Review: Abbott Elementary, “Camping” | Season 5, Episode 5

One of the classic highlights of network TV is when a sitcom claims a signature holiday—the way New Girl had Thanksgiving and The Office had Christmas. And while Abbott Elementary often tackles those celebrations too, I first and foremost think of it as a Halloween show. Abbott clearly sees the kid-centric holiday as a chance to go all-out with the synergistic costuming, especially with so many students to costume and so many opportunities for the sorts of deep-cut pop culture references the writers love. Spooky season is often when Abbott is at its best, or at least its weirdest. So it’s fitting that this year’s Halloween episode finally brings a bit of sparkle and originality back to the show this season.

In fact, there’s quite a bit of meta commentary going on here, as this episode starts by introducing sleepiness as the main problem for the teachers of Abbott this year. While season five has been perfectly pleasant, it’s also felt a tad, well, sleepy—like the show is going through the motions rather than fully putting its heart into it. So to watch Janine admit that this is a year where she, Gregory, Jacob, and Melissa are “April tired in October” feels like the show admitting that it needs to wake itself up too.

Fittingly, it’s Barbara’s new role as a music teacher that gives them that push. When Abbott started, Barbara was the teacher most set in her ways. But her new role in music education and her upcoming role as a “Glamma” has revitalized her (all while bringing the character a little closer to Sheryl Lee Ralph’s glamorous real-life persona). Barbara’s old sensibility is still there. She’s shocked to learn her older music students plan to spend Halloween egging apartments and TP-ing houses instead of trick-or-treating. But she’s got almost Janine-levels of gumption when it comes to trying to do something about it.