TV Reviews : ‘Trying Times’ Burger Guy Episode: Something to Relish

No matter what Edna does, her boss finds fault. Considering that Edna is 63, her boss is 18, and the workplace is a Burger Guy franchise, this makes for “Trying Times” indeed.

It also makes for the most delightful episode of the season for the public-TV comedy series of that name (Channel 28 at 8 p.m. Sunday, 10 p.m. Tuesday). While Marilyn Suzanne Miller’s “The Boss” doesn’t sting as much as a couple of the season’s earlier episodes, it does elicit the most goofy smiles.

Jean Stapleton is irresistibly plucky as Edna, a widow who strives valiantly to maintain her dignity in what many would consider degrading circumstances. With her Burger Guy beanie neatly in place, she isn’t about to let this teen-aged tyrant (Corey Feldman) get the best of her.

Not surprisingly, it turns out that both Edna and her boss feel powerless off the job, and their on-the-job spats are desperate attempts to take charge of at least one corner of their lives.

But writer Miller and director Alan Arkin never let the sentiment get soppy. They don’t condescend to these characters, but they do relish the humor inherent in the face-off. That humor includes the efforts of a customer (Jerry Houser), who drives a pest control truck, to serve as a mediator between the two squabbling parties.

Next week’s final episode of this “Trying Times” season features Robert Klein as an inveterate smoker. Terrence McNally’s script is an illustrated comedy routine more than a play. It captures with sharp wit the smoker’s dilemma--he knows the weed will kill him, but he questions if a smokeless life is worth living. Sheldon Larry directed.