Ben's wisdom teeth hurt, which he shows his dad (along with a mouthful of cereal). He fears going to Dr. Zelbar because of his violent history with him -- apparently, Ben used to fight him. Katz points out that a dentist's trade is in being an alarmist; the first expression they're taught in school is, "Oh, my God." Katz tells Laura he'll need some time off to "nurse Ben" ("I don't like the sound of that," she says), but she won't give it to him. Instead, he puts together a care package containing tapioca pudding and "Carousel" ("Thank you, but you're all wrong," Ben says kindly). Laura tells Ben she only had one wisdom tooth, because she was more highly evolved; Ben says that's like telling a humpback he's more highly evolved, when really he's a freak. Todd at the video store is keeping his wisdom teeth; "It's a scam," he says, as are several other medical things (anal warts among them). Ben finally goes through with the procedure and comes out a bloody mess, unable to speak, and changing his gauze in front of people ("You should see the sockets. You can see down to my stomach"). At home, he asks Katz to kill him with a nail file ("This could take a while," Dad says) because of the pain. Turns out Katz accidentally gave Ben the antibiotics instead of the painkillers. NOTES: No Stan and Julie -- they're one for three so far this season, while Todd the video store guy is three for three. Also, no one is crediting as playing the dentist, though someone obviously did.

• Paul F. Tompkins: Has a philosophical debate with Laura over what constitutes a "session," and whether it can begin without him (it can); show business is great because the money is obscene; he sometimes goes to the Gap and buys four shirts; he's Irish, and had to hear stories about the Irish Potato Famine of "18-whatever"; people were dying because there were no potatoes -- "Are these the pickiest people in the world?"; goes to pawn shops and harasses guys who are hocking their guitars; jazz is "all about about making the common man feel dumb"; where's the "cool future junk," like rocketpacks?
• Margaret Cho: Mom wanted her thin, like she was when she was 5; Mom made her prom dress ("They don't have prom in Korea. Only war"); buying drugs is annoying because you have to make small talk with the dealer; Mom knew a lot about gay men, and would buy books for Margaret about them ("Gay men, they like ass").

Review:

Paul's bit about the potato famine starts out as a run-of-the-mill stand-up bit, then turns quite funny as he offers the starving Irishman some corn. It turns out to be one of the funniest parts of the episode, along with Ben's reaction to the pain and his desire for his dad to kill him. We dare say we're getting slightly weary of Ben, though. He's always been one of the best things about the show, but three episodes in a row centering on him might be a bit much. GRADE: B

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