[This quote is included not because it’s funny, but because — in two sentences — Abed completely and cold-bloodedly undercut seven seasons of “The Office,” three seasons of “Parks and Recreation,” and 90 percent of all narrative documentaries. Vicious. The rest of the episode put the quote to the test, and I thought that it almost maliciously demonstrated the laziness of this documentary format.] “I’m excited about the narrative facility of the documentary format. It’s easier to tell a complex story when you can just cut to people explaining things to the camera.”
“”My father held grudges. I’ll always hate him for that.”
“Me and Abed have an agreement; if one of us dies, we stage it to look like a suicide caused by the unjust cancellation of ‘Firefly.’”
“More fish for Kunta.”
The Office (Rating B-)
“”Holly, this isn’t Oceans 11 where you get together with all your friends, and you just have fun, and you don’t care about how it turns out.”
Parks and Recreation (Rating: B)
“I’m going to type every word I know! Rectangle! America! Megaphone! Monday! Butthole!”
“Why don’t we just call you Turd Crapley?”
30 Rock (Rating: B)
“My fanny pack is in my office, in my mini fridge… I like my tampons to be cold!”
“Ugh, Julia Roberts in a movie about eating? Give me Kirstie Alley, somebody who knows what she’s doing!”
“Really? Cause I’ve never had a problem ordering from American Sub Restaurant Very Clean Come In.”
Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance
Posted by: Anna von Beav at February 18, 2011 11:16 AM
"I just don't want to lose April. I would NEVER be able to find a worse assistant."
Posted by: staceygarrett at February 18, 2011 11:21 AM
HOw about levar: "Butterfly in the skyyyyyyyyyy...I can go twice as...."
Troy screams, cries and runs from the room.
Posted by: meh at February 18, 2011 11:23 AM
Now I feel the need to defend the mockumentary format...it is also easier to tell a story if you just borrow from previously established genres [zombies, Modern Warfare, space landing, etc.].
Community has gotten increasingly smug over the last year.
Although I did love Troy and the Reading Rainbow guy.
Posted by: Petrie at February 18, 2011 11:35 AM
Okay, so, Community didn't rip The Office or Parks and Rec a new butthole with that joke (the actual punchline of which came after Pearce's talking head with Abed's "See? Fish in a barrel."). The initial joke was, sure, but the rest of the episode proved exactly why it's such a winning formula for both dramatic and comedic storytelling. They reduced it, and then reveled in it.
And if the show (re: writers) are getting smug, it's because they've really yet to fail in any of the challenges they've laid out for themselves. The closest they came, in my mind, was the Abed as Jesus episode, but even that was saved by a wonderful denoument and a better understanding between Abed and Shirley as people. The show goes out of it's way to stretch itself, and it consistently builds new muscle mass through the effort. Let Dan Harmon and the crew pat themselves on the back, they deserve it.
(Preemptive Strike: Please, stop with the cancellation talk until/unless it actually happens. You're all givin' me the vapors.)
Oh, and was anyone else a little disappointed that Threat Level Midnight looked better (cinematographically) than it should have? Unless Michael Scott recruited the internal show's, admittedly talented, documentary crew it seems a stretch that he'd be able to shoot/edit anything that good. I know it's a minor quibble, but it took me out of some scenes. Still, the overall "movie" was hilarious.
30 Rock's conclusion was phenomenal, too, and the best send up of Agatha Christie since It's Always Sunny... and the mysterious poo.
My favorite detail of Threat Level Midnight was that the cameos of Kelly Kapoor as a hostage had her dressed in the matronly clothes and up-do hair that she wore in the earliest episodes of the show. I thought that was a clever touch.
Posted by: The Wandering Parakeet at February 18, 2011 12:20 PM
I thought the were all A's - but the best line of the night: It's art, anything's anything.
Posted by: seth at February 18, 2011 12:30 PM
Fine, I'll say it. "Perfect Couples" is not a bad show. There were several hilarious lines last night and it's getting better each week. People are so goddamned impatient thinking a show is going to be gangbusters out of the gate. Hence only the most generic reality shows and procedurals seem ot make it anymore. I don't think any show really gets cooking in less than 4 episodes at best. I'm going to be annoyed when it gets cancelled, it's much better then most other non Thursday NBC shows out there. Also Christine Woods is absolutely gorgeous.
on Parks & Rec, when Andy said April called her Grandma "Gizmo" I lost it. That was the funniest ep so far this season.
Hey, Olivia Munn was actually funny on the Daily Show last night!
"My Silvio. He's a good boy. He no rape-a the statue."
Posted by: The Mutt at February 18, 2011 1:00 PM
Whew The Office was embarrassing.
Nothing more than callbacks to earlier, better episodes. - regardless whether they made sense for the characters (at that time) or not.
"Hey, remember the script from that episode from season 2? Wanna actually see the film?"
The answer is of course "No."
And can i just rant here for a moment?
-----
Pam's lecture to the rest of the office when Michael leaves encapsulates everything wrong with The Office now. Listen to what she's saying (about avoiding hurting Michael's feelings), i mean really listen, let it soak in for a minute, and then go watch an episode from season one.
Creed was absolutely right. "Thanks, Mom."
It's as if they desperately needed Jim and Pam to be parents, - then realized it didn't make sense inside The Office structurally, so they compromised by having them act as Michael's parents.
Based on this last season, i wonder - Who will Pam be next season if she isn't mothering Michael?
Do the show runners really know who Pam is?
Did they merely think of her as an object of Jim's affection before she became Michael's emotional caretaker?
That would certainly be a shame.
-----
End rant...
Posted by: Scott at February 18, 2011 1:14 PM
RobP I'm right there with you. I mean, yes, I could tell the "Oval Office" in Michael Scott's movie was really a room in the actual office, but ONLY because of the damn ceilings. Everything else on the set was pretty damn elaborate.
Of course, it did take "11 years" to make. But you can't explain away the cinematography, no.
I loved that Holly was the only one willing to tell it like it was and that Michael accepted, finally, that his movie is laughable.
However, I'm not fooled into thinking his character ACTUALLY grew, because I've seen that before. Then the next week, he's back to being a socially retarded babything.
Posted by: Snuggiepants at February 18, 2011 1:15 PM
SCOTT! YES! We posted at the same time, but YES.
It's true in the past Pam always sort of led the effort to make sure Michael didn't get out of control. As his secretary, she knew him inside and out (and didn't want to). Remember when they thought he broke it off with the married woman from the Dave & Buster's-like place, but he didn't? She advised them to just laugh at anything he said, they put in tons of ice cream, and put Kleenex boxes everywhere?
So last night wasn't unprecedented, but the stuff I just described was just last season. In the distant past, I think she just tried to survive Michael Scott the best she could.
I know other people loved last night's episode, but I wasn't feeling it at all. It felt lazy. Now that Jim and Pam have had their happily ever after and Michael is happy-for-now with Holly, let's just shoot this thing. (Part of me is dying just to type that, but I know when something's had a long life and made me very happy and is now just sort of hobbling along and needs to be put out of its misery.)
Posted by: Snuggiepants at February 18, 2011 1:19 PM
Wow, RobP, well said. Tonight's episode kind of reminded me why I love this show so much - not that this season's been bad, I just find it much more up and down than the first - because of the recognition that these people grew up in a, well, similar world to ours, and therefore will reference similar things. We've all seen The Office, we've all seen zombie movies, we love them, let's revel in it.
So much hilarity last night. Britta's whole run was awesome, Pierce and Jeff knocked it out of the park (YAY not having to think to express my opinions!), Abed's documentary line, LaVAR BURTON, Set phasers to love me... *sigh of happiness* Greatness.
I thought the office was pretty disappointing. It seems like its run is more or less over. It was mostly just a lazy flashback episode in my mind.
Posted by: camytaru at February 18, 2011 2:17 PM
I thought the best part of The Office last night was how it was full of little inside jokes that only long-time viewers would get--like Ryan's hobbit friend Troy, and Pudge from the warehouse, Jan singing on the piano, Michael's skating, etc. I loved it. It doesn't make up for the lackluster last three seasons, but it was a great episode. That's what kills me the most about the show, I think--it's mostly terrible but then brings in a fantastic episode like that that just makes you wish they could ALL be like that.
Double Rat farts! I missed all of these because Spike started running a "Gangland" marathon around 5pm, and frankly I forgot everything else.
Even worse-Spike extended each episode by 12 minutes- so they could add ridiculous amounts of commercials. Seriously. each episode went an hour and 12, and the commercial breaks were preposterously long.
nothing I could do. Gangland and that awesome soundtrack get me every time.
Parks & Rec was fantastic for all the Adam Scott last night. I have no idea if he'll stay on (with the whole "going back to Indianapolis" story line) but I hope he stays.
Posted by: Lemon Poundcake at February 18, 2011 3:52 PM
I didn't think Community's dig at mockumentaries was vicious at all. A little smug maybe, but they hardly drew blood as they were doing a mockumentary themselves. I felt the same when they made fun of Glee in Modern Warfare. It's not like the show doesn't take its own liberties, what with the four-year CC with dorms.
But I love Community. This season has had a couple stinkers, but overall it's been incredible.
Posted by: Turtle at February 18, 2011 6:47 PM
I guess I'm one of the few who's getting increasingly tired of Community, and thought this episode wasn't great (except for Troy and Levar). The cast is wonderful and there are always a handful of lines that kill me, but, there's no freaking character development on this show. Or, rather, there's the same development, over and over and over. Didn't we just have an episode that was all about how Pierce felt excluded and unappreciated and decided to take his revenge on the group? Didn't we also just have an episode about how Britta likes to think of herself as this super cool progressive person, but is really just as self absorbed as everyone else?
Eh, I dunno, I'm just tired of watching these characters learn the same lessons every week. It's like they have short-term memory loss or something. I'd rather have less gimmicks and themed episodes if it meant that something actually HAPPENED in these people's lives, and they actually dealt with it, and it wasn't completely forgotten a week later.
...Yeah yeah, tl;dr. I just get cranky when I start falling out of love with a show.
Posted by: T at February 18, 2011 8:51 PM
What I can't wait for is the Community episode where they skewer how smug Community has become.
Posted by: James S at February 18, 2011 9:19 PM
"Man, you embarrassed me in front of The Douche!"
Tom's been a lot funnier to me lately.
Posted by: AlwaysSunnyinNJ at February 18, 2011 9:40 PM
Smug? How can a tv show even be smug? Especially when it doesn't have good ratings. If you don't like it, fine, but don't go complaining about nonexistent attitudes. For the record, I think season 2 is on average way better than season 1. They're in an awesome groove.
Anyone else notice the Amy Poehler poster hanging up behind Troy while he was ranting? Hilarious.
Britta's delivery on "Britta for the win" made me spit out my beer it was so funny.
"We're colleagues with benefits."
Posted by: Athena at February 19, 2011 2:14 AM
Almost forgot...
"Are you trying to lure this girl into your van?"
"Yes. It's not even my van. I stole it."
Posted by: Athena at February 19, 2011 2:16 AM
I cackled when Liz Lemon delivered the "Hey that's my drink! I keep it in a thermos next to the toilet you heard me wrong!" line.
Posted by: Even Stevens at February 19, 2011 2:19 AM
"Wait, sweatshirt, fanny pack, recent break-up......who's the lead agent on NCIS?"