The Drew Carey Show
Drew and the Unstable Element
TV Flash files “Drew and the Unstable Element” as hour 13 of 233 in the TV Flash guide — The Drew Carey Show (1995–2004) on ABC, season 1, episode 13, aired 1996-01-03, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E13: listed hour 13 of 233 in the The Drew Carey Show guide, hour 13 of 22 in season 1. It aired 1996-01-03 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Isomers Have Distinct Characteristics” (S01E12). Next is “Drew and Mr. Bell's Nephew” (S01E14).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After hiring a criminally insane employee, Drew has to fire him without creating any bad blood---or losing any good blood.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Drew and the Unstable Element sit in the The Drew Carey Show guide?
S01E13 is listed hour 13 of 233 — hour 13 of 22 in season 1, season 1 episode 13.
When did The Drew Carey Show S01E13 air?
Drew and the Unstable Element aired 1996-01-03 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Why do episodes start with musical numbers?
Elaborate musical and dance openers were house style — local pride and surreal flourish before the department-store plot clocked in.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Cleveland as sitcom geography: a discount store, Buzz Beer, and cold opens that danced before the plot bothered to start. Drew Carey’s everyman deadpan against Ryan Stiles, Diedrich Bader, and a city treated like a character instead of a punchline. Blue-collar multi-cam with musical nerve — a workplace comedy that could rock without leaving Ohio.
Visual first: a Cleveland everyman in a discount-store silhouette, Mimi's makeup as a walking cartoon, cold opens that danced before the plot bothered to clock in. Drew Carey and Bruce Helford's ABC sitcom (1995–2004) treated the city as a character instead of a punchline. *Blue-collar, musical, local pride as a look.* The tags will call a dance number mid. **This was not mid; this was a city photographing as itself.**
Filed against
- Drew Carey as Drew Carey
Drew Carey made Cleveland sitcom geography as himself on The Drew Carey Show — a discount store, Buzz Beer, and cold opens that danced before the plot bothered to start. Everyman deadpan against a city treated like a character instead of…
- Ryan Stiles as Lewis Kiniski
Ryan Stiles's Lewis Kiniski danced The Drew Carey Show into Cleveland as sitcom geography — a discount store, Buzz Beer, cold opens that moved before the plot bothered to start. Everyman deadpan against Diedrich Bader and a city treated…
- Christa Miller as Kate O'Brien
Christa Miller played Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show — Cleveland as sitcom geography, a discount store, Buzz Beer, cold opens that danced before the plot bothered to start. Drew's everyman deadpan against Ryan Stiles, Diedrich Bader,…
- Diedrich Bader as Oswald Lee Harvey
Diedrich Bader’s Oswald Lee Harvey made The Drew Carey Show’s Cleveland a dim-bulb symphony — discount store, Buzz Beer, cold opens that danced before the plot started, everyman deadpan against Ryan Stiles and a city treated like a…
- Kathy Kinney as Mimi Bobeck
Kathy Kinney's Mimi Bobeck painted The Drew Carey Show in Cleveland neon — discount-store sitcom geography, cold opens that danced before the plot clocked in, blue-collar multi-cam with a makeup-counter weapon. TV Flash files her as 1990s…
- Craig Ferguson as Nigel Wick
Craig Ferguson’s Nigel Wick made The Drew Carey Show’s Cleveland boss a comic weapon — discount-store tyranny, Buzz Beer aftertaste, a Scottish sneer against everyman deadpan. Cold opens danced before the plot started; Wick still arrived…