Community: Six Seasons And A Movie or Three Seasons and a boycott

[drawkcabi]

I like this ep in isolation, but it does feel like Pierce was continually regressing as a character. It was also a bit off that nobody talks to Pierce and says exactly why they are playing D&D with Neil.

At least I don't recall them telling Pierce that Neil was suicidal.

I pretty much agree with you there. D&D was such a great episode but there were times during the series where it just felt they were going too dark with Pierce. I think the regressing was on purpose maybe though. Kind of another Community trademark - all other shows have their character progress, we're going to have ours regress! That or it was just really escalating how much Harmon and Chase were getting on each others nerves so Harmon continually wrote Pierce as more of an asshole.

[Jaime L]

3. Curriculum Unavailable - I love the "clips" episodes, first of all because they are the most hated episodes of sitcoms ever. You learn a new episode of your favorite comedy show is on tonight and you're pumped up and then it begins with a hastily introduced new character or some other extremely poorly contrived MacGuffin for someone to start with "Remember the time..." and you realize what's coming up for the entire episode and it's just :bang:

But these episodes make fun of that trope and give us something new and great.

And this episode with the Greendale was a college only in their minds hook, and illustrating how that would have looked - wonderful fun!

5. Paradigms of Human Memory - the first "clip show". When I realized what they were up to (after about four or five clips and me scratching my head thinking how strange I didn't remember them) the episode used my dislike for clip shows, turned it around to make something truly special. Family Guy made a series out of this convention, but the first time Community did it, it came completely out of left field, and the planning that went into matching it all up with so many earlier episodes, a lot more effort and payoff than just having the manatees pick random references per episode!

Absolutely. Because you also hit on the other thing that's great about Community. The flipside to their awesome homages to pop culture the showrunners really love are the millions of small moments where the show is satirizing and calling attention to the ridiculousness of specific TV shows (i.e.: Glee) as well as shining a spotlight on all kinds of TV and film conventions.

So with the clip shows you mention above, the show's mocking the notion we have with sitcoms that something needed to happen on-screen to exist. What, there's an episode for everything the study group did that whole year? It's not even just that they're doing it, it's how. The inception-like layered memories that we're still not entirely convinced happened being linked up through Troy's screaming and Jeff's ending patchwork speech is the kinda thing I feel you can spend an entire day in an Introduction to Film class on. And Cooperative Calligraphy of course is both poking fun at the bottle show concept sitcoms use to save money as well as Community's own tendency towards over the top extravagance and how "fuck it, we're doing a bottle episode".

Then you got Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking (the Lavarr Burton episode) has Abed calling out the mockumentary format everyone and their mother are using these day pretty explicitly:

It's easier to tell a complex story when you can just cut to people explaining things to the camera.

...

You can always wrap it up with a series of random shots, which, when cut together under a generic voiceover, suggest a profound thematic connection. I'm not knocking it. It works.

Feels pretty timely with the awkwardness going on with The Office throwing back the curtain and showing the men behind the documentary which really only creates more questions than answers.

Another quick example is the little gag during First Chang Dynasty where Murray is explaining to Troy all the layers of security Chang has to keeping the Dean hostage and then goes "and guess where he keeps the key?" while getting a distant look in his eye as the camera zooms in on the chain around Chang's neck. There's a pause, and then Troy goes: "where is it?" and then it's revealed Murray was just thinking it and hadn't acutally explained what he was visualizing. Love it.

There's so many film and TV conventions we as audience members go 100% in autopilot on, it's fucking great all the little moments where Community shines a light on 'em. This isn't a new revelation. We're always commenting on the awesomeness of a show that has one major character that exists solely as a conduit to the viewer while also breaking the fourth wall multiple times per episode. But fuck, the entire medium of the sitcom is intherently ridiculous and now more than ever I'm going to miss the one show that gets endless glee out of pointing it out when its gone.

[Datepalm]

I thought it was a reference to the show I'd missed. Having gone insane and watched all the episodes I could I can say 4th season is probably a good place to end it.

Hah! I missed that you watched this! Yes! Win! Glad you like it.

I think I miss a lot - if not most - the cultural references, both specifically and often even in the broad cultural sense, and I still get a lot out of the conceptual stuff. I just enjoy things going nuts and surreal. (I had no idea about Dinner with Andre, and which episode is the Goodfellas episode? (While i'm at it, who are the Goodfellas?) and didn't make any Apollo 13 associations with the spaceship episode and so on.)

I also realized I can't always remember what was in which episode anyway...I have favorite moments. Not just the Blanket Fort...but the Latvian Independence Day Parade ("They have a permit!") Duncan: "I am very lonely." The Dean: "What kind of ice cream company does this?!?" Professor Professorson, Annie: "We all want things. I want pants."

[Jaime L]

and which episode is the Goodfellas episode? (While i'm at it, who are the Goodfellas?) and didn't make any Apollo 13 associations with the spaceship episode and so on.)

The Goodfellas episode was the one where they set up Abed to get a job at the cafeteria to take control of the supply of chicken fingers and then proceeds to run it like a mafia racket.

Goodfellas itself is a 1990 Martin Scorsese mob film about the rise and fall of a group of gangsters. The voiceovers throughout are exactly like Ray Liotta's in Goodfellas and they even mirror the film's famousmontage where the gangsters turn on each other set to Eric Clapton's Layla.

As to Basic Rocket Science, I know the opening of it where the Dean is explaining to the board about City College being the first community college to a get rocket simulator is direct allusion to The Right Stuff. I'm pretty sure the role Abed takes on as "guy talking them through it from ground control" is the Gary Sinise character from that movie. "I should have been on that ship!"

Not just the Blanket Fort...but the Latvian Independence Day Parade ("They have a permit!")

So great. And the initial air date of the episode was infact Latvian Independence day.

[Sci-2]

I pretty much agree with you there. D&D was such a great episode but there were times during the series where it just felt they were going too dark with Pierce. I think the regressing was on purpose maybe though. Kind of another Community trademark - all other shows have their character progress, we're going to have ours regress! That or it was just really escalating how much Harmon and Chase were getting on each others nerves so Harmon continually wrote Pierce as more of an asshole.

After reading the Onion articles where Harmon breaks down Season 2, I'm glad there were other people involved. Some of his ideas were way too dark.

I think playing off the characters' known flaws usually works well, but started to feel overdone with Pierce and Abed.

eta:

Hah! I missed that you watched this! Yes! Win! Glad you like it.

Yeah, thanks for the recommendation!

[Datepalm]

I love the chicken racket episode! (it's another one of those thing where they just completely embrace it and it's spectacular.) Should I watch the Goodfellas?

[drawkcabi]

The Goodfellas episode was the one where they set up Abed to get a job at the cafeteria to take control of the supply of chicken fingers and then proceeds to run it like a mafia racket.

Goodfellas itself is a 1990 Martin Scorsese mob film about the rise and fall of a group of gangsters. The voiceovers throughout are exactly like Ray Liotta's in Goodfellas and they even mirror the film's famousmontage where the gangsters turn on each other set to Eric Clapton's Layla.

As to Basic Rocket Science, I know the opening of it where the Dean is explaining to the board about City College being the first community college to a get rocket simulator is direct allusion to The Right Stuff. I'm pretty sure the role Abed takes on as "guy talking them through it from ground control" is the Gary Sinise character from that movie. "I should have been on that ship!"

There was the chalkboard scene. "We've got to get them to turn back here, if they go past here they won't get back in time" something like that.

I love the chicken racket episode! (it's another one of those thing where they just completely embrace it and it's spectacular.) Should I watch the Goodfellas?

If you want to watch one of the best movies ever, then yes.

[Sci-2]

If you want to watch one of the best movies ever, then yes.

Yeah, one of the few movies I can watch over and over again.

[Lightning Lord]

I love the chicken racket episode! (it's another one of those thing where they just completely embrace it and it's spectacular.) Should I watch the Goodfellas?

Absolutely. I watched Goodfellas after watching the chicken fingers episode, and then re-watched Contemporary American Poultry. I think both helped me more fully appreciate the other.

[awesome possum]

Okay, a couple days later and I finally go the motivation to complete my list:

5) Modern Warfare/Fistful of Paintballs - While these are two (three technically) different episodes that only have paintball in common, I listed them together because they have paintball in common. This is Community at its best: taking a pop culture trope and skewering the hell out of it while still somehow, amazingly, being completely faithful to it.

4) Epidemiology - I love almost all things zombies and this episode was a spectacular sendoff to the zombie genre. Also Troy and Abeds' superb Aliens costumes were superb. I've probably watched this episode the most of any. It, like the It's Always Sunny episode "Sweet Dee is Dating a Retarded Person" is the one I use to introduce people to the show.

3) Remedial Chaos Theory - They may have bungled the Evil Abed storyline a bit later on that season, but this episode is almost sheer perfection in every way possible.

2) Basic Lupine Urology - it's been covered, but this is not just Community at it's best but Community at near perfection.

1) Digital Estate Planning - I don't know what it is about this episode, but I love it with all my heart. From the 80s video game setting to all the little gags and side jokes that just work. It's my favorite episode.

On a side note, doing this made me sad. I was looking at the list of Community episodes on wikipedia to refresh my memory as I don't think of the episodes by their title but instead by what happens. And I saw that there are only 5 episodes left. Possibly forever (probably forever considering how awful the ratings have been). That makes me sad. Although I did see that the episode on April 25 is written by Academy Award winning screenwriter Jim Rash aka Dean Pelton.

[Jaime L]

Just to the fourth what others have said, Goodfellas is a modern classic. Definitely think you should check it out, DP. The only possible reason I could think why someone shouldn't is if they just really don't like violence in films.

Absolutely. I watched Goodfellas after watching the chicken fingers episode, and then re-watched Contemporary American Poultry. I think both helped me more fully appreciate the other.

I wanted to stand up and applaud when I saw Community went so far as to do the Layla montage. Somehow I'd forgotten that.

4) Epidemiology - I love almost all things zombies and this episode was a spectacular sendoff to the zombie genre. Also Troy and Abeds' superb Aliens costumes were superb. I've probably watched this episode the most of any. It, like the It's Always Sunny episode "Sweet Dee is Dating a Retarded Person" is the one I use to introduce people to the show.

I didn't like Epidemiology at first in part because the stakes seemed too high. Part of the charm of Community is at this piddling little community college the stakes are always laughably small. But in this one the entire campus coulda died and Jeff was content to let 'em.

But it's just too much fun to dislike for long. There's a special place in my heart for each of Britta's intentionally non-sexy Halloween costumes. I think Rich is always great. And Troy killed it in this episode. "You punched a lady bee!" "I don't know why I thought this would work..." "Zombie Jeff, still cool." It's all great.

[Lightning Lord]

Just to the fourth what others have said, Goodfellas is a modern classic. Definitely think you should check it out, DP. The only possible reason I could think why someone shouldn't is if they just really don't like violence in films.

I wanted to stand up and applaud when I saw Community went so far as to do the Layla montage. Somehow I'd forgotten that.

And it was such a ridiculously over-the-top parody. I didn't totally understand just how ludicrous the use of Layla in Community was until I had seen how it was used in Goodfellas.

[PetyrPunkinhead]

Yeah, one of the few movies I can watch over and over again.

Henry. Henry!

[Sci-2]

I actually went back and skipped through the early Season 1 episodes. Admittedly not as funny or unique, but I do appreciate the foundation being set up.

Abed's film that makes his dad cry, Troy telling Abed "it's nice to know other people think about this stuff", the interaction between Jeff and Britta and a few other character moments give us the necessary emotional foundation for the zanier stuff that comes later.

Troy especially has an interesting arc where he sheds his jock persona.

[Jaime L]

I actually went back and skipped through the early Season 1 episodes. Admittedly not as funny or unique, but I do appreciate the foundation being set up.

Abed's film that makes his dad cry, Troy telling Abed "it's nice to know other people think about this stuff", the interaction between Jeff and Britta and a few other character moments give us the necessary emotional foundation for the zanier stuff that comes later.

Troy especially has an interesting arc where he sheds his jock persona.

Yeah, I feel like every show, no matter how creative has to start out conservatively and a bit paint by numbers to be approachable. Once the base is set up you can build to a more creative place. But as a result, in retrospect I find season one of Seinfeld or Family Guy or the Simpsons to be near unwatchable now.

Community hit its rhythm faster. I'd say it took like around 10 episodes. Either the first Halloween episode or the debate episode..but whenever it was by the time we reached the Christmas brawl with Anthony Michael Hall's gang, the show had arrived. Not to say the episodes in the first half of season one don't all have their moments, but the toothpaste is out of the tube...and I can't quite enjoy it the same way I did when I first watched those episodes after seeing how much more Community would turn out to be capable of.

[HyacinthGirl]

I found it difficult to get into the show. I think I watched three episodes and gave up for a while, thank goodness I gave it another go. I revisited those first few episodes again and enjoyed them a lot.

[Aemon Stark]

Muppet episode was cute, but not the strongest story. At a certain point I just love these characters so much that I always still enjoy it, but this didn't hang together that well. I did enjoy Troy's ill-timed observation concerning Prof Duncan's absence, along with "Kevin's" muppet announcing that he's not what he seems.

Only a few episodes left now :(

[Reposado]

Muppet episode was cute, but not the strongest story. At a certain point I just love these characters so much that I always still enjoy it, but this didn't hang together that well. I did enjoy Troy's ill-timed observation concerning Prof Duncan's absence, along with "Kevin's" muppet announcing that he's not what he seems.

Only a few episodes left now :(

Yeah a good addition to thecatalogue butnotone of thebetterepisodes. Similar to how I feel about the claymation episode really

Didnt love the lack of explanation for why they were muppets in the story.

[Aemon Stark]

Although I did like that the Dean didn't explain why he had them.

[Sci-2]

I couldn't get into this one. The muppet angle felt forced, and I thought the secrets were weak or out of character save for Jeff's and Brita's.

Apparently the writer never wrote an episode before? It showed.

eta: For whatever reason, Annie's secret really creeped me out.