Oh God, Not The Gotcha Dancers!

Sorry I didn’t get this to you all sooner. It took me a long time to figure out a good excuse as to why it would be late. Damn, that is gold!

Spoilers...

The Office – “Lotto” (B+)

Of all the many characters on The Office, not surprisingly it’s been Andy who’s benefitted the most from the recent changes on the show. Over the last few episodes Ed Helms has seemingly turned into the unquestioned lead on the show. The idea that it would be James Spader replacing Michael Scott seems to have just been misdirection. While Robert California had a large part in the premiere, he was used sparsely in the last episode, and he wasn’t even present here. Perhaps it’s because the writers didn’t think the audience could handle hearing one of the existing cast members would be taking over the lead role, or perhaps they really believed it would be James Spader, but either way it’s been Andy who’s stolen the spotlight.

And so far Helms has more than held his own. I am one of those people who would have doubted Andy’s appropriateness for the role a year ago, but after watching these first few episodes you can consider me converted. Will it last forever? Probably not. There are a lot of solid stories to be explored just because Andy’s new in the role, but those won’t last forever. Still, the writers have done a tremendous job of taking what was already present in Andy’s character before he got the job and adapting it to his new role as manager.

His story with Darryl this week was one such example. Last season the main storyline between these two was their unlikely friendship. It makes sense then that Darryl would be somewhat jealous over Andy receiving the job he so coveted. And the writers hit all the right marks with that premise. Andy was charming and funny as he tried to cover for Darryl, Darryl was equally funny as he wallowed in his own self pity (taco basement anyone?), and when Andy finally set him straight in the episode’s finale it didn’t feel contrived or mean-spirited, just one friend setting another straight.

What I worry about though is that even though Andy seems to have gotten a reawakening, the rest of the cast has not. Last week I wondered why the writers continued to give us gimmicky plotlines like Kevin inventing a language when the show’s new setup had given them so much more material to work with. Well I think this episode shed some light on that answer. While Andy may have gotten a creative shot in the arm, the rest of the cast has not, and any storyline he isn’t in is bound to suffer.

The warehouse replacements in this episode are somewhat of a flawed example, but I think they still drive home the point. I actually found the storyline to be quite funny. Erin and Kevin we’re a surprisingly good comedic pair, especially when contrasted with Jim and Dwight. But with that said, all of them seemed to have turned into cartoon characters by the end of episode. Dwight crashing the forklift, definitely Erin and Kevin spreading grease on the floor, and the whole contraption at the end looked like something the Coyote would have set up to catch the Roadrunner. It worked this time, but it’s that kind of slow degradation of characters that has plagued The Office over the past few seasons, and that doesn’t exactly give me confidence for the future.

To the quotes:

ANDY: We’re losing cloud cover.
KELLY: Oh don’t try to get in on it now Michael Vick.
DARRYL: Hey, hey, hey! Vick did his time.

JIM: Stop, I’m a barista in your fantasy?

KELLY: I think I would keep working. And for my salary I guess I would take like a dollar a year. I mean obviously I wouldn’t come in ‘til noon and I wouldn’t do anything that I didn’t want to do... I mean I’m getting paid a dollar a year, okay. You can chill!

JIM: There’s gotta be a better way to do this. This is literally how they built the pyramids.
DWIGHT: Well they whipped people which was helpful.

ANDY: That’s what I love about interviewing. I get to meet all these people I wouldn’t ordinarily meet, or know, or even talk to.

And line of the night:

DARRYL: The guys did invite me out to celebrate, but I decided to just stay home... eat a bunch of tacos in my basement.
ANDY: You do have a fantastic basement.
DARRYL: I did... I did have a fantastic basement. Now it smells like tacos. You can’t air out a basement, and taco air is heavy. It settles at the lowest point.

Community – “Competitive Ecology” (A-)

“Offense taken... offense taken.”

It’s an odd phenomenon that I can really only tolerate in sitcoms, but for some reason I find irrational hatred incredibly funny. Jerry on Parks and Recreation is a good example. The Office used to have Michael and Toby. There’s just something inherently amusing about one-sided hostility, especially when generally normal characters start to get in on the action. I think it’s needless to say then that I quite enjoyed Todd’s addition to this episode.

I actually had to look up the poor guy’s name, but major credit is owed to David Neher for his portrayal of the oft under fire Todd. His laid back rendition of the character made all the hatred coming in his direction that much funnier. I hope he remains on as one of the colourful background characters this series is known for.

“Competitive Ecology” actually reminded me a lot of the bottle episode from last season. The majority of the episode was spent locked in the study room arguing over a topic that would keep the group there unless solved. With Pierce taking a much less villainous role on the series this year, I think one of the major themes of the season is going to be the study group’s need to find a scapegoat. I mean I may be looking into it a little too deeply, but the way they came together at the end by blaming Todd for their problems seems to indicate something in that direction.

The other storyline in this episode, Chang’s film noir, was almost equally entertaining. I mean we’ve known Chang has been crazy pretty much since the day we met him, but if you ever wondered what actually goes on in his head this was the episode to watch. And man is that guy is insane. The storyline was brilliantly stylized though, capturing the film noir genre perfectly. I think Chang’s monologues were just the right amount of stupid to be funny.

Alright, now for my favourite lines:

JEFF: Hey Dean, what are you doing?
DEAN PELTON: Nothing after lunch, and I can skip lunch if you want to... oh, that.

CHANG: She was all dame. Legs that went all the way to the bottom of her torso, the kind of arms that had elbows...

CHANG: I had to get some answers, and I needed answers like a fish needs a bicycle... a lot.

SHIRLEY: How could you guys hate me more than Pierce, or anything more than Pierce.
PIERCE: Thin ice Shirley. My friends and I are NOT gonna let you drive a wedge between us.

ANNIE: Who the hell are you always texting, everyone you know is here.

BRITA: If loving worms is stupid I don’t want to be smart.
ANNIE: It is and you can’t be.

JEFF: Guys I just figured it all out.
TROY: Pierce, wake up! Jeff is gonna heal us.

And line of the night:

JEFF: So it’s agreed. Let’s go to the study room and deal with this Todd problem once and for all.

Parks and Recreation – “Born & Raised” (A-)

“Leslie Knope: Author, Liar”

This isn’t fact or anything – I haven’t really done the leg work – but it seems like every time Joan Callamezzo makes an appearance on this show we end up getting a good episode. Maybe it’s her, or maybe it’s just because every storyline that requires a stop by Pawnee Today tends to have something going for it, but either way I feel like there’s a lot of truth to that hypothesis. The gay penguin episode, the media blitz for the harvest festival – there’s some sort of positive correlation between her appearances on the show and episodes that stick with me. This week gave us the gotcha dancers, a Pawnee book club, and most notable of all, our first look inside Joan’s house. Let’s just say it was hard to look away.

I’ve started to notice the writers are pairing Ben and Tom together a lot lately. It’s a not a bad idea – the two of them together have great chemistry – I’m just wondering if maybe part of the reasoning is that the writers don’t want Leslie and Ben paired with each other too soon after the break up. I think eventually there’s going to be a storyline this season where the two of them start finding it difficult to stay apart, but I like the decision to give them a little space. It lets Leslie work on her campaign and it’s sort of allowed Ben to break out of his own shell a little bit. He was quite funny in this episode. He has his own particular brand of humour and if you pair him with the right character he can generate a lot of good lines.

It was also nice to see Bert Macklin back in this episode. Chris Pratt is the master of physical comedy, so having Andy act as Leslie’s bodyguard was pretty much the perfect situation for him to show off that skill. I loved the sequence where he decided he was going to steal Leslie’s birth certificate for her. Listening to him explain how he took a briefcase as a panic move made me laugh out loud.

Chris actually had a pretty good week as well. He was just sort of a tag along to Leslie’s storyline but he added some great comic relief. My two favourite Chris moments were when he started singing along to the gotcha dancer’s song and when he happily waved goodbye to the raucous crowd at Leslie’s book signing. What a great character he’s turned out to be.

As for Ann, Ron, and April, I actually really liked their storyline even if I didn’t totally buy the premise. Ann’s desperate need for small talk seemed a little forced and I think it said a little bit more about her character than the writers intended it to. Most emotionally healthy adults wouldn’t be that desperate for the approval of two people who clearly don’t want to get to know her.

But what really saved the storyline is the great rapport between Ron and April. They’re two very different characters and yet they always seem to know just what the other is thinking, and their respect for each other is fun to watch. I liked Ron’s casual little smile after April called him by the wrong name.

Now for my favourite lines (there are a lot):

LESLIE: I wrote it as a reference for myself but then my campaign advisor said we should make it a big wide release. So we had people contribute and we added pictures and we removed a lot of my poems and emotional ramblings and pictures of unicorns and here it is!

RADIO MODERATOR: Leslie, could one say that a book is nothing more than a painting of words which are the notes on the tapestry of the greatest film ever sculpted?

RON: Usually I only read nautical novels and my own personal manifestos, but I’m proud to make this exception.

LESLIE: The rest of you call me as soon as you find the mistake that does not exist.

BEN: Wow you guys are really cute together.
TOM: Ben, I’m cute together with everybody.

JOAN CALLAMEZZO: After the break, where is Leslie Knope actually born? We will pull out the world map and speculate wildly.

TOM: You’re the one that told me businesses need clients to get money.
BEN: I was the first one who told you that?

BEN: Is she gonna powder her vagina?

LESLIE: Thirteen percent think I’m crazy eyed?

RON: Ann was getting a little chummy. When people get too chummy with me I like to call them by the wrong name to let them know I don’t really care about them.

And line of the night:

TOM: At the risk of bragging, one of the things I’m best at is riding coattails. Behind every successful man is me, smiling and taking partial credit.