(S02E06) No more pit! I figured that the giant hole would eventually be filled in, but I had a feeling that it would take much longer than this. But after only 12 episodes of the entire series, Ann now sees a dirt lot when she looks out of the window of her home. Oh, progress.
Speaking of progress, I haven't been the biggest fan of Andy, but I enjoyed him in this episode. Before, when he turned up, it was mostly just to show how pathetic he is, but this week, in addition to that, he actually helped move the plot along in a big way. He gave up $100,000 for Ann, which honestly, seems like a terrible idea to me. I understand that he's in love with her and all, but there's no guarantee that she's going to get back with him, and a hundred grand is a hundred grand, you know?
(S02E01) Parks and Recreation started out kind of slowly for me in its first season, but by the time we got to the finale, I was totally hooked. Going into the season two premiere, I had a good feeling they would keep up the momentum. This good feeling was confirmed in the cold open, when Leslie (Amy Poehler) started rapping the DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince classic, "Parents Just Don't Understand," nearly unprompted, accompanied by Tom (Aziz Ansari) on beatbox. All of a sudden, I loved this show.
What's beginning to make this show great (other than late 80s rap, of course) is that Leslie is finally becoming more than a one-dimensional figure. For whatever reason, she fell into the same trap that Michael Scott was in when The Office premiered. When a character is nothing more than a bumbling fool, he or she quickly becomes boring.
(S01E06) Ah, so that's how they're going to do it. While the pit was still the underlying thrust of the episode, the stories were more about the characters and relationships. And realizing even more what a big dumb sap Mark is. It's really more a testament of Leslie's own insecurities and issues that she's so hung up on him because he is even more lame than Tom. At least Tom is charismatic and charming, in his own creepy way. Mark is just creepy, a lot older than he seems to think and kind of a doofus.
(S01E05) Man, Leslie Knope is a dope. But Tom is the bomb! Okay, I'm sorry. There's no excuse for that kind of crap. Still, though, Tom was hilarious in his speech to Leslie's mother, who will always be Jericho's Gail Green to me, at the banquet. Certainly it was smoother than Leslie's. But then Ron's speech of facts was better than Leslie's painful attempt at name-dropping.
It's amazing that Leslie and her mother are related, considering how vastly different they are. Her mother is shrewd and calculating, and clearly willing to muck around in the dirt to further her own agenda (i.e. a politician), while Leslie is an optimistic do-gooder who's more heart than smart ... oh crap, I did it again, didn't I?
(S01E02) Tonight, we move forward on the next step in Leslie Knope getting that pit replaced with a beautiful park. Look at that, Parks and Recreation doubles as a primer for how local government gets things done. It almost makes me want to get involved and make a difference in my community. Almost. It also makes me wonder about the quality of people in my local community. Somehow I can imagine people like Tom and Leslie working there.
It looks like things are going to move pretty slowly on this show, despite only a six episode run. I guess with the pit project being the only major plot, there's not much else to do. I hope they have a Plan B if they get picked up. All we got was the team canvassing the neighborhood to gauge reactions to the project and then an impromptu town hall meeting where everyone could voice their opinion. And that went about as well as you might expect; remember the last meeting Leslie ran.
First there was talk of a spin-off of The Office. Word was that Amy Poehler was attached. Then we got the notion that Rashida Jones may just reprise her role of Karen in that spin-off. And then it became Parks and Recreation. The show follows the exploits of the Parks Department in a small city in Indiana. So our spin-off went from more office politics to ... well, politics. But Amy Poehler is here. And while Rashida Jones is on board, it's not as Karen.
Still, the comparisons are going to be inevitable. Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, who are both key parts of The Office team, created this show, it airs right before The Office, and both are shot in that mock documentary style. Then you have Poehler's lead role as Deputy Director Leslie Knope. She appears to be as oblivious to the world that truly exists around her as Michael Scott is on The Office, but more in a naively optimistic way than a narcissistic asshat way. As Jones' character Ann Perkins describes her: "She's a little doofy, but she's sweet."
For a variety of reasons, I decided to not go to the Winter edition of the TCA press tour. So far, my choice to stay in frigid Jersey has been justified; not much in the way of big news has come out of the tour, and it seems like the networks are very happy about that.
However, if I was there, I would have apparently received the pilot script to the new Amy Poehler-led sitcom that's being written and produced by the folks from The Office, as Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did yesterday. He revealed some details about what the show's going to be about, and they're... interesting.
The show will be shot documentary-style like The Office. In it, Poehler plays Leslie Knope, who is, according to Owen, a "mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana." She works with a local nurse (Rashida Jones) to turn a construction site into a park, and has to battle the usual local-government nemeses at every turn, including those "traffic and noise" complainers and a town official (Aziz Ansari). All the while, she's followed by an intern (Aubrey Plaza) that she hopes to inspire.
Aziz Ansari seems to be the hottest name around Hollywood casting circles. According to Variety, the stand-up comedian, who's also one-third of the MTV's acclaimed sketch team Human Giant, has been cast in the upcoming Office spin-off. He's also signed a one-year talent hold deal with Universal Media Studios.
What's interesting about this news is that Ansari was also tapped to play one of the new interns on the eighth season of Scrubs, which is produced by and will now air on ABC. What I'm guessing is that, since Scrubs will finish shooting in August, this deal will start after his deal with the veteran medical comedy ends. If there happens to be a ninth season of the show, as Bill Lawrence told me might happen, I'd imagine he'd come back after his Universal deal ends or they'll just replace him with someone else.
Jack Bauer's daughter is trading in angst for romance. Actress Elisha Cuthbert has been cast on the CBS pilot Ny-Lon. That's the one-hour romantic-drama-with-comedy based on the British series of the same name that aired on the Channel 4 TV in 2004 (only there it was called NY-LON; apparently the American version is initial cap only).
Have you ever read TV Squad and said to yourself, "Hey, I wish there was a speedy, five minute podcast about this site hosted by someone with a mildly annoying South Jersey accent?" If you have, there are two things you should know: 1) your prayers have been answered and 2) you're a dangerously deranged person. Seriously, you should talk to someone before your problems get out of hand.
But before you do that, you should go ahead and download our brand new weekly podcast, TV5. Every Friday I'll be bringing you a five minute rundown of five of our most interesting stories. Why five? Because we here at TV Squad like prime numbers and TV34301 seemed like overkill. Enjoy!
When it comes to new comedies, the FOX network's record hasn't been very glowing as of late. Yes, the Sunday night animated comedies still bring in the audience, and Arrested Development brought critical acclaim, and Back to You and Til' Death are decent, if not outstanding, sitcoms. But, what else has the network brought to the table recently? Anyone remember The Loop, Happy Hour, Freeride, Kitchen Confidential or Stacked? Of course not; hence, the sad track record FOX has had bringing funny to its network.
This year, FOX is hoping for a stronger fall season with a shorter baseball hiatus. Instead of 26 game nights, FOX is expecting to air only 14 games leading up to and including the World Series. Once again, FOX's January schedule has FOX poised for a win in ratings with non-stop 24 and renewal of American Idol. One schedule item worth noting is The Sarah Connor Chronicles, based on the Terminator movies. Fox chose to hold it until mid-season because they want a strong female audience, which is something they get when American Idol returns.
In: 'Til Death, House, Bones, The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill, American Dad, America's Most Wanted, Cops, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, American Idol, 24, Prison Break,
New:K-Ville, New Amsterdam, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Back to You, Return of Jezebel James, Rules for Starting Over, Kitchen Nightmares, Canterbury's Law, Nashville
Out:The Winner, Standoff, Drive, The War at Home, The O.C., Justice, Happy Hour, The Rich List, Vanished, The Wedding Bells, The Loop
There are reportedly two versions of The Office season finale-- one where Karen leaves and one where she stays. The reason isn't so much about storytelling as it is about the uncertain future of Rashida Jones, who plays Karen. She starred in a pilot called The Rules for Starting Over for Fox and now is waiting to see whether it's being picked up. Kristen over at E! Online says it's a good chance Fox will pick up the comedy. We'll know what happens on May 17th when Fox reveals its fall schedule.
Soapbox time: I'd like to see Karen go. I like Rashida Jones, but it feels like her character is doing nothing but treading water these days. With Karen gone, there's even more of a reason for tension between Jim and Pam because they will have to decide whether to act on the opportunity to hook up. If Karen stays, I'm fine with that too, but I hope something juicy happens in the season finale to spice up her relationship with Jim and her coworkers.
If the previews are correct, it looks like tonight's new episode of The Office will officially kick off the Pam vs. Karen battle. Some of you who favor Pam may look at Karen and say, "Who is this chick?!?" First of all, don't call her a chick. Second of all, I thought this was an ideal time to meet Rashida Jones, the actress who plays Karen on The Office.
Rashida Jones has some pretty amazing genes. She is the daughter of legendary music producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton. Yeah, I know. I'm jealous, too. So, of course this beautiful woman (named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful in 2002) can both act and sing. And she's some sort of piano genius who could play classical concerts at the age of five. She is one of the back-up singers on three songs by Maroon 5's breakthrough album, Songs About Jane. And she's wicked smart, graduating Harvard University in 1997. And, even though I haven't seen it, she apparently does a great job of putting Tupac Shakur in his place during an interview in the documentary Thug Angel (Life of an Outlaw). She didn't like some things Tupac had to say about her famous dad.
Jim put himself on the line with Pam last year. That didn't work out; he transferred from Scranton. (Who knew that the Stamford office would also be full of loonies? But that only makes it more credible that either branch might be the one forced to close.)
Kudos to the writers for finding a way to put off the number one killer of sitcoms -- the hooking-up of long-unconsummated lovers. Jim appears to be the guy in the office who can't get through the tedium of a day without a little sexual tension. Who can blame him, when the other choices are pushing paper products or team-building exercises gone wild?
(S01E05) Man, Leslie Knope is a dope. But Tom is the bomb! Okay, I'm sorry. There's no excuse for that kind of crap. Still, though, Tom was hilarious in his speech to Leslie's mother, who will always be Jericho's Gail Green to me, at the banquet. Certainly it was smoother than Leslie's. But then Ron's speech of facts was better than Leslie's painful attempt at name-dropping.
(S01E02) Tonight, we move forward on the next step in Leslie Knope getting that pit replaced with a beautiful park. Look at that, 
For a variety of reasons, I decided to not go to the Winter edition of the TCA press tour. So far, my choice to stay in frigid Jersey has been justified; not much in the way of big news has come out of the tour, and it seems like the networks are very happy about that.
Aziz Ansari seems to be the hottest name around Hollywood casting circles. According to Variety, the stand-up comedian, who's also one-third of the MTV's acclaimed sketch team 
Jack Bauer's daughter is trading in angst for romance. Actress 
Have you ever read TV Squad and said to yourself, "Hey, I wish there was a speedy, five minute podcast about this site hosted by someone with a mildly annoying South Jersey accent?" If you have, there are two things you should know: 1) your prayers have been answered and 2) you're a dangerously deranged person. Seriously, you should talk to someone before your problems get out of hand.
This year, FOX is hoping for a stronger fall season with a shorter baseball hiatus. Instead of 26 game nights, FOX is expecting to air only 14 games leading up to and including the World Series. Once again, FOX's January schedule has FOX poised for a win in ratings with non-stop 
There are reportedly two versions of The Office season finale-- one where Karen leaves and one where she stays. The reason isn't so much about storytelling as it is about the uncertain future of Rashida Jones, who plays Karen. She starred in a pilot called The Rules for Starting Over for Fox and now is waiting to see whether it's being picked up. Kristen over at 
Jim put himself on the line with Pam last year. That didn't work out; he transferred from Scranton. (Who knew that the Stamford office would also be full of loonies? But that only makes it more credible that either branch might be the one forced to close.)
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
