A Comedic Perfect Storm

Somehow I lucked into watching the best episodes of the season of three comedies tonight. All in a row. I barely escaped with my life.

First off was the "Manic Monday" episode of Entourage. The main storyline followed Ari's descent (or is it ascent) into humanity. After last week's uncharacteristic protection of Lloyd, and this week's inability to fire an underperforming employee, Ari came to the realization that he is turning into a wuss. His therapist said he is actually making strides toward becoming a productive member of society, something that just makes him bristle in self-loathing.

His therapist goes on to tell him that he can continue on and improve his life or go back to being the ass she's seen him as for over a year.

Next scene: Ari, giddy as a school-girl, walks through his office and finds the underperforming worker in a conference room bragging about how well his eye surgery went. So Ari asks if he can do an eye test and grabs a marker and writes on the flipboard "Get the F*** out!" For added measure, Ari reiterates to the man (at the top of his voice, in case his hearing was as bad as his eyes) that he is fired and warns everyone else that goofing off will get them fired as well.

Not many actors could give the story the punch that Jeremy Piven did. He was all over the map: cocky, unsure, funny, compassionate, and he hit every feeling perfectly. Add to it Ari's characteristic body movements, and it made for the perfect episode.


After that, I watched the "My Big Fat Sober Wedding" episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine. Now, this isn't my favorite comedy, but I don't think it gets the credit it deserves. I think Julia Louis-Dreyfus is pretty underrated (at least buzz-wise) on the show. She really proved she deserves the Emmy on her mantle for the show with this episode.

Christine and the gang go to a wedding of a college buddy that had a crush on her. She elected herself to be the designated driver mainly to prove to the others that she can abstain from drinking at a reception. Let's just say it doesn't go well.

The whole episode showcased everything good about the show: the overly-vain Christine gets a boost and then the rug gets pulled out, Matthew finds himself doing the exact wrong thing, Richard keeps saying the wrong thing, the "Barbisms" (my favorite tonight was when she tells the bride she hasn't gone by the nickname "BJ" since college "for various reasons").

But the spotlight deservedly fell on Louis-Dreyfus, and the great writing allowed her plenty of opportunities to shine.


Finally, the repeat of the bunch. I hardly ever watch the same episode of any (non[adult swim]) show twice. I've got way too many other options and limited time. But I had to re-watch the "Robin Sparkles" episode of How I Met Your Mother.

Robin refuses to go to the mall with the others, so, naturally, they pry to get the reason out of her. The (always great) writing took us on a little journey of twists and turns: was she married at a mall, did she do porn at a mall, what could it be?

Turns out it was much more embarrassing: she was a teen pop star that gave performances at malls (think Debbie Gibson). The revelation and reactions by the rest of the cast were perfect enough, but the show went one step further: they actually filmed a video with Cobie Smulders dressed in the teenage '80s garb of a mall pop star singing her "minor" hit "Let's Go To The Mall".

Right there, you've got a great episode. But why not add a little something to it to make the episode, as Barney would say, "Legendary"?

While Robin hid her secret from the others, Marshall and Barney had a storyline of their own: the ever-escalating slap-bet. First Marshall got a slap in (with his great post-slap answer to Barney's astonishment at the size of his hand: "Dude, you've seen my penis..."). Then Barney got a rapid three-slap in on Marshall. Then it was all Marshall, with the finale of him actually knocking Barney off a chair with a slap-- and the threat of four more slaps to come.

Brilliant. This show has the best plotting and story beats of any comedy out there, and the cast gets tighter by the week. It's a crime the show is on the bubble (CBS would be morons to renew Rules of Engagement and not this).


So, there ya go. Three fantastic episodes of three great comedies-- and none are on NBC on Thursday.

And they say the comedy is dead...