SkimIt
The Jokes Write Themselves
Community star Alison Brie appeared on The Tonight Show with anecdotes from her first show business job, as a children's birthday party clown. She then demonstrated her expertise tying balloon animals, although when the lovely Brie inflated one long, thin balloon to start with, fellow guest Garry Shandling started to make a comment then interrupted himself with a simple "Too easy."
Discovering The Truth
Speaking of Community, special guest John Hodgman co-starred as a psychologist assigned to evaluate Abed (Danny Pudi) when he's caught trespassing on Greendale property. He attempts to convince the study group that Greendale Community College doesn't really exist, but the truth eventually is revealed: he's a fraud hired by Chang (Ken Jeong), who has kidnapped the real dean (Jim Rash) and installed a lookalike puppet. We'll have to assume this is all cleared up in next week's season (but not series!) finale.
Not A Minute Too Soon
Well, it seems like the showrunners at The Office have recognized that the first post-Steve Carell season was an utter failure, because the season finale hit the rest button, hard. James Spader's revolting Robert California -- and indeed, the entire Sabre corporation -- have been jettisoned, with Andy (Ed Helms) installed as the regional manager as he should have been all along. It looks like Catherine Tate will be sticking around as Nellie, which is fine: she's actually the closest this version of The Office has ever had to Ricky Gervais's David Brent.
Vote Knope!
On Parks and Recreation, after a nail-biting election that included a photo-finish and a recount, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) defeated Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) to become Pawnee's newest city councilor. Producers claimed they shot two endings of the episode in case the show was canceled; but the version that aired set up several new plotlines for next season, including a long-distance romance for Leslie and Ben (Adam Scott), who's leaving to run a congressional campaign, and plans for Andy (Chris Pratt) to join the local police force. Please don't give him a gun, you guys.
Don't Wake The Snake
When Will Ferrell comes on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, you just know something memorably weird is going to happen. This time, the former SNL castmate's dressed in vintage department store polyester shirts and painted-on white jeans to sing a perky little organ-driven ditty called "I Got My Tight Pants On." Careful: if you watch the video, you're going to sing this song to yourself for the next three days. Me, I just want to know where they got the white patent leather Beatle boots.
