Ron Swanson Gets Some...And Some Steak Too

Parks and Recreation, S04E18

Leslie had an awful interview with an obnoxious show host who trashed Pawnee, and Andy celebrated his passing grade from his first college course with steak.  Also, Donna was fascinated with Jerry's super focus with stuffing the envelopes with campaign flyers (but I won''t get into that).  I liked the Leslie story better than previous ones, but it still wasn't as good as the one that involved Andy.  You can't top a story that has Ron Swanson at the heart of it.

This week, Ron was doing one of the things he does best--eat meat.  Not only does he eat like 3 steaks, but Andy's professor is charmed by him, despite that Chris joins their little celebration and seems to be having a connection with the woman.  There were quite a few good lines at the table.  One was when April spots Chris at the restaurant by himself:

[April] Is that Chris?
[Andy] It really looks like him.  But there's no way to know for sure.  We should ask him tomorrow.

Another was when Ron probably had the conversation that made the professor fall for him:

My life has been shaped by powerful women.  My father once told my mother that woman was made from the rib of Adam, and my mom broke his jaw.

 I felt bad for Chris when the professor shot him down for a few seconds before she went after Ron.  There was no time to think about his feelings when Ron so casually and easily accepted her invitation to hookup.  However, after Ron comes in the next day so happy that he is making jokes like "Donuts.  Go nuts," and Chris says that he is going to try to win over the professor, my heart went out to Chris again.  It was cute and unexpected that Andy convinced Ron to be upfront with Chris with the same words Ron had lectured Andy with earlier.  The disappointment that Chris expressed was overshadowed by the hilarious hug Ron had to endure for being honest.

The only thing I really wanted to mention about the Leslie story was how it was nice that Ann and Tom were getting along.  Even though they seemed to be breaking up more than they were staying together, it was cute that Tom was keeping track of the time they were officially a couple.  Tom ruined it at the end with the 48-hour anniversary gift of 48 condoms.  Damnit, Tom.

It's also sweet that people of Pawnee love Leslie so much.  Or either they hate Buddy Wood enough to purposely throw his bag away.  Either way, things worked out nicely for her.  Maybe she won't win the race, but she surely can't say that her relationship with Pawnee is a one-way street.

I wonder if Professor Linda was a one-time character or if she will stay on to be Ron's girlfriend for a while.  Hopefully that won't be painfully for Chris to see, and he'll find someone else.  He's too convincing as a lonely person, so it is kind of breaking my heart to see him like that.  It's funny, for sure, but it also so sad.  I'd also like to see a good Ben and Leslie story next time like the bowling one.  As much as Ron cracks me up, I'm starting to miss my dose of Leslie-brand laughter too.

Maybe It's Racist, But It's Funny

Cougar Town, S03E04

 I'm trying to remember why I was laughing more than usual at this episode.  I don't think I found the battle for king between Jules and Andy to be that hilarious.  We all knew that in the end Jules would show that she has the most power, but as she loves to make people happy, she'll toss Andy a bone so that he thinks his role in the neighborhood is greater than it is.

What I did like so much that I want to mention it right away is Laurie's love of black people:

[Laurie] I wonder what he looks like. I hope if hes black, he's super black.   Dark black is hot.  Is that racist?

[Grayson and Ellie shortly confer with each other]

[Grayson] No. But it makes us uncomfortable.

That was probably the funniest thing said this season so far.  Laurie is so wonderfully ridiculous sometimes.  I kinda like that it turned out that she and Wade really did have a real relationship.  Maybe he will show up one day.  They certainly could use a black guy on that show.  I don't think Andy brings enough diversity to the show (not to say every show must have an ethnically diverse cast, but it would be nice to represent more minorities on TV).

Another relationship that I'm surprised that I favor is the possible one between Bobby and Travis' professor.  I never thought about him dating again, so it was nice he fell in love in a way that wasn't so predictable.  Also, the lady of interest played a major role on Scrubs and also a reoccurring role on How I Met Your Mother.   I won't say that I love this actress, but she might work well as Bobby's girlfriend if she sticks around, so I'd be interested to see their chemistry.

Lastly, I liked that they turned Tom's fountain into a wine fountain.  I did not see that coming.  They are really creative with new ways to enjoy their alcohol.  I'm not sure how it really fixes the problem of hearing water running all the time and forcing them all to have to pee.  I'd also worry about the freshness of that wine after a while, but with this gang, even a wine fountain wouldn't be enough for them.

I usually don't anticipate this show, but I do want to see what happens with Bobby and the professor.  Baby Stan had a very small role in the episode (which was adorable), and I'd like to see him used more regularly.  And I'll ask for more Ellie lines too, even though Laurie did a pretty good job picking up the slack this time.