The Besties 2012

Well, it's a new year, and my housesitting job got interrupted and then, you know, there was all that life-living I try to do sometimes so I wasn't able to get this out before January 1st.  But guess what?  That means it's officially awards season now, so this year I'll be handing out Besties for those who deserve it.  The categories are determined by whatever I make up and think of right now.  So exciting!

Best Cartoon

Bob's Burgers wins this one handily.  Although Archer came first (and I love Archer), Bob's Burgers has the market cornered on wonderfully weird whimsy.  Archer can get a little screamy and a little gross, and I'm still  on the fence about Pam (ha ha) (bisexual humor).  But Bob's Burgers is always excellent voice actors, whipsmart writing and visual jokes, and really just pure delight.  Along with Parks and Recreation, this is the show I prescribe to people who are feeling down after watching too many Michelle Williams romantic dramas.  And the Thanksgiving episode, with Kevin Kline and Linda's Thanksgiving song and the absinthe and everything, was perfection.

Best Fancy Show

Out of all the shite put out by HBO and Showtime this year, Game Of Thrones was the clear winner (with Episodes and Veep tied for a close second).  I haven't even watched all of Season 2 and I still know it's the best show out there.  After devouring all the available books over the summer, it didn't take much for me to love the television adaptation.  Add my forever boyfriend lover, Peter Dinklage, totally killing it from all sides to the sharp, concise, funny writing and the amazing directing, cinematography, and production values, and Game Of Thrones comes out on top.  Consider this my acknowledgment that GoT (and Dinklage) could have swept The Besties, but I'm trying to spread out the love. I can't wait for Season 3, since Storm Of Swords is my favorite of the books.  In the words of the great Ben Wyatt, "They would never cancel Game Of Thrones!  It's a crossover hit!"

Wherein I Cry Actual Tears At The Parks & Rec Finale

Season finales abounded last night!  But we're only gonna talk about two of them.

Well, actually, three, because I've been meaning to say something about the Castle finale all week, so we'll start there.  Castle!  Ba-bam!  Finally!  Ok, the episode itself was pretty terrible because for some reason the showrunners use the season finales/premieres to abandon all the witty and glib humor that makes the show worth watching for heavy-handed, depressingly dramatic bullshit...but that doesn't mean that Nathan Fillion isn't AMAZING and TOTALLY THE BEST.  He delivers this speech that is pained and honest and beautiful and gratifying and Beckett, because she is an atrocious, selfish person, responds in an atrocious, selfish way.  Just watch:



But I never watched this show for her.  I've always known she's The Worst.  Like I said about last year's season finale, "We just want Castle and Beckett to make out.  It's all we've ever wanted."  And that's the truth. So I could care less about the crazy conspiracy and about Tahmoh Whatshisface from Dollhouse being a super-good murderer and about Esposito and Ryan's terminal cases of Serious Face and all of it, because at the end, not only did they make out hard-core, but they also definitely HAD THE SEX.  Which gives me great hopes for next season being less about Beckett's boring and illogical mental and emotional hangups and more about Castle and Beckett having all the sex.  I just can't believe it took FOUR SEASONS to get there.

Moving on.

All Things Community

COMMUNITY RETURNS MARCH 15TH!!!! I know, it's super-old (like 5 days) news, but I didn't feel like doing a whole post just for that, especially because the bummer part of the news is that it means Parks & Rec is off the air for six weeks. I don't understand why they won't just GET RID OF 30 ROCK because obviously no one likes it now because it isn't good anymore and also Tracy Morgan is The Worst and maybe if NBC actually supported the shows that EVERYONE LOVES they would have better ratings. And while The Office is clearly spiraling weirdly towards their series finale, things have gotten pretty dull over there (since when is GABE the best part of that show?) and every episode just makes me think of how much better everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) would have worked out if they had just ended the show when Michael Scott left. It's pretty ridiculous that they're still on the air. But anyway, COMMUNITY! RETURNS! MARCH 15th!

This Is An Excellent Idea

Have you been following The Best Sitcom Episode Ever Tournament over at SplitSider? I highly recommend doing so. The first round came out pretty much in my favor, with TWO episodes of Community making it through the juggernaut. Is Community ever not the greatest? The one heartbreaking decision I had to make was between Parks & Rec's "The Fight" and Arrested Development's "Pier Pressure"...if they had picked any other AD episode I might have been tempted to give it to "The Fight" because that episode is excellent and is responsible for THIS, but "Pier Pressure" deserves to win the entire tournament, it's a perfect episode from start to finish and is responsible for many of my favorite AD moments. I could quote you half the episode right now. Anyway, I highly recommend going over and voting because there are still plenty of shows that deserve to be eliminated (WKRP, Cheers, Sunny), and even more that need your votes to make it to the next round (Party Down, Friends, Community, The Simpsons)! I predict that the 21st Century bracket will come down to "Modern Warfare" and "Pier Pressure", and who knows what I'll do then, but if I had to pick two to go face to face in the final round, it'd be one of those two episodes (I just can't decide!) and Steve Guttenberg's Birthday, which is an incredible masterpiece of television art.

I love this game! It's so difficult! It's making me crazy! I love it! Go vote!

Um, WTF?

So last week, after being pretty proud of the piece I wrote in response to the Golden Globes about comedy awards, I submitted it to The Hairpin. Unlike Jezebel in its heydey (pre-2010), I don't like or read everything that's on the site, but a fair amount of it is pretty great and funny (especially The League Of Ordinary Ladies), and I think my voice could fit in well. Now, I didn't receive any sort of personalized response from them (just a boilerplate "we'll read your stuff and get back to you") and, while it would have been nice to at least hear SOMETHING, I wasn't really expecting for them to publish it because as a writer, you should never, ever expect that. Then last night, as I was catching up on my Hairpin reading, I saw this (posted on the 17th by Jane Marie):

Some people are mad at you because you're not really a comedic actress or something, and okay. But on to the real issue: YOU ARE THE BEST ON ENLIGHTENED and now it is official and not just a rule in my house. Amy, the character you play, is a living nightmare. I said it! Like, you really just want to duct tape her all up. Don't you leave that chair, Amy. And shut up! Don't say what you are about to... I KICK AT MY TELEVISION AND LOOSE A SQUEAL OF RAGE. For a mundane but infuriating example: don't tell your mom all about how you went over to your druggie ex-husband's house in the middle of the night and then get MAD at her, like literally throw a witchy tantrum because you are being personally violated, when she goes "Why?"

My skin crawls at you, Amy. It feels so good. You win, Laura. Incredible. Everyone go watch the whole thing and then let's all send Mike White care packages to keep him happy while he writes us another season.

And I am instantly frustrated. Because the point of my whole post (that the writer somehow both emphasizes and undermines) is that if Laura Dern is so great (and she is, I'm definitely not disputing that), then she should win a dramatic award for her (very obviously) DRAMATIC acting. Arguing that she should win a comedic award simply because she is good just continues this tradition of disrespecting comedy and misunderstanding female comedians.

Let me be very clear: I really love Enlightened, and I've been a Mike White fan since he was a writer on Dawson's Creek. But it is absolutely not a comedy. If the dramatic awards go to dramas, and the comedic awards go to dramas, where does that leave comedy? I continue to be irritated, and not only because Jane Marie flippantly dismissed the well-supported premise of my entire piece with the argument of "But I like her!". This has got to change somehow, and it's not going to unless enough people make some noise. But The Hairpin's noise is, in this case, just another part of the problem.

Boo, sadface. I will console myself with tonight's episode of Parks & Rec.

My Favorite Things

I have a problem with "Best Of" lists. I'm not very good at ranking things, and the end of the year always brings these lists where one thing is often ranked above or below a different, almost incomparable thing. Why must I decide which is my absolute favorite? I've been watching a lot of Arrested Development lately, as I am wont to do at this time of year, and I love it so much - but I can't say I love it more or less than something else...I have enough love to go around! Television and I have a polyamorous relationship. So here are my favorite shows, moments, people, and things from 2011, in absolutely no particular order.

"Where's all the faces?"

Ben Wyatt, stop breaking my heart.

Both Community and Parks & Recreation showed spectacular episodes last night, but we're going to start with Parks & Rec for the arbitrary reason that I had a dream last night that Leslie Knope kidnapped me and took me to a party where Britta was trying to make out with me but only so she could impress Jeff. It was a weird dream.

A few times every season in both Community and Parks & Rec, there will be an episode that is still hilarious, yes, but that also transcends hilarity to bring real emotional depth to the characters and serves to draw the audience deeper into the story purely on the basis of the connection the characters are making. "End Of The World" was one of those episodes.

"This seems to be going the usual amount of gross."

It is a goddamn travesty that I haven't written about Parks & Recreation yet. I actually started a post last weekend, but I was traveling and sleep-deprived and just couldn't find the time to finish it. But that doesn't mean that Cool Beans Ron and Pants! Pants Pants Pants Leslie weren't my favorite thing about last week, because they totally were. Because this show is the best.

In all seriousness, it is such a close call as to what I think the best current network comedy is, Parks & Rec or Community. Usually Community squeaks out on top, but Parks & Rec just fills me with such joy that I don't want to relegate it to second place. So let's say for the most part it's a tie. However - last night, Community wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite episode (a little too mean without enough self-deprecation), and Parks & Recreation was just GREAT so we're gonna talk about how great it was RIGHT NOW.

"Buffalo Phil...worth the wait"

For all that I complain about Modern Family winning awards and all of that, I do admit that it can be a really great show. The first two episodes (WTF is up will all of the double season premieres? It's like they knew how busy I was and just wanted me to have to suffer through two episodes of The Big Bang Theory) were pretty great, but the first, "Dude Ranch" beat the second hands-down and demonstrated quite clearly the strengths and weaknesses of Modern Family. Namely, the first episode featured pleeeenty of Phil (as well as an exploding birdhouse) and gave all of the characters something to do, except Manny - which is just how I like it. The second episode featured way too much of Clare, my least favorite character, being just obnoxious and terrible and even though that was part of the joke it doesn't matter because ugh. Clare. Go away. Anyway, I thought "Dude Ranch" was funny, snappy, and made me glad to see the show back on. Maybe if they hadn't immediately followed it with a very standard, not-especially-great episode than I would have forgotten about my annoyance at the show trumping Parks & Recreation and Community at the Emmys. But who care about any of this because I am about to watch those shows RIGHT NOW. Let's meet back here with big smiles and lots of opinions in an hour. Sound good?

Notes & Quotes

"In private...you might say that in private."

Lily speaks! Thank god, I was getting worried.

"Just so you know there's a fan in my cabin that sounds like someone crying"

"For what it's worth, my second wife was in high school"

"My french-braiding is 'sloppy'"

"This is a lot nicer than the attic I lived in when we met"

"A childhood without tumbling?!?!?!"

Image via Babble

Emmys, Premieres, And One Blogger's Eternal Struggle

The Emmys are tonight, and Monday marks the real return of real television (The CW's fall season minus Gossip Girl started this week, but we don't count that). This means that, in addition to working, studying, and having a life that involves life-size, tangible people, I've got a shit-ton of shows to watch, recap, and opinionate on. Don't get me wrong; I'm super-excited. But just to give you a sense of what I'm up against here, these are the new shows that are showing up on my Sidereel schedule this week:

How I Met Your Mother

Castle

Glee

Raising Hope

Parenthood

SVU

Up All Night

Modern Family

CSI (on Wednesdays???)

Person Of Interest

The Big Bang Theory

Community

The Office

Parks & Recreation

Archer

Fringe

A Gifted Man

And that doesn't even count the summer shows I'm still watching like The Big C and Project Runway, or the shows that decided to do TWO premiere episodes like the effing Big Bang Theory (it's never the ones you hope for), or the shows that already premiered that I haven't watched yet, like Up All Night and Parenthood. So, you can see that it's gonna take me a little while to get through it all, and that posts will, by necessity, hopefully be somewhat abbreviated. It's actually kind of a good thing that the brand new shows mostly look like crap, because otherwise I'd be completely bogged down. I will do my best to watch everything and post in a timely fashion, but some shows' fall evaluations may have to wait until next week.

Now on to The Emmys. I won't say too much about it because most of my frustrations with the whole Emmy system are expressed in this post, but I will say this: The Emmys are broken. I do not, as of yet, have a solution to the problem of how to get Emmy voters to watch more than one or two episodes of a series, but I'm working on it. The system wherein shows submit their favorite episodes for consideration completely ignores the painstaking and incredible continuity work that goes into a show like Community, and instead rewards those shows who display a complete LACK and DISREGARD for continuity, aka Glee. I'm not surprised Glee got an Emmy nom; there were a couple good episodes this past season (if you ignore the rampant biphobia and absolutely awful and nonsensical character arcs for EVERYONE and focus instead on that one time Gwyneth Paltrow sang a Cee-Lo song), but there is no way it was a better over-all season than Community. Or Episodes. Or Archer. Or any number of fantastic shows that did not receive a nomination. This system of selecting single shows for judgment also totally dis-favors shows like Fringe and Lost that have season- or even series-long plotlines. Now, I know it's silly to rail against something as ultimately meaningless as The Emmys, but it really does make me sad when I see programs and actors that I know are great and deserving because I have watched ALL of their episodes lose to programs and actors that I know are equally undeserving because I have suffered through all or most of their episodes (ugh The Big Bang Theory UGHHH). So here's hoping that tonight will be all about Mad Men (The Best), Parks & Recreation (The Best next to the infuriatingly ROBBED Community), and Louie (also just The Best). Down with Boardwalk Empire (unless the Emmy is for set direction), Glee, and The Big Bang Theory! Give the rightly deserving all that they rightly deserve.

Seriously, though, you do not want to be in my house if Mad Men doesn't win best drama for their spectacular fourth season, because it is an indisputable FACT that everything about that show is meticulously awesome and even Friday Night Lights (which I have heard is great and is the only other nominated drama I will even slightly concede to) doesn't have the total package of top-notch writing and acting and directing and costumes and set direction and lighting and cinematography and EVERYTHING that Mad Men has.

My Glee issues do not extend to Jane Lynch, whom I LOVE, and who I am very excited to see host tonight. I love how the major awards shows just get gayer and gayer every year. Here's hoping for some excellent pantsuits.

Ok, I'm off to get some sun and live some semblance of a life before the season of opinions officially begins. Expect outraged commentary in the morning!

I Went To Yosemite, Maybe You Saw Me There?

I was the one riding a mule in lime green leggings.

Anyway, that is why I've been absent for eons...well, that, and the fact that I am now working three jobs AND attempting to study for the GRE in a few weeks AND supposedly also applying to grad school even though I haven't really started on any applications yet because of jobs and hiking and studying and all of that. But I'm going to, I promise. Additionally, there hasn't really been any significant tv to talk about, and I know I'm gonna have crazy work ahead of me real soon what with it being premiere season and all, so some slack is gonna have to be cut. Don't think I don't wish I could just write in here all day about what a dick Gay Ryan Reynolds is being on Project Runway, because that's the dream, friends.

(A terrible, tiny, total dick, in case you were wondering.)

I will try my best to keep writing about what interests me, and doing recaps for whatever shows I decide to recap, but I'll warn you right now: there are almost no new shows on the networks' fall schedules that interest me very much. That Ben Linus show. Alcatraz. POSSIBLY that show with Kat Dennings or that show with Will Arnett. And that's it. I'll be keeping my ear to the ground to try and find something that's any good, but I'm afraid that the disparity between quality television and terrible television is following the same exponential growth pattern as the wealth gap. I know that nobody else misses Mr. Sunshine because nobody else watched it, but it was great and I miss it a lot and can only imagine how much better it would have fared with a fall premiere instead of a shitty mid-season horn-in. Anyway, I'll still be watching all my shows from last year, and I can't wait for the new seasons of Parks & Recreation and Community. The Office....ehhhhhh, not so much, but we'll talk about that when we get to it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the finales of Wilfred and Louie (I did, but not as much as I enjoyed other episodes from earlier in both seasons) and that, like me, you are using this much-needed television lull to FINALLY start watching The Wire (which is pretty awesome and very cynical and while not yet as perfect as some might have led me to believe, still very entertaining and smart). Despite my busy schedule, I am here to stay, do not worry! I know you were SO worried.

Anything But Li'l

I know it's a little ridiculous in the fast-paced internet world we live in to post recaps five days after the episode airs, but (A) I sadly do not work for the A.V. Club or anywhere else whose writers get screeners so they can post their recaps as soon as it airs and (B) these last episodes of The Office and Parks & Recreation were so good that I wanted to draw out our goodbyes for as long as possible. And now, the time has come.

The Office

Firstly, how awesome is that picture? Hooray for ensemble casts! After the abhorrent mistake that was Deangelo Vickers, it was nice to see that The Office can handle itself without Michael Scott or any other misguided celebrity vanity projects (seriously, there was an NPR piece and Will Ferrell was all, yeah, I called them up to see if I could be on the show! And so they wrote this whole character for me! NOBODY CARES, Farrell. Stick with movies, please.). I mean, there are so many amazing characters, I don't think it should be that hard to manage. The first (and best) answer? Creed.

Now, Creed has been my favorite Office character for awhile (from the season 3 Christmas episode deleted scenes: "I don't care which party I go to. Once you've danced naked at a hash bonfire with the spirits of the dead, all parties seem pretty much the same."), and I thought giving him a leading role was a brilliant move. The scenes between him and Pam were some of the most fun I've had all season. Creed is great because he's a loose cannon; he can say or do anything and maintain character plausibility because his character is NUTS. So right off the bat we were off to a good start.

Your Summer Watching List

It's summertime, y'all! Maybe not officially, but it's sunny and warm here more days than most and the kids I work with are starting to go ca-razzy (thanks, Tom Haverford), so that means that summer is upon us. Ron Swanson gets what I'm talking about. And you know what they say, April showers bring May season finales, so as all of the great and terrible shows from this year start to end my mind looks ahead to the wasteland of nights with nothing new to watch. Oh, sure, you could do something silly like go outside in the summer, but once you're tired of that or the fog starts rolling in or if you live in a place where it actually gets too hot to go outside, well...that's what this list is for. It's a reminder of shows you may have forgotten about or put off watching until you had the time, and of the shows that will be airing new episodes this summer that are worth checking out. And, IMO, summer is a time for shows that are silly, lighthearted, and not too thinky (unless you're Mad Men, but there's no new Mad Men until NEXT YEAR. *SOB* Blame the effing bureaucrats.). That's why you'll find Wipeout on the list, but not Breaking Bad (which is too dark, depressing, and gruesome for me any time of year, thankyouverymuch), along with some of my favorite shows that I haven't gotten a chance to talk about on here yet.

Away we go!

"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.

"More fish for Kunta!"

Oh my gosh there is just so much to talk about! WARNING: if you haven't watched last night's comedies, be aware that there are spoilers ahead. Now, onwards!

Community

Can I start by saying LEVAR MOTHERFUCKING BURTON was in the Community house last night?! What up! It was awesome. And I loved Troy's reaction ("You can't disappoint a picture!") because I often feel the same way about my cinematic idols. I would much rather simply believe that they would think I'm awesome and we would get along fabulously and become best friends than be faced with the reality of having to tell, say, Donald Glover just how amazing and hilarious (not to mention sexy) I think he is. But I would definitely sing the Reading Rainbow song with Levar if faced with the opportunity.

Even the parts without Levar were super-great. I loved the Abed take on the documentary/sitcom format, an especially ballsy move seeing that there are two other mockumentary shows that come on right after Community. But they're totally right that it is really easy to advance plot when you can just explain what's going on, and Community should get props for turning out a hilarious, inventive, often plot-driven episode each week without the crutch of talking-heads. Not that I mind talking-head sitcoms...

But what they also did well is one of the hallmarks of a great Community episode: laugh-out-loud comedy combined with real-life, often heartbreaking/warming/wrenching moments. Pierce is in the hospital because he overdosed on pills, after all. Jeff absolutely has daddy-issues, that's for sure. It showed how well Pierce knows all of them while at the same time addressing everybody's insecurities. Annie finds something to learn even when there's no lesson. I thought it was great to have Abed behind the camera for this one because that's where his character belongs - Abed knows himself well enough that Pierce wouldn't be able to manipulate him the way he did the others. And I loved that they followed through with the beating that was neither mad-cap nor wacky - it was real. For all of the crazy, imaginative stuff Community does, their characters are ultimately grounded in reality, and that's what makes them so lovable, relatable, and hilarious. It's funny 'cause it's true, after all.

Notes & Quotes

"My third wish would be a million wishes...but I would just use them all on a million signed photos of actor Levar Burton."

"It rubbed off...from friction."

Ok, I just watched an insane amount of TV in like, two days. As a result, I have a lot I want to say but the organization of my brain isn't working too well, so I'm just going to start wherever it wants and will probably end up with a super long and slightly discombobulated post. Stick with me, kids.

Mr. Sunshine

How often is it that a pilot episode surprises you by being miles better than you thought it was when you already thought it was going to be awesome? Not very. Mr. Sunshine brought it SO UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY to the table that I cannot wait for the next episode. Allison Janney is a comedy goddess and a dream come true; she should honestly share top billing on the show. Matthew Perry is a master of acerbic wit and Mr. Sunshine was tailor-made to cater to his strengths - even the theme song reminds me of him. And somebody must have known that I'd be watching to include the brilliant and fabulous Jorge Garcia cameo, even if he is only around for one episode. I would highly recommend this show to anyone who has ever enjoyed Friends, Studio 60, Allison Janney in 10 Things I Hate About You, or has ever been to San Diego. You can find plenty of links here at my new favorite TV streaming site, Project Free TV.

Archer

I was planning on writing a long Archer post the morning my computer died, but it probably boils down to "Archer is hilarious. If you like Arrested Development or South Park or Adult Swim, you will love Archer." So watch it - it's a much better way to get your Jessica Walter fix than that painful guest role she had on The Big Bang Theory this week, and sometimes Jeffrey Tambor shows up as well! You can even watch them out of order, it doesn't really matter, although starting from the beginning will give you a better idea of why they treat Pam like crap or why Cyril is such a douche. Oh, and H. Jon Benjamin gives me a susan. If you're as enchanted by his mellifluous voice as I am and want to see what he looks like in person, you can watch the episode of Parks And Recreation where Leslie fills in the pit and Andy ends up in the hospital; Benjamin is the city lawyer.

What The World Needs Now Is Parks And Recreation

Parks And Recreation is not The Office.

I'm not sure how many times I've had to repeat that to people whom I'm trying to convince to watch the show. Even fans of The Office often balk when faced with the similarly-formatted comedy, citing rip-offs or it simply being too similar. But really, the format is the only real similarity. Oh sure, it takes place in a workspace and has a cast of quirky characters, but P&R deals with small-town government, which is a completely different world than private sector business, and you can find quirky characters in any ensemble comedy ever. SO - quit your griping and join me in celebrating just what makes Parks And Recreation unique.

"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"

10th Anniversary Crying Edition

Ok guys, I know I've been absent, but even bloggers need to take a vacation sometimes (and I can't say that day I spent watching almost all of Arrested Development Season 2 was wasted). But now I'm BACK, and the new year will bring lots of wonderful stuff from Girl Glows Green: Parks & Recreation returns, Episodes (with Matt LeBlanc) and Mr. Sunshine (with Matthew Perry) are gonna be starting soon, and of course, my giant Community post is on the way. I finished watching the commentaries over winter break and now am just waiting for the giant chunk of time I call the weekend to sit down and hammer it out. But FO REALZ it should be up by next week.

The new year of shows has already started, and How I Met Your Mother turned out a bang-up episode, with NPH doing a great job as Barney's chill doppelganger. BUT then it ended tragically in a way that I can't really deal with and don't want to write about, so I might take the week off next week from HIMYM. Tragedy and sitcoms only mix when there's funny and sad at the same time. All sad, with people sobbing and whatnot, just brings us all down from the escapism of television.

But this should cheer you up! From the minds that brought you PaceyCon, here's a lovely little tidbit that shows, once again, why Dawson's Creek and the actors therein are awesome. Well, except Katie Holmes. Apparently Funny Or Die realized the greatness of this and are having a whole VanDerWeek over there with a new video every day. Anyway, I've been laughing at crying Dawson for years! And then some genius decided to make it into a gif. If I knew how to make gifs I'd make a whole glossary of Creek gifs, because they're just that awesome.

Vandermemes from James Van Der Beek

This one is pretty great, too, although would work much better with Joshua Jackson. Dawson annoyed the shit out of me; PACEY was the one I compared all my relationships to.

Asshole For Hire from James Van Der Beek

Happy new year from Girl Glows Green and the people on your television!

Images via James Van Der Memes

Annie's Boobs Did It!

Let's check in on the week, shall we?

- The opening of this week's How I Met Your Mother made me groan out loud and actually mutter the words, "Oh, brother." I cannot fully express how much I abhor the casting of Jennifer Morrison (although Kyle McLaughlan was great in his guest spot) and the direction that Ted's storyline is heading. Even Marshall and Lily lost me this week. A shame that the rest of the cast are veering off in one direction as Barney and Robin head in an entirely different, hilarious, and captivating one. Barney knows who his dad is!!! And Robin is the only one who knows! They are SO getting married. But even that awesomeness or all the touching can't distract me from the lump of un-funny terribleness that is Jennifer Morrison.

- I just heard that Running Wilde is being taken off the air for the rest of November, which means it's almost certainly headed for cancellation. I can't say I'm surprised (It's gotten a kind of weak (Fa'ad is my favorite part) and the idea of a child narrator hasn't held up very well), but I am disappointed. I thought Mitchell Hurwitz would head into this new show with guns ablaze, but it feels like he's holding back. Of course, he probably shouldn't have gone back to Fox in the first place, seeing as they obviously don't know how to market his stuff.