This Week in Television - Apr. 25-29, 2011

Glee
To break it down, Quinn's back story was the kind of far-fetched crap you only see on TV, prom king/queen is only a big deal in the movies (and if prom is this season then the show should be over, because it comes during the last year of high school so everyone would be moving on after this season), the dance sequence in the mall where the only lyrics in the song were "Barbara Streisand" was one of the weirdest performances Glee has ever done, and it doesn't work so well when you're trying to convince your audience that young, attractive people are playing ugly characters. I did, however, like the scene with Emma in therapy. Taking 48 minutes of her 50 minute session to scrub the chair so she could sit down was exactly the wake-up call she needed to deal with her disorder.

Survivor: Redemption Island
Even though Steve was making a ploy to save himself and Ralph, the girls should have listened to him and voted Rob, because now Rob is probably going to win. Or Matt if he survives Redemption Island. It will probably be between them, and like all seasons that have a pointless three-person finale, the third person will get 0 votes.

Community
Shirley-heavy episodes tend to drag a little, as she is the least funniest character, but I did like Troy and Abed pimping out their special handshake to Pierce, and all of Chang's weird little "Chang baby" facts. Britta looking under Shirley's skirt with that hypnotic stare and droning sound reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I almost thought they were going to give us an angle of Shirley's genitals represented as a colourful, whirling kaleidoscope shot.

The Office
What was interesting about this episode was that it showed Michael's true feelings about the others in the office. We spent several episodes this season winding down Michael's relationships with some of his co-workers, but when it came time to say goodbye, some were clearly more heartfelt than others. I think Jim, Pam, and Dwight were no-brainers, given that they are part of the main cast (Dwight's didn't work for me, though, because I could tell his skepticism about the letter was going to be a mislead into something nice, but the paintball match was a better touch); Andy, Erin and Phyllis were also rewarded with Michael's grace (Phyllis may have had sore hands, but Michael's satisfaction with the knitted mitts made up for his horrible reaction to her homemade oven mitt back when they played Yankee Swap in season 2's Christmas episode); Angela, Kevin and Kelly got farewells that didn't quite work, though Michael meant well (I suppose his gift of not annoying Kelly could be retribution for "Diversity Day", when he annoyed her so much that she slapped him in the face.) Everyone else basically just got some little junk gifts or a few fleeting words. The most surprising was Ryan, given Michael's longstanding man-crush on him. The beer sign might be Michael's most prized possession, but I think he got over Ryan enough in the WUPHF episode to know their relationship isn't as special as he thought. My favourite moment was the ending where Pam runs to meet Michael at the airport. It simultaneously reminded me of the end of Lost in Translation and all of those wonderful, now classic Jim/Pam season enders. It was perfect, because looking back, Jim and Pam were the first to have sympathy for Michael and start caring about him, but Jim did not experience the Michael Scott Paper Company, nor did he attend Pam's art show, but Michael did, making Pam his greatest friend in the office. I know Michael rubs some viewers the wrong way, especially during his more awkward moments, but for me it has been one hilarious, 7-year delight. The Office will not be the same without him, but I will keep watching until the end, and hopefully Michael will pop up in the series finale. So long, Mr. Scott, catch you on the flipside.

Parks and Recreation
Never really thought about what April and Andy's living conditions would be like, but it makes perfect sense that nothing is done around the house, because Andy is clueless and lazy, and April is careless. And I like that they tied that in with Ben doing what he came to Pawnee to do, which is fix things. The painting was cool (yet Jerry still got gypped on the kudos), but while I wouldn't consider it pornography like the media did - not all nudity is necessarily sexual - it's probably not something that should be on public display. But instead of destroying it or making an entire second painting, wouldn't the easiest solution just be for Jerry to paint a bra or something on the centaur? I know the "switcheroo" reveal was better in terms of comedy writing, but I thought someone would've at least suggested it, or would that ruin the painting's empowerment? I guess the toplessness shows the centaur's confidence and lack of restraints/boundaries. Ron's speech at the art gallery was also awesome.

30 Rock
Tracy's storyline was kind of lame, unless you find it funny to hear "Smooth move, Ferguson!" repeated over and over again, but I did enjoy Liz's housework montage accompanied by Tina Fey singing a song about montages, and some of the stuff with Kim Jong Il doing his own movies and broadcasts.

Fringe
Whoa. I was actually just expecting the machine to take Peter to the other side, but it appears he's still on this side... TEN YEARS IN THE FUTURE! Or it could just be a vision and not actual time travel. The smoking eyes in that drawing of him might symbolize, say, a vision of destruction, and it looked like there was a lot of destruction going on.

Hero of the Week: Pam from The Office, for making sure Michael got his goodbye and ending the episode on a perfect note.

Douchebag of the Week: Marcia from Parks and Recreation, for wanting Jerry's painting destroyed because she thought it was porn. Overreact much?