Toller, voller (Familien)Team-Erfolg. Trotz Regens und 7 Grad mit einigen Ecken Wind konnten wir unseren Formtest bzw. Kick off fürs neue Jahr gut bestreiten. Opa Karl-Heinz belegte in der M55 den 3.rang in 41:32 min. Nach 20:30 bei der Hälfte merkte aber er wieder den Trainingsrückstand. Dieser führte dann dazu das Britta den Abstand weiter verkürzen konnte. Sie lief ein kontrolliertes Rennen mit einer schnelleren 2.Hälfte. Mehr war aber auch zeitlich nicht drin. Rang 5 Overall bei den Damen und der Sieg in der W35 sprang heraus nach 42:27 min. (***Klasse***)

Ich selber bin auch zufrieden. Auch wenn ich heimlich auf eine sub 35:30 geschielt hatte so waren meine 35:48 min angesichts der mangelnden Hilfe auf der Strecke durch Mitläufer mehr als ich erwarten konnte. Beide Hälften waren gut 17:52/17:56 min. wobei auch bei mir heute nicht mehr drin gewesen ist. Rang 11 Overall und auch bei mir der Sieg in der M35 waren der Erfolg.

Schnelle Strecke, gute Besetzung und ein Heimspiel. Schöner Laufsamstag. 2010 kann kommen. Der Greif Plan wartet ab nächster Woche. halali…..mein reiche mir mein Schwert…

Samstag ist für uns drei der Tag X. Nicht wichtig, aber auch nicht wirklich unwichtig. Gerade Britta und ich haben aktuell keinen blassen Schimmer wie schnell wir die 10 km rennen können nach unserer “Winterregeneration”. Ich selber habe heute morgen noch etwas “Renntempo” geübt. War nicht locker, aber wie auch, wenn du in den letzten Wochen dieses Tempo nie gelaufen bist, war aber dafür echt o.k. 3 x 1 km in 3:35/3:35/3:31 mit 1 km Trabpause (4:48-5 min/km) und dann noch einmal 2 km in 7:10 min (@3:35 min/km). Wie sich das dann in der Summe anfühlt werden wir sehen. Ich denke ich werde eine 17:45 angehen über 5 km und dann sehen ob ich eine Gruppe finde und wie meinen Beine das Tempo finden.

Britta geht wohl mit der Maßgabe 4:15 er Schnitt  anzulaufen ins Rennen, und Opa – ja Opa ich weiß es nicht. Mal sehen ob er in dieser Woche wenigsten einmal läuft und nicht den WK als einzige Laufeinheit ins TR-Buch eintragen kann. Es könnte also spannend werden zwischen Britta und Opa Karl-Heinz.

Silvester haben wir uns für den Lauf in Remscheid angemeldet. Dort geht es “back to the roots” für mich. Hier habe ich das laufen gelernt. Damals 1989, in diesen Wäldern. Es warten 14 km mit ca. 250 Höhenmetern. Ob wir diesen “voll” rennen oder als schnelle Einheit ist noch nicht raus. Mal sehen wie der Dezember wird.

Karl-Heinz beim Cross (Mitte,blaues Trikots,Mütze)

Winterzeit – Crosslaufzeit. Während ich als Moderator die Veranstaltung fest in meiner Hand hatte konnte sich “Opa” Karl Heinz nach herzenlust auf der Cross Langstrecke austoben. Die   8300 Meter lange Strecke ist Meisterschaftstauglich, national wie International. Da allerdings an diesem Wochenende einige andere Cross Events Ihr stelldichein gaben waren “nur” 350 Läufer in Mülheim. Mit Marc Andre Ocklenburg gab es auch einen würdigen Sieger der in diesem Jahr seine 10.000 Meter PB auf 30:32 min. verbessert hatte. Rang 2 ging an Tobias Severin der kurz zuvor auch die Mittelstrecke über 4100 Meter gewonnen hatte.

Opa Karl Heinz wurde Gesamt 30 ster in 35:52 min. , damit belegte er als “ältester” der M55 den 2.Platz.

Am Wochenende ist das Team Menz komplett am Baldeneysee im Einsatz. Beim August Blumensaat Gedächnislauf wartet eine DLV vermessene 10 km Wendepunktstrecke, wo wir alle die aktuelle Form (oder nicht vorhandene Form) zu Papier bringen werden. Dann beginnt (endlich !!!) das geregelte, geplante Greif-Training. Diese wahrlosen Dauerläufe machen mich langsam blöd. Zumal ich seit dem Kölner HM runtergefahren habe.

Wir haben unsere Seite etwas “aufgerüstet”. neu hinzugekommen ist der Bereich “Bilder-Videos-Media”. Dieser Bereich befindet sich im Aufbau.

Als erstes Video haben wir einen Filmbericht  von den WINDSTOPPER Trailrun World Masters in Dortmund 2009, wo Britta und Karl Heinz teilgenommen haben. Schaut Ihn euch unbedingt an. Dieses Event geht 2010 wieder in Dortmund an den Start. Ein Muss für alle richtigen Läufer.

“Debate 109″

November 12th, 2009

Community, effectively, operates on two levels. One of them is a broader investigation of the community college lifestyle, this week in the form of a debate competition. The other is a character-driven model where archetypes are either challenged or substantiated in an effort to create comic interest. The show doesn’t necessarily need for both to work in the same fashion, but it depends on both to be present in order for the show to seem moderately balanced.

“Debate 109″ is intriguing because of how it brings to the surface the question of how unique these characters really are, and as Jeff and Annie debate about human nature everyone else discovers that in the eyes of Abed they are as predictable as they are quirky. The former storyline offers some fun interactions and more opportunities for Alison Brie to outright steal this show out from under the rest of the cast, while the latter manages to give the episode the sort of manic connectivity that made the show’s Halloween episode so effective.

It was just a really well balanced half hour, something that I’m not sure the show had a handle on during early episodes.

Now, to be fair, I debated in university for five years, so I think that I was probably more akin to enjoy that storyline than some other viewers might have been. However, what made the debate story work is less that I have personal experience with the practice and more that it was just a really fun comic story. While the Jeff/Annie flirtations were perhaps a bit sudden, and a little creepy in a way that the episode never really fairly acknowledges, they ended up in that rather amazing end sequence where Jeff and Annie’s human nature came to the surface. Alison Brie was amazing throughout this story, especially her early robotic debating style, but in that final moment as Jeremy flew through the air and was then dropped to the ground the storyline (and the theme of the debate) paid off gloriously. Humans are not, of course, simply good or simply evil, and we saw how Jeff was nice enough to catch a disabled man but too horny to keep holding on, and how Annie’s competitiveness overcame her shyness when she kissed Jeff to make her own outrageous point. Debate does tend to bring out the best or worst in people, so I like how the debaters quickly became the debate as things became heated.

However, really, the episode’s piece d’resistance is how it managed to tie all of the other storylines and even the main one into the rather twisted idea that Abed’s videos from his film class are capable of predicting the future. The storyline was both an interesting meta-commentary on the archetypal design of the characters, so basic that Abed is able to predict how they will react to certain events before they happen, and the sort of thing that keeps  a pretty simple story like Britta trying to quit smoking with Pierce’s help into something that never feels like a tangent away from the episode’s narrative. It also gives Troy, Shirley and everyone else a reason to be in a lot of different scenes, and manages to tie them all together without feeling like it was distracting from the “story” of the debate. When the storylines connected, like Abed’s prediction of the kiss or Pierce’s injury, it kept the episode moving and provided some great laughs at the same time. When it came full circle with Pierce being proved a hypnotherapy genius and Abed runs off to protect Shirley from a werewolf, it was one of those fun and quirky conclusions that the show does so well.

There wasn’t a lot of heart to this one, as the debate win was wrapped around Abed’s storyline and Jeff and Annie’s sexual attraction, and Jeff and Annie’s awkward final greeting went for laughs (“Pat me!”) over sentiment, but I think that’s okay. The episode never felt mean-spirited, and was simply going for zany over some sort of real investigation of human behaviour. It was able to use the characters within a structure that felt unique and still offer an enjoyable storyline that led to sequences like the bulk of the debate being done through humorous one-liners that included “Ketchup is a Vegetable.” That’s a strong big of comic television, if not exactly breaking any new ground.

Cultural Observations

• As noted, I’m no stranger to debates, but what they’re doing here is very much more high school than it is university, which perhaps makes sense considering what we know of Greendale. Such a broad topic is kind of tough to introduce any new material on, so usually debates tend to be about specific situations that refer to, rather than directly discuss, those kinds of questions. And that’s your “Thing I didn’t care about” of the day.
• John Michael Higgins is always welcome to return to the show, but he didn’t get much to do here. I also felt the Dean was kind of underused, and though his offer of sexual favours to Jeff seemed out of place.
• I do love the continuity of the “Human Beings” mascot, however, so I hope we see more of the Dean and his sporting events in the future. I would wonder what happened to Troy saving the football team, but I think that’d be expecting too much.
• I refuse to believe that Jeff wasn’t attracted to Annie before she took out her hair clip: she was adorable before and after, period.
• They really just want to have Chevy Chase fall down, don’t they? He’s amazing at physical comedy, but I do want them to try something else too.

Hier geht es zu den Bildern der Trailrunning WM

Bei der ersten Auflage der WINDSTOPPER Trailrunning Worldmasters in Dortmund belegte Britta am Wochenende einen guten 15. Rang bei den Damen. Anspruchsvolle Strecken, mehr als gemischtes Wetter, aber eine Top Organisation sowie nach 3 Tagen der Anstrengung eine große Läuferfamilie…das waren diese ersten inoffiziellen Trailrunning Weltmeisterschaften.

Begonnen hatte alles am Freitag mit einem Sprintrennen, als Einzelzeitlaufen. Im Abstand von 15 Sekunden wurden die Läufer auf die 4,6 km lange Sttrecke geschickt die alles beinhaltete was man als Straßenläufer nicht mag. Treppen, Passagen die knöcheltief matschig waren, sowie Berganstiege die man mit einem Seil zum festhalten gesichert hatte. 68 Höhenmeter waren auf dieser kurzen Distanz zu bewältigen. Britta kam als 17.Frau nach 23:02 min (@5:00 min/km) ins Ziel.

Der Samstag hatte die Königsetappe auf dem Plan. 35,2 km mit 864 HM (!!!). Britta, die ja bereits mächtig angeschlagen war vom Essen Marathon sowie Röntgenlauf, hatte das Ziel einfach nur durchzulaufen. Zeit egal. So klappte es auch, besser als gedacht, auch wenn die Beine immer schwerer wurden. Rang 22 für den 2.Tag in 3:29:03 Std (@5:56 min/km) .

Der 3.Tag, das Finale. 20,5 km mit immerhin auch noch 339 HM, keine Straßen, ausschließlich Trails und Waldwege. Platz 16 in 1:48:20 Std (@5:17 min/km) war der Lohn. K.o – aber glücklich war sie im Ziel.

Auch Opa Karl Heinz war unterwegs in Dortmund. Hatte er doch mit einer Erkältung  nach der anderen zu kämpfen gehabt und ist in den letzten 3 Wochen gerade einmal 3 mal gelaufen, so wagte er sich doch an die Strecken.

Tag 1: 22:57 min  (@4:58 min/km) bedeuteten Rang 13 in der Männer Masters Klasse (über 50 Jahre !!!) in der er einer der ältesten war. Nur 5 Sekunden war sein Vorsprung auf Britta.

Tag 2:  3:27:22 Std. [@5:53 min/km) waren wieder Rang 13 und der Hinweis das er sich wieder als barherziger Samarierter betätigte und einem schwächelnedem Läufer das Geleit auf den letzten Kilometers angeboten hatte. So ist er halt, der Opa.  

Tag 3: 1:42:57 Std. (@5:01min/km) am finalen Tag Platz 10.

Ich selber war 3 Tage von morgens bis Abends als Moderator dort. Auch für mich ein tolles Erlebnis. Mehr zum Event aufgrund Zeitmagel vielleicht später. Für ungeduldige:

Hier der Link zur Event Homepage, übrigens auch mit einem Video vom ersten Tag wo Britta in Action und Vollboild zu sehen ist (ab 0:52 min des Videos) 

“Home Economics”

November 5th, 2009

One of the greatest qualities a comedy have is being both indulgent and nuanced at the same time, a task that Community has taken on with varied degrees of success in its first season. There are times when something like Abed’s love of pop culture references feels forced, but then there is something as hilarious as BatAbed (which is nuanced in the sense that it is both unquestionably funny and is worked into the plot of the episode) and it’s largely forgiven. That’s an important quality for a successful comedy, and what’s interesting with Community is how it seems like nearly every character is on that tightrope between becoming insular and one-minded before eventually breaking free and showing a more complex side.

“Home Economics” has nearly every character approaching the precipice of one-dimensionality, but the twists and turns within each story either perfectly service the nuances of their characters or, just as effectively, stick to what they’re best with. While Jeff went through a transformation in the episode that smartly humbled the character, Annie had a chance to experience a similar transformation and was unable to walk over the edge (of self-actualization – the edge of crazy was easily overcome). In both instances, elements of the storylines seemed like indulgences (of Joel McHale playing a complete slob, of Alison Brie playing a crazy person), and the supporting characters largely operated in their most base modes, but yet it managed to shed light on their characters even with that sense that this was more fun than it was functional.

While I’m not quite sure if Pierce has been getting the same treatment, even his subplot seemed to hit just as hard when it needed to, demonstrating that the show is definitely back in the pocket, so to speak.

The opening scene in this episode, once we get past Ken Jeung’s useless little cameo that establishes that Jeff is overtired, is a lot of fun. When Troy approaches Annie with a hypothetical about asking out a girl, we know enough about these characters to know that Annie will believe that Troy is talking about her and that Troy isn’t actually talking about her but is too clueless to realize that this could be a problem. And yet, despite how sure we are of this, there’s still a moment where Troy seems to realize where the awkwardness is coming from, only to pull right back into his typical mode and assuring her that Randi is, in fact, female and not male despite the androgynous nature of her name. The show loves those sort of balances as characters who could potentially evolve into something more are so stuck being nervous or clueless to get to that point.

The episode also uses it to demonstrate that Jeff Winger is not perfect, as he ends up living in his car after his Condo is falling out from under him and all he can do is hold tightly to his beloved Italian faucets. Jeff is someone who has defined himself as a stuck-up jerk, but who is told by Britta and others that he has a great chance to turn over a new leaf in his life by living within his means and finding a better version of himself. However, the episode shows that you can take such advice to heart a bit too much, as he devolves into a total slob living with Abed, losing any sense of the confidence that basically sustains him. The lesson he learns through Britta is that he can take parts of his own life with him (in this case, represented by his fancy faucets) in order to maintain part of his identity while crafting a new place for himself. The storyline served to both humanize Jeff (who can be a douchebag sometimes) and offer a nice shade to Britta and Jeff’s relationship. They’re not constantly trying to date one another, or constantly trying to avoid dating one another, and in this instance (despite Jeff’s teasing) this was really a gesture of genuine friendship and personal concern more than some sort of bizarre courtship ritual.

Annie and Troy got their similar moment, of course, but on a much lesser scale: while Jeff and Britta are real-life adults who are capable of making their own decisions to some degree but who have devolved in this particular setting, Troy and Annie are really just teenagers with no idea what they’re doing, so Troy victory is being able to do everything Annie tells him to and Annie’s victory is refusing to allow Troy to use her Grandparents’ courting quilt as a picnic blanket (after her attempts to ruin the date with fake appendicitis proved her previous best strategy). Alison Brie continues to give Annie a loveable insanity that’s pretty hard to dislike, and I like how Troy has remained both likeable and pretty stupid. They’re fun to watch, like the Natalie and Jeremy to Jeff and Britta’s Dana and Casey.

The episode was a bit more uneven with how it dealt with its three other characters, who I all enjoyed but to very different degrees. I liked how Abed was both an enabling influence on Jeff’s devolution and the person who first notices that it is growing unbecoming to the point of needing an intervention, and how Jeff realizes that Abed could be happy doing just about anything as long as he puts his mind to it. And I thought this was a downright great episode for Shirley, whether it was her frustration over stalking the wrong couple out of Spanish class or her advice-giving to Annie during her story. And while it proved more distracting than anything else, letting Chevy Chase have some fun with Vaughn and get trapped in the middle of keyboards was enjoyable if slight.

The show is just in a really solid place right now, and it came together into a fun episode that really did achieve both indulgence and some nice nuance, and made me laugh in the process.

Cultural Observations

• I think the first scene had Vaughn indicating that being toxic was the exact opposite of being an anti-oxidant, which just made me laugh.
• I do enjoy Patton Oswalt, but he seemed a bit wasted here as the male nurse in the clinic.
• I think I prefer “Britta is a B” to “Pierce to a B,” although the rap did give the latter a nice edge to it.
• Pierce’s “defence” of Britta was great, especially the Clown Makeup comment – Chase is doing some fine stuff with some limited material, and I enjoy this.

Das Jahr neigt sich langsam dem Ende zu, Zeit ein kurzes Resümee zu ziehen. Sicherlich geht man meist mit anderen Vorstellungen in eine neue Saison und kann dann bei allem was einem wiederfährt etwas nacharbeiten bzw. verfeinern.

 Ich selber hatte das Gefühl das die gesamte Saison von  und mir eine einzige Baustelle ist und war.

Brittas Asthma-Probleme die sich in der Mitte des Jahres zugespitzt haben. Ein sicherlich guter Frühjahrsmarathon in Duisburg (3:28) allerdings mit viel Trainingsaufwand, dafür nur kurze 6 Wochen Vorbereitung die alles andere als gut war und in Essen die gleiche Zeit (3:28). Dazwischen, viele neue Erkenntnisse i.S. Erziehung und Eltern-sein. Termine schieben , Termine absagen, Urlaub…das ist wohl das was Leben ausmacht.

Um so schwieriger ist es sich Ziele für das nächste Jahr zu setzen. Die Zeit zum trainieren wird weiter rationiert. Britta fängt ab November wieder an halbe Tage zu arbeiten. Als Maskenbildnerin am Theater natürlich mit ständig wechselnden Anfangszeiten. Training wird also für uns noch schwerer Planbar und wird sich wandeln zum Zeitinseln suchen. Wir sind beide gespannt wie es uns gelingen wird.

 Die Saison und das Jahr sind und waren  auch schon recht lang. Dies habe ich nach dem Kölner HM gemerkt und auch Britta geht langsam die Luft aus. Nach Essen und zwei Wochen später dem Röntgenlauf steht nun ab Freitag die Trailrunning WM in Dortmund an. 61 km mit 1100 Hm auf 3 Tage verteilt. Der letzte längere Lauf, den wir übrigens nach langer Zeit mal wieder zusammen absolvierten war mit 23,5 km und 610 Hm auch den Bedingungen angepasst. Britta war schlichtweg platt.

Ich selber hoffe das sie in Dortmund einen guten Abschluss finden wird. Nach Köln sollte bei mir noch ein 10 er in Essen am 28.11. den Saisonabschluss darstellen. Allerdings habe ich nach Köln die Zügel so dermaßen schleifen lassen das ich nun versuche mehr für die nächste Saison aufzubauen und nicht noch zwei Wochen den “Max” mache, um noch einmal Form aufzubauen. Ziel bleibt allerdings eine Zeit unter 36 min. Die sollte trotz des Formverlustes und mittlerweile 2,5 kg mehr seit Köln machbar sein.

Ausblick auf die Saison 2010: …weiß nicht…für mich so wie es ausschaut die Winterlaufserie in Hamm (10/15/HM) im Januar/Februar und dann im Fühjahr ein schneller 5 bzw. 10 er (es soll wieder eine 34 er Zeit her.). Bei Britta ist nahezu noch alles offen. Marathon: Duisburg-vielleicht und wenn alles passt (zeitlich) dann nehmen wir noch den K42 bei Swiss Alpine in Davon mit. 

 Das Leben bleibt spannend, wobei ich mir aktuell etwas mehr an Ruhe wünschen würde.

Nach der Pflicht kam für Britta nun die Kür. Der Röntgenlauf in Remscheid, allerdings “nur” der Marathon. Sie hat Ihn vermisst, diesen Lauf. Zuletzt gelaufen 2006, vor der Schwangerschaft. Nun sollte wieder eine der best organisierten Events im Lande folgen. Landschaftlich bombastisch und einfach nur kurz gesagt: “Hier arbeiten Läufer für Läufer”.

Und so war auch der Wettergott auf unserer Seite. Kein regen und ab Mittag sogar etwas Sonne. Schön….

Ohne richtiges Ziel ging sie ins “Rennen”. Sub 4 war ein quasi Ziel welches aber keine Pflicht war. Es rollte auch recht gut auf der ersten Hälfte. 1:54 für 260 HM (+) und 420 HM (-). Im zweiten Abschnitt (der gefürchtet Teil dieser Strecke) kam zwar kein Einbruch, aber der Essen Marathon zeigte sich doch noch etwas existent in den Beinen und so ließ Britta sich etwas mehr Zeit. Eine 3:58:56 (netto) waren dann auf dem Papier zu lesen. 6.Platz Overall bei den Damen (aktuell ist die Liste im Netz noch falsch…) und der 2.Platz in der W35.

Nun heißt es die Beine noch einmal frei zu bekommen um dann Anfang November bei den Trailrunning World Masters in Dortmund noch einmal 3 Tage in der Spur zu sein.

Für Opa Karl Heinz war es eine Frage der Ehre. Nachdem er die noch die erste Wochenhälte mit einer Erkältung sich rumquälte fehlte einfach die Substanz zum Rennen. Er beließ es beim abtraben des Halbmarathons. 1:42 wären indiskutabel,sind aber hierdurch erklrbar

Für mich war es auch wieder eine langer (aber schöner) Tag i.S. Moderation. Start um 8.30 Uhr und letzter finsher um 17:47 Uhr, da kann man sich ausrechnen wie sich keine Stimme nun anhört. Zum Glück ist heute ja wieder Arbeitstag 

Så er der svar på nogle af de spørgsmål, der er kommet her på bloggen i forbindelse med indlægget “Villa, Volvo og TDC?”

På TV2 har man nemlig valgt at gå bagom reklamefilmen og derfor kan du nu komme helt tæt på naturisterne - se hvordan dragterne er lavet og hvem der er i dem…. hvis du stadig er i tvivl:-)

Se klippet her: http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/baggrund/article.php/id-25896477.html

Så er de her igen – Britta og Claus, de to TDC-naturister. Denne gang med lidt hjælp til dem, der frygter sort skærm den 31. oktober 2009 når det analoge tv-signal bliver slukket.

Se Britta og Claus spise jordbærtærte her:

Og så har de to naturister sørme også fået en Facebookside som du kan besøge her: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Britta-og-Claus/157942643504?v=info#/pages/Britta-og-Claus/157942643504?v=info

“Advanced Criminal Law”

October 15th, 2009

I am not one of those people who needs every episode of a comedy to establish something new about the show, but early on in its run Community has actually done a pretty good job of expanding its collection of stock characters into something more diverse than I expected. As a result, “Advanced Criminal Law” is a step back not in terms of quality (it’s still a fine episode) but in that it relies on basic stereotypes and offers us combinations that either have already been done or were not given enough time to really click.

And yet, for the most part, I think the episode succeeded in finding humour in each of the storylines, something that should really be the goal of any comedy early on its run. Even if the storylines didn’t feel like they were bringing anything new, the various situations fit into these characters very well, giving us new takes on old dimensions and making me laugh enough to look past the relative simplicity compared with some of the show’s better segments.

Each scenario in the episode has roughly the same problem, in that they never really went anywhere or did anything that the show hasn’t done before. Jeff and Britta’s relationship is in no different a place now that Britta has been on trial for cheating, Troy and Abed already had a somewhat close friendship (they’ve shared a few codas) that never really felt in jeopardy or changed by the alien gag, and we knew Pierce was crazy before we learned that his jingle-writing style is ripping off famous songs. What made each storyline work was the the situations developed were stock for these characters, but nonetheless were given little twists that allowed them to remain engaging for us as an audience.

Take, for instance, Jeff and Britta’s trip to the courtroom, which was really an example of situation comedy rather than character comedy. Yes, we got to see Jeff lawyer things up (which has been built into the show’s premise for a while), and it was good to have both Oliver and Jeong present to build on their respective recurring characters. But really, the storyline was an excuse to hold a trial by the Judges’ table in the Olympic-sized pool, with its built-in sound system, thus extending the episode’s message of Greendale trying to appear more like a real college as opposed to a place where they hold legal proceedings while some guy swims naked by the pool. It was a ludicrous situation to be in, and most of the humour was derived from that (like having the locker rooms serve as the meeting rooms) or from the guest actors, and not the actual storyline, which was interesting for a moment (when Jeff clarified that he cares about Britta even though he’s not willing to take sex off the table) but never went anywhere – we didn’t really care that Britta cheated, and all Jeff’s lawyering did was confirm what we knew from the pilot. It didn’t make for a bad storyline, but it made for one which didn’t accomplish much.

The same goes for Abed and Troy, who are two of my favourite characters to see interacting. Troy is perhaps the least-developed of any of the lead characters, his injury/loss of scholarship not quite coming to the forefront. However, I like how his cocksure attitude and his comfort in his own skin operate with a character like Abed, as he attaches himself onto the latter gullibility. The storyline, though, simply continued what we’ve seen in the past, where Abed is more self-aware than people realize, which tends to confuse them (like it did with his video, which we presumed would be hilarious but was in fact borderline tragic). Here, there was really no payoff: the alien language was fun to watch, but the storyline didn’t go all the way to Troy believing it was true (which would have taken the premise too far, I think) nor did it have him be entirely dismissive. It sat somewhere in the middle, which was interesting but ultimately lacking in momentum. Abed is a fun character to watch, and I like his dynamic with Troy (the coda featuring another fun little aside from the two characters), but I think there needed to be something more there.

And while I believe that Chevy Chase is hilarious and that Pierce is an interesting character, there was almost no development in his jingle-writing adventure. While the storyline was admirably connected to the premise of Greendale aspiring to greater things (as with, ostensibly, the Abed/Troy story considering what spurred Troy’s first set of lies), it suffered because I think there’s an interesting character interaction between Annie and Pierce that we didn’t actually get to see here. Instead, we got Annie serving as a conduit for Pierce to sing about Mushu Pork (humorous) and break into his “Coming Around the Mountain” ripoff Hawthorne wipes jingle (which made me lose it with “AT THE PICNIC!”). This isn’t the worst idea in the world, as Chase is legitimately great in the role and the Bruce Hornsby ripoff conclusion was fun. However, it was an example of a very simple idea that already fit into the character’s world, and one that actually did nothing for Annie and didn’t really go where it could have.

And that was the story with the episode, the first where it felt like things kind of retreated back to an almost pilot-like mentality for these characters. This doesn’t mean the show stops being funny, but it means that forward character momentum is kind of lost, albeit not in too detrimental a fashion. A solid but unspectacular outing, at the end of the day.

Cultural Observations

• There’s some talk (Todd at The A.V. Club mentions it) that this was initially intended to air a few weeks ago, which totally makes sense in terms of how uneven it felt at points.
• The character who actually got the least to do in this one was Shirley, who got put back into the stereotypical black woman role (a role the episode confirmed despite her objections). It was a REAL flashback to the pilot, with its string of stereotypical character interactions, and the one that felt the most “off.”

Martin und Martin suchen nach blöden Wörtern bei Google. Unter anderem nach dem Wort Böhne; Folgendes kam dabei heraus:

http://www.brittaboehne.de/

Ich mag diese Dame, da sie sehr intelligente Sachen designt hat, wie zum Beispiel diesen Kabelteppich:

Ebenfalls nicht von schlechten Eltern, das “Bodensofa”:

… für mich als leidenschaftlicher Kaffeetrinker, das i-Pünktchen für den Frühstückstisch – 2-in-1 Milch-/Zuckerbehälter:

Ich bin wirklich ein großer Fan von solchen intelligenten Dingen, leider bin ich zu unkreativ, mir selbst so etwas auszudenken, daher finde ich, dass Britta Böhne aus Mannheim, eine intelligente, Frau ist, die Respekt verdient!

“Introduction to Film”

October 1st, 2009

I feel a little bit awkward writing a review of “Introduction to Film,” as if I should be out impulsively making out with someone or climbing a tree or telling 10 people I love them. The week’s class, considered a bird course and a chance at an easy grade, is all about “carpe diem,” with a professor straight out of Dead Poet’s Society and the kind of class that seems like the ideal fit for this cast of characters in that it is in fact that most awkward fit imaginable.

It’s an episode that, like the class in question, lulls us into a false sense of awareness, making us believe the episode is about one thing when in fact it’s about something else entirely. It does it in a really subtle way, like a sneeze that just keeps threatening to arrive but doesn’t, as the show demonstrates a mastery over the sneeze that one did not expect.

All in all, it’s a simultaneously funny and kind of heartbreaking episode that continues to show some really great tones to the show’s brand of humour.

I generally love John Michael Higgins in things, but he was perfectly cast here as Professor “Dead Poet’s Society come to life in a community college environment” Whitman. The class offered the requisite laughs that it needed to, with the girl falling after standing on her desk and the general sense of shoe-throwing madness he created. However, when he identifies Jeff as a cocky opportunist, you realize that this wingnut is not the first person to make this observation, and he isn’t wrong. Of course, the other people in the class are probably mostly there for the grade as well, but moreso than Jeff they seem transformed by the message. Pierce is all about siezing the day (being older than the rest of the class and overly aware of it), and Shirley is at community college for reasons that run deeper than personal gain which emerge in the context of the class. Even Troy’s sneeze subplot stems from the idea of seizing your weaker qualities (his baby sneeze) and turning it into something that can be used to your advantage.

But Jeff isn’t at Glendale for any such reason, so the class really is just an easy grade for him. And when the professor calls him on it, he goes about doing what he always does, pretending to care and staging an elaborate show with a light-up Christmas tie and suspenders. When that fails, and when his efforts to seem spontaneous unwittingly turn him into an apparent pedophile, he’s forced to resign himself to the grade and turns his attention elsewhere. That elsewhere, however, is his role as Abed’s father in his video he’s producing for film class, as Britta takes the role of his mother after his father refuses to take part in the project. At first, it seems like an annoyance for Jeff and a chance for Britta to become more and more frustrated with Abed’s misuse of money as her own parental issues make her feel responsible for him.

And, simultaneously, the show gives Jeff something to accomplish (bringing Abed’s father and Britta together with Abed to remind them that this is really about Abed’s freedom to seize the day) and a stunning moment where (as contrived as it may be) all of the dialogue from Jeff and Britta is turned into an abstract representation of Abed’s mother leaving them alone and Abed’s belief that his father in some way blames him for that departure. When Abed, at one point, noted that Jeff “even knew the lines,” I thought it was just Abed being clever, but at the core of that project was a personal pain that honestly really punched me in the stomach. Suddenly, the behaviour that we thought was all one big joke returns to a really honest and emotional place, and what I had expected to be an epic laugh out loud sequence (ala Jeff and Pierce’s moment last week, which was also somewhat heartwarming but also an unmitigated farce) was instead something that emphasized the heart the show has, and that there is something under the surface that can be tapped into.

And when Jeff and Britta had that moment on the stairs, where Britta told him to kiss her knowing that the professor’s presence would ensure him a good grade and as a result make them even for the favour he just performed, Higgins exclaims that that was a life-changing kiss if he has ever seen one. And while we know it to some degree was not, as Britta had no such intentions, it did feel like more of an awakening for Jeff, and with the show’s current track record there is every chance that could really be a turning point in someone’s life. It’s showing itself to be a far more human show than I would have imagined from that pilot, a streak that I really enjoy and that makes me very excited to see build in the future.

Cultural Observations

• I like that Jeff got Britta to visit the school by telling her about a Ravi Shankar concert, and that Abed’s father came in order to see Weezer.
• On the note of Abed’s father, Britta’s sudden explosion of racial stereotyping seemed a bit out of character even taking her daddy issues into account – maybe needed to get dialed down a notch.
• Also on the same note, really loved Iqbal Theba (who’s currently playing the Principal on Glee) as said father.
• My favourite moment in the episode might have been Chevy Chase’s delivery of “These are both mine” with the cokes. I was devastated when he eventually gave one to Troy, was hoping they’d keep the bit intact.
• Loving the totally random and disconnected codas: “Am I krumping? Am I krumping?”
• The one supporting character who got largely shortchanged was Annie, and because I love Allison Brie I want this to be remedied in the future.

“Spanish 101″

September 24th, 2009

While I love being able to follow and communicate with TV critics when it comes to the Fall TV season, sometimes they ruin some pleasant surprises. I don’t mean that they spoil episodes or anything of that nature, but rather that they ruin the pleasant feeling you get when you watch “Spanish 101,” an episode which confirms that Community’s pilot is not a one-hit wonder and that this is a very funny, very well-constructed series. By learning that the second episode lived up the expectations of the first ahead of time, I knew going in that this was going to be an entertaining half hour of television, so I don’t have some sort of catchy opening about how this broke down all of my apprehension.

What it did do, though, is make me laugh a whole lot. In many ways working like Modern Family’s pilot and many episodes of 30 Rock where the final sequence is a lavish and bombastic affair which has enough laughs packed into it to fill an episode of a lesser sitcom, in others it did still manage to surprise me by taking characters in directions I didn’t expect them to go. By only visiting the study group session once, and yet remaining central to the shared experience of these characters, it humanizes the characters who needed to be humanized while lampooning (but not insulting) those who are still rife for some simple comic pleasure.

The result is a fast-paced episode of comedy which out-paced The Office for me tonight, although the two shows are obviously peddling different styles of humour.

When 30 Rock returns and the NBC comedy block returns to “normal,” it’s going to be a really weird setup. Tonally, The Office and Parks and Recreation are very similar, while Community established itself pretty firmly in the 30 Rock style of comedy with “Spanish 101.” And yet, 30 Rock will be the show airing after The Office, and Parks will be the show airing after Community: it’s a weird setup, although considering I like all four shows I can’t really complain.

Community does give into the 30 Rock temptation for wild conclusions, whether it’s Pierce catching his arm on fire (who doesn’t love setting Chevy Chase on fire?) or Pierce and Jeff’s rather amazing epic tale of conquistadors, homophobia, and Israel, at episode’s end. It’s a decision that provides an amazingly hilarious scene watching the escalation of their epic presentation with robots, canoe trips, and just about everything in between, but also one which could turn the show into something that feels too sensational. 30 Rock is great because it usually steps back from those scenes and lets the characters know that they’ve gone too far, or has them wake up from a daze – one of the best scenes on 30 Rock is seeing everyone in the wake of Kenneth’s party as things got “ca-razy” and people did some things they’re not proud of. As long as you connect these events to ongoing storylines, they will feel like hysterical climaxes as opposed to sudden detours into crazyville.

What this episode does so well is turn that final moment into Jeff finally proving himself to be a decent guy to Pierce, who really is only trying to find a community (get it? It’s the name of the show!) when he works with Jeff on the project. While Jeff gave up his shirt in order to be with Britta, it was a selfish move designed to get him closer to her sexually. However, while we spend most of the episode believing that Britta gave it to Pierce in order to undermine Jeff’s move, we learn later that Pierce paid her for it in order to get closer to Jeff (which would be tough logically considering he also switched cards but I’ll forgive that). The show wanted us to see Pierce as the annoying old guy who clearly does not know what a sausagefest is, but at the end he’s a lonely old man who just wanted an excuse to be able to drink and hang out with someone. We learned at the beginning of the episode that Jeff is the big man on campus amongst this group, so Pierce looking to get “in” with him makes total sense and nicely balances the sense of sadness we should have for the character.

And yet, at the same time, the episode set Chevy Chase on fire, and had that hysterical final moment. The sign of a good show of this nature is that it sell feels resonant even when the storylines are fundamentally ridiculous, and I thought that final moment achieved this. Yes, the emotional moment was undercut by Britta observing that despite her higher opinion of Jeff she can now never view him sexually again in the wake of the performance, but it was done in a way to re-engage with humour rather than replace sentiment with jest. It was never going to actually be a real emotional moment, but it felt like a character building block for both Jeff and Pierce, and proved that the great cast will work well together when you pair off people like McHale and Chase to just do their thing.

The other side of the episode really built off of this, as it eschewed the stereotypes we had for Annie and Shirley and let them simply operate in a humorous manner as it related to a storyline. They, being largely unconnected with political things, view Britta as a role model of someone willing to be shrill and annoying in her principled stances and thus proving a role model according to strong women portrayed in film by people like Julia Roberts (see: Erin Brokovich, likely). They take on her Guatemalan journalist cause as an excuse to bake brownies and create pinatas and to connect in their minds with something political and current. The storyline on one level allows for Annie and Shirley to show that they’re funny outside of their “character” as established last week, and on another it’s actually a growth moment for Britta: she’s put herself above everyone else, but they did more for the cause of free speech in Guatemala than she did telling people they should be paying more attention to it. She really hadn’t done anything, and her cynical attitude was proving a barrier to her achieving her goals.

When at episode’s end they get a single line mention in the paper (in a story primarily about Pierce’s arm catching on fire), it’s a victory: they didn’t do the protest to really fix the issue so much as they wanted an excuse to make brownies, but there was no sense of an ulterior motive or anything similar. It wasn’t for extra grades, it wasn’t to get attention, it was actually just an attempt to be something they never got to be by being in community college or getting married at a young age or never going to a “real school.” Britta certainly seems more cultured than the others when it comes to these kinds of issues, and the fact that two others in the group want to be more like her really does seem to humble her and make her take a new perspective on her own life. It’s not rocket science, but it was a funny and charming storyline that utilized the show’s actresses well.

And the episode doesn’t try to stretch any further than that: playing Britta and Jeff’s relationship as a connection between the two stories is enough of a bridge to keep things moving, and Troy and Abed are used only for comic relief as they easily complete the Spanish assignment, take the shirt of Jeff’s back, and then in the coda deliver a hilarious Spanish rap. The show could have tried to add another storyline, integrate them more substantially into things, but it lets them remain on the periphery as opposed to forcing them in where they weren’t needed. It’s a nice show of restraint from a show willing to go outside of the box, and the entire episode felt very carefully plotted as opposed to let loose.

It also does what every great sophomore effort does, in terms of giving us a sense of what a normal episode of the show will look like. Ken Jeong is most welcome as Senor Chang (who doesn’t enjoy being asked why as an Asian he’s teaching Spanish, and who believes that Spanish is 90% hand movements), and the classroom setting offers as much potential as I expected it to. And even while expanding the world that much further beyond the library, the show managed to feel controlled without losing its spontaneity, impressing me and making me quite excited to see more.

Cultural Observations

• The opening P.A. announcement was most fun for its Simpsons-esque “Free Boat Giveaway” style of security and for the debate over whether the P.A. system is too loud or entirely worthless.
• The debate about “tardiness” was one joke that fell flat for me, feeling too much like the Pilot’s forced interactions – once Jeff arrives at the meeting, though, I thought the dynamic worked out well.
• I’m glad that somebody made the water filter joke, as it had been bugging me and it felt right coming from Pierce.
• Abed was nicely dialed in: I thought his observations about the P.A. feeling like a TV trope (and then undermining that with a TV trope) nicely fit in with both his character and the eventual “Spoilers!” note about Britta’s real world story.
• Watch out for Senor Chang: his knowledge will bite your face off. EL TIGRE CHINO!!
• While the show reminds me of 30 Rock in most moments, “Star Burns” gave me something closer to Scrubs flashbacks.
• I’m calling it: as great as Jeong is, each season will feature a different class at the center of the show, allowing them to bring in one main teacher each season to switch things up. Cast away, armchair directors!
• The Goat’s Moustache is Cameron Diaz.

The laughs from the first week kept coming in the second episode with the addition of Senor Chang, the Spanish teacher, played by Ken Jeong who was hilarious in movies such as Role Models and The Hangover. While, at times, his acting may have been a little over the top, he still brought a smile to my face whenever he would speak.
I feel that the blossoming of a friendship between Jeff and Pierce will be a great comedic duo and I look forward to seeing where that goes. The relationship between Britta and Jeff is in for the long haul with Britta messing with Jeff’s head every step of the way, trying to make him a better human being.
I plan on looking forward to this thirty minute show for seasons to come and maybe by the end Abed will have run out of things to say.

“Pilot”

September 17th, 2009

While I understand the logic behind putting the Community behind The Office for its first month or so, I will say this: for now, sound logic or no, it’s not doing the show any favours.

Yes, the show has a strong lead-in and a higher success rate in terms of ratings, which are financially speaking the lifeblood of a series. However, Community’s “Pilot,” which is about as cookie cutter as it comes in terms of the way it sets up the show (you can almost see the show yelling “Setting!” and “Character” with its collection of scenarios), cannot help but seem contrived and simplistic when placed against The Office, which now in its sixth season is totally confident about who its characters are and has no such awkward transitions. I’m not suggesting that it’s a fair comparison, but it’s one that you can’t help but make: after writing reviews of two season premieres for shows that have put their setup days behind them, Community is jarringly disassembled.

I think that the show’s pilot, ultimately, does assemble into a solid foundation for a series, and through a strong sense of humour and some great casting has me extremely interested to keep watching. However, as a pilot, there is something about it that lacks that element of surprise, and which is vague on specifics in a way which makes one worry if it’s all going to fall off the rails with time – critics who’ve seen second episode say it doesn’t, which is great news, but I still think that there’s some warning signs around.

Joel McHale is a very funny man. I don’t think anyone is really going to argue this point, and I certainly won’t be amongst those who would do so. While The Soup! may be an acquired taste, and his brand of comedy might not be for everyone, here he brings to Jeff a real sense of the douchebag everyman, the guy who looks successful and acts successful but nonetheless finds himself at Community College getting a Bachelor’s Degree from America (as opposed to Colombia). As a protagonist, he’s in a really awkward position for us as the audience. To some degree, we’re supposed to believe that he is just as pathetic as everyone else: the lesson he is supposed to learn by episode’s end is that his time outside of the world of community college doesn’t count, and that it is in some ways a great equalizer. However, on the other hand, we enter into this universe through his eyes, and so we’re bound to in some ways take his judgments of everyone as our own, all while understanding that his judgments are unfair and the result of his douchebag-style self-interest. He’s essentially a straight man in his own mind and a total nutjob in reality, but the show wants to play off of both (having him in control of the group of misfits while himself appearing insecure) and I’m not sure how that’s going to work.

Jaime Weinman at Macleans makes a fine point about the fact that, right now, the comedy is being derived from these individual characters and their neuroses, and independently they aren’t particularly original or inspiring. And while he’s definitely right, what worries me most is that this is both made better and made worse by the fact that this is pretty much the point of the show. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a pilot that so clearly organizes itself as “Setting and the People most likely to be found in that setting.” So, each character is defined (first and foremost) by why they are at community college in that opening scene, which calls them all out individually for their life’s failures (divorce, mindrot, academic failure, etc.) and then shows that their actual characters don’t go too far beyond that. Chevy Chase’s character is perhaps the best example: he’s the awkward mature student who isn’t actually mature at all, with no sense of personal space and a juvenile sense of humour to go along with it. I’ve known students like that, so it’s not that this isn’t true to life. Instead, it’s that it is content to remain at that level of initial conception, which is understandable considering that it’s the pilot but still perhaps a bit simpler than I’m used to seeing.

I think Jaime is right to point out that, when they’re all together in the end or in the study session, I think they make a nice motley crue that could provide some good character interactions. I think the issue here is that the only interaction they have is in the midst of a giant discussion of each person’s greatest insecurity. It’s a way to draw out exposition (we learn that Troy lost his college scholarship, that Annie popped pills in high school, that Shirley went through a divorce, etc.), but it’s also a way to ultimately leave the potential in our hands. I think that there is the potential for this to be the kind of ensemble where any character could be paired with any other and result in a good episode, as the cast is certainly great: I love seeing Allison Brie (who plays Trudy Campbell on Mad Men) as Annie, and Chevy Chase has shown he is more than up to the task of returning to television comedy full time. And, like I said, I think McHale is very funny and very talented. But, because the episode doesn’t actually show us a lot of that (except for in the final scene), we’re left with a whole bunch of narrowly defined and less than original individuals who seem to fit into the expected modes.

I respect the brashness of the pilot in a lot of ways, and I think in the long term it’s probably not a terrible choice. But, things like the relationship between Jeff and Britta doesn’t entirely line up for me. There’s something about it that feels very rushed and very forced: we don’t see the moment when Jeff first sees her, or the class where they first interact, but just that he knows her from class and immediately wants to put the moves on her. There’s something really sleazy about that, which is fine (as I say, Jeff is not a morals-driven character by any stretch of the imagination) but it kind of keeps you from rooting for them to get together when all they have is your typical conflict-driven chemistry that both actors pull off well but doesn’t really prove anything.

At this point in the review, you’ve likely yelled “It’s only the pilot!” and thrown your arms in the air numerous times. And yes, you are quite right, this is only the pilot and I can’t possibly make any sort of harsh judgment about the series. However, what I will say is that this is very much a pilot that gives us almost no indication of what an actual episode of the show will look like. Instead, it is entirely about premise and character, two subjects that had already been pretty heavily covered in press materials for the show (including the 4+ minute preview that NBC revealed at the Upfronts and which effectively spoiled the entire pilot) so were more in need of expansion than restatement. If there is a show here, and I truly believe there is one, I also don’t think we’ve actually seen it yet, a necessary evil when it comes to the nature of half-hour comedy pilots but one which for some reason really struck me in this case.

At the end of the day, I laughed when I was supposed to laugh and found the show’s rapid fire pace to be energizing if a bit exhausting when combined with the usual litany of pilot exposition. If I expected more of the pilot, it was only because of the hype placed on it by other critics, hype that I think is justified simply based on the talent involved. The question will be, however, what kind of show it develops into beyond its premise, a question which could be answered next week or which might take some time to unfold. And, for a show that rushed through its pilot not really touching on what kind of show it will eventually end up being, I’d be fine with it slowing down and taking its time for a few episodes.

So, in other words, a little bit less like Abed and a little bit more like someone who talks at a normal pace.

Cultural Observations

• Speaking of Abed, they really do appear to be giving him Asperger’s Syndrome, which the others are right in pointing out is a very serious condition. There’s always been a lot of speculation about whether or not Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory has the disease, with that show always wary of avoiding definition so as to be able to continue to have characters be cruel to Sheldon for no apparent reason despite being his friend [/Rant]. It’s clear that this show has no problems with making fun of Abed, but I’d argue he gets the most expansive character development: we get to see Jeff first interact with him, and then his personality in action, and he gets the punchline at episode’s end. It’s a fun character, if used correctly, and I’ll be interested to see how “brashness” of show mixes with his condition.
• The joke of having someone say something in another language, with subtitles to show how much they are wrangling that language, is an easy one, and in some ways I’m not sure the show is smart to use Spanish class as the primary focus of their study sessions. It makes sense in that it has these built in cliches and expectations, and a language is something people do usually study for, but the English major in me wishes that they would have picked something with a bit more substance that could offer multiple study frameworks depending on the different books/periods of history/etc. were being discussed. But, I need to learn that not every show is Mad Men and chock full of allusions (who knew?!).
• Those were both really long bullets – yeesh.
• Classy of the show to include a short Memorial message regarding John Hughes in an episode (and a series) which is at least partially inspired by The Breakfast Club. A nice touch.
• Just how does one do a kegflip? I am intensely curious.
• My favourite Chevy Chase moment? Subtlely checking to see which was his left by looking down at his hands.

Midas on the couch in the garden guarding The Shadow of the Wind

Almost 15 years old Britta sleeping in the hall while my bath is running

Midas loves to lay on the stones

Britta loves to have her head on the rim

Sommerputz die Zweite. Wir schreiben 2008, es ist Steirischer Herbst und die Gruppe Britta aus Berlin spielt, singt und tanz. Weiters im Gepäck Jens Friebe und nicht vergessen Christiane Rösinger singt, ja genau die von den Lessie Singers! Viel Vergnügen.

Interview – Britta

Não bastasse quebrar o recorde mundial dos 100m livre durante as eliminatórias da seletiva alemã para o Campeonato Mundial, Britta Steffen voltou a baixar ainda mais seu tempo nas finais. Agora ela fechou a final com 52.56.

Outra nadadora alemã que também estabeleceu nova marca mundial foi Daniela Samulski na prova dos 50m costas com 27.61, nadando com o novo traje da Adidas, assim como Britta Steffen.