Season Wrap-Up: Community, Season 1

First off, fuck CBS and fuck Big Bang Theory for putting the next season in Community's timeslot. Way to take more ratings away from shows that deserve them. But I digress.

If it wasn't for Community, Modern Family would be my favorite new show. As it stands, Community kicks everything else in the teeth. The season ended last week and some people were disappointed, others speculative.


Love is in the... uh...

Let's go over the finale and the episode before it. I'm including the episode prior to the finale because Modern Warfare really blew things out of the water in terms of the show's humor and tight writing. A lot of fans were curious how they could outdo such a great episode.

I wouldn't say they came close. However, with season 2 on the way, there still had to be some kind of closure to the show that leads it into next fall. And I think for how intense Modern Warfare was, it was jarring to go back to the usual Greendale. Once you get that out of the way, English As A Second Language was classic stuff. Jeff deconstructing Annie and using Abed's love of movies to deter him from giving in to her charms is brilliant. Senor Chang's mental breakdown leading to a fight with Jeff on top of his smashed Lexus with a keytaur is not something I can say I saw coming. Despite Chang's lost teaching status he's still on the roster, and the study group has moved to taking Anthropology next year. It maintained the same bar of quality and referential humor, while paving an excuse to keep the group together.


A roll of quarters, why?
Speaking of keeping the group together, Pascal's Triangle Revisited was a very interesting episode. Troy learns that living with Abed would be a bad thing for their friendship (as noted by eating a gigantic cookie as the episode goes on). The dean's fetish for dalmatians comes full force, Jon Oliver returns as professor Duncan and tries to hit on everyone, and Britta competes in the Transfer Queen competition, as noted by the banners on all the contestants that say Tranny Queen. One of the contestants is listed as Danielle Harmon, get it? Tranny queen? Never mind. But speaking of Dan Harmon, his love for trolling his fans knows no bounds. A conflict happens and Jeff has to decide between Britta and professor Slater as they both love him.

Now, here Jeff makes a point, and I think there is something in the air that's plagued multiple season finale writers (HIMYM and 30 Rock made the same conclusions about finding yourself). Jeff is undecided because Britta is the kind of woman who fits the slob lifestyle he lives now, but Slater fits the sophisticated lifestyle he wants. In the end, he picks Annie. The Community slashfic groups on the internet probably spontaneously combusted. This is one of the ways Dan Harmon trolls his audience, and I love him for it.

So what does this mean looking ahead? The show often retcons itself by stating flat out something's done and over with, so I'm not worried. Duncan probably spiked the punch or something stupid will come along and everyone will back off and go back to normal. While some shows suffer from a reset button every episode, Community manages to keep it up by letting the base study group be the launching point for something ridiculous. The words "Last week, on Community" aren't words I'd expect to see on-air, and it's sort of comforting knowing every time you tune in you will be rewarded with something great.

Moving to the entire season, it's had a flawless run. There was a lot of dissension among the ranks over the episode Investigative Journalism due to everyone hating Jack Black, but to those people I say you're an idiot for not realizing that Jack Black's whole purpose was to be deliberately annoying, showing the group that they don't need a wacky fat guy who kicks. Sometimes I think the meta jokes might have flown by, but I've been saying it all season long: Community is a niche show. It fits a specific sect of nerds and people who have been cramming media and popular culture into their mouth like a buffet table at a feeder convention. If I had to guess, I'd say people who like MST3k probably make up this demographic a good bit.

But while it appeases a specific audience, it does it well. Some shows like Big Bang Theory feel like they wrote the word "nerd" on a piece of paper and started a bullet point list on how nerds act based on what people thought of them in 1985. We're all still socially awkward, but we have so much pop culture on our side that we are disappointed when someone doesn't get our references, and Community challenges us in that respect. There are so many layers in most of the jokes. The first one that comes to mind is Jeff and Troy dressing Pierce up as the Cookie Crisp wizard, leading to this line:

"It’s not a meteor, it’s a cookie wand! Me and Jeff made it because it made you look more like the Cookie Crisp wizard! Which is not even a reference I get, because the Cookie Crisp mascot wasn’t a wizard when I was kid! It was a burglar!"

Without getting too distracted, if you're reading this blog, you probably already watch or should watch this show. It may have not had perfect ratings, but it had a perfect season. It's inspired debate and discussion, most of which end up being solved with "you're thinking about this show too hard." Years from now there will be people assuming this show is an indulgent guilty pleasure, but a guilty pleasure means it's something you wouldn't normally watch. This is a show practically catered to you. Enjoy it.

Season Wrap-Up: Modern Family, Season 1

Of the new shows that came out this season, Modern Family brought back the family sitcom. It finished its first season last week with a great finale.


This is one of the funniest things I have seen in my life, hands down.

The finale was billed as a three-parter, which doesn't make sense given the previous two episodes were linked together when the family vacationed to Hawaii, and the finale was about a group photo back home. These were all amazing episodes regardless. I really wish I had something negative to say about the past season as a talking point, but it's been a consistent level of comedy from start to finish. Ed O'Neill never lost his comedic touch and the faint glimmers of Al Bundy still live on in Jay Pritchett. Ty Burrel is both adorable and retarded as Phil. Eric Stonestreet and Tyler Ferguson play the best TV gay couple ever with Cam and Mitch and it never stops being laugh out loud hilarious when one or both of them panic uncontrollably. Everyone is just into their role perfectly. Much like Community, the cast outside of the show acts practically like a family, and I think when you have a cast that are very good friends and lob jokes at each other off the set, you get actors that work naturally together. And for a show about a family, that is really essential for selling some of the crazier things that have happened on the show.


I keep my wallet in my front pocket, so that's what that is.

But back to the original point: the family sitcom has grown stale for a while. Watching an episode of The Middle before Modern Family comes on is like night and day, and one thing I've liked about the better new shows lately is they're adapting to a more updated form of comedy. Yes, you're always going to have your 2 And A Half Mens and things you label under Stuff Old People Love For No Apparent Reason, but there will always be people reinventing the wheel. I really don't think a premier season for has gone off this well in a while, I mean they renewed the snow in January, and on average gets 9-10 million viewers each week.

AND YET BETTER OFF TED GETS CANCELE- okay I need to get off that train, but I'm going to be bitter about ABC until the season 2 DVDs are released and I can watch the final two episodes.

Overall, Modern Family has a grounded basis in well-known sitcom stereotypes, but refuses to indulge in them. You can passively watch the show from the distance and point out, "oh that's the bratty kid, that's the nerdy kid, that's a dumb dad," and so on, but it isn't until you sit down and watch that you see that there is a lot of complexity to all the characters, and that is revealed only when they interact with each other. Phil trying to find something in the garage and tripping up is one thing. Phil trying to find something in the garage and tripping up as his wife reads the list to the symptoms of ADHD, matching Phil's actions, is amazing. If there are two or more main characters on screen or playing off each other (whether they know it or not, like the clip above), it's like comedic alchemy. You know the end result will be a work of art, even if you're unsure about the ingredients going in.

Season Wrap-Up: How I Met Your Mother, Season 5

I am sort of on the fence for this season of MIMYM. I might be biased having watched seasons 1-4 and half of season 5 in a row, but this season was very haphazard in how it handled the characters and their interactions.


I am Christophe... Doppelganger.

Let's get the finale out of the way first. There was a lot of charming moments, but also a lot of awkward ones too. The episode felt longer than it was and I was worried that Marshal and Lily were going to put off having a kid for even longer. But in the end, Barney and Ted are still where they are. Robin choosing to stay in New York was an advancement of her character, but a predictable one. And let's face it, "put a baby in my belly" is a very awkward line to deliver in anything. Probably even a porno. But they did it twice.

Despite my complaints it was really funny. Barney's attempt at being his own doppelganger was great, as was his plan to have sex with everyone from every country. The episode was light on callbacks, the only one I can remember off-hand is Ted thinking he can pull off being a blonde (much like the boots). And wow does he look terrible as one. I'm glad someone in the show finally advanced their lives, and Ted's speech about how the gang became their own doppelgangers was sweet, and the fake-out soon after made me laugh but also want to slap the writers for tricking me so well.

I guess I had two major things that didn't sit right with me: I can understand that Lily is seeing what she wants to see cause she's ready to have a child, but at the same time, isn't it kind of cruel to lie and indulge her in seeing Barney's doppelganger? If the situation was that she kept seeing Barney everywhere, then I could sympathize with the rest of the group, but four months? Wouldn't it be more of the right thing to do to admit the doppelganger promise was just silly? It really seems out of character for everyone to lie to Lily, especially Marshal. And about something she has to spend 9 months carrying, moreso when it's an Eriksen kid.

Second thing ties into the rest of the season: Nothing happened. Robin had her ups and downs but ended up single and living with Ted. Ted bought a house but the only mention of it died in the same episode it started. There was a lot of one-shot episodes this season where everyone tried something different, then settled back to usual. Robin was the only one with a dynamic change to her character, but it didn't get a lot of screentime so she still felt like her issues were in the background. Torturing Barney in Slapsgiving 2 was great, but has Lily's father been back or mentioned since? It's a random thought but when I look over this season I keep seeing episodes where something happened, and it was never mentioned again. Nothing was added to these characters.

I think the continued success and seasons of the show might start to kill it. It's still extremely funny, but it doesn't need to constantly reset it self and essentially stalling. Every time Ted meets someone, it's always a different person every episode. He hasn't had a consistent girlfriend and it's easy to forget that the show is all about Ted. I was hoping Judy Greer would be Ted's girlfriend for a while after the end of The Wedding Bride (that and in the hopes of a future breakup episode with the line, "Say goodbye to THESE!"), and yes one episode isn't enough to tell that, but throw me a bone here.

Over the summer I will probably watch through the series or at least this season again just to get a better judgement call on the whole thing. I just don't want to see this show fall to the wayside after 4 strong seasons and one really funny but roundabout season. It's too early to pan it, or to make that decision until season 6. I'm probably being greedy, but I wanted something more, and with the show's namesake, that's not much to ask.

Nerdsploitation

This is a guest post by Sam

There are two shows that seem to reign supreme in the province of geek comedy: Futurama and The Big Bang Theory. They’re the ones with the jokes for comp sci guys, physics guys, chemistry guys, and the seven women who have overcome their inborn inferiority in the sciences to be able to understand astrophysics jokes .[really Sam, REALLY?-whaler] I should point out right away the following: first, I’m no expert in either show. I’ve watched a bunch of late night Futurama re-runs, and I pick up on some of the self-referential humor and running gags, but my level of knowledge of the inner workings of the show pales in comparison to my knowledge of, say, Arrested Development, pre-cancellation Family Guy, or expert methods for picking up women (alcohol is involved). I know even less about The Big Bang Theory, for reasons that will become clear. In short, don’t crucify me for my inaccuracies, everything I say here I’m reasonably confident I read about on the internet at some point. That being said, I can without a doubt say that Futurama is objectively a far funnier show. Some people think that humor is subjective, that hey, they might even like The Big Bang Theory more; they are wrong. The difference lies in the way both shows approach their geek humor.

The key to a geek comedy is that it must appeal to both geeks and non-geeks alike. At the very least, it has to appeal to geeks in different fields. It can’t be so dense and undecipherable that only PhD candidates can get the jokes, it has to be broad enough for the 50% of America that is by definition below average can get it. This means that the plot can’t rely on an understanding of science to make sense, and that a percentage of jokes need to have broad appeal as well. Here is where the first difference between the shows appears.

Futurama is descended from the Simpsons, which, before the Y2K bug destroyed the world’s computers by forcing web 2.0 on us, was the funniest show of all time. Back before Homer and Marge just had random bizarre things happen to them before a celebrity guest star intervened, The Simpsons had strong plots, superb sight gags, and some of the best 22 minutes episodes of comedy known to man (see: King-Size Homer, Marge vs. The Monorail, Homer at the Bat, etc. etc.). Futurama carried on this tradition, creating robust characters that weren’t just stereotypes (it would be hard to cite precedent for drunken robots and lobster doctors), stories that explored an imaginative non-utopian, not quite dystopian future, and quick witted humor that functions across demographics, thanks to fish-half-out-of-water everyman Fry. The writers were able to create believable characters in a somewhat believable universe, and were able to coax real drama out of them (perhaps the best illustration of this is the episode “Jurassic Bark,” which has pretty much the saddest ending ever since Old Yeller).

The Big Bang Theory has none of this. It’s created by Chuck Lorre, who, instead of pulling a Groening and creating The Simpsons first before making a geek classic, chose to create Two and a Half Men first, commonly regarded as the lowest common denominator of TV sitcoms in the history of the medium. Groening is a geek at heart, and Futurama is his homage to sci-fi. Lorre is a hack first, and The Big Bang Theory is his way of making fun of geeks by making a bad TV show starring that guy from Rosanne. The problem with The Big Bang Theory is, well, everything. The plots are fairly standard sitcom plots, the characters are about as stereotypical as is possible, and it seems that every joke follows the standard setup-punch line-topper format. If Chuck Lorre had made The Wire, it would have just been black people eating fried chicken in front of a live studio audience. I wish I could cite extensive specific examples, but I just can’t seem to sit through an entire episode. I’ve tried. I want to be able to like this show. I like the idea of shows that are “smart” and “geeky.” But this one just isn’t. In my head, it’s always playing like this , and you can imagine how that feels.

Which brings us to the one specific difference in how the two shows treat their audience. Both make strong claims about being scientifically accurate, but it seems that the big joke in The Big Bang is that these guys are nerds. They talk funny, they cite random science facts, and the way the show glosses over the less than well written jokes is by making them too dense for the average viewer, who just picks up on Sheldon-citing-an-obscure-statistic-because-he’s-a-nerd. Here’s a sample from the show’s pilot:

Penny: I'm a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know...

Sheldon:Yes... it tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion that the sun's apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality.

Penny: Participate in the what?

The joke seems to be that she doesn’t understand what he’s saying. There’s nothing actually funny in what he says, it’s factually correct, there’s no joke in there. If you strip out the fancy talk, it can be re-written as:

Penny: I'm a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know...

Sheldon:Yes... it tells us that you believe in astrology, which makes you stupid.

Penny: I am stupid!

More examples glommed from the show’s quotes page on Wikipedia? Sure!

Sheldon: I'm a physicist. I have a working knowledge of the entire universe and everything it contains.

Penny: Who's Radiohead?

Sheldon: [after twitching for a minute] I have a working knowledge of the important things.

That one is apparently implying that geeks and nerds don’t listen to perhaps the geekiest, nerdiest band on the planet. How about:

Penny: What about Howard and Raj, how did [Sheldon] become friends with them?

Leonard: I don't know...how do carbon atoms form a benzene ring? Proximity and valence electrons.

Penny: Well yeah sure, when you put it that way.

Let’s just be clear what’s happening here: Leonard is apparently comparing social interactions to chemical processes, because he is autistic and doesn’t know how to relate to people. If he’s implying that proximity and electricity (maybe a spark of it?) are what bring friends together, ok, I’ll half buy that. But the joke once again shows through in Penny’s line, when she subtly informs the audience that you don’t really know what was said, just that it was super nerdy and she is stupid. The secret to all of this is that what Leonard says isn’t funny. He’s just stating a fact. The joke is that it’s got science words in it, not that it’s actually a funny comparison.

A final note before we move on from the land of autistics hanging out with dumb blondes: there’s a blog written by one of the science consultants on the show that explains some of the theory behind what you see on TV. This is all well and good, and they do have some science in there, a positive. But, the science is in there as science, not as humor. The most recent post points out that their whiteboard has chemical reactions for rocket fuel written on it, foreshadowing Sheldon playing with rocket fuel. That’s a neat little easter egg, but it’s not funny, it’s just… equations in the background. And it seems a lot of their science is treated this way: it’s not a science punch line per se, it’s just there as a side note to lend credibility.

On the other hand, Futurama, rather than bludgeoning you with nerdiness, weaves both broad jokes and geek jokes in seamlessly. The little nuggets in the background are funny little commentaries or asides, not just references to science. For example, Cartridge Unit, Cymbal-Banging Monkey, Sinclair 2K and Lisa are all obsolete robots. They’re all funny as characters, but their names also reference actual obsolete computers (or, in the case of Cymbal-Banging Monkey, toys), so unpacking the geek parts yields to a bonus joke, not just random equations. Soylent Cola “varies from person to person.” Bender has nightmares about the number 2. There are countless little flourishes like these that are actually jokes, not just science for science’s sake, and I’m sure the die-hard fans can single out the best of them far better than I can.

In the end, it comes down to Futurama actually being made for its audience, respecting their intelligence, and giving them something for it, while the Big Bang Theory just has a bunch of unfunny science in it to give it “geek appeal.” Of course, the unwashed masses will always trend towards “smart shows” that make them feel more comfortable in not knowing things, and shows like Futurama will bounce from time slot to time slot, network to network, trying the patience of those who love it. But I suppose we true geeks can take quiet comfort in knowing that we’re secretly right, our show really is better, and that those moron geek fans of Big Bang are laughing at a show that’s just blatantly making fun of them.

NBC Thursday Night 5/7: He Said, Fully Erect

I am running on 4 hours of sleep so apologies in advance if some of this sounds disjointed.

Community S1E23 "Modern Warfare": I would like to announce the death of television. It died in a furious rage of paintballs and chaos and Dan Harmon is responsible for creating an episode so good, that TV isn't watchable anymore.

Greendale is hosting a paintball tournament, and the person who wins was going to get a blu-ray player, but that was stolen. So instead it's TBD. Troy wants that TBD bad. Jeff, uninterested in all of this, takes a nap in his car. 1 hour later, Jeff wakes up to see the school in ruins and paint. In walking around a post-apocalyptic Greendale he is assaulted by Leonard. Abed swoops in with Pitch Black goggles and wall-runs in front of Jeff, shooting Leonard. From here Jeff learns what has happened. The TBD prize is now the opportunity to choose all your classes for the next semester before everyone else, and it caused a frenzy. Meeting back up with Troy, the three students take out the Chess Club and come across Pierce and Star-Burns, who are stealing all the snacks from the vending machine. Wanting to be with the popular group always, Pierce shoots Star-Burns in the side to join them. But then, Troy, Jeff, and Abed need to take a piss, and they come across Shirley, Britta, and Annie.


These gifs speak for themselves, really.

The study group is ready to finish off the last of the competitors, knowing fully that when that is done, they will have to turn on each other. There are discussions of giving it to Shirley no matter who wins, which Jeff isn't going to do. Running outside, the group gets ambushed by the Glee Club, taking out Troy and Annie. Using Pierce as bait, he gets shot up in favor of the remaining team taking out the enemy. Sitting around a barrel fire, an ambush occurs from a group of roller-skating disco students, but not without a Warriors reference. Shirley and Abed get eliminated, and it's down to Jeff and Britta. It's now late in the morning and the dean just wants the game to end. He hires Senor Chang for the job, and he's a douchebag that brings his own equipment. Jeff and Britta, who are under a lot of pressure, wind up inadvertently having sex, and afterwards Britta uses it to pull a gun on Jeff. Jeff, too clever for his own good, made sure to remove her magazine first. But then... A CHALLENGER APPROACHES


No seriously, what movies did they NOT reference?

Britta, in a sacrifice to Jeff, takes the plunge to end Chang's hail of bullets, leaving Jeff alone. He takes it to the dean, who is happy to say he has a DVD player for Jeff! But that isn't enough. He wants that priority registration. And shoots the dean. Wrapping up, Jeff gives the priority registration to Shirley, but she has to pretend like she has gout since it violates school ethics policy.


They could and ended the episode right here and I would be fine.

This was an incredible episode. For months fans who has been following Dan Harmon's twitter were curious to see how awesome the episode that went grossly over-budget would turn out, and it really dampened the rest of the night. Parks & Rec was great, but it felt like a shadow compared to Modern Warfare. Everything does. If you have any love for any action movies, from Predator to Pitch Black to Hard Boiled and even Face/Off, this episode has it all. I'll say it every week if I have to, if you're not watching this show then there is a big gaping hole in your life.

Hulu: Community S1E23: Modern Warfare

Parks & Recreation S2E22 "Telethon": Despite being overshadowed by the greatest thing TV has to offer, P&R was really funny. Leslie signs everyone up for a telethon that runs from 2AM to 6AM, and she spent all last night making shirts for everyone, so she hadn't slept in over 24 hours. Much like how I feel right now. The sleep deprivation is solved by snacking on lots of Sweetums bars, which leaves Leslie more crazier than she started.


clipboard mouth. CLIPBOARD MOUTH


A block of sugar, indeed.

Leslie entrusts Tom to pick up Detlef Schrempf, an NBA player, as the celebrity guest, but not before Tom taking him to his club and starts drinking heavily. Mark in considering proposing to Ann, while Ann is considering dumping Mark, both of which have told Leslie about their plans. Leslie first tells Mark he should propose for the telethon since it will be a memorable story, but when she hears what Ann wants to do, she breaks down and isn't sure how to handle it.

Meanwhile, Ron Fucking Swanson skimps out to go sleep and we find that he has a condition known as "sleep fighting."


Have you ever seen this man sleep? It's like an underwater ballet.

Ron wakes up enough to do a segment on how to cane a chair, which causes the telethon to LOSE money. Tom is still MIA with Detlef Schrempf, and it's nearing 6AM. Desperately trying to pull things together, Leslie tries several ideas to entertain the audience in the last remaining moments, like recapping her top ten favorite episodes of friends, and attempting to drink 8 glasses of milk in 3 minutes (to which Ann stops her immediately, since she'll die). Other acts inclue someone doing the worm, and Jerry on piano. Finally Tom arrives and declares to the viewers of Pawnee that he is very, very drunk. Detlef offers a $5000, putting them above the goal, and to a well-deserved sleep for Leslie. After she drove onto Ann's lawn.

This was a very hectic, chaotic episode and Leslie really took control of the whole thing. It was one disaster after another and I was reminded of her more neurotic side from the first season, except with added sleep deprivation and a massive sugar rush. Everyone got to have some fun moments and while Leslie held the reins, there wasn't a moment of thinking "where did that character go?" I wouldn't place it in the same tier as Hunting Trip or Sweetums or Possum, but there wasn't a moment that didn't make me smile the whole way through.

Hulu: Parks & Recreation S2E22: Telethon

The Office S6E24 "The Cover-Up": Truthposting here, didn't pay attention to most of this. There was some really funny interaction in the beginning with Jim and Pam messing with Dwight, and it's always nice to see Zach Woods bring some of the same asshole charm he had with Chad from In The Loop.

Sorry for the lack of review, I usually spend this half hour making dinner!

Hulu: The Office S6E24: The Cover-Up

30 Rock S4E20 "The Moms": Everyone's mother is in town for TGS, from the actors to the execs. Jack has to deal with Colleen trying to play a hand in his women troubles, Liz is wondering if she should just try to get married and not waste time waiting on Astronaut Mike Dexter, Jenna and her mom are having a conflict on what to wear, Lutz's mother is literally Lutz in a wig and a sweater. Tracy, who doesn't know his mother, has to have another actor come in to play the part, and Tracy protests. Jack tried to use Kenneth to distract Colleen, but being the mastermind she is has no trouble distracting Kenneth.

The big part of this episode was Liz, when she finds out that her mother passed on her true love instead of the man she married. Her true love being Buzz Aldrin, who guest stars. Liz meets with him and finds out he missed his window of opportunity, and would put Margaret through hell to still be with her. Then one of the most adorable, yet awesome things ever happens:


I don't know about you but I would LOVE to yell at the moon with Buzz Aldrin.

Eventually Jack caves in ans asks Colleen to help him with his love life. And for once, she doesn't have an answer. Jenna and her mother sort out their wardrobe differences, and seeing how happy they were, Tracy decides to accept his fake mom as his mother. The episode ends with a song and to stay tuned for the Mother's Day episode of Bitch Hunter. Fakeout to Bitch Hunter credits, than snap to Marriage Ref. You bastards. I want it to be a real show.

Much like last week this was a cute episode but didn't have too many solid jokes. The two callbacks to Bitch Hunter were great (PUT THE MIMOSAS DOWN... BITCH). I dunno, usually I'm defending 30 Rock left and right this season but this episode felt watered down a bit. It's taking a slight turn for the serious but I think I'm starting to understand why people are not liking the Jack/Liz dynamic. In older eps where Floyd and Liz's other loves came into play the show is still a priority. At first the disconnect was subtle but the final shot of the end of a TGS show during the credits made me snap out of it and see that. TGS is now no longer a part of the show anymore, and I'm still liking 30 Rock, but it needs to get back on the rails for season 5 before it goes from likable and cute to taking off in a different direction.

Granted, I say this as I oogle over a show that spends most of its time not caring it's taking place at a community college, but the writing is so solid and tight to make the backdrop meaningless to the jokes and the delivery. Newsradio is in a similar vein, no one cared about the backdrop being WNYX because it was so well put together. I used to think 30 Rock was in the same boat but it's starting to lose focus, and I don't want to see that happen.

Hulu: 30 Rock S4E20: The Moms

Mark your calenders

Lost fans are in for a treat. The series finale is being extended to 2 1/2 hours (if only they were commercial free!). This is definitely essential for how many questions still are left unanswered, and how many characters haven't been killed off yet ::cough KATE cough:: "The End" will air from 9-11:30 with a special Jimmy Kimmel show "aloha to lost" right after. I am glad that they are doing this because Jimmy Kimmel has been a big fan of the show since the very beginning. There will probably be a nice wrap up right before the show too to get you in the mood. For any other show the amount of clip shows they've produced would be ridiculous, but they are entirely necessary for Lost.

Also Saturday night (may 22) they will air the series pilot "enhanced". I really don't like the enhanced episodes of lost they offer on hulu. They seem like they are made for very stupid people, so hopefully this will be something different. I am interested and will probably watch it. It would definitely be good to see the characters from the very beginning one more time.

It is really good to see a network treat a show so well. ABC is definitely smart about things like that. They would be foolish not to market this show well since it has such a huge fanbase, but other networks definitely have screwed over great shows.

I Can't Do It, I Dinna Have The Power (To Autotune)

A lot of Glee fans have been complaining about the back 9 (episodes airing after the incredibly long hiatus) and most of their complaints have been about things the show has always done. Short stories that wrap up by the episode end with a performance finale, pushing characters in the background to showcase others, a lot of whining that makes me wonder if the hiatus made Glee fans somehow expect more from a show than what it was doing currently, just because it was off the air for a long time. It's only in its first season, and it wasn't until today that I realized what was bothering me so much about these issues.

You just don't have the time in 9 episodes to do a huge story arc. There was so much focus on completing a whole story in 13 episodes that it was a singular piece that didn't need any episodes afterwards and could have easily been the whole season ended right there, moving on to the next one. But the hype machine rolls on, and 13 isn't enough.


Let's get serious, no one put this much effort into Hammer since Hammer did it himself.

So what can't you do in 9 episodes that you CAN do with four more episodes like the front 13? For starters, give attention to most of the characters most of the time and their respective plotlines. You have more wiggle room to set the stage and to hype up conclusions you can see coming a mile away that you still bounce in your seat eager to see. Right now things are being created and ended in one or two episodes max, and with 5 episodes left, tell me, what can you do?

Sit back, enjoy the quick fun episodes while they last. If you want the mystical magical "Glee I used to know" then shut the hell up and go back to the dimension you came from where it's a bad show.

I once heard someone say the show jumped the shark. IT'S NOT EVEN IN SEASON 2 YET, GOOD LORD. NERDS. ARG.

NBC Thursday Night 4/29: Is Marchtember Oneteenth good for you?

Community S1E22 "The Art of Discourse": As to be expected, Community was pretty great last night. Pierce makes an ass of himself and Shirley makes a stand, either she leaves or Pierce does, to which Pierce walks out. But not before Abed smashes Pierce's guitar and whips out a bucket list of fraternity movie tropes he wants to complete before graduating. Jeff and Britta wind up dealing with some high school students going to Greendale for college credit, who want to know how to live their life so they don't end up in their 30s back at community college. This escalates into a shouting match which is embarrassing for humanity, ending in a food fight.


Is there really a winner here?

There has been some dissension in the ranks about this episode, but mainly with the Duh-Off towards the end. Which to me was so absurd and silly you couldn't help but laugh at. Abed straight up says "Man, this show is sloppy." and I lost it. As a big fan of Animal House, Abed and Troy acted out some of my favorite bits, although I'm not sure what movie a robot named Boobtron 4000 is referencing. There is a recurring theme showing that all the characters, regardless of age, are pretty childish. But if you've been following this show, you don't need an episode devoted to it to know that. The writing and acting was so good that when the high school kids taunted Jeff and Britta, you wanted to punch them in the face, and really while some episodes don't feature some characters over others, this gave everyone an equal share. This is, of course, ignoring Senor Chang, who stopped by to steal cookies from Girl Scouts.

It's really hard to sum up Community in a short block of text, but as I will say till the end of time, if you're not watching this, you're missing out. Next week's episode, titled "Modern Warfare", looks like it will be the best one of the season.

Oh, and you get to see how stupid "pwn" sounds when said outside the internet. As if it wasn't already.

Hulu: Community S1E22: The Art of Discourse

Parks and Recreation S2E21 "94 Meetings": If you gave P&R a shot in the first season and didn't like it, I beg you to watch the second. It's vaulted into one of the best newer comedies out there, and keeps getting better. This week, Ron finds out he has to attend 94 meetings because his secretary, April, booked them all for March 31st, since she assumed March has only 30 days in it. So Ron splits up the meetings among the staff (and the non-staff, as Ann and Andy are there) to get them done with. Leslie tries to stop a Pawnee historic house and gazebo from being destroyed, a landmark of Pawnee's first interracial marriage, followed by families of both sides murdering each other. After a mess of disastrous interviews, April finally quits working for Ron, to which Ron seeks her out and gets her to come back to work, teaching her a couple things about how to ensure Ron never has to have a meeting with anyone.


"TOM, SACRIFICE YOUR TINY BODY"

Every character on this show gets more endearing every week. Chris Pratt is just adorable as Andy and there is not a bad moment when he's onscreen, let alone the callback to the fake FBI agent he played during the Halloween episode. April's family was amazing, moreso when they showed her sister Natalie, who is an exact clone of April in looks and demeanor. It was like looking into a window of the early episodes. Overall this episode was very chaotic and I'll probably have to watch it a few more times to fully catch all the jokes. With the hectic pace that is dealing with 94 postponed meetings in a single work day, the humor was rapid fire and didn't take time to breathe at all. I feel I'm not fully qualified to try and contain this one.

Also, Councilman Hauser... isawyourpenis.

Hulu: Parks & Recreation S2E21: 94 Meetings

The Office S6E26 "Body Language": I'm not a huge fan of The Office so I don't want to get into too much detail. I might be missing a few callbacks or references or even things like not laughing when someone does something that's so "them." That being said, this episode wasn't very good. It was about a deal with a laser printer manufacturer and their rep is a very attractive woman, to which Michael Scott is confused if she's removing more of her clothes during the meeting because she's interested in Michael, or if she's flirting to get a better deal from Sabre. In the meantime, Dwight is trying to get Kelly to sign up for a minority executive training program so Darryl doesn't get it.


Shut it, paleface.

They spent way too much time on Michael staring awkwardly at everyone else. Really, the whole printer deal plot was poorly thrown together and built on a pile of being uncomfortable, but failed to do so. They drilled in the fact that the rep was hot a bunch of times and there was a lot of gaps without dialogue that didn't achieve anything in the acting/emotion to make up for that. The second plot with Dwight, however, was fairly funny and had a few good moments. It didn't save the episode or stand out compared to say, last week's episode, but I guess if you're a fan of the show it's better than another clip show.

Hulu: The Office S6E26: Body Language

30 Rock S4E19 "Argus": I don't care what the naysayers tell me, but 30 Rock this season has been great. This week, there is a quarrel as Grizz is getting married, but both Tracy and Dotcom want to be the best man, to which Liz has to play the problem solver yet again. Jenna has a new boyfriend (Will Forte) who Liz feel uncomfortable being around, and after thorough investigation, finds out he is a drag queen who dresses up as Jenna. Which for Jenna, is the perfect thing since she can finally truly be in love with herself in a way she wasn't before. Jack gets a peacock named Argus from Don Geiss' last will and testament, and is feeling a bit lost without Geiss being around anymore. In the end, Liz winds up having to be the best woman to three weddings in order to shut everyone up, and Jack assumes Argus has the soul of Geiss, and gets several problems off his chest as he slips the peacock a glass of whiskey.


HOW DID HE GET UP THERE SO FAST

This was a really happy, sweet episode. Apart from Liz, everyone got what they wanted in the end. I wish I had a gif of Jack experiencing the 5 stages of grief in a matter of seconds. It didn't have a lot of content in terms of plot, and was more of a character exercise. I know this isn't a lot of text devoted to this episode, but it's one that leaves you laughing, but you still smile and go "awwwwww" afterwards. As much as one normally does when seeing someone do a duet then make out with themselves, anyways.

Hulu: 30 Rock S4E19: Argus

CBS Could Use A Little Work In The Scheduling Department

How I Met Your Mother, at least to me, is the only reason to watch CBS apart from sports. It's consistently funny, has a ton of original humor and jokes, and also has four new episodes left for the end of the season.

Since January, showing new episodes has been sparse. While I understand the Olympics put a crimp in everyone's TV schedules, this year CBS has only shown 9 new episodes of the current season. When you factor in that there's been 17 weeks since the new year, something doesn't seem right.


This is how CBS makes decisions.

They've been hammering in reruns like nobody's business, which for a lot of fans of the show, is making every new episode feel lackluster or not as good as it could be. As someone who watched the whole series in one huge chunk, it flows together from episode to episode nicely, so having a constant break every other week in the schedule interferes with that.

There's also been concerns that not too many episodes focused on the overarching plot. Robin's relationship with Don is barely touched upon, and only 2 episodes this year have been about Ted's future. The whole season's been great, but just because you keep getting picked up for new seasons doesn't mean you have to drag it out.

I guess in the end, I'm not going to complain if CBS wants to show Slapsgiving 2 again like they did last night. But at the same time, I have DVDs I can watch if I want to do that, and I don't want to be left hanging. Maybe I should watch House when I know this is going to happen.

Thankfully, starting next week, CBS will air the remaining 4 episodes of the season for the month of May.

Community S1 E21: Contemporary American Poultry

Community is the best new show this season, and several years down the road I can see this show being talked about in the same vein of Arrested Development, in that it's innovative and balances its style of humor with a heavy splash of physical comedy. Oh, and nerds love it.

Thursday night's episode, "Contemporary American Poultry", starts off innocently enough with the study group with less concern on studying, and everything to get to the cafeteria in time for the best chicken fingers ever. This is also more important than Brita's dying cat. This is a great bit of work to do in a take as everyone but Brita and Shirley dart off like madmen:


"If it was cool to eat God, He'd be a chicken finger."

But getting in line it turns out the chicken fingers run out too quickly, and the fry cook, Star-Burns, is hoarding some for his friends. It's nice to see Star-Burns get a bit more screentime as he's sort of the show's only recurring villain, at least until Anthony Michael Hall comes back for more blood. Suddenly, Jeff gets a plan, and this is where coal starts getting shoved post-haste into the pop-culture train. Freeze-frame, and Abed narration.


"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be in a mafia movie."

From here's it's literally a direct Goodfellas parody. They get Star-Burns fired for hoarding chicken, and Abed gets the job. Abed makes a deal with Senor Chang, which the group doesn't like, but changes their minds quickly when the find out it was for a 10% bonus to everyone's tests. Everyone abandons Jeff and starts following Abed as the leader. The chicken operation starts to get serious now. Everything leading up to this point is masterfully orchestrated and shot so well that if it wasn't a socially awkward study group trying to create an empire based on chicken fingers, you might wonder what movie you were watching.



Everyone has a role in the chicken mafia. Abed makes the chicken, Troy smuggles it to Brita and Shirley for separation into individual boxes for their clients, then passes off to Annie. With this amount of power the group benefits insanely well. Pierce gets an entourage, Brita gets a hairdresser, Annie gets an expensive backpack, and Troy gets a pet monkey, named Annie's Boobs. But over time, Abed finds his team is starting to get unruly in that all their new amenities aren't good enough. In order to teach them a lesson, Abed takes away all their newfound toys, angering the group into seeking out Jeff and ending Abed's deep-fried reign of terror.


"He's gone from lovable Johnny 5 to evil HAL."

With the help of Star-Burns, Jeff gains a key to dismantle the fryer for good. He breaks into the kitchen at night, to see Abed frying up tater tots, and looking to find new ways to start the cycle of the mafia anew, since everyone is sick of chicken. While one-on-ones and inadvertent group hugs are the sort of thing that ends every episode, it's almost like Abed is trolling the characters by being able to easily drop whatever he's doing for something else. Jeff just wants to end it, Abed agrees, but only being allowed one movie reference at a time, Abed chooses to eat a final meal of chicken fingers in the style of 16 Candles.



This is the only episode so far that retained it's theme for almost the whole time. While the other episodes made movie or TV show references to tie the whole thing together at random intervals (usually the very beginning and the very end before the credits), this stayed the course of keeping all things mafia-related. When they are explaining how they smuggle chicken out of the cafeteria, it's mirroring a scene in Casino. When the group discovers their possessions are being destroyed, Layla plays loudly in the background to mirror Goodfellas. This episode knew what it set out for and rode the Absurdity Express to the bitter end, finishing it by going back to how life used to be, also known as Abed's standby of John Hughes.

The attention to detail is another element most people overlook. The board in the background with everyone's wants and needs is filled out for everyone and is hilarious if you pause and read it all. The main plot was set up perfectly, and nothing has changed with every element of the show, right down to the surroundings, being important and funny in their own way. Even the credit sequence was icing on the cake.


Troy attempts to make Abed look like the better fry cook candidate.

If you're a Goodfellas fan, this is probably going to be one of, if not your favorite episode this season. It's my #2, as nothing's topped Physical Education so far (like anything can top a naked Joel McHale). But each new episode amazes me with a different take on an old idea or sitcom cliche, and strives to fill a niche sense of humor possessed by us children of the 80s who spent the last 20 years filling their brain with TV and movies. If you're not watching it, you're missing out, plain and simple.

Link: Hulu: Community S1E21

The New Who

I’ve finally got a chance to watch the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who. I was sad to see David Tennant go, like everyone, but there was one thing that I was happy to see gone. ALL HIS BAGGAGE. The very mechanism of the doctor rejuvenating into a new being is such a great way to run a show like this. Once things get too dark and heavy from all the epic things that have built up, just hit the refresh button and get a shiny new doctor who only kind of remembers all that. This show is supposed to be upbeat and full of whimsy, and eventually Tennant was getting too depressing. Not the actor of course, just the way they were writing him. How many seasons did he spend bent out of shape over Rose?

Matt Smith himself, is believable as an alien. When he said “I am not people”, you don’t find it that hard to believe him. His eyebrows vaguely remind me of Odo from Deep Space 9, who once joked how hard forming the human nose was. While the Time Lords do appear human, it is never really said if that is only the way they present themselves to humans. It is somewhat charming to think that this young doctor, in making his human form kind of goofed on the eyebrows, and made himself look a little alien. He still manages to be cute though!

Without giving away too much, there was one new element to the show that I found interesting. A moment of filmmaking to show that he had just finally pieced a problem together, it almost reminded me of those moments in House when he looks off in the distance during a conversation having finally figured the whole medical mystery out. The camera snaked around from point to point, and you felt like you were getting a look into the doctor’s manic thought process.

I approve of the new companion too. Generally as long as they aren’t too useless I am happy, since I am not really the sort of Fan Girl who hate the companions because they are not me. My favorite was Donna Noble, so seeing another red head is good. The preview of the season to come clips had me excited for this new season and for this new Doctor.

RIP: Shaggy, Fred and Daphne

This circulated the tubes a while back but now it comes to you in t-shirt form! Velma and Scooby Doo as real monster hunters. Alas, it seems, Shaggy, Fred and Daphne did not survive the monster apocalypse so it's up to the nerdy (and apparently hot and toned) Velma and her now raged-filled dog to save the world.

I would love to see a one-shot trade paperback that explains how this came to be and what happened next. You could incorporate all kinds of sweet monsters into it if you played your cards right; vampires, zombies, lychans, maybe a few mummies... Heck, you could even get specific and throw in stuff like the Creeper (he killed Shaggy and took his eyes!) and Deadites and even Jason Voorhees! Velma and Scooby could be on a quest to find the Necronomicon in an effort to put an end to all the madness! Maybe I shouldn't have posted that idea... should have sent it to a couple publishers first... damn. Oh well, every one buy this t-shirt.

Man! I mention H.P. Lovecraft a lot on this blog

While I read and enjoyed a number of H.P. Lovecraft's works over the years I've never been a HUGE fan. I treat the godfather of horror/science fiction much like I do Monty Python - I like it, I don't have a boner for it.

That said, I have mentioned H.P.'s Cthulhu Mythos more than almost any other topic on this blog with the exception of the undead. Here's a little something that was brought to my attention on YouTube


Just another evil attempt to make children think the great priest of the great old ones is cuddly and not the one that will rip out their souls and ... chew them... or something. It's been a while since I read the Call of Cthulhu.

Shut up Alexis Castle!!!!

No one else in the 'Verse is happier than I that one of my man-crushes, Nathan Fillion, has steady work on the ABC series Castle.


Fillion has found the perfect role to play, a mystery writer with child-like joy who is "a bit of a douche" according to Fillion. Now, there was much hype when this photo leaked out from the set of Castle for the then upcoming Halloween episode.


If I have to explain who he is dressed as, get the hell off my blog. At last, the long awaited return of former Browncoat Malcom Reynolds, captain of the Firefly class vessel Serenity! that's right, it seems that Fillion and the writers of Castle have an awesome sense of humor dressing him up as his well known geek counterpart (or according to the show a "space cowboy"). What I find especially impressive is that I bet Castle's target demographic is very different than Firefly's so this is basically an in joke to the online geek world.

There's one problem, Castle's daughter is kind of a bitch. Watch the clip. Don't worry the actual bit you want is in the first few seconds.


Shut up little girl! We all want Mal back! Although I have to admit when you say "space cowboy" out loud it does sound kinda stupid. Makes it even more impressive that Joss Whedon was actually able to pitch the show to Fox.