Community, the tv show

The thing that strikes me most about Community is that not only will it indulge in nerd shit and genre pastiches/exercises(they've never actually parodied a genre yet), but it will actually do this stuff in service to the characters. The Claymation ep was borne out of Abed's manifestation of not being able to connect with his mom that year via stop-motion Christmas specials. The AD&D ep was about the gang trying to prevent a supporting character from offing himself, but also showing vividly painting the gap one group member had with the rest.

My fear with the next year is that you'll get guys who don't get that crucial point; guys who think like several FB friends of mine who like fucking Big Bang Theory b/c it namechecks nerd shit despite being a sitcom from and having a view of geeks/nerds/weirdos torn from the 80s. The most tangible details, to borrow a phrase from Film Crit Hulk, will be the only thing noticed and the actual point to the scene will be lost.

Plus, I'm afraid that weird jokes like the stoned pizza dude perking up at the concept of other timelines will never, _ever_ happen with folks in control who ain't so obsessive.

And we won't get as much deliberate onscreen hate for Glee.

So much great shit came from the obsessions and pop neuroses of the folks writing the show. And who the hell else gunna let Jim Rash run wild like that?

Great news! The guys who didn't bother to call me when they did the US IT Crowd are taking over Community!

Oh, shit. And that's the (apparently godawful) show Joel McHale did a pilot for before getting his Community gig. Wow, if I didn't really love the cast and want the show to still be good at least for their sake, this could be a great 13-episode slice of schadenfreude coming our way.

Re: Linehan. Holy shit, it is a small-ass world, innit?

Linehan kills the IT Crowd last year letting Chris ODowd and Richard Ayoade come to Hollywood, Jessica St Clair(who played Jen in the American pilot) gets her NBC show canceled, and Joel Mchale(who was to play Odowd's role) hangs in there on the show Linehan watches, which Ayoade has directed at least one ep of.

Xp, naturally. Like I said, small world.

Anybody know if Moffat's ever commented on this show?

so was i the only one who thought the finale was not that funny and easily the weakest of those last 3? i was never that big on the timeline thing, though, 'evil version of me has goatee!' is almost as oppressively corny as 'beverly hills cop theme on keytar guys!'

I think you're hitting the keytar thing a little too hard, sd. What would you have preferred Chang to play (especially since the presence of "Axel F" was, like, the fifth furthest thing from the point of that sequence)?

Wasn't as funny, true, but it had more heavy lifting to do, and wasn't a paintball ep.

Also, 'beverly hills cop theme on keytar guys!' isn't really that funny, but 'beverly hills cop theme on keytar guys!' played by a short Asian-American in full Napoleon costume is much funnier.

sorry, i was ranting about how keytar is a played out comedy device five years ago so i'm appalled to a see a show i like resort to that (xpost)

And that's the (apparently godawful) show Joel McHale did a pilot for before getting his Community gig.

I saw about five minutes of it online...it was painful. It mangled one of the original IT Crowd jokes and just had this stilted BBT comedic timing. And I really like Jessica St. Clair and McHale, but they both came off as corny and awful because of the way it was written and directed.

And who the hell else gunna let Jim Rash run wild like that?

kingfish otm. And are the new guys gonna allow for improvisation? "I have the weirdest boner" was an ad-lib.

yeah i want to believe that the chemistry and sensibility of the cast will carry the show, but considering that the highlights of McHale's film career are What's Your Number? and a Spy Kids sequel i have some concerns that dude's taste is not as great as i assume it to be

sorry, i was ranting about how keytar is a played out comedy device five years ago so i'm appalled to a see a show i like resort to that (xpost)

Yeah, but I mean...that keytar is an established Chang-fectation (so, so sorry) from, what, season 1? It's just about maintaining continuity, man?

i didn't remember that, sorry i didn't realize Community had already sunk to keytar lols years ago

McHale's standup, The Soup bits, and Loveline appearances probably a far more accurate depiction of his sensibility than a movie script, I must say.

Keytar was excusable for the scene where Chang wrecked Jeff's car with one, and the subsequent struggle/"We're just jammin'!"/tasing.

(also, "Did you say 'keytar,' or did you say 'guitar' like a hillbilly?")

Yeah, iirc, Chang wanted to re-enrol as a music theory student in order to improve his compositional chops on the keytar. I think I would have liked to see a Greendale music theory class.

McHale's standup, The Soup bits, and Loveline appearances probably a far more accurate depiction of his sensibility than a movie script, I must say.

― Choad of Choad Hall (kingfish), Sunday, May 20, 2012 9:55 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark

oh i know, and he gets writing credits on The Soup etc. but when he picks shitty projects it makes me wonder how much he just kinda got lucky w/ Community.

Anybody know if Moffat's ever commented on this show?

no but: last week Neil Gaiman, who is a fan, responded to the youtube of Karen Gillan wishing she could be be in Inspector Spacetime by wishing he could write any Inspector Spacetime scenes that Gillan might be in.

On Saturday he responded to Harmon's blog post with

You know that bit a few days ago where I volunteered to write an Inspector Spacetime bit for Community if they took Karen G up on her offer to guest-Amy-Pond it?

That statement is, I am afraid, no longer operative.

An hour or two later, he won a Nebula for the episode of Who he wrote with Amy Pond in it.

Holy fuck, Britta in glasses.

(Watching "Introduction to Finality" now.)

i think they did that gag quickly in the law and order ep, too

I just thought she was hot in glasses. I think you're right though.

Liked the finale. It had heart.

massive xposts but if i ever find myself thinking this, that's when i smash my laptop to smithereens and go check in with the trappist monks

that was sarcasm

but i still didn't like seeing two theme eps one after another. wouldn't have cared if they were separated by weeks but seeing them back to back like that gave me a srs case of the come on guyses

otoh if next season was literally just 13 different gimmick/homage eps i'd be happy. i'd also be happy if next season was awkwardly terrible because sony is running the show and has no idea what to do with it. that'd be an entertaining switch. i'm excited!

i agree -- given what's gone down, i just want to see them go for broke one way or another.

One thing I think has led to the uneven quality of the show is that so much of the time they really are swinging for the fences, as it were

While they weren't able to get Bill Murray on the show under Dan's tenure, I'm glad that they at least got Luis Guzman

One thing I think has led to the uneven quality of the show is that so much of the time they really are swinging for the fences, as it were

I'll take interesting potential failure over boring consistency any day of the week (and at least twice on Thursdays).

One thing I think has led to the uneven quality of the show is that so much of the time they really are swinging for the fences, as it were

OTM.

I mean, seriously, they said "fuggit" and did an ep on MY DINNER WITH ANDRE. I was watching it at the gym while on a cardio machine and immediately got it that they were heading out a long way from shore, but the previous 2 years had given me enough faith in Dan & cadre to trust them that they'd make it work and make it make sense, and by gum, they did.

I'm still curious if Danny performed it as Andre or as Abed trying to be Andre, and if that makes a difference. Maybe I'll get a chance to ask him when they to a retrospective panel on the show in 10 years at the Bridgetown Comedy Fest or something.

I think one of the biggest crimes regarding this show's eventual end will be Danny Pudi's genius getting perpetually shortchanged because of (let's face it) his ethnicity (looking forward to his role as Weird Cab Driver #2 in the 2014 Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy, Love, I Suppose!). Although Community should provide a ton of fodder for his reel, so I'd be over the moon if the entertainment industry proved me wrong.

Saw Yvette Nicole Brown in a coffeeshop today. We were both sweating our tails off in line and I talked to her briefly. I haven't kept up with the show so I didn't have any in-jokes or references to say, just told her I was a fan.

xp sadly, i agree with you on this

i suspect pudi may be stuck in "lead actor's best friend" roles for a while.

where, you know, ryan reynolds will costar with kirsten dunst or whatever and pudi will get "the fat chick" i.e. the woman who is at normal body weight.

b/c as signs of difference "ethnic" and "normal body weight" are about equivalent in rom-coms.

i imagine he'll land a supporting role on a sitcom with a laugh track and basically just be the character from the cell phone commercial he was in. extremely bland.

as long as he doesn't end up on the big bang theory. i guess they've already got an "ethnic" type.

donald glover the next drake

i admit that pudi's "coolcoolcool" has become standard lingo in my household.

alison brie's career ends, except in hentai

i think she'll do fine.

chevrolet chase becomes the guy "you love to hate" on the next celeb apprentice

alison brie's career ends, except in hentai

Isn't she still on Mad Men? (Haven't seen the current season yet.)

She is, and, if the previews are to be believed, shows up in the next episode.

gillian carves out a career playing the love interest in every boring indie romcom, never gets to play a character that isn't boring and just a generic stand-in for "desirable woman" in scripts written by guys that go out of their way to avoid making her the MPDG and instead just write her so she gets occasionally angry

xp have never watched an episode of mad men, was under the impression her character isn't really central to it

but yeah i was joking about that, but i seriously have no idea what she'll do after this

but but but

yvette goes back to drake and josh, av club starts reviewing drake and josh

alison brie has been doing movies, she's in "the five year engagement" right now