I like Linda Cardellini but she is not doing much for me as Jess's sister. I think part of the problem is the late introduction of the character and making it a three episode arc. There were some funny parts in the episode but overall I'm not crazy about the arc in general. It seems as if this arc is to prove that Jess is a mature adult who can handle things but I feel like the show has already proven that. I will wait until next week to pass a final judgment but as of right now I'm not crazy about this story so far. Speaking of disappointment I was hoping the show had figured out how to handle Winston but that appears from this episode at least to not be the case.
Deleted Scenes
The American's sophomore season debuted last night on FX. It is worth your time
With the Olympics ending a lot of shows have began airing new episodes and that is something we can all be grateful for.
Those three magical words are out and now it's time to move forward. (Also Prince was great on that episode). Now that that's been settled it's time for Nick and Jess to deal with the past as they bumped into Caroline at a farmer's market. Nick, and everybody else feel that you shouldn't remain friends with exes but Jess makes Nick meet with Caroline. Naturally Nick doesn't tell Caroline that he is with Jess and she catches them together and begins a bit of a mental break. Meanwhile Schmidt has finished decorating and wants the guys to come hang out when they finally do he gives them keys. Then naturally Winston and Coach both bring girls to the loft. It being his loft Schmidt also wants to bring home a girl. The whole thing is a pretty basic trope but the show does it well and honors how each character would handle the situation while keeping it funny(also they brought back Birdie from a few episodes back). Down the hall things are a little more manic as Caroline is banging on the door while Jess's ex that she invited over to help with the situation is telling Jess that he loves her. This all sets up for Nick to apologize to Caroline and tell Jess that he fell in love with her the first time he saw her. Strong back to back episodes this week. It will be interesting to see where the show goes in the future. Nick and Jess are firmly entrenched but there are lots of questions for everybody else.
Brooklyn 99
While 99 might not have seen a bump from it's Golden Globes victory it did receive a post Super Bowl bump which is good and hopefully some of those people stick around. Those extra people were treated to an episode that saw Jake and Amy's relationship progress some more. Meanwhile last night we were introduced to an already formed relationship in the form of Captain Holt's husband. It is Holt's birthday and he has invited the 99; which was probably a mistake. Sgt Jeffords feels that it is his task to make sure the precinct is ready for the occasion, which they are decidedly not. After everyone meets up, all with the same wine, they enter the party and immediately fall apart. After getting new rules from Jeffords they begin socializing. Peralta feels that the Captain doesn't want them there and that his husband invited them. He is right that they are not wanted; but he is wrong about who doesn't want them there. The episode brings back something that was initially addressed in the pilot and I'm glad that they aren't afraid to bring it back. We found out in the pilot that Captain Holt was held back in his career for being an openly gay officer. It is natural that Holt's husband doesn't have much affection for the NYPD nor it's officers. After failing to back up his pro-slavery stance and then ruining the party Peralta figures this out and with the help of the entire precinct makes up for it by treating them to a special birthday dinner. Brooklyn 99 might not be the funniest show on tv but it is still just its first season and is setting a good foundation to build on in the future. Hopefully Fox agrees with me and the gets the opportunity to use that foundation.
Thursday nights on NBC has long been was the crown jewel of television programming. The demise of Must See TV has been talked and written about for years now. But what NBC's inability to find hit shows has done is allow smart funny shows that have a loyal, albeit very small, audience that would never have lasted in NBC's prime.
The fact that last week Parks aired its 100th episode is something that very few would have predicted including the people who allowed it to happen. Parks has been on the brink of cancellation from the very beginning and has witnessed its own funeral enough times to make Tom Sawyer jealous. Which fortunately is something they won't have to do this year as Bob Greenblatt, NBC's president, recently gave Parks an unofficial renewal for a seventh season. This is great news for fans of the show as it is currently in a transition period and it would be great to be able to see that transition through to an excellent finale. Currently Leslie is in flux having been booted from City Council and has found herself back in the Parks department where it has been made abundantly clear she is not long for; she is losing her best friend with Ann and Chris moving to Michigan. There have been a lot of arcs in Parks and I'm excited to see what the next one brings for Leslie and the Parks department. So while it might not be perfect, Andy singing for kids is a rehash from season 2, it's still a fantastic show that I'm amazed we're still getting new episodes to nitpick.
If Parks and Recreation airing it's 100th episode is surprising then season five of Community is mind blowing. No I take that back season five of Community with Dan Harmon back is mind blowing. Community has had two things working for it from the beginning in a studio, Sony, that pushes hard for its show to make syndication and a premise and characters NBC felt could become a hit show. After three seasons and seventy five episodes of paintball, homages, fake clip shows, and lots of Winger speeches Sony decided what was keeping the show from finding that audience was the man behind it all, Dan Harmon. To be fair it's been well known that Harmon's management technique was less than ideal. Far less. With new writers in charge, Community was ready to take the world by storm and become the hit show that was always lurking behind the My Dinner with Andre homage. The only problem was that the fourth season was an homage as well; an homage to Community itself. Harmon may be hard to work with but he is also the heart and soul behind Community and what makes it special. So here we are, five episodes into a reinvigorated Harmon-lead Community that is back to clicking on cylinders. However, Harmon coming back isn't the only change this season, as Chevy Chase's Pierce is gone. As of last night so is Donald Glover's Troy Barnes who has long been one of the show's most like-able and funny characters. With paintball having been declared dead, Troy was sent off with a game of the floor is lava that once again tears the school apart. There was a general apocalyptic vibe as well as a heavy Waterworld vibe with Jonathan Banks a dead-ringer for Dennis Hopper. Because that's how it felt to Abed who wasn't ready to accept that he was losing his best friend. The best high concept Community episodes have always been the ones that have a strong emotional grounding as a foundation for the hijinks. Last night's episode certainly had that and gave a fitting farewell to Troy Barnes. So that's where we stand five episodes into a thirteen episode fifth season. Ratings have been a little higher recently but there's been no word on what the future holds but for right now, I'm enjoying the present.
