This Week In Comedy Open Thread

This Week In Comedy Open Thread

The big television comedy news this week was the return of Girls on Sunday night, the same night Lena Dunham took home Golden Globes for Best Comedy Series and Best Actress. Did she and the show deserve these awards? Probably not, but who cares, they are Golden Globes and whoever possesses them effects none of us. That being said, I enjoyed the first episode of season two! I think I saw some criticism elsewhere about how Hannah seemed abruptly different from season one — stronger, specifically, in her relationship with Adam than we were used to, and that that was a bad thing somehow. I realize I am referencing something that I read in passing somewhere that I don’t even remember, which is frustrating, but I disagree with whatever it was! Mostly because her relationship with Adam is tiresome to watch, and it makes sense that she would move away when she felt like she was actually getting what she wanted, while STILL keeping it on the back-burner, because she is awful. Everything about it makes sense. Also if she were still chasing after Adam, how could the show have introduced its black character, Donald Glover? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, PEOPLE WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT BROOKLYN IS ALL WHITE? Also Andrew Rannells showed his butt and made out with the still insufferable Marnie. Get out of your ex’s bed, girl. Speaking of Andrew Rannells, it is very silly that he plays someone who is 23 or so on Girls and then someone who is 37 or so on New Normal. Does he pull it off? YES! I don’t know. Who cares. I love him. He can play his own baby on New Normal for all I care, just get this guy some more roles! (New Normal is a show probably most of you dislike, which I get, but I like it and leave me alone and it was good this week. Shania had lots of good lines and my favorite was, “What is a vagina for other than peeing?”) (Hahaha.) (Let’s take a jump, follow me.)

This week also saw the return of Parks and Recreation, which was good but not great. The sweet/funny mix was a little too heavy on the sweet and a bit too light on the funny, I think. Though obviously I was very excited when they played Settlers of Catan, my favorite board game that I’m not embarrassed about at all. “AH,” I yelled while pointing at the screen. AH! Also the molecular gastronomy bar was very funny. What else? There is always so much to talk about. New Girl was great this week, I thought. I laughed out loud at “Little Penis” every time they said it, and I thought Jess commending Nick for not being more of a mess at the end was very sweet. The lead up to the inevitable Nick/Jess relationship has been very well paced, I think. The Mindy Project was terrible. The best thing Hannah from Girls has going for her in the likability zone is that Mindy from The Mindy Project is the least likable leading character on television. WHY AREN’T YOU LADIES WRITING YOURSELVES BETTER? A line like “I can do anything as long as it’s just paying for something” (delivered after forgetting that your best friend’s child existed) is not funny enough to overcome how insufferable it is, and would work better if it were coming from a secondary character that we didn’t have to root for in order for the whole show to work. Also, and Vulture has pointed this out before, it feels a little cheap how often Mindy reuses jokes — I forget if it was this week or last week, but at one point she calls her friends and they are hanging out together and she screeches, “Are you guys hanging out without me?!” It’s as if she thinks tidbits like these are so golden that she can’t help but use them everywhere, and that only draws your attention to how not-so-hot the tidbits are. Ugh. Anyway. Bob’s Burgers was very good, obviously, that show is a genius show put together by geniuses, though it is wearing on me how Fred Armisen has to play music in every guest role he’s given. Quit it, Fred! Speaking of him, though, Portlandia delivered once again this week. The Office and 30 Rock were both enjoyable enough. I’m running out of steam. What did you guys think? OH! I nearly forgot Kroll Show, which we were all asked to watch as if we wouldn’t definitely have watched it anyway! Kroll Show was obviously great. So. What did you guys think?

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