TV Review: Community 3.04-- Remedial Chaos Theory

Where to start trying to recap everything that happens (or doesn't happen) in this episode...  "Remedial Chaos Theory" takes place entirely within Troy and Abed's apartment at their housewarming party.  This is a nice change from the overuse of Chang and Dean Pelton in this season's first few episodes; it's always refreshing to spend some time with just the group, and outside of Greendale is even better. 

This episode shows us six possible timelines stemming from a decision the group makes about who will go to the door to let the pizza delivery guy in.  Sounds silly, but each glimpse of each respective outcome is more ridiculous than the last.  We see some key interactions between various members of the gang, including Troy and Pierce (featuring a housewarming gift that is somehow both hilarious and terrifying), Troy and Britta (and candy cigarettes), Britta and Shirley (the latter of whom still doesn't have much to do in this episode), Jeff and Annie (I can almost hear the message boards/blogs quaking under the weight of their shippers' reactions), and Abed and...well, everyone.  Somewhat unsurprisingly, the best outcome (and presumably the "real" outcome) is the timeline where Jeff leaves the party, and it promptly turns into an actual party. 

This episode also gave us a little bit of a nudge forward, plot-wise.  We saw Abed invite Annie to move into the apartment as well, giving her a chance to escape the awful and apparently dangerous apartment in which she currently resides, not to mention opening the door for lots of potential roommate shenanigans.  And though this show remains inconsistent as ever in terms of relationships, I'll be interested to see if any of the romantic tensions that cropped up this week are actually addressed in the weeks to come. 

Also, the tag, which gives us a look at the future of the most disastrous timeline, is pure genius.  I love Abed's scheme to attempt to right the universe by meddling in the alternate timelines.  Plus, you know, fake mustaches/beards are always funny.

LAST THING I SWEAR:  Look at the details of Troy and Abed's apartment.  The decor is flawless and I want to live there.

May Sweeps: Where Do We Go From Here? Part Two

Okay, so apparently my dates are wrong, or I just didn't realize, but I've been reading more and more that this week is officially counted as part of May sweeps.  Ergo, I'd like to take a look at the Thursday night line-up (and make some probably incorrect predictions) before they air tonight.  These three shows have been pretty steadily wonderful all season long, so I don't know that any of them really need to pull out all the stops to impress me; they just need to keep doing all the fantastic things they already do.

Community:  First, Shirley is apparently having her baby tonight, at least according to Joel McHale's Twitter.  That should definitely provide the setting for both laughs and potential drama, so I'm looking forward to that.  However, didn't she only get pregnant in October?  That doesn't seem like enough time, but I guess that's one of those TV mysteries I just have to accept.  This sounds like it will be a pretty eventful episode by all accounts, and there will definitely be a May sweeps feel to it. 

As for what's coming in the next few weeks, we all know at the very least that we'll be getting paintball, round two, and my personal favorite thing, a guest-star appearance from one Josh Holloway (aka Sawyer from LOST!).  So excited/intrigued to see if he can actually pull off comedy.

Looking ahead to the finale and how they might wrap up this season, I think last week did a good job of catching everyone up on where things are at with all of the relationships and whatnot, so there's really a lot of potential for any number of story lines to be furthered or resolved.  I'm guessing we'll get something on the Jeff/Annie front, particularly since it was so skirted around (parody video notwithstanding) when Annie tried to bring it up last week.  The people behind this show know that there's a huge Jeff and Annie fan base, so I can't see why they wouldn't take advantage of that for sweeps.  I'd also like to see them come back to either Britta and Troy and whatever they have going on or a return from Abed's secret service lady (that was one of my favorite plots surrounding Abed, they'd make such a weird, fantastic couple).  Also, are all of them staying in community college for four years?  That seems a tad unrealistic, but if it's required for the sake of the show, I'll take it.  In any event, the episodes to come should be pretty interesting, and hopefully some of their best yet.

The Office:  There is no way that Steve Carell/Michael Scott's last day at Dunder-Mifflin is going to be anything less than epic.   The word "perfection" is being tossed around, and I have no doubts that it is accurate.  After that, I'm not so sure.  All I've read about the finale is the increasingly lengthy list of famous guest stars who will be appearing, and if that doesn't sound like compensating, I don't know what does.  I really will be interested to see what they do without Michael, especially given the not-so-enthusiastic response to Will Ferrell's potentially replacing him.

Parks and Recreation:  I'm going through a phase with this show that I've had at some point with all my favorites (Community being the most recent), where I just want to watch it all the time, and I find myself counting down the hours until Thursday so that I can see what's next.  This has been the show of the season for me, hitting it out of the park every single week (and still not getting the recognition it deserves...but I don't need to go on a rant now).  I am so excited for the final few installments of Parks, and to see where they leave us heading into Season 4.  A few of the things I'm particularly looking forward to:

 *Some drama:  Ausiello's May Sweeps score card lists Parks as having one of 15 "confirmed deaths" in the final leg of its season.  I know I talked about this a few weeks ago, wondering who in the office it'd be, but now that I've had more time to think about it I'm going to predict that the death will be Pawnee's own Lil' Sebastian.  Can you imagine the mayhem that will ensue?  I can, and I can't wait to see it.

*Ben and Leslie:  This couple has been an obsession for me all season, and it's only gotten worse as it's become clear that their feelings are reciprocated.  Rumor has it that they're going to have some pretty significant moments soon, and I just need to say that I am preemptively embarrassed of how many times I'll probably watch the scene where they inevitably get together.

*What's next for the Parks Department?  When we last left them, they seemed to be sifting through Leslie's ideas for the next big project.  I thought having Harvest Festival as a common thread holding the season and the Parks crew together was a great device, and I'd love to see them do it again with something even more awesome(sauce).  I'm hoping we will have an idea of the new endeavor by season's end.

Overall, I'm entirely too excited about television right now.  And it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm on the verge of mid-terms.  Nothing at all...