Last week we suggested Sunny Skies should be given the chance, the chance to progress beyond the first episode with the hopes that it would expand and unpack the characters a bit more and in doing so offer more laughs. Ah Mainland Cheese you’ve done it- those are two different commercials aren’t they? Well I do believe the chance we gave Sunny Skies to show us a bit more than we saw last week paid off. The following tweeters agree.

There were more laughs this week, the characters are given a little more room to flesh out and I feel myself becoming a bit more invested in the show.

So Oscar’s decided to actually turn up to stay, calling himself executive something-rather, and here’s something I don’t think we noticed much from the pilot episode, he talks a lot of crap. I’m not talking about his sarcastic, often mean, remarks. I’m talking about how according to Oscar he runs a very successful human resources consultancy management company with 1,600 staff members and that he knows mixed martial arts and is a brown belt. Driver is actually perfect for this role, his gangly body is goofy as he flinches away from Deano who administers a quick test of Oscar’s fighting skills. When Deano quips ‘brown pants more like it’ I’m almost quite certain it’s not just figurative.

I like Oscar’s interactions with Charlie/Charlotte played by Tyrrell, in their mutual scheming you see a familial resemblance. When Charlotte haggles until she manages to swindle an iPhone 4s out of him I feel a sort of respect for the child who, so far in the show, has been that annoying whinging pathetic sounding thing complaining about how lame everything is. It would appear I only really like Charlotte during scenes with Oscar, granted I did agree with her that usually when a group of kids say they have a ‘surprise’ for you, it’s hardly ever a pleasant surprise.

The ‘still getting to know my half-sibling’ dynamic between Oscar and Deano works because there’s an obvious discrepancy between how much Deano wants to get to know Oscar and how uninterested Oscar is right now. Deano’s sincere in wanting to continue running Sunny Skies and also getting to know his half-brother, where as Oscar is keen to sell the place off and split the money 50/50 so he can go back to Auckland. If you had any doubts about the chemistry between the characters last week, they’re put to rest this week as you find they work more than you thought they would. Both inhabiting familiar sort of characters, be it from either on TV or perhaps our own lives, Oscar and Deano are familiar to us. We all know that tall lanky prick who makes the snide remarks that are more mean than meaningful and who doesn’t have a cuzzy bro? You don’t have to be Maori to have a ‘cuzzy bro.’ Only Oscar’s the tall lanky prick with a scheme to get Deano, the cuzzy (half) bro, to sell the campground filled with the smell of ‘parents who can’t afford an actual holiday’.

Deano’s relationship with his daughter is one of comradeship.

Charlie: Can’t I go board at my old school?

Deano: Why when you can be bored at your new school?

Tammy Davis, I love you. I mean there’s no replacing Munter, but Deano- he does work to Tammy’s strengths and then some. Also, dad jokes. Who doesn’t love a good, goofy and lame, dad joke? Davis pulls them off and makes them sweet and endearing. However when need be it’s good to see him acting the parent, when he hauls her ass back to school. If that was my mum I would have gotten the meanest hiding haha. I laugh because it’s true.

Next week we’ll be half way through the season already and it’s hard to pick which character I like the most. Nicki’s snarky remarks, delivered brilliantly by O’Reilly are awesome.

For all her snarky remarks and thinly veiled (not veiled at all) hostility for Oscar, she really cares about Sunny Skies. And when she is pushed by Oscar to decide it’s finally time to take a holiday we just know that there are going to be complications. Side note: How did that plasma TV dude get naked so quickly in between Oscar trying to fire her/get her to leave and her finally ‘taking a holiday’ trying to go back into his tent?

Of course Oscar’s plan fails. He really does give it a go, too. Trying to convince people that Deano’s a crazed bi-polar Maori who’s just weird is pretty easy when Deano’s so earnestly trying to be welcoming. But it comes off as, well, scary.

Convincing Gunna to do stupid things isn’t too difficult. I have a qualm with Gunna’s ‘Job Subscription’ that Gunna draws up when he explains why he doesn’t write it, because it sounds like he’s dyslexic. However when we go through what he’s drawn, the sentences around the pictures don’t seem to belong to someone who’s dyslexic. That is unless he’s really worked on those few sentences something I find hard to believe. But that’s just me nitpicking. In the end Deano gives a heartwarming, well slightly more encouraging than not, speech to the campers who are about to leave all thanks to Oscar’s scheming and convinces them all to stay. *Slow clap*

Before we go there needs to be a reprimanding of Oscar’s actions. And we know that Oscar’s far from done being the ‘dick’ he is and trying to sabotage things around the camp. At least Deano’s aware that Oscar’s ‘full of shit’ and confronts him about it.

But then we hug it out, right guys? Come hug it out with us. Bring it in. Yeah. Hug us via the comments, or on twitter or on facebook. Hug us good and tight. Not that tight, just tight enough that we know you care. Wow this got weird fast. Look! Pictures!

Feel the awkward. Our hugs would make this one look like the most comfortable embrace of all time.

Special Mentions:

• Matthew and Mark! (Respectively Innes and Mune) Honestly, when Mark calls Oscar a ‘poof’ I lost it. I still see Marty the alcoholic dog trainer when Matthew comes onscreen- but notsomuch that it distracts me too much. Because as a pair they’re the best couple on NZ TV right now. Professional doers of nothing.

• I want more Sione please. And not just because I’m Samoan but because I want more exchanges like this!

“Sorry bro, island time!”

“Oh well I’m sorry Sione but we don’t live in Samoa.”

“What did you call me?”

“Oh, I can’t remember.”

“Oh you called me Sione. So cos’ I’m Samoan you think my name’s Sione?”

Honestly Oscar walks a fine line, because he’s scared shitless of Sione with his ‘massive chest’ but when push comes to shove it seems he wants out of Sunny Skies badly enough to bait Death. Pun most definitely intended.

‘Youuu are fired…please.’