When I Eat It Is The Food That Is Scared

Let’s see what we got this week...

Spoilers:

30 Rock – “People Are People Three!” (A-)

You know, if you’re going to do a two part episode do it on the night you air two episodes. While I had a few complaints last week about the first half I was happy with the way this episode wrapped everything up. I thought Jack and Liz’s storyline was much improved this time around. I loved Jack’s approval cards, especially since his last card included a three month probationary period.

But the highlight of the night for me had to be Kelsey Grammar. It’s odd, considering his storyline was so non-essential to the main plot, but it just so perfectly captured the unbelievable stupidity that makes 30 Rock so great it won me over. His Lincoln play was priceless. I love that the staff needed him to tell them where the term “Civil War” came from.

30 Rock – “The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell” (B+)

This was definitely the weaker of the two episodes, but it still had its moments. I laughed pretty hard at the “Valentine’s Day”/ “New Year’s Eve” spoof off the top and Tracey’s mortality storyline was perfect for his character. It reminded me a lot of Liz’s bag story from last season or Chris from Parks and Recreation tendinitis bout. It’s always funny to watch a character realize their mortality for dumb reasons and Tracey’s presents bit was par for the course, even if it was a fake out.

I also thought the conclusion to Jack’s Page Program experiment was quite clever. Their big invaluable contribution to the company is that they give upper management someone to blame. And was it just me or was watching Lutz compare himself to Jack a little unsettling? The only real weak storyline I found in this episode was Jenna and Liz. It was a great exploration of why those two are friends but I just didn’t find it that particularly funny. Maybe it’s because I don’t know my D-List stars like I used to.

Parks and Recreation – “Bowling for Votes” (A-)

This was one of those great episodes that just sort of sneaks up on you. The main thread involving Leslie’s pursuit of a particularly negative focus group participant was very funny and it managed to conclude with some pretty decent momentum for her campaign, which was exciting to watch. I have noticed though that TV shows love to do focus group storylines. I wonder if maybe that has to do with the fact that a lot of TV writers have to deal with test audiences.

Regardless, I can’t help but wonder how Leslie’s campaign is going to end up. I hear a lot of people saying that her winning would be the end of Parks and Rec, and they may be right, but I wouldn’t put it past the writers on this show to make it work. They’ve surprised me before. Personally I would love to see her win, but I’m worried that they’re already prepping her for failure. Just the choice of who’s running against her suggests that it’ll all probably end bad for her. Sweetums and the Newports have always been the bad guys on this show, and Leslie’s yet to beat them. It’s easy to see the storyline in her losing.

But I digress. The great thing about this episode was that as good as that main thread was the two side stories were even funnier. There were all kinds of great bits coming out of the phone fundraiser – the whole gang booing Jerry, Andy asking Chris to move in with him and Champion the three-legged dog – and on top of that we got a very sweet ending between April and Chris. It’s nice to see April show off a little of her nice side without losing that particular quality that makes her who she is.

But my favourite grouping of the night was the Ron, Ann, Tom bowling tandem. Not only did Ann and Tom continue to prove that they are a great comedic pairing – Rashida Jones and Asis Ansari have really found some chemistry this season – but Ron just had one of those episodes where every word that came out of his mouth was hilarious. Honestly, I praise Nick Offerman almost once a week and yet he still finds new ways to impress me. Give that guy an Emmy.

And you know what, with that I’ll leave you with my favourite Ron Swanson quotes of the night:

RON: This bowling alley has my favourite restaurant in Pawnee.

RON: Straight down the middle. No hook, no spin, no fuss. Anything more and this becomes figure skating.

RON: Son, people can see you!