The season is winding down and the final arcs of shows are beginning. This week we have the penultimate episodes for Parks and Recreation and The Office, while Community makes a major story push.
Community - "Course Listing Unavailable"
So the Study Group, a.k.a. The Greendale Seven, have been expelled. Crazy stuff. I love that this show doesn't shy away from continuity. The zombie episode really did happen and Starburns really did die. The resignation of Professor Kane was a little contrived and it would have been nice if they had given a reason why they couldn't just replace him like had happened when teachers left in the past. I imagine it's because they have no money anymore, but it would have been nice if they had explained it. Chang seems to have staged a coup with his kid army. Too much Chang can be a bad thing, so I'm glad they've kept him on the sidelines for while before giving him this big thing. The study group had some good character moments throughout, especially Troy ("why did you stop talking?!"), but the ending is what really sold me on this episode. A nice little reprise of "Remedial Chaos Theory", where it's once again confirmed that we are in the best timeline. Seeing how it was that when Troy left to get the pizza we got the darkest timeline, it was a nice touch that he was the one to convince everyone that things aren't that bad.
30 Rock - "Queen of Jordan 2"
The second week in a row they've gone back to gimmick they did last year. It's a little too close with the timing, but they were both funny episodes, so it works out. While the second live episode was better than the first, I'd say the second Queen of Jordan was not as good. I've enjoyed the Diane story (I also can't wait to see Elizabeth Banks again) there was no logical reason for the cameras to keep following that story, it had only an ancillary connection to Angie, and all Diane had to do was not sign the wavier and they couldn't use any of it. All the digs at reality television were still great, though, especially the feud between Liz and Virginia. The best part, surprisingly, was from Tracey. The way he knew exactly how to ramp up the drama for his wife was pitch perfect. He also had some great throwaway stuff like from his perspective all the boyfriends Liz has had makes her trampy and his deadpan delivery of not watching much TV because he's more of a masturbator.
The Office - "Turf War"
Well done, Office, color me intrigued. It wasn't a funny episode, but well done on most other fronts. Robert seems to be making increasingly poor decisions in his running of the company, one of which is closing the Binghamton branch while on a bender. For a good ten minutes I thought they were going the route of the Michael Scott Paper Company, and I am so very glad that they did not retread that. Andy already feels like Michael-lite, no reason to saddle him with the same stories, even if it was one of the better arcs the show ever did. Bringing back David Wallace, who we know now has a lot of money for his crazy invention, is a nice touch. They've also continued with the humanization of Nellie. For the woman who came in and stole a long time main character's job, they've made me care about her in a very short order. Her talking head about actually having a friend was touching. Lastly, it was great to see Chris Bauer in a guest spot, I was really hoping he would say working on the docks as his preferred job. Always great to see Wire alums getting work.
Parks and Recreation - "Bus Tour"
Paul Rudd as Bobby Newport is awesome. Too bad that being a big movie star means he couldn't have been around more, but I hope we get one last guest spot from him next week. Besides Paul Rudd's awesomeness, the rest of the episode was just a little off the mark. Good stuff, but maybe it just seems a little rushed. Andy easily stole the rest of the episode, though. The Agent Burt Maclin character is always great when it comes out and this was no exception. From his great codenames, to the slow motion pie hit recreation, to being so elated that he found the culprit that he fails to stop him from throwing the pie, just great stuff. Ron going toe to toe with Mike O'Malley's asshole van guy was nice too, and Donna even sacrificed the Benz for Leslie. More than anything else, though, this was a set up for the big election finale next week.
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