The Office – “PDA”

I’m gonna say it: The Office is back. I don’t know for how long, or why it couldn’t happen sooner, but this show has been consistently solid for a number of weeks now. I still think Gabe is too creepy and awkward in the wrong way for the show, but pretty much everything else they’ve been doing of late is good. Maybe it’s just because they’ve had to put Michael’s stories in fast forward, but this is the show I used to love.

So after last week’s big kiss, Michael and Holly are back together. And though Holly seemed hesitant to give into Michael’s charms over the past few weeks, she is definitely back on the Scott Express. In fact, they’re so in love that their intimacy has become a problem for the rest of the office. In a meeting (in which Michael sits on Holly’s lap) Gabe puts a ban on public displays of affection. Michael hates this, but along the way ends up telling Holly he loves her, and she returns the sentiment. When it occurs to Michael that their relationship is going so fast because Holly has to go back to Nashua soon, she tells him the company can’t run their lives. So Holly moves in with Michael and the PDA ban is (at least temporarily) lifted.

Steve Carell was really good as Michael, running a gamut of emotions and hilarious moments. I lost it when he recorded his movie pitch for Boner Bomb starring Jason Statham or perhaps Eisenberg or Michael Cera. Genius! I’m glad they’re bringing back the aspiring filmmaker side of Michael, we haven’t seen that in a while.

The rest of the stories are pretty meh. Daryl’s funny when the office mistake his grieving over his grandmother’s death for his birthday. Pam and Jim are bummed they seem to be the only ones who haven’t had sex in the office. Erin and Andy try to get through Gabe’s treasure hunt Valentine’s Day, further proving that Erin and Andy are apparently required to go through the stupid people version of Pam and Jim’s romantic arc.

Steve Carell, what will this show be without you?

Community – “Early 21st Century Romanticism”

An episode of Community like “Early 21st Century Romanticism,” as Todd Van Der Werff points out over at The AV Club, feels more season one than season two. Community of late has been so much bigger than just a college event episode like this. After all, we’ve had zombie outbreaks (that remained in continuity), claymated Christmas wonderlands and even an episode that had our characters bar hopping.

It makes you wonder what direction the show is heading in. With a title like “Community,” the characters don’t necessarily have to stay in community college. They can branch out beyond Greendale when it comes time to graduate. Or maybe they’ll all become Greendale faculty. Who knows? What is clear is that Community has become much more grandiose than episodes about a Valentine’s dance, so it’s refreshing that “Early 21st Century Romanticism” works.

Of course it works by relying on the show’s great cast of characters, breaking them up into little groups for fun little stories. Troy and Abed both ask the sexy librarian out and ask her to choose one of them to date, only to realize that what they really need is not someone for one of them, but both of them. Britta loves gloating about her lesbian friend, who is actually straight and thinks that Britta is the lesbian (this gave us a great Pierce moment in the cold open). But the most important story of the episode is probably Jeff’s accidental party.

You see, since Jeff is cool, he’s forced himself to like soccer. And since Duncan is British, he invites himself over to Jeff’s to watch a game. Jeff can’t say no, since he’s arguing with the group over what bands they like. Unsurprisingly, Chang latches on to this opportunity to try to get closer to Jeff, or maybe just to get a warm bed. But Chang brings a bunch of people, starting a party that Jeff seems to be OK with. As the party goes on, Jeff realizes just how pathetic Chang is, and invites him to stay at his place, which hopefully will provide for some classic moments in the future.

But the big moment of the night is the last shot, Pierce passed out on a park bench, alone. He’s been dealing with a pill addiction, manifested by Andy Dick, and over the past few weeks has grown increasingly antagonistic with the group. I love that Pierce has had an arc like this, from breaking his legs on the trampoline through last week’s episode. It really impresses me that despite how wacky Community is, it never comps out. There is an actual continuity to the show. Making the wait for this week’s episode even more painful.

Cut Copy – Zonoscope

I remember one time I was riding along with Paul and he was playing Cut Copy in his car and I was just thinking, “Why does this sound so familiar?” So I did a little research and realized, I’d actually seen them live. Yeah in October 2005, opening for TV on the Radio and Franz Ferdinand, the funny thing is that Paul didn’t even remember we saw them and he was the one playing them in his car. The thing is when they came on that night in 2005, they weren’t on the ticket, weren’t introduced, and when they started playing I was like “What is this? Is this like a band? Are these roadies or something?” It was just two guys with synths, beat machines, and guitars that randomly took the stage. They were okay but I just didn’t know what was going on or who they were and it took me a good five years to find out.

Flash forward to earlier this week and I saw they had a new album, so here I am now giving them a shot. All I remembered is they were sort of an electronic group, but they’ve expanded since then. Adding two more guys this is more like a rock band with synths then just an electro/pop duo. The material brings to mind bands like Duran Duran and Pet Shop Boys but if their lead singer was really sleepy, like Matt Berninger from The National. So the result is kind of new wave, kind of shoegazing pop, and everything in between.

Something I really should of considered before giving this album a whirl is, do I really like new wave music? Not particularly, but I’m open minded and definitely prepared myself for the possibility that this album could be a bit dull. Is it dull? Well sometimes, yeah but I love the retro instrumentation so it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Though I have no regrets about getting this album as I got to hear the pleasurable tune “Where I’m Going” easily the best song on the album. It almost sounds like it belongs on another record entirely. Where the bulk of the album is moody new wave, this sounds like 60s pop (Think “Dragging the Line” if Tommy James had recorded it with synthesizers.) It’s a great pop song. Other tunes like “Nee You Know” and “Take Me Over” (which sounds a lot like fellow Aussie classic “Down Under”) are enjoyable enough, though they can get a little redundant with most songs well beyond five minutes (last song is 15, like I had enough energy for that.) I like to think new wave fans like this but for me, it’s just okay.

Favorite Tracks: “Pharaohs & Pyramids”, “Take Me Over”, “Where I’m Going”

Modern Family – “Bixby’s Back”

With a show like Modern Family, it’s especially hard to escape the holiday trap. Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, while they need not feature in all shows, with a family-centric sitcom, you can’t really skip them. That said, you should at least try to do something new. I don’t mean for the genre as a whole. I mean don’t do exactly the same thing you did last year.

Last year, Phil and Claire assumed aliases for a romantic misadventure in a hotel. This year, they went to a restaurant full of elderly patrons driving around in those mart cart things. Claire doesn’t like feeling that old, so she puts last year’s plan back in motion. They have a rendezvous in the same hotel bar, then an accidental key card switch results in painfully telegraphed “hilarity.” I don’t blame the writers for doing this, Phil playing his Clive Bixby character is still really funny, and the whole seen at the bar is really great. I just wish they could have done something a little more inventive.

Meanwhile, Jay is trying to surprise Gloria with a dinner at home, but he has to get her out of the house first. His desire is to make his wife look foolish by getting her to angry leave a restaurant, then to be swept off her feet when she see’s what he’s done at home. But things don’t go the way he planned! WHAT A TWIST!

Despite being at the center of some of the funniest episodes, Cam and Mitchell continue to have really, painfully weak subplots. This time they’re confused about which of them Mitchell’s secretary has a crush on, so they argue about that for a while. The kids have nothing much going on, Manny is trying to seduce Haley, who is technically her niece. Haley is just sad about not having a boyfriend. I think I noticed the actress who plays Haley in an Olive Garden commercial yesterday.

Anyway, “Bixby’s Back” was funny because, well, Bixby’s back. But the rest of the episode felt pretty formulaic, in a bad way. You can do better Modern Family. I’ve seen you do it.