Always the Padawan, Never the Jedi

Four reviews in less than 24 hours. That’s got to be a personal best. Enjoy!

Spoilers...

Community – “Paradigms of Human Memory” (A-)

Did Community just parody itself?

I’m pretty sure that’s what just happened. It was almost like the writers just decided to use all the little story snippets they had left over from the last two seasons and jam them all into a single episode. They took us everywhere – from a deserted old west ghost town, to a haunted mansion, to what I can only describe as the camping trip from hell – and in the process managed to call out almost every single convention in the show’s history. I’ve got to hand it to them, it was pretty brave.

Just last week I was talking about the crazy number of relationship possibilities on this show, and sure enough it only took them a week to comment on exactly that. Not only did we find out that Brita and Jeff have been hooking up pretty much all season long (despite Brita kissing Troy just an episode ago) but I think we got the writers’ response to all the perceived sexual tension between Annie and Jeff. I loved the clip set where they showed Annie looking far too into a bunch of innocuous situations, set to a soundtrack of romantic music, and then compared it to a similar clip set between Abed and Pierce, also set to that same romantic music. I loved Jeff's line:

JEFF: It’s called chemistry. I have it with everybody.

I think it’s fair to say we shouldn’t be looking too far into any of these relationships. The writers are just going to give us whatever best serves the joke.

I guess you could call “Paradigms of Human Memory” this show’s version of a clip show, without really any of the clips coming from any of their past episodes. Not every segment of the episode worked, but that didn’t really matter. If you didn’t like something, you just had to wait a couple seconds and they’d be on to something else.

Some of the other conventions this episode hilariously covered were the Dean’s love of crashing into the study room wearing insane costumes and Jeff’s tendency to give broad group uniting speeches. Both topics had hilarious clip mash ups that had me picturing some truly off the wall episodes that never were. Jeff’s speech especially was a great a commentary on how sitcoms (including this one) love to tie the moral of their story into whatever outrageous premise they’ve set for that episode.

JEFF: Because the real bugs aren’t the ones in those beds...

I also absolutely loved all the shots at The Cape. I just wish Ryan was around so I could have watched his reaction. If you remember Ryan covered The Cape for this blog and was one of the few writers on the internet who actually enjoyed it. But man, when Abed took out Jeff’s food with his cape I had a hard time trying to stop laughing.

Some of my other favourite moments:

-          The hilarious clip where the gang filled in for the Glee Club, which Annie nicely reminded us was because the formal Glee club died in a bus accident.

-          The return of Annie’s Boobs!

-          Jeff saving Annie from an apparent robot attack.

-          The outside perspective of the claymation Christmas special – “Remember when Abed had a total mental breakdown at Christmas?”

-          Brita taking Annie’s lip balm without asking. The look on Annie’s face was priceless.

And the quotes:

TROY: Didn’t we decide at the beginning of the year that for the good of the group we wouldn’t allow any intimacy between each other and ourselves.
JEFF: Troy, we never said ourselves.
TROY: Okay, now I’m really mad!

DEAN PELTON: This habitat was for humanity. Whoever did it step forward. (after everyone but Jeff and Brita step forward) You 5 are in big trouble. Jeff and Brita, you’re free to go, because you didn’t step forward and are therefore innocent.

SHIRLEY: You guys actually go out of your way to endanger the fabric of this group.
TROY: Yeah, leave our fabric alone!

JEFF: It’s not you it’s me.
BRITA: It’s you.

Line of the night:

TROY: You can yell at me all you want! I’ve seen enough movies to know that popping the back of a raft makes it go faster.

The Office – “Michael’s Last Dundies” (B+)

Ah nostalgia. I have a feeling (I don’t know why) that we aren’t quite done looking back fondly on our times spent watching The Office, but at least in this instance the Dundies were one of those warm memories worth looking back on. The original Dundies episode (they’ve only had one before this) was all the way back in the Season 2 premiere, right as the show was starting to hit its stride, so to get one last look at the awards show before Michael leaves was well worth the half hour.

The show started with a new twist on the format, with Michael and Deangelo hand delivering nomination certificates at ungodly hours of the morning. I loved that Stanley just chased them off his lawn and that Michael chose to egg Toby’s house instead of giving him a certificate (a sentiment echoed when he awarded Toby the Extreme Repulsiveness Award at the end of the episode – I love that he’s taking this feud with him as he exits the show), but more than anything I loved their visit to Meredith’s house. Deangelo put it best:

DEANGELO: Do you usually leave your door unlocked... and ajar?

The Dundies ceremony itself was fairly familiar, but with a few pleasant twists. I really liked Jim’s acceptance speech for his Best Dad Award (“I do not parent for the awards, but I gotta tell you it feels pretty good”) and the fact that Pam actually felt slighted for not getting mentioned by him. I also thought it was funny that for the first year since he started working in The Office Ryan didn’t win Hottest in the Office, instead going to Danny, the new traveling salesman. His disappointment over not winning was understated, but all the funnier because of it.

I also loved Erin breaking up with Gabe in her acceptance speech (broken record I know). It was a great twist on the way her character pretty much misunderstands everything. Her scene with Pam in the car was an excellent set up. The way she didn’t want to be mean to him (like Pam), and then ended up breaking up with him in just about the meanest way possible was hilarious. And the way she sold out Pam in the process – just brilliant.

ERIN: I’m not attracted to you. I just, I cringe when you talk. I have to be honest... right Pam?

The one thing I do hope the writers clear up before Michael’s exit is the rift between him and Dwight. Dwight’s anger over not being chosen as Michael’s replacement has played for a few good laughs – I liked his garbage can acceptance speech in this one – but the characters have too much history with each other to leave on a sour note. Even a character like Dwight deserves some recognition from the boss he’s admired for all these years.

And finally we come to the big musical finale – The Office rendition of Rent’s “Seasons of Love” (damn I wish I didn’t know that). Normally I hate when this show does musical numbers, but since we were already taking a walk down memory lane anyways, why not? There were some great call backs to season’s past, like Oscar and Michael’s kiss and Ryan’s stint as a drugged out corporate douche. Even just watching Will Ferrell riff over the chorus was incredibly entertaining. Overall it was another really touching moment in Michael’s prolonged departure.

Some of my favourite lines:

MICHAEL: When Larry King died they didn’t just cancel his show, they got Pierce Morgan to come in and do his show... and that way Larry lives on.

MICHAEL: Anything can happen at the Dundies. They’re like the Golden Globes but less mean.

DWIGHT: Always the Padawan, never the Jedi.

MICHAEL: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”... that Phyllis bit. That was pretty good right.
JIM: I don’t know if we need to dissect it all right now.

And line of the episode:

MICHAEL: I was hoping it would be more like Godfather 3 that wrapped up the whole franchise in an extremely satisfying way. But instead it was like Godfather 1 that was very confusing... had maybe 3 big laughs. Oh well.

Parks and Recreation – “Soulmates” (A-)

It’s funny, one week after the phenomenal marriage episode between Andy and April, the writers follow it up by showcasing the unique relationships the two of them have with other people. The even funnier part – it was almost just as effective.

Yes, it was kind of a dream storyline this week. The stark contrast between Ron and Chris has been highlighted several times this season, so when Chris starts a health initiative within the government of Pawnee, and in the process eliminates hamburgers from City Hall, we finally get the showdown we’ve been waiting for all this time – a cook-off between health-nut Chris and meat enthusiast Ron (that sounded less gay when I wrote it).

That’s where these unique relationships came in to play. Ron was quietly paired with April while Chris was paired with Andy. Watching the two duos go about making the perfect hamburger was incredibly enjoyable. Chris and Andy, who have only been paired together a handful of times before this (yet are almost always funny together), took on an almost father and son dynamic. Their walk through the health store together was an endless stream of hilarity. From Andy emptying a coffee dispenser – predicated by a brilliantly casual “what’s this” – to Andy’s description of his favourite food (just check the quotes section) I was pretty much laughing every time these two were on screen together.

And yet honestly, I’d say they took second place to Ron and April. Their bond had long been established since before this season began, but it had been a while since we’d seen the paired up, and it’s true what they say – absence makes the heart grow stronger. Their meatless bacon scene was spectacular. The look they gave each other after April joyfully (for her anyways) dropped her piece of bacon in the trash was the perfect expression of what makes these two characters awesome together. And the fact that Ron shops at a store called the Food and Stuff... how do you come up with anything better than that?

The cook-off was just icing on the cake. It was probably fairly obvious by the way the scene was set up that Ron would end up winning, but it didn’t make the sequence any less enjoyable for me. Chris naturally pulled out all the bells and whistles for his turkey burger. Ron, meat on a bun. The lesson being that beef is just naturally better than turkey meat. Amen to that. I loved the way even Chris instantly accepted that Ron’s burgers were better than his, and you had to love the way Andy just devoured the hamburger from Ron. Chris Pratt is a genius at physical comedy.

And after being turned down for a date by Ben Leslie dipped her toe into the world of online dating this week, only to have her profile matched up with one Tom Haverford. It was a fairly enjoyable plotline, if only so we could watch Ann and Leslie make her profile. I did think Tom came off as a little too obnoxious though, even for him, and I wasn’t entirely sure if the writers earned Leslie kissing him, but it did lead to the hilarious fire alarm pulling bit, so I’ll give them a pass just for that.

In the end though, Leslie finds out that Chris has a strict no dating policy between government employees, which is why Ben was so squeamish when she initially asked him out. I very much liked the sweet wildflower mural connection they made at the end of the episode. I don’t know if they have the same level of chemistry as Andy and April did, but they’re really a different animal and I’m still rooting for them.

I also think that Chris’s no dating policy is a good way of keeping them apart for the time being. They were so close to finally becoming an item in that last episode that if they didn’t find some way of keeping them apart the whole will-they won’t-they aspect of their relationship was going to grow old fast. I also see it as a great little test for Leslie’s character. She’s a very dedicated government employee and they’ve shown in the past that she doesn’t like breaking rules, so I could foresee a scenario where she has to decide whether she wants to risk her job in order to go for it with Ben. Or maybe even something where they have to keep their relationship a secret. I’d prefer the former over the latter but this writing staff has a way of pleasantly surprising me with unexpected storylines so I’ll just leave it up to their judgement.

Now on to my favourite quotes. Fair warning, there may be a lot of them.

CHRIS: Now if anybody would like to join me, I will be running backwards up the big hill behind the Wal-mart.

CHRIS: You ever tried a turkey burger?
RON: Is that a fried turkey leg inside a grilled hamburger? If so, yes. Delicious.

CHRISH: A turkey burger! You take lean ground turkey meat. You make that into a burger instead of red meat.
RON: Why would anyone do that to themselves?

CHRIS: What do I get if I win?
RON: The rarest jewel of all. Victory over me, Ron Swanson.

ANN: Okay, what do you think of dogs?
LESLIE: Love.
ANN: Cats?
LESLIE: Love.
ANN: Fish?
LESLIE: Love.
ANN: Turtles?
LESLIE: No opinion. They’re condescending.

ANN: Describe your ideal man.
LESLIE: He’s dark and mysterious, and he can sing, and he plays the organ.
ANN: I think you just described the Phantom of the Opera.

CHRIS: What’s your favourite food?
ANDY: Oh, I take Skittles and I put it between two Starbursts. You know what I call it?
CHRIS: Skittle sandwich.
ANDY: That’s pretty good. No, I call it Andy’s mouth surprise. It’s nice because the flavour of the Starburst really bring out a similar flavour in the Skittles.

And joke of the episode:

ANDY: Did you know that the food you eat becomes energy? Yeah! Boom, that’s spaghetti. (flails his arms) Nachos. (jumps and flails) That’s a cookie.
APRIL: That’s my husband.

30 Rock – “100” (B+)

Wow, 100 episodes. Has it really been that long? It seems like just yesterday I was watching the second season of this show as I leisurely worked the night shift at my summer job. How far we’ve come. Like most shows hitting their 100^th episode, 30 Rock took some time to reflect on just how far it’s come in these past 5 seasons. Yes, it seemed to be a theme for NBC on Thursday, but nostalgia was rampant in this episode, and rightfully so.

Liz’s story focused on her attempts to save TGS from cancellation. Sure enough, it had all the right ingredients to a classic Lemon storyline. She had to deal with a gas leak, her incompetent writing staff, Tracey’s antics (though in this case she was encouraging them), and, in a delightful surprise, the return of her ex-boyfriend Dennis. Liz’s life was never so scattered than when she was with Dennis. Some of his early appearances were what really got me into this show in the first place, so having him on with his crazy mix of outrageously out of date technology (did you see his answering machine set up) and never-say-die attitude was a fantastic way to celebrate Liz’s evolution over these past few years.

I think my favourite storyline in this episode had to be Tracey’s though. My favourite character on this show rotates on almost a weekly basis, and for a variety of reasons. Liz because she’s such a nerd, Jack because he’s played by Alec Baldwin, and Tracey, because he’s just endlessly quotable. He can get away with saying just about anything and it always seems completely in character.

His storyline in this episode played off just that. Tracey’s quest to lose everyone’s respect was a joy to watch. I love that his outrageous behaviour is all of a sudden justified now that he has an Oscar. The morning show clips were great (I also loved his little cutaway where he practiced with Liz), and I couldn’t stop laughing when he ended up saving a drowning man when all he was really trying to do was alienate the public. The highlight though had to be the therapy session that broke out when he and Liz visited the strip club. That was just too funny.

But while Tracey had my favourite storyline, it was Jack who had my favourite line, or should I say speech. Watching Alec Baldwin interact with his three alternate selves was pretty great, but the real apex of his storyline (and probably the episode) was when Jack talked Tracey out of shooting Kenneth on the roof. In a speech filled with numerous self-deprecating references, Jack convinced Tracey that the only thing he needed to do to lose people’s respect was to quit movies and take a job on network television, much like what Baldwin did for 30 Rock. I couldn’t think of a better way to cap off the 100^th episode than that.

The other thing that was great about this episode was the guest stars. 30 Rock has always been good at wrangling them up, but they pulled out all the stops in this one. Rachel Ray, Regis and Kelly, Matt Lauer. No? Not doing it for you. How about Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton, and Bono. Most shows would be lucky to land even one of those people for an episode, and 30 Rock managed to get them all. Oh and I think Brian Williams may have been in there somewhere too.

My favourite cameo was Tom Hanks (my all time favourite actor by the way, though that’s not exactly special). His phone call to Clooney was hilariously entertaining and I love that when we were first introduced to him, he was sitting on a chair crocheting. Who knew Tom Hanks could crochet? Man that guy is talented.

And now for the quotes... get comfortable:

JACK: Hank as you know tonight is TGS’ 100^th episode and we’ve been getting some good media buzz. We got on Wikipedia this week.

TRACEY: No it’s unbrave! You should hate me.
MATT LAUER: I can’t, you fly free. I’m a bird in a cage.

TRACEY: You better be right Liz Lemon, because I can’t take much more of this. I think Bono got in my limo.

SIDEWAYS JACK: You used to be a shark.
JACK: I still am. Look at my claws.
SIDEWAYS JACK: Sharks don’t have claws. You don’t even know what a shark is anymore.

LIZ: Hey Jack, you’re friends with Jeter and Springsteen right? Can you call and see if they’ll be in the cold open? They’d have to kiss.

LIZ: Did you also have to evacuate the NBC store?
JACK: No, it’s just empty.

DENNIS: You think I’m just gonna give up now huh. I’m a Duffy Liz, and us Duffy’s, we didn’t give up when we got kicked out of Ireland. We didn’t give up when America sent us back. And we didn’t give up when Ireland then just sent us adrift on a log.

JACK: Do you have any idea how much paperwork I would have to do if you shot Kenneth?
TRACEY: I didn’t know that Jack, I’m sorry.

And of course the speech, in its entirety:

JACK: Do TV and no one will ever take you seriously again. It doesn’t matter how big a movie star you are, even if you had the kind of career where you walked away from a blockbuster franchise or worked with Meryl Streep or Anthony Hopkins. Made important movies about things like civil rights or Pearl Harbour. Stole films with supporting roles and then turned around and blew them away on Broadway. None of that will matter once you do television. You could win every award in sight and be the biggest thing on the small screen, and you’ll still get laughed out of the Vanity Fair Oscar party by Greg Kinnear. Tracey your career hit rock bottom the first time you decided to do TGS. You want it to hit rock bottom again, go on network television.