Men of a Certain Age: The Dating Game

"Welcome to that magnificent world we call post-40 dating," Terry told Joe in Monday night's episode of Men of a Certain Age. And in the process he issued a manifesto on behalf of this series and its unapologetically grown-up focus in the decidedly un-grown-up world of television.

Post-40? More like pre-50. It's second down and short yardage to the big 5-0 for these guys. The problem for Joe last night was that he was thrown into an entirely different game, one that he hadn't played in 20 years. It's called dating—and Joe, with a mysterious black eye, recalled the night's events in a series of flashbacks over breakfast with Owen and Terry.

The episode opened with an image that you wouldn't expect on this show: a lingering pan up a shapely gam (that's what legs were called way back when) to a semi-clothed woman who, as it turned out, was none other than Sarah Clarke (Twilight, 24). For anyone who remembered her treacherous machinations as Nina on 24, it was hard not to imagine that the revirginized Joe was in the midst of a rough night. Especially as he cowered in the bathroom. Was Dori high maintenance, or just a full-on crazy chick?

The episode then deftly cut back and forth between Joe's date and his account to the boys. The coffee shop scenes on Men of a Certain Age always ring true, and never more so than they did last night. Joe knew he had a great story and, as much as Owen and Terry wanted him to get to the point, there was no way he was going to rush the details. Any guy will tell you that when you have the material, you work it for all it's worth.

Oh, and Joe had plenty of material—from a game of HORSE with Dori (Joe lost) to a session of premature IM sexting that left Joe in his boxers behind his desk at work only to be discovered (or was he?) by his employee Maria. Such a scenario of tech-based seduction and the ensuing mortification would have been all but unimaginable to Joe back in the day, and he was desperate for some kind of guidance to the brave new world of relationships. Unfortunately for him, his dating guru was Terry. Now, Terry is gifted, a dating natural. But as anyone who ever played for Ted Williams or Wayne Gretzky can tell you, great athletes rarely make great coaches. Joe was left to sort out the Tao of Terry, while also trying to follow Terry's admonition "not to think." This delivered him to a moment of truth with Dori, a moment that he tried to extend for at least a few additional moments, by slowing things down and taking Terry's advice to call a timeout and tell the woman, "I just want to look at you."

Which didn't much help. The problem that Joe related to Terry was, "You're actually still looking at an incredibly hot woman." To which Terry replies, "You're not supposed to actually look at them. You're supposed to look through them."

Ah, love. Or lust. Whatever. This was a terrific episode with the best writing we've witnessed on Men of a Certain Age. Among the highlights was one of the most cringe-worthy hit-ons ever issued on television, when after dinner Joe asked Dori about the doggy bag she was holding: "So do you have a dog, or is that so you'll have something to make me for breakfast?" I would rank that with Jerry's classic attempt to talk dirty on Seinfeld, when he asked his date after she referred to her underwear: "You mean the panties your mother laid out for you?"

Coaches and athletes like to talk about "staying within yourself,"—that is, working with your strengths and talents and not trying to do things you can't do well. Men of a Certain Age doesn't try to be hip or cool or trendy and knows that its audience is looking for both humor and honesty that reflects their lives. Last night, we got that and more. Because it's a rare television show that can perfectly set up a closing line uttered in Spanish and subtitled, "Thank God. Maybe now he won't have to jerk-off in his office."

What did you think of the episode? Do Dori and Joe have a chance?