t watched it) such as Owen taking over the dealership and taking Terry on board after Terry discovers he’s really got nothing. Joe decides to stop gambling after an incident with his son and he decides to join the Senior Golf Tour. Personally the most stand out storyline of the season finale had to have been Terry taking a job from Owen.

The first two episodes of the second season, If I Could, I surely Would and Same As The Old Boss, aren’t exactly a new plateau for Owen, Joe, and Terry. Sure Owen is now the boss of the dealership but he faces the same kind of issues he had in the first season. Owen’s father (played by Richard Gant) doesn’t play as much of a factor, but the same sort of job stress exists as Owen struggles to get the dealership pointed in the right direction and keep his home life balanced. Really the first two episodes have little to do with Owen other then a shining moment at the end of Same As The Old Boss. Terry can’t quite seem to find his place at the dealership and the surfacing of a very bad commercial spot he starred in makes things worse for him. If anything these first couple of episodes are the Terry show. You might have been asking yourselves if it was possible that Terry could stick with the new job or if he does will he be responsible enough to treat this favor from Owen with the kind of respect it deserves? I like the evolution of Bakula’s character here. I’m not saying your going to see an all new Terry but Bakula’s role entices an inspiring feeling. Finally Joe is dealing with Albert’s nervousness and trying to stay on the no gambling wagon. His storyline is a bit unfocused as he just kind of sways here and there first following some advice from Terry about women, trying to sort his personal life so that he has time to get ready for the Senior Tour Pre-Qualifier, as well as trying to make sense of the non-gambling relationship with his former bookie Manfro, who also coincidentally is almost his new neighbor now that Joe’s purchased a house off a winning bet from last season.

Season two is a bit slow moving and the combination of all three story arcs for the three main characters fail to offer up that individualistic sense of fulfillment that they did in season one. There are a lot of inspiring moments small and large, much like the first season of the show had to offer, and the character development is decent. From the first show to the finale of season one I recognize talented writing, excellent delivery from all three actors and their background characters so, no, I’m not worried. I’m eager to see how this season evolves though.