Community – “Regional Holiday Music”

Posted: December 8, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Community, NBC | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Community has always been a show I’ve had problems with. I’ve talked a lot about how, when it first airs, a show takes a few weeks to find its voice, find what it’s good at. That wasn’t really the case with Community. In a few weeks it had become almost a completely different show. Definitely not what NBC had been advertising for months and months. In the beginning, you could see this turning into the next Friends — something like what Happy Endings has done — but it quickly veered off in a completely different direction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it was with no small amount of disappointment that I noticed the direction Community seemed to be moving in was right up its own ass.

Meta. Self-referential. Call it whatever you want, but as it went on, the show seemed to become more and more pleased with itself and the stories it was telling. Patting itself on the back every now and then wasn’t completely unwarranted. Some episodes — “Modern Warfare” — were kind of fantastic. Others — “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” — began to remind me of one, long Family Guy cutaway and really forced me to ask the question, “Do I even like any of these characters?”**

(**We may be better off asking if these people are characters at all, or just vehicles for the show’s writers to make pop culture references (could this show even exist without Abed?). They never seem to learn anything. That in and of itself isn’t bad. The characters on Seinfeld and Always Sunny never learn anything, either. But at least those shows are unapologetic about it. On Community, we see the group go through some problem, fight and argue, eventually realize their mistake, make up and come together, and next week we’re right back at square one. I think it says something when Pierce, arguably the show’s least likeable character, feels more rounded out than Jeff.)

That question popped up again with this season’s “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux,” which spent half an hour riffing on Hearts of Darkness. It was around the time we see Dean Pelton huddled in his office, smearing ash on his face that I realized the show, and particularly this episode, wasn’t even trying to be a sitcom anymore. Community had transformed into some bizarre piece of performance art. It had turned into the conversation we have with that group of friends we see only once a year, who are all back in town for the Holidays, or a friend’s wedding. Sitcom structure and a 30-minute runtime do not necessarily a comedy make. A gangstered out Senor Chang marching into the study room and shooting up the place in “Modern Warfare” isn’t inherently funny. It’s a callback to John Woo movies, and the setting makes it funny. I felt like we saw a lot of the same in “Regional Holiday Music.” Many of the show’s swipes at Glee didn’t really strike me as jokes, but the writers’ own problems with the show they were just making a part of tonight’s narrative.

Does any of this make sense? I hope not. I’m really trying to make it as difficult as possible to follow.

If I force myself to take any enjoyment I might be getting out of the show and throw it out the window, to be as analytical as I can, this is what I get. If I turn all that off, I do enjoy the show. This season more than last, for some reason. And I liked tonight’s episode. I thought the things it had to say about Glee were funny, even if it was just a slightly repackaged conversation I keep having with my wife. I loved Mr. Rad (played by SNL’s Taram Killam), Pierce’s confusion at what regionals were, and Annie’s slutty Santa song to Jeff that quickly devolved into infant babbling. And after an episode like “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux,” which really had me wondering what the hell the show was up to, I thought it was a good note for the show to go out on. I say go out because we don’t know how long it’s going to be before Community comes back, now that NBC has yanked it off its mid-season schedule. Hopefully by the time it comes back, I’ll have had an Ebeneezer Scrooge-esque change of heart that’ll let me enjoy the show more than I am now. Because right now, it’s kind of turned into the Newt Gingrich of sitcoms. It can’t help but let everyone know why it’s better than they are.

Community – “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”

Posted: November 17, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Community, NBC | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

“We open on a typical day at Greendale, only the students all look happy, and you can’t smell that smell.”

Say what you will about “Remedial Chaos Theory,” but I thought this episode was the best this season, maybe one of the best ever. Or maybe I’m just prematurely mourning the impending loss of this brilliantly funny show. Why, NBC, why?

The cold open set up was strong, but the real action started almost immediately after the credits stopped rolling.

“Where’s my script girl?”

“Supervisor”

“Supervisor girl.”

That dialogue pattern is so similar to another critically lauded, under-appreciated, cancelled-too-soon but soon-to-be-resurrected-on-Netflix series. And we’re letting another one go. For shame, people. FOR SHAME.

This episode was nonstop – the overarching story built up in a steady but believable way, and all along the journey, there were moments of pure gold, from Jeff’s impersonation of the dean to the dean’s attempt to get Shirley to play the happy/threatening (aka sassy) black woman. And the moments were always born out of the characters – like Jeff going the extra mile to avoid helping and Britta and Troy’s awkward hugging exchange, punctuated by “if you get this wrong one more time, I’m segregating the school!”

Dean Pelton just got more and more hysterical as he dragged more characters into his sick, twisted world. It was so awesome to see Gary again as the microscope who wasn’t taking advantage of the motion sensor technology – the dean was right, that was clearly a frog who can’t get out of a box!

Even the final collapse was driven by genuine character insight as Britta the licensed psychology major helped Annie overcome her Stockholm syndrome and the rest of the cast realized that yes, the dean really had gone insane.

Watching these characters dissolve through the lens of Abed’s documentary was just such a fun framing device, and having seen neither Heart of Darkness nor Apocalypse Now, I know there were levels to the story I missed out on. But even so, I loved this episode despite the saccharine everything-works-out-okay-because-we-all-pitched-in ending.

Plus, Luis Guzman. I loved him in IMDB too.

Community – “Remedial Chaos Theory”

Posted: October 13, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Community, NBC | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

This episode is getting a lot of hype, so I tried to go into it without expectations. Was it a funny episode? Yes. Was it clever? Yes. Was it original? Yes. Was it a little repetitive? Yes.

I get that the repetition was a necessary evil to carry out the concept, but it got a little old, and truthfully, it infringed on the amount of original content we actually got out of this episode. But that’s a very minor quibble, because the show made up for it in so many ways. I’m not sure an episode like this lends itself to traditional evaluation. So, instead, I’m going to address the concept as a whole, and then highlight a few of the funniest moments.

So, the theory is that there are six different timelines and the outcomes vary widely depending on who leaves the apartment to go get the pizza. Only a show like Community – that has already established that it acknowledges itself as a half-hour television situational comedy – could pull off a stunt like this. There are only a handful of shows that can do the stunt episode effectively (NewsRadio comes to mind), but Community has exactly the right combination of history, tone, and audience to make it work.

But more than the concept, I think the magic of this episode was in the performances – specifically, those of Donald Glover and Danny Pudi. From the moment the door to their apartment opened, they were hitting on all cylinders. Every movement and syllable was deliberate and perfectly timed. I think that the showrunners knew they’d have to hit every detail and really elevate the show to make this gimmick come off as more than a gimmick, and they were successful. It was like I was watching that one performance of a live theater production – the one where everyone is on, everything runs smoothly, there are no missed cues or faulty props – everything is just perfect. And you just can’t have more than one of those – something always fails to rise to the level except for that one time. This was that one time for Community.

It also helped that some of the scenarios and dialogue in the vignettes were just hilarious. Here are some of the best:

  • “Indiana Jones and the apartment of perpetual virginity.”
  • When Jeff tries to bail on the gang to go the “Single Malt Platinum Booze and Billiards” club, which was in actuality, designed just for him.
  • Britta telling Abed that he isn’t dignified, then morphing into a gorilla and singing “Me so hungy! Me so hungy!”
  • “Real mahogany bunk beds.”
  • “Time flies when you’re baking!” “No it doesn’t!” (the expression on Troy’s face really made this one for me)
  • “I demand to be housewarmed!”
  • Post-burned-larynx Troy: “Clearly you don’t understand anything about defeating trolls.”
  • “Chop busted, fellow adult, chop busted.”
  • “Ropes? Vines? Let him finish!”
  • Britta: “Shirley, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Shirley: “Of you.”
  • Watching Jeff smack his head on the ceiling fan was funny every time… same with him cutting Britta off as she starts to wail to “Roxanne.”

P.S. One additional minor quibble: I wish the baking addiction had been more clearly established in previous episodes. Yes, we know Shirley is the mom of the group and that she likes to bake, but the degree to which the group was fed up with her “addiction” hadn’t really been made apparent until they needed it for a plot point in this episode…. How very “The Office” of you, Community writers.

Community – “Competitive Ecology”

Posted: October 7, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Community, NBC | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

I thought this episode of Community sucked. I didn’t think it was that funny, and it rehashed a storyline that we’ve been over a thousand times. The group’s co-dependence and immaturity threatens their relationship, but just in the nick of time, they all realize what they have in common: a history… of being assholes.

Hey, I’m not judging. I’m part of my very own mean clique, so I fully understand and respect the camaraderie that comes with a common love of bitchiness. But this is just such a tired story for Community. And it wasn’t even executed that well… I mean… Pierce is old and falls asleep! Jeff is narcissistic! People love their babies! That’s not even trying.

And Chang, who is usually good for a few laughs even in less-than-stellar Community episodes, was either overused or just off his game in this one. I laughed when he said, “My own words rang in my head like a bell inside a head,” but as these little bon mots continued, I was less and less impressed. It was the same joke over and over again with no payoff. And maybe, if there had been a really great payoff in the end (think “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design”), I might have gotten on board. But there wasn’t.

Last week’s episode: layers of comedy. This week’s episode: recycled storyline and a few fair-to-middling one-liners and visual gags. The best of a bad bunch, in order of non-suckitude:

  • Britta trying to flip Annie off using a poorly executed “finger firing range”
  • Annie to Jeff: “Who the hell are you always texting? Everyone you know is here.”
  • Jeff to Abed: “Abed, you’re a computer.”
  • Annie to Todd: “Don’t get your number four stink on this, Todd.”
  • Jeff to Dean Pelton: “What are you doing?” Dean Pelton to Jeff: “Nothing after lunch, and I could skip lunch if…”
  • Annie managed to get her terrarium done. Of course she did.

Community – “Geography of Global Conflict”

Posted: September 29, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Community, NBC | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Before we get to this episode, a quick detour: A few years ago, I started recording the three minutes before and after a show to make sure I didn’t miss any cold opens or whatever the equivalent is called that happens at the end of the show. This means that, fortunately, I don’t miss those things, but it also means that in certain cases, when I switch on my DVR to watch my favorite quality comedy or drama, I sometimes catch a few minutes of the previous show. And usually, that’s fine. But there are some television juxtapositions that are so mentally and emotionally jarring that they just put me in a bad mood before the show even starts. Case in point: Slater and Maria Menounos (I don’t care enough about her to Google the correct spelling of her name) are hosting Extra right before Community, and it makes my hair hurt every time I tune in to watch one of the funniest, most clever shows on television and instead, I’m greeted with insipid celebrity news and thinly veiled product placement. It makes me ill. On Monday nights, Dancing with the Stars comes on before Castle – *shudder*. But the absolute worst is Two and a Half Men, which airs in syndication on FX before each new episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Now, I’m fairly confident that those of us watching and enjoying It’s Always Sunny are NOT also watching and enjoying Two and a Half Men… and vice versa. So, shouldn’t there be some kind of middle-ground show to keep viewers from experiencing comedy shock? A palate cleanser of some sort? Perhaps a nice episode of Family Guy or something equally lowest-common-denominator that still manages to be somewhat clever at times or at least has a nostalgic value for those of us who have moved on to more well-rounded comedy a la Always Sunny.

I actually started to write an entire post about this a few months ago, but, well… those orphans and puppies weren’t going to save themselves from that burning building. But I did start a draft of what I called “poor pairings” using the three examples above as well as Conan/George Lopez and The Office/Outsourced as additional examples.  Fortunately, this is the 2011-2012 television season, and those two atrocities have finally been made right. God bless America.

Aaaannnnnyyhooooo… what were we talking about? Oh yeah, Community. First, Martin Starr rocks my socks. I just finished watching Party Down, and that show kicks so much ass. If you haven’t seen it, get on it. Second, Britta sucks. I get that she’s kind of supposed to suck, and she got funnier as she got more over-the-top in the episode, but she’s still super annoying. Third, if you read my post about this week’s episode of The Office (you DID read it, right? Right? Go now. I’ll wait….)

As I was saying, if you read my post about this week’s episode of The Office, I talked about how that show doesn’t do extended situational comedy very well, and I brought up Parks and Recreation as an example of a show that does it right. Well, this episode of Community is a perfect example of doing that kind of comedy right. Say it with me people: “layers.”

Community’s comedy has layers – it’s not just a series of one-liners and pratfalls. Last week’s episode was a little weak, but this week’s exhibited all the classic signs of awesome. Let’s break it down.

The weakest sub plot was the Jeff and Annie relationship development, but it had to happen, so kudos to the writers for acknowledging the elephant in the room and making it a plot point. If during the first episode of The Office, we saw Andy’s ascension to power translate into his need to force “nickity-names” onto everyone, then the Nard-Dog tattoo might have been a more satisfying payoff. But you can’t stick something in at the last minute, shove it down the viewers’ throats, and then expect magic (THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!!!!) With Community, the writers have set the stage for this awkward Annie/Jeff relationship for a long time, and while it’s not resolved, we got movement AND an acknowledgement of the awkwardness. Boom! Comedy.

The other two plotlines were both genius, and I can’t decide which one I like better, so I’ll start with Britta and Chang. Comedy loses its luster upon examination, but this is such a good example of layered comedic storytelling. First, we’ve got Britta realizing she’s been slacking off on her liberal hippie world-saving duties and deciding to make up for lost time. That’s amusing. But she’s unwilling to go as far down the path as her friend because she’s got a pretty sweet suburban set up. That’s funny. Then, she finds someone in Chang who is crazy and newly endowed with power (amusing) that’s not really power (funny), and they find in each others’ limitations exactly the outlet they want for their unfulfilled power and protest-lust. Her escalating stunts alone would be funny, but combined with Chang’s particular brand of crazy (and of course, the irresistible Lionel Ritchie soundtrack)….  it’s COMEDIC SYNERGY! Find a storyline in Two and a Half Men that comes together that way. The Office used to, but it doesn’t anymore. And that’s why Community is awesome.

And we haven’t even addressed the model U.N. storyline, which I won’t break down like the Britta/Chang power battle, but I will comment on the intelligence of the model U.N./Greendale microcosm that reflects the actual United Nations and the global political stage. Seriously smart comedy. PLUS, you get each character’s take on their country, which is what really drives a successful ensemble comedy. In last week’s episode of The Office (and this week’s too, though there were fewer moments overall), the funniest bits were when the situation brought out funny lines that came naturally from a characters’ quirks. The same thing happened in this episode of Community. Pierce’s take on Somalia as a “paradise” and offer to take in the Ethiopian refugees was classic… and Troy’s Georgian accent was equally brilliant… and Abed’s science fiction tangents… and FARTS! Community might be a brilliant comedy that addresses issues of geopolitical significance, but it’s not too up-it’s-own-butt to make an awesome fart joke.

God I love this show. More highlights:

  • Annie’s tantrum…. Just phenomenal.
  • “Whoever actually died a few months ago, ‘fess up so we can put a stake through your heart.”
  • “Ready, Set, Peace! *gunshot*”
  • “CRISIS ALERT!” (I’ll be saying that inexhaustibly, so prepare yourselves, friend and family)
  • “The badge says ‘To Serve and Protect.’” “No it doesn’t.” “How’s My Smile?”
  • “Can’t wait to get some brain on this bad boy!”
  • “They’re ruthless… not Asians, women.”
  • “Sneak attack! That’s just like ‘em… not women, Asians!”
  • “You know what else was the best? Rainforests!”
  • And last, but not least: playing Operation on Pierce.

Community – “Biology 101”

Posted: September 26, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Community, NBC | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

For the record, my group of friends has been in on the ham joke for years – YEARS – before the comedy community realized that ham is truly the funniest meat. I have documentation.

Anyway, aside from Chang carrying a ham hock around in his bathrobe as he scurried from air vent to air vent, not much has changed in the Community…. er, community. The characters we’ve come to know are still the same, and while those of us who have been watching for two seasons know the score, the writers threw a bone to any newcomers and established Annie as The Hot One, Abed as The Weird but Loveable One Who is Obsessed with TV, Shirley as The Religious One, Britta as The Bitchy Annoying One, Pierce as The Old One, Troy as The Loveable but Dumb One, and Jeff as The Leader.

Maybe that was the writers’ goal for the season premiere: to let established viewers know that nothing has really changed – we’ll have new guest stars and new adventures, but our core group’s particular brand of crazy is still the driving force behind the show while at the same time letting new viewers get caught up, because other than that, there wasn’t a lot of meat to this episode. We were introduced to our new guest stars: Michael K. Williams as Professor Kane and John Goodman as Vice Dean Laybourne, leader of the more profitable branch of Greendale: the Air Conditioning Repair School annex. And we got some recognition of last season’s arc which saw the group turn on Pierce for his manipulative shenanigans. But like any good sitcom, things were back to the way they’ve always been by the end of the episode, and I’d call a cop out on almost any other show, but Community basically acknowledged this trope in this week’s theme and even in Jeff’s final comment: “Life has a way of breaking through.” Community is a show that is, on its surface, about a group of community college misfits, but in reality, it recognizes itself as a half-hour, single-cam sitcom and it’s that acknowledgment that makes it unique and interesting and ultimately, smarter than anything on CBS.

I was underwhelmed by the first episode, but I guess the season opener had a lot to accomplish in terms of set-up, so I’m optimistic we’ll see more of the zany adventures, biting dialogue and intelligent story and character development in the coming episodes. In the meantime, some brief final thoughts on the season three opener:

  • “You are the opposite of Batman.” Best insult ever, or bestest insult ever?
  • For a split second, I thought we were going to see yet another rehash of the storyline that dominated the first two seasons: Jeff trying to distance himself from the friendship provided by “the group,” so I was glad to see a new twist on that – where he openly acknowledged the group’s profound importance and instead of taking crazy steps to disprove his reliance, took crazy steps to prove his commitment.
  • Britta’s sanctimonious speech on the superiority of British TV was funny and… strangely familiar.
  • Grease. A Mighty Wind. Rocky. The Gold Rush. Five Easy Pieces.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.