As we saw in last week’s season opener, Parks and Recreation has definitely set some healthy goals for its sophomore year. In two short episodes, we’re already seeing a new push toward topical stories and jokes, more fleshed-out relationships among the supporting characters, and — most importantly — a Leslie Knope that isn’t completely unbelievable. Like the Ludachrysanthemums and Souljaboytellems so lovingly planted in the pit garden, Parks is beginning to blossom. It’s a beautiful thing!
What was so often missing from last spring’s episodes was a sense that these characters really knew each other (let alone themselves); that they had lives outside of Leslie’s immediate orbit. Last night’s episode, “Stakeout,” worked to correct this by teaming up three disparate pairs — Leslie and Tom; Mark and Ann; and Ron and April — and seeing what happened. Ostensibly (and respectively) what happened was jailtime, slow-moving romance, and a hernia…but what REALLY happened was far more interesting, and of course totally in line with the “planting seeds” theme. READ FULL STORY »
Now that’s more like it. After a pilot that seemed worse the more I thought about it, the only place Community could go was up, and last night’s episode, “Spanish 101,” did just that. There were jokes that actually made me laugh, and the premiere’s mean-spiritedness subsided and made way for (gasp!) a little dose of sweetness. Most importantly, I had the sense that Community was finding its groove. The pacing was less frantic, and the humor was given more time to breathe. If the pilot episode was like a sugar-addicted 6-year-old running around while spitting out every joke he knew, “Spanish 101″ was more like a 16-year-old — still awkward, yes, but well on his way to figuring out who he is and his place in the world. By next week’s episode, who knows, Community could very well make the leap into adulthood. 
I’m handling recap duties while Margaret’s on furlough. Fortunate for me, since last night’s episode was an instant classic! The pre-credits scene even outdid the 
Last season, Ghost Whisperer took a huge creative risk. 
Do you ever get the feeling that Bones‘ producers like to stick it to Fox’s Standards and Practices? This felt like one of those episodes. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard them 
Jeff starts off his blog with a major spoiler. Head after the jump to read on. 
Before we get into the heart of this episode — which was whether or not there’s any humanity left in Damon — I just need to say that I have never felt older watching a CW show than when Mr. Tanner, the history teacher, instructed his students to settle the debate he and Stefan were having on the end date of the Korean War and they all pulled out their cellphones to search the Internet. Do high schools no longer have actual textbooks? I envisioned flipping to the index, saying ‘h-i-j-k-l’ in my head to remember what letters ‘k’ falls between, running my index finger down and across the page, then finally turning to the correct chapter and skimming. I. Am. So. Old.
