Glee: Asian F

About a week ago, last night's episode of Glee was sent out to critics. Or at least, the TV news guys like TV Line, EW, and E! Online. And all of them pretty much had the same opinion: one of the best episodes in a long time (E! went as far as to call it possibly the best episode ever). So throughout this past week, I kept hearing things about this episode and it got hyped up for me. So going into this week I had high expectations for this episode. So did it meet them? Mostly. I wouldn't say it was the best episode of Glee ever, but it probably would be on a Top 10 list for me. And it definitely threw my hope for Glee back in full swing.

One of the reasons (probably the biggest reason) I enjoyed this episode so much was because of it's focus on one of my favorite characters, recently promoted series regular Mike Chang. Back in season 1, he barely said a word (though he said more than other male background character Matt.), but during season 2 he began getting more and more lines, plus a duet of sorts and a couple dance numbers. This episode saw him finally take the spotlight (for part of the episode at least) and it was glorious. We get a look into his home life, where we see all the pressure he's under from his parents, primarily from his father. We get a glimpse into why he likes dancing so much. And we see him get his first solo as he auditions for West Side Story, showing off how much he's practiced his singing since last we saw him. Man, he has a sweet voice now. His story of struggling to follow his dreams, while meeting his parents extremely high expectations was a nice one, and the scene where his mother encourages him to follow his dreams and he teaches her some dance was genuinely sweet. And with him getting the role of Riff, we're sure to see him get more focus in the future. And I could not be happer about that.

Of course, the big focus of the episode was on a character who also hasn't been getting enough attention as of late: Mercedes. Despite being one of the original members of New Directions, Mercedes hasn't gotten that many stories of significance since season 1. The show's even aware of this and has commented on it in their typical self-aware fashion. But now they actually seem to be trying to put her back in focus and that's a good thing. This episode continues the auditions for West Side Story that started last episode. We see more of Marcus (Mercedes boyfriend who was very briefly introduced in the season premiere) and we see him encourage her to want more and to take the spotlight back. Suddenly, Mercedes Diva-ness which was her major trait in season 1, and made a brief resurgence in season 2 is back in full swing. She feels she deserves the role of Maria and more respect from a group that always seems to favour Rachel (and we see that she is getting pushed harder in booty camp.). She gives her all in the audition and the directors are unable to decide between Mercedes and Rachel so they give them a call-back.

Meanwhile Mercedes diva-ness continues until she refuses to continue at booty camp, calls Will out for his favourtism of Rachel and very nearly gets kicked out of New Directions (Or maybe she did get kicked out. Not sure because after her Dreamgirls fantasy sequence everyone has left the auditorium.). She and Rachel both kick butt at the callback, but Rachel is confident that Mercedes beat her. Based on promos I was sure Rachel had won but suprise, suprise, they both won. Artie, Beiste and Emma decide to doublecast the role and double the number of shows so they can both be Maria. Everyone's happy, right? Not Mercedes who convinced that this is just their way to appease Rachel refuses the part, and goes to join Shelby's new Glee Club. I liked this plot, because it fell in line with her character and even though Rachel and Mercedes have clashed before (and everyone quits the club at some point), the show was still able to make this feel like this was different. Like everything's going to change... for a while at least. Plus, even though Mercedes decisions were kind of unlikeable, at least I was able to figure out the process by which she made those decisions and her motivation. That's something that didn't happen much in season 2.

Meanwhile, Kurt has come to terms with the fact that Blaine is meant to be Tony (though we can see he's still disappointed when the cast list is posted in a great wordless scene) and is confident about his chances in the upcoming school election, as the only candidates so far are him and Brittany and he's 11% ahead of Brittany. Then, Brittany, who's running on a platform of female empowerment, gets the attention of the female population of McKinley, through a flash mob number of Run the World (Girls) that seems to elevate her chances. And to make matters worse, Rachel (who at this point is sure she lost the part to Mercedes) decides out of desperation that she's going to enter the race to ensure her chances of getting into that New York school. This is a decision that, like Mercedes decision to join the other Glee Club is actually understandable, because we know why she's doing it. It becomes less understandable though, when she chooses to stay in the race even after getting the part (her justification at this point is a lot weaker), and now Finn is in an unenviable position: does he vote for his girlfriend or his brother? More on this to come, surely.

And in a last story, Will is confused as to why Emma won't let him meet her parents . Thinking she's embarrassed by him, he takes action to invite them himself. Turns out her dad is Ralph Malph (well, played by Don Most, who was Ralph Malph on Happy Days) and both her parents are ginger supremacists (in another absurd plot point that only Glee could pull off). They're also pretty unintentionally cruel to their daughter and suddenly, we see where Emma's OCD may have come from. This also retriggers Emma's OCD and suddenly all the progress Will's made has pretty much disappeared. Will still wants to help Emma though and the episode ends with a great rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You".

Again, this wasn't the best episode Glee has ever done (That honour probably goes to Wheels. Or maybe Sectionals or Journey). I still have some quibbles about the episode, like Rachel's decision to stay in the race and another thing I'll mention below, but it was still an extremely solid episode. As good as the best episodes in Season 2, and many great ones from Season 1. Glee has yet to miss a step this season, and while things could still go wrong when the show returns November 1st (We'll see how they handle the first Glee Project winner to get an extended role on the show, irish Damien and how they handle Nov. 8's Rachel and Kurt lose their virginity episode), my confidence in this show has been utterly restored.

Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)

Memorable Moments
 
-Abruptly Resolved Subplot Alert: Santana is suddenly back in New Directions after getting kicked out, having secretly reaffirmed her allegiance. Please tell me that this isn't a sign that the writers are going back to season 2 habits and that there's more to this story.

-Random Plot Point Re-emergence/Reference Alert: Tina still pretends to be a vampire to intimidate Figgins. Huh. Also Mike brings up the time she faked a stutter for 9 episodes back when the show started.

-Best Musical Performance: Cool impressed me but the best number was probably either Fix You or Rachel and Mercedes Callback song Out Here On My Own.

-Worst Musical Performance: Was not that big a fan of It's All Over. It was still good, but not as good as the other numbers.

-No Sugar Motta this week, but she's bound to pop again soon now that Mercedes has joined her Glee Club.

-No Sue this week either, outside of a brief non-speaking cameo during Run the World, but it looks like she'll be back in full force November 1st.

-Emma's description of double-casting Maria: "It's like the special Olympics. Everyone wins!"

-I briefly mentioned it above but the whole scene with people reacting to the cast list was terrific. Especially Mike's joyous reaction and Rachel's solemn one, knowing what getting the part cost her.

How I Met Your Mother: The Stinson Missle Crisis

The Stinson Missile Crisis was a step down from the last couple weeks, but that's understandable. These things happen as a show gets older. It's still a rather solid episode though, with plenty of great gags. It's also pretty important to the arc of the season as it continues the story of Robin secretly being in love with Barney, which is something she has to face when she attends court-mandated therapy for assault. The mystery of who she assaulted and why hangs over the episode, as she slowly explains to her therapist (Kal Penn from Harold and Kumar) why she did it.

This structure works mostly well, though the repeated gag of the therapist being annoyed that she kept talking about the subplot got tired after the first couple of times it happened (Though it cracked me up again at the end when Robin inserted a line about it applying to her situation perfectly after it ended). It was funny seeing Robin get increasingly frustrated with all the affection Barney was showing Norah, leading to her crying under her desk drunk and eating stolen chocolates.This also leads her to suggest that Norah should be the one to go cover the G8 summit oversea (though Sandy Rivers was going to ask her anyways.). With Norah leaving for a few days, Barney realizes that he has to dismemble his Bimbo Delivery Systems and Robin decides to help him.

The Bimbo Delivery Systems are the best part of the episode. Of course Barney would have a series of plays that work 24/7 to get him new victims. And they were all pretty funny too. Only Barney would start a fake breast reduction consulation AND a fake class action lawsuit against himself. And he has a port authority officer in his pocket to tell him which girls would be naive enough to not know what a casting director can ask them to do. And he has an autodialer calling clients of a body glitter company. Of course it's also the auto-dialer that leads to the assault as Robin inadvertantly triggered it one more time, causing a girl to seek Barney out at the bar just as Norah gets back a day early and goes to dinner with Barney. Robin leads the girl to where Barney is, hoping it'll ruin him and Norah.

Meanwhile, Lily is getting annoyed with Ted trying to be a part of Team Baby (complete with T-Shirt.). It seems Ted has a habit of intruding on Marshall and Lily's intimate moments (and doesn't know what the sock in the door means). And she gets angry when Marshall agrees with Ted that maybe Lily's doctor who tells her she can have "just a leetle bet" of things like wine and sushi isn't giving the best advice. Of course, when she doesn't go to the birthing class that Ted signed the three of them up for, Marshall and Ted end up there by themselves, where during a lesson on sensual massages hear that the mother knows best. Feeling bad for not listening to Lily, Marshall apologizes and decides that maybe Lily's doctor's laid-back approach may help during the delivery (cut to a flashforward of the doctor being less than laid-back during the delivery and Marshall absent. More on that later, promises Future Ted during his only intrustion in the episode.) and Ted realizes that Lily needs space. Because if you love someone, you should be able to step back he tells Robin.

So Robin stops the bimbo from ruining Barney's relationship and gets arrested for assault. And the subplot was important (kinda.). The episodes ends on a funny note with Robin explaining why she keyed the judges car (it starts with Marshall and Lily wanting to go to the zoo) and a great photo montage of Marshall and Lily having matching Halloween costumes and Ted having a third costume (Salt, Pepper and Cumin, Lewis, Clarke, and their Canoe, R2 D2, C3P0 and the Droid Luke's Uncle almost bought from the Jawas among other things). So ends this episode, which while not as great as the last couple that preceded it was still a good time.

Rating: Awesome! (Good)

Memorable Moments

-http://stinsonbreastreduction.com/  and http://www.linsonbreastlawsuit.com/ are both real websites as is expected from HIMYM
-Jeff Probst cameos when we learn that Stinson Breast Reduction apparently sponsored a reward challenge on Survivor: South Pacific. More on that show soon.
-"I can handle them! It." Barney could never say that line correctly, even with the autodialer.
-Marshall: "It’s fascinating how little I know about vaginas". Later on the birthing instructor offers to answer all Vagina-related questions just as Ted and Marshall are leaving.
-Another one of Ted's comparisons about the three of them: Romeo, Juliet, and the Apothecary. 
-Robin: “Sometimes it’s better to interfere and sabotage stuff, right?”

Terra Nova: Instinct

After last week's pilot, Instinct had a lot to live up to. It obviously couldn't be as spectacular effects-wise or the show would run out of money fast, but it still has to look good, as that's part of the appeal. Plus, as a second (or in this case, third) episode, it has to be accessable for those who missed the pilot, while not being a total rehash for those who did catch it the week before. Luckily the show succeeds in that regard, and kept the effects up to with tons of Pterosaurs on screen at one point.

The show also kept the family at the heart of the show as well, blending it with the dinosaur action quite nicely. After a cold open establishing a mysterious threat that attacks a couple soldiers on a supply run, we're reintroduced to the Shannons in a good couple of scenes that reestablish what we learned last week (Jim's been away for a while, Zoe is used to sleeping with Elizabeth, Maddy is smart and has a crush on a young soldier, Reynolds, Josh has to do labour around Terra Nova with Skye as punishment for their excursion last episode), and more details we learned last week also organically pop up throughout the episode, as do more scenes of family togetherness (my favorite involves an overwhelmed Jim trying to handle the kids and making dinner alone.) We also see Jim and Elizabeth are trying to reignite their romantic relationship, but their attempts to do so keep comically getting interrupted by a noisy Pterosaur.

The episode also introduces a new character: Malcolm, the head science officer who dated Elizabeth in college and who we later learn recruited her to Terra Nova. Of course, Jim is none too happy when he finds out they dated and suspects Malcolm recruited Elizabeth because he's still into her and assumed her husband would be stuck in the future in jail. Whether or not this was his intention is still up in the air at this point, but he seems to be an interesting, even somewhat comical character so far (He attempts to name the new breed of Pterosaur after himself at episode's end) and hopefully this potential love triangle doesn't get too soapy.

Of course, there was still plenty of action in this episode, as Taylor, the Shannons and Malcolm tried to find out first what attacked the soldiers in the woods (until they were discovered mauled and clawed at, the assumption was it was sixers, who only get mentioned this week.). When they find out the culprit is the small, but deadly Pterosaurs (after the second interruption of Jim and Elizabeth's romance turns violent) and after hundreds of Pterosaurs attack the market, we learn that they're migrating to breed and Terra Nova is built on their breeding ground. Also, there are potentially millions of them on the way. Uh Oh. This leads to Taylor and Jim going to hunt for specimens so Elizabeth and Malcolm can come up with a defense for the attack.

My only complaint of the episode would be that we don't actually see any of the hunt, nor do we see much of the actual defense the next day, when Jim and Taylor take a vehicle loaded with strong,  secreted Pterasaur pheromones out to a different place to trick the Pterosaurs into creating a new breeding ground. We hear about these things, and we hear about how they save the day but we don't really get to see them do it, which is a bit disappointing. I can only hope that the money they saved by not showing them save the day, was put to good use in a future episode. We did get a good scene though of Pterasaurs getting into the Shannon's house where the kids, Skye, and Reynolds are and a good scene of Josh saving Zoe, who did not get into the safer room and is about to be attacked.

In the end, with the day saved and the kids asleep, Jim and Elizabeth finally get the chance to reignite their romance. Terra Nova manages to keep up the quality for their first non-premiere episode. While I hope future episodes do more showing than telling, I can appreciate their reasons for doing so. I'm still a big fan  of Terra Nova. And hopefully, it only gets better.

Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)

Memorable Moments

Dinosaur Scene Count: At least 6, counting the two minor Pterosaur scenes at the beginning. Maybe 7. I lost track.

Best Dinosaur Moment: The Pterasaurs attacking the market was terrific.

-Calling this right now: Zoe's Venus Flytrap (which she got this week) will be significant later on.

-Josh was less annoying this week! His plot involved trying to buy a guitar, which was fairly expensive. The only thing the guy will trade it for is Josh's necklace from his girlfriend, which he won't let go of. In the end Skye makes a bet with him for the money that he'll obviously win (she bets they won't survive the night of the Pterosaur strike) and then says he can owe her, when he doesn't want to take the money. I still say his girlfriend comes back.

-Jim's taken off-guard when Maddy asks how to tell if a boy likes you in another good family moment.

The Simpsons: Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts

It's a bit surprising that in over 22 seasons, The Simpsons had yet to do an episode about Superintendent Chalmers (except for his segment with Skinner in season 7 classic 22 Short Films About Springfield). Of all the residents of Springfield, surely Gary Chalmers must have more to him than constantly getting angry at Skinner (though that dynamic is one of the funnier ones on the show). So it was nice for him to get some of the spotlight in tonight's Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts, which once again used a couple classic storylines (Bart gets taught by someone who actually teaches him something and Bart takes over the school to get something he wants), to good effect, with plenty of good gags to keep things fresh.

After Bart's latest prank at the school auction (with the theme "Drowning in Debt") pretending to be a British millionaire who bids thousands of dollars on all the items (except for lunch with Principal Skinner. No one wants that), Chalmers is laying into Skinner, when Skinner challenges him to try and teach Bart Simpsons. Chalmers accepts the challenge, and gets Bart interested in Teddy Roosevelt (though Bart's fantasy of Roosevelt getting shot, but still finishing his speech involves Roosevelt as a superhuman tyrant.). He then takes Bart on a horse ride in a national park, as part of a more hands-on learning experience. Soon, Milhouse, Nelson, Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph are all interested and join Bart and Chalmers with their more "Manly" learning (Chalmers thinks education is failing boys because it's more geared at girls and is about feelings and other non-manly things.). But when Nelson falls off a cliff, while they're on an unauthorized camping trip looking for a pair of T.R's spectacles, his mother sues and Chalmers gets fired by Comptroller Atkins (who I haven't seen since his initial appearance way back in season 10's Lisa gets an 'A'. Though I could be mistaken.) This leads Bart and company to take over the school in order to get Chalmers his job back. In the end they're successful and Chalmers even gets a promotion (superduperintendent).

Again, this isn't the first time Bart's been excited by learning and this isn't the first time he's taken over the school. But the episode works, because of its focus on Chalmers and who he is, besides the guy always shouting "SKINNER!" Plus there's lots of great gags throughout from Homer's reaction to getting asked to pay for Bart's prank, even though he has no legal obligation to do so, to Chalmers telling Otto to "just drive" and Otto driving right into a tree. So The Simpsons delivers another solid episode in their 23rd season. Hopefully they can continue the streak.

Grade: Awesome! (Good)

Memorable Moments

-There was a crazy stylistic couch gag by Ren and Stimpy creator Jon Kricfaulsi that was awesome.
-At the auction, you can buy shirts from Springfield Elementary and shirts from better schools.
-Skinner: "Why do I believe everything I hear in a British accent?"
-"You've filled my head with horse poop and atheism!"-What Chalmers has taught Bart.
-Jimbo: "School failed me? Does school have to go to summer Jimbo?"
-An Anti-drug pamphlet at the school: Saying Yes To Saying No To Saying Yes To Drugs.
-Teddy Roosevelt is credited as a guest voice.

The Office: The Incentive

Last week I noticed that The Office seemed to be more ensemble-driven, rather than focused on any character in particular. Since the past seven years had been more based around Michael, and no one could ever really fill those shoes, the only way the show could survive is by making more use of their other great characters. So last week worked lovely. This weeks episode is much more Andy-centric as he tries to figure out why he was chosen to be manager and how he's supposed to double the sales of the branch, but I suspect other episodes will revolve around other employees at Dunder Mifflin-Sabre. In any case, this episode, while not as good as The List was still quite enjoyable and still has me optimistic about the eighth season of The Office.

Once again the plot of the episode is simple. Robert California challenges Andy to double the sales of the branch from last quarter (go from 4% growth to 8% growth). Andy introduces an incentive point system, but gets more than he bargained for when he tells the office that if they get 5000 points (and they can pool their points), he'll let them tattoo anything they want on his butt. Needless to say, this inspires everyone to work harder than they've ever worked before and they amass the necessary points in a single day.

Now Andy is somewhat similar to Michael, which is probably part of why he was chosen to be manager. They're both earnest, but clueless. The difference though is Michael believed himself to be the world's greatest manager and Andy is full of doubt. And while Michael had to be liked, Andy has to succeed. Would Michael have gone through with getting a tattoo? Probably not. But when Jim tells Andy that no one expects him to go through with this, but Jim thinks Andy is doing a great job and he can't wait for Andy's next idea, Andy knows he has to go through with it. So now Andy has an adorable tattoo of a dog wearing a sweater that says Nard. A Nard Dog if you will. As Andy puts it "My heart belongs to music, but my ass belongs to these people". As he gets the tattoo, we hear Robert confide to the camera that he chose Andy because he is uncomplicated. Everything he is is on the surface and that causes people to rally behind him, because he's the underdog. And "There's something about an underdog that really inspires the unexceptional".

There's also a subplot involving Darryl having recently reconnected with his ex-wife Justine. But when Justine comes into the office and talks to him... well we don't really hear what they talk about. The story will probably continue next week, but Darryl doesn't look happy for the rest of the episode so it probably wasn't good. I was actually a bit bummed out that there wasn't more resolution. I thought I had missed something, but when I rewatched the episode, it turned out I had caught everything. And Pam and Angela have a small thing where they try to be pregnancy buddies, but it ultimately doesn't work out. Of course.

This is a fine episode, that ultimately gets elevated because of it's ending. If I was having doubts about Andy (and I wasn't), they would've vanished with this one. Meanwhile, there was still lots of laughs to be found (the opening with Kevin went on a little long, but I did like when Andy talked about having a word code), especially once everyone was inspired to sell harder than ever (Stanley enthusiastically saying "You've got to unleash the power of the Pyramid (the new tablet computer Sabre is selling)" was one of the funniest parts of the episode. Whenever Stanley is excited or angry, it's funny). And while this wasn't the best episode, it certainly wasn't the worst. So hopefully the laughs continue and The Office continues to prove they can do the show fine without Steve Carell as season 8 rocks on.

Grade: Awesome! (Good)

Memorable Moments

-Dwight: "Without the battery pack and the optional memory booster, it's (The Pyramid) barely 3 pounds." Ryan: "How much memory does it have without the booster?" Dwight: "50 L". Ryan: "I'm sorry, L?" Jim: "How many L to a K?" Dwight: "You're really gonna want the booster.
-Andy tries to call Oscar C-Span or Cocker Spaniel. It doesn't fly.
-Dwight to Oscar: "Your friend Neil Patrick Harris really made me laugh the other night".
-Erin asks if Robert wants a cold beverage. Robert says coffee. So Erin gets him some old, freezing coffee.
-"I'm afraid you've lost my interest". Robert after hearing about the Andy/Erin situation.
-Robert: "If the office superstores was supposed to put us little suppliers out of business, why are we still here?" Kevin: "This is where we go." Robert: "You'd go someplace else. That's not it. That's not the answer" Kevin: "It's A answer". Robert: "It's the wrong answer". Kevin: "There are no wrong answers!"
-Andy's incentive prizes are mostly kid's stuff and a vibrator. Plus a sari and a maternity dress.
-Andy trying to explain why he wants to demotivate his employees: "I guess you could say I'm in one of those classic ass tattoo incentive situations".

Parks and Recreation: Ron and Tammys

In my mind, I have a list of favorite Parks and Recreation episodes. Since it doesn't have as many episodes as The Office yet, it's easy for me to figure them out. Some of my choices are obvious (Practice Date, Ron and Tammy) and some are less obvious (Telethon, Eagleton). It's also easy for me to know when an episode is going to make that list. I knew Ron and Tammys (which is also the first show to get the new rating I'm putting between Great and Perfect so I only use Perfect in special cases.) was going to make that list as soon as Ron entered the Parks department without a mustache. And if I didn't know at that moment, I definitely would've known by the end of it. It was a heck of an episode.

Part of the reason I enjoyed it so much, was because it was focused on one of my favorite television characters, Ron Swanson. Everytime we learn new details about his life and his past, it's hysterical and there was plenty of details in Ron and Tammys. First and foremost, we finally got more than a glimpse or brief scene of Tammy One and she definitely proves to be worse than Tammy Two could ever possibly be. Cold and controlling, she enters Ron's life again by claiming he's being audited for the IRS, where she works and she wants to help him out. After Leslie, Andy, and April look through Ron's tax records (in another great scene where we learn that in place of real receipts, he has things like notes that say "I bought supplies 2007" and photo's of gentlemen agreements), Tammy comes in and takes over. This can't be good.

The next day, Ron enters the room Mustache-less and attitude-less. He even has a positive attitude about government. As Leslie puts it, Tammy One has turned him into a "neutered wimp". He also won't do anything without the approval of Tammy One. When Leslie goes to lunch with him to try to talk sense into him, Tammy accompanies him. She reveals to Leslie while Ron isn't there that the IRS Audit is a fake and she just wanted to check out Ron's assets before getting back together with him (He has lots of gold buried around Pawnee. Another great moment.). Something has to be done. But Tammy Two is unable to do anything (Tammy One once threw acid at her foot) so they go to the only other person who might stand a chance: Tamara "Tammy" Swanson, Ron's Mother.

Tammy Zero doesn't get that much interaction with Ron, so it's hard to tell how she affects his life, but from our look into the house Ron grew up in (There's a room full of guns for some reason that Tammy Zero refuses to indulge because this is America and they're on her property.), it's easy to see that Ron's mother made a big impact on shaping him into the man he became. So she goes to challenge Tammy One to a drinking contest. But when she decides she wants Ron to return to the family farm, Leslie steps in and also enters the contest, fighting for Ron. Of course the only legal purpose of what they're drinking is to strip varnish off of speed boats and Leslie quickly goes nuts, while the Tammys of Ron's life aren't even affected. April tries to sub in, but can't even get a swallow down before spitting out and shouting expletives.

In the end though, moved by what Leslie and April are willing to do for his freedom, Ron puts a stop to the contest by downing the rest of the moonshine himself and demands his mother and first ex-wife go back to the farm and hell, respectively. They may have raised him (Oh yeah. Tammy One delivered him when he was born, babysat him and taught him Sunday School, Middle School Math, Driver's Ed and sex. Ron grew up in a very small town.) but at the end of the day, Ron Swanson is Ron Swanson and he's not going to let them control him anymore. He evens stops Tammy One from claiming victory of finding the gold, by declaring that all she found was the decoy. Ron Swanson, you truly are one of the best television characters ever.

If that was all there was to the episode, it would still be a classic, but there was a whole other story about Tom getting Ben to look over the books for Entertainment 720. And it was hilarious, as we watched Ben realize what bad shape this company was in. They have Roy Hibbert and Detlef Schrempf there for 75% of their NBA salary. They're paying models 100,000 dollars a year plus full medical to sit around reading magazines. They're giving away iPads and they bought a printing press to print their own money. This story is funny, plus allows for Jean-Ralphio to be at his douchey best, nicknaming Ben Angel, before changing his mind and nicknaming him Jello Shot (or J-Shot). It even had a nice ending when Tom, who had rejected Ben's warning that they would die if they didn't start downsizing and making money earlier, asks for Ben's help after hearing the same thing from five accountants (Ben: "First, fire four of those accountants. You don't need five accountants.) and giving him an iPad he bought with his own money.

If the episode had a weakness, it was the third story with Chris obsessing over a PTA Ann was shooting, with him as the star. It was funny, but not as memorable as the other two, though I liked Ann wondering why she ever dated Chris, before he compliments her nicely and she remembers. So all-in-all, this episode is an instant classic and while not quite at the level of the Holy (BLANK) perfect rating (to see what constitutes a perfect rating, stay tuned for my season opinion of Breaking Bad, which is dangerously close to getting this and will unless the last two episodes are a massive disappointment.), it is deserving of this:

Grade: Zounds! (Incredible)

Memorable Moments

-“First of all, income tax is illegal!” The first of many great Ron lines this week.
- “You won’t find any bank statements either. I’ve heavily invested in gold, which I’ve buried in several different locations around Pawnee. Or have I?" Another great line and we're only a couple minutes in.
-“My first ex-wife’s name is Tammy. My second ex-wife’s name is Tammy. My mom’s name is Tamara. ...She goes by Tammy."
-Tom: "It's almost too easy". Ben: "I can hear you." Tom: "That's how easy it is".
-"My Guess is they'll be bankrupt by the end of... this sentence."
-New Ron: "Back to the old grindstone. These emails aren’t going to send themselves." Also he calls Jerry Buddy and says Cool Beans at least once.
-“Listen. Tammy One was my Sunday school teacher, too. She can pinpoint your weaknesses and then destroy you with just one word. And a jar of acid.” Tammy Two has been traumatized obviously.
-Other uses for the moonshine: burning warts of mules and melting shells off of garden snails.
-“That’s decoy gold. You think I’d leave my gold in a locked safe buried underground where anyone could find it? You don’t know me at all.”

Community: Geography of Global Conflict

Two earths. Blue and red as colour codes. Though they never specifically mentioned it, it certainly seems like Community was paying homage to another show not enough people are watching: Fringe. It was a reference that only people who watch both shows would understand, but it was much appreciated in an episode that wasn't as good as the premiere, but was still a solid episode of a great show.

The episode is Annie-centric and introduces us to a new character who is asian Annie. Literally. Her name is Annie Kim, she's in Annie's political science class and she's really similar to Annie at the start of the series, or even high school Annie who got so addicted to Adderall that she tried to straighten the lines on her high school football field during a game. They try to act like they're friends, but the group sees through it and when Annie Kim takes Annie's idea to start a Model U.N, Annie (who's trying to pretend that it doesn't bother her and it doesn't matter) gets Jeff who declare they're going to start their own model U.N. But according to Professor Cligoris, who really, really likes Model U.N's, there can only be one so the two face off in a battle royale of sorts.

The battle royale is the bulk of the middle act and it's fine. The goal is for the U.N's to achieve world peace first by solving a lot of crisises shot at them by Garrett. Abed is the one who asks if the reason there is two U.N's is because there's two earths, of course and his obsession with the multiple earths is quite funny. As is Troy talking in an accent when he finds he's representing Georgia and Pierce assuming Somalia is a tropical paradise. After the initial crisis the royale flashes by in a series of images and sound bites. I was a little disappointed that the writer's didn't use the opportunity to fill the other U.N with characters like Leonard or Magnitude, but that was probably a time thing. Anyways Earth-1 (the study group) is about to win, when someone farts and they all get distracted. This causes Annie to have a meltdown, and a tantrum as she flees the room. Jeff goes on with her.

What's going on with Annie and Jeff? Because from the scene where he talks to her and tells her that she's growing up, plus other things in the episode plus that line from Jeff's fantasy last episode, it seems something has happened between them that we're not aware of. And unlike Jeff sleeping with Britta for most of season 2, the writers are being a lot less subtle about it. If they're gonna get together/are together, hopefully we learn more soon. Because the scene was nice, but confusing.

Much better was the conclusion, where the study group uses Switzerlands technology (I forget which tech exactly, but it's allowed because "the science holds".) to "break through" to earth-2 U.N and propose that they both concede and form a united United Nations. Annie Kim sees this a pointless symbolic gesture and refuses, but is informed by Professor Cligoris that her actions, while logical are againts the spirit of the true U.N, which was based on symbolic gestures and empty promises, meaning Blue U.N (Earth 1!) wins.

The show also had a pretty great subplot where Britta is feeling upset that an old friend is in prison somewhere and she's in college. She needs to feel validated as an activist and wants to stir things up. Meanwhile, Chang needs validation as a security guard, when he learns that campus security doesn't do anything. So Britta starts acting out and Chang starts oppressing her in a series of sequences done to Lioniel Richie's "Hello". The parallels to a romance movie are obvious but that's part of the fun. The conclusion (where Britta, while not wanting to do anything illegal disrupts the model U.N faceoff and Chang, who'd been disillusioned is sent to stop her) isn't as strong as the stuff that proceeded it for this plot, but is still funny. Especially when Chang tases Britta and carries her out in his arms.

So Community delivers a second episode that, while not as strong as last weeks, continues to be entertaining. Community still has all the potential for an amazing third season. All it needs now... are viewers who have a neilson box. Seriously.

Grade: Awesome! (Good)

Memorable Moments

-No Dean this week. That's fine because he probably couldn't fit organically into the story.
-Pierce had some funny lines this week. Already I'm liking him more this season than in season 2.
-Jeff: "How progressive of you to have a multi-cultural evil twin."
-Pierce: "They're ruthless. Not Asians. Women".
-Jeff: "Uruguay kindly requests that Somalia stops pronouncing it Ur-a-gay."
-Jeff: "Annie stop. You're acting like a little school girl and not in the hot way".
-Sorry for lateness. Had no access to internet yesterday. Parks and Rec and Office opinions coming up shortly.