Cougar Town (2009)

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1. 

   Siskoid

   Season 1: If you watch Community, and there's a good chance given your obvious predilection for geekery, then you've heard of Cougar Town. But based on the title and assumed premise, you may not have watched it. Well, I took the plunge a couple of years ago and chugged the first three seasons... and like Abed, I loved it! Got the DVDs on the cheap at some point, and this week decided to do some more chugging, figuring I'd forgotten the plots and jokes. The show DID start out as a humorous exercise in "cougaring", playing off Courteney Cox's embracing of her fortysomethings and aiming for a comedy about the female midlife crisis. But though her character Jules - an obsessive mother hen and recent divorcée - dates younger men in the opening chapters of Season 1, the show soon finds its voice elsewhere, turning into a 40somethings version of Friends, only much snarkier and without the passé studio audience. Like all the best comedies, it has a lot of heart, and no matter how ridiculous the characters and situations are, the endings are heartfelt and often touching.
   
   Season 2: With Season 2, Cougar Town embraces its format as an ensemble show far less centered on Jules. It's evident from the DVD cover, and in the phasing out of the ludicrous cougar Barb (who still vid-bombs the cast with a one-liner here and there) in favor of creepy and pathetic neighbor Tom, now skulking around waiting to deliver a laugh much in the way Barb did. The production now makes fun of its title in every episode (I've always loved mutable opening titles) and mostly ignores the dating scene to bring us the kind of close-knit group of friends which may mirror your own. I certainly recognize my group in there, with their silly games, bizarre inside jokes, and vicious honesty, though we really don't drink that much wine. The show is getting comfortable, which has its joys, but with comfort may come complacency, and I found myself missing the first season's edge by the end of the second. Oh and Community fans take note, Abed's cameo is in this season, episode before last.
   
   Season 3: Cougar Town Season 3 is the last released, though the comedy has had three more seasons (to date?) after moving from ABC to TBS. So who knows if and when the rest will make it to DVD. Well, I can stand to take a break. I just chugged three seasons, after all. The third season repositions many of the characters, giving them new jobs and relationships to fuel their personal stories, and I think finally finds a way to make Travis work as a character now that he's left for college (season 2 was a little awkward about this). But it's essentially the same show, delivering funny characters and absurd situations, then cuing up a sad song and letting the emotions fly and melting our hearts. That's how Cougar Town rolls. 6 years 8 months ago

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