Channel Surfing: COMMUNITY, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, and THE OFFICE

Continuing to put a stake into the heart of the dreaded sophomore slump came another killer episode of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. And since we’re very quickly running out of superlatives for what gets our vote as television’s most consistently awesome series, we’ll stray away from the usual suspects for a moment (see: Nina Dobrev’s acting and the show’s mind-boggling ability to end each-and-every-episode with a cliffhanger we totally didn’t see coming!) by celebrating something a little less obvious: The anonymous guest star! Suffice to say, one of the hallmarks of great television writing is its ability to take what very easily could have been a forgettable role — like Trevor Paterson’s spunky neophyte vampire Slater — and in the span of less than 44 minutes make the audience care. To the point where we have a feeling we weren’t the only TV Addicts who were genuinely hoping that creators Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec would have an inexplicable change of heart as Elijah slowly compelled Slater to drive a stake into his own heart. Ouch.

On the off chance FRINGE’s episode which saw a blue pen set off a chain reaction that usually ended up with someone dead didn’t make it clear enough, it’s official: The pen is mightier than the sword, particularly if it’s a colored one. Or at least that’s the conclusion we’ve come to following last night’s instalment of COMMUNITY (Best bottle show ever!) in which a missing blue pen of Annie’s and the ensuing investigation that followed culminated in what was hands down the funniest episode of the season to date. So much so that we’d like to implore creator Dan Harmon to pick up a pen of his own, and take this down: While the occasional pop culture homage and/or Betty White guest appearance may provide the Network with ample fodder in which to promote the series — COMMMUNITY is at its best when it focuses on what’s right in front or you — seven of the funniest actors on television and one really creepy monkey with an apparent hoarding problem.

And finally, despite our usual dislike of episodes that take place outside of the confines of Dunder Mifflin, last night’s instlament of THE OFFICE, which had the gang spending their after-hours at a GLEE viewing party hosted by Erin and Gabe may have been our favorite of the season. Not so much as a result of the show itself, but rather for the fact that we finally found a kindred spirit in Kelly Kapoor. Whose inability to deal with Phyllis’ inane questions (“Which one’s Glee?”) and displeasure over the direction the viewing party took (“Is this a Glee watching party or a a Glee pausing party”) brought up memories of high school and why we’re not so much into viewing parties anymore.