Community, the tv show

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.

The trouble with this episode is that I don't really care about Shirley's marriage.

It's also 100% unbelievable, like OK this guy that goes out of his way to propose marriage and even accepts doing it in an effing community college study room, he suddenly switches to misogynist about to cancel the whole deal when she's late for the rehearsal. It reminded me of late-series Seinfelds where one character would just suddenly turn really angry at another for no real reason. Except there it was for Lols.

The resolution felt a little unearned too. He changed his attitude but there didn't seem to be enough to explain why/how. Some good laughs but not a great Community episode.

i cant tell if this show has gotten steadily worse all season or if i'm just tired of it... last night didnt really do it for me :(

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.

yes, because i'm not talking about forced emotional moments or anything, i'm talking about a very general sense of it. it didn't aim for emotional payoff moments because it knew what it was, but it still succeeded in having a sort of warm vibe, in retrospect, because it was still about a family sticking together etc etc. lord, if the characters ever tried to "grow" on that show it would've been awful. i'm trying to say that these values aren't prerequisites for good comedy and they shouldn't be seen as such because then we get delusional showrunners trying to force then into shows where they don't fit. i'd rather have sitcoms like these have things like character development and emotional moments be the subtle consequences of the action/humor rather than consciously sticking them into episodes where they come off unnatural and forced. with community it's never like ~~swelling music starts to play~~ but like, the annie+troy scene at the end of mixology certification just made me go "where tf did this come from and why is it even here" rather than OMG SO BRILLIANT like everyone else apparently.

then = them

the great thing about AD is how they undermined any sense of character growth at every turn, wilfully and joyfully

cosigned

I'm one of the Steppenwolf wives

lol

i'm not in the show for the drama either, but is anyone still watching at this point and completely uninvested in troy and abed's friendship, annie's growth/relationship with jeff, shirley rebuilding her marriage, etc. the core theme of everyone being a washout in life and redeeming themselves IS a core theme of the show

core theme core theme

Nope

pick a number, dick, it's not like it's up to me anyway

Let's just everybody chill, and groove on some Haggins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXvuUp-KY5g

chuckled when annie walked into the room humming that

chevy chase was really good

― thomp, Saturday, March 17, 2012 8:42 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

otm

i cant tell if this show has gotten steadily worse all season or if i'm just tired of it... last night didnt really do it for me :(

― A Little Princess btw (s1ocki), Saturday, 17 March 2012 11:55 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i thought the episode was OK & i've been repulsed by most of the episodes in the first half of the season. feel like they're going for a more positive vibe but one that's also more mellow, the pace of jokes is slowing down and the whole thing feels pleasant & comforting the way a normal sitcom does. nothing made me cringe this episode

inspector space-time once married a baby-version of himself

^ i lol'd

how dare you lol don't you know this sitcom is the worst

upon rewatching, that particular Inspector Spacetime gag made me realize that the entire series is lazy and awful and all of my previous laughs were lies.

Currently lunching at a dive bar and somebody just put on an R&B track on the jukebox which sounds suspiciously like a barely masked "Daybreak"

Every time T&A make an Inspector Spacetime joke, I picture internet heads exploding the way they did when someone on Lost said "Hanso."

not sure i have thought any of the inspector spacetime gags seemed well-advised, let alone funny

i wish they'd just do their dream inspector spacetime ep and get it all out of their system

making fun of doctor who > making fun of robocop tho

kickpuncher is funny because his punches have the power of kicks. the robocop thing is just a little extra.

o yeah it's funny but as but as parody dr who is such a better target

ah you mean as a law of comedy

i dunno. it seems like doctor who is already intrinsically goofy. robocop has that seriousness to it.

Where does said law fit on the Universal Comedy Meter, please?

robocop is great but more intrinsically goofy to me bc of its 80s campiness/verhoeven campiness

i don't actually watch dr who but i do have a tumblr so

ppl are fucking life and death abt that show

after all this time, it's still impressive how ilx can drain the fun from anything at all

let's discuss that

i say that to myself about a lot of things before thinking "maybe if i don't want to read a discussion about this thing i shouldn't be going to places where it's going to be discussed"

ppl are fucking life and death abt this show

i would watch a three episode inspector spacetime arc with great joy, but only if they never mentioned it again

your favorite things and why they suck, coming up on ilx