http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HrxhSnr2Ls

When Thursdays, 9 p.m.
Channel IFC

I’ve been watching “Portlandia” from the first season, but, to be honest, I missed most of the third season. Somewhere between college admissions and trying to figure out my life, “Portlandia” fell through the cracks. So it’s great to come back to season four, which premiered Feb. 27, and find that the show is not only still good but also getting better. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, the show’s creators and stars, still lovingly parody and embody the eccentricities and strangeness that is the city of Portland.

However, they also seem to be growing bolder in straying from the strict premise of the show. The “date fact checker” sketch could have occurred in any place where 20- and 30-somethings are worried about dating. The title sketch of season four’s first episode, “Sharing Finances,” is loosely based on the types of relationships that could be found in Portland, but it gains most of its power from exploring relationship dynamics that are universal. It also continues to escalate its premise and shift focus throughout. It’s a trend that occurs throughout the episode and is a good step for the show. “Portlandia” does not suffer from leaving behind the immediate geographic premise. Instead, it shows the ability of Armisen, Brownstein and the rest of the show’s writers to come up with sketches that are just plain funny.

The episode also uses its guest stars to great effect, as the show often does. Kirsten Dunst opens the episode, playing the tortured inhabitant of a house haunted by Portlanders who died from arguing about what things are good and bad for you. Kumail Nanjiani, a series regular, excels as the date fact checker, and Vanessa Bayer of “Saturday Night Live” plays a bank clerk who does not approve of a couple opening a joint bank account. Steve Buscemi also guest starred in a web short, titled “The Celery Incident,” that premiered shortly before the episode and is worth watching. Buscemi does a fantastic job of playing off the show’s premise and enhancing the jokes rather than being just a famous face.

Some of the greatest strengths of “Portlandia” have always been its editing and music, both of which are on full display in “Sharing Finances.” No doubt Armisen and Brownstein heavily influence the musical aspect of the show, since both are musicians in their own right. The musical cues fit perfectly with the jokes, adding believable terror when a character visits an advertising firm or reflecting that magic feeling of dipping your fingers into a hot tub. The editing is rhythmic, transitioning between quick cuts and slow, careful buildups. Most sketch shows have difficulty ending a sketch, but “Portlandia” does not. Much like Terry Gilliam’s animations in “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” the short interludes between sketches effectively transition from one scene to another without feeling forced. The editorial and musical elements that the show employs work well with the humor and give everything a consistent tone that has become a trademark of the show in my mind.

One complaint about this season’s premiere was that it focused mostly on relationship sketches. Although these sketches were well-done and funny throughout, they left me wanting more character-centric sketches, such as ones involving the feminist bookstore women or any of the Portland mayor’s adventures. Most likely, this balance between focuses will return in future episodes. Although the season has barely begun, there’s no reason to believe that “Portlandia” will decrease in quality any time in the foreseeable future.