Parks and Recreation - I need more Tom

Had to watch this episode on replay, but I went in with crazy excitement when Mrs. Channelup had told me this episode had some great scenes with the "Brown Superman with a beard that stands for justice" otherwise known as Tom!

If I had known city employees could sit around outside the office and drink beers after work I'd have filled out an application for the Parks Department a looooonggg time ago. When they added wine and cheese to the party I actually called my local town council and asked how I could get a job with parks and recreation. They hung up.

All Leslie wants to do is shatter the glass ceiling and get with Mark B. If it means opening a little, against regulations gift basket so be it. Who can blame her? If it means rekindling that half a decade old affair with Mark then so be it. Her guilt gets the best of her and she confesses to everyone but the president (which she might have off camera).

A fine episode, but please give us more Tom. Tom is a character I could watch an entire episode, maybe an entire series, about. His aloofness in the midst of turmoil and his smart assness in the face of terror is admirable. What I think I also love about Tom is he is one of the first true characters from Indian decent (according to his wikipedia page) on television that doesn't play some stereotype of the culture. Instead he is just a regular slacker twenty something working in a job he knows is stupid and yet is probably too lazy to work anywhere of consequence. This melting pot is going places.

I am also a pretty huge fan of Ron Swanson. If anything, Tom probably aspires to be Ron at some point in his career. The guy has Scrabble up on his computer and wants nothing more than to collect a paycheck and be left alone (and possibly be the guy sitting in a room deciding who to nuke).

Good development in this episode and the expansion of the auxiliary characters was totally necessary.

Highlights
- the pit/ soon-to-be-park turning into a neighborhood trash dump had me laughing out loud. If that doesn't define a collective American dystopia then I don't know what does.

- Tom's deposition of Leslie and his line of questioning out of sheer masochism is something every subordinate should record and keep on file

- Ever wish you could just get on some crutches and limp down the street buck naked? Me too.

Comments

The Office - Cafe Disco

The Office hasn't been the same since Michael came back. At least that's his claim and it precipitates the inception of the "party room." Who wouldn't love this in their job? A room where they played techno music and everyone raved all day? Scratch that, I would hate it. Michael doesn't have the same connection with the larger staff at Dunder Mifflin as he had with his workforce of three at Michael Scott Paper (Pam and Ryan). He yearns for the same connectivity and tries to achieve it through exxpresso (sic) and house music at annoyingly loud decibels. He turns the old Michael Scott Paper into a meet-and-greet disco type place for office workers to kick back and relax. Unfortunately, no one can take it easy with Michael around. Nor do they want to. It isn't until Michael gives up all hope of the space that the two Kelly's (secretary and customer service) take it over and make it into the party atmosphere Michael dreamed off. I loved how th

Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia - The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis

This summer Mrs. Channelup was dying to see "The Nightman Cometh," Its Always Sunny's broadway-esque rendition of the Charlie's season 3 ending play. I balked, but now regret it to some degree. The gang would have probably made a fairly hilarious spectacle. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is like Curb Your Enthusiasm for the young, drunk and stupid crowd. I mean this is the best possible sense. The formula of Ridiculous premise + inane ranting dialogue + actors and actresses that can pull it off = comedy fucking gold. There aren't many funnier shows on television. Consider tonight's season premiere where Dee strives to become a surrogate mother strictly for the cash and residual benefits while the rest of the gang exploits a family foreclosing on their home. Does any other show make so much light of two topics more unfunny? That the gang is too stupid to pull either ploy off makes the show that much better. I always wonder how much of Its Alwa

Stranger Things Season 3 - A Breakup Letter to Friendship

My thoughts on Stranger Things Season 3. If you haven't watched it, all of the spoilers are ahead. So tread carefully, like a Mind Flayer could be around the corner. “But I know you're getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change.” - Jim Hopper True friendship, at least to the Duffer Brothers, seems defined by finding those people who truly understand you. Who you don’t really need to explain your life to because they already get it. There’s shared happiness and shared trauma. They are those with whom you speak a common language, who understand what a Mind Flayer or Demogorgon are without explanation. Who can walk into your parents’ basements unannounced. They can get you up on the walkie-talkie at any time for a meetup somewhere on a D&D game, trip to the pool, walk at the mall or take down a secret Russian military base. These are true friends. Friendships

Channelup

Search This Blog