"Fiddler, Please!"

I know it really shouldn't take me four days to write a recap, but I am only one person and sometimes even bloggers need a weekend. So! I know I should probably say something about Will Ferrell on The Office, but it wasn't my favorite episode; I'll talk about what's going on there more next week. 30 Rock wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best, so we'll focus on the two comedies that WERE the best this week.

Community

As we near the end of Community's second season, it's fun to look back and see how far the characters have come. Sure, Chang is still crazy...crazy-fun to have around! Annie and Jeff are still in the full throes of "I love you but you're a terrible person and I need to reconcile my love with your terribleness"; Abed is the guru's guru (beause, as we established last episode, Abed doesn't have any need to change); Pierce, cured of his drug addiction, is still an ass, but he's an ass with emotions! Pregnant Shirley is apparently Hilarious Shirley - even though she wasn't in this episode much she had some of the best lines. And then we get to Britta and Troy.

I have to admit I really didn't see their romance coming, but once it showed up I was immediately on board. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Donald Glover is leading the pack of the new generation of comedians, and I know he's gonna be around for a long-ass time. He's just SO GOOD, and versatile, and HOT, and can do quiet, subtle one-liners just as well as he can do huge physical comedy. In Competetive Wine Tasting, all of these talents were on display. Anyway, romance. In a call-back to last season (I love this show's commitment to continuity!), Britta and Troy take an acting class at the suggestion of Ms. Geist, their dance teacher. Troy, when asked to access a difficult memory from his past, finds he doesn't have any - so he invents a story about his uncle trying "to put his finger in my no-no!" (I prefer "plop-plop", because if a butt is a no-no, what does that make "no-no juice"?!) Since Britta is damaged, she is attracted to broken men because fixing them takes the focus off of her own problems (we never hear what her big traumatic memory is, do we?), and so Troy immediately becomes her object of desire. Hijinx, proclamations, and kisses ensue, but at the end, when Troy apologizes for making up the story, you can see that he does really like Britta and that maybe this relationship would be healthy for both of them. Just like how Jeff and Annie balance out the immorality/prudishness in each other, Britta and Troy could supply each other with some damaged & crazy/undamaged & crazy balance of their own.

I love how unexpected this show is. I love how in one episode we get an entire class on Who's The Boss, a racist Asian girlfriend for Pierce, and a romance that I really never saw coming but I bet, once I rewatch this season, I'll find there were clues all along. While we were all staring at Jeff and Annie, waiting for things to happen, something even better came along. I'm really excited to see where the Britta/Troy storyline goes, and if it can be sustained. Greendale FTW! It's interesting that the best show of the night is the one that airs first.

Notes & Quotes:

"Ooh, they've got a class on How To Write Jokes."

"Oh, don't take that. I dropped it after the lesson on set-ups. The professor is so old...

...

.....

....................."

"Which do you think is better: Trevor St. McGoodbody or...David?"

AHAHAHA NOBODY CARES, Vicky.

I agree with Abed that people really shouldn't ask questions they don't want answered.

"One day soon that man's gonna run out of ways of shocking people!

...but it's not gonna be today."

"Don't preach to me about romance, Annie. I had a three-way in a hot air balloon."

"My emotions! MY EMOTIONS!"

"For homework: drink a glass of cognac in a bathtub"

"My mind is open - it's as open as the door to Mona's bedroom"

"Don't sell yourself short - you're a baboon everywhere"

Continuity five! Way to call back to the restaurant.

"Very impressive, Veronica Mars"

"Before my ex-boyfriend Pablo was arrested for forging church relics, he accused me of only being attracted to a certain kind of guy"

"There's a path you take and a path untaken - the choice is up to you, my friend"

And if, like me, that immediately made you want to hear this, then you're welcome:

You should just watch the tag one more time. Donald Glover is a genius, man.

Dreidels.

Parks & Recreation

Did you think I wasn't going to talk about THE WEDDING OF THE CENTURY???!!! Because if so, you were wrong.

I love what Parks & Rec did here tonight. When I saw pictures of the wedding, I was afraid that I had spoiled the episode. NOPE! Far from it - there was nothing to spoil, it was all lovely and perfect.

Usually on TV they don't make relationships so unambiguous. People are portrayed as perfect for each other, they fumble around, they start dating, then, after a season or two, they break up or get married. But Parks & Recreation didn't need all that trite shite. Andy and April ARE perfect for each other and there's really no need to pretend otherwise. Yes, they're young, and yes, they haven't been together for the lifespan of a Brita filter. But breaking them up wouldn't make any sense, and they are absolutely the type of characters to get married on a whim like that. Plus, it was just such a wonderful wedding. One of the best things about the earnest sweetness of Parks & Rec is that they can have these great, touching moments...followed by Ron talking about his ex-wife effigies. I love it.

Plus, the whole thing tied in to Leslie and her insecurities about Ben. Ben is obviously (to us) into her, but she is afraid of taking things too fast (and projecting those fears onto April and Andy). We are regaled by tales from Leslie's past about men who were wrong for her who she didn't take the time to get to know (married Civil War reinactor) or who ran away the minute she expressed her feelings (scuba diver). We see her wariness of Ben, but the moment at the end when he tells her he's staying is the moment when things clicked for her. I believe we'll be seeing Leslie and Ben sitting in a tree sometime soon...

In other news, any scene with Donna is a scene I love. I really like where they've been taking Ann's character, and I'm excited to see where she spirals to next, but Donna is just the best. It was a great B storyline and it was fun to see the two plots interconnect with Leslie's frantic call to Ann.

Ron Swanson remains on top. I like to imagine he went out and bought a real cake.

Notes & Quotes

I initially thought that Ron was groaning at the mere thought of recycling.

"7 pm tonight at our home - which is officially my friend Burly's home, because I don't have a home"

"It's like if you could have a...XBox pancake"

"What?! There's a boy's sale at Dillard's today!"

"Are you asking me how to flirt with men?"

The decor in Burly's house makes this episode worth another viewing - crushed soda can chandelier, anyone?

"So not only does this thing exist, but you have deprived everyone of cake!"

The look on Andy's face when April tells him he has to tell her if she looks good! She does.

"Are you Nell...from the movie 'Nell'?"

"No, Orin, I don't know how I'm going to die."

"I guess I kind of hate most things...but I never really seem to hate you"

"Ok, alright, so that one is dead, we know that."

"Do not stand too close when you light an ex-wife effigy"

I wish I could get a clip of Chris dancing, but you'll just have to picture it in your head. Are you doing it? Is it making you smile?

Images via: Paste Magazine, Wikinoticia, TV Recaps & Reviews, The Faster Times