NBC Thursday Comedies - Week 16

Community is back! It'll never be the same without Dan Harmon, but I am certainly glad to have this great cast of characters back on my TV.

Community - "History 101"
Once again, Community is back! I 'm glad it's back, however, this was not one of its better episodes, and not a great start for the post-Dan Harmon era. I think the main problem was it was overstuffed. We have Abed's sitcom world, plus Abed's even deeper cartoon world, plus the Hunger Games parody, plus Troy and Britta being a couple. All good stuff individually, just too much for one episode.  I wonder if Fred Willard would have made a good Pierce, he seems too nice but perhaps he could have played it well. These actors know their characters so well now, it's just fun to watch them do their thing. I did enjoy Pierce trying to come up with a joke about balls, and there was an intriguing ending with Chang having amnesia, I'm very curious to see where they take that.

The Office - "Couples Discount"
Ugh, Andy's back, and things go downhill swiftly. Michael Scott was a jerk sometimes, but his intentions were usually in the right place. Andy has gone from hothead, to lovable underdog, to a complete and utter jerk. Him asking for that bonus check from the accountants wasn't cringe humor, it was just pure skeevyness. Also, on the bad side is the ongoing Jim-Pam-Brian thing.  I was happy to learn about Brian's wife Allison, because I hoped it meant no more love triangle.  Alas, they've split, leaving the triangle to continue.  Other things about the episode were better. Nellie not being able to keep a fake relationship.  Darryl's switch from being uncomfortable about being Oscar's fake boyfriend, but trying to hide it, to then being indignant that the nail lady wouldn't recognize them as a couple.  Erin marching into Andy's office at the end and declaring it over because Pete was being the ultimate nice guy, that I enjoyed very much.

Parks and Recreation - "Ann's Decision"
First off, the food poisoning scene was a master class in physical comedy.  I was crying from laughing so hard, and then I immediately rewound and watched again.  Well done Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, and Rob Lowe. I'm not fully on board with the Ann storyline of wanting to have a baby, but I'm happy they're giving her an actual story.  Ann's great at being Leslie's sounding board, but of the principle characters, she's been the most directionless since breaking up with Chris. It was nice to see some old faces pop up like Sewage Joe and The Douche.  I especially liked how The Douche is actually very smart and articulate, but keeps going back and forth to his frat boy, shock jock character.  April tries to be Leslie, but comes to the realization that she can do it herself.  A trite story, but funny because town panels are always funny.  Chris even gets to be the smart one by "forgetting" to pack her April's Leslie clothes.