Ahhh, too much TV. Eyes are burning. Brain shutting down. But here I am, with a lot of funny TV shows to talk about. Because, hey, it's been a great season for scripted comedy on television. For the first time in a long time, NBC Thursday nights are home to four hilarious series that are each capable of delivering an A-level episode on any given night. Parks and Recreation and Community have both evolved into great shows, and The Office and 30 Rock are, to me, still right up there among the funniest shows on TV. Meanwhile, Modern Family and Glee have brought something new to the table, and both have blown up to become huge, breakout hits. So let's take a look at the season finales of (most of) these shows, shall we?
- I never would have predicted this after being turned off by the show's only-okay first batch of episodes, but COMMUNITY is not just one of the best comedies on TV at this point, but one of the best shows on TV, period. The series has found its groove, and has somehow surpassed the comedy competition to become *the* must-watch half-hour on Thursday nights. Pretty amazing, but the fact is that week in and week out, Community has been brilliant for a while now. Last night's season finale was one final ray of light - a drop-dead hilarious episode that was also totally gratifying in the way it subverted all fan expectations.
I mean, it's amazing to me to go online and see people actually upset at the episode's killer suprise ending. (SPOILERS!) Basically, after a ton of buildup around a potential Jeff and Britta relationship, and the added return of Jeff's old flame Slater, Jeff was faced with the classic dilemma of which woman to choose. The standoff played out in overramatic sitcom fashion at the end-of-semester dance, with Britta, pushed to her breaking point by being in competition with Slater, declared her love for Jeff for all to hear.
Now here's the thing - Community is an over-the-top, self-referential show littered with meta-references to pop-culture. It's NOT a traditional sitcom that's going to advance its storylines in a traditional sitcom manner. In fact, this whole finale was instead about subverting the expectations you'd have after having watched too many bad sitcoms. It played out in the Abed / Troy storyline, in which the two hold off on becoming roommates. And it played out huge in the Jeff love-triangle storyline, leading to a surprising yet undeniably awesome ending, in which Jeff hestitates on choosing either Britta or Slater, walks out of the dance confused, and then runs into Annie, who's decided to stay at Greendale and not go to Delaware with her hippie boyfriend. Annie and Jeff share a moment, and then proceed to hot n' heavily make out! Craziness! I've seen it analyzed to death already - *why* would Jeff choose Annie over Britta? But to me, who cares? The point was more about saying "every other show would choose the obvious route, but we're not every other show - let's do something totally different." That said, the seeds of a Jeff-Annie romance have been planted for a while now, whereas Jeff and Britta have always had a more "frenemies" sort of relationship. Remember: Community didn't hit its stride until it DROPPED the forced-seeming Jeff and Britta "will they or won't they" thing and acknowledged that it wasn't really working. If only more shows would do that, you know? As in, not every show needs to be about Guy A and Girl B fated for a star-crossed romance.
In any case, I loved the unpredictability of the ending, and I loved this episode as a whole. From the cameos by all the various minor characters who've appeared throughout the series (whoo! Starburns is Team Conan!), to the great dynamic that's formed between the group. The dialogue overall was so sharp, too. I was dying at Pierce's failed attempt at a dirty bananna joke in the cold open, and was cracking up at Troy's giant-cookie philosophizing.
All in all, Community is probably the funniest show on TV right now. I pity the fool who isn't watching.
My Grade: A
- PARKS AND RECREATION is another unbelievable success story. The show had a very rough first season, but came back retooled and revived in Season 2. The show may have gotten off to a shaky start, but now, it's hilarious, and on any given Thursday could very well be the funniest show of the night. Still, after a couple of uneven weeks, the show got back on track last week with the introduction of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott to the cast. This week, with the season finale, the show delivered some really nice payoff to some of the ongoing storylines from the season (the very sweet April and Andy romance), and also had some great moments for all of the members of the show's stellar ensemble cast. And hey, Natalie Morales from The Middleman showed up again as Aziz Ansari's new girlfriend. Sweet!
I've said it before, but Parks really took off when it became more of an ensemble show. The more we've seen of Ron Swanson, April, Ann, Andy, Tom, and yes, even Jerry, the better the show has gotten. Leslie is still front and center, but the episodes that focus on her tend to grate a bit, as opposed to those that go back and forth more freely between characters. Plus, Rob Lowe has already been hilarious in just two episodes. His fitness-freak character has been a lot of fun - the scene last night where he was giving Ron a massage - and then expected Ron to give him one in return - was flat-out hilarious.
In any case, a very well-done season finale for Parks. It's too bad we have to wait until midseason next year for it to return, but hey, it's now a show that's very much worth waiting for.
My Grade: A-
- I think a lot of people have been quick to jump on THE OFFICE and declare it to no longer be as funny as it once was. Honestly, I think the show had had a pretty strong season overall. I think the characters are still great, the sharpness is still there in the writing, and the show still delivers some of the biggest laughs on television. If anything, the season has been missing the great overarching storylines of last year. It was telling in the season finale, for example, that when Michael summed up the rough period he'd been going through, the clincher was still Holly having left Scranton - something that happened two seasons ago. I think The Office has had some really amusing storylines, but some of the bigger plotlines they've tried this year - Sabre taking over Dunder Mifflin, for example - haven't been carried out in a particularly memorable or comical manner. Kathy Bates' character - the Southern-belle-business-tycoon owner of Sabre - has just seemed out of place on the show. So much of The Office is about presenting recognizable workplace "types," and Kathy Bates' character felt like she'd be more at home in an animated Disney movie or something. Similarly, this latest whistleblower storyline was never pulled off with as much comedy or emotional investment as it could have been. Honestly, I even found it sort of confusing. It seemed like they were going for a thing where *everyone* had actually blown the whistle, but ultimately, the investigation still singled out Andy as the prime suspect. I don't know, it just seemed a bit messy, and you were never made to really feel all that worried for Andy or Pam or anyone else who's job was potentially on the line. You never really believed that there'd be any big shakeups at this stage in the game, and that hurt the episode to a degree.
Still, there were so many great little moments in this one that it was, in the end, a really enjoyable ep. Lots of really funny stuff. I love Dwight's meeting with Kathy Bates. "You turn that money into more money?" "You're talking about alchemy ...". I also loved the cutaway to Ryan and his new social networking site -- "Woofing" = hilarious. And Toby's mystery novel. And Packer's prank call to Michael. And, as per usual, everything with Creed. And by the way, nice shout-out to the UK Office, with Dwight's new property being located on "Slough St.".
Ultimately, I'm not too worried about The Office. It's a show that has some of the best and funniest writing out there, and the fact that the jokes are clicking even if the plotlines are a little stale - well, that's a sign that things can easily improve. As for this finale -- not the best-ever episode of The Office, but it still entertained, and this is still, says I, one of the best comedies around.
My Grade: B
- 30 ROCK is another show that a lot of people have ragged on lately, but it seems like every time the show gets into something of a mini-slump, it fires back with a brilliant episode that temporarily silences the haters. This season has surely seens its share of ups and downs, but, personally, I think 30 Rock has been on someting of a roll ever since it introduced the torn-from-the-headlines Kabletown storyline. When 30 Rock is a rollicking, wacky parody of television, well, that's usually when it's on top of its game. However, the season finale was, unfortunately, not 30 Rock at the top of its game. This is a show that is at its best when it uses traditional sitcom tropes with as much ironic detachment as possible. When 30 Rock is written as just an ordinary sitcom though, that's when it really starts to get off track.
Because really, who wants to watch 30 Rock-as-romantic-comedy? Not me! 30 Rock to me is a live-action version of The Simpsons - almost cartoon-like in the rapidity of its jokes and its willingness to be more wacky, absurdist, and random than any other show of its kind. So why was last night's 30 Rock seemingly so intent on playing it straight? The show always walks a line between mocking generic sitcom conventions and embracing them, and this one was a bit too close to the embracing side. I kept waiting for the crazy, 30 Rock twist on the love triangle between Jack and his two potential ladyfriends, but it never really came. Ironically, Community totally one-upped 30 Rock earlier in the night by doing the kind of random, subversive stuff that 30 Rock, at its best, was known for. And yet, somehow, this episode wanted us to take Jack and Liz's romantic trials and tribulations at almost-face-value. Um, what? Again, since when is 30 Rock a mushy romantic comedy? Sure, the show will always have romance as one element in its comedic stew, but this one was weighted way too heavily in that direction. Where was Tracy? Where were the TGS writers? I don't know, it just rubs me the wrong way that the season finale of 30 Rock played out like a season finale of Friends.
Of course, there were some really funny moments, as per usual. I've been loving Wesley's made-up-yet-real-sounding British-isms. Elizabeth Banks' old commerical with Maryland accent intact? Hilarious. Guest star Matt Damon was entertaining as a pilot who may or may not be Tina Fey's soulmate. Kenneth's drunken (?), oddly nice speech that closed out the episode was pretty classic.
But above all, I just want 30 Rock to be really, really funny. It's not a show where I want character development or soap-opera relationships. I just want wacky, random, satirical situations. That said, to the people who have uniformly dismissed this season as being bad - I say those people are way off base. 30 Rock has had some amazing, hilarious episodes this season. At the same time, I do worry that 30 Rock, perhaps in an attempt to appeal to a broader audience, is getting away from its comedic roots and becoming increasingly ordinary. This finale, while very funny at times, was symbolic of that shift.
My Grade: B
- The season finale of MODERN FAMILY was a really funny, well-done episode, and a nice capper to what's been a pretty great first season for the show. Modern Family is consistently one of the best "comfort food" shows on television. It's upbeat, elicits a couple of decent chuckles, and leaves you feeling good. I wonder though - what happened to the slightly edgier version of Modern Family that we all fell in love with after watching that superb pilot back in the fall? The show is still sharply-written and expertly-acted, but I never expected back then that this was a show where *every* episode would end with a life lesson and a group hug. But that's the kind of show this is now - less The Simpsons and more Full House. And if that's what it is, okay - it's cool. It just seems like the show has become slightly watered down from its original vision.
The cast of MF is so likable though, that it's fun to just watch them interact in different combinations. Like this week's pairing of Gloria and Phil, who take Manny and Alex to a Lakers game. Phil's crush on Gloria has probably been one of the show's funniest running gags, so having Gloria lay a smooch on Phil when they landed on the Kiss-Cam was a great payoff. Meanwhile, Mitchell's battle with a bird that invaded his house made for some good physical comedy, and Jay's made-up stories about the 60's - told to Luke for a school project - were pretty amusing as well.
And that's sort of been the M.O. of Modern Family of late. Light, breezy, nothing too offensive or complicated. But hey, as long as Phil is there to dispense hilarious confessionals and one-liners, I'm in.
My Grade: B+
QUICK HITS:
- Great episode of THE SIMPSONS this past Sunday. Sideshow Bob episodes are almost always a treat, and this one was no exception. The episode had some of the sharpest gags and best writing of any Simpsons ep in a long while, and the story was overall pretty clever, if not sort of gross at times (the Face-Off style face-swapping was pretty gory, even in cartoon form). But hey, this was some vintage Simpsons goodness.
My Grade: A-
- FAMILY GUY had an episode with a really funny premise - "where do dirty jokes come from?" - but the payoff to Peter and his friends' quest to find the hidden source of truly tasteless dirty jokes never had much of a payoff. As far as latter-day FG eps go, this one wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly memorable either.
My Grade: C+
- Hey, you've got to love GLEE when it features Neil Patrick Harris belting out Aerosmith's "Dream On" - one of my all-time favorite songs. This ep of Glee was a little after-school-special-y, but it was also really well done, and featured some absolutely infectious song and dance numbers - from "Dream On," to "Safety Dance." Plus, that one scene with NPH and Sue Sylvester was priceless. And this one was directed by Joss Whedon! Good stuff Glee.
My Grade: A-
- Alright ... I'm out for the weekend, but stay tuned for reviews of ROBIN HOOD and MACGRUBER. Cya.
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