Teleplay:  Jay Scherick & David Ronn
Story:  Michelle Nader & Amy Cohen & Kirk J. Rudell
Director: Andy Cadiff

Episode Length: 22:10

Guest Stars:

Rating: n/a

Rating:  TV- 14 - D

First Broadcast: January 8, 1999

Storyline #1: Romancing in the New Year
The morning after the office New Year's party, everyone seems a little on edge.   And none more so than Nikki and Mike.  We discover what happened the previous evening as most of the episode is presented in flashback mode.  Nikki brought another one of her famous losers to the party and Mike came alone.  Just when she begins to take a shine to him, Mike finds Jay making out with one of the hostesses.  They have it out and Mike chases him away before Nikki can catch them.  Unfortunately, this leads to a brief spat, as Nikki gets the impression that Mike is jealous.  Later, the two reconcile as Mike tries to cheer Nikki up by complimenting her.  Tensions build, inhibitions fall, and before long the two are involved in a serious food fight.  Once the desserts stop flying, the two wind up in each others arms and they passionately kiss.   They begin to make out on the dinner table, but are interrupted when the rest of the Staff walk in celebrating the New Year.  As we flash forward to the next day, Mike tries to apologize for taking advantage of Nikki, but she wants to test something.   She suggests they stand close together for a while to see if there is a mutual attraction.  They do, and there seems to be a bit of a spark, but neither are willing to admit it.  As they go their separate ways, both trip over objects, suggesting that they were both infected with the love virus.

Storyline #2:  The Crying Game
Stuart puts his dear old cat to sleep, but it seems to have taken an emotional toll on him.  After beginning to load up on the liquor, his feelings become a factor and he starts to bawl.  Carter, being the vindictive personality that he is, seizes on the opportunity to torture Stuart about his newfound sensitiveness.  The rest of the episode is spent with Stuart trying to cheer himself up and Carter trying to rub it in.

Storyline #3: A Glaring Weakness
As the Staff shares their New Year's resolutions, Stacy accidentally lets it slip that James could probably stand to bulk up.  James takes obvious offense to this and tries to challenge Stacy to an arm-wrestling contest to see who's stronger.  Stacy wins, and it's not close.  James continues to try to assert his strength but Stacy's not buying it.  The episode closes as James challenges her to another contest.   The result is no different.

Review: Same Time Next Year

Overall, a new episode.    The most obvious aspect is, of course, the budding relationship between Mike and Nikki.  Or maybe not.  We're not sure, but I'll bet there'll be more to come.  Yes, Mike and Nikki's chemistry seemed very similar to the heat generated by Mike and Laurie at the beginning of the season.   However, there are some serious implications if this relationship goes any further.   But more on that later...

It was nice to see a story about James that did not involve the country-bumpkin aspect of his character.  However, his weak-armed thread was just that:  weak.   We've already seen Stacy take charge and be aggressive, so that's nothing new.   And James has always come across as less than physically intimidating.  So while the story didn't go against the grain of the characters, it certainly didn't give them any new depth.  It was merely a chance for the two characters to play off each other for an extended period of time.  Too extended if you ask me.

While I normally enjoy a Stuart-Carter face-off, this one seemed to try to hard to offer diametrically opposed sides.  Here, Stuart was supposed to take Carter's role of wussified, over-sensitive male.  Carter, on the other hand, was supposed to be the abrasive, take-advantage, cut-down machine that Stuart normally functions as.  Great idea, not so great execution.  Don't get me wrong.  I didn't think that either of the two actors dropped the ball.  And I really can't fault the writers too much here either.  It just seemed that the spark that would normally accompany such an idea wasn't evident.  Better luck next time.

Claudia seemed to be noticeably absent from this episode.  If both Nikki and Mike were planning on bringing dates (even if for plot purposes), it would seem that Paul would be ringing in the New Year with a woman that he's been seeing for almost a year now.   If I were her, I'd be pissed.

Likewise, it seems that The Mayor and his beloved staff just can't seem to befriend anyone outside of the office.  I can understand if they wanted to keep it as an office party.  But if that's the case, why did folks bring dates and why was it not held at the office? 

That finally brings us back around to Mike and Nikki.  Nikki has been glamming up ever since The Mayor who Came to Dinner, so it's not unlikely that she would eventually fall for the star of the show.  And I was relieved to see that Mike's first morning-after reaction went to cover the legal side of things before he progressed any further.  After all, a political office would seem to be on the lookout for any type of sexual misdeed.  But it does leave us with some unresolved tension.  By the way the show closed, it looks like we will be visiting this romantic pairing again soon.   The attraction is mutual, and let's face it:  neither of these characters has had any successful relationships recently.  But this would be a tricky one to pull off.  After all, this is the same show that jettisoned a female co-star just last year when the romantic spark went out.  I'd hate to see another female lead get the boot.  And the Laurie experiment earlier this season proved that Mike's girlfriends can only go so far before they begin to suck the life out of the show.  Can the writers skirt the edge of the cliff with this one or will they ruin another character?   Stay tuned...

Rating [5 pt. scale]: 3.5

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