Parks and Rec, Community, Doctor Who, and Eurovision

[bennet_7]

If you aren't watching Parks and Recreation you should. I know I've said it before but I honestly believe that you are missing out on one of the best and most enjoyable TV shows I have seen in a long time. It's funny, it's smart, it's heartwarming, and it's consistently awesome. I. LOVED. EVERYTHING.

- I think they got just the right amount of tension and drama out of keeping Ben and Leslie apart. They got to know each other better, flirt adorably, and figure out that they were liked by each other.

- Chris was an amazing cockblock even if I couldn't figure out why he was driving back with them (how did he get there in the first place?). His air banjo - oh, how I laughed.

- That kiss was amazing. You could see that he'd totally made up his mind and he wasn't gonna dilly-dally any more and then he took the note from her and put his hands on the side of her face and I let out an actual squee. And then he pulled back and Leslie re-initiated the kiss and I clapped. Go kids!

- Loved Leslie's friendship with Ann in these episodes. First the fight (done just right) and then the wonderful support. Ann's a shipper!

- Great stuff with April and Andy too. Loved the role-playing which saw the return of Janet Snakehole and Burt Macklin (Parks and Rec your continuity is amazing!) and April's performance of 'I fell in the pit'.

- I adore Jean Ralphio and I don't care who knows it.

- And finally, everyone getting drunk on Snake Juice was the greatest!

I thought this last episode of Community was good but not great. I'm glad they addressed the Pierce as villain storyline but I was once again disappointed with what they did with Britta and Shirley - not enough!

Alan Sepinwall said something in his review that resonated with me:

For a brief moment, I wanted Britta to be the sole heroine, if only as a payoff to all the "You're the worst!" talk she's had to suffer all year. But, of course, this was a story about Pierce, and his role in both the group and the larger community of Greendale weirdos, so he was the one who had to fire the final shot, save the school, and set up that melancholy final scene in the study room.

I thought that after Jeff, Troy, Abed, and Annie got taken out that Britta was going to win it. It would have been a really nice twist after she'd barely featured in the episode, her only moment coming when god-damn-background-player Vicki shouted down her idea with "You're the worst!" (I don't hate Vicki. I love all the background players. But it sucks when they get more sympathetically written than one of the members of the study group.) I do understand why it had to be Pierce but I don't know why they had to dredge up this "Britta is the worst" garbage after they'd kind of addressed it by her delivering Shirley's baby.

Doctor Who was pretty great! On an emotional and character level it was brilliant (the Doctor/TARDIS now and forever and ever) but I was a bit iffier on the plot. Where was House taking the box? Was he just consuming it? But where were they hurtling through space?

But I could hand wave all of that because the Doctor and TARDIS (or Sexy, if you will) was wonderful. It was great to see them really explore that relationship. I doubt we'll get anymore talk about the Doctor being lonely. He has her!

OK, one more quibble. I found the interior of the TARDIS, the corridors Amy and Rory were running through, a bit boring, especially after seeing this amazing fanart about the interior of the TARDIS (Go now! Marvel!). I think it might have been cool to see them running through different corridors, like a stone one from an ancient castle, one in panelled wood, one that was all in glass, one that was a portrait gallery. Yes, using the same set over and over again created that confusion and was certainly cheap for the production but I just expected the interior of the TARDIS to be more magical, odd, and cobbled together.

Finally: EUROPE! I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! HOW COULD YOU VOTE FOR AZERBAIJAN TO WIN? THEY WERE BORING. MOLDOVA WAS CRACKIER! I ALSO LIKED ESTONIA. I CAN'T BELIEVE JEDWARD IS A REAL THING BUT I WOULD HAVE BEEN OK IF THEY'D WON BECAUSE THEY WERE AWESOMELY AWFUL.

One of my favourite entries, from 2007.

This is what Eurovision should be!

Comments

[cobweb-diamond.livejournal.com]

OH SHIT, JEDWARD. i apologise on behalf of the uk. i know they were representing ireland, but the only reason they exist is down to their popularity on UK X-Factor. ;LKJSDF THEY ARE SO.... BAD...


I agree absolutely re: the TARDIS interior. I understood that they needed to go low-budget since they'd gone for a bigger outdoor set for the junkyard and so forth, but seriously, the corridors were the ONLY disappointment of the episode, which was otherwise brilliant. ppl have been waiting aaages for some further TARDIS interiors, and these inorganic sci-fi generic corridors were less than exciting.

[bennet-7.livejournal.com]

I'd kind of heard of Jedward before this but I'd just assumed they were terrible and avoided them. But lo, they were worse than I thought!

And yet, there was something strangely endearing about them because for all they tried their Gaga-est, they lacked polish but had buckets of enthusiasm. I liked it when they stumbled through their choreo and weren't perfect pop robots.

I've fantasized about the TARDIS interior so this was a big let down and the grey with yellow accents didn't really seem to suit what we have seen. I wanted to see the swimming pool and the library and apparently there is (or was) a squash court. I'd seriously love an episode where they're just stuck in the TARDIS. Like, it could be about a massive game of hide and seek and I would be happy (it can take so little to please me).

[cobweb-diamond.livejournal.com]

i just watched it again. :)))) you should check out the doctor who confidential! i don't usually watch it, but neil gaiman is v sweet in it. what a fanboy.