Talking about comic books, TV shows, movies, sports, and the numerous other pastimes that make us Gentlemen of Leisure.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Last Week in TV #3

Still getting caught up, but lots to cover. 

How I Met Your Mother: The Stinson Missile Crisis


We return to the Robin/Barney/Nora triangle, but while I was mildly amused by the metatextual commentary on the show's format afforded by having the story unfold via Robin's discussion with Kal Penn's psychiatrist, I preferred the B story that found Ted struggling to fit himself onto "Team Baby" with Lily and Marshall. Oddly enough, given that damn near every sitcom to ever feature a pregnant character has done this kind of scene, my favorite part of the episode was Ted and Marshall in the birthing class together. And of course, the recurring gag of poor, sad Ted insisting famous duos were actually trios was classic stuff (my favorites were, not surprisingly, "Batman, Robin and Alfred", as well as "Romeo, Juliet and the Apothecary").

Other Thoughts
I believe Kal Penn is slated for at least one more appearance, so apparently Robin will be going back to the psychiatrist.

The birth class might have been my favorite scene, but I always enjoy getting a peak at Barney's various schemes. Posing as a fake doctor and a fake lawyer to sue the fake doctor was pretty ingenious. 

Marshall: It’s fascinating how little I know about vaginas

Barney: For some women, it was the ashes of my parents; for others, the trophy from Wimbleon; and for one amazing dullard, it was both.


2 Broke Girls: And Strokes of Goodwill
A much improved episode which succeeds by strengthening Max and Caroline's friendship instead of breaking it down and rebuilding it again. It was also a much more focused episode, with minimal involvement from the one note characters at the diner, no sign of Max's ex boyfriend, and no trips to Max's second job. A definite step in the right direction. And for as much as the logical part of my brain still won't shut up about the horse, I can't deny there's something hilarious about Max walking him like a dog, as well as Max's Chestnut voice.


Terra Nova: Genesis (Series Premiere)


Going into this, there had been a lot of talk about the family elements of the show vs. the sci-fi, plot-based elements. Some critics were saying "thankfully they make you care about the family, because that's the key to success for a show like this" while other critics said, "thankfully there's dinosaur fighting in this, because that family is pretty boring."

My initial reaction is to side with the second critic, but I'll freely admit that could be because, to me, dinosaurs > family drama, and always will be. That said, the family isn't terrible; I've liked Jason O'Mara since Life on Mars, and while the rest of his family is, at the moment, just basic archetypes (nurturing mother, rebellious son, brainy daughter, insufferable moppet) there's outright annoying about them. Mainly because the rebellious son, the one element of the show I was most dreading, wasn't as bad as I feared (rebelling by sneaking off to drink moonshine with a hot girl is a far cry better than rebelling by stupidly swearing loyalty to murderous aliens; plus, at least this dumb ass kid got a haircut). The family stuff wasn't great, but it could have been a lot, lot worse.

As for the plot, well, there are people out there who inexplicably watched Lost just for the characters, but that was never me (Lost didn't truly hooked me until Locke was pounding on the hatch and a light turned on). The characters on Lost made the show more enjoyable (and I did love some of those characters), but I never would have stuck with it just to watch those characters hang out on an island. So Terra Nova will sink or swim depending on how well it balances its characters (which are so far pretty basic) with its mythology (which so far is intriguing enough). As soon as the bad guy from Avatar mentioned that his son was missing it became blindingly obvious that he was out in the jungle somewhere, but it was legitimately surprising to have him connected to the rock markings so quickly. The Sixers have an Others-esque quality to them, and hopefully we'll get a better sense of what they want and why they're doing what they're doing than we got with the Others (hell, we already know more about the Sixers than we ever did the Others).

I'm not saying this show is or even could be Lost done right, but at least in the pilot, the characters are enjoyable enough and the hints of mythology intriguing enough to suggest it could be lots of fun. Plus, you know, the dinosaurs.

Other Thoughts
The pilot did a pretty job of addressing my (and most of the internet's) main concerns about the show, mainly the time travel stuff. They neatly sidestepped the butterfly effect issues by having Exposition Daughter explain Terra Nova was on the Earth of an alternate timeline from the one in the future, and it seems like the time travel only works one way (though it sounded like the bad guy from Avatar was in communication with the future?) which should do the show a service by effectively keeping all the action centered on the past.

Though I am still curious if they should be able to breath back in the past; wasn't the makeup of the air vastly different back then (too much nitrogen or something), such that humans wouldn't have been able to breath it? 

The first thirty minutes of the pilot (basically all the stuff in the future) was more or less pointless, wasn't it? I mean, the important stuff we already knew, and could have been covered in less time. It's still unclear what point, if any, there was in having Jason O'Mara go to jail and sneak onto Terra Nova, especially since he ended up in the one place he was most likely to end up (working security for the bad guy from Avatar) by the end of the episode anyway. 

So were those dinosaurs that were attacking the kids at the end made up? I don't seem to recall ever reading about dinosaurs like them, but then, I haven't been keeping up with the latest dinosaur discoveries.


Glee: I Am Unicorn


Another solid episode that gives me hope Glee might be a little less scattershot in its third season than it was in its second. It's nice to see the school play being treated with a touch more realism than it was when they did Rocky Horror last year (God, remember how awful that was?). Anything that works Coach Bieste into the mix more is a good thing, and Artie as the student director because sure why not? It beats stories involving him using high tech robotic legs to walk.

Kurt's plot was strong, as Kurt plots tend to be. His dad's advice, that if there aren't enough parts out there that showcase Kurt's talents then he should create those parts, has an interesting metatextual connotation to it, considering the role of Kurt was created for Chris Colfer after he auditioned. And I really hope that Blaine being the obvious choice for Tony doesn't lead to hamfisted drama between him and Kurt; for one, it's painfully obvious that's where we're headed, and for two, Blaine's pretty much doing everything he can to keep Kurt happy (by not auditioning for the role), so it's not really his fault the directors like him better for the part.

This whole "Shelby Corcoran is starting a rival glee club" seems odd, and runs the risk of spinning the show back into crazy Glee land (assuming it's not completely forgotten next episode), but we'll see where its going before passing total judgment. For now, it was clearly just an excuse to create baby drama with Quinn and Puck, and that's fine.

As for that drama, having Puck work to become a better person so he can spend more time with his daughter is a decent enough plotline for a character who is tons of fun but rarely gets much to do. I was pleased to see that the end of Quinn's nihilistic pink hair phase was just a ruse and that will take more than a stern lecture and a baby picture to snap her out of it, but someone should probably explain to her it's damn difficult to reclaim custody of a child you've already given up for adoption, no matter how much of a model student you appear.

Other Thoughts
I'm not the biggest Mr. Shue fan, but that smackdown he gave Quinn was pretty damn awesome.

I like the idea of a dancing boot camp, and the scene with Finn was a nice moment, but the intros to those scenes, with Mike and Mr. Shue doing oddly dramatic slow motion dance moves were, well, odd.

Speaking of Finn, after so much drama last season, I appreciate how low key his relationship with Rachel has been so far. I'm still expecting the break-up/pine for/get back together cycle to start up soon, but for now, it's nice that their relationship isn't the focus of the show. The scene between them at Burt's shop was very nice; low key, but with hints at future tension (Finn seems content to live a "normal" life in Ohio while Rachel is still dreaming big and thinks he should be too).

Speaking of Burt, how awesome is Mike O'Malley?

I was kind of surprised to hear that Blaine is a junior; maybe it's just because he started out as Kurt's pseudo-mentor last season, but it seems odd to think that he's younger than Kurt (and that he was Chief Warbler last year as a sophomore?).

I can buy that Sue could build a congressional campaign and run successfully around the idea of cutting arts funding; her new idea that the arts themselves ruin lives and needs to be stamped out is much too close to crazy ass/super-villain Sue from last season, and I doubt any actual real people would buy into that specific idea (even if they did support cutting arts funding). Then again, most people are dumb, so who knows? 

Questions I Shouldn't Be Asking Because This is Glee: How does Shelby expect to fill a second glee club when the first can't even find enough members? Is Crazy Girl's father going to pay a bunch of kids to be in the second glee club just like he paid off Figgins?

Favorite Song: In a nearly all West Side Story episode (a show for which I have a fair amount  of affection), my favorite song was probably the Shelby/Rachel "Somewhere" duet, mainly because I like that song a bit more than "Something's Coming", even though Blaine really did kill it.

Sue: First of all, smoking kills. Second of all, it really does make you look cooler, doesn't it?

Puck: Turns out Napoleon? Not just a dessert. He was a real dude.

Burt: Dude, you're gay. You're gay. And you're not like Rock Hudson gay, you're really gay. You sing like Dianna Ross and you dress like you own a magic chocolate factory.


Community: Geography of Global Conflict


Annie is one my favorite characters on the show (and not just because Alison Brie is ridiculously attractive). I've always had a soft spot for characters who are, generally, the sweetest/sanest characters in an ensemble but given the right circumstances, can snap and become the craziest ("Lisa's Rival", which features some of the same beats as this story, is one of my all time favorite episodes of Simpsons, and not just for the crazy subplot in which Homer goes insane hoarding sugar). So I greatly enjoyed this episode featuring Annie facing off with her evil Asian twin in a "Model UN Off" that ended with the Model UN of Earth 1 invading the Model UN of Earth 2 and suing for peace. It lacked the strong character work of something like "Mixology 101" or the sheer hilarity of the high concept episodes, but was still tons of fun.

Other Thoughts
The Britta/Chang B plot had its moments (especially Britta eating the note and, you know, Lionel Richie) but I was kinda surprised Britta got lured away from Model UN, which seems like the kind of thing she'd be all about. 

I would like to see more of Professor Cligoris.

The Jeff/Annie pseudo-relationship is kinda creepy, but I also find it somewhat endearing. Maybe it's because I like Annie so much. Or because I'm kind of creepy.

Two of my favorite moments from this episode were Abed's quiet determination throughout the Model UN Off to explore the concept of parallel Earths, culminating in his formulation of the "invade Earth 2 plan" and Troy speaking with a Southern accent despite knowing full well he's representing Georgia the country, not the state.

Jeff: Uruguay kindly requests that Somalia stops pronouncing it Ur-a-gay.


Parks and Recreation: Ron and Tammys


This episode has been billed as an instant classic, and without a doubt, this is the show at its finest, with a hilarious A story centered one of TV's best characters and two delightful B stories (the first Entertainment 720-centric one, being the better of the two). Introducing Tammy One (and Ron's mom, Tammy Zero) could have come off as little more than fan service, but thankfully, their appearance is more than that, completing the picture started by the crazy, inhibition-free Tammy Two of how Ron came to be who he is, from his rugged individualism to his Libertarian principles to his extreme levels of self control. That character work this strong manages to be effing hilarious at the same time remains the greatest skill of Parks and Rec.

Other Thoughts
Always fun to see Leslie drunk.

April had a couple of great moments in this one: her appreciation of the domineering Tammy One, and the lack of hesitation when tapping in to the drinking contest to help save Ron.

Rob Lowe really needs a haircut.

Loved that Ron's tax audit file included a picture of him making a gentlemen's agreement with someone.

My favorite of Entertainment 720's extravagances was having Roy Hibbert on staff to help Jean-Ralphio dunk for "only" 75% of his NBA salary, and the giveaway iPads.

Leslie: Basically, we're being attacked by Godzilla, and to beat Godzilla, we need Mothra. No offense.
Tammy Two: None taken. Very flattered.

Tammy Two: When Ron left her and we got together...she threw acid on my foot.
Andy: Could we take a peak at it?

Leslie: Why do you have so many guns?
Tammy Zero: This is America, isn't it?
Leslie: Yes...
Tammy Zero: Then I don't have to answer stupid questions while standing on my own property.


Person of Interest: Ghosts


It's been mentioned in several places (including in my first write up of Persons of Interest) that this show is a lot like a superhero show without the costumes, and viewed through that lens, I find myself enjoying more than I probably should. There are moments in this episode that are downright Batman-esque (Reese's initial fight with the hitman in the laundromat was the kind of fight Batman stories thrive on: the foe was credible enough to give Reese a run for his money, but not good enough to actually win, and Reese's intimidation of the crooked cop was the kind of thing I could see Batman doing in a dark alley) with Finch operating as an Alfred/Commissioner Gordon amalgam.

Viewing this show through the superhero lens also helps put aside some of the more dubious moral questions the premise of the show raises (questions, at least so far, the show seems disinclined to fully explore). The kinds of things superheroes do are the kinds of things to which, in the real world, I would probably object (illegal surveillance, obstruction of justice, sidestepping due process, etc.). But in the four color world of comic books, these kinds of concerns are secondary as long as the stories are compelling and the action fun. Carrying that sensibility over to this show, which exists in a fictional world much more grounded in reality than the worlds of Batman and Spider-Man, helps make the idea of "the machine" easier to accept.

Other Thoughts
Also, pretending Reese is Batman sans costume also helps liven up the by-the-numbers plot; the best stuff in this episode (mainly the background stuff on Finch) all happened on the margins.

Speaking of that background stuff, I was glad to see the show working some mythology in around the case of the week; Finch continues to be an intriguing character (I really liked the idea of him moonlighting as a low level employee at the company he owns) and the scene where Ben Linus was meeting with Goodwin about a machine that spits out numbers elicited a chuckle.

The bust of Goodwin in the lobby of Finch's building listed his death as 2010, suggesting he and Finch's partnership came to an end much sooner than I assumed (and also explains Finch's lack of trust in Reese, the end of his last partnership still being relatively raw).

By the end of the pilot, Reese and Finch seemed a lot more chummy than they are in this episode, so I was surprised to see Finch go out of his way to avoid Reese, but I like the uneasy partnership dynamic much better, and there's something thematically interesting about the guy who built a machine that tracks everyone not wanting to be found.

The opening scene was also very Batman-esque, showing us the resolution of another case before launching into the episode's story; I'd like to see more of that kind of thing, showing us that Reese and Finch are doing this kind of stuff all the time, just not when we're watching.

While I don't doubt the technology exists that would allow the hitman in this episode to tap and trace phone calls, I do question whether that technology would be quite so user/viewer friendly (did someone really create an app so all you have to do is click "trace" to trace a call?).


Saturday Night Live: Melissa McCarthy and Lady Antebellum. 
I'll give Melissa McCarthy credit: she was game for anything, and sold the hell out of everything she was asked to do. Clearly, she has the presence and comedic chops to be a good sketch comedian. Unfortunately, most of the sketches in this episode were pretty uninspired, with McCarthy more often than not ending up being the best thing in them based on sheer verve.

"The Lawrence Welk Show" sketch is probably my least favorite recurring SNL sketch. Maybe it's just because I've never watched the real Lawrence Welk show or something, but I've never found it terribly funny, and I always groan when an episode opens with it.

The Digital Short, especially coming on the heels of Lonely Islands triumphant montage at the Emmys, was disappointing and largely irrelevant (I mean, I laughed at the massacre of the Blue Man Group, but the Blue Man group? Really?).

"Gaddfi's friends who talk behind his back" is another recurring gag for which I have little patience, but I love anything that skewers Tyler Perry, so I appreciated that. And I loved the line about the new Kindle Fire:
"It’s expected to sell well among parents who always buy the wrong thing."

Favorite Sketch: Probably the last one, with Andy Samberg trying to pickup Melissa McCarthy while fielding complaints about his lovemaking, though "The Comments Section" had some good moments. But really, the best sketch was one that was cut for time but showed up on NBC's website:



Episodes Featuring a Game Show: 1/2
Episodes with a Monologue Featuring a Song: 1/2

Tyler Perry (on The Help): It teaches black women the lesson that if you work hard enough and hum loud enough, Emma Stone will come and save you!

12 comments:

  1. It teaches black women the lesson that if you work hard enough and hum loud enough, Emma Stone will come and save you!

    Ha!

    I love the Simpsons episode where Homer is hoarding the sugar:
    In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women...

    I am on the fence about Terra Nova... I thought the first episode was just okay. It wasn't good enough that I didn't flip channels during commercials and then forget I was watching it for a few minutes. I'll see how your review of that and Person of Interest is next week to see if I'm on board. Thanks for doing the work, Teebore :D

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  2. oh man, we LOVE the Lawrence Welk reoccuring sketch! Every time i see Kristen Wig's baby hands i LMAO - then throw in Melissa McCarthy with hulk arms, smashing a pumpkin, and it's comedy gold.

    I can't wait for you to watch the next episode of Glee. Partly because it will answer some of your questions, but mostly because it's hands down the best Glee episode probably since season 1.

    We were pleased that Terra Nova answered a lot of the nerdy points we made as the show went on, ie, the sun being too bright for them, their bodies not being used to the food or air, the moon being bigger, etc. So that pretty much got us happily to the end. I definitely think, however, that it seems to be following the "6 mini pilot episodes" arc you mentioned last week.
    I'm still enjoying Persons of Interest (which i hereby dub POI for all future reference) and i'm definitely going to watch it through a comic book filter now and see how that changes it for me.

    Finally, i firmly expect you to spend this weekend catching up on everything. DO IT!

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  3. first- Joan- i tried three times to post a comment on your most recent blog post, but google keeps eating it (that damn bastard!). So i just wanted to let you know that i still obsessively watch your blogs for updates and your post was great.

    Ok, now back to the Blog at hand.
    The best thing we loved about Terra Nova (pilot) was that we kept thinking of scientific factoids they would need to cover, and then a few minutes later it would be dealt with. Like just before they were getting ready to travel back in time we were like 'they'll have trouble breathing and probably be blinded by the sun' and then BAM- addressed by the show. We also mentioned the moon being closer and a couple other things. so that sufficiently impressed us.
    Clearly i need to know more dinosaurs- i had the same dilemma as you- were those slasher dinosaurs a real dinosaur? i mean- i'm sure there are PLENTY of dinos that we don't know about, but still...
    We also struggled with- if they can't travel forward through time, then how is the past communicating with the future?
    But overall, dinosaurs = awesome, so i'm probably going to enjoy this show.

    Glee
    I like Brittany, so i really appreciated the Brittany/Kurt stuff. And Burt is always great. I remember being dissatisified with this episode- i think because every song was from a Musical. I'm ok with Broadway music, but please don't inundate an ENTIRE episode with it. Also- people standing around and singing- snooze.
    I also really liked Quinn getting a verbal tongue lashing.
    I have a lot more to say about the next episode (and how it was AMAZING), so that really helped me feel better about Glee overall. Because after this episode i was crabby.
    I am hoping that Finn and Rachel kind of stay more background. The show should start trying to ease us away from their characters since they won't be around after this.
    Also- i want to see Samuel and Dominic from the Glee Project! Show up already!

    Still really enjoying Person of Interest- and your Batman parallell is awesome

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  4. not suprisingly- sarah and i posting at the same time touches on a lot of the same points

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  5. I actually preferred the future stuff in the premiere of Terra Nova and then got all grumpy about the other stuff, which I found to be blah in the first episode.

    I do like the show more after the 2nd, now that I know what to expect. I'm not crazy about it or any of the characters, but it's entertaining enough to warrant watching while cooking and cleaning attention.

    Hmmm, JC as Batman. I must change my way of thinking for the next episode and see if it makes me like it even more, cause man, I'm loving that show.

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  6. I love the Simpsons episode where Homer is hoarding the sugar

    "I've learned my lesson. A mountain of sugar is too much for one man. It's clear now why God portions it out in those tiny packets, and why he lives on a plantation in Hawaii."

    Thanks for doing the work

    That's what I'm here for!

    @Sarah: oh man, we LOVE the Lawrence Welk reoccuring sketch! Every time i see Kristen Wig's baby hands i LMAO - then throw in Melissa McCarthy with hulk arms, smashing a pumpkin, and it's comedy gold.

    I did like the Hulk arms, but that sketch just doesn't do much for me. Maybe it's because Kristen Wiig is the punchline, and I'm not a huge Wiig fan...

    Sometimes I think the way I feel about the Lawrence Welk sketch must be the way some people feel about "What's Up With That?", another recurring sketch that does the same jokes every time, yet one which I inexplicably love and laugh at every time.

    i firmly expect you to spend this weekend catching up on everything. DO IT!

    Well, I'll be working at Fallcon all day Saturday, but I'm just on call Sunday, and so far, as long as the phone stays quiet, we should be able to power through a bunch of stuff.

    @Anne: i'm sure there are PLENTY of dinos that we don't know about, but still...

    Yeah, I've heard we've only discovered like, 10% of the fossil record, so there are tons of dinosaurs out there we don't know about. I just wasn't clear if the show was using that as an excuse to make up the tail-slashing dinos, or if I'm just out of touch.

    We also struggled with- if they can't travel forward through time, then how is the past communicating with the future?

    Yeah, that wasn't entirely clear to me either. Maybe the past can receive messages from the future (the messages are traveling back in time) but they can't communicate back to the future?

    have a lot more to say about the next episode (and how it was AMAZING)

    Okay, between you and Sarah, now I probably have unreachable expectations for the episode...

    The show should start trying to ease us away from their characters since they won't be around after this.

    I wouldn't mind seeing more of Finn, especially as the reality of his post-high school life comes closer, I've just had enough of every story featuring him involving his relationship with Rachel.

    @Hannah: I actually preferred the future stuff in the premiere of Terra Nova and then got all grumpy about the other stuff

    But...the other stuff had dinosaurs in it. And they were fighting people. Did you miss the dinosaurs? I bet you missed the dinosaurs...

    cause man, I'm loving that show.

    I'm not loving it yet. So far the best stuff is happening on the edges of the stuff. I'm fine with it being primarily "case of the week", but I would like for those cases to be a little more interesting...

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  7. @Anne - :D Aw, you! I hope Blogger knocks it off... I'm getting sick of its crap.

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  8. Was it just me, or did Future Ted basically not narrate this HIMYM at all? I think he randomly had like one line somewhere in the middle, and that was it? Has that ever happened before?

    "Rob Lowe really needs a haircut."

    Thank you for mentioning that. The hair he has now does not fit his character, and I can't figure out how the producers don't realize this.

    Also, I thought the "taste testing" sketch was far and away the funniest thing about last week's SNL. I couldn't stop laughing.

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  9. @Matt: Was it just me, or did Future Ted basically not narrate this HIMYM at all?

    I don't recall him narrating it all (though I could be forgetting a line or something) but I'm also fairly certain there have been been previous episodes without any FutureTed narration.

    I could be wrong though...

    The hair he has now does not fit his character, and I can't figure out how the producers don't realize this.

    Exactly! He's exactly the last character who should have a scruffy, unkempt head of hair as a style.

    Also, I thought the "taste testing" sketch was far and away the funniest thing about last week's SNL.

    I did enjoy that one. Definitely one of those sketches that was saved by McCarthy's gusto. I was a little grossed out by the ending though, which is odd, because I love ranch dressing...

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  10. Marshall: "What's that little guy up there?"
    Dr. Sonja: "Oh you poor girl."

    He must be amazing at the flat-out sex for Lily to be as hot for him as she is and him never to have met that little guy up there.

    I remember when I thought that Friends was racy — and it was, especially for its time. But HIMYM blows it away, at just 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central?). Some of the dialogue in 2 Broke Girls, in turn, makes HIMYM look like The Brady Bunch.

    Teebore: I've liked Jason O'Mara since Life on Mars,

    He's one of the reasons that I've wanted to check out Terra Nova from early on, not that the premise wouldn't have intrigued me anyway. Still haven't seen it yet, but maybe I'll finally squeeze in the pilot tonight...

    Teebore: How does Shelby expect to fill a second glee club when the first can't even find enough members?

    I'm not even going to flesh out the few words that I typed as a memory jog when I first read this, because a brief glimpse at the latest "LWITV" post showed that the whole choir/musicians/school-play topic is raised there.

    What strikes me about this season so far, is that in many ways it's like a direct follow-up to Season One. Emma and Will are a couple; so are Finn and Rachel; Puck and Quinn are looking to be in their daughter's life. Season Two wasn't washed from existence, obviously, as the trip to NYC for nationals happened — and Blaine is there — but I wonder if the show isn't trying to step back a little from the wildly uneven aspects, of which the romantic relationships were poster children.

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  11. Teebore: I've always had a soft spot for characters who are, generally, the sweetest/sanest characters in an ensemble but given the right circumstances, can snap and become the craziest

    I left myself a note in the TextEdit (NotePad) file where I generally write up comments before I enter them that reads "not just / lisa / not just" under "Community". And I've totally lost the reference. Since I've never seen that Simpsons episode, I really can't imagine what I was going to say (beyond following your remark about Alison Brie being ridiculously attractive with a "yuh-huh"). The only thing that comes to mind now is verification of what I've quoted above, with prime examples including our mutual crushes Willow and Fred.

    Teebore: I would like to see more of Professor Cligoris.

    ... whose name is pronounced either way, and Marshall doesn't get the reference. (One of the few Seinfelds that I saw was the one with Mulva/Dolores, whose punch line I didn't even find that funny because I'd never heard the word accented to rhyme with "Dolores".)

    See? You can blog Parks and Rec! 8^)

    Teebore: Rob Lowe really needs a haircut.

    No kidding! He absolutely, distractingly needs a haircut yesterday (well, make that before this season began filming). I could not for the life of me figure out what plot point his mussed-up 'do was supposed to be servicing, but I figured there had to be one because it was so unflattering and so out of character.

    Teebore: Melissa McCarthy ... was game for anything, and sold the hell out of everything she was asked to do.

    I've been fond of her since Gilmore Girls — although not fond enough to watch Mike and Molly — and I was totally unprepared for not just her level of gameness but her level of game on SNL. Dipping into the well of humor involving her size, like the ranch-dressing sketch, so often was a bit of a shame, but since she's usually so charming I guess that going down the whole girth 'n' gluttony road is as much casting against type as it is stereotyping.

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  12. @Blam: He must be amazing at the flat-out sex for Lily to be as hot for him as she is and him never to have met that little guy up there.

    Indeed. Imagine what he could do now, with a little education. ;)

    Some of the dialogue in 2 Broke Girls, in turn, makes HIMYM look like The Brady Bunch.

    I definitely get a "look us, we can be risque AND on CBS!" vibe from 2 Broke Girls occasionally. I'm still not sure how much of it is truly just an attempt at gaining attention and how much it's truly part of the show's voice.

    What strikes me about this season so far, is that in many ways it's like a direct follow-up to Season One. ... I wonder if the show isn't trying to step back a little from the wildly uneven aspects, of which the romantic relationships were poster children.

    That's an excellent point; it really does seem like the show is picking up threads now leftover from season one. And thus far, it seems to be working.

    The only thing that comes to mind now is verification of what I've quoted above, with prime examples including our mutual crushes Willow and Fred.

    Those two definitely fit the bill as well.

    ... whose name is pronounced either way, and Marshall doesn't get the reference.

    Haha! Nicely don.

    See? You can blog Parks and Rec! 8^)

    I do it for you, Blam, I do it for you. (well, and also to give me an excuse to go back over the episodes and laugh at stuff all over again). :)

    I could not for the life of me figure out what plot point his mussed-up 'do was supposed to be servicing, but I figured there had to be one because it was so unflattering and so out of character.

    I meant to put this in the most recent post, but I recently read (on Alan Sepinwall's blog, I believe) that his hair is such a mess because of a Lifetime movie Rob Lowe did over the break; apparently, it's in a transition stage from where it needed to be for that movie and the usual Chris Traeger 'do.

    So it sounds like it's not intended to be a new look for the character, and should be back to normal soon, thankfully.

    Dipping into the well of humor involving her size, like the ranch-dressing sketch, so often was a bit of a shame, but since she's usually so charming I guess that going down the whole girth 'n' gluttony road is as much casting against type as it is stereotyping.

    Yeah, I worried about that too, and was slightly disappointed with how almost all of her characters generated laughs by playing off her size in some way, but at the same time, she seemed to be having such a good time with everything that it was infectious, and I figured if it wasn't going to bother her I wouldn't let it bother me.

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