"I have goosebumps - feel!"

Hooray for Thursday night comedy!

I grew up in a time when NBC's Must-See TV Thursday night line-up was booming; Friends and Will & Grace were hugely popular in addition to being at the top of their game, and the block of comedy was followed by a not-yet-irrelevant ER. This was the time that NBC would like to see return ("Make it 1997 again by magic or science"). As a result, Thursday nights just feel like comedy night to me. So, while I am saddened and angered by the NBC/Comcast merger that will most likely guarantee that episodes like last night's 30 Rock will never make it to the air, I am so, so happy to see the shuffling off of the blight that was Outsourced to a timeslot no one will watch and the return of Parks & Recreation to its rightful Thursday night spot. I'll be writing another post about Parks & Rec as a whole, but for now I want to focus on last night's funny in particular.

Community

"I agree with brown Jamie Lee Curtis"

The writing on this show is so smart. They obviously had to find a way to let Chang into the group (how many people had no idea his first name was Ben? I had totally forgotten.), but since Chang is kind of an awful person they had to do it in a way that makes sense. Somehow they managed to combine the Shirley/pregnancy storyline with the Annie/Jeff and the Chang/study group storyline without any of it feeling forced. Rich the Perfect Doctor was a wonderful catalyst for all those plots because, although none of them know it, Jeff was right - Rich isn't that good, since he is the one (if you'll remember back to Epidemiology) who knowingly brought the zombie-rabies into the study room and contaminated the whole group, THUS leading to Chang and Shirley doing it in the men's room and Shirley becoming pregnant. Also, he is insane. Rich is a great foil for Jeff, since they look alike but their motivations are entirely opposite. Of course Rich would say Annie is too young - he's way too ethical. Since Jeff is an emotional baby without many moral scruples, however, he's perfect for her. Plus, that running in the rain/blind monologue was really classically awesome.

And can I just say that the addition of Malcolm Jamal Warner as Shirley's ex-husband is totally genius? As soon as he showed up I can guarantee you that every viewer immediately disregarded any negative things that have been said about him for the past two seasons because that is Theo Motherfucking Huxtable and there is just no way you can hate him. Not to mention that his character shows how complicated love and relationships can be and that forgiveness is a great virtue to have (and atheists can have it too, Shirley). But seriously, you cannot hate Theo Huxtable, it's just not humanly possible.

SO! Great start to the second half of the season - I'm excited to see what sober Duncan brings to the table. Although I have to say I hope they don't run Troy & Abed In The Morning into the ground - it's a great bit, but if they do it too much it'll lose some of it's magic. However, if they do bring it back, I would request more Gareth.

"Mezzanine???!!!"

The Big Bang Theory

I know this show isn't on the NBC lineup, but I wanted to delve into it as a comparison to all the others and to both celebrate the high notes and point out one of the show's crippling faults.

Last night's episode was surprisingly good - I was laughing out loud and along for the ride. I think part of what made it so funny was that the gang was out of their usual settings (apartment, work, Cheesecake Factory) and put into fresh situations. I liked the car ride jokes, and I thought they handled the Leonard/Penny love bed conundrum quite well. Not enough Rick Fox, IMO, but just enough Mayim Bialik, who is really bringing a lot to the show with her portrayal of Amy Farrah Fowler. Seriously, that whole penis envy conversation just killed me.

The panel itself was supposed to be the climax, but I found it distracting because (A) WTF are they all doing on the same panel anyway and (B) even people who are fighting with their boyfriend can still maintain some level of professional decorum, sheesh. Don't they like, care about their reputations in the scientific community? Unrealistic to the point of being uninteresting.

HOWever, then we get to the end of the show. Penny has, mysteriously, gone back to Pasadena with Rick Fox. We don't see her leave, we don't see what happens when they get back...the show just ends abruptly. And this is something that TBBT does ALL THE TIME. They'll end the show on a joke without tying up any of the ends that were left loose - and they generally don't come back to tie them up in later episodes. It often leaves me feeling with a confused feeling of inconsistency and does nothing to endear me to the show, and often ruins what was otherwise a perfectly good episode. Compare that to Community, or The Office, or Parks & Rec, where the tag will often be something that is referenced previously or in the future, and carries through on continued storylines. Those shows are able to pull-off perfectly contained storylines in 22 minutes in a way that The Big Bang Theory simply cannot.

Parks And Recreation

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! I'm seriously so excited for this show to be back. To anybody who doesn't watch Parks & Rec because they either don't like The Office or they watched the first season and were unimpressed, I highly recommend going back and watching the second season and giving it a real try (it's available on Netflix instant!). P&R isn't like The Office - it really isn't. I mean, it has the whole fake-documentary format, but that's where the similarities mostly stop. There isn't the awkward aspect that The Office thrives on; there's no Michael Scott making everyone feel angry or uncomfortable. Seeing as that is my least favorite aspect of The Office, it's no surprise that I love Parks And Recreation. And seriously, the second season finds the show really getting into its groove, with some classic episodes and great developing cast dynamic. More on that later.

Last night was a great episode that (a) would have been even better had it aired in the fall, as planned, and (b) really integrated new cast members Adam Scott and Rob Lowe into the show. It is marvelous to see Rob Lowe doing tv comedy instead of being merely charming and handsome and Sam Seaborn-y, and Adam Scott, building on the dry wit he played so well as Henry on Party Down, is a brilliant No-Man who has to shoot down all expanded budget requests. His own history makes it clear that he will be an eventual love interest for Leslie, since while their jobs may be different, their motivations are ultimately quite similar.

BUT I miss Paul Schneider like whoa. I hadn't realized that him quitting the Pawnee government at the end of last season was going to translate into him being off the show. I hope hope hope that he'll come back because he makes a great go-to guy for Leslie, and I would highly enjoy seeing a Mark Brandanowitz/Leslie Knope/Ben love triangle.

In the meantime, however, I can get my Ron Swanson on. I really, really need someone at AllPosters or something to make The Swanson Pyramid Of Greatness into a poster because I would love to hang that on my wall.

"Crying - acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon"

Speaking of love triangles, the Ron/Wendy/Tom one is heating up, and I am expecting greatness from both Aziz Ansari and Nick Offerman this season. I have great hope that Parks & Rec will continue into the summer so that we get more than half a season from them, but the networks are fucking terrible at giving me what I want, so maybe "great hope" is overstating things a little. I think it will suffice to say PLEASE WATCH, otherwise they might bring fucking Outsourced back and what would you rather have: some of the funniest comedians around being funny, or racism wrapped up in an unfunny sitcom? I would also suggest that you Like P&R on Facebook, because believe it or not, people who make important TV decisions care about those things.

I love good comedy. And Ron Swanson. Man, do I love Ron Swanson.

"I am usually not one for speeches...so goodbye."