Review: Universal Basic Guys “Water Ice Shoppe”

Overview

Mark becomes the new business manager of a local water ice shoppe.

Our Take

Here we are at the first season finale for Universal Basic Guys and what a first season it was. I’ll get to a full season review next week, but the show wraps it’s first season on a high note. For starters, we got a hilarious flashback of young Mark and Hank of which I hope we get more of in the future. The introduction of the new Dad character (both before and after his technical upgrade) provided for a different type of color that I think the series hadn’t really explored much just yet and simply just to see what kind of hijinks Mark and Hank used to get into when they were younger would be a fun idea.

Next, I like this new Water Ice Shoppe and think the duo working it could make for funny contributions in the future. Adding in the fact that it looks as though the Water Ice Shoppe could meet a similar automated future as Hank and Mark’s previous employer, the introduction of the Water Ice Shoppe family could help to continue to build out the Springfield-like setting of Glantontown and give us serviceable alternates for future storytelling much in the same way Ned Flanders does for The Simpsons or Quagmire does for Family Guy. 

The ending gives us a nice quick flashback of all the hilarious shit Mark and Hank went through in the first season of Universal Basic Guys, and it was a fun run indeed. I think in the future I’d like to see a tad more variety in setting up what Mark and Hank are going to be up to in an episode but all in all Universal Basic Guys dismounted a more than solid first season that puts the show right up there with some of the best that FOX has ever given us.