The producers did various one-off episodes in season 3, and "My Wife as Dog" is the last of them. We've had an episode with no cursed objects, an episode with none of the main cast, an episode that starts with the team finding the artifact, and... "My Wife", which is a bit more light-hearted, if not exactly a comedy. And a "Bad Guy Wins" episode, as we see a curse basically play out without the good guys' interference.
"My Wife" isn't that funny, but it's a bit more light-hearted than your average F13 episode with several murders. And Denis Forest, in his fourth of four appearances, isn't what you'd call a comedic genius. The episode is a "comedy" because it isn't as gloom-and-doom as the typical episode. And who can't respect a guy who will murder for his dog?
But at least Forest gets to look a lot more normal until the end than in his previous three appearances. As "normal" as Mr. Forest can ever look. The episode does give him a chance to emote: our first scene of him is his breaking into tears when he contemplates the coming death of his beloved dog.
If he were younger, Forest would make a great Harold Lauder in a version of 'The Stand'. His "Aubrey Ross" is the most sympathetic of his four F13 characters, primarily because Forest doesn't go for the laughing bad-toothed maniac that he played in his previous three roles. Yes, Aubrey is a killer. But he's doing it for a "good" cause: to save his dog and get a mate. That beats his killing to have sex, get smart, or win at gambling. Forest plays Aubrey as more of an everyman than Forest's other three characters, too.
The opening is impressive, for those used to the fire station TV shows where everybody is nice to each other. It's a good use of real-life fire F/X. The fire station make a different setting from the urban (and sometimes rural) settings of the show, and the occasional police-centered dramas like "Badge of Honor" and "Bad Penny".
Basically, the episode shows how a guy really cares about his dog. And how minor the curses can be but lead to greater evil. Aubrey isn't trying to make a lot of money by stopping time, writing best-sellers, or giving people new lives, all while making a lot of money. Or create a magnum opus. He's just a guy who wants his dog alive and well, and is going through a messy divorce and just wants his wife back. And Aubrey will kill to heal his dog. Not only does he kill four people, but he kills Lea to transform Kelly into Lea. All for the sake of his pet.
It's also amusing that the trio have no idea what's going on or what happened. Usually Jack is Johnny-on-the-spot (sorry, Johnny) with how the antiques works. Here, they know that the leash is involved... somehow. But at the end they're no closer to figuring things out then at the beginning, even though they go through their usual investigation tango. Mostly Jack does the fieldwork, as typical. The trio does recover the leash, but Aubrey has what he wanted.
There's also dog allusions, like "hair of the dog", "I wouldn't fix you up with a dog", "I hope we're not barking up the wrong tree", and a dog statue in the foreground as Jack talks to Johnny on the phone. And there's humorous bits, like Aubrey treating Kelly as if she's human before she becomes human. And the French comedy routine at Aubrey's house when Jack visits, where Aubrey tries to keep Jack from seeing Kelly.
I wouldn't be too impressed with the trio's investigative abilities if this was the only episode I saw. They sit outside Aubrey's house and when they don't see anything outside, they assume nothing is going on inside. Dumbasses. They seem more concerned with passing a fire inspection then tracking down a cursed object. It doesn't help that they only rely on the manifest's vague description of the Leash of Dreams, rather than doing some research as they often do.
All of the typical tropes are there. Aubrey has to keep killing. And killing, and killing. Meanwhile, his wife Lea is slowly turning into a dog. The most horrifying thing is that she can tell she's becoming a dog, but has no idea what's happening or why. Yes, that's happened before with other antique victims. But it's more horrifying here, both because Aubrey is essentially "raping" her (a recurring theme of season 3), and because Kelly becomes Lea, and "Lea" still acts like... a dog.
And hey, it's Gloria from 'Haven' (Jayne Eastwood). She's a lot younger, but her voice is familiar. No one else in the show is what you'd consider an all-star actor. Your opinion of Ms. Eastwood may vary from mine. :)
Overall, "My Wife" is the best of the one-offs. I wouldn't say it's the best of the series, but writer Jim Henshaw does a lot of work with the dog references, Aubrey's characterization, and the fact that the trio don't have any idea what's going on and most of the episode is from Aubrey's POV. It's as close to a "real" episode as the show ever got.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
"My Wife" isn't that funny, but it's a bit more light-hearted than your average F13 episode with several murders. And Denis Forest, in his fourth of four appearances, isn't what you'd call a comedic genius. The episode is a "comedy" because it isn't as gloom-and-doom as the typical episode. And who can't respect a guy who will murder for his dog?
But at least Forest gets to look a lot more normal until the end than in his previous three appearances. As "normal" as Mr. Forest can ever look. The episode does give him a chance to emote: our first scene of him is his breaking into tears when he contemplates the coming death of his beloved dog.
If he were younger, Forest would make a great Harold Lauder in a version of 'The Stand'. His "Aubrey Ross" is the most sympathetic of his four F13 characters, primarily because Forest doesn't go for the laughing bad-toothed maniac that he played in his previous three roles. Yes, Aubrey is a killer. But he's doing it for a "good" cause: to save his dog and get a mate. That beats his killing to have sex, get smart, or win at gambling. Forest plays Aubrey as more of an everyman than Forest's other three characters, too.
The opening is impressive, for those used to the fire station TV shows where everybody is nice to each other. It's a good use of real-life fire F/X. The fire station make a different setting from the urban (and sometimes rural) settings of the show, and the occasional police-centered dramas like "Badge of Honor" and "Bad Penny".
Basically, the episode shows how a guy really cares about his dog. And how minor the curses can be but lead to greater evil. Aubrey isn't trying to make a lot of money by stopping time, writing best-sellers, or giving people new lives, all while making a lot of money. Or create a magnum opus. He's just a guy who wants his dog alive and well, and is going through a messy divorce and just wants his wife back. And Aubrey will kill to heal his dog. Not only does he kill four people, but he kills Lea to transform Kelly into Lea. All for the sake of his pet.
It's also amusing that the trio have no idea what's going on or what happened. Usually Jack is Johnny-on-the-spot (sorry, Johnny) with how the antiques works. Here, they know that the leash is involved... somehow. But at the end they're no closer to figuring things out then at the beginning, even though they go through their usual investigation tango. Mostly Jack does the fieldwork, as typical. The trio does recover the leash, but Aubrey has what he wanted.
There's also dog allusions, like "hair of the dog", "I wouldn't fix you up with a dog", "I hope we're not barking up the wrong tree", and a dog statue in the foreground as Jack talks to Johnny on the phone. And there's humorous bits, like Aubrey treating Kelly as if she's human before she becomes human. And the French comedy routine at Aubrey's house when Jack visits, where Aubrey tries to keep Jack from seeing Kelly.
I wouldn't be too impressed with the trio's investigative abilities if this was the only episode I saw. They sit outside Aubrey's house and when they don't see anything outside, they assume nothing is going on inside. Dumbasses. They seem more concerned with passing a fire inspection then tracking down a cursed object. It doesn't help that they only rely on the manifest's vague description of the Leash of Dreams, rather than doing some research as they often do.
All of the typical tropes are there. Aubrey has to keep killing. And killing, and killing. Meanwhile, his wife Lea is slowly turning into a dog. The most horrifying thing is that she can tell she's becoming a dog, but has no idea what's happening or why. Yes, that's happened before with other antique victims. But it's more horrifying here, both because Aubrey is essentially "raping" her (a recurring theme of season 3), and because Kelly becomes Lea, and "Lea" still acts like... a dog.
And hey, it's Gloria from 'Haven' (Jayne Eastwood). She's a lot younger, but her voice is familiar. No one else in the show is what you'd consider an all-star actor. Your opinion of Ms. Eastwood may vary from mine. :)
Overall, "My Wife" is the best of the one-offs. I wouldn't say it's the best of the series, but writer Jim Henshaw does a lot of work with the dog references, Aubrey's characterization, and the fact that the trio don't have any idea what's going on and most of the episode is from Aubrey's POV. It's as close to a "real" episode as the show ever got.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?