The Best Episodes of 2011 (Part 4 of 5)

THE BEST EPISODES OF 2011 (Part 4 of 5)

COMMUNITY's "Paradigms of Human Memory"--Written By Chris McKenna; Directed By Tristram Shapeero

Community's the most creative series on network television. "Paradigms of Human Memory" is another example of such creativity. Years ago, clip shows were staples of sitcoms, and then they weren't. The show tackled the bottle episode in an earlier season two episode. The clip show's a bunch of clips, yes, but the material's entirely new and takes us to places we've never been with the study group. The episode's sort of a response to the question viewers always have about their favorite shows: "what do these characters do when we're not watching them?" For the study group, they go to ghost towns and mental institutions. They replace the suddenly deceased glee club and win the competition. And, in the funniest bit of the episode, Jeff gives an inspiring speech wherever he goes; the speech in this episode is a collection of the many speeches he's given which creates one whole and coherent speech. Lovely episode, which is highlighted by Jeff's theory that anything can be romantic when put to music in a montage, and Pierce and Abed are the experiment with that.

LOUIE's "Come On, God"--Written & Directed By Louie C.K.

Ideally, two people with opposing ideologies and beliefs would engage in a discussion and debate about an issue as peacefully as Louie and the Christian abstinence woman do. The issue is masturbation. Louie couldn't be more supportive of an act whereas the Christian woman, a beautiful 20something year old, believes all kinds of sex should be saved for sacredness of marriage between two loving individuals. Louie doesn't persuade the woman to embrace masturbation nor does the woman persuade Louie to quit masturbating (in fact, Louie masturbates at the end of the episode). Louie C.K. wrote a character, in the Christian woman, who 100% believes in her values and beliefs. It's sort of intoxicating to watch her explain her feelings on sex--her passion is attractive, which is what Louie communicates through her dialogue and his direction.

COMMUNITY's "Critical Film Studies"--Written By Sona Panos; Directed By Richard Ayoade

People expected a Pulp Fiction homage. Dan Harmon and his writers delivered a My Dinner With Andre. I think Dan Harmon understands Abed more than his other characters. Abed's the central character of any episode that delves deep into what it means to be human. Abed's an extremely meta, but he's also the only sane member of the group. Abed's all about his connection with Jeff Winger during the dinner scene. In fact, he's making a documentary. Jeff's realization of what's actually happening hurts him because he feels manipulated and used. As always, though, Jeff and Abed understand one another.

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM's "Mister Softee"--Story By Larry David, Alec Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer

"Mister Softee" is the Bill Buckner episode everyone anticipated, and it delivers the laughs. I liked how Buckner and Mookie Wilson were signing autographs in the same hall. I liked Buckner's 'aw shucks' act whenever people fled from his presence because of bad luck. My favorite scene's when Larry throws the signed Mookie Wilson baseball at Buckner and Buckner completely misses it. What an episode.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES' "The House Guest"--Written By Caroline Dries; Directed By Michael Katleman

This is an insane episode. Characters are set on fire. Isobel's back in town to cause chaos. The episode ruminates on love and its power. The power to love is stronger than any kind of magic.

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