I see someone is awfully critical of this episode, but it is the first one, and how about an opportunity to develop the characters. In this one, Bernard, who runs a bookstore but seems to hate books and the customers that buy them, is faced with doing his taxes. He keeps terrible records and people fear his pleadings. There are two other character introduced, Manny and Fran. Fran finds himself in a strange place when he accidentally swallows a book of aphorisms, called "The Book of Calm." He now can spout a clichéd responses to nearly any situation. Fran runs a junk shop next store. She spends most of the episode trying to figure out what a globe-like thing does. Funny things happen when Bernard tries to find ways to not deal with his taxes. A couple of Christian men on their journey are astounded when they are let in to talk about Jesus. It turns out that Bernard knows a great deal more. Things get even more wacko when he realizes that if he is seriously injured he can put off his filing. So he sets out to cause trouble and get beaten up. Manny is starting to look like a messiah with his pronouncements. All in all, I thought it was pretty funny.
Review of Cooking the Books
