If Embarrassment Were Bountiful Zinc Deposits I’d Be Zambia

Thursday night’s comedy line-up. I apologise if any of this turns into incoherent rambling... I haven't eaten anything but Halloween candy in what seems like 12 hours.

Spoilers...

The Office – “The Incentive” (B+)

“The Incentive” is really a tale of two episodes. The first third of it epitomized pretty much everything that’s been wrong with The Office over the past couple of seasons. The writing was gimmicky, formerly subtle characters were acting like caricatures their former selves (seriously, they’ve got to tone it down with Kevin), and the story seemed to meander through a variety of half-baked punchlines without really going anywhere.

But then something happened. Somewhere in the second act, right around the time Andy started implementing his new incentive system, the episode picked up. It was like watching a completely different show. Jim was back to his old self again, quietly manipulating the proceedings with a nod to the camera. Andy lost control and in the process became much more funny and likeable. And all of sudden an episode that was headed for a C rating jumped to the quality of something you would have seen back in the show’s glory years.

It’s somewhat baffling to me that with all the new changes that have gone on with this show of late the writers still think they need to rely on cheap gimmicks to get laughs. I’m in no way naive to the fact that this is the eighth season, but if they were capable of the quality of work I saw in the latter half of the episode than why are we forced to watch Kevin make up a language out of broken English or half the cast start planking.

In the end I think you have to focus on the good that came out of this episode. James Spader was used sparingly but effectively. His monologue at the end of the episode was a great way of summing up exactly what I was saying in my last review, that Andy’s an underdog and people love underdogs.

I also really loved Jim’s little chat with Andy right before he went through with the tattoo. It’s those types of sweet character moments that make The Office so much more than just your typical network sitcom. And not only that, it reasserted Jim as the pseudo-leader we all know him to be without creating any jealousy or rivalry between him and Andy over the manager’s position. Very skilfully done.

Next week though, maybe don’t get out to such a slow start.

The quotes:

JIM: Don’t worry, I don’t really care about points. I would like a points receipt though.

ANDY: Ow! OW!
TATTOO ARTIST: That was just the cotton swab.
ANDY: Invest in softer cotton sir.

And line of the night:

ANDY: (on phone) Uh, quick question... I may be missing a chapter here, de-incentivizing. What are your strategies? I’m looking for a real blow to morale. Uh, why? I guess you could say I’m in one of those classic ass tattoo incentive situations.

Community – “Geography of Global Conflict” (B+)

Ugh, for a second there I thought we were actually going to see Jeff and Annie finally hook up. But alas, once again the writers pulled the rug right out from underneath us at the very last moment. I guess that’s okay though, the rest of “Geography of Global Conflict” made up for it.

Giving Greendale a Model UN was another one of those inspired episode concepts this show is known for. There are so many different directions for the comedy to go in a storyline like that, that all you really have to do is sit back and let the characters do the work for you (although I’m sure the writers may have something different to say about that).

Martin Starr of Freaks and Geeks fame was a fantastic addition as Professor Cligoris. He’s the type of professor we haven’t so far on this show – somewhat nerdy and not at all apathetic. It was a refreshing change of pace and I hope we see him again in the future.

But the real laughs came from the Model UN itself. Whether it be Pierce considering his assigned nation of Somalia to be a paradise or Troy talking in a southern accent despite knowing that Georgia is a country that came out of the former Soviet Union, the writers made full use of their promising premise. Even Annie’s blow up, which could have easily come off as stupid, succeeded thanks to a great performance by Alison Brie.

And though the ending was somewhat predictable, it didn’t stop me from loving it all the same. Of course Abed succeeded in convincing the rest of his Model UN to build a transdimensional gateway to Earth 2. This is Community, if they didn’t do it I would have been disappointed. Although I do wonder what this says about free will...

The B story this week was a little more hit or miss than the main thread. In theory, I love the idea of turning Chang’s position as the new campus security guard and Brita’s existential crisis into some sort of pseudo love story between the two. Those are exactly the kind of scenarios this show thrives on. Something just fell a little bit short in the execution.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Brita’s character – there isn’t really anyone else like her on television – but in this episode she was maybe a little too intense. Her protests made her come across more like a crazy person than an activist, and for that reason her story was harder to enjoy.

Chang on the other hand functions best when he’s coming across as insane, and do have to say I like Chang the security guard more than I liked Chang the student. Give him a little bit of power, where people actually have to respect his ridiculousness, and it makes a world of difference for his character. I think he and Sgt. Nunez (Mel Rodriguez) are going to be a terrific pair to watch over the rest of the season.

Okay, now for some of my favourite lines:

CHANG: The badge says to serve and protect!
SGT. NUNEZ: No it doesn’t.
CHANG: (reading) How’s my smile?

SHIRLEY: Raging against the what? That sounds dangerous...
JEFF: Don’t worry, she’ll be bad at it.

TROY: (in a southern accent) Geogia, the country, is much obliged.

SHIRLEY: Oo! China ha money, does anybody want some?

JEFF: Uruguay kindly requests that Somalia stop pronouncing it ur-a-gay.

SGT. NUNEZ: Young lady, you spilled paint on a globe. You’re as much a criminal as this idiot is a cop, none whatsoever.

ANNIE: If embarrassment were bountiful zinc deposits I’d be Zambia.
JEFF: There’s nothing to be Zambia about Annie.

JEFF: Abed, what did I tell you? You can’t just mumble nonsense, no one’s cutting away.

ANNIE: Greetings people of Earth 2. We represent the United Nations from Earth 1. Using our Switzerland’s hadron collider and resources from every nation the people from our planet have constructed a transdimensional gateway here.
ANNIE KIM: They can’t do this!
PROFESSOR CLIGORIS: The science works out.

And line of the night:

TROY: Looks like someone woke up on the regular side of the bed.

Parks and Recreation – “Ron and Tammys” (A-)

“Ron, your moustache fell off!”

Wow, another excellent week for Parks and Recreation. You could kind of see it coming with Tammy 1 showing up at the end of the last episode but who would have thought we’d also get to meet Ron’s mom too. That’s a combination that’s hard to resist.

Ron is a fascinating character. Just listening to Leslie, April, and Andy go through his receipts was an entertainingly eye opening experience (“This one just says I bought supplies, 2007”), but listening to him talk about his past with Tammy 1 was something else... I think horrihilarious might be the only word to describe it. She was a Candy Stripper at the hospital he was born at and actually helped deliver him? She taught him Sunday school and sex? Are you kidding me?

And then what we got was yet another Ron Swanson transformation, but this time it wasn’t into a sex crazed lunatic. No, this time Ron transformed into a spineless jellyfish of a man, the kind that writes memos and does his job with a smile on his face. The rest of the parks department were appropriately terrified.

It all culminated in what ended up being the centerpiece of the episode – a drink off between Tammy 1, Ron’s Mom, Tammy Zero, and Leslie. It was hard not to like this sequence. The descriptions of the Swanson family brew were all fantastic. Amy Poehler just let fly with her drunk Leslie impression, which caters exactly to her strengths as an actor. And watching Ron down the entire bottle of the stuff after April couldn’t handle one sip was just a perfect amalgamation of the scene. It was another great instalment in the Ron and Tammy series.

The side-plots in “Ron and Tammys” were also good however. Ben was the perfect character to send to the Entertainment 720 offices. Adam Scott plays such a good straight man that whenever he’s around the truly ridiculous he makes it that much funnier. It reminded me a lot of the episode he spent with April and Andy teaching them how to be adults... I wonder if he still lives with them. I kind of want to see what their roommate dynamic would be like.

Anyway, Tom and Jean-Ralphio – my favourite recurring character by the way – gave him all sorts of extravagant over expenditures to work with.  I loved the not one but two NBA players they had on the payroll. Their little side comments to each other about the insanity of their situation was definitely one of the highlights of the episode... well that and Ben’s new nickname Jello Shot. I can’t wait to see what J-shot gets himself into next week.

To the quotes:

LESLIE: Jail Ron. Ron jail.

BEN: Oh breakevens! Those are really fun. Yeah sure I’ll take a look.

CHRIS: Ann Perkins, I am flattered, and I will do it. Is there a script yet?
ANN: Uh no, because you just approved the idea like 3 seconds ago.

BEN: Oh my god, that’s an actual NBA player. He plays for the Pacers.
TOM: The NBA’s on strike, so we got him for only like 75% of his original NBA salary.

JEAN-RALPHIO: Your new nickname is... Jello Shot. What do you think about that J-shot?

APRIL: Is this true, you’ve only spent $40 on clothes in the last 5 years.
RON: That sounds about right.

APRIL: She’s the cold, distant mother I never had. I love her.

BEN: Okay if you want this company to survive you immediately need to downsize. I mean you don’t need this airplane hangar.
JEAN-RALPHIO: Um, I think we do.

TAMMY 2: When Ron left her and we got together, she threw acid on my foot.
APRIL: Ew.
ANDY: Could we take a peek at it?

RON: It’s only legal use it to strip varnish off of speedboats.

TAMMY 1: Fine, I got what I came for anyway. I found your underground safe; I stole half your gold.
RON: That’s decoy gold. You think I’d leave my gold in a locked safe buried underground where anyone could find it? You don’t know me at all.

And line of the night:

TAMMY 2: Listen, Tammy 1 was my Sunday School teacher too. She can pinpoint your weaknesses and then destroy you with just one word... and a jar of acid.