Abed and Troy As Cops? Hell, Yeah!

Community, S03E17

This week, the gang was spoofing Law and Order.  I've never watched it before, but I could still appreciate the joke.  The gang's yam for biology was destroyed and Annie employed Shirley to find a culprit that she and Jeff could take to Professor Kane to get the grade they deserved.  Shirley, a fan of crime shows, immediately tasked Abed and Troy to interview suspects and do the leg work.  After talking to a lot of people, the two pointed the blame to Todd, one of their initials suspects.  They had a court-like session in the biology lab, with Professor Kane as the judge, and proved that Todd was the one who dropped their yam jar.  However, Jeff realized that Todd wasn't entirely to blame and requested that both of them be given C grades.  In Jeff's closing remarks, he revealed that the reason Todd dropped their jar was because another student was sabotaging everyone's projects to prevent his girlfriend from failing.

I liked that Troy and Abed were acting like cops, but were careful enough to know that they didn't have the actual power to hold anyone against their will or punish them for their crimes.  They really commit to any role that someone gives them, especially if it's reflective of a TV show or movie.  The best investigation work was when they had to catch Starburns in the library and Troy dressed up as a "typical nerd" to bait him.  Their plan was so ridiculous, yet it worked like a charm to get Starburns to steal Troy's bag.  Then they interrogated him with the "good cop/bad cop" method.  They were acting insane, but for the most part, everyone was cooperating with them.  In another scene, Abed was flying off the handle when it looked like Jeff and Annie wouldn't be able to pin the crime on Todd with his real lawyer present.  He was shoving off papers on their tables like he was really pissed off.  I loved it.

Another person who was pretty funny in this episode was Professor Kane.  I liked how he was annoyed by their court room antics, but allowed them to act like that anyway.  The part I liked best about him was when he was defending the honor of the pinky swear Abed and Troy made with Starburns.  Kane wasn't about to back down even when the Lieutenant Lawyer was demanding that the person who saw Todd in the room have his reasons for being in the biology lab explained.  He can be some a formidable presence when he wants to be.  But he is an incredibly fair man.  Maybe a little hard, but he is damn fair.  And I respect his character for that.

I was amazed that Jeff was the only one who picked up on the strangeness of Todd burning himself on their jar.  I thought that was really weird and wondered what that was about until Jeff brought it to attention at the end of the "trial."  I never expected it would be Neil behind it.  Actually, scratch that.  When he was talking to Abed and Troy when showing them the log, I had a good feeling he was involved in the crime.  After all, he commented that he had already heard about their yam being destroyed and that his yam had bloomed.  There was no need for him to say all that.  I didn't think he would have done it so he could have sex with his girlfriend.  What a weirdo.  Good thing Jeff showed how mushy all the yams were or Neil would have gotten away with it and all the blame would have gone to Todd.

The last thing that was funny (in a creepy way) was the extra where Shirley wondered why the boys were still bunking in the study room.  The dean came in with warm milk and sang them a bedtime song that proclaimed he would be there staring at them when they woke up the next morning.  What the hell??  Still, it was cute that Abed and Troy were comforted to sleep by this weird lullaby.  I have no idea why the dean is taking care of them, though.  That dean is such a mystery.

Sometimes I think that this show would be great if it was nothing but parodies.  I like seeing what roles each of them can play in a different situation besides being a student.  They can turn all kind of problems at school into a creative and more serious matters than they are.  Really love how they can do that.  But I guess if they do it all the time, it wouldn't be as special.  However, I'm willing to see them prove me wrong.  So far, I've enjoyed every one of their extraordinary adventures from the paintball fights to the Law and Order case.  This show better have many, many more opportunities to stretch their creativity in the future.

Drug Trial Side Effect Is Bad Deposition

2 Broke Girls, S01E20

Caroline's old lawyer came to ask her to give a deposition, but his fees to represent her were way out of her price range.  Max suggested they earn the money through a drug trial, even though Caroline was pensive about putting untested drugs into her body.  They spent the night waiting for any of the side effects that were described to them, but it looked like they were given the placebo.  At the time of Caroline's deposition, however, one of the symptoms showed itself and made her unable to speak properly.  Max spoke on her behalf and reminded Caroline's lawyer that her father is a good man who is worth doing Caroline a favor.  Thanks to his kindness Caroline was able to speak later when her condition had gotten better.

There wasn't much to say about the girls' adventure this time.  I would have thought that a drug test would have been more interesting (the nurse Toby was probably more so than the drugs they took), but the night they spent with their constantly peeing roomie was pretty boring.  I think I've had my fill of Caroline telling us a sweet memory with her dad.  We get it--he's a nice guy.  Whatever.  The only point in hearing that story was that Max had something to talk about when she was speaking on Caroline's behalf at the deposition.

I did like that Max was so into Law and Order.  The way the lawyer kept looking at her, every time she threw out some of the legal stuff she had learned through the show, was funny.  Plus, I just like seeing a passionate Max.  We all have our shows that we get a little more than excited about, and it's nice that Max can relate to most people about that.  I especially liked how she was so taken with the "tiny typewriter."  It's great when she has the enthusiasm of a kid at a toy store.

Not much of a story this time.  I would have said that it was useful in exposing more about the mystery of Caroline's father, but I don't think we really learned much more than that Caroline isn't the only person who might believe in his goodness.  And of course, we learned that Max is a Law and Order fan.  There wasn't much racy material to work with this time, thus reducing the amount of comedy.  It's a little disappointing, but I guess this show can't always be about how many sex jokes they can throw in within half an hour.