Some Flies Are Too Awesome For The Wall

Sorry about the short post. All of my energy these days is going into ranting about Community being taken off the NBC schedule.

Spoilers...

Community – “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux” (A)

What I’ll never understand is how a smart, funny show like Community can struggle to find an audience while something like Two and Half Men can end up as the most watched comedy on television (thankfully Modern Family just recently overtook it). If you’re wondering what I’m blabbering on about I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Community has just been taken off NBC’s midseason schedule and I’m not very happy about it. From what I’ve heard it still has a full season order and those episodes are still going to air, it’s just not yet known when. It’s probably the most disappointing decision from the network since they let Conan go in favour of Leno. Is there a chance the show could survive? Absolutely, but this is definitely not a good sign.

And that’s a damn shame. From a strictly dollars and cents standpoint I understand Community doesn’t do well in the ratings. It’s a difficult show to get into and it has a rather niche sense of humour. But it’s also in one of the most competitive time slots in television and NBC isn’t exactly a network that’s drawing a lot of new viewers. It’s going to be damn tough to find another show to fill its place, and even then they have plenty of weaker offerings on their line up. Can you honestly tell me Whitney deserves to survive on Wednesday nights when Community already has a fairly loyal built in audience?

And it’s episodes like this one that’ll make that cancellation that much harder to swallow. For any of you still doubting whether the third season of Community has kept up the quality of the previous two, look no further than the solid string of episodes over the last couple of weeks. For my money the show’s still very much in its prime. In fact, I’d say I enjoyed this episode more than I did the original “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking.”

I don’t really have a point to any of these ramblings other than don’t cancel Community. It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s good enough that it should be winning (or least getting nominated for) awards, and to me that makes it worth a second look. I don’t really want a new Arrested Development... Firefly... Freaks and Geeks... heck, even Undeclared. All of them eventually found large followings long after they were cancelled. Just give the show a season or two more to play itself out and everyone will be satisfied, instead of lamenting about what could have been. Alright, I’m done with the rant. We can talk about the episode now...

First and foremost, bravo Jim Rash. I can’t remember another episode where the Dean has been featured so prominently and he really took advantage of the opportunity. As soon as he put on that wife beater and started having epiphanies he became a pretty much unstoppable comedic force. Twelve hours of Brita and Troy hugging – priceless.

I also had a great time watching Joel McHale give us his Jim Rash impersonation. It’s such a great take on his character that he would go to as much trouble as he did just to get out of participating in the commercial. But his bald cap melt down after 14 days (god forbid it last more than 2) of sitting around waiting for his time in front of the camera was definitely one of the major highlights of the episode for me.

JEFF: I have made bald friends!

As good as those two were though, the real star of the episode was director Joe Russo and the way he captured the documentary feel. I’ve never seen Heart of Darkness (which is unfortunate because I’ve heard it’s better than Apocalypse Now) but I’m sure I’ve seen at least a few documentaries trying to capture the same vibe, and seems like he hit it pretty close to mark.

I also really liked Abed’s ending monologue on the nature of documentaries in general. That was actually a pretty intelligent assessment of the genre, and to be that funny and that smart at the same time is something special. Special enough you’d think the show would be able to find a place on the schedule of a fourth ranked network. Okay, I guess the ranting wasn’t done...

To the quotes, aka the Dean Pelton show:

PIERCE: Yeah, I always see it during late night marathons of Fantasy Island.
DEAN PELTON: That’s not an accident; it’s the result of intensive targeting.

DEAN PELTON: You know I love to be seen agreeing with you Troy.

DEAN PELTON: We open on a typical day at Greendale, only the students all look happy and you can’t smell that smell.

DEAN PELTON: I am trying to pull a 400 year old dagger out of this nation’s heart, and you two are “hugging”.

JEFF: What if this shoot goes on another day, or god forbid 2!

ABED: Are you by any chance familiar with Stockholm Syndrome?
ANNIE: Is it something that the Dean created because if not I don’t care.

BRITTA: As a licensed psychology major I am declaring this production a violation of human rights.

And line of the night:

DEAN PELTON: Okay, you get this wrong one more time I’m segregating the school.

Parks and Recreation –“Smallest Park” (A-)

Well... I totally saw that ending coming. Does this mean Leslie’s political ambitions are over? Probably, but I’m still holding out some hope that she’ll figure out a way to do both. I don’t necessarily think Leslie in City Council is a show ending experiment, even though it would take the focus away from the Parks Department a little bit.

I do have to admit though, I am somewhat surprised at how fast she and Ben got back together after last episode. I guess it’s good to keep up the momentum, but they really laid all of their cards out onto the table with this one. I also found that there was a bit of overlap between this week and the last. At the end of last week it seemed like the two of them were going to try to be friends and this one just sort of ignored that and went straight back into Ben trying to distance himself. Luckily everything was forgiven with that marvellously acted finale. I can’t wait to see what happens next week.

I was also fairly happy with Tom’s return to the Parks Department this week. His new font project was good for a few laughs, and honestly, I don’t think anyone takes better shots at Jerry than he does. Ironically, I thought at one point Jerry was being a little too mean to him. Probably at least somewhat deserved though. Anyway, there were a few scenes in the storyline that were a little slow, but on the whole it hit more than it missed.

Plus it had the unfortunate circumstance of having to go head to head with Andy’s first trip to college. Now that is just one of those dream scenarios you didn’t know you wanted to see until it was right there smacking you in the face. Everyone did a great job in this storyline. Chris Pratt hit all of the right marks. April was an awesome sidekick for all of his shenanigans. And Ron provided the perfect mix of funny and sentimental (in Ron’s own way of course) to give the storyline enough arc to succeed. I really like that he and Andy have built up such a strong friendship over the past few seasons.

Now for my favourite lines:

CHRIS: Jerry, I am making you my number 2 guy on the new font project.

APRIL: Horizons are dumb, never broaden your horizons. Just take something you’re great at and get an easy A.

LESLIE: No Ann, please, I beg of you, will you just shut your beautiful pie hole. Just sit there, let me stare at you, while you silently support me on this game plan.
ANN: Leslie...
LESLIE: Shhh Ann. Your quiet support means the world to me, as well as your tacit endorsement of all my behaviours.

APRIL: I want to be burned at the stake.

ANDY: Hello ma’am, who is just as equal as men, I would like one ticket for a... women.
APRIL: He would like to register for women’s studies.

ANDY: Why didn’t you tell me it was so expensive?
APRIL: I didn’t know. My parents paid for my classes. I’ll just have them pay for yours too.
ANDY: Oh god no, that’s embarrassing. I know, I’m gonna beg for money in the street like a drug addict.

And line of the night:

RON: Of all my coworkers he is one of a small number who I do not actively root against... there I go getting all sappy.

The Office – “Gettysburg” (B)

A pretty average episode. I think it says something when the biggest laugh of the night comes from watching Gabe get hit in the face with a hat. Most of the storylines in this one were just passable at best and I think part of the reason for that was that they all felt like B stories. Nothing really took over as the main thread and it sort of felt like I was waiting for a real story that never came.

The closest “Gettysburg” got was with Andy’s trip, but I don’t think it had the intended effect the writers were hoping for. Andy’s been the boss now for a decent chunk of episodes, and for the most part I’ve liked what it’s done with the show. Establishing him as the new lead really gave the series a shot in the arm. But that storyline has played out somewhat, and his trip to Gettysburg and all of the forced conflict it brought with it just didn’t seem necessary. We’ve already seen the scene where Jim comforts Andy about his new role. We didn’t need it again. And that has me a little worried, because if the writers have already stretched Andy as far as he can go then we’re in for a long ride over the rest of the season.

I wasn’t crazy about Dwight’s little subplot about the Battle of Schrute Farms either. Save for a pretty funny bit with Erin, which granted was a sizable portion of the short storyline, it just seemed like everybody was trying a little too hard to force the issue, and in the end I couldn’t help feel a little let down by the rather mediocre way they wrapped it all up.

Robert California probably had the best week of anyone, but then again his character seems designed to excel in these short side stories. I really enjoyed watching him shoot down everybody’s ideas in the conference room. Actually, just a little side note, I think this is the first time in a while we’ve gotten see Ryan in the spotlight for any length of time. Although, from the looks of it that’s likely a trend that’s going to continue after this episode. Anyway, Robert and Kevin made a good pairing in this episode, and I loved the scene where Ryan tricked Kevin into sharing his Big Mac idea and Robert realized that it was, in fact, just about the cookie.

Some of my favourite lines:

ERIN: Oscar, I’m so glad you just got here. I would have believed everything he said.

OSCAR: In the African American community...
ROBERT: No.

And line of the night:

PAM: When you’re this pregnant it’s kind of like senior spring. The other day I spit my gum out on the carpet.