Sky Writing Isn’t Always Positive

For those of you wondering, Ryan won our Oscar pool. He went 15 for 24. I lost by one freaking category. I’ve never hated Randy Newman more.

Spoilers below.

Community – “Intro to Political Science” (A)

It surprises me a little that it took Community this long to tackle student politics. You’d think a show based in a community college would be all over that kind of easy episode premise. Well, “Intro to Political Science” may have been late, but it was well worth the wait, delivering a hilarious and subversive take on politics in general.

The episode started with the news that Joe Biden would be visiting local community colleges, and Greendale happens to be on his list. The only problem – he wants to meet the school’s student council president, a position that currently doesn’t exist at Greendale. This gives the college 7 hours to elect their new student council president.

The presidential debate was one of the shining moments of this episode. The writers have done a wonderful job of filling Greendale with a wide assortment of terrific background characters, and it’s moments like this week’s election where all that work really pays off. Star Burns dropping out of the election because it may shine a negative light on his drug dealing, Magnitude answering every question with Bop Bop, and Leonard changing his last name to Rodriguez to corner the Hispanic vote – all this was possible because the writers planted these seeds a long time ago (or two weeks in the case of Magnitude, but whatever).

But the election did eventually boil down to a two horse race between Jeff and Annie. Their rivalry produced a few good moments, my favourite being the conversation between the two of them where they forcibly smiled at the crowd while trading verbal barbs.

Ultimately though, Annie gets the upper hand on Jeff by playing his Real World audition tape from back when he was 19, embarrassing him enough to get him to drop out of the race. Although Annie to drops out of the race – ashamed  at what she’d done to Jeff in the name of politics – leaving only Magnitude and Leonard left in the race. Who won then you ask? The popular Comedy Central series South Park... with 7 votes.

But the election itself wasn’t even the funniest part – it was Abed and Troy’s coverage of it on the campus’ closed circuit television. From their hilarious profiles of each of the candidates to their terrible banter between segments (“You know you’ve gotta ask yourself right now Abed, what’s... up with politics”) this was definitely the highlight of the episode for me. I would love to see these two back on the closed circuit loop again some day, although maybe not with Troy and Abed in the Morning. I think that’s segment’s funnier because they don’t film it.

Abed actually had a busy week this week, because on top of his political coverage he also made time for a romantic connection... or whatever the hell that was. Eliza Coupe (who also played Denise on Scrubs) did a wonderful job of playing Abed’s secret service agent crush. If there is any one woman who Abed is meant to be with, it has to be her. Their interactions with each other were adorable, with both of them trying to flirt over their outwardly detached demeanours. And I loved their final date with each other! It was just so delectably weird.

Of course a lot of what made this episode great I couldn’t fit into the review, so here’s a list of some of my other favourite moments.

-          Abed’s “Classic Wingers” notches. Actually just all the notches in general.

-          Brita’s fail when it came to rousing the crowd – “I believe that human kind need not be governed... (as the room sits silently) I don’t care.”

-          Pierce’s feud with Vicky, ending with him getting stabbed in the face with a pencil.

-          Troy’s description of Garrett as they’re profiling the candidates – “That guys just a mess. It’s like God spilled a person.”

-          The assailant known only as the Ass Crack Bandit.

-          Troy embracing his television personality status – “Can I get an apple juice? Freshly squeezed this time or so help me God Maurice.”

-          How Jeff sees himself – “I’m sorry Annie, I’m not the worker bee type. I’m more of a silverback gorilla with the claws of a lion, the teeth of a shark, and the quiet dignity of a tortoise.” It’s true, those tortoises are pretty dignified.

The Office – “Todd Packer” (B)

Ever since Holly’s return in this season’s Christmas episode Michael has been going through a transformation as a character. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of the credit for Michael’s newfound maturity belongs to her. She really seems to bring out the best in him, and more importantly causes him to question some of his long held beliefs.

That’s exactly what happened in this episode. When Packer returns to the Scranton branch, and acts like... well Packer, he alienates most of the other employees in the office, most notably Holly. Michael originally tries to defend his friend, but when he insults Holly in the episode’s closing moments Michael finally wises up to the truth about Packer, and sends him on his way. I’ve made no secret my love for what the writers have done to Michael’s character, and this was just another great example of the spectacular job they’ve done of wrapping up his character.

This episode also brought back some great memories of Jim and Dwight back in their heyday. I don’t know why but it seems like it’s been a while since these two have had this kind of chemistry with each other. I loved their conversations as they plotted with each other over how to get rid of Packer. Dwight was in classic form, throwing out condescending insults left and right, and Jim’s response to it was understated yet hilarious. The drawer jamming scene was fantastic, as was Jim’s list of 400 ideas of how to prank Packer. This is really how the writers should be using these two characters.

Also good this week was the storyline between Pam and Andy. I didn’t like how Pam went about getting her office administrator position, but the way the show has used it this season has really reinvigorated her character. I loved how delighted Pam was at becoming corrupt. I don’t know if the writers will carry it past this episode – it could become problematic if they do – but the way she went about getting Andy a new computer, and her further cover up with Darryl was entertaining to say the least.

Only 3 more episodes to go until Steve Carell leaves the show. Let’s hope they can finish his run strong.

Parks and Recreation – “Indianapolis” (A)

I was a little worried going into this episode. It was going to be our first look at Andy and April as a couple, and as many of you know, chemistry in the build-up of a relationship doesn’t necessarily translate into chemistry as a couple. And early in the episode I felt as though my concerns may be warranted. Andy was talking about naming albums after her and the normally apathetic April couldn’t help but smile through an entire interview like a giddy school girl.

Luckily just as the two characters overcame their initial jitters about the relationship, so did I. If their club scenes are any indication of what I should expect from this coupling then I am very happy. I laughed out loud many time as they clamoured through the club looking for ways to get free stuff. I loved April’s demonstration of how she can get men to buy her drinks.

APRIL: Here you take this one. I will get myself a martini from that idiot.

And Andy’s bathroom attendant gag was priceless. When he helped the one guy wipe his hands on his shirt, and then got him to tip him I was practically rolling on the floor.

But as one relationship was starting on this show, another was ending – unfortunately for Ann she found out just a little late. Apparently after moving back to Indianapolis Chris had been acting distant, so suspecting him of cheating Ann sent in Leslie to snoop around his apartment for evidence of the affair. After Leslie finds a woman’s razor and a pink bathing camp in his bathroom, Ann storms down to Indianapolis to confront him, only to find out the embarrassing truth.

LESLIE: Yeah so here’s what happened. Sweet and beautiful Ann has never been dumped before, and Chris is such a positive person, when he broke up with her she just didn’t realize it. It’s kind of understandable. Although it does kind of make you wonder how good of a nurse she is.

Watching Ann slowly discover the truth about her misunderstanding was hilarious, and her recounting of all the embarrassing things she had done since the break up was great. My favourite part of the entire episode though was watching Leslie’s attempt to cheer Anne up by telling her all of the horrible ways she had been broken up with. I was laughing so hard for so long afterwards I decided to post the whole list of them as a tribute.

-          One time, while I was in high school, a guy’s mom called me and broke up with me for him.

-          There was another time where I was on a date and I tripped and broke my knee cap. Then the guy said he wasn’t feeling it, so he left and I waited for an ambulance.

-          One time I was dating this guy for a while, and then he got down on one knee and he begged me to never call him again.

-          One guy broke up with me while we were in the shower together.

-          Sky writing isn’t always positive.

-          Another time a guy invited me to a beautiful picnic with wine and flowers, and then when I tried to sit down he said don’t eat anything Rebecca’s coming... and then he broke up with me.

And last but not least I can’t leave without talking about Ron’s storyline this week. I honestly don’t even know where to begin here because pretty much every scene he was in was fantastic. I loved his reaction to his favourite steak joint closing down (he kept a scrap book of all the steaks he’d eaten there). It was like he was going into shock after he found out.

RON: What happened to the steaks that were in there when they closed? Do you think they got eaten?

I also loved how he collapsed on discovery Chris was cooking mushrooms instead of steaks. And of course his final scene at the diner where he asks for all of guy’s bacon and eggs was good too. Nick Offerman deserves a ton of credit here. If he didn’t play those breakdown scenes perfectly they could have been a disaster, so kudos to him.

30 Rock – “TGS Hates Women” (B+)

I really hope the writers of 30 Rock can find a reason to bring Chloe Moretz back. Her character’s rivalry with Jack is just too funny to get rid of. I loved their early scenes in the library, where Kaylie poked and prodded Jack, reminding him of all the things he used to love about oceanography.

But when the gloves finally came off between the two of them was when the real magic started to happen. It was really only one scene, which is why I hope they bring her back, but the two of them going at it was hysterical. Kaylie threatens to tell her grandfather Jack gave her alcohol, Jack threatens to seduce one of her teachers and have them fail her. It was such a warped scene you couldn’t help but laugh.

We also had Liz this week trying to salvage her show’s feminist reputation after a popular blog accuses TGS of hating women. She ends up hiring a new female guest writer named Abby, but is quickly dismayed by the new writer’s bimbo like status. I wasn’t a particularly huge fan of the bulk of this storyline, but I did like how it ended.

 With Liz unable to curb Abby’s behaviour, she posts an old stand up routine of the guest writer on the internet to show that she didn’t always flaunt her sexuality. As it turns out though, Abby had changed her voice and appearance to avoid her crazy ex-husband, not to get ahead in the business. Oops.

LIZ: Oh, because I thought it was pressure from society.

Hilarious.

Grey’s Anatomy – “Not Responsible” (B+)

With last week’s Grey’s being such a fantastic offshoot episode for the series, I wasn’t sure if the show could maintain its momentum when it went back to business as usual. Fortunately, “Not Responsible” was a thoughtful episode that moved the show’s story forward into some new and interesting directions.

I think my favourite new development was the relationship formed between Lexie and Avery. I figured some sort of friendship was developing between the two of them back when Lexie was complaining to him about her dad’s new girlfriend in “P.Y.T.”, but never did I think the two would be getting together any time soon, much less all in a single episode.

But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy watching them do just that. Grey’s conversation with her cystic fibrosis patient was really well done, and I liked what she had to say about worrying there won’t be anyone else and then feeling silly when there is. Of course, at the time, she herself may not have believed it. Cue my favourite scene of the episode – Lexie and Avery’s parking lot conversation. Avery attempts to comfort her by telling her that that there are no such thing as soul mates, and that when she was ready to move on there would be a line of guys waiting for her.

LEXIE: Oh would you be in that line?
AVERY: Yeah, I’m in the line.

And the rest is history. It was a great scene and I look forward to seeing where they take these two.

The other new development this week was Meredith’s fertility drug induced vision problems. It looked to be a set up for a much more drawn out storyline, but it still piqued my interest. I highly doubt the eye damage will be permanent. They can’t bench her forever. Probably more likely is she‘ll have to choose between being a surgeon and having a baby, and I don’t see Grey choosing the latter. At the moment I can’t really tell whether I like this storyline or not. I’ll have to wait and see what they do with it.

I also liked Christina and Owen’s storyline in this episode. Spurred on by Callie, Mark, and Arizona’s baby problems the two of them were thrown into their own baby discussion. Christina, of course, was adamantly against having kids, while Owen resented having the decision being made without him first getting a say in the matter. It’s a fairly standard kids or no kids storyline. What I thought set it apart though was Owen’s take on Christina’s state of mind.  “The idea that your career is the only thing that will ever matter to you is frankly a young person’s notion” counters Owen, another one of my favourite lines of the episode. It’ll be interesting to see how this little tiff affects their relationship in the future. As Christina lovingly pointed out, their marriage isn’t exactly built on a solid foundation.

The Big Bang Theory – “The Toast Derivation” (B+)

Sheldon's life is changing and he doesn't know how he feels about it. With Leonard dating Raj's sister, this episode focused on Sheldon’s reaction to changes in his routine. Leonard has decided to spend Thursday night at Raj's to be with Pria and Sheldon has concerns because, Thursday night is Pizza night at their place. He attempts to attend their tex-mex dinner, but finds it intolerable, so he puts together a new group of friends – Penny’s old boyfriend Zach, Barry Cribkey, and Stewart from the comic book store.

These four make a pretty funny quaterinty. But Sheldon can't deal with their way of doing things either. Stewart needs to shower in his place, and Barry and Zach want to sing karaoke. At the same time Leonard and the gang find themselves missing Sheldon and all the crazy facts he likes to share. So like any good story, the gang finds itself back together in the end. But Penny remains lonely and without Leonard.

It’s a short and sweet review this week, but I want to mention something I think I have noticed in shows on two different networks. CBS airs Big Bang and NBC airs Community, but it seems to me like the two shows have been trading some very subtle jokes. I don't know if this is already news or not so I’ll explain what I’ve noticed from the beginning. Basically it goes like this... The Barenaked Ladies sing the theme song for Big Bang and recently in Community there have been a couple BNL references. A few weeks ago, there was a large discussion around the study table as to the merits of BNL. Then this past week, on Pierce's bio on his campaign sheet there was another reference to him loving BNL. At first I thought maybe Community was taking a very subtle shot at Big Bang since the two shows are very, very different. Community is subtle and very witty. Big Bang is funny, nerdy and well... it uses a laugh track. So it seems like a subtle joke that those guys would make.

Now I don't know if I'm making this up or if it’s a coincidence, but it seems to me like the cameo of Levar Burton on Big Bang this past week is a reference to his cameo on Community the week before. I don't know. The post-production times on those episodes might make that impossible. But to me, with Community dropping two BNL references and Big Bang pulling the same cameo it seems like these two shows are either rivals or good friends dropping hints at each other's merit. Either way, it’s cool.