Season Three Finale Moment of Goodness: Rob Lowe Crashes Franklin and Bash’s Party, “Gone In a Flash” 

“He comes with his own aura” (Pindar on Rob Lowe)

Now that the latest Franklin & Bash season is over, it’s time to talk Rob Lowe. Having been a fan of his from way back (and terribly upset he’ll be leaving NBC’s Parks and Recreation soon), I enjoyed every single Rob Lowe reference the writers of Franklin & Bash inserted into the show. Then there were his cameos — both on video and in person at Peter and Jared’s beach party. It was great that Lowe was able to have fun with this whole storyline that was threaded throughout the entire third season.

First of all, I’m glad he wasn’t dating Charlie and Peter was able to achieve some closure with her. Second, it was clear that just about every character on the show worshiped Rob — except maybe Infeld. After all, he and Lowe were embroiled in a long time feud where the actor had to take out a restraining order on his neighbor. And Stanton had to give back the sword he stole from Rob. The sword Tom Cruise had given him as a gift from The Last Samurai. Lowe’s such a name-dropper.

However, at the mere mention of his name, everybody else was in awe. Pindar had a weird, gigantic man crush type of thing on Rob. His fascination was so great he had a drone (complete with camera) spy on his famous neighbor. That insurance investigator guy manipulated things and used Peter, Jared and (our favorite possible arsonist) Pindar to get close to Rob Lowe in order to get his autograph (he had almost everyone’s autograph from St. Elmo’s Fire). Even Peter and Jared had a healthy knowledge of Lowe’s career and were a bit starstruck in his presence. Thank you, Jared, for mentioning how much you loved him in The Outsiders (one of my favorite movies of all time).

The buildup was there all season. And, finally, during the last couple of minutes of the finale, Rob Lowe made an entrance. At first, he was wearing a helmet and then the sea of people parted to reveal the actor. The guy looked amazing. And we saw him interact with his neighbors. We saw Rob and Infeld make up after rehashing the whole Rob stole Jackie Bisset drama that caused the falling out. Pindar was Pindar, of course, which means he remained endearingly odd. And Lowe left the party with a parting gift — Pindar’s ab belt. These neighbors clearly like to steal things from each other. Oh and by the way, I adored Rob talking about his movie, Class. Have you seen it? Except for the ending, it’s such a great movie.

Now, let’s take a “What They Said” break and feature some of the lines from the party scene:

Jared: “What do you want?” Rob: “Actually, I was coming to return this.” (the drone) Pindar: “Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Your eyes are as violet as Liz Taylor’s.” Jared: “Why would you say that?”

Stanton: “So, you’ve finally come to apologize for stealing Jacqueline Bissit from me.” Rob Lowe: “I did not steal Jackie Biss-et — that’s how you say her name. Not Bissit.” Stanton: “No, it’s not.” Rob Lowe: “Yes, it is.” Stanton: “I said Biss-et.” Peter: “No, you said Bissit.” Jared: “Yeah, the way Rob says it it’s perfect.”

Rob Lowe: “When we were doing our movie, Class, Jackie came to me and she said that Stanton never bothered to learn her real name. And I saw that as an opening. And pretty much after that, it wasn’t a fair fight. Is that my kayak?” Jared: “Yeah. I’ll bring that back really soon.” Rob Lowe: “Don’t worry about it. It’s Kilmer’s. He’ll never use it.”

Stanton: “Well, then I apologize for dumping all that sand in your bedroom.” Rob Lowe: “Really? I thought that was est-EVEZ.” Peter: “est-EVEZ?” Jared: “EST-evez. Emiliio.” Peter: “Well, then it seems that this thirty-year old war has been nothing but a misunderstanding.”

Rob Lowe: “All right, Bert and Ernie. It’s been good seeing you. Keep that insurance adjuster out of my life.” Peter. “Done.” Jared: “You got it.” Peter: “It’s been done, Mr. Lowe. Anytime you maybe want to paddle out or something…” Jared: “If you just want to, you know, come over and throw some steaks on the grill or tofu because obviously you’re in great shape.”

Peter: “But can anyone do this?” Stanton: “Do what?” Peter: “Make summer disappear.” Jared: “Ladies and gentlemen, ’til we meet again.”

Some final thoughts:

• That was Jay Chandrasekhar who played the scheming insurance investigator that was on a mission. Chandrasekhar wears many hats, including actor, writer and director. In fact, he directed an episode of F&B earlier this season. He’s also directed episodes of Royal Pains, Community, Happy Endings and Psych.

• The Rob Lowe story plus the Peter and Jared banter was my favorite part of this latest season. The writers seemed to give us the right amount of obnoxiousness, fun and heart. They weren’t as over-the-top as in the past. Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer were highly entertaining to me.

• Favorite couple: Jared and Swatello.

• Favorite sighting: 1. Rob Lowe. 2. Mark-Paul shirtless in a number of episodes.

• I particularly enjoyed the cases of the week as well as the guest stars.

• I liked Charlie and Peter, although at times the whole drama in the relationship seemed a bit contrived.

• I wish Damien got to spend some more face time with Franklin and Bash this season.

• I can’t believe Pindar and Carmen were in the same episode. Wish that had happened more.

• I don’t really know what to say about Damien and Rachel. It all ended so weird. She and Karp both did not get the judgeship. She tried to help him become a judge then screwed him over. If and when Franklin & Bash gets its fourth season, I could definitely see Heather Locklear being gone. And while I love Locklear lots, it doesn’t seem like her character worked on this show. Rachel King just never clicked with me.

In conclusion, I hope we find out that Franklin & Bash will return next summer. And that they will find a way to get Rob Lowe to be a part of it again. And while they’re at it, please give us more Jane Seymour, Thomas Lennon, Martin Starr and Rhea Seehorn, too. Thank you kindly.