Community, the tv show

^ otm, especially re: character juggling. Chang seems to be awkwardly shoehorned into Wacky Situations this season. The whole security guard thing isn't hitting for me, and much of it seems forced. I vastly preferred it when he was a snarky dick who hated his job, and elevated scenes with little more than an "Aww, snap!"; now he's a snarkless dick who aspires to do well at his job.

ugh this thread. (not everyone, or even anyone specific, mind)

fwiw this episode was supposed to be two or three episodes later, they just moved it back for this "premiere" i guess in the hopes of giving everyone the best rundown of "what it's all about/who everyone is" for potential new viewers. will drop back down when BBT comes back obv but it can lose probably 30% in the demo and be safe imo.

(in some ways BBT is in a worse spot because it seems like they are only ever willing to make big paradigm shifts in character relationships at the end of the season, so they introduce all of these scenarios/situations with a lot of potential for long-term lols and then hit the reset button and fall back on making Penny sing "Soft Kitty" again)

xp i don't think dan harmon is a bad showrunner and i think he's a very funny person, just that the show works fine without succeeding in all the areas he spends all his time talking about. and i find him annoying and stupid but that's more of a personal qualm i guess.

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/427635_10150599762411596_681036595_9690410_304321202_n.jpg

I know it's stupid but I'm kind of worried that there will now be Chuck-levels of Subway plugs. Or am I just being paranoid?

product placement in comedies isn't nearly as bothersome w/ comedies as with dramas because it just gives them a lot of chances to make apologetic jokes about it

the Subway plugs on Chuck consistently cracked me up, they were so blatant

then I think about how a subsection of this board talks about Subway and I crack up again

to be fair I got so annoyed with Chuck before I gave up on it completely that the Subway stuff just got on my nerves.

Subway didn't come off well in last night's episode, though, crushing Shirley's dreams and all. I was actually surprised that they paid for the placement.

yeah i laughed pretty hard when i thought about Subway references on "Community" re: ilx

'Ironic' plugging is one of the most annoying things ever.

I still lol at the 30 Rock Snapple thing from the 4th or 5th episode. Or at least Baldwin's turn to the side "God knows I do."

'Ironic' plugging is one of the most annoying things ever.

― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Friday, March 16, 2012 4:56 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if they JUST do it with a bet-hedging wink it's lame, but i think it can be done well if the joke goes a little further than that (30 Rock, Wayne's World, etc.)

the thing that killed me about Chuck was how it just seemed like overnight all of the characters just started eating Subway 24/7

lol subway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayIJan54KrY

You know, now that community actual had a great ratings night, I'd rather this show get huge, bloated and weak through six seasons and a movie, than just have its door shut after three underappreciated seasons. We already have an Arrested Development. I'm actually kind of curious what lengths would be taken to keep these folks together after four years of community college.

i never knew bbt wasn't on. makes sense they went with that episode and i'm happy to see a big ratings boost.

ditto

also i was fine with the episode. i actually want to see more shirley episodes! malcolm jamal warner was great!

Loved the marriage proposal dance/song etc

My two fave deliveries last night were "That's me!" and "Walk away, man."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/syndication-community-comedy-central-the-middle-hallmark-300123

Comedy Central has good news for Greendale fans.

The cable network has picked up syndication rights to NBC's Dan Harmon cult comedy Community, the network announced Wednesday, inking a multiyear deal with the studio behind the Joel McHale-starrer, Sony Pictures Television.

The series, which returns Thursday to NBC after being left off its midseason schedule, will launch repeats of the first three seasons of the series beginning in the fall of 2013.

Livin the dream

not as good as proper syndication but maybe it will get there.

Really good episode last night. I really liked "Shirley's sexy voice", Abed + groom interactions, ice cream cone finale and the Linbergh Lean.

Chang is gonna die in one of the first two episodes (since this was supposed to be the third one and he wasn't there).

My two fave deliveries last night were "That's me!" and "Walk away, man."

"I'll allow it."

MJW flawlessly falling in step with the singing trio in between portions of his speech was classique

^^^

This thread became really depressing. Thanks, Lamp.

does lamp ruin everything?

I don't know, I think lamp really tie room together.

god the problem here is that people actually listen to dan harmon when he talks. he's a stupid person who is apparently obsessed with character development and themes and circle formulas, and he never stops talking about them so everyone comes to expect those areas of the show to be strong points, and they aren't. the show fails there, but it doesn't matter because the show itself does not care about those things, it cares about funny jokes and clever concepts and "worldbuilding", and that's all it needs to be good at. because it's a sitcom! todd vanderwerff can write way too many words about how brilliant the writers are with each character's growth, but everyone knows that that shit doesn't actually resonate and it's not why the show succeeds.

i am completely behind this. not a single moment of his show has "resonated emotionally" for me, i could give a shit about character growth etc. just bring the outlandish humor and i'm cool.

it's like ambitious creators of sitcoms suffer through this inferiority complex and have to prove that their shows are Great Drama in addition to being funny.

NB: it is hard to be funny. if you do it really well, that is an accomplishment.

also the highlight of this episode was troy's double take at seeing the monkey, at the very end.

people should strive to do more imo

like, Louie is really funny, but it's the emotional resonance that gives me the feeling of watching a great episode. I think Community can hit the mark emotionally on occasion, but not all the time. I like being blindsided by something genuinely affecting though.

"more"

"...Jim Rash, who plays the bent Dean Pelton on the show. "

Um what

― kinder, Tuesday, March 13, 2012 1:48 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

um what um what

― some dude, Thursday, 15 March 2012 18:56 (Yesterday) Bookmark

"Bent" is derogatory slang for "gay" fyi

xp ya rly, community does plenty to justify the love it gets. it doesn't need to expend all its energy on hardcore character development and thematic consistency when most dramas can't even get that stuff right.

it's very easy to make me weep but i don't think community has ever once hit me emotionally. it's too far up its own universe and the characters and dialogue are too detached from the way anything works in real life. episode-specific plot points can be effective but never macro-level stuff. the show just doesn't excel on that level (and it doesn't have to). louie does things differently, but can you really compare any other sitcom to louie?

it just seems like people (including dan harmon) don't know what they've got and want it to be something else. i mean sure there are sitcoms that are very touching at times--i'm a huge TAXI fan for example. but shows like that wear it lightly. community often seems to stop dead for a "metafictional" moment where the characters assess their relationships to one another and i find that incredibly tedious.

i dunno would you want, say, a film by buster keaton to have more psychology and character development? no, because those things have nothing to do with why keaton is so great.

although to be honest this is big reason why i watch this show:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CReZH07_8uo/TiCZfjQ7M8I/AAAAAAAAZAA/rBYfgbo2_CQ/s1600/Alison%2BBrie11.jpg

what a cutie.

cue somebody saying "two big reasons"

i think arrested development is a good comparison, assuming no one here hates the show/its cult. AD was occasionally touching, maybe for half a second at a time, but it was never intended to be emotionally affecting on the whole. the writers knew what the show was and they didn't shoot for that other level. and thinking back on it, it was sort of unwittingly touching in its own way, but that wouldn't have happened if they were sweating it like harmon does.

I didn't get that emotional touching vibe from Arrested Development at all. Those moments never felt genuine because there was (brace yourself) no real growth that came out of it. They were almost always immediately undercut by someone acting horrid and selfish.

If you don't think the emotional stuff on Community works than you know, ymmv, but I think they pull it off reasonably well (ok, the development better than the emotional).

e.g. troy coming home from the bar on his birthday.

yeah, that's probably my favourite of the character development stuff.

In general I don't think Harmon forces it as much as amateurist makes out, but that's a ymmv thing. For the most part I think the actions of the characters make sense as they progress, and I think that's what he finds most important. He has little interest in a total reset.

Finally watched the last episode. Not the one I'd put on if trying to PROVE the glory of the show but still funny and full of great moments. Favorite might have been Troy and Abed's interactions with MJW.

Yeah this was not out of the top drawer but still very funny. Pierce's security device, "http colon forward slash forward slash", the fact that Shirley's husband clearly hates the study group, most of the Jeff and Britta stuff. Thought the Troy and Abed material missed the mark (except ivory wig in the Dreamatorium) but otherwise but otherwise I laughed most of the way through.

chevy chase was really good

welcome back community! i promise not to argue about you on the internet like you were something of greater import than a situation comedy on the television

Dear some of the people in this thread: might I recommend The Big Bang Theory, a sitcom which CBS airs in the same time slot as Community? You might find it more to your liking, as you're sure to find even more to complain about.