Community - "Conventions of Space and Time"

Season 4, Episode 3

Community delivers its worst episode ever. But why? 

Community - "History 101"/"Paranormal Paternity"

Season 4, Episodes 1-2

Community is back after a long hiatus with a new season and new showrunners, and things feel more than a little bit off.

Community - "Curriculum Unavailable"

Season 3, Episode 20

Hey, do remember when Community decided to do a second (well, technically two more) paintball episode at the end of the second season, no doubt because the first one had been so well received? And remember how nervous everybody was about the show chasing past success? Most importantly, do you remember how that two-parter was good, but maybe not as good as the original, that it lacked some of the general surprising first-timeness of “Modern Warfare”? It had seemed as if the writers had learned their lesson with that episode, since it was let known fairly early on that the show wouldn’t be going for a third paintball episode. And even though the show would return to some of the themes that it had also explore in its third season, the show at least avoided any superficial similarities between its concept episodes (well, except it’s Glee and Law & Order spoofs), and that kept things feeling fresh.

That is, until this latest episode.

Community - "Course Listing Unavailable"

Season 3, Episode 18

Have I mentioned how much I love callbacks in comedy? Or, to rephrase the question, you know that I love Arrested Development, right? For the longest time, I though that callbacks were the Old Faithful of comedy, one of the true ever-reliant sources of humor. They combined my two favorite things in television shows, well-told jokes and a sense of continuity, and I loved them for that. “Course Listing Unavailable” had these things in spades, and on that account this should have been one of my favorite Community episodes of the season. Yet somehow it all ended up falling a bit flat.

Community - "Virtual Systems Analysis"/"Basic Lupine Urology"

Season 3, Episodes 16-17

Given how varied episodes of Community can be from one another, it’s rare that any two back-to-back episodes will share a whole lot in common. (There is of course an exception for two-parters.) And given the ensemble nature of the cast, and the show’s fairly democratic use of them, it’s only slightly less rare that two straight episodes will have focus on the same characters. Yet looking over “Virtual Systems Analysis” and “Basic Lupine Urology,” it’s clear that such similarities do exist in both of these areas, at least to some extent.

Community - "Origins of Vampire Mythology"

Season 3, Episode 15

“We don’t have to go to anyone.”

After a heavy two-parter, as well as a way-too-weird episode, in many ways it feels comforting to have Community return to doing a “normal” episode, to get away from the gimmicks and focus on the characters. While I realize that saying that makes me sound like so many season two naysayers, but given the strong character focus that’s been a significant part of season three’s makeup, it feels like maybe these past few episodes have been lacking for losing that focus. (Except “Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts”, that one was awesome.) On that level, “Origins of Vampire Mythology” works, and works well.

Community - "Pillow and Blankets"

Season 3, Episode 14

 “Some conflicts are so pointless, you just have to let themselves play out.”

After last week’s cliffhanger left so many things unsure – which is notably different from “unanswered” – I was perhaps a bit skeptical of how tonight’s resolution to the two-parter would play out, and not with out precedent. Yet while my concerns proved to be unfounded on a narrative level, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something missing from “Pillows and Blankets”, a je ne sais quoi that would have pushed this entire storyline into overall greatness, and have made up for all of the doubts I felt last week.

Community - "Digital Exploration of Interior Design"

Season 3, Episode 13

“Another pillow fort? Kind of repeating yourself, aren't you?”

Few things are as intrinsic to comedy as repetition. There are so many ways in which it can used to great effect, from simple exchanges that hinge on the same or similar phrases being used throughout, or simply just mining laughs from something happening over and over and over and over and over again, like Sideshow Bob and his cursed foe, the rake. However, when it comes to comedic storytelling, the use of repetition isn't necessarily required, and using it become much trickier. While it can be the sign of a show that's run out of ideas, repeating storylines purposefully is also problematic, as it can lead to diminishing returns and/or dashed expectations.

Community - "Contemporary Impressionists"

Season 3, Episode 12 

“Maybe too inaccessible and a little too dark.” 

So perhaps the there was something to the fact that last week's episode felt so open, considering that that episode and this one were switched from their original production orders. My bad. However, no matter the degree to which this switch threw viewers off in terms of continuity – and I would argue that it wasn't really that jarring – I think it was worth it, because I would hate to have seen viewers turned off by an episode such as the one we had this week, which took Community's trademark weirdness, and turned the dial up just a bit too high. 

Community - "Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts"

Season 3, Episode 11 

“It's almost too conceptual to follow, but I love it.” 

The following expression of joy is brought to you by Community fans everywhere:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! 

Community - "Regional Holiday Music"

Season 3, Episode 10

“For a while there, I thought we were going to end the semester on a really dark note.”

First, a deep breath……

All right. Writing about the last episode of Community that we will get for the next few months (okay, the last episode before a few months away that’s not a season finale) may be the hardest thing I will ever do for this blog. Of course, a large part of it is that it’s going away for a while, and I have to make sure that I hold back the tears long enough to write this piece. Part of this is the fact that I have to avoid reading too much into the episode, as well as making sure that I don’t place too high of expectations on it. But really the hardest part is going to be finding the words to explain how even though I didn’t like the central conceit at the heart of it, this is one of the best episodes the show has ever done.

Community - "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism"

Season 3, Episode 9

“You don’t know me.”

One of the things that I never really understood was how during the beginning of season two, which was perhaps the strongest stretch of Community so far, there was a small but vocal sector of the show’s small but vocal audience who were expressing displeasure with the dearth of homage/spoof episodes, and were clamoring for those that they deemed “normal” (as if there is such a thing when it comes to this show). While I agreed that perhaps the show was over-loading its slate with too much of one type of episode, it wasn't something that truly bothered me given the fact that most of the episodes were just fantastic, and I found it hard to believe that people could be upset when the results were this good. So here we are in season three, with more “normal” episodes than not, and given how last night’s episode played out, I have to wonder if some of those detractors aren’t rethinking their original positions just a bit.

Community - "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux"

Season 3, Episode 8

“This is it. This is how I get to put Greendale on the map.”

I must fight it. I must fight the urge to talk about tonight’s episode in light of the recent dustup over NBC’s decision to bench the show for a few months. Much like I discussed with “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps”, it’s key with any episode of Community to keep authorial intent in mind, especially when it comes to a show as meta as this one. As self-referential as the show can be, not every connection between the show and the real world is intentional. That being said, it’s hard not to at least mention how dense “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux” was as an episode, and how off-putting that most likely was to any new viewers who happened to tune in to the episode in the wake of the general internet outcry over the show’s fate, and somehow think that they were watching another knock-off of The Office or something. But unlike The Office, “Redux” was an episode that intentionally injected unreal situations in a genre that strives for authenticity, perhaps to the episode’s detriment.

Community Got Hiatus'd! Or, Why I Almost Rage-Quit NBC.

By now, you’ve no doubt heard: in the Great NBC Schedule Change-Up of 2011, there have been a few casualties, including the apparent but unofficial cancellation of Prime Suspect, and far more importantly – for the purposes of this blog and this post – the network’s decision to remove Community from its airwaves from January, February, and into March. And although this probably a pointless exercise – not only are the chances of NBC executives or even a general internet audience reading this, but by the time I’m able to finish/post this, there will no doubt be many other posts about this move competing for your attention (as with so many complications in my life, I blame grad school for this – but I need to write this piece. NBC’s move left me angry. I don’t mean miffed; I was outraged, fist-shakingly, couldn’t-concentrate-on-the-paper-that-was-due-in-an-hour-and-a-half angry.

Community - "Studies in Modern Movement"

Season 3, Episode 7

“Why am I always the one who has to adapt?”

I am always interested in the ways in which single-camera comedies use the inherent creative freedom of the form to break away, subvert, or otherwise diverge from the formula set by years of their multiple-camera counterparts. And I don’t just mean the obvious things, like the varied looks they are able to adopt or the different comedic rhythms. As readers of my Modern Family reviews no doubt know, I often expect to single-camera comedies to use the form to avoid telling the tired tropes that we all got sick of in the 90s. But there are some elements – especially the warmth of comedies from the 80s – that single-cams should adopt, and tonight’s episode of Community did that beautifully.

Community - "Advanced Gay"

Season 3, Episode 6

As I expressed last week, I had some trepidation about going into an episode of Community that was entitled “Advanced Gay”. It’s not that I thought that this was going to be some terribly offensive episode for the show – it’s far too progressive for that to ever be the case – but it was readily apparent that it was going to focus Pierce, and not only would including too much of his behavior risk crossing some sort of line, but after last season, it’s hard for me to take him seriously as a member of the group at times, and I feared that his worst qualities were going to rear up and cause my Pierce-hate to start all over again. Luckily, the show stayed on the right side of the line on both accounts, and produced another highly enjoyable episode in the process.

Community - "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps"

Season 3, Episode 5

A good or lazy episode, depending on how you look at it

Community - "Remedial Chaos Theory"

Season 3, Episode 4

Let’s all prematurely cry “Community’s back!”

Community - "Competitive Ecology"

Season 3, Episode 3

A study of internal dynamics

Community - "Geography of Global Conflict"

Season 3, Episode 2

Do “normal” episodes still work?