QNBS: Community

As I get ready for Chuck's fifth and final season by re-watching every episode starting Season 1, I also embark on my Quest for the Next Best Series. Many series have been recommended but today I will write about Community.

Very condensed version of the plot: A lawyer whose license was suspended by the New York Bar until he gets a US college degree forms a Spanish class study group to sleep with the girl he likes. This unwilling group of people evolve into real friends as the series progresses.

Unlike Awkward, New Girl or Outsourced, I have watched two full 24-episode seasons of Community. In fact, I have watched four episodes of its third, newest season. It was aggressively recommended by two law blockmates, and watched by two others. All four's taste in films, TV and music more often than not coincide with mine, or whose choices/recommendations I later on like.


PROS:

1. Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir.

Abed in stop-motion animation

He's the token non-American supporting character (Ken Jeong's Senor Chang is the second.) but most of the time, he steals the show away from Joel McHale's lead character Jeffrey Winger. He's has Raj's weirdness, Barney's creativity, Zack Addy's and Thirteen's mystery, and Vincent Nigel-Murray's intelligence (of all things trivia). Add to these qualities, he has comic timing and charm (as shown in Intro to Political Science and For a Few Paintballs More).

Abed (channeling Hans Solo) and Annie share a kiss
that launched many fan videos on YouTube

2. Troy and Abed. Pudi's chemistry with Donald Glover's Troy is surely an unexpected but very much welcome development. It has generated a solid fan base (me included) starting from the Spanish rap they did at the end of Spanish 101.

Abed and Troy doing their epic Biblioteca rap

The show's recognition of this pair's tremendous chemistry was manifested by the end-credits stuff they did in most of Season 1's and partly of Season's 2 ending credits. My favorite was when Troy, Abed and Annie dressed like Jeff.

Troy, Annie and Abed spoofing Jeff...or trying to.

3. An episode lasts 20 minutes only. One thing I had to endure with Chuck, even if I love it, was that it lasts, on average, 40 minutes long. 20-minute shows (like The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother) are perfect for people with short-attention span like me.

4. It takes pop culture referencing to a higher (if not the highest) level. TBBT, HIMYM and Chuck only mentions pop culture references but Community lives it. Cougar Town, Doctor Who, Dungeons and Dragons, Pulp Fiction, My Dinner with Andre, Star Wars, Lost and so on. My favorite was when Abed thought everyone was stop-motion animated.

Abed finding out the meaning of Christmas in Lost

5. It has a strong cast of supporting characters, providing side stories to the study group's central/main story. The performances of Jim Rash (as Dean Pelton) and Ken Jeong (as Senor Chang) are laudable.

Black Ken Jeong is the funniest, creepiest thing I've seen on TV yet

6. John Oliver as Prof. Duncan. Just because I love British actors, no matter how sloppy their characters are.

Oh, how I wish the writers will try to pair him up with Britta.

CONS

1. I feel Shirley (played by Yvette Nicole Brown) is an unnecessary character. I initially felt Pierce (played by Chevy Chase) was unnecessary until I realized he's that character specifically written to be hated so that everyone else is loved. And since I loathe Pierce more than any clumsy/obnoxious protagonist in recent American sitcom/TV show history, I guess the writing and acting are good. But no matter how I look at it, I still consider the Shirley character dead weight. Yes, she does provide alternative POVs (as a mother, as a black woman, as a religious) but all of these can be provided by the other, more substantial characters.

2. I felt the Prof. Duncan character is not well-developed. But this observation might be clouded by the fact that I like his character, so we will consider this a half 'con' only.

3. I see the show going nowhere. Like any school-themed show, everyone will eventually graduate but with community college I have this feeling that the writers are not limited by this. The writers can make everyone stay at the community college longer than expected since, hey, no one's rushing to graduate anyway (maybe except for Jeff). Yes, there has been character development but the development is more backward-oriented rather than forward. Each detail added to a character's personality is a definition of who he/she is and not who he/she will be/wants to be. Yes, Abed wants to become a director but now what? Yes, from being a group of unwilling individuals brought together by Jeff's lust and their common cluelessness of Spanish, the group evolves/will evolve to a group of real friends...so?

I don't see a good end to this. Sometimes, the obvious pointlessness of an endeavor is enough to make me rethink of participating in it despite the promises and the good and fun things that may happen along the way. Yes, it's all about the journey but, for me, it's comforting to know everything/everyone will end up somewhere--wherever that end is.

4. Considering my effort and commitment to Community (three seasons in), I shouldn't be thinking twice about making Community the replacement for Chuck. But I am. And this, in itself, is something worth pondering on.


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You may want to read other QNBS reviews:

QNBS: New Girl
QNBS: Awkward
QNBS: Outsourced

New Season Hairstyles!

Don't fret, my dear regular reader (yes, I hope there's at least one regular reader out there haha), this will not turn into a fashion blog like my blockmate Janica's site.

While I brush up on Chuck episodes, I noticed one thing my two favorites shows Chuck and How I Met Your Mother have in common: the lead actresses' new cropped hairstyles.

Robin's in HIMYM Season 7:

and 

Sarah's in Chuck Season 5:

Both styles suit them perfectly. I guess Barney was right: New is always better.

QNBS: Awkward

As I get ready for Chuck's fifth and final season which has been moved to a mid-season opening by re-watching every episode starting Season 1, I also embark on my Quest for the Next Best Series. Many series have been recommended but today I will write about Awkward.

The plot: An awkward sophomore high school student has her hard candy shell broken by the campus jock on the same day she gets an anonymous hurtful letter telling her of the stuff she should do to make herself least unlikeable (Number 1: Stop being such a pussy). She's bummed out and blogs about it. She, then, figures in a bathroom accident which everyone mistook as a suicide attempt.

Since I'm watching (or at least, deciding if will follow) the show a season late, I had the liberty and luxury of choosing to fast-forward to the next three or four episodes. But I had the full season (12 episodes) with me, I went crazy and skipped to the last, back-to-back episode. For the fun of it, I skipped-watched it to see where everything will lead to.


PROS:

1. It reminds me a lot of good things I've watched before. For one, Ashley Rickards' (who plays the lead role, Jenna) acting reminds me of Ellen Page in Juno...and in just about everything she's been in. And I like Ellen Page. She also reminds me of Emma Stone in...well, in just about anything she's been in. And I like Emma Stone, too.

Barney to Jenna: "Jenna, up top!"

2. It has a music guide! It flashes the title and artist of the song that is currently playing in the background. The music list is also available on the network's website. It saves us the hassle of Google-ing right after we hear a song we like in the background. For all its good music, How I Met Your Mother should make life easier for me and just have a music guide like this.

3. The ending is just...wow. You have to watch it to be amazed by its surprise factor. On second thought, I may have been too surprised by it because I skipped 9 episodes.

4. With lines like, "Her parents' are starting to think she's not Chinese!" who would not love that show? The Chinese, maybe.


CONS:


1. Rickards is too stunningly pretty to be cast as an awkward sophomore. I find it preposterous that her prettiness seemed to escape almost every person around her. Like with Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls.

Ashley Rickards was too pretty to be awkward.

2. J-Town. Really?! This show should have the same douchebag jar as they have in New Girl.

3. Plot is too predictable...until the last moment in the ending.

4. I found Rickards' annoyingly too red lipstick by Episode 11 and 12 too distracting. Her make-up (or lack of it) in the first episode was better (Disclaimer: I am not an 'expert' on make-up so my judgment in this aspect should not be trusted.)

5. I realized that when you're in post-graduate studies you aren't as amused with teen-related films or TV shows as you were when you're in high school. What appeals to me now are shows about people with jobs. Just about any show, except Glee amd maybe Awkward, I watch now has featuries yuppies or the working class, in general.


Well, for a series produced by a 'music' network, what can one expect? I'm not undermining (maybe a little) the capacity of MTV to make great shows because I have yet to watch Jersey Shore or any TV series produced by MTV. But, for a TV network known for bringing great music and legitimizing veejay-ing as one of the coolest jobs ever, Awkward was a good enough effort.




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You may want to read other QNBS reviews:

QNBS: Outsourced
QNBS: New Girl

QNBS: New Girl

As I get ready for Chuck's fifth and final season which has been moved to a mid-season opening by re-watching every episode starting Season 1, I also embark on my Quest for the Next Best Series. Many series have been recommended but, today, I will write about New Girl.

Zooey Deschanel is enough reason for me to be interested in any TV show she stars in. And I'm guessing most American TV viewers share the same sentiment. The challenge, however, lies in keeping the TV viewers interested long enough for the network to extend the season to 22 episodes for its first season, or order for a second one.

The Plot: Three guys (a black guy, 2 white guys) accept a recently cheated on girl (Jess, played by Deschanel) as their new housemate. This girl sings to herself, makes up songs for herself and watches Dirty Dancing when she's heartbroken. And, she's not drop-dead-sexy. But they take her in anyway because she can pay rent and has model friends (hello, Hannah Simone!).

Judging by the looks for the first episode one would know, or can reasonably infer, that one of the guys (if not, god forbid, all of them) will definitely fall in love for Jess. This is where the story will revolve around. My money's on Nick (Jack Johnson).


PRO
The first episode was okay...


CON 
...but it had a commercial-movie-like feel to it. I felt the dialogues were narrating the story instead of the story unfolding by itself.



PRO
Zooey Deschanel...


CON
...but her Failure to Launch-like comedic-ness does not seem to work for me in New Girl. Maybe her brand of comedy is best served in small, regulated doses and not regular, daily servings.



PRO
The chemistry between the guys were ok. It felt as if they are friends. Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.) was the most promising because not much has been said about him in the first episode. Nick and Schmidt's stories' foundations seemed to be laid out pretty well.


CON
They changed the token black guy character just after one episode! They replaced him with (and no surprises here!) another black guy who looked like the average black guy. I haven't fully watched episode 2 but I took a peek and discovered that Coach, the most promising character from Episode 1, was replaced! Too bad Wayans' other show, Happy Endings, was renewed for another season. There should be a Bring-Wayans-Back-to-New-Girl movement. Well, first, there has to be enough people who watch the show to care to bring back the chemistry that was in the pilot episode.



PRO (and this has no CON counterpart...)
One of the guys (or at least it is made to appear that one of them) reads Nelson DeMille like I do! I'm amazed at how a copy of Lion's Game lying inocuously behind Zooey Deschanel can catch my eye.

I wonder, who is the Nelson DeMille fan in the show?

Little things like this, albeit of... well, little importance, can easily reel me back to a show the same way that a big character change (first, Bones, House, Glee and now New Girl) has made me let go of it. For all it's worth, and New Girl has to thank Nelson DeMille for this, I will give New Girl another try to make up for Damon Wayans' ouster, Zooey's mediocre antics and the show's fairly predictable storylines. If it fails to deliver up to Episode 5 I'd drop it.

My Quest for the Next Best Series continues.

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You may want to read my other QNBS review:

QNBS: Outsourced

QNBS: Outsourced

As I get ready for Chuck's fifth and final season which has been moved to a mid-season opening by re-watching every episode starting Season 1, I also embark on my Quest for the Next Best Series. Many series have been recommended but I will write about Outsourced first since it was first on my list of possible shows to follow next.

PROS:
1. It's about India...or a call center in India. The cultural references remind me of the stuff we learned or suppose to learn or were taught in undergrad.

2. Considering my cultural bias in favor of characters of Indian descent, it features a good deal of Indian actors/characters. This show made me realize how much I favor characters of Indian descent. It's like pro-Indian Nazism.

3. It's a bit racist...or, at best, it reinforces the current racial stereotypes. For me this is a plus because it shows what happens in real life: Americans will forever try to force their culture on everyone they meet and Indians will always be misunderstood or misrepresented as a BPO-friendly citizenry. It is in the racial slur (delivered perfectly by Diedrich Bader) that I find myself laughing hard to.

4. It's easy to watch, and is a welcome departure from the usual American-dominated TV series scene. Asha and Tonya (and the 'new' Vinmi) provides the token eye candy for males, and Manmeet and Todd for the females. Charlie, Madhuri and Gupta provide the occasional episode-filler storylines and jokes. Ranjit's story provides the right amount of laughter and drama and romance into the show.

CONS:
1. There is not much to expect. Todd tries to get by with his life in India as a manager of a call center that sells fake puke and the like. He experiences romantic conflicts with a modern-Indian woman named Asha and an Australian BPO manager named Tonya. The other characters are pretty much inserted into this main storyline to provide enough entertainment to stretch the whole thing to 22 episodes.

2. Not renewed for a second season. Enough said.


It bums me (and my college blockmates) out that the common/majority perception of the show (that it is boring, at best, or racist, at worst) has prevailed over ours, and has dictated, sadly, its existence. We liked it just because. The non-renewal pretty much seals the deal on this show not being the answer to my Quest for the Next Best Series.


Where are my fellow pro-Indian Nazism advocates when I need them? The Sad Answer: They're too busy doing their BPO-related tasks to watch or care about shows about Indians in BPO-related jobs.


Quest for the Next Best Series: New Girl

As a rejoinder (oops, still hung over from finals week in law school) to The A. V. Club's Actors we hate in movies we love article, I post my own, one and only example....so far.

Will Ferrell (or his voice) in Megamind. I love animated films and I hate Will Ferrell. Ever since I saw him on Step Brothers, which is, by far, the worst film ever, my utter dislike for him did not wane. Talladega Nights can't erase the bad memory that is Step Brothers, which is even more distasteful than Funny People. Not seeing Will Ferrell's weird, not really funny face in Megamind I guess contributed to my appreciation of the film.

The day we were robbed

I consider my relationship with Death as trivial, and our encounters were fleeting. I always make sweeping declarations that, Losing my mom is my greatest fear, and that I am thankful that no one close to me (or close enough that would merit tears) has died. My favorite aunt's, my lola's and my aunt's deaths have saddened me but I was either too young or not too close to them for their deaths to affect me profoundly.

Last year, through the Internet, I was able to follow the events of a person's death and the different reactions to it through Facebook. This guy and I had so many common friends that it was impossible for me to log in and not see a status update, a photo upload or a note written related to his demise. First, I was just curious. Then, as days went on, I find myself being interested in this guy's death--or, rather, how people cope and react to it. I was amazed at how one life could affect so many people. I admit, the drama of it all piqued my curiosity. I wished to experience that kind of profound loss.

Be careful for what you wish for because you might actually get it.

Today, I find out that my sister's boyfriend died. He's a 2nd Lieutenant for the Philippine Army fighting the insurgency in Mindanao. He was set to come home for a break this November. This December was his turn to be home for Christmas.

At first, thinking that my sister's boyfriend was only missing, I immediately texted my sister saying, 'Kamusta si _? Stay strong.' She replied with a simple, "Thanks jo," which was very uncharacteristic of her. I waited for a follow-up text. Soon it enough, it came, "Magpapatulong ako sa eulogy."

I was in utter disbelief. Yes, he was in a highly dangerous situation, but knowing my sister's boyfriend, my Kuya, I knew he was wais enough to outlast the 'war'. I offered a prayer and bit away the tears welling up inside me. I went back to reviewing, or tried to, for my final exams.

But I couldn't get it out of my system. I start reading then I'd remember the instances I was with him. All the ice cream he treated me and my sister to. All the siomais we ate during his birthday last year. All the jokes he said. All the encouragement he gave. I couldn't accept the fact that starting on the 19th of October I will never see Kuya alive, smiling. What pains me the most is that I will never see him with Ate  living happily, making their own family. I will never see the two of them together, and their little chubby-cheeked kids.

Death is like a thief in the night. It robs you of the things you value in the quickest possible way, when you least expect it. 

May all the people whose lives Kuya touched find solace and comfort in each other, and in the thought that he has lived his life the way he wanted, the way we all should. Passionately, dedicated.

Alanis, unexpectedly, provides me with musical solace at a moment like this.

You live you learn

You love you learn

You cry you learn

You lose you learn

You bleed you learn

You scream you learn

You grieve you learn

You choke you learn

You laugh you learn

You choose you learn

You pray you learn

You ask you learn

You live you learn 

See related video here, here and here.

Lord, 

Thank you for my Rushmore.

Always and forever.

J.


.

That Thing Ted and Robin and Barney Do

Although it's too early to write about How I Met Your Mother's  Season 7 since we're just into three episodes, I'll go ahead and write about one of the series' best episodes to date--Episode 3, Ducky Tie. It was one of the best for it combines everything we loved about HIMYM into one amazing episode.

The jokes, the puns, the chemistry, the witty lines, the quick editing. Everything plus some.

Ted, Barney and Robin doing the that thing they do night in, night out

HIMYM's storyline is centered on one central premise: It is a story of how Ted met his children's mother. It is a story of friendship, love, and everything in between. And when things go way overboard (read: the Zoey storyline), the writers have this central premise to get back to. Episode 3 brought us back to Ted and his quest for the one who he becomes a "complete head over heels idiot for".

And who's the best person to bring us back to the central premise? Well, someone from the past: Victoria, who is one of the best--if not the best--ex-girlfriend of Ted yet. She's the perfect person to make us forget about the horror that is Stella and Zoey. She's nice, she's pretty (even more now), and she does make a lot of sense.

Ted and Victoria sharing a moment

Her speech about Ted (and Robin and Barney) not being able to work out relationships with other people in the past because of each other really did made sense. It drives home the point that Lily was telling Robin about in Episode 1, The Best Man. Deep down each of them hopes to end up with each other, albeit not being aware of it. This hope, whether seemingly baseless, false or nonsensical, is keeping them from making meaningful relationships with other people. Ted and Robin still has the 40 Pact which was recently mentioned in The Best Man. Barney and Robin still has the chemistry, one which, according to Lily, "never goes away".

Lily was right when she said, "Because deep down even if he isn't aware of it himself, Barney wants to be with you. And if it's not gonna happen he deserves to know." Ted and Robin deserved to know as well.

In order to enable each and every one of these three to move on and make meaningful relationships, each has to realize that they need to open up to persons other than each other. Try to make it work, and try wholeheartedly.

Ted subconsciously realized this when he decided to move in with Stella in New Jersey. When Stella left, Ted came running back to "this thing that you're all doing...you and Barney and Robin where the three of you hang out in the bar, night in night out, like you're all just buddies" that Victoria was so right in pointing out.

Robin realized this in Season 5 when she "left" the gang to try to be serious with Don in "Twin Beds". Unfortunately, Don turned out to be a complete douche, so Robin came rushing back to this thing. And from the looks of Season 7, Barney is realizing this subconsciously with Nora.

Ted, Robin and Barney's friendship, despite its many advantages and positive effects, is serving as a hindrance to their own realization of what they want out of life. And because of the tease Future Ted gave ("She was right. We just didn't know it yet."), I believe that in Season 7 they will all realize this and it will lead them to make life-changing decisions. We're sure that that Barney's decision will lead to a wedding. Now, what are Ted's and Robin's going to lead to? A renunciation of the 40 Pact? Maybe. I'm certainly betting my money on that.

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Victoria's speech to Ted was so heartwarming that it deserves to be printed (and watched) in full. HIMYM is one of the very few seasons that can pull off something like that without being cheesy.

There is a reason that it didn't work out between you and me. But it's not Germany. And I'm willing to bet it's the same reason none of your other relationships in the last six years have lasted either. It's Robin... Yes, she is so much bigger in your world than you realize. And this thing that you're all doing. You and Barney and Robin, where the three of you hang out at the bar, night in night out, like you're all just buddies...that doesn't work. Trust me... I'm right about this. Goodbye, Ted.