I Liked Horsebot 3000

So it’s really late right now... please forgive any spelling/grammar/giant chunks of missing text mistakes that may very well be scattered throughout this post. Enjoy!

Spoilers...

Community – “Studies in Modern Movement” (A-)

I don’t know if this is precisely the right rating for this episode, but the last act of “Studies in Modern Movement” made me laugh so hard I couldn’t help but look back over the rest of the proceedings with rose coloured glasses. It still amazes me how well this show manages to mesh its extremely outlandish style with genuine heart, but once again the writers impressed me by delivering just the right combination of humour and sentiment to make it all work.

I was quite excited about Annie moving in with Abed and Troy when it was casually mentioned all the way back in “Remedial Chaos Theory,” so I’m pretty happy that it’s actually stuck. And just based on what I saw in this episode I sincerely hope we get to see more of their adventures in the future. Every time we get a glimpse into Troy and Abed’s personal lives it’s a treat. I loved both of the puppet shows and the call back to Troy’s candy cigarette use (“picked the wrong week to quit”), but more than anything I loved the sweet ending where the boys told Annie that they needed her. There speech about how to use irons and get out Kool-aid stains had to be the highlight of the episode for me.

Of course I thought Jeff’s story with the Dean, or as we came to know him this week, Craig, was also really well done. The storyline got off to a bit of a slow start, but once the two of them were rocking karaoke together the jokes seemed to be firing on all cylinders. I hate to say it, but that might have been the most hauntingly beautiful rendition of Kiss From a Rose I’ve ever heard.

Actually, that karaoke moment transitioned into what was a rather surprise musical number in the middle of the episode. Although being that this show jumps the shark on almost an episodely basis (it’s a word) I don’t know why it caught me off guard. Either way though, I liked it... especially Pierce’s paint fume induced hallucination.

In fact, there were a few great little side stories that really rounded out the episode. I mentioned Pierce, and that had to be maybe the most perfect Chevy Chase geared storyline the writers have come up with in a while, but the Brita and Shirley pairing also panned out quite well. I don’t mention this enough, but I love some of the subtle line deliveries from Yvette Nicole Brown. She’s great at those under the breath comments Shirley loves to make.

Alright, to the lines:

ANNIE: Brita, don’t make jokes... you’re bad at it!

ABED: And if the rooms a rockin’ please come a knockin’ because there’s something probably terribly wrong.
TROY: Yeah, we’re pretty chill in there.

DEAN PELTON: This is gonna be fun... or else.

ABED: The dreamatorium is non-negotiable, read the lease.
TROY: Especially the part we added in Crayon.

ANNIE: I mean I can rearrange the throw pillows. You have them arranged by size instead of colour.
ABED: What did I say?

And line (or you know, extended sequence) of the night:

TROY: There’s a couple of things that we were hoping that you’d help us with.
ABED: Yes, like where does the water go in the iron?
TROY: And what’s the iron for?
ABED: And what gets out Kool-aid stains?
TROY: Yeah, we already know that the opposite colour Kool-aid doesn’t work.

Parks and Recreation – “The Treaty” (A-)

Ah, the good ole’ Model United Nations episode. Didn’t Community just do this like 5 or 6 episodes ago? Oh well, it’s pretty easy to see the appeal from a writing standpoint. There are just so many hilarious bits you can do with a Model UN. It’s like a springboard of good ideas, and Parks and Rec capitalized on many of them in this episode.

Honestly though, as funny as war breaking out in the Model UN was, I thought the emotional conflict between Ben and Leslie really stole the show. The writers are clearly setting the groundwork for the two of them to back together, but regardless I’ve really enjoyed the way they’ve handled Ben and Leslie dealing with their breakup thus far.  Ben’s speech to Leslie about how you can’t just pick and choose which aspects of a relationship you want was spot on. I want the show to make me laugh, but it’s a nice added touch that it can also be so pointed as well.

Speaking of people getting back together actually, I’m going to make one of my bolder calls in a while – I  think the writers may also be gearing up to get Ann and Chris back together. Ann got to clear the air a bit about their break up in this episode and to me that seems like a nice first step forward towards the two of them starting things back up again. Just watching the look of surprise and realization on Chris’s face after she broke it down for him suggests something more might have been at work there.

Ron and Tom’s storyline this week sort of played off the crackpot convention bit this show does so well. I must say, though it’s been done before, the people they interviewed to replace Tom were all quite funny. Especially the last guy, who was so sketchy and so out of it I wouldn’t mind seeing him pop up again somewhere around town.

I think it was sort of inevitable that Tom would return to the Parks department, so the tidiness of his return is somewhat forgivable, but I would have maybe liked to see Tom’s absence from City Hall extended even a little longer. The writers didn’t seem to be having much trouble keeping him involved so it’s not too far of a stretch that they could have given him a more natural story progression than they did. Still, part of me is just happy the band is back together, so I don’t entirely know why I’m complaining. It’s a just a minor note at best.

Last but not least, I want to make sure I mention Andy’s contribution to the episode. With the exception of maybe the last episode, he’s played sidekick for most of this season, and I find it amazing how effective he can be in the little moments he gets. Andy is pretty disproportionally represented in the quotes section this week considering the amount of time he spent on screen.

Speaking of which:

LESLIE: I need a few more volunteers. Andy, will you be Iceland?
ANDY: The bad guys from Mighty Ducks 2? I don’t think so.
LESLIE: Okay, how bout Japan?
ANDY: The bad guys from Karate Kid 2... even worse. How about Germany, they’ve never been the bad guys.

CHRIS: I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I am romantically involved with Jerry Gergich’s surprisingly hot daughter, Millicent Gergich.

CHRIS: See I just don’t believe in this whole don’t-let-people-know-how-you-feel nonsense. I love telling people how I feel, mostly because I love those people. And I love telling them that I love them.
DONNA: You didn’t tell that girl that you loved her, did you?
CHRIS: No, I’m not crazy.

TOM: A fact is not an anecdote Gary!

LESLIE: God, it’s time for you to nut up Switzerland.

BEN: It’s a white flag, and you may as well start waving it right now Leslie!
LESLIE: The only thing I will be waving is your decapitated head on a stick in front of your weeping mother!
BEN: Good lord.

LESLIE: And I ask all of you, who is ready to join the coalition of the willing?
APRIL: The moon shall join your coalition.
LESLIE: Yeah! We got the freakin’ moon. What are you going to do without tides Peru?

ANDY: Did we win? I think we won? What were we trying to do? I learned so much today.

ANDY: If you rearrange the letters of Peru you can spell Europe.
BEN: That’s not true.
ANDY: Well, you have to rearrange them.

And line of the night:

ANN: I mean I was jogging... I hate jogging.
CHRIS: Jogging’s amazing.
ANN: Jogging’s the worst Chris! I mean I know it keeps you healthy, but god, at what cost?

The Office – “Pam’s Replacement” (B+)

Maybe one of the better Pam/Jim storylines I’ve seen in a long, long time. Really, ever since the two of them got married and had the first kid the writers have been having trouble figuring out what to do with them. That’s why whenever I see that original spark that made this couple so fun in the first place I take note. Oh and if you didn’t get where I was going with that, this was one of those times.

Of course, I guess you could argue the storyline was as much a Pam/Dwight affair as it was a Pam/Jim affair. For the second week in a row the writers decided to showcase the bizarre friendship Pam and Dwight seem to share. Regardless, it’s just nice to see the original cast playing off each other the way they used to. I really enjoyed the back and forth between all involved, from the game of matchmaker to the makeshift lie detector test.

Unfortunately, other than that there wasn’t much else to this episode. I guess I liked the opening phone call bit, mostly just because of Darryl’s phone commentary as it was all going down, and there was a decent scene in the break room involving a large chunk of the cast that was good for a few decent laughs, but the rest of the episode seemed pretty bare.

It certainly wasn’t a good week for Robert California. His displacement of Andy and the rest of the zits really didn’t generate much from a comedy perspective. I dare say the writers overestimated the effectiveness of watching Andy, Kevin, and Darryl slowly become the groupies of their own band. I did enjoy the little scene where they broke off on their own though. It’s just too bad what came before it was so forgettable.

Line of the night:

DWIGHT: Does your husband have very soft erections? Cause if not I just grabbed a very soft penis for nothing.