Returning Shows MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
How I Met Your Mother:
The third episode in HIMYM’s seventh season enters into a pantheon of top-tier three-camera episodes, full of zig-zagging timelines and a resumption of Ted’s romantic woes in a refreshingly consistent way. The plot pings back and forth between Ted’s meeting with Victoria – told as a story within a story – and the gang’s travels to Marshall’s favorite restaurant, where Barney plots diabolically to figure out a way to fondle Lily’s pregnant breasts.
The episode is delightfully quaint. Some of the best episodes in the show’s history (including probably the best full stop, season two’s “Slap Bet”) have used this dynamic, grounding Ted and Robin in the real stakes while Barney, Lily, and Marshall run circles around them. And these two threads, and the places where they cross, provide tension, snap, and plenty of humor this week.
Victoria, Ted’s first true love in the series, has returned momentarily. It’s a nice chance to see how far Ted’s character has come since then. The writers may have neglected him at times over the years, but overall Ted can now easily tell that he isn’t meant to be with Victoria, while in earlier seasons he may have spent many more episodes trying to win her back. After much of Ted’s audience goodwill was lost after the Zoey debacle last season, it’s good to see a return to the much more likeable and relatable character of Ted. In fact, this season, only three episodes in, may do for Ted’s character what the sixth did for Marshall and Barney’s.
2 Broke Girls:
“Rude, crude, and in a bad mood” describes “2 Broke Girls’” second episode so cornily well that not much else can be said. This episode is a complete and total retread of the first. Rather than use the pilot to determine which elements of the show are working and which are failing, instead the second episode goes through the same motions again. One scene with Garrett Morris’ vaguely charming cashier? Check. One scene where the lecherous cook overhears a personal conversation and uses it as an excuse to imply a lesbian relationship between the leads? Check. A scene where the token dumb socialite mother insults the appearance of her children? Check. The only new element added this week was a crass joke about Beth Behers’ character falling in horse crap.
However, even that broad gag fell completely flat when any sense of urgency was stripped from the premise in the third act. Even the labored setup in the first few scenes, where Caroline remarks several times that she only possesses one set of clothing and that Max’s apartment has no water, results in no payoff whatsoever. Instead of building tension when Caroline has to sneak into Max’s babysitting job to shower, instead there is a cut to a later scene and the characters talk about what happened in the interim. Sloppy writing is hardly worthy of hope, and “2 Broke Girls” needs to do something new soon.
Returning Shows TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27
Glee:
Another episode of “Glee,” another uneven attempt to provide some continuity in the rapidly shifting and growing universe. The “Glee” world seems to consist solely of characters with a Deep, Dark, sordid history that relates to whatever crisis the leads are going through this week. It’s hard to care about the ailment of the week, or problem of the week, or romantic entanglement of the week. So much of “Glee” depends on what week it is. Themes and songs line up conveniently.
Idina Menzel’s competing choir director has returned, bringing with her hanging plotlines left over from the first season finale. The aftermath of Quinn’s pregnancy, Puck’s battle to stay relevant in his daughter’s life, and Rachel’s feelings of abandonment are all dragged up by Menzel’s return. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of her character until next season.
The Quinn plotline seems to have shaped itself into something new already. Once again, Quinn has pledged to another character that her sweet, bland exterior is only an act, and one that obscures her truly sinister undertones. This time, she somehow wants to get her daughter back. The character is certainly in for a rude awakening when she finds out adoption is legally binding, and unless the show is willing to show months and months of slow-moving legal action, this plotline is heading nowhere fast.
More interesting is the direction they’re taking Kurt this year. Last year, Kurt was played handily by Chris Colfer as sympathetic if overly sanitized, losing the biting edge that made him complex in the first year. All last year, Kurt was told over and over again to celebrate his differences, encouraged to stand out as much as he could. Now, he’s seeing that while pride is a wonderful quality to have in life, it may not be the best way to gain acceptance in the theater world. Despite drawing largely gay men, the musical theater scene is still based primarily on heterosexual love stories, with male leads needing to at the very least pass as traditionally masculine and straight. Kurt, try as he might, cannot do so. This struggle is something Kurt truly has to come to terms with, and while I do not like that Burt, his supportive father, has encouraged him to write his own material instead of try to overcome this obstacle, here’s hoping this is not abandoned as the season continues. The songs this week are actually tied together in a subtle “West Side Story” homage, but thankfully this is not hammered by the writers and instead just serves to tie together an otherwise far-reaching episode.
New Girl:
After terrible second episodes to shows such as “2 Broke Girls,” the pilot to “New Girl” has ascended to the pantheons of “not offensively bad” in my mind, so expectations were at that bar for the second episode. Fortunately, that low-hanging achievement was met by last night’s episode, which also suffered some retread from the pilot but managed to stay enjoyable throughout. And as time passes, “New Girl” becomes rosier and rosier in my mind.
Notable was the absence of Damon Wayans Jr., whose awkwardly bad-tempered Coach flirted with caricature but was well-played nonetheless. Instead he has been replaced by Lamare Morris, essentially replacing the same role in the ensemble that Wayans did. Morris luckily has a low-key energy that does not trend towards urgency very well but doesn’t grate like Greenfield’s Schmidt can occasionally.
The show takes its inspiration from “How I Met Your Mother” with its relationship theorizing and snappy catchphrasing. The writing isn’t bad, but scenes on top of scenes where characters sit around and talk play significantly better in a 3-camera set than a single-camera one. It’s a good inspiration for the writers – the first few seasons of that show had great ensemble work and good writing. But copying that voice is not enough. “New Girl’s” next challenge is to find something unique within its universe. And hint – it is NOT the assortment of oddities plaguing Jess. In fact, step one should be to ground her somewhere in reality.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th
The Office:
Given the Thursday night comedy landscape, an old horse like “The Office” can no longer keep up. In its second episode of the season, it’s clearer than ever that the wheels on this show are spinning. James Spader’s character Robert California is no more solidified than he was last week. While there’s no shame in having an enigmatic character whose motives are questioned, the other characters solely react to him with fear and intimidation because he’s the boss. So far he manages the office with sharp honesty and calm. His approach might be welcome on the show, which has been plagued by the ineffective managerial stylings of Michael Scott.
But Scott, for all his flaws, made sense as the boss in certain ways. He was far and away the best salesman on the staff, and his touchy-feely let’s-be-friends approach may have alienated some of his underlings, but in the end garnered people with genuine respect for him. Andy Bernard is hardly as complex as Michael Scott. Andy is a walking embodiment of just how far one can coast on privilege without any discernible skills. He’s managed to float to the top of this (moderate) corporate pyramid by being a terrible salesman, unqualified, and one of the younger candidates. Andy is also kind and generous, which gets him into a bind when he pledges that he’ll get a tattoo if the office is able to increase their profits.
Parks and Recreation:
Rarely is it a good idea to give a powerfully mysterious character backstory. Often it can eliminate any sense of surprise; as more is explained, less becomes compelling, tragic, or funny. Fortunately for “Parks and Recreation,” Ron Swanson is so powerful that even with the addition of Tammys 1 and 0 and a significant backstory, he remains a compelling character. Most of this is due to Nick Offerman’s unbelievable work.
The B and C stories this week are good, if slight. Ben’s travails with Entertainment 720 further illuminate how quickly this start up business is going to fail, and does some nice work humanizing Tom, preparing the audience for his inevitable return. Without Ben and Leslie able to stay in a relationship, it helps to give Ben something more to do, and his friendship with Tom is a good choice. None of the other characters so far have had a meaningful relationship with Tom, and deepening his character by having him realize that the shallow dreams of tossing around money without having worked for is immature.
Rob Lowe does a wonderful job playing off of the exasperated Rashida Jones in the featherweight C-story about the two filming a PSA on diabetes. There’s not much more to it, but it’s pleasant to see Lowe playing a poor improviser, very similarly to how Alec Baldwin feigned terrible flopsweat and panic in an early episode of “30 Rock.” It’s also nice to see Jones acknowledge the two characters’ relationship from the previous season. It’d be nice to see Chris’ near-psychosis pay off in some way as the season goes on, but even if it doesn’t, this still added to one of the best episodes of comedy so far this fall.
But no matter what happened on the sidelines, this was a Ron Swanson episode, pure and simple. Offerman swaps deftly between the hyper-masculine, typical Ron, a wary and fearful Ron, and the post-Tammy 1 emasculated, wimpy Ron. It’s the type of performance that garners Emmy nominations, and if it’s being burned off as the second episode, there must be fantastic things ahead for Ron and the rest of the crew. The final setpiece, a “Prairie Drink Off” between the Tammys and Leslie, gets extremely broad, but remains hilarious because the stakes are so high. Ron Swanson as we know and love him in danger, and both Tammys wish to get their claws into him and make him their own. Leslie, while a noble participant in the contest, is no match for the ice cold Tammy 1, the squat and sturdy Tammy 0, or the moonshine they’re drinking (even April, a proud Puerto Rican, can’t stomach a single mouthful). But when Leslie dissolves into a truly tragic drunken stupor just so Ron can continue to be who he really is, it inspires something in the temporarily un-mustachioed Swanson. He gains the conviction to down the bottle of moonshine and win the contest himself, dictating sharply that he wants to banish the Tammys and reclaim his identity as Ron Fucking Swanson. The audience wouldn’t approve of any other way.
Community:
Britta and Annie return to their own pasts this week on “Community.” Annie is sent back to high school when another hyper-competitive Annie tries to steal her thunder, while Britta finds herself in a push-pull flirtation with Chang the security guard and civil disobedience.
Frankly, the conclusion to both of these storylines is more hackneyed than is typical for
Community” fans. Britta’s final, absurdly ineffectual gesture is baffling by design, but still doesn’t have much impact. Hopefully this thread will not remain untied as the season goes on. While Britta thus far has been characterized by emotional arrested development, her coming to terms with her past could be played with sophistication. She also tells Shirley in the first scene that she’s decided to study psychology. Perhaps some self-analyzing will ensue.
The same goes for Annie and Jeff returning to their debate roots in a Model-UN-Off where they only manage to win by using a quick combination of Jeff's lawyer skills, Abed's pop culture acumen, and Annie's insaceable need to defeat her rival - the Asian and equally ambitious Annie Kim. Martin Starr appears as their Professor Cligoris, singlehandedly disproving that there are no funny names.
Not every episode of "Community" can provide the sturm and drang of "Modern Warfare," "Epidimediology," or even "Critical Film Studies." Instead this is another slightly underwhelming week of setup. It does prompt the careful veiwer to note Britta's impending quarter-life-crisis and Annie's surprisingly over-the-top temper tantruming.
Whitney:
Another weak episode of “Whitney.” Certainly no surprise. This may have already locked up the spot for worst fall show. It also singlehandedly proves that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Want a show about a mildly neurotic single girl trying to navigate big-city dating? Then don’t spend your pilot dictating that the two lead characters have been in a five-year relationship. Want a realistic look at the ins and outs of unmarried adults in a long term relationship? Then don’t send the female protagonist into a panic every few minutes about the dangers of not being in the honeymoon stage indefinitely. What “Whitney” needed to do this week was give example of something that could be a typical conflict for these characters. Explain why their jobs are important. Give some context to their friendships. Sitcoms live and die by their characters and jokes. Even on the lamer popular shows, these are the elements that people respond to. Sitcoms do not live or die by the platitudes they spout, but that’s where “Whitney” is spending its energy.
No longer having Cummings’ hour special to work from, this episode settles on old observations from previous seasons of “30 Rock” and nothing else. No jokes. Most of the humor supposedly should come from D’Elia’s generic boyfriend character acting genuinely baffled at the mood swings and general mental illness of his terrifyingly unpredictable girlfriend, but his rational behavior – at least at first – is completely understandable. The episode actually switches focus at the midpoint and begins to focus on D’Elia after Cummings becomes frustrated and kicks him out. Is this meant to be a show with a dual protagonist? While D’Elia is less grating a personality than Cummings, that’s simply because he doesn’t have much of a personality at all. When he is convinced by his crass cop friend to go along with Cummings, who wants to do an extended role-play that the two have just started dating, the episode loses any semblance of a sympathetic character.
Once again, rather than introduce complications or conflicts, the show resorts to Cummings dressed in slutty outfits. In fact, it comes earlier in this episode than in the pilot. And in order to do better than the last, they add an underwhelming girl-on-girl kissing scene meant to be titillating. It comes across as crass and desperate. Same goes for the conclusion, where the two adult leads – who are in a relationship – get back together. It’s a result without weight, and thus has no emotional impact. The clock is ticking on “Whitney.” Hopefully it will be replaced by the already superior “Up All Night” at midseason along with “30 Rock.”
Project Runway:
It’s back to drama drama drama on “Project Runway” this week. In the first ten minutes, Anya manages to use her pageant training for some excellent waterworks when she misplaces her envelope of fabric money. Vicktor passive-aggressively makes snide remarks about Josh that implies cheating. Burt faces extra scrutiny because he’s the only designer remaining who even lived through the 70’s. The other girls decide not to tell Kimberly that they think her ensemble is tacky in order to get her sent home.
But after last week’s disaster challenge, at least this week is somewhat compelling. Of course, plenty of the designers end up with disastrous looks, and the constant praise for Anya’s mediocre sewing and Josh’s spangled nonsense has become predictable and boring. Even Vicktor, the only remaining contestant who continues to surprise or intrigue with his work, is scrambling to come up with bon mots in the talking heads. Playing the game of “Project Runway” has become a game all the contestants are hip to, and while it’s still possible to laugh at their efforts, it also removes some of the fun.
Archer:
The conclusion of “Heart of Archness” is upon us. Too tragic, that there won’t be any more of this wonderful show until January 2012. But, until then, there’s not much to say. This hour and a half of material has been a wonder to watch, is funny as hell, and while it may have seemed fitfully structured when split up by commercials and full weeks, it’ll play like gangbusters if released as a straight-to-DVD feature.
The best business in this conclusion comes from character. Archer in particular. Over the past two years, Adam Reed has given his leading man enough hilarious quirks, idiosyncracies, and details to propel this whole story to a firey, helicopter-dangling, lacrosse-playing, fantastic end.
How to be a Gentleman:
There’s no show I wish I enjoyed more than “How to be a Gentleman.” It comes from the mind of David Hornsby, better known as the frequently t-bagged Rickety Cricket from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” After serving as a producer and writer on that show, Hornsby has collected plenty of comedic ringers for his ensemble sitcom. Rhys Darby from “Flight of the Concords,” Mary Lynn Raksjub from “Mr. Show,” and Dave Foley from “Kids in the Hall” each have made television comedy history with their great work. All three have also done their own writing, and probably could have contributed something more original to their characters. Unfortunately, all three come across as disappointingly generic. But respect must be given to Hornsby, for he was no doubt a reason why these talented people chose to join the show.
The only weak links in the cast seem to be more CBS inspired than Hornsby inspired. His co-lead is “Entourage’s” Kevin Dillon. Dillon is doing what he did for years on that show, playing his crass, brash “Johnny Drama” persona with little subtlety. Almost as collateral, Hornsby is playing very quiet with his character. Perhaps this is due to his years working on a single camera sitcom, but it comes across as flat and boring. He’s almost as bad as Dillon, and their relationship is meant to center this show. The other uninspiring element is Hornsby’s neighbor/love interest of the week. She was previously featured on “How I Met Your Mother” as the borderline psychotic “Blah Blah.” Her character here could have the same name, but has none of the flair.
Maybe “How to be a Gentleman” will gain momentum once Hornsby gains his 3-camera voice and figures out how to write for his talented cast. But, as of now it is disappointingly characteristic of CBS, not of the people involved.
