Review: The Great North “Tusk in the Wind Adventure”
Overview (Spoilers Below):
It’s family movie night at the Tobin residence, but something’s amiss! It’s Beef’s turn to select a film, but he’s gone off with Wolf to track down Tusk Johnson, a local TV celebrity who they’re obsessed with. Tusk is broke and flying solo with his new show, but quickly enlists Beef and Wolf to help him with his major comeback.
Meanwhile, back at the house, the rest of the family gets hooked on Dynasty. Tusk comes home to stay with the Tobin’s, but Beef quickly realizes he’s not all he seems. Eventually, he pays off Tusk to leave the house without Wolf knowing the truth. But this is one lie that’s destined to come undone.
Our Take:
The Great North is back again this week with an entertaining episode that focuses on what happens when you meet your heroes. There’s plenty of solid jokes, plus an interesting main story that incorporates a few new faces into the show.
Being a part of Tusk’s nature show is everything Beef and Wolf have ever wanted, but it quickly drives them apart. They’re competitive by nature, and it’s even worse once Beef realizes that Tusk has no intentions of being the hero his son thinks he is. But by the end of it, Beef and Wolf are closer than ever as Beef tells his son that even if he isn’t special to Tusk after all, he’ll always be his number one son.
I feel like the jokes hit a little harder than usual this week, with clever bits like Dan the sidekick stealing everything Tusk valued and Beef being terrible on camera. Even the big finale scene, though packed with plenty of tension, makes time for great comedic moments like Wolf’s crevasse calculations. There’s not much of a subplot this week, but the simple affair of the entire Tobin family eventually becoming enamored with Dynasty is so much fun that there doesn’t really need to be more. From Beef and Wolf meeting their TV hero to the others discovering a new favorite show, this week’s episode was like a little love letter to television fandom.
Tusk in the Wind Adventure is part father/son story, part love letter to fandom, and all entertaining. Plus, JK Simmons turns in a super fun performance as Tusk. Guest stars are always a lot of fun, but this character was particularly charming to root against.
