Leslie Hacked, Ann's Request, And Andy's Charity

Parks and Recreation, S05E15

Leslie had her jokes stolen by an enemy at the Pawnee Sun, and she asked her friends to help her fight against the woman hacking into her emails.  Ben asked April, Andy, and Tom to help him pick a charity at his new job, and April got angry at him when he didn't choose Andy's pick, which could have cheered him up about failing the police academy.  Ann asked Ron for help on how to ask Chris to be sperm donor.

Leslie's jokes for the Correspondence Lunch weren't that great, but it was still annoying that Kim had hacked her email and stolen all her ideas.  What a bitch.  I don't know what Leslie's done to her to make her the butt of every joke in her paper.  Actually, opposed to Leslie's jokes I liked the one that Ron suggested to her that she didn't use:

[Ron] I have a joke for you.[Leslie] OK.[Ron] The government in this town is excellent and uses your tax dollars efficiently.[goofy laugh]
[Leslie] That's not really a joke.[Ron] I disagree.  I find it hilarious.

I liked at the end, thanks to Donna's plan, Amy brought up a rumor from a fake email Donna had sent, revealing Kim's guilt.  That stupid bitch.  It  was funny that they had brought up a fictional thing from Stars Wars, making Kim look like an even bigger idiot.  It's too bad that people there didn't boo her or something.  She couldn't have enough humiliation in my book.

One of my favorite parts about Ben's story was when he told April and the others why he had brought them there.  April quickly let him know she hadn't come to help:

[April] Pass.[Ben] You came down here to pass on helping me?[April] Yeah, I wanted to see what your face looked like when I said no.  It was totally worth it.

Ben's job at Sweetums Foundation is insane.  I can't believe how fancy it is around there with the expensive food, massages, and office space as if Ben was the CEO of a global corporation.  Tom was soaking it up like he was duck in a pond (no surprise there), but I can't believe that Ben didn't feel the irony of having to settle for one charity while they wasted so much money on fringe benefits.  What I did like is that Andy, even in his depressed state, could see that as plain as day.  He's pretty sharp when it comes to certain things.  Since Ben eliminated all of the wasteful spending on pampering the employees, I wonder if there will be enough money to do the music program that Andy wanted.  It was so cute when Andy hugged Ben after he finally realized that Ben was hiring him as his assistant at the foundation.  Yay!  Andy might have found a new calling.

Ann made an awkward mess out of asking Chris to be the father of her baby.  She could have easily just pulled him somewhere private at work and asked him, yet she beat around the bush so much that Ron forced her to do it where someone like Perd could listen in.  Luckily, Chris wasn't repulsed by the idea so much as he was a little shocked.  However, he seems like he may eventually say yes to her.  Here's hoping--I think they would have a really adorable child together.

What I liked most about Ann's story best was her talking to Ron in his office.  I loved what he said to her when she first ran into his office for help:

 I wish this office had only walls.

You really got a sense that he didn't like anyone just stopping by his office, no matter what their business was.  Ann later came to praise Ron for his advice, but he didn't even want to hear that:

[Ann] I gotta tell you Ron.  You were absolutely and totally right.[Ron] I know.  Stop talking and get out.[Ann] Yep.

Ann barely sat down before Ron essentially kicked her out.  I wish I could cue people to leave with just a few words like that with no further questions nor complaints.

Oh, I also liked at the very beginning where Leslie and Ben were dishing out presents from their honeymoon.  They gave Ron a Hawaiian god of anger who looked like Ron when he was at work.  It really did look a whole lot like him, even though Ron doesn't bare his teeth like that.

This was a good episode to follow that amazing one before it.  It helped get the excitement of their wedding out of your system and return to the usual stories of lesser importance, but still with the usual comedy.  Chris might be soon fathering Ann's child, and Andy will soon be working for Ben to help people in a different, but still useful, way than he would have if he became a police officer.  I'm not so sure how well Ben and Andy will work together, but it could turn out to be funny.  After all, Ben is a riot when working with April and Tom, so him and Andy might be another hilarious pair.

No Drill Can't Stop The Gala

Parks and Recreation, S05E13

Leslie and Ben came up with an idea to throw a fundraising gala to fund the Pawnee Commons, but things looked bad when Leslie had to spend her last hours to finish up what was needed for the event in an emergency preparedness drill instead.  Andy also took the test to be a police officer.

I can't wait until the Pawnee Commons gets made.  I am so over Jamm putting a monkey wrench into Leslie's plans at every chance he gets.  He latest dick move to make the emergency drill extra long so that she couldn't manage the gala before it started was such a spit in her eye.  However, even though Leslie was deperate to get out of there, it had its moments of being funny.

My favorite part of her being trapped in the drill was when she had to talk to animal control.  Brett had me cracking up with the way he didn't understand whether he was to kill the birds for real or not.  Leslie finally just gave up on him and asked him to pretend like they never talked.  It got better when Leslie was angry that Jamm hadn't done his part in the drill to ask the buses to be shut down.  I loved when she muttered that she should have had animal control kill him:

[Brett] Oh, who you want me to kill?

[Leslie] No one.

[Brett] I'll kill 'em.  Soon as I'm done with these birds.

I like how ready Brett is to kill anything, man or beast.  If I was her, I would have let Brett do away with Jamm.  He was being such a jerk.

I also liked that Chris got infected in the drill, thanks to Jamm, and when he got killed, he was so damn positive about it.  He proudly said he was dead with a big grin and a thumbs up.  Freaking loveable Chris, with his crazy ass.

Another great thing about Leslie being occupied with the drill was that she wasn't able to do her interview.  Instead, Ron went on the show and with an unconscious Joan at his side, he took calls for people about all sorts of things, while promoting the gala.  My favorite piece of advice he gave was for some woman who had a terrier.  After giving her a tip on the scratches the dog made to the legs of the table, he added his two cents about small dogs:

Next thing you want to do is ditch the terrier and get yourself a proper dog. Any dog under fifty pounds is a cat, and cats are pointless.

I'm not much of a cat person, so to hear Ron say so matter-of-factly that cats are useless really made me laugh.  He should get his own talk show.  He was brilliant.

The last great thing about that story was after Leslie had gotten free and the gala was going great.  Leslie expressed how she couldn't wait to marry Ben, and Ben told her they should indeed get married right then and there.  That was a nice surprise!  I thought we would have to wait until the season finale or so to see them seal the deal.  I hope that nothing goes wrong with their impromptu wedding, though.

Andy's story went pretty much as I expected.  I felt like he was going to do awesome on his test because he seemed pretty damn prepared.  It was disturbingly cute when April gave him a dead rabbit with its legs removed as a good luck charm.  However, I liked Andy's response to it:

Baby, you are so creepy.  I love it.

Match made in heaven, those two.

It was also expected that Andy didn't do well on his personality part of the test.  He was answering the questions all kinds of wrong ways.  He was being really honest with his answers, the kind of honest that's dangerous.  However, that one officer remarked that Andy's perfect score on the exam and his miserable score on the personality test was a shame.  I think so too.  I thought maybe Andy would be able to slip by.  I'm curious to know what Andy will do next.

I really liked this episode.  Leslie didn't get trapped by Jamm as long as he wanted, and all of her friends came through for her and made the gala a success.  Next week, we are going to finally see Ben and Leslie get married, if they play their cards right.  I'd hate to see someone or something get in the way of that.  It's a shame that Andy didn't pass the qualifications to be a police officer, but I feel like there's hope for him yet.  He has a set of special skills that I think should be useful for some occupation, police force or not, and I really want to see him find his way to something that is perfect for him.

Curse That Fortune-Teller

2 Broke Girls, S02E15

The girls were having problems affording the supplies they needed for their cupcakes when they were being paid so badly at the diner.  Caroline got them an application for a grant for small businesses, but later spent a bunch of money on fortune-telling.  Max took Caroline to get her money back from the fortune teller, and the two ended up being cursed by her.

It was a bit of a shock that Andy was suddenly gone from across their shop, but I guess it makes sense that he has to be gone for good or it'll be strange to explain why we haven't seen him despite being neighbors with Caroline and Max's shop.  I felt the absence of Andy more when Amir was introduced and he and Max exchanged banter in a way that was almost like Andy and Max (if Andy was trying to hit on her).  The two of them were not funny at all as a pair, making me wish Andy was still on the show all the more.  His sudden disappearance does leave room for him to suddenly reappear with any flimsy explanation really, but such a happy outcome is in no way guaranteed.  Boo.

I almost felt bad for Han when everyone was telling him to not be a bitch and just sign the recommendation for Caroline and Max.  I mean, once again they are asking a favor of him (although not one I think would damage his reputation much), and they railroad him into doing it instead of letting him do it on his own.  However, I slightly changed my mind when Han wrote his own recommendation for them and it didn't sound that flattering.  It was certainly truthfully, but I don't think if they had submitted that recommendation that it would have helped them.  No wonder they'd rather just bully him into doing things their way rather than give him the option of helping them in his way.

I was pretty disappointed in how Caroline reacted with the fortune-telling and the curses.  I think she was still in shock that Andy chose to bolt town in the middle of the night rather than see her again.  I'm sure that had rattled her confidence about her relationships with men.  Still, to steal eggs and such from the dinner because they're hurting for money and then turn around to buy a crystal for 50 bucks is barely forgivable.  Max is a good friend not to slap the hell out of her.  It's definitely one of those times where I would want Caroline to think more about the business than her love life.  They're making jokes about whether they'll live until winter and she's going to blow money on something that dumb?  Hell, no.  And hell, no to that bitch fortune-teller who refused to give them refunds, cursed them, and then made them pay another 50 bucks to have the fake curses removed.  It's annoying as hell to see them being taken advantage, especially when the girls are conscious that they are being fleeced!  I hate seeing scam artists like that lady winning in the end.  Wish Max or Caroline would have thrown a fake curse at her.

I don't know if there was much of a good ending to the story.  The girls felt better hearing their fortunes of success and love, but after what that lady put them through I wouldn't believe her if she told me lighting would strike me and it did five seconds later.  Her ability to tell that it was going to snow proved nothing to me.  But I guess if Caroline could be put at ease because she thought she would be successful despite being alone, it's not the worst ending.  However, I was disappointed that they didn't get to submit their grant application nor get their money back.

I suppose you could say I didn't like this episode very much because it didn't turn out at all like I wanted it to.  I wouldn't have wanted Andy to disappear from the show as if he were an afterthought, nor would I want someone to try to sort of replace him.  The biggest fail for me was watching the girls fall prey to curses and the like.  That damn fortune-teller should have choked on that Chinese food she was eating at the beginning for all of her scams.  But at least the girls got semi-decent fortunes revealed by the end.  They live in a pretty gloomy situation now, so perhaps even false hope will turn into real hope for them.

Trading Z's For Some G's

2 Broke Girls, S02E12

The girls found out they had forgotten about a huge order of cupcakes due to their lack of sleep.  They snuck out of the diner earlier by faking an illness and tried to bake a thousand cupcakes in a limited time span while being extremely sleep deprived.

I was impressed by a lot of things in this story.  One being that Han is so nice that he keeps Caroline and Max around when they are sleeping blatantly in front of customers.  I guess he's just a super-understanding guy.  It was more amazing that after Max and Caroline faked being sick to cut work and then needed Han's help later, that he agreed.  He's just a big ol' sweetheart.  I mean, Max was piling on the short jokes and he still let them use his ovens.  They really owe him big.  The most impressive thing was that they were able to bake all those cupcakes in such a short time even with Earl and the others' help and especially since they ruined the majority of them at the near end.  Realistically, they shouldn't have been able to pull it off.  Not without one of them falling asleep in the oven or something.  A missing earring was like the least worst thing that could have happened.

I kept thinking there must have been some way they could have checked all those cupcakes without destroying them.  I mean, like sticking a toothpick or something in them?  I dunno.  Caroline probably wasn't thinking at full capacity when she just started tearing them up so quickly.  I would have tried to think of another way.  After all, once they covered them in frosting, I doubt anyone would notice a hole or two.  What a waste.  It was a bigger waste when you think about the earring not even being in any of them.  I guess it was just a way to add more drama and get that Andy issue out in the open.

I'll have to side with Caroline about it being a little weird that Max continued to be friends with Andy after the breakup.  They do have a good friendship and all, but there's no way for it not to be weird when Caroline and Andy still have some feelings for each other.  It would always be awkward and they wouldn't be able to keep Caroline completely out of it.  To my dismay, Andy did the right thing and broke up with Max too.  Aww.  They make such good besties.  Plus, Max loved all that free candy he could give her.  But she'd soon be looking like the worst friend ever to Caroline if she kept texting and talking to Andy as if nothing had happened.  Now I really wish Andy and Caroline would get back together some day.  Love the exchanges between Andy and Max that we'll not get to enjoy anymore.  Boo.

The funniest thing I found in this story was when Caroline was doing her guy voice terribly and she asked Max to let her hear hers.  Max responding that she's doing her guy voice right now was cute.  I liked it even better when Caroline and Max laughed at it together like they were going insane from lack of sleep.

Something that also caught my attention was when Max noted Andy's "Bradley Cooper tone."  He actually sort of looks like that actor--I wouldn't have noticed that before.  No wonder I think Andy is pretty good looking.  Which once again makes me sad if he's not going to make an appearance every now and then.

I liked this episode.  I don't know why, but it was sort of exciting to see hundreds of cupcakes being made.  It was incredible that they got it done in the state they were in and were able to collect $4,000 for it--damn.  If the girls keep this up, they may be in pretty good shape.  Just wish that Caroline and Andy's reunion was in good shape.  Unfortunately, it looks like the two have agreed to close the chapter on that book.  It doesn't stop me for wishing for their reconciliation, though!

Third Wheel Getaway

2 Broke Girls, S02E13

The girls won a getaway weekend for two, but Caroline's miscommunication with Andy turned it into a vacation for three.  Caroline promised to make it about her and Andy and not about Max and work, but Andy soon felt neglected and the couple's issues came to surface.

One of the things I liked in this episode was seeing Max enjoying the "luxury" of the place like the free slippers in the room and the pretzel rolls.  She is so cute when discovering things that people who have it a little better are full aware of already.  I also liked that she wasn't too much impressed by the sauna and was initially more impressed when she thought it was an outhouse.

The sauna brings about my second favorite thing in this episode: the girls meeting the bear couple.  They were just generally nice guys who provided some comedy as well as a place Max could run to when things got heated between Andy and Caroline.  My favorite scene was when Max was wearing their matching flannel pajamas and cozying up with them on the bed.  That was freaking adorable, especially when you throw milk and cookies into the mix.  It got slightly better when Caroline joined in too, but I really just liked when Max was making herself at home with her new friends.

I never had confidence that Caroline would live up to her promise to make the weekend about Andy, but I didn't expect their arguing to lead to them taking a break.  I freaking love Andy, but he made a lot of good points about why he found it necessary to separate from Caroline.  With their business just starting, Caroline really doesn't have the time to be completely invested in romance.  She's always been the ambitious type, so when opportunity knocks at her door, she's going to jump on it like a dog after a steak.  It's still disappointing, though, because they do have great chemistry and Andy and Max get along so well together too.  I doubt he's going to wait around for the cupcake shop to take off and for things to settle down a bit.   I wouldn't be surprised if Caroline caught him with another girl across the street in the near future.  I wish I could feel bad for Caroline, but I feel like she blew it.  But maybe it was doomed from the start because Caroline might not have been in the best position to be starting a new relationship.

I also thought the bride-to-be was interesting.  I liked that Max kept doubting her until the very end and assumed that her fiance in the store was a hired actor or someone with cake in his mouth.  She was so wrong for that.  And that lady was ridiculous on how much she loved their cupcakes.  She was moaning a little too much during her first taste testing.  I'm glad Max called her out on it and reminded her she wasn't alone.  Goodness.

This was a pretty good episode.  It wasn't one of the funniest, but it did give us an interesting look at how their cupcake business is affecting their loves lives, at least where Caroline is concerned.  I really hoped that Andy and her would stay together a little longer before something tore them apart, but I guess that was just wishful thinking.  It makes sense that until Caroline can prioritize something beyond her future cupcake empire, there's no room for anyone, much less Andy.  Even so, I'm looking forward to the awkwardness that will come thanks to Andy working across from them at his candy store.  Maybe since they will have to keep literally seeing each other, the possibility of them missing each other too much to stay apart for long is still on the table.

Shut It, Carol!

2 Broke Girls, S02E12

The girls were having trouble paying rent so Max was selling cupcakes to some potheads who needed snacks.  They upgraded into selling pot cupcakes and were surprised when they met Andy at their delivery site.

Of course, Caroline wouldn't be cool with Max selling cupcakes to people who are getting high, but if you think about it, when they sell cupcakes to anyone, they might be taking them home and enjoying them as a snack with their pot.  Caroline was being her usual annoying self, getting in the way of Max's profitable idea.  I mean, they didn't have much choice doing something a little shady when Caroline had too much pride to borrow money from Andy.  I was like, seriously?  You're going to be that proud when you're crawling on floors and jumping out of windows to avoid payment?

Anyway, one of my favorite parts was when Caroline was so proud that she had followed Max to find out that she was really following some guy with long, black hair.  I loved that not just because Caroline thought he was Max, but later when the guy was getting arrested, his girlfriend came out looking and sounding like Caroline.  They had somehow stumbled upon their meth doppelgangers.  Loved it.   Later, when Sophie came knocking at their door after they had finished making the pot cupcakes, Caroline shouted out just like Carol had when her boyfriend was being arrested.  I loved that Max responded to her the same way the guy had to Carol:

Shut it, Carol!  Shut it!

I was expecting that I would like Caroline being stoned since she said it made her personality change, but she was sort of worse than she was before.  I guess being overly positive is slightly better than all doom and gloom.  Then again, I guess it just depends how you do the latter.  Caroline wasn't being very funny about it--she was just sort of ruining their chance to get any money.  She also crushed that chance when she tossed out their cupcakes at Andy's arrival and hopped out to the fire escape.  The only thing I did like about her being high is that she had phone sex with Max.  It's funny because I'm not surprised she called her at all (especially with her admitting she'd marry Max if given three choices).

It was sweet that Andy gave Caroline money and said his success was pointless if he couldn't share it with her.  He's the best.  Caroline better never screw it up with him.  It was also sweet of the diner people to come and give money for the girls' rent.  I expected Caroline to turn down their money too, but luckily calling themselves family made her swallow her pride.  Wow.  I was sort of surprised that Han contributed because I kinda feel like he's a little pissed they're not working so hard at his business anymore.  Then again, he did succumb to Max's demands that he sit at their shop and eat eight cupcakes.  Either he is really afraid of her or he wants them to be successful on some level (maybe both).

I think I would have liked this episode even better if Caroline wasn't such a wet blanket about the pot.  Sure, it put their business into a gray area, but they gotta hustle if they want their business to stay afloat until they get a real customer base.  I hope by next time they have a better plan for getting the money so they don't have to hop out of windows to avoid their landlord.  If not, I hope they find something interesting like pot cupcakes again.  It's both an entertaining and cool idea.

Love Is Saying It On A Toilet

2 Broke Girls, S02E11

Caroline and Max worried that they weren't going to be able to start making profits because their sales were so low.  Since Sophie had invested in their business, Max offered Sophie to be a silent partner after her dream of owing a lake house in Poland had been ruined by shady contractors.  However, Sophie's changes in their business were unwelcome, and Max was unable to tell her to stop interfering so much.  Max also gave Andy advice about how to tell Caroline he loved her.

Two things that I liked were Max and Caroline insulting people who passed by their shop and Andy's journey to confess his love to Caroline.  The first thing was especially funny when an old woman asked about the price of their cupcakes and said no to the price before leaving right away.  I loved how both Caroline and Max called the lady a whore.  They were so mean, but I can understand their desperation to get customers flowing in.  After all, they have to sell 70 cupcakes a day to stay afloat. 

I thought it was cute that Andy wanted to tell Caroline he loved her, after they haven't been dating that long.  He must really love Caroline (or respect Max's opinion) to not just do things his own way and instead do research via romantic comedies before he told Caroline.  I didn't think that telling her in the diner was a bad idea until Earl had said:

Why, was the dump closed?

When he put it that way, it did make it seem like a pretty gross place to declare your love for someone.  I mean, this is the place that Oleg stands around talking about nasty things that I wish he would only keep in his dirty mind.

Speaking of Earl, I loved how excited Andy was that Earl gave him a personalized greeting when he came to the diner.  Being called "Prince Charming" wasn't that special to me, but it was cute how Andy felt like he had been accepted because of that, even though Max cautioned him that Earl sometimes calls groups of people by the same name, regardless of who it is.

In the end, Andy ended up telling Caroline he loved her on a toilet with his pants down and a tablet in hand while Caroline was in a cupcake costume and stuck in the door.  If anything else, that was definitely a memorable moment that neither of them will ever forget.  I liked that it ended up being like that because it meant that all of Andy's planning and research were for nothing.  It's not the place that matters, but the feeling behind the words.  Haha.

As for Sophie, well, I knew that making her silent about anything wasn't about to happen.  I still didn't expect hoagies and big chandeliers, though.  She outdid herself.  I'm just hoping that by the next episode she'll decide to step back since she felt like she was doing all the work and Caroline and Max weren't doing anything.  I'm just glad Max didn't get a chance to tell Sophie to tone it down because I think that would have exploded into a lot more drama than they needed.

This was a good bonus episode for the week.  It gives you a pretty good sense that the girls won't have people crowding their doors any time soon unless they get some big advertisement.  Sophie may or may not be the one to help them with that, as long as she stops trying to make their upscale shop into a place with pickled eggs on the counter.  Andy looks like he is going to be around for the long run (or at least the season?), the way things are moving.  Hopefully he or Caroline won't do anything to screw things up in the future.

Johnny And Max Never Meant To Be

2 Broke Girls, S02E10

Caroline and Max threw a party, celebrating the opening of their cupcake shop.  Max invited several of her ex-boyfriends to tell them to "suck it," including Johnny who she started seeing again to Caroline's dismay.

Wow, they have got the store ready really quickly!  I thought we might see a little more in-progress stories before we saw the cupcake shop actually set up for people to walk through there.  But it's not bad that things are moving faster than I expected.  I'm just glad that the party they threw was a success and it was mostly Max's choice to see Johnny again that brought the most trouble.

One of my favorite things in the episode was Max's "suck it" face.  I absolutely loved that face she made.  It was the perfection expression to really stick it to anyone that had crossed her in the past.  It's just too bad she didn't really get to use it in the right way on either of her exes.  In fact, Johnny found it to be a turn on.  I can't say that I'm surprised about that.  It was more of a confident, sexy look than a bitchy, ugly look.

It was also funny that Caroline and Max kept ignoring Han, who couldn't get into the party.  The best part of Han's struggles was when the doorman said they were at capacity, and then Robbie got into the party without more than saying who he was.  When Han complained about that, the doorman told him that he was only allowed to let in hot guys who looked like trouble.  When Earl got let in after that, I was rolling.  Not only because Earl fit into that category, but because Han was so angry about it.

Speaking of Earl, there was another funny moment when Caroline played Max's game of "Marry, Sleep With, Or Kill."  Caroline mistakenly thought she was supposed to consider Max and Earl and said she would sleep with Earl and marry Max.  I liked Earl's response to that:

I feel uncomfortable, Caroline.  Like I don't know how to look at you anymore.

Concerning Max and Johnny, I felt better knowing that she saw that they didn't belong together.  They do make a cute-looking couple, but their history together makes me hesitant about them being together in general.  I sort of let a sigh of relief to see her end things before she got hurt again.  They have some chemistry (that scene with them making out as gumballs rained down on them was nice), but I couldn't see Johnny sticking around or the fire between them lasting without Max knowing that she couldn't have him or vice-versa.  It's too bad, but I guess Max will have to stay single for a little while longer.

It's cool that Max's Cupcakes is open for business already, even if their party didn't make their goods fly off the shelves as they had probably expected.  I'm happy to see something hold them back a little bit because I'm not ready for them to be too successful yet (it wouldn't be any fun).  But I'm most happy that Max is smart enough to know when she has something real with someone and when she doesn't.  I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Johnny, but at least we probably don't have to expect that Max would ever to fool herself into thinking they should ever be together.

Lots Of Love All Around

Parks and Recreation, S05E09

Ron brought Diane and Leslie to an award event where he would be honored for a chair he built.  Leslie was worried that Debbie showing up would cause the couple problems, but Diane was most worried about Leslie's involvement in Ron's life.  Ann refused to let the others in the office attend Jerry's Christmas party because they had intended to spend the night celebrating how much they laughed at Jerry over the past year.  Ben also looked after Chris at the party, making sure that he didn't fall apart emotionally.

I really loved how excited Ron was to attend the woodwork event.  He was giggling at the sight of someone he said was famous, who Leslie and Diane had no idea about.  I actually wasn't too worried about Debbie showing up because I noticed early on that Diane seemed worried about how well Leslie knew Ron.  It doesn't seem odd that she would because no one knows Ron like Leslie does, except maybe his ex-wives?  But it was sweet that Leslie would take on Debbie by herself just so that Diane and Ron could spend the rest of the night alone.  She's such a great friend!  Cuz that Debbie bitch is crazy (but at the end when she was in cuffs, I would have killed to see Lucy Lawless kick her ass like she suggested).

Ron obviously loves Diane because he revealed one of his biggest secrets to her--that he is Duke Silver!  Wow!  I was really impressed that he did that!  It was also funny that one of Ron's fan said she was going to kill Diane!  Damn.  Didn't know he had such dedicated fans!  Great scene.

I didn't expect that Ann would condemn the mean party that the others were having concerning Jerry, but I'm glad she did.  After all, they should be a little nicer to the guy after he had a brush with death.  It was nice that Donna had a change of heart and wanted to include Jerry in the dinner instead of just using it as a time to make fun of him behind his back because they all got to see that Jerry was throwing a big ol' Christmas celebration.  I freaking loved seeing them peeping into the window, dying to get in there.  It was kind of like Scrooge peeking into his nephew's house and seeing how much of an ass he had been to his only family member.  It was nice that they took all the money that they had collected to remember Jerry's fumbling at work to instead donate to his medical bills.  And they learned that Jerry always sent them nice emails congratulating them on their achievements and birthdays.  He's such a sweetheart and it was great they had a moment to remember that behind his Charlie Brown-esq personality, there is a heart of gold.  Way to get into the Christmas spirit.

I was also impressed with Chris's progress.  I didn't think that his 15 times a week with his therapist were really helping, but they were.  He could drink non-fat egg nog, let someone point out his gray hair, and speak to his ex-girlfriend and her fiance without spiraling into his usual dark place (although I think it's hilarious when he gets so negative).  I also loved that Ben was doing his best to support him and make sure that he kept it together.  I sort of forgot until they had this overly long hug that they are such good friends.  I love their bromance, especially on Chris's end because he needs all the love he can get.

I just got this warm, happy feeling from this episode--it was great.  This is one of those stories about Christmas that didn't make me hate the overall spirit of this holiday.  We got to see Leslie be there for Ron and Diane, Diane and Ron become closer, Tom and the rest give Jerry a break, and Ben and Chris reconnect as friends.  I have nothing bad to say about it.

Wreston's All Right

Parks and Recreation, S05E08

Leslie and Ben got a decent person to build their new park, but because he was  from Eagleton, Leslie resisted hiring him against obvious proof that he was superb in his work.  Tom had his friends helped him set up his Rent-A-Swag store, but he was so focused on being responsible and frugal that he was neglecting his style and flair that was necessary for his business to succeed.  Andy found his security guard work to be boring and April came to play with him.

I think most people were wanting for Wreston to turn out to be a bad guy after all, but luckily he was a genuinely nice guy.  It's funny to see someone as sweet as Leslie fighting a nice guy tooth an nail to prove he's a scumbag.  Maybe I sort of wanted her to be right so she wouldn't seem so crazy.  But logically after Wreston's employees had sent Ben and Leslie that horrible model for the park anyone would have thought they had been duped.  Thank goodness Ben had a major man-crush on Wreston and refused to believe he was that much of a snake.

I loved how much Ben fell for Wreston.  He even slipped in an invitation to their wedding, having only known the man for a few hours.  It's weird because Ben doesn't really seem to take a shine to people so easily, unless they're related to something nerdy like accounting or maybe comic books or something.   It was also funny because Leslie was annoyed by it.

I'm still a little worried that Wreston being from Eagleton is going to bring some trouble somehow.  I don't know.  If his employees can go behind his back and send a fake model, who knows what else his staff might do when his back is turned?  I think that Leslie's suspicions sort of rubbed off on me.

I'm not too worried about Tom's store, though.  First all, he had all his friends working there, so at least he can count on them working to their best abilities.  His first penny-pinching version of the place was a little drab, but after using the investment from his friends and pieces from his house, it looked more like a place you would buy swag.

My favorite thing about that story was Chris learning woodwork from Ron.  I love when these two get together because they are such opposites!  Chris was so eager to learn, while Ron sounded like he couldn't be bothered to tell Chris the simplest thing to do.  I loved when Ron tried to give Chris busy work to keep him from bothering him with millions of questions:

[Ron] Here. I have designed something very important.  Why don’t you start work on that right away?
[Chris] Yes, sir!
[Ron to the camera] It’s a flight of stairs that leads to nowhere.

Ron, the master of getting overly enthusiastic people to be distracted.  It was nice that the stairs, though, ended up being a nice display piece to use in Tom's store.  Chris assumed that was Ron's plan all along and Ron didn't correct him.

My second favorite line from Ron was when Tom had set up a pathetic pizza party with a small toppings-less pizza, two drinks, and had turned off the majority of lights.  Only Ron was the one who seemed impressed by this:

If there were more food and fewer people, this would be a perfect party.

Chris also had a good line concerning the first version of Rent-A-Swag.  Everyone was commenting on how bad it had looked, but Chris almost was the sole voice of positivity:

[Chris] I think what’s important is we all had a goal, and we achieved it.
[Ann] So you like the place?
[Chris] Oh, no, it’s quite terrible.

I love how honest Chris is.  He might try to see things in the best light, but he's also not going to straight up lie when asked his opinion about something.

 In the April and Andy story, I wasn't that surprised that Andy was bored out of his mind.  I thought it was adorable that April came and they were playing around like kids.  It really reminds you how perfect they are together.  It's almost a shame that April had to make him realize that he had to retire the fantasy version of himself as an FBI agent for the real version of himself who helps lost kids find their mothers.  April's a really good wife to not just make him see his potential, but also give his imaginary character a final decommissioning session.  That was over the top, but really cute.

 I hope that Wreston continues to be the dream come true that saves the new park idea from being squashed before it's even started.  It would be pretty disappointing if Ben's new best friend turned out to be one of those evil Eagleton jerks.  I can't wait to see what kind of customers come to Tom's store and maybe he could move out of his store sooner rather than later with good sales.  I think that Andy will like his security job a little more, even without playing make-believe.  But there probably needs to be a robbery or something soon because he's too ADD to be kept content forever by the "glory" of saving one little boy.

Max Is The Best Cougar Ever

2 Broke Girls, S02E07

Caroline was having problems getting Andy turned on and suspected that he was gay.  Max and Caroline also briefly took in some Amish boys to build a barn for them.

I had a feeling that Andy would feel intimidated knowing who Caroline really was.  It was kinda funny to watch her trying her hardest to attract him.  The worst thing she did was try to act like a classless, poor girl and was talking like a moron.  That was painful to watch.  However, when she got up and danced with Jacob that was the funniest thing I've seen all week (and even last week).  I don't know why but seeing how overly excited Jacob got while Caroline was shaking her ass all up on him was insanely good.  And it only got better when Jacob collapsed on the floor while holding his crotch.  Poor Jacob, but so freaking funny.

Speaking of the Amish boys, I loved how Max interacted with them.  As soon as they used manners on her, she took a liking to them:

“Ma’am”?  You know what, that’s kind of hot. I always thought I’d have to wait 20 more years to be a cougar, but, rawr, here I am.

She later "rawr"-ed again, which I also loved.  I don't know what it was, but Max checking out those clueless guys like pieces of meat was so funny.  I could totally see her with a boy toy.  It would just be like her to take command in a relationship and have someone wrapped around her finger.  Sophie was almost as funny as Max, but she was a little too aggressive, which made her border on being a little too creepy (but still funny).  I wouldn't have been mad at her if she had gone for one of them.  It would have been a little wrong, but Max can pull it off without looking like a degenerate.

I really felt bad for Jacob having to stay around Max and Caroline and being subject to such girls that made him have erections all the time!  At least they didn't make him feel like a weirdo because of it (because they were sort of turning him on purposely).  They just could have stopped wearing tiny shorts and showing their bras.  Haha.

This is one of my favorite episodes ever.  I just really loved how Max was acting and watching poor Jacob suffer while under Caroline and Max's care.  I sort of wish they could take advantage of some Amish boys every time.  Haha.  I don't care too much about Caroline and Andy because I think they'll be fine.  They way they were making out at the end, I'm sure Andy gonna be sticking around for at least a few more episodes.

Distraction Waffles

Parks and Recreation, S05E07

Leslie and April fought over using lot 48 for a dog park and ultimately had to stop Jamm from using it for a burger place.  Andy tried to investigate the disappearance of his computer and learned that police work might not be as exciting as he was imagining.  Ben went back to his old accounting job and tried to help Tom with his new business, but kept getting job offers.

I really liked that April sort of took the role of Leslie and Leslie had to slip into Ron mode a bit when the two were butting heads with each other.  My favorite part was when Leslie went to Ron for help:

[Leslie] Ron, thank you for agreeing to see me.

[Ron] I didn't.  You just walked in here and started talking--

[Leslie] I don't have time for a history lesson.

Ron continued to be hilarious when he explained how he got Leslie to cool her jets when she would be overly excited about a project.  He brilliantly used waffles as his best tool of distraction:

[Leslie] Those were distraction waffles?  I thought they were friendship waffles.

[Ron] Breakfast food can serve many purposes.

 I don't know how one man can be so wise and hilarious, but Ron Swanson does it.  I would love to get advice from him, especially if he could work the subject of breakfast into it.

Besides Ron being brilliant, as usual, there was a touching moment in this story when Ann got Leslie and April to make up.  Leslie grabbed April's hands and they both said they loved each other and it was just so damn sweet!   Particularly because April was being sort of shy about gushing with emotion like Leslie can do at the drop of a hat.  Leslie really is like more of a mother to her than her own mother and I love that they have that kind of relationship.  But I can't say that I didn't also laugh at them battling each other because they're both strong, opinionated women who don't back down easily, so watching them fight was pretty entertaining.

Also, Jamm is such an ass.  But he made the mistake of making not just an enemy of Leslie, but also of April and Ann.  He may have a lame catchphrase, but I don't think he's prepared to take all 3 of them on (which sort of reminds me when April suggested they all do a 3-way with him--what??).  They better take that jackass down.

I loved that Ben and Tom are set up to work together again.  It was cute that Tom was being jealous of Ben getting offered job after job.  And how funny was it that there was this pigeon next to Tom after he was feeling down about being rejected left and right while everyone seemed to want Ben to work for them?  It was like that bird was his only friend.  Haha.  But even though Tom felt bad about Ben's high demand, their little business trip made Ben see that being an accountant was a waste of his talents and life.  He might be worried about the job security thing and all, but I'm sure he'll one day thank Tom for leading him on a much more interesting career path.

Andy was pretty cute, too, while trying to figure out who took his computer.  What I liked best was when Chris got involved.  I love that everyone seems to be pointing out how good Chris looks, but Andy stating it so naturally really makes me laugh:

Don't play stupid and handsome with me.

Followed by a little later:

You're as guilty as you are sexy.

It was nice to see Chris in this story end up pumping someone else up instead of the other way around like it has been lately.   He not only suggested that they investigate who stole the gruff policeman's positive attitude (loved that), but offered Andy the job as city hall security to give him a taste of being a cop before he took the test.  I sense a little bit of a disaster with that as Andy is prone to an overactive imagination, but I love that Chris believes in him and is willing to take the risk.

Finally, Ben is just the best fiance ever.  I mean, first of all he wanted to go back to his boring accounting job so he could ensure he had money to pay for a wedding and a future with Leslie.  Second, he gave her the best engagement gift by letting her meet Vice President Biden.  Leslie was acting like such a dorky fan.  She even was feeling all up on his face and threatening secret service!  Wow.  I bet she would have put Biden into her purse and kidnapped him if Ben had left her there long enough.

The more I watch this show, the more I can't imagine it not filling my Thursday nights with happiness!  Like this show has so many characters I heart who are always making me laugh in unexpected ways.  I have to say that once Ron Swanson is no longer on the air it would take more than distraction waffles to help me cope.  Haha.  I guess next time I'm most looking forward to what Ben and Tom will accomplish together.  Last time they did business it was just too funny.  Even though Tom is a little smarter this time, I still anticipate that Ben and Tom are going to mix up some great comedy again.

Candy Andy

2 Broke Girls, S02E06

Max took Caroline to lunch at a soup kitchen, and they met a cute candy store owner named Andy.  Although Andy was interested in dating Caroline, she was too embarrassed to face him after puking on him and being caught masturbating at home.  Han also battled for Sophie about her right to claim her favorite booth as her any time she pleased.

This was a cute episode.  Usually I wouldn't cheer for Caroline getting a man, but since he offered benefits for Max (she is surely a candy whore, haha) and was nice enough to not care about Caroline's bad first impression, I was a lot more interested in him making another appearance.  One of my favorite things about him and this story period was that he played "Pure Imagination" at one point in his store.  I loved that.  I didn't think his store was all that, but at least he could appreciate Willy Wonka and that gives him points.  I also thought it was cute that he told them that since they had just met to just call him "Candrew Andrew" instead of "Candy Andy."  Usually I hate stuff like that, but his delivery was on point, so it ended up being a good flirt.

I thought the masturbation thing would be the end for Caroline's chances to get Andy, but luckily, he's a big enough dork to come to their restaurant and try to embarrass himself.  I just liked seeing Max more exited for their potential love life because she wanted the free candy for life (though unless he's going to be selling candy forever, I don't see how he could live up to that promise).  I want to see Max milking more from their relationship in the future.

It was kinda funny to see Han try to stand up to Sophie.  I liked her telling him to stand in the corner when he tried to make her move.  I thought there was no way he could win against her and was surprised when he stood his ground by sitting at Sophie's favorite booth.  But it wasn't too surprising that Sophie just went ahead and changed her favorite booth and made some other customers move away.  She's a lady that knows how to take charge and Han is not the one to bring her down.  I wonder if he'll ever try that again.

Looking forward to seeing more of Candy Andy.  He seems like an easy-going person who could maybe make Caroline mellow out sometime.  He has to be able to handle some crazy stuff if he can overlook all the unpleasant things Caroline did meeting him for the first time.  But most of all, I want to see Max grabbing all the candy she can from Andy before Caroline screws things up or something.  Max and free candy are great new combination.

Is the Killer Sugar? Or April?

Parks and Recreation, S05E02

Leslie was on the fence about how to vote on a sugar tax after she found out that she might cause some businesses to lay off some employees if it were passed.  Chris and Tom helped Andy train so that he could meet the running requirements to be a cop.  Ben struggled to get the interns at his office in line with little help from April.

There were quite a few good things about Leslie's story.  The first would be the size of the cups, which were ridiculous.  The small was 64 ounces, while the regular size was 128!  They managed to top that with a child size of 512 ounces, which was sized for what a child might weigh if liquified.  I love it because it does echo the insane size of drinks (and pretty much most things) in American fast food.  I also thought the concept of "zero water," was funny because it had 300 calories and the "zero" only referred to the fact there was absolutely no water in it.  I'm pretty sure something like that wouldn't fly in America, but when you think about what is allowed to be sold maybe it could be a real item.  I mean, we do drink and eat a lot of sugar and are the fattest country in the world.  It's nice to see the writers poke at that with humor, but also remind you that it isn't really a joke if you stop and think about it.

Another part of that story that was great was when Leslie was at the forum.  One guy stood up and had a really funny comment:

I think we should tax all bad things.  Like racism and women's vaginas.

I think I really love when she takes an issue to a public forum.  That's when all of the crazies come out to say whatever thing they damn well please.  It's a complete circus.  But unfortunately for Leslie, it made her doubt that she would be doing the right thing by favoring to let the tax pass.  But fortunately for us, it led her to seek counsel from Ron, which is always a recipe for comedy.

No surprise that Ron had tried on numerous occasions to get Leslie fired.  I really liked that he said that one of the reason was because she was bubbly.  Leslie tried to defend herself against Ron's complaints about her going over his head and such:

[Leslie] I was a dedicated public servant.[Ron] Right.  That was the worst thing you were.

You can always depend on Ron to show his dislike of working hard in a government position.  Despite that he was annoyed by her, he respected her conviction and grew to accept her.  Aww.  But something just as funny was when Leslie was talking about how her decision on the sugar tax might have created enemies that could potentially become friends.  Ron's door was open and he shouted:

Let's keep down out there!

before he used a remote to have his door automatically close.  Ron is so freaking cool!  That's on my list of things I would want if I had my own office.  And I would probably be saying the same thing before I shut my door too.

The Chris and Andy story was more sad than it was funny.  I just felt bad for Chris realizing he didn't have what Andy had at all--someone to love him.  But it was great that Tom suggested therapy for him (although, I think Tom could use some too).  Chris, although upbeat and fit, needs to get that mind in check.  Him falling to pieces over something like a fear of dying alone is a serious problem.  I hope that a therapist will actually help him and not make him even crazier than he already is.

The Ben and April story was painful to watch at most times because Ben kept trying to buddy up to all of his young interns.  From the beginning, I wondered why April would help him a little, but she basically had to humiliate him with caricature drawings before she realized what she needed to do.  I like that she tried to negotiate the percentage of effort she would give when 15 was more than a fair amount to ask.  But the best April part was not until the very end when she finally got on Team Ben and told one of the interns what the deal was:

The light kiss and the slap to the face were my favorite part!  Why did they wait until the very end before we got to see April kick a little ass??  But this is a great start to the saga of April working for Ben.  I'm am looking forward to move scenes like this.  April has well established herself as the one in charge there.  Haha.

In the next episode, I wonder if we will see all those lost jobs from the sugar tax.  I can't imagine it just being just an empty threat.  Things don't work out that easily for Leslie.  I'd like to see the results of Chris' first therapy session, as well as April torturing more interns at her job.  However, I don't want to see Ben trying to act like a college student again and quoting decades-old SNL skits.  That's just way to sad to see.

D.C. and BBQ

Parks and Recreation, S05E01

In the season premiere of this show Leslie visited Ben in Washington, D.C. with Andy.  She soon discovered that despite being a councilwoman, she couldn't hardly compare to the tall and "beautiful" women who worked around Capital Hill.  Ron took up the task of doing the employee appreciation barbecue that Leslie had always thrown.  However, his idea to just make it about the meat and no thrills (or vegetables) ended up blowing up in his face.

Leslie's story made a little sad to see her comparing herself to the successful ladies involved in national government.  Especially when one lady commented that her grandmother had the same position as Leslie and it was merely an excuse to "get her out of the house."  Thankfully, Leslie had Andy by her side, who isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but is smart enough to know that no one works as hard as Leslie and there was no reason for her to be putting herself down.  Just love that Andy.  Without him, Leslie might have gotten discouraged that her petition was just going into a pile and not have decided to start cleaning up the river herself.  This story could have gone in a much worse direction, but I was glad it didn't.  I would have hated to see Leslie start to question whether she was good enough to stay with Ben.  I mean, after all, it was pretty much Leslie who got Ben back on his feet and gave him the opportunity to show he could be a good enough to be a Washington-based campaign manager.  For now, we will still get to see Leslie delighting in checking out Ben's ass--haha!

Ron's story was great.  This is just how they needed to start things.  I loved that everyone laughed when Chris said that it was Ron who was leading the meeting in the conference room.  But it was funnier that Ron, who sort of has natural leadership qualities (or at least if he gives a command, you'd expect anyone to listen to him), is actually a horrible organizer.  His policy for absolutely no vegetables at his barbecue cracked me up.  The death stare he gave Jerry when he asked,

Can we at least have corn on the cob?

 made me laugh so hard.  Love that Ron is so dead-set against vegetables!  Later, when things were falling apart, it was amazing that he had really no intentions of doing anything but grilling up some meat (and possibly supplying some beers) when he didn't even supply them with plates!  What the hell...  It showed me a lot that Ron really needs to only be in charge of one single thing in an event and asking him to do more than that is overwhelming for him.  Case in point (during one of my favorite scenes), when the employees were all complaining to him about hunger and peeing and thirst, he just packed up his meat and drove off in a puff of smoke that was trailing from his grill that was still lit!  It's great to see Ron like this because he never had a need to be the answer guy when Leslie was around.  If this is an indication of sides of Ron we'll get to see now that he'll have to do his job, then it's gonna be a great season.

I didn't find Tom and Ann's charade to be that entertaining, but I did like Tom moaning like a child about being hungry.  What was even better than that was when Chris ran up to Tom and Ann, claiming that he had smuggled in some candy for them to enjoy while Ron was cooking the meat.  Tom's voice when he saw that they were just raisins ("nature's candy"--oh, Chris), was hilarious.  Anyway, Rob Lowe in that striped T-shirt sort of made me chuckle too.  He just looked like a goofy kid in that, which matches his character Chris pretty well, though.

This was a pretty good start to the show.  I'd like to see more of April next time, and I'd like to continue to see more of Ron's struggles to do things without Leslie there to help him.  I'm also sort of interested to see what Leslie is going to accomplish first as being a councilwoman.  I hope after her long journey to get there, she really gets to something really special for Pawnee.

Little Stan's Cute To Me

Cougar Town, S03E13

Jules decided to hold Thanksgiving out of season since they didn't get to celebrate it last year together.  Ellie wanted Jules to use Little Stan as her ring bearer and had to face the truth that her son is somewhat of a nightmare.  Jules asked to hear Grayson's vows and he asked of her the same.  However, Jules struggled to express her feelings for him and got Travis to do it for her, and he got Laurie and Bobby to help him.  Andy had trouble preparing for the pizza toss event, his first major publicity event for his mayoral campaign.

It's funny that the gang celebrating Thanksgiving in the spring referred to the fact that this show had a huge break before it was picked up again.  They also made a lot of comments that referred to that fact that they were getting moved from ABC (to TBS next season).  I like that they joke about this in a not so subtle way.  But I can understand why ABC might have been reluctant to bring back CT, and it doesn't shock me that a different network picked it up.  The opening credits also made a comment about the uncertain future of this show with a line: "Are we still on TV?"  For now they are.  But I don't see why TBS would cancel them prematurely.  Hopefully the move will help this show rather than hinder it.

What I liked better than the commentary on CT's unstable broadcasting status was the story about Little Stan and Ellie.  I forget how old he is, but that kid is incredibly mischievous for such a little boy.  Grayson got really upset that Stan tagged his garage, especially when he asked Ellie why she would buy paint for her son at all (even if it was washable).  Throughout the episode, you continued to see Stan's tags on random things in town.  Apparently, he can get around on a bus already.  Damn.  What is that kid going to be capable of once he starts getting his education?  I really thought that Ellie just thought he was funny and that was why she dismissed him, but it was nice to see that she's not that nonchalant about her son's misdeeds and just wanted him to be adorable like a normal child.

I happen to think that Stan is already adorable.  I loved when Jules made a little obstacle course out of cushions and such to see if Stan could make it through without getting distracted by things like hammers and markers.  Ellie was cheering him on like a show dog at the finish line, while Jules was trying to stop him by throwing uncooked rice at his head.  They are so nuts!  But that was really cute.   I think that was cuter than him bringing in the turkey at the end.  Sure that was sweet, but he did that because Jules paid him in spray paint.

 I also liked that Stan destroyed Big Carl.  Not that I had anything against her having an over-sized glass (and I knew he'd be replaced in no time), but having a little boy destroy something Jules loved (probably more than Grayson) was a good way to see her explode with anger.  Otherwise, I think she would have stayed in denial about Ellie's parenting until the bitter end.  

It's a good thing that Grayson is a bit of a moron because it should have been obvious that the vows Jules read for him were about inanimate object and not him (especially since Travis and crew didn't bother to edit her Big Carl speech that much).  I think it would have been helpful for him to know that his future wife values wine drinking more than she does her husband.  But then again, Grayson has to know that already with the way that she is constantly making "pounding grape" a priority.

The most interesting thing about Andy's story was the way that Grayson felt it necessary to cheer him on (unlike anyone else was really).  He seems to be smart enough to know that if he doesn't get an ally to help him against his wife and her best friend, he is going to be subjected to a lot worse things than a Fakesgiving.  Still, I don't know what Grayson thinks he and Andy can achieve together that no one else hasn't tried.  If Jules has Ellie backing her up, no one is going to oppose them.  Point in case, no one was brave enough to say no to Ellie when she decided they were all going to join Jules for Thanksgiving after all.  Maybe their union is pointless, but at least Grayson prevented Andy from giving up.  I'd like to see him become mayor soon (and be more useful than Bobby's personal ass kisser).

This episode was definitely better than the other one.  I think their jokes about the show being on the air were really good, even if I'm not entirely overjoyed that CT will leave ABC and go to TBS (This show is just really something to watch on Tuesday).  I'm glad that they had another Little Stan story because I think that he's my favorite character (which says a lot about the other ones).  Who else but a "devil baby" like him could destroy Big Carl and live to see the day?  I'm looking forward to how he really does behave as the ring bearer.  It would be great if he could cause one of the many problems I foresee occurring that day.

Leslie's Election Brings Change (Or Not)

Parks and Recreation, S04E22

Leslie was nervous about the outcome of the election, but she had her friends and Ben there for support.  The initial tally said that she had lost, but a recount showed that Leslie was the real winner.  Ben got offered a job in Washington by Jennifer, but wasn't sure if he wanted to accept it if it meant being apart from Leslie.  April was afraid that she would be fired because she lost some important files, so Andy was helping her think about some dream jobs for both of them.  Chris had one more romp with Jennifer before she left town, and Tom proclaimed that his dream predicted that he and Ann would get back together.

I liked that this episode marked a lot of change in everyone's lives, not just Leslie's.  She won the election, but I feel like it won't change Leslie that much.  She's been dying to make Pawnee a better place since day one, so her win is only going to give her more power to do so.  But it was nice to see Leslie grow from just a Parks and Recreation employee to someone with power to make some major decisions in the city.  But it wasn't just Leslie that was going somewhere, but also Ben.  I never thought that his brilliant campaigning would impress Jennifer enough that she would want to offer him a job.  As much as I like Leslie and Ben together, I'm glad that she told him that she'd be selfish to not let him grab the opportunity.  After all, he had worked so hard to make her dreams come true, so it was about time she let him have some of his own (a great step up from being mocked as a horrible, teenage mayor).  I can't imagine Ben not around anymore, so that's a change that I will have to get used to.

Another thing that was interesting concerning change was Ron's proclamation that he's a man of consistency, but he approves of Ben and Leslie's relationship:

Well, I've never been one for meeting new people, or doing new things.  Or eating new types of food.  Or traveling outside of southern Indiana.  I've had the same haircut since 1978, and I've driven the same car since 1991. I've used the same wooden comb for three decades. I have one bowl. I still get my milk delivered by horse. But you and Leslie like to hold hands, and jump off of cliffs together, into the great unknown. You two have a good relationship. I don't personally know what that's like, but, I'm given to understand it means you're gonna land on your feet.

He's ridiculously stuck in his ways.  I thought after that speech of his that him taking the job to work with Chris would be a great contradiction, but Ron turned it down.  I have to admit I couldn't imagine him not sitting in his office, ignoring as many people as he could.  Just wouldn't be right.  I also liked how even Chris wasn't about to have someone like Jean Ralphio work for him instead.  Chris is pretty easy going, but I guess there are some people annoying enough that he can't put a positive spin on them.

 I'm glad that things didn't have to change for April, and she wasn't in danger of being fired.  I did like Andy's enthusiasm in brainstorming new occupations.  I noticed, just like April, that the jobs he listed were all in law enforcement, but I still didn't think about him becoming a cop.  I'd be scared with someone like Andy carrying a gun all the time.  It was cute, though, when Donna came in and got all the files back in a matter of seconds and April hugged her.  Then Andy joined in and it was just a big ball of love.  Good God, if only every office situation in real life could be as loving as this one.

It was emotional to see Leslie give her winning speech about how she owed her victory to her friends and supporters, but I was more touched before she knew she had won and Ron had come to comfort her.  Leslie was thinking that she would let everyone down if she lost, but Ron let her know otherwise:

We did it because we care--about you. You had a dream and we wanted to support your dream. That's what you do when you care about someone. You support 'em - win, lose, or draw.

There's something about these caring words coming out of Ron's mouth that made me so touched that I teared up.  He's the one who tries to hide his love of Leslie the most, but he's in the same boat as the rest of their department.  I really envy the support system that she has--it's something that everyone could use.

 Relieved to see that this season finale has the result that I wished for.  It seems like it's been such a long journey for her to get there, especially after her original campaign team dropped her after the "scandal" with her and Ben.  Leslie beat the odds, and she did it without being super sneaky and sticking to her beliefs.  This ending makes me really proud of her and love the employees of the P&R department even more.  If NBC were foolish enough to end the series right there, I would be sending them as many hate letters as I could.  I'm so excited to see what Leslie will do as a councilwoman next year! As one of my favorites, I'm missing this show already!

Even Death Can't Stop The Leslie Victory Train

Parks And Recreation, S04E21

Leslie was campaigning for one more day before the election, via a bus and having great success with her speeches and appearances.  However, the sudden death of Bobby Newport's father put a halt to it all.  After saying some negative things about the deceased man and barging in on his memorial with her campaign bus, Leslie finally apologized to Bobby in private for her comments.  Thanks to her cheering him up and being a decent human being, Leslie got endorsement from Bobby in a press conference about his father, even though he had stolen a story Leslie told him about her childhood and made it his own.  Chris tried to distract himself from dark thoughts by keeping busy with any task he could volunteer for in the campaign.  Andy was busy investigating a pie that had almost hit Leslie.  Tom, accompanied by Donna and Ron, had to get back the vans they had paid for from the owner who had been paid by the competition to withhold the vans from Leslie's group.

It's kind of disgusting that someone's death can be turned into a "political sideshow" as they put it in this episode.  I could really see that Leslie was so determined to win and continue her bus tour because she refused to listen to Ann's advice to do the right thing for the longest time.  I think it was funny that Leslie couldn't spin her negative opinion of the deceased owner of Sweetums to her advantage, but instead called him a jerk and said other things to dig her hole deeper.  The way that Jennifer played her hand in making Leslie look like a monster, though, was much more contemptible.  It's too bad that she's such an aggressive and calculating manage and Bobby is such a moron because all of her tactics basically went to waste.  I really didn't think that after Leslie rammed her bus into that portrait of Bobby's father at the memorial that she would be able to recover from that, but I guess Leslie really has luck on her side.

I liked when Leslie told Bobby about her running a marathon and winning her mother's pride, and Bobby understood from that story that he and Leslie both had dicks as parents.  Wow.  I think that conclusion he drew was much more amazing than him taking that story and changing it so he could use it in a speech later on.  I thought he wasn't too bad of a guy until he did that.  But now that I think about it, maybe he told the story because he didn't have any nice stories about his own dad and didn't want to share with others how much of a dick his father really was.  But he redeemed himself by saying that Leslie was awesome for comforting him and that anyone not voting for him should vote for her.  It's hard to hate him after that, and like I've said before, Paul Judd is just too cute sometimes.

The only thing I liked about Chris' story was that April had the opportunity to cheer him up again.  It didn't work, but I still thought her words were sweet for someone like her.  She told him that he wasn't as alone as he was claimed and must have friends out there somewhere.  Aww.  She's too embarrassed to admit that Chris is her friend.  Sadly, what did get Chris out his sad spiral (although his last major one was so hilarious) seemed to be the sex that Jennifer offered him.  I hope that's all it turns out to be.  I couldn't stomach to see someone as cheery as Chris with a snake like her.  Eww.

I thought Andy's story was just stupid until he found out that the pie was meant for Ben.  I liked that someone was disgruntled for Ben's actions and thought that throwing at pie at him would satisfy his anger.  Andy solved the mystery, but he surely didn't protect Ben from getting pie on his face.  Still, for Andy I think that qualifies as a success.  What I liked best about Andy's story was when he gave everyone code names, which were mostly based on sex he had had with each person.  My second favorite name was Donna's, which was "It Happened Once In A Dream," but my favorite was Tom's: "If I Had To Pick A Dude."  Love it!   Most of them seemed pretty content about the names he came up with.

Tom's story made with mad, with that guy who was taking advantage of the demand for his vans.  It was really smart of Leslie not to send Tom alone to handle Butler because if Ron couldn't get through to that stubborn man, no one would have been able to.  It was really nice that Ron agreed to pay what the competition was offering out of his own pocket.  It's too bad that guy bumped up the price, and it was too bad that Ron didn't knock the hell out of him for being such a greedy dick.  I also admire that Donna, who loves her Mercedes more than anything else, would back into Butler's car so that she could claim he rear-ended her.  She would have to pay for the damages herself, but they got the vans back in the process.  Wow.  It just really shows how far everyone is willing to go to help out Leslie.  I love all the love.

I liked this episode, but I always have to complain when I don't get a good Ron quote from it.  I did like Ron trying to handle Butler, but I was disappointed he couldn't really do anything to change the ass' mind.  I also would have preferred a little more Tom because you know I love me some Aziz.  However, I'm just glad to see that Leslie may very well be celebrating her victory in the next episode.  Although, I'm fairly certain that Obama isn't going to make an appearance at her ceremony, no matter how much she envisions it.

Bobby Sees His Racist Side

Cougar Town, S03E10

Jules wanted Andy to run for Mayor so that he could get her a permit to have her wedding on the beach, which wasn't allowed.  Ellie despised the idea of her husband being in public officer since it would force her to interact with people more.  After making a comment to an Asian man, Bobby worried that he was racist, and Laurie put together a panel to help him.  Travis made out with Holly, and he and Grayson tried to teach Jules a lesson about cutting Holly a bit of slack.

Even though Jules suggested Andy run for Mayor for her own selfish reasons, I think she was right that he would be a good candidate (as least out of the people she knows).  I would be interested in seeing him win that position, although I doubt it will be very easy for him.  I'd condemn Jules further for making Ellie unhappy with her plan to get Andy to be mayor, but Ellie's reasons against it were too funny.  She really is a woman after my own heart.  I would be annoyed too by the idea of having to deal with more people than the few I can tolerate.  The best thing about her opposition of Andy running for mayor was when she told Andy in the car about her opinion on the matter.  Andy said he wouldn't be mad, but he purposely ran over a speed bump quickly so that her coffee would splash in her face.  It's great seeing Ellie on the receiving end of a joke at her expense.  I almost wish that she hadn't come to her senses and realized how selfish she was being to her husband.  I would have preferred to see how she could have gotten him back, though.

Bobby's realization of his racist nature was probably the funniest thing in this episode.  I just can't believe how stupid he was to tell that guy he would probably love a giant camera around his neck.  But you knew that he had no malice behind his words--only ignorance.  So when the guy got upset and Laurie looked at him with horror, it was really funny.  He also thought that all black guys could dunk and asked a man if he could in a later scene.  Bobby's too much of a bonehead for anyone to take his racist remarks seriously.  Plus, like Andy said, the fact that he was so bothered by the racial implications of his words and thoughts, made Bobby a decent guy with the potential to one day to realize when he was using stereotypes to make judgments about people.

It was also nice to see that in Laurie's panel she had included her boyfriend, Wade.  I wasn't sure if he would ever be mentioned again.  According to their routine of getting naked for each other on Skype calls, I would say that their relationship is still going on strong.  That means it's still possible he would visit Laurie once he's done with his service in Iraq.  I'm sure that would make for some really entertaining scenes, knowing how hyper Laurie is.

I never pictured Holly getting together with Travis, but when he later explained that he was just taking advantage of a woman, that made a lot of sense.  The only way Travis could go from small talk at a coffee shop to heavy making out had to be due to him being with a vulnerable woman.  Travis is a bit of a loser with no swagger to speak of, so a girl like Holly is probably his best bet.  I'll admit it's a little weird since she has had a baby with his future stepdad, though.  More than the baby, I would think that he would be a little disturbed by locking lips with someone that Grayson had once done the same.  I wouldn't even eat a piece of bread that he had eaten from.  Eww.  But I'm not sure if Travis really has any feelings for Holly or if he was just messing with Jules to make a point.  Someone as self-centered as Jules needed such an extreme measure to teach her to stop judging people.

I liked the Bobby story enough that I think this was a good episode overall.  I definitely laughed more times than I have compared to other episodes.  I hope that next time we get to see some of Andy's campaign ideas.  I could see the possibility of that being funny, especially if Bobby was his manager.  Almost anything that will take away the focus from Jules' wedding is welcome to me.  I already know that it's not going to be the dream wedding she wants, even if she does get to have it on the beach.

No Debate About It--Leslie Is A Winner

Parks And Recreation, S04E20

Leslie finally had her debate for city council.  Bobby, despite having no idea of how to improve Pawnee, was a considerable opponent for her and her attacks upon his character only made her look like a bully at first.  Leslie did her best to present herself in the best light, but Bobby was the favorite of both the audience and the moderators.  Bobby looked like he had the debate in the bag when he claimed that Leslie's victory over him would cause the Sweetums factory to be sent to Mexico, killing the largest supplier of jobs in town.  However, Leslie won over the crowd (even Bobby) with a heartfelt closing statement that displayed her passion and drive to make Pawnee better and her determination to work toward that goal until the end.  Outside of the debate, Chris suggested to Ann that they try to date again, while Tom tried to convey to Ann that he deserved another chance too.  Andy also had to entertain Leslie's supporters while Ron had to steal cable for them to watch the debate on TV.

I felt bad for Leslie that she started to look like a monster when she told the harsh truth about Bobby.  However, Paul Rudd is just so adorable as Bobby, I can see how the audience was swayed by his positive, yet childish manner when he answered the questions.  It really spoke to the idea that a lot of voters are simple people who aren't smart enough to notice the difference between competent and charismatic.  Leslie has her own charm, but that was being stolen by the other female candidate, Brandi, who chose to copy Leslie in both fashion and policy.  I wanted to punch Joan when she made it seem like Brandi and Leslie were essentially the same.  Despite all of these roadblocks, Leslie pulled through with an amazing speech.  Even I was a little moved by her closing remarks.  I guess it's because she was being treated like some kind of heartless jerk and hadn't been given a fair chance to shine, so I was just happy to see her get the result that she deserved.

I kinda wish that Ann had thought about taking Chris back, but at least Chris didn't seem too bummed about her rejection.  I also felt bad for Tom who isn't the douche that he sometimes acts like.  He is sweet (although a bit creepy at times), so I was glad that he still has some hope to win Ann back one day.  But Ann was smart to break it off with him after him telling such intimate details over the radio.  What the hell, Tom??  He needs to kick that nervous and insecure habit fast.  He could be good for Ann, if only he toned down the "swag" as April put it.

I was disappointed Ron didn't have much of a chance to shine beyond being super handy in stealing cable.  He said he would pay for it later, and he went up the electric pole like it was something he did every day.  I thought he might get arrested before he finished that job, but luckily the siren we heard in the background wasn't meant for him.  Inside the house, Andy was pretty cute in the way he acted out his favorite movie scenes.  He has incredible energy.  I would have gotten tired of doing that after a few minutes.  He was so animated and lively about the movies he was talking about even Donna felt moved during his rendition of Babe.  Andy may be a dork and a moron, but he's too loveable for you to hold that against him.

I'm excited to see what impact Leslie's debate will have on her campaign.  She may have killed in the debate, but something easily could come up before the election day to damage her (especially with that high-priced campaign manager that Bobby has).  Hopefully, it won't be something that Leslie and her friends can't handle.  They are really becoming an unstoppable team!  I know it would never happen, but it would be the greatest show if you could take all the Parks and Recreation department and put them in the White House.  I'm just saying, a sequel to this show could be Leslie in the White House!  I'd gladly watch that!