‘Enlisted’ episode 11 review: Donkey Kong, junk food, and inspections

Typically, some of the best episodes of “Enlisted” are the ones that really combine the sentimental and the silly, and for the vast majority of this episode, we really only had “silly.” However, this episode managed to be so funny throughout that we didn’t mind the lack of an emotional punch.

The premise here is simple: A major General was set to arrive in order to give a thorough inspection of the unit and the surroundings. Basically, it’s the sort of motivation that Pete uses to whip everyone into shape. There are twists and turns, almost nothing goes as planned, but in the end, it appeared for a time that the general was actually going to appreciate the way that the team banded together. The little twist with the lawn mower at the end, though, was a nice touch to remind us that with these characters, nothing is ever so perfect.

There was not necessarily a particular moment that stood out through this story, and it was more a number of little zingers and bits. The frequent allusions to “Donkey Kong” were fantastic, especially when it evolved into a live-action version starring Randy trying to keep the other soldiers away from the General’s fridge of snack food. Having Perez eat most of the food when she thought that the General canceled was another nice, unexpected touch … as was the random British accent.

We’re going to seriously miss this show if it doesn’t move forward, which may likely be the case after seeing the ratings for last week’s episode. We were worried in the early going that there wouldn’t be enough to do at a base after around seven or eight episodes, but “Enlisted” has proved us wrong again and again with creativity, and a nice mixture of physical comedy and sight gags. Grade: A-.

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Photo: Fox