‘Mr. D’ puts spotlight on bullying
It might not be Bullying Awareness Week in real life, but that didn’t stop Mr. D from centering on the theme not only to bring attention to the issue, but also to let Mr. Duncan continue to generally make a grand fool of himself.
Turns out – not surprisingly – Mr. Duncan was a bully when he was a kid, and still is. He took poor Simon’s drink in the staff lounge, inadvertently encouraged kids to make fun of each other in class, and pointed out students’ “flaws” in front of the whole school.
The whole thing was painfully awkward, a trait that makes this little CBC comedy’s engine run. Mr. Duncan is completely socially clueless, says offensive things like it’s nothing, and yet builds himself up like he’s the best thing to happen to teaching since the abacus.
Come to think of it, he – and the show itself – is curiously akin to The Office, in which Michael Scott (and his replacement Andy Bernard) is the worst boss ever. The awkward silences, the underlying mocking from their subordinates, the few redeeming moments of genuine compassion.
All Mr. D needs, it seems, is for the students and teachers to speak directly to the camera, filming hours upon hours of documentary footage.
After last week’s episode, which focused on the character development of the real Mr. D (Wes Williams) and Simon the science teacher (scene-stealer Mark Little), this instalment was all about Gerry.
After mocking Robert’s plan to bring bullying awareness interpretive dance group the Wooly Bullies to the school, Gerry was challenged to come up with his own video in two mere days.
Naturally, that went awry. It was interesting to note, though, that when he proposed the idea to his students they’d automatically divided into two groups – the shorter, “geeky” group and the tall, assertive, popular ones. They showed zero interest in participating. Was that a subtle commentary saying that although adults are pushing anti-bullying messages, kids still aren’t truly willing to acknowledge it?
Elsewhere, Robert showed himself to be a super-clingy guy who’s desperate for romance, asking the gym teacher on a double-date with the woman he just started dating. I admit, I felt sorry for the guy when she broke up with him, and it seems his ill-fated love life will spawn some sad (and probably funny) plots.
Also, Mr. Duncan showed a peek of good-heartedness when he met one of his former classmates in the bar and apologized for bullying him when they were kids. Of course, things didn’t get too sentimental, and ended up with the guy’s kid insulting Gerry and Gerry making fun of his ears.
Week after week, this show treads the fine line between awkward and funny, touching and offensive, and character development and physical comedy – and the results are a compulsively watchable series. In short, to paraphrase its theme song, it’s awesome.
OTHER NOTES
• Do teachers still use overhead projectors? I remember plenty of mine fumbling with getting the sheets to turn out right on the screen … though they never made up songs while flipping the switch on and off.
• “Twenty of anything can kill you.” – Robert, justifying being bullied by third graders when he was in high school
• Gerry promised to bring people to Trudy’s tribute band performance – fingers crossed for an awesome musical number!
• The Swans: the name of Gerry’s elementary school band, complete with gang sign
• “I need shelter from your word daggers!” – the Wooly Bullies
What did you think of Monday’s episode? Are you loving Mr. D too? mhank@tvguide.ca or comment below.
Mr. D airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m NT on CBC.
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