"The Voice" Rolls Along

-Tom (Editor-in-chief)

For those of us obediently tuning in for "The Voice” three hours a week, we’re slowly but surely figuring out who might win this season. There are six contestants left. But this journey hasn’t been easy. There were the endless blind auditions which often went the way of unpopular teenager seeking approval gets no chairs to turn and must return to Topeka, Kansas to work at their parents’ Laundromat. Then half of the people selected were sent home during the battle rounds. Then there was some other round, which looked an awful lot like the battle rounds and now we’re on the live shows. It’s sort of a painful process.

But since most of the contestants on “The Voice” are already on the music industry’s radar, the crop of singers we watch each week are plainly better than “American Idol” and “The X Factor.” Maybe those other shows have a few who are better individually, but as a whole “The Voice” is the best. But that doesn’t mean I’m too keen on sitting through these marathon episodes. In fact, I can’t even watch the show unless it’s on DVR. First of all because of the commercials and secondly so I can fast forward when Christina Aguilera speaks. For the most part the four coaches are great. They have fun interactions with each other, know what they’re talking about and are relatively down to Earth. However, now they seem out of things to say. I’ve met my Aguilera limit for the season. Coincidentally, so has America since none of her contestants are left in the competition.

As for those left singing, it’s a bit difficult to know where they stand in terms of popularity. Carson Daly never says if he’s revealing that they’re safe in any kind of order. So we don’t really know. Cassadee Pope’s following from her days in the band Hey Monday and her consistent performances may make her a favorite at this point. Blake Shelton always has someone in it at the end and my guess would be that Cassadee fills that spot over the repetitive rocker Terry McDermott. After keeping a perfect record for a few weeks, Cee-Lo lost his first contestant this week in Cody Belew. If I were to guess, I’d think the floor is about to fall out for Team Red. I wasn’t impressed with Trevin Hunt or Nicholas David for the past few weeks. But I’ve been wrong before on this front. So that leaves Adam Levine’s team. Logic would make me think that Amanda Brown will make it close to the end. Also Melanie Martinez’s indie sound seems very popular. So I think either one could make it to the finish line. I suppose if we knew who was going to win, we wouldn’t watch. “The Voice” is on Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC.

"Parks and Recreation" Battles its Own High Standards

-Dave (Comedy Contributor)

The strength of “Parks and Recreation” has always been the interpersonal relationships between its greatly varied cast. It is interesting to watch how this set of characters interacts with one another as we witness the office politics of a group of people that all care for one another. This is where “Parks & Rec” really found its stride and deviated from “The Office.”

The first season of “Parks & Rec” was too similar to “The Office” and for good reason. The show was initially conceived as a spin-off by Greg Daniels, who adapted “The Office” for American television and focused too much on the town of Pawnee. Eventually, around the middle of season two, the writers realized that this show is really about a group of unlikely friends, brought together by their work.

Now in its fifth season, I began doubting “Parks and Recreation.” The long distance relationship between Leslie and Ben wasn’t working for them and was also detracting from the show’s strengths. While Ben’s (and by extension, April’s) future is still in question after returning from their political work in Washington, for now they are home in Pawnee. This is important because of the dynamic the Ben/Tom and April/Ron relationships bring to the show. The cast of “Parks & Rec” is too funny to keep apart.

While the absence of two of Pawnee’s finest has been a problem, so has Leslie’s election to city council. It limits her interaction with the Parks Department, which is starting to feel somewhat abandoned. While I like Rashida Jones, her Ann Perkins character serves little purpose within the context of the Parks Department. The black sheep role she’s in is already filled by Jerry and is often times much funnier. Also, Chris Traeger’s shift from the eternal optimist to his depressed current self is odd and often out of place.

The show is not perfect, yet it has plenty of time to work out some of these minor kinks. “Parks and Recreation” is too funny to get hung up on its imperfections. Andy and Ron are two of the funniest characters on television and Leslie is the perfect mixture of humor and charisma. The show’s only real problem is that they set the bar so high with seasons three and four and now they are competing against themselves. Here’s to hoping they win.