How do you know when a show that's a finale probably isn't coming back? When you go to the first half hour of it and see that it's a repeat. Are you kidding me? We have 4 shows for an hour and we can't even completely fill that? No, we can't as the first half-hour is a repeat of the very first episode, where Kurt raised havoc in a Starbucks and Katie wrecking a clothing store. Kurt won, by the way.

So what do we get for the part of the show that's actually not a rerun?

Yoping Pizzo (PR Consultant, Seattle, WA) - So many ways to go with the name, but I won't do that. What I will say is that this Asian woman is going to work at...a pizza parlor. Pizzo's Pizza! This has got to be some sort of a joke, right?

Rob Federighi (Real Estate Broker, Chicago, IL) - He's light-skinned, has curly brown hair, and likes to try on skiing equipment. He's working at a ski shop, so that seems to work out well. (C-Note: doing a patented Julie Suchard Googlequest (TM) reveals that Rob was a contestant on "I'd Do Anything"... and also an actor. Well, you all knew THAT, though.)

We start at 9:45, where Yoping starts as Arturo's Brick Oven Pizza. Dan, Yoping's boss, is into sanitary conditions, which means no eating behind the counter, It also means no repeating the same mistakes. At least Yoping makes a different mistakes as she sets the chairs down off of the tables quite noisily, with a thud on the floor.

Yoping gets her first order ticket, which she leaves on the counter - along with her completed (and now used) soda cups. Brian sees this and isn't too happy. He is less happy when he sees Yoping's gum attached to the ticket. He asks her about it and she says that it's to stop the paper from moving off the table. Well, it certainly would prevent that...

Rob gets Summit Ski and Sport. He gets to work with Sandi, Chris and Laura, while Jack is the boss. Jack hates dingbats and people who aren't team players, but he's very slow to lose his temper an he could be a challenge. Jack tells Rob that this is a laid back place, but Chris may be the one to lose his temper first as he futilely tries to explain Rob the rules. Chris sends Rob to answer the phone, then tells Jack that Rob is one of the biggest idiots that he's met here. Way to make a good first impression.

Now that they have both gotten comfortable, so to speak, Yoping continues to get on Brian's bad side by picking at the pizza, and it doesn't help that co-worker Reeve is watching her do this as well. She continues to do this and tells Reeve that she's hungry and continues to pick at different parts of the pizza ingredients.

Rob asks Chris about the firing policy, and Chris says that they don't fire anyone unless you do something really stupid. On cue, Rob starts smelling the boots, wearing the helmets and putting on the glasses, much to the consternation of both Chris and Sandi. He then parades the gear in front of Jack, who is wondering if he's had a psychological evaluation today. As Rob puts the stuff away, Jack mentions that 'either he's going to fit in really well, or we're going to have to get rid of him now.' Now would be 10:45 am, which is probably going to be way too early to get canned, so Rob better watch himself.

10:45 am - Yoping is getting lessons on how to pronounce the name of the pizza place that she's going to be working at, mispronouncing Arturo with 'Altulo's' and 'Bricks Oven' with 'Brooks Oven'.

11:15 am - Rob, with the helmet and glasses on, decides to start scratching up the skis. Chris calls him a butthead and Sandi says that he's the type of person that would set up chicken fights in his basement. Heh. Sandi is wondering how they got him, unless it's to attract the idiots that ski. Why they are making fun of Rob...

11:30 am - Yoping is learning how to use the monitor. She gets transfixed by it and continues to play with it, even after getting yelled at by co-worker Emily for playing with it - and for drinking by the monitor. She gets tested on the monitor, and of course she gets it wrong.

12:25 pm - Rob now has a white helmet with gray gloves. Laura - 'He should go work for the post office - he's scaring me.'

12:56 pm - Yoping is taking a break. The co-workers are reporting all of the bad things that she's done to Brian, who gives Yoping a talking to after lunch. After the talk, she immediately goes back to eating things and chewing gum. Brian is starting to lose patience...

1:25 pm - Rob is trying to help a customer, who after seeing Rob's full helmet (now with a visor) and regalia, doesn't want Rob's help. Rob is putting on ski socks on his hands - and he's trying to write up an order.

2:00 pm - Rob now is trying all sort of hats, from an antlered-covered one to a purple puffy one. He's switching from a red ski cap to a multi-colored tube hat when Chris tells Jack to can him.

2:35 pm - Yoping is making a mess while trying to create a pizza. Brian spots her and they discuss what's clean and what's messy.

2:40 pm - Jack brings Rob downstairs to talk. Chris and Laura are making bets on whether Rob will cry when he comes back up. I seriously doubt it.

2:48 pm - Yoping still continues to pick off pizza pieces on the pizza. Brian catches her and warns her to not do it again.

2:50 - Yoping does it again - and now coughs on the pizza. Brian is really losing patience.

2:55 pm - Rob is asking Jack how he can sell if he's not allowed to play on the merchandise. Jack tells Rob to put the clothes back. Rob starts arguing that he can't spend his life wasting away in a ski shop...

Yoping continues to cough on everything. After she picks on some more food, Brian calls her in the back and asks what the deal is. Brian needs some minutes to think, and those minutes take her past 3:00 pm.

It's 3, and neither person gets canned. Now the rules shift to whoever gets canned first wins. Jack and Rob have a talk on individual freedoms, and Rob wants to know if he has a job. Jack says...yes he does. That's no good as Jack is on the phone talking.

Yoping is still munching on the pizza and Brian finally gives her a last warning. She picks at it again and she gets fired. Her time is...3:03. Ping gets the win and we don't know what time Rob got fired - or even if he got fired. My guess is that he didn't. Oops. (C-Note: Wait a second, how can she win if she was fired after 3:03?)

We go back to the (hopefully final) flashbacks of the contestants going to their old workplace. Both Yoping and Rob get hugs from the staff. That's it. Fade to black. End of series.

My take? Well, I didn't like it after the first episode. I didn't like it after I found out the contestants were comics. I certainly didn't like the repeat in the last show of the series. Most of all, I don't like the premise of people that have to give up a day to entertain someone at their expense. The only thing I did like was Dave Holmes, who did a very good job with the material that he had. I see potential in him, but unfortunately, Brian can't save this mess. He gets a B, everything else gets a D- for an average of a D+. As for the show... yes, Fire It, Please.

This is Gordon Pepper, who hope that I got you all fired up from reading the recaps. Until next time, Match Game and Out!