Throng

californication
california son (8/13)

Continuing tonight is the US comedy-drama about a jaded New York novelist who relocates to Hollywood after his best-seller is made into a hit film. In tonight’s episode, Hank receives some bad news from back home which sends him on a drinking spree and a reflective trip into his past.

While sat in front of his laptop drinking neat vodka, Hank receives a phonecall from his sister delivering some bad news: his father has died. He quickly decides that he will not be going to the funeral, but the shock sends him on a trip down memory lane as he recalls one of the last times his father visited him in Los Angeles...

After his son picks him up from the airport, Hank’s dad, Al, wastes no time in making his intentions clear: “Okay –who do I have to f**k to get a cocktail round here?” he asks, casually. As they chat, they seem to get on well and there can be no doubt that they are related, with Al displaying the same affection for booze, women and profanity as his son.

Back home, however, the pair’s relationship shows signs of strain. During dinner with Hank, Karen and Becca –who at this point in time are still living as a family –Al tells his granddaughter that he cannot join them on a trip to the zoo because he has to go and visit an ‘old friend’. Hank is annoyed that his father would rather spend time with one of his old flames than his own family. “That’s exactly the type of sh*t that put my mother into an early grave!” he yells. But Hank’s annoyance with his father only serves to remind Karen of how little Becca sees of her own dad because of his commitment to work. “Your head is so far up your own ass and you don’t even know it!” she tells him.

Hank reassures Karen that he will do his best for her and their daughter and blames LA for the problems in their relationship. “We’ve got to get out of here before the city destroys us both,” he remarks. “You know, it’s really not the city,” she replies, ominously.

Later, when Hank and his dad are back on talking terms, they go to a bar together where Al offers his son some unusual fatherly advice. “Family comes first,” he says, before adding “Life’s too short to dance with fat chicks!” What Al seems to be suggesting, it gradually emerges, is that a man can have as many extra-marital affairs as he wants, as long as he keep his family happy at the same time. Hank is furious at the implications and once again leaves his dad on bad terms.

Hank’s next recollection takes him to an argument with Karen which looks likely to bring about the end of their relationship. Karen has been feeling lonely without Hank and has been looking to her employer, Bill, for comfort. “Did you f**k him?” Hank asks. “Yes, I did,” she replies. “You know me –the talking and the f**king always go together.” Later that night, Hank receives a letter from his father containing a heartfelt apology and the message that despite their problems, he always loved Hank’s mother and is glad he elected to spend his life with her. The letter ends with the words “I love you”. Hank was clearly moved by the sentiment back then, but will the memory be enough to change his mind about the funeral?

Elsewhere this week, while he is not dwelling on the past, Hank goes on a drink- and drug-fuelled binge to help deal with his demons. Upon meeting an attractive woman called Trixie in a bar, he offers an unorthodox compliment: “That is a terrific name... for a hooker!” Trixie takes no offence and agrees to accompany Hank back to a hotel room where he happily snorts lines of cocaine from her body. It is at this point that Hank realises that his new companion really is a prostitute. “We can do whatever you want,” she tells him. “But you’re still going to get a bill for services rendered.” “Do you take Diner’s Club?” he asks, realising that he has no cash...