When it’s time to show the world you’re cool in a brainy sort of way, this is the jam to fire up. Since its release in 1995, this particular portion of this particular song has become a go-to signifier for shows that want to communicate both their good taste and their wit.
And the scene works in part because the bridge from “Hook” is exactly the type of reference a series like this would make. This is both passionate and ludicrous, which also describes Poker Face itself. To unburden himself, he delivers the entire bridge to the Blues Traveler song “Hook.”īut he doesn’t sing it. As he’s driving her back to face his boss, a casino thug she royally pissed off in the premiere, he’s stewing on how the universe has yoked him to the wise-ass woman in his passenger seat. After chasing her around all season, Cliff (Benjamin Bratt) finally has Charlie in his clutches. The season finale of Poker Face has several memorable moments - including the revelation that crime-solving heroine Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) has a sister played by Clea DuVall, and the introduction of a crime syndicate fronted by Rhea Perlman - but for viewers who remember the ’90s, it may be hard to top Cliff Legrand’s monologue in his car.
