Whenever I feel that there isn’t a strange half-hour comedy series streaming somewhere that has both shocking violence and offbeat pop culture commentary, something pops up. I’m lying; it rarely does, as it’s hard to make that kind of show. Bookie, the new series starring Sebastian Maniscalco and Omar Dorsey, seems to be a one-of-a-kind show. Written by Chuck Lorre of Two and a Half Men fame, the show feels like it’s a cross between the movies of Jim Jarmusch and Woody Allen. There is comedy, of course, but there are some disturbing scenes as well, which might not affect you that much as they are immediately undercut by nonchalant sequences, but they have a subtext that is discussed in the witty dialogue. Sebastian and Omar work well together, and with the rest of the cast, the show seems to have an overall comedic integrity that starts to grow on you in the half-hour runtime.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Was Danny Having A Bad Day?
Bookie revolves around the life of Danny, a down-on-his luck bookie who had only one job: to accept bets on the various sports games and ruin the lives of men who didn’t return the money they owed him. Danny is not a loanshark-type character. That’s where the comedy comes in. The muscle of the operation was Ray, the heavy-set black man, who was feared by almost everybody, but the reality was that even he was afraid to fight, so he depended on empty threats. There was Danny’s sister Lorraine, who managed the finances of the three-person establishment and had her side gig going as a mushroom dealer. The first episode showed us just how bad Danny is at his job. He may be good at placing the clients’ bets, but he is terrible at getting paid, i.e., recovering the money. Ray helped him when he could, but one fateful day, Danny’s luck plummeted so hard that he committed a murder, or so he thought.
The day started with Danny going out to get his payment from a man named Stewie. But guess what? Stewie had had a sex change operation, was now a woman, and was almost unrecognizable. Yet Danny recognized him, and Stewie, thinking he would lay a hand on her, proceeded to attack him out of the blue. She broke one of his fingers and then went home to his wife, Sandra, where he had a fight, which he certainly didn’t need at that point in time. After meeting Hector, his ‘pot guy,’ Danny and Ray went over to see Charlie Sheen (yes, the actor), as he had a pending debt he had to settle.
How Did Danny Settle Scores With Charlie Sheen?
Danny and Ray had a tough time getting through to Charlie, but once they found he was in a rehab facility, they had to pay him a visit. Indeed, he was having a great time in the ‘Freedom from Bondage Rehab Institute,’ and when Danny showed up with Ray, Charlie began using his usual tricks to save himself from getting beat up. But Danny was unusually kind to Charlie, as he knew that the actor had a rough life. Charlie bargained for his well-being by offering various sorts of bogus artifacts, but when Danny had had enough of it, he decided to take away his expensive watch to settle the debt he owed. Before leaving, Danny did offer him a piece of advice. Danny had never deterred a potential client, but he was at the end of his wits when it came to dealing with Charlie. He told him never to place bets ever again, which meant that Danny would never be his bookie. Charlie promised that he would comply, but when Danny left, Charlie was back to his usual gambling self with his friends, worrying that he needed another bookie!
How Did The Waiter Get Stabbed?
Danny was having one of the worst days of his life. He’d been beaten up, had a fight with his wife, and had to let go of a premium client. But the silver lining was that he had an expensive watch now. Hector, Ray, and Danny were celebrating this little achievement in a restaurant, and the waiter saw Danny showing off his watch at the table. He tipped off a man to mug Danny when he got out, but something unexpected happened. Danny carried a gun, which the man the waiter had called in perhaps had no idea about. Ray tried to warn the guy, but when he didn’t back off, Ray ordered Danny to use the gun. Danny unloaded the gun at the man while hiding behind Ray, hoping to get the guy once. Ray and Danny were terrified when they saw the guy was down and perhaps dead. The best option for them was to run away. The following day, when Hector arrived at the expected crime scene, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. There was no body and no police. There was no blood anywhere. Ray and Danny decided to focus on the fact that perhaps the waiter was the one who had tipped the guy off, who was probably still alive. In a bizarre sequence, the waiter stabbed himself while trying to run away from Danny and Ray. The missing mugger mystery was unsolvable now, it seemed.
How Did Danny And Ray Deal With Bobby?
Before the stabbing episode with the waiter, Danny had tried to help a guy, but the results were similarly tragic. There was a man named Bobby who owed Danny a lot of money, and he had given his car away to deal with the debt. When the car was returned, Danny and Ray decided to pay him a visit. Bobby was suicidal as he had lost all his money in a vegetarian dog food endeavor. Danny couldn’t ask for his money after seeing Bobby sitting on the balcony’s edge on the seventh floor. The fall would surely kill him. Ray and Danny both tried to make him see the beauty of life, and it seemed they had succeeded. They didn’t ask him for the money back, but they did take away the expensive rug from his room. They were quite pleased with their action, but as soon as they got out of the hotel, Bobby decided to quit his life. Their pep talk hadn’t worked after all. But the world was a strange place for them, and they didn’t seem to care too much about such instances. What mattered to Danny was how to get the money that people owed him, while Ray was most interested in Lorraine, Danny’s sister. The duo will surely be part of many more such shocking episodes, and it seemed Hector was in it for the ride as well. He had told the duo about a Guatemalan soccer tournament where he wanted Danny as his bookie. Let’s hope he doesn’t end up getting murdered, accidentally or otherwise.
