Two Guys, a Girl And A Pizza Place

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Two Guys, a Girl And A Pizza Place, eventually renamed Two Guys And A Girl, (and not to be confused with the trope of the same name) was a Sitcom centering around three friends- Michael Eugene Leslie "Berg" Bergen (Ryan Reynolds), the laid-back, ditzy pretty boy, Pete Dunville (Richard Ruccolo), the neurotic architecture student, and Sharon Carter (Traylor Howard), a tough girl who fits in with the group. In season two, Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion), the jukebox repairman and Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer), the medical student were added. It ran four seasons on ABC from 1998 to 2001.

Tropes used in Two Guys, a Girl And A Pizza Place include:
  • Adult Child: Johnny, Pete and Berg could all be subject to this, but Berg especially.
  • Blatant Lies: Sharon, in her role as spokesperson for a chemical company.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: Berg.
  • Butt Monkey: Pete in the beginning, Berg in later seasons.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: In early seasons, Berg. When Irene (Jillian Bach) showed up, she took on the role.
  • Crazy Memory: The first season had a recurring character of a crazy patron who would tell stories about his life that were all actually plots of popular movies. Then he was Put on a Bus.
  • The Ditz: Berg.
  • Dawson Casting: Subverted and played straight. In the beginning of the series the main characters were supposed to be around 24. They were played by 22 year old Ryan Reynolds, 26 year old Richard Ruccolo and 32 year old Traylor Howard, but they made it believable. In the second season however Reynolds was paired off with the 31 year old Suzanne Cryer and it did show.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Ashley; although all of the other main characters had their moments.
  • Embarrassing Tattoo: Berg tried to prevent Pete from discovering that Pete's new girlfriend had his [Berg's] name tattooed on her.
  • Evil Counterpart: Season 2's Halloween episode (See below)
  • Everybody's Dead, Dave: In the season 2 Halloween episode, a Berg doppleganger killed all of the supporting and primary cast (With the exception of the real Berg, who was killed by Pete who thought it was the the doopleganger), for the sole reason of getting the pizza place, and "all the pizza [they] could want". Cue ominous thunder and lightning, maniacal laughter & a death glare at the camera. The episode ended on a parody of the "On the next..." teasers, where it cut to the various sets, all abandoned.
  • Five-Man Band
  • Freaky Friday Flip: The season 3 Halloween episode saw a Mad Scientist switch Pete's brain with Ashley's and Berg's brain with Sharon's, and the only one who can help them is Johnny.
  • Friday Night Death Slot: After ABC moved it to Friday, they tried moving it back to midweek as a two-week test to see if anyone would watch. It failed and the show was canceled.
  • Funny Background Event: The basis for an entire plot - Johnny bought a camcorder, and whilst messing around with it at a restaurant, an elderly woman starts choking in the background with Pete (Fireman) & Berg (Doctor) being completely oblivious to it whilst dicking around in front of the camera. Sharon performs the Heimlich Maneuver, and Peter & Berg are subject to repeated mocking throughout the city after the footage is broadcast on the local news & points out who they are & their professions.
  • Genius Ditz: Berg
  • Halloween Episode: Had three that really ran with the concept:
    • "Two Guys, a Girl and a Psycho Halloween": A psycho killer that looks like Berg is killing off the main characters one-by-one. Turns out to be Mimi in disguise, trying to get her own show... and all the pizza she can eat.
    • "Halloween 2: Mind Over Body": A mad scientist switches Pete and Ashley's brains and then Berg and Sharon's, and it's up to Johnny to fix it. Hilarity Ensues.
    • "The Satanic Curses": Jealous of their True Companionship, Irene summons Satanic powers to curse Berg, Pete and Sharon. Berg becomes increasingly deformed, Pete grows Ashley's head on his shoulder and Sharon grows a penis. And it's bigger than Johnny's.
  • Hey, It's That Guy! / Retroactive Recognition: Captain Mal Reynolds/Castle is married to Natalie Teeger who has been friends with Hal Jordan/Deadpool since college.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Following the lead of the show's original title, most episodes in the first couple seasons used a variant of "Two Guys, a Girl and ______".
  • I See London: Ashley does this to Johnny.
  • Jerkass: Sharon had her moments. One memorable one:

Pete: (about a rollerblader) I hope he twirls into a bus.
Sharon: God Pete, that's so mean. [[[Beat]]] I was thinking open trench.

  • Jimmy Hart Version: The intro theme is a variation of the instrumental of "Blister In The Sun" By the Violent Femmes
  • Keep Circulating the Tapes: Finally averted, with the first season being released on DVD in April 2012, and the remaining three seasons scheduled to follow later in the year. Over a decade after the show went off the air, and long after Ryan Reynolds & Nathan Fillion have achieved greater popularity with other roles.
  • Kill'Em All: Parodied in the Season 2 Halloween Episode.
  • The Ladette: Shawn.
  • Language of Love: Played on when Pete falls in love with a beautiful woman who only speaks French.
  • Limited Social Circle: Lampshaded by Berg, when Pete thinks he's in love with Sharon, Berg warns Pete against pursuing her because if she doesn't feel the same way, then it could destroy the dynamic of the group & he [Berg] just doesn't have the time to find new friends.
  • Man, I Feel Like a Woman: The second Halloween special had a mad scientist switch Berg & Sharon's brains. Berg plays this trope straight, when he bemoans being in Sharon's body before he realises he's in Sharon's body and tries to run off to the bathroom to look at himself naked. Pete & Ashley had their brains switched too, but didn't invoke this trope.
  • Neat Freak: Pete.
  • Never My Fault: Ashley is the biggest offender.
  • No Dialogue Episode: The One Without Dialogue where we track the characters dealing with physical tasks that don't require any dialogue (except for a dream sequence dance scene)- Johnny needs to fix a toilet, Sharon needs to rescue her wedding ring, Pete chases after a woman on the subway etc. All the jokes come from their struggles with physical objects rather than dialogue.
  • Open Says Me: Subverted. Pete tries to get into Ashley's apartment when there's a leak in it, by throwing himself against the door. He fails miserably but soon realises that the thing that stung him in the side was the key.
  • "On the Next...": Parodied in the Season 2 Halloween episode.
  • Put on a Bus: Melissa, Bill & Mr Bauer after season 1
  • Retirony: Played straight in "Two Guys, a Girl and a Psycho Halloween", where an old cop (thinking our trio's claim of a killer is just a silly prank) states it's his last night on the job and then leaves to go to his retirement party.

Berg: Well, he's dead.

  • Rich Bitch: Ashley can come off as this, due to coming from a very well-off family
  • Rip Tailoring: Sharon's boyfriend Johnny rips the poofy sleeves off her hideous bridesmaid's dress, turning it ito something quite wearable.
  • Screwed by the Network: As stated above, it was sent to the Friday Night Death Slot. Guess what happened.
    • Subverted later on in the season, though, as noted above. Unlike the other Friday sitcoms, ABC did move the series back to its previous night as a test for renewal. Didn't work out, though.
  • Series Fauxnale: "The Internet Show," where a brand of condoms is reported to be very faulty and each of the three couples is concerned about a possible pregnancy. Fans were given the choices of Berg/Irene, Pete/Ashley, Johnny/Sharon or no pregnancy at all. A vote online saw Pete and the departing Ashley winning (while the other filmed endings were shown at the end as a bonus). This was all designed to lead into a new season, but ABC cancelled the series - leaving the show with a massive Downer Ending bordering on a cliffhanger.
  • Shout-Out: Frequently, in season one - Mr Bauer would frequently see films & documentarys, and then tell the events of what he had seen to Pete, as if it was his life.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl: Berg gets a few of them. Most memorable when Johnny waits for him in the dark with a popsicle.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Irene towards Pete. At least until after she started dating Berg
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: After Johnny accidentally suggests that The Boys of Fire Island was a perfect film for fire fighters like Pete and him, this happens:

Sharon: What are you guys going to see?
Johnny: Not gay porn!

  • Three Plus Two
  • Titular Protagonists Place
  • Token Evil Teammate: Ashley
  • Trope Namer: Two Guys and a Girl
  • Tsundere: Marti.
  • Two Guys and a Girl: This is very oddly averted when ALL THREE (Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo, and Traylor Howard) end up being paired off with OTHER people (Ryan with co-worker/later Ruccolo's stalker, Richard with Tiffany Thiesen/later Berg's ex, and Traylor with Nathan Fillion), which is unusual for the trope.
  • Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs??
    • Pete started working at the titular pizza place, whilst trying to move into architecture; realised he hated the field & inadvertently got a job as a job counselor and later a make-up salesman, before becoming a fireman.
    • Berg worked alongside Pete at the pizza place, whilst taking part in numerous medical experiments; spent a period looking for a career before becoming a med student/Doctor.
    • Sharon was spokesperson for a chemical company, before quitting & moving into charity work, eventually going to law school while working as a legal assistant.
    • Johnny was introduced as a jukebox repairman, which was retconned into being a general handyman; before becoming the building superintendent & later a fireman.
    • Parodied with Mr Bauer in season 1, as he would continuously tell Pete tales from his life - All of which were clearly popular movies, or stories from from documentaries about famous figures.
  • Whole-Plot Reference: A Running Gag with Mr Bauer in Season 1, with him repeatedly claiming that the plots of popular movies (Such as Raiders Of The Lost Arc, for example) are actually tales from his life.
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