Review: Inbetweeners 'Field Trip' Nauseating

After a streak of above-average to awesome episodes, MTV's remake of "The Inbetweeners" series turns in a nauseatingly bad effort this week.

The latest episode finds the fearless foursome embarking on some Civil War history. Civil War re-enactment history, to be more precise, and not a terribly good one at that. I don't think ninjas and wizards took part in any of the battles, though historical records are spotty from this era so who can know for sure. The setting is appropriate enough, as we find new girl Lauren pitting Will against Simon in a (lopsided) battle for her affections.

David Koechner ("Anchorman," "Run Ronnie Run") guest stars as one of the chief re-enactors. Unfortunately, he really doesn't make much of a mark even though you would think a braindead hick would be rife with comedic potential for the veteran character actor. Instead we get treated to jokes about money hungry Civil War re-enactors which fall flat.

The MVP on this episode is Neil, whose obliviousness is taken to new heights this week. His arc of going from complete ignorance on America's darkest period to genuinely learning provides the only really enjoyable moments on this otherwise weaksauce episode.

This was one of the series' weakest efforts yet. So many of the jokes missed the mark by a broad margin, from Jay's love for a middle school girl to Will's awkward attempts at winning over Lauren. The episode bottoms out in the closing minutes with Will taking part in his own personal puke-o-rama which taught me that I can only appreciate some kinds of toilet humor while others make me physically ill. 

Next week's episode seems a bit more promising, as the writers keep Lauren around for at least another week and venture into territory that the UK show stayed away from.

Final Grade: D+