Ranking Every Episode of Community’s Fourth Season

It should go without saying that season four of Community was the show’s worst. Whether this had to do with the departure of show runner Dan Harmon or just the ware and tare of a show that’s constantly hovered below the threat of cancellation since it began, the fact that the show took a dip in quality is inarguable. What’s also true, though, is that Community’s worst season is pretty much better than most other shows’ best seasons. Of the thirteen  episodes this season, I’d argue that four were worthy of high praise, only one was really detestable, and most fell somewhere in the middle. We should also remember that Community has one of the funniest casts on TV this week, even if the writers didn’t quite know what to do with all of the this season. (Mostly thinking of the Troy/Britta relationship and “The Pierce Problem”.) With all that said, let’s consider which episodes worked, and which ones didn’t this year.

Is Garden State a Good Movie?

That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the past week, since Zach Braff turned to crowd-funding website Kickstarter in an attempt to raise two million dollars for his new film (Wish I Was Here) and subsequently caused the internet to explode in rage. Not since The A.V. Club comment section’s collective decision to hate Mumford & Sons have I seen such automatic revulsion directed at somebody.

The 10 Best Drag Queens in Rupaul’s Drag Race Herstory

After five seasons and sixty-one sickening drag queens, Rupaul’s Drag Race has seen its fair share of lip syncs, shade and a whole bunch of fake titties. Some queens we’d rather not remember. (Rebecca Glass…Huh?) But most have become proud children of RuPaul’s growing media empire, a community of trannie fiercness waiting to takeover the world. In honor of the fifth season finale airing on Monday, May 6th, I compiled a list of my favorite ten Drag Race queens, including two who will be competing for the title of America;s Next Drag Superstar. Honorable mention to some of my favorites who just missed my top ten: Manila Luzon, Nina Flowers, Pandora Boxx, Detox, Ongina and Dida Ritz.

Why My Generation’s Obsession with its Past is Unhealthy

 

During a recent afternoon browsing the job boards, I encountered an ad for a new social networking service in need of copywriters. The creators of the site claimed that this would be the “first completely nostalgia-based social network.” Users could create a profile, and essentially “like” (as those Facebook kids like to say these days) and talk about all the television shows, movies, music, books, toys, etc. that they grew up with.

“Hey, which was the scariest Goosebumps book?!?!”

“I can’t believe they don’t have Ecto-Cooler anymore!”

“Kids these days will never get to watch All That! The original cast, I mean. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI-BETH DENBERG???”

Game of Thrones AND Real Housewives of Orange County: Episode 1

Game of Thrones is one of the most beloved, passionately written about shows in years. It’s epic scope, multi-layered characters, and brilliantly layered plot has elevated it to the top of almost every TV lover’s must-watch list. The Real Housewives of Orange County is a drawn-out, exploitative, and quite frankly, dumb example of what reality television has devolved into. I love both. I know I am among the small number in the center of this particular Venn diagram, but I believe that fans of each show could benefit from widening their pop culture views.

Girls Season Two Finale: A Postmortem

I want to know who’s still watching Girls that hates Hannah Horvath. I don’t mean, who finds Hannah irritating or self-pitying or selfish or immature, because she absolutely is all of those things. I mean, who has watched twenty episodes of Girls, absolutely loathes her character on a visceral level, and is still planning on watching season three? I know that there are plenty of people who cannot stand Hannah, who find her simultaneous, constant self-examination and lack of self-awareness infuriating, and do not watch the show because of this, and that I can understand.  I’ve dropped otherwise good shows because of unlikeable protagonists before (Big Love, How I Met Your Mother). But surely, no one is still watching who can’t find Hannah to be a somewhat redeemable character, especially considering she is such an integral part of the show.

Of Anastasia Beaverhousens and Alaska Thunderfucks

In May of last year, in the middle of a presidential election that seemed to completely ignore the debate over LGBT rights, America’s favorite uncle, Joe Biden, went on TV and decided to flout conventional wisdom by just going ahead and supporting marriage equality. Claiming that he was “absolutely comfortable with…men marrying men, and women marrying women,” Biden opened the door for Barack Obama to, a few days later, become the first sitting President to openly voice his support for gay marriage. It was an announcement that LGBT activists had anticipated since Obama took office, albeit one that might not have come to pass had Joe Biden not opened his big, dumb, delightful mouth.