A Community we can all be a part of...

I think this show has the sitcom formula for success; creative writing, character development, consistent humor and wraps it all together in a ziplock bag to keep it fresh. The situation, a group of community college students from all walks of life, brought together each week for a study session of sorts. Each character brings out a different flavor to this comedy stew; Troy and Abed's unusual bromance, Jeff's too good for this place quips, Britta's overly-abrasive feminism, Annie's unstoppable goody two shoes, Shirly's turn the other cheekiness and Pierces out of touch socialism. And it doesn't stop with the main characters, the recurring characters blend right in with the cast and turn the funnies up a notch. From Dean Pelton and Star-Burns to Leonard and Chang, every one of them ups the ante.

No matter how many memorable characters you cram into any show, none of it matters without the writing to back it, and that's where this show truly shines. The ideas sometimes are completely far fetched, but in the end, it still works. There have been entire episodes devoted to paintball, dungeons and dragons, an episode shot documentary style and even one in claymation. Although each episodes creative inputs draw humor from all angles, they still tie a consistency to the events as if an actual school year is playing out before us. Which is excellent because the tv calendar is almost identical to a school's calendar. They even tie obscure happenings together and make you say "oh yeah, i remember that happening". Whether it's a fling between characters from several episodes ago or the movie "kick-puncher" (a cyborg cop who's punches have the power of kicks) that's comes up now and again, you'll be glued to it all. Every character will have a simple one-liner that makes you want to rewind your dvr and watch it again, that's writing at it's finest.

I could probably go on and on, because there's so much that this show brings to the table that's been missing from traditional sitcoms for a while. Being that we live in the A-D-D generation and good/award winning shows don't last long, hopefully shows like "Community" will recast that mold. At the time of this writing, the big-wig TV execs picked up the show for a 3rd season, so far, it's on the right track.

Replay Value: DVD worthy

Breakout Kings... not found

Prison Break meets Dog the bounty hunter meets First 48 meets Criminal Minds and there you have it. It takes a con to catch a con? That's the tagline and the exciting premise that this show bases it plots on. U.S. Marshall's enlisting the aid of convicted criminals in order to catch the baddest of baddies. In turn, their sentences are shaved down and are held in camp cupcake (minimum security prison) until no longer needed. If they try to bail out or cause harm to the any Marshall they work with, then their sentencing is doubled. Simple enough.

So every week, a new case is presented. Our 2 cops; Charlie and Zancanelli lead our 3 cons; Lloyd, Shea and Philly, on the trails of a hard to catch crook. They're dispatched and kept up to date and informed by Julianne. It immediately kicks off with the action of a prisoner escaping and they jump right into the mix. Lloyd was a former child prodigy with a gambling problem, Shea is a hustler and Philly a con-woman. Each uses their "criminal talents" to bring insight towards baiting and locating these bounties. Lot's of action, dead ends, mysteries and slight humor stuffed into the episode. The pilot only touches briefly on each character but there's a lot to learn and cable usually lets new shows run it's full opening season course, so we should see how it all unfolds. Let's see what's offered for the next few episodes, the jury's still out for now.

Replay Value: Minimal for now

What Would You Do?... If you saw soliders kissing?

This show is usually hit or miss with the scenarios they set up. The show used to be a special that they would do every so often but since it's picked up in ratings,  it's become a weekly series. This week in particular, they're exploring wild and out of control kids in public restaurants, parents requesting their teens to get botox, and the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell". There is usually at least one topic that's good for discussing with friends, to see what they would do or how they would react, and this week has got it.

They have 2 actors dressed in fatigues at a restaurant, openly showing each other affection. They then have a 3rd actor discouraging the soldiers in order to get a reaction out of the other patrons. Just about everytime that third guy starts telling the soldiers "don't disrespect the uniform" and "don't do that in public" most customers ignore at first while glancing out the corner of their eye, but eventually one brave soul stands up and defends the human rights of the 2 and tell the guy to keep it movin. The scenario even ups the ante and has a 4th actor portray a waitress and either support the soldiers or agree with the 3 actor looking down on it. They even switch between male and female soldiers and get the same results. It's one thing to see a same sex couple show each other love and affection, happens all the time, but put them in military uniform and it's supposed to upset us? Unless it's illegal, like a 34 year old man rubbing and kissing on a 5 year old, I don't feel a couple is wrong for PDA. If it bothers someone so much and they can't turn away from it, don't make a scene, it's not worth it. So they ask, "what would you do?", if you saw that at your local restaurant.

Replay Value: For Topical Purpose

Restaurant: Impossible... or not so much

This weeks episode of R:I wasn't as much of daunting challenge as previous locations. Chef Irvine was shipped off to the Flood Tide, an "old school" 5 star restaurant in New England that hasn't lived up to it's allure since the 80's and is now in danger of closing (as usual). The owner, grandma Jody, doesn't really stand over the day-to-day operations and has let the quality slip over time. Now it's known for being an overpriced, stuffy, time wasting dining experience. The servers make your salad at the table, the wood burning over gets no use, easy fixes right?. As usual, Irvine has 2 days and $10k to flip the place and he gets right into letting the staff have it. The dirt, grime, service and lack of flavor in the menu is first to get scrapped. 

When the designer comes in to play, this is the first of him having a duo, Michelle & Fadi. Usually he's got just one designer that he puts a ton of pressure on but it seems as if have two heads, cooler heads prevail. They kick right into gear while Chef reinvents the menu. The cooks are inline and then he shifts to creating a new image of the restaurant to the locals. It's got such a negative presence in the 21st century, that it's gonna take an actual name change to freshen it up. Bring in "The Wood Grill at Flood-Tide" and now we're cookin! Fresh coats of paint, new menu items, a wait staff without the stick up the ass attitude and it's a new place. 

Like I mentioned, this didn't seem as tough as previous challenges, maybe the editing is to blame. The easier the renovation, the less exciting the episode. We wanna see the hulked-out chef get pissed off because the food tastes like crap and the kitchen smells of a fat girls underarm in the middle of a heat wave. We wanna see him yell at the cooks and throw pots and pans around, narrowly missing the cameraman. The pressure of going over budget and not making it on time is what makes the episode more alerting. But this time, the toughness wasn't there and now we wait for the next one.

Replay Value:No Need