Community, the tv show

also i hate that family guy ruined the very concept of pop culture references for everyone. not that community does it perfectly, but it IS possible to incorporate them artfully + meaningfully

Has anyone rewatched this season all the way through yet? Because I found that my hardcore love for this show didn't really kick in until I'd watched seasons 1 and 2 straight through. So I'm inclined to think watching season 3 may be a slightly different experience outside of the weeklong online bitchfest cycle.

I've rewatched it straight through (and in order - with 'Contemporary Impressionists' before 'Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts' as produced and 'Digital Estate Planning' right after 'Advanced Gay', which just makes more sense.) and it works a lot better - especially the back half of the season, where the serialization is a constant build of story and funny without the breaking of the suspension of disbelief in between each week.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/leaked-memo-dan-harmon-community-studio-talking-points-nbc-328815

feel bad that the cast now has to play this game.

• Gillian Jacobs ‏@GillianJacobs

• Paul F. Tompkins ‏@PFTompkins

• Gillian Jacobs ‏@GillianJacobs

<3

can somebody translate that for me?

Jacobs posted that she missed a certain guy's American Idol recaps. Certain guy responds by asking if it's nice that he's alive, at least. She responds "eh".

Gillian says she misses Paul F. Tompkins' recaps of American Idol on The Vulture (because he no longer writes them. Paul says she should perhaps be appreciative that he's still alive, at least. Gillian shows ambivalence to that information.

I think what Gillian is saying there is that she wants to marry me.

Those are some pretty sizable lines you're reading between.

I thank your formatting for that.

ambivalence is when you're torn between opposing options. "eh" expresses disinterest, i think

You are right. Or wrong.

Fever also skipped one by Tompkins collaborator Ben Blacker, introducing the notion of death and mourning into the conversation, which has led to stiltedness and confusion here.

i have no fucking idea what you guys are talking about.

track the coverage and conversation and circle back if you feel the need to reshift our plan or messaging

That studio memo makes my flesh crawl. DON'T TELL ME HOW TO FEEL, YOU FUCKING SUIT!...would be my reaction, were I in a position to have received that memo.

i think that memo is probably pretty par for the course. it's just unusual that it got leaked.

It's gross that they pushed all the supportive cast tweets about Harmon under their PR umbrella-- "It was good that you got that shit out of the way early so now the dumbass fans can forget about it."

ambivalence is when you're torn between opposing options. "eh" expresses disinterest, i think

disinterested is when you're impartial. "eh" expresses uninterest, I think

It is jokes

Megan Ganz is returning for s4.

thank god. i do wish mckenna had stayed, but this is great news nevertheless. there was that interview a few months ago with ganz and alison/gillian/yvette, and i remember being impressed with both her take on the show and her rapport with the women.

That's cool for her, though Now we'll be like, that must have been a ganz joke--it was actually funny

yeah the return of someone from the old crew will hopefully loosen people up to actually admit when things are funny

Tompkins played the guy who hit on/discussed Farscape with Abed btw

Tig Notaro was in that episode/bar as well

as long as donald glover is still surreptitiously writing all the gags i'm sure everything will be fine

He ad libbed the "I've got the stragest boner" line

i would just read those talking points verbatim in a dry, monotone voice whenever asked an anticipated question.
after 3 of these i would then just start repeating "i am very excited for the new season" over and over with the phoney-est smile i could plaster across my face until they stopped recording and left the room.

Obv if Community had been cancelled and the actors were promoting a new movie they were in that would be the line--"community was great but I'm so excited about my new movie". Still it feels Orwellian here

they are professional actors with careers

however much they liked or disliked dan harmon and however much the internet would like them to rise up, there is no upside to them shitting on sony/nbc whatsoever. come on now

yeah i mean, as far from ideal as the situation is, it would just get worse if everyone who is still contracted to do the show just stopped giving a shit or started turning the whole thing into even more of a media clusterfuck

That's the entire problem with a show that starts us thinking that that there could be integrity or whatnot in a network/corporate context--obv there can't be, which is why Harmon was fired. Still we don't have to become publicists or apologists after the fact. All fans need to say is fuck Sony and community Season faux.

if i thought any act of protest was going to get the guy his job back or have any kind of positive effect on the show or the careers of anyone involved in it i'd be like sure right on, but i can't imagine it being anything other than a shitshow. like the only time i've ever seen this show mentioned on the front page of whatever msn news page is on my work computer's broswer home page is when harmon was feuding with chevy or when he got fired.

if one of the actors was going to start throwing flames over this, the talking points would be useless anyways, as the actor would be ignoring them completely.
not liking talking points and the mundane, robotic interviews they spawn is a far cry from advocating a public actors revolt and/or shitting on sony etc.

they are professional actors with careers

however much they liked or disliked dan harmon and however much the internet would like them to rise up, there is no upside to them shitting on sony/nbc whatsoever. come on now

Unfortunately, I'd probably take that tack anyway. But then I'm probably much more like Harmon in the workplace than I'd care to admit (although I do work my ass off to make myself pretty effing indispensable before I start openly expressing disgust towards every idiotic decision the higher-ups make).

sounds like andy bobrow and a couple other s3 writers are also coming back

Alison Brie is about to be on Conan tonight, so we'll see whether or not she sticks to her script.

i'm guessing the av club is liveblogging it

She basically just talked about being naked in college again, and Joel McHale's butt. Not a mention of Harmon at all (surprised, honestly, that Conan didn't ask).

eh she has 2 shows to promote on a brief 2nd guest interview slot, not really the time or place for that sort of convo

True. And now that I think about it, Conan has always dodged controversy of any sort (not including his last few weeks at The Tonight Show or during the writers strike on Late Night).

I don't quite understand the controversy of all this, and the silliness that this sort of thing is 'Orwellian' in any way. How is this really any different from having a PR person help you out with the appropriate ways to make public statements? The statement is pretty damn professional and fans should comfort themselves that this leak just boosts the underdog flavor for them. Everyone wins.

Just seems like this kind of stuff should just seem like a necessary evil of life to anyone that has ever worked a real job in their lives.

I don't think it's controversial so much as just gross. And it's no less gross to me than it is anytime this kinda shit (which feels like someone learned it in business school rather than ever having any kind of meaningful interaction in any workplace ever) gets trotted out under any circumstances. That's just my own personal gut reaction, though.

I suppose it's a little bit different for actors who are used to doing this kind of thing, but if I was going to do any media interviews for my work I would appreciate a briefing beforehand covering likely questions and appropriate responses.

Dunno if y'all have seen this: the Twitter account of the new Community showrunners. Pretty sure it's fake, but it's also funny and, therefore, I'd like to believe that it's real.

has to be fake but i'd love the guys if it weren't