The press leading up to last night's second season premiere of Jake in Progress spoke of how the show was being retooled. Those changes were noticeable from the opening scene.
We find Jake (John Stamos) in the midst of a nightmare. The fiance that left him at the alter three years earlier is there in her wedding dress, chiding him about how he can't commit and how she's moving on and marrying another. Best friend Adrian (Ian Gomez) and his wife, as well as his other friend Patrick (Rick Hoffman), are all in the dream confirming Annie's claim that he is not ready to commit.
I thought the whole dream sequence was carried out very well; Stamos shines bright in the way he carried off the comedic lines. It also served the purpose of giving the character a vulnerable side, though Jake steadfastly tries to deny he was flirting with the caterer or that he is unable to commit, it is obvious this is the case.
Commenting about the changes made to the Jake In Progress character, Stamos said:
It's all to create a more vulnerable character, someone who's more approachable and somebody you feel for more than this slick guy who last year was getting a different girl each week. (TV Guide Online)
That vulnerability is momentarily set aside when he wakes from the nightmare to a woman in his bed asking "Who's Annie?" and another knocking on the door with breakfast. We see a brief return of the slick Jake of last season, as he maneuvers the ladies and turns on the charm to coyly convince the woman at the door he is too sick for companionship. When she insists he keeps the bagels, he turns around and tells the other he had ordered breakfast in bed.
In watching this scene, I can see why they are making attempts to move the character away from this. There are very few redeeming qualities in a guy who can casually move from one to the other with no guilt, remorse, or consequence. The following scenes where Jake progresses in leaps and bounds were much more enjoyable.
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