Community – Wow. This week’s episode had the study group try to help out a seriously depressed Fat Neil with a game of Dungeons and Dragons. The entire episode was devoted to the game, and even though it was all people sitting around a table, they still managed to send up every fantasy B-movie cliché around. From the ponderous narration to the sound cues (there always has to be an eagle…) and the surprisingly dead-on depiction of actual D&D gameplay, it was a fantastic episode. Britta’s outrage over the racial classification system, Annie’s in-game seduction of an elf maiden, Abed’s gnome character – it was hilarious. But not only was it really funny (Sr. Chang as a Drow? Which, as it turns out, looks almost exactly like blackface? Amazing.), but it was emotionally strong. Fat Neil’s pain really came through, and Pierce’s meltdown was totally in character and incredibly awkward. We got to see him at his most dickish and then watch it play out over a fantasy campaign. Community does these “gimmick” episodes better than anybody, and this was another quality episode. Parks & Recreation–Our favorite sitcom had us howling this week from start to finish. A flu epidemic is whipping through Pawnee and kicking a lot of our favorite people’s butts. This includes Leslie, who refuses to believe she’s sick even after she pukes five times in a matter of hours. Andy is filling in for April, who is also sick, and is trying to help Leslie by googling her symptoms: “I typed your symptoms into the thing up here and it says you could have network connectivity problems.” Great line, but even better delivery by Chris Pratt. That man’s an unsung hero. And Chris (Rob Lowe) was struck down by the virus because, with only two percent body fat, he explains, his body is like a “micro chip and the flu is a grain of sand that could shut everything down.” The ensuing scenes of sick Chris are awesome. By stealing everyone else’s flu meds, Leslie manages to deliver an important presentation at the Chamber of Commerce, in between hallucinations, and impress Ben (Adam Scott). Really,this one has to go on Amy Poehler’s Emmy reel. And I didn’t even mention the awesome father and son like pairing of Ron and Andy. It’s hard to believe this season is so young, because this show is firing on every single cylinder.
