Community 3/17

[SenorBeef]

New episode tonight.

And .... great news, Community has been picked up for a third season.

[Tangent]

Danny Pudi and Alison Brie were guest hosts on Attack of the Show yesterday. It was weird (but fun) seeing them out of character--especially Pudi.

Originally Posted by SenorBeef

New episode tonight.

And .... great news, Community has been picked up for a third season.

Woot! I am so glad to hear that!

[pinkfreud]

Yay! Another season of one of the funniest shows ever!

I suspect that the enthusiasm and devotion of the viewers makes up for the lack of great ratings. I hope the same will be true of Fringe on Fox.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Community is kind of the new Arrested Development. I think it might actually be better. It has the same wit, but it also has a warm heart at the center, which is kind of odd since it's so arch and meta in so many ways, you wouldn't thnk they could work in genuine sentiment, but they do.

[RealityChuck]

BTW, Community fans might like this. Stay with it.

Another fine episode.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

Community is kind of the new Arrested Development.

Except I like Community. The absence of David Cross might have something to do with it.


That and Annie's boobs.

[Simplicio]

Awesome, I kinda resigned myself to the fact this was going to be the last season. Good to hear I was wrong.

[Sampiro]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

Community is kind of the new Arrested Development. I think it might actually be better.

It has some of the same writers.

[Quimby]

WTF Community! I literally just got Catfish from Netflix yesterday!

Funny as hell episode though.

"It's all down hill from here" made me love this show all the more!

[TheTerribleTako]

Originally Posted by SenorBeef

And .... great news, Community has been picked up for a third season.

Woohoo! That made my night.

Good episode tonight. I was wondering if they had changed the actors playing Shirley's sons when the punchline landed. The Britta-Troy-Abed storyline was much stronger than the Jeff-Chang-Shirley storyline though. It does seem like this season has been bringing father issues into the forefront quite a bit.

Jeff likes nipple play? Hot.

[JSexton]

For some reason, this episode didn't do much for me. It's possible that I'm just anticipating next week's ep SO MUCH that anything else was a let down?

[Daddypants]

Loved Chang's line, "I was looking forward to the pitter patter of little Chinese feet running across tree tops."

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Tangent

Danny Pudi and Alison Brie were guest hosts on Attack of the Show yesterday. It was weird (but fun) seeing them out of character--especially Pudi.

Brie has been on before as a cohost. It was weird the stuff Kevin got her to do.

[Gangster Octopus]

Originally Posted by JSexton

For some reason, this episode didn't do much for me. It's possible that I'm just anticipating next week's ep SO MUCH that anything else was a let down?

I thought it was good until the Chang ratting Jeff. The kids would clearly tell the officers Jeff did not kidnap them and was taking them home. I know, overthinking, but the thought borrowed into my brain and built a house when it happened.

[tr0psn4j]

Girls are so un-desensitized!

Also, next week is the Pulp Fiction episode!

[Grapefruit]

I loved the tag at the end. They really haven't cracked open their anthropology books at all this semester. They've evolved from being a study group to being... friends!

[hogarth]

Originally Posted by JSexton

For some reason, this episode didn't do much for me. It's possible that I'm just anticipating next week's ep SO MUCH that anything else was a let down?

I didn't think it was incredibly hilarious, but I got a few chuckles out of it.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by JSexton

For some reason, this episode didn't do much for me. It's possible that I'm just anticipating next week's ep SO MUCH that anything else was a let down?

I guess that's possible, but I have to admit that I didn't like it that much, either. And there seems to be a dearth of people talking about it.

Anyways, I think there was too much story, and not enough funny one liners. Throw in Britta being a caricature of herself, and it really just didn't work for me.

Also, I know what they were going for with Jeff and Shirley's willingness to get Chang thrown in jail, but I still find it inconsistent. I could see her getting charges pressed on Chang since he really did kidnap the boys. I can see them both going to absurd lengths to get Chang out of their lives. I can't get both of them foregoing their morals--Jeff the ones he's grew into, and Shirley the ones she's always had. It seems odd for an ancillary character to be the moral center.

But I could have taken all of it that if they'd made it funnier. Britta, Troy, and Abed needed more references and Jeff, Shirley, and Chang needed more silliness.

[pancakes3]

has britta ever not been a caricature of herself?

[tr0psn4j]

Originally Posted by pancakes3

has britta ever not been a caricature of herself?

I think even in the first episode she was a caricature of herself.

[JSexton]

Originally Posted by BigT

I guess that's possible, but I have to admit that I didn't like it that much, either. And there seems to be a dearth of people talking about it.

Anyways, I think there was too much story, and not enough funny one liners. Throw in Britta being a caricature of herself, and it really just didn't work for me.

Also, I know what they were going for with Jeff and Shirley's willingness to get Chang thrown in jail, but I still find it inconsistent. I could see her getting charges pressed on Chang since he really did kidnap the boys. I can see them both going to absurd lengths to get Chang out of their lives. I can't get both of them foregoing their morals--Jeff the ones he's grew into, and Shirley the ones she's always had. It seems odd for an ancillary character to be the moral center.

But I could have taken all of it that if they'd made it funnier. Britta, Troy, and Abed needed more references and Jeff, Shirley, and Chang needed more silliness.

I think part of the problem was Chang. He's hard to write for. When he's in the background being wacky, especially in a surreal episode like Paintball, he's great.

But when it's an episode that's more or less grounded in reality, Chang is more painful than funny.

Oddly, Malcolm Jamal Warner was the highlight of the episode for me. His bit about "No, I cheated because I was a coward. But when I was gone, you were forced to accept the bad with the good." was a great line, and delivered with impact.

[Sampiro]

"Oh look... is that a reason to leave?"

[Unauthorized Cinnamon]

Originally Posted by silenus

Except I like Community. The absence of David Cross might have something to do with it.


That and Annie's boobs.

You really like monkeys, huh?

I liked this one, but it wasn't as funny as most episodes. Seeing Enver Gjokaj (yes! spelled right the first try) was nice. He's adorable and funny, even when his character makes hats out of babies.

Britta's Brittney was actually so bad it made me intensely uncomfortable, though I laughed at Troy's reaction.

But yes, "It's all downhill from here" made the whole ep worth it, regardless.

(I also enjoyed - after a moment of confusion - the pitter patter in the treetops line!)

[pancakes3]

Originally Posted by JSexton

I think part of the problem was Chang. He's hard to write for. When he's in the background being wacky, especially in a surreal episode like Paintball, he's great.

i think he's hard to write for because the writers kind of painted themselves into a corner. is he merely a more bitter, less cool version of jeff - as in he's competent but unlicensed? or is he legitimately batshit crazy? he's displayed semblances of both but it's hard to juggle. then when you think the writers have picked batshit crazy, he suddenly has this rational yearning to play it straight? but he doesn't know how to do it? yet he should, because all of 1st season he seemed pretty put-together albeit marginally eccentric.

i, for one, thinks chang needs to dialed back on the wacky and leave the crazy guff handled by the senile (pierce and leonard).

[Sampiro]

I loved Troy taking off the green kerchief when Britta was wearing one.

[JohnGalt]

Were they wearing green because it as St. Patrick's Day? Otherwise, it looked out of place.

The final scene (everyone looking at their screens) is way too true at the community college where I teach. I wish they would have Pierce's character turn his calculator upside down to see the dirty words though

[Maus Magill]

Originally Posted by JSexton

Oddly, Malcolm Jamal Warner was the highlight of the episode for me. His bit about "No, I cheated because I was a coward. But when I was gone, you were forced to accept the bad with the good." was a great line, and delivered with impact.

Yeah, but Jeff's follow up made it worth it.

[Carmady]

I thought not only Chang but the killer guy needed to dial back on the wacky.

I thought at first that Troy and Abed had put him up to it as a trick on Britta, because it just seemed too far out there to say that and be so confident in Britta's positive response.

Maybe if Britta had said something first that he (falsely) interpreted as implying she held similar feelings.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by SenorBeef

New episode tonight.

And .... great news, Community has been picked up for a third season.

Good news indeed.

Originally Posted by silenus

Except I like Community. The absence of David Cross might have something to do with it.

That and Annie's boobs.

AD was pretty awful as everyone was hateful. Community balances nice, indeterminate and hateful. It is a much better show. Also Cross is painful.

Big fan of the little monkey huh?

(I know, I know, someone already made the joke but damn it, I thought of it before I read it.)

Originally Posted by Carmady

I thought not only Chang but the killer guy needed to dial back on the wacky.

I thought at first that Troy and Abed had put him up to it as a trick on Britta, because it just seemed too far out there to say that and be so confident in Britta's positive response.

Maybe if Britta had said something first that he (falsely) interpreted as implying she held similar feelings.

I really thought it was a set up to. I was surprised it wasn't. But maybe it was better it wasn't so obvious.

[TBG]

Originally Posted by Grapefruit

I loved the tag at the end. They really haven't cracked open their anthropology books at all this semester. They've evolved from being a study group to being... friends!

I loved how everyone was texting away on their various devices, except Pierce, who was just tapping away on an old calculator.

[BigT]

Okay, I expressed myself poorly above. It was just after I'd watched the episode, and I was having trouble articulating my dissatisfaction. My problem, now that I've taken the time to think about it, is that so many people were out of character.

Chang, as mentioned above, is not a complete idiot who can't function in society. He is somewhat like Jeff--without education, he was able to trick everyone (and not just the gullible dean) that he was a Spanish teacher, despite knowing very little Spanish and sounding like an idiot. He had a job, a wife, and even had friends. Yes, he's much worse off now, as he was not as good maintaining a life as Jeff. But he's not stupid enough to kidnap the wrong kids. Nor is he racist enough to make that type of mistake. (Yes, some people can't tell people of other races apart very well, but we're not just going to assume that any black kids in the school must belong to a certain person.)

Shirley, yes, hates Chang and is somewhat scared of him. She's always been the most distrustful of him. But she also is very much motivated by and motivates with guilt. She couldn't lie to get Chang in trouble without feeling bad about it very quickly. She might go with her plan, as he really did kidnap the kids, but she wouldn't go with Jeff's, and would think it overkill. I can practically hear her saying "I don't know, Jeff. Is that right?"

Jeff was more in character than the rest, but the problem is that his character only works if he has a foil. And, even then, he does have a moral center, it's just not always in the forefront of his mind. When it disappears is when he's being cocky. When coming up with the idea to incarcerate Chang, he didn't sound caught up in his ability to hurt him, but rather seemed matter of fact about it. It was more McHale's portrayal than the writing.

Of the other three that actually appeared for more than a cameo, I have less of a problem with the two guys than with Britta. Britta is self-assured, or at least wants to come off that way. Sure, she is naive, but she thinks she's right. Her portrayal here came off more like Annie. She would be doing everything to get people to like her, but she wouldn't admit it and get all whiny about it.

Troy was pretty much dead on, but he's a fairly unintelligent character and can get away with temporary stupidity. But Abed is the best judge of character on the show. He would have known that the jealousy trope was being played. It wouldn't take much--just indicate that he was playing along, noticed the trope, and got the other guy to spill.

And, now, for an honorable mention, we have not!Theo, who they are apparently grooming to be a real character, so I'll have to eventually learn his name. But right now, he's showing up the main cast, and I don't like that. His way of pointing out the problem just doesn't work for me. There's no great insight that Shirley and Jeff were being bad people, and we didn't need a Cosby Show style moral lesson. And, what's more, if they'd played that up as a Cosby Show style lesson, it would have been hilarious.

WHich takes me to my final point. I'm being really hard on the characterization, but, honestly, that's usually not that big a deal to me. It's the lack of humor in this episode. Every joke that was made was subdued. There was nothing to get me started laughing so the smaller jokes would catch on. Sure, there was Britta's comic overacting that I called a caricature earlier, but that's not a joke.

I mean, look at this thread. Usually there are a bunch of posts about the best one liners. Here we might have one or two, if you actually think they qualify. I watch Community for the zingers. That is why it was the first show that got me laughing continually until the end, as the zingers just kept coming. I didn't find this one funny, so the characterization killed it for me.

[Khadaji]

I always appreciate that these threads are started. This is one of the shows that I watch on hulu, but sometimes forget that there is a new episode out.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by TheTerribleTako

Jeff likes nipple play? Hot.

Huh? No. They were actually nipple guards. He had just come in from running - runners do have a problem with having their nipples chafe. Some will apply vaseline - and some will wear guards.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Originally Posted by Munch

Huh? No. They were actually nipple guards. He had just come in from running - runners do have a problem with having their nipples chafe. Some will apply vaseline - and some will wear guards.

I think you missed the line being referred to. At one point, Troy says something to Britta to the effect of "it's one thing to hear that sombody's into nipple play [with the implication that she told them that about Jeff] and another thing to know that he likes to wear babies as hats."

[pancakes3]

the implication went even further back when they were naming guys she ruined in the first place.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

I think you missed the line being referred to. At one point, Troy says something to Britta to the effect of "it's one thing to hear that sombody's into nipple play [with the implication that she told them that about Jeff] and another thing to know that he likes to wear babies as hats."

Ah, thanks. I was doing something else while watching, and missed a few lines.

[Simplicio]

Originally Posted by BigT

Chang, as mentioned above, is not a complete idiot who can't function in society. He is somewhat like Jeff--without education, he was able to trick everyone (and not just the gullible dean) that he was a Spanish teacher, despite knowing very little Spanish and sounding like an idiot. He had a job, a wife, and even had friends. Yes, he's much worse off now, as he was not as good maintaining a life as Jeff. But he's not stupid enough to kidnap the wrong kids. Nor is he racist enough to make that type of mistake. (Yes, some people can't tell people of other races apart very well, but we're not just going to assume that any black kids in the school must belong to a certain person.)

They basically changed Chang into someone else when he stopped teaching. Before he was intelligent and functional enough to be an effective foil for the main characters. Now he's just over-the-top nuts.

The change was a pretty bad idea, IMHO since a) it left the show without an effective villian b) crazy Chang isn't anywhere near as funny as evil teacher Chang was. The writers seem to have decided Ken Jeongs hyper over-acting schtick is hilarious, but IMHO its just annoying and c) It leaves the main cast without a class to go to every episode. As a result, they've kinda drifted from the main premise of the show. The plots only rarely reference the fact that their supposedly in a Community College now.

[What Exit?]

I agree on Chang. He drags the show down. He was only good in small doses.

[SenorBeef]

Chang was good when he was just kinda sad wanting to fit in. Like in the space simulator episode where he rushes in and says "I think I found a way to reroute the power!" and Abed says "reroute... to where?" and he just slinks away. Abusing sad Chang was funny. Making Chang retarded and insane (chasing his backpack? really?) was silly. If they can't handle pathetic Chang they should put him into some form of power again and get crazy mean Chang.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by SenorBeef

Chang was good when he was just kinda sad wanting to fit in. Like in the space simulator episode where he rushes in and says "I think I found a way to reroute the power!" and Abed says "reroute... to where?" and he just slinks away. Abusing sad Chang was funny. Making Chang retarded and insane (chasing his backpack? really?) was silly. If they can't handle pathetic Chang they should put him into some form of power again and get crazy mean Chang.

Yeah, sad Chang worked. It was a natural progression--he had been mean to our guys because he had secretly wanted to be with them. All his pathetic-ness and craziness was caused by him trying too hard to fit in with them.

But, at this point, they seem to have just embraced him being crazy for the crazy. To use a TVTropes term, he's been flanderized beyond all recongnition. Putting him as the main character of an episode in this state just doesn't work, and probably wouldn't have even if I liked the B-plot.

BTW, anyone else agree or disagree with my proclamation that there were much fewer (if any) one liners this episode?

[Exapno Mapcase]

I do. Weak episode for all the reasons people have talked about.

[Erdosain]

Originally Posted by Munch

Ah, thanks. I was doing something else while watching, and missed a few lines.

Dude, you missed the line of the show.

After being accused of ruining all her old boyfriends for Troy and Abed, Brita claims that they still are friends with Jeff.

TROY: You mean Jeff 'Nipple Play' Winger? No! As you can see, we're still hanging out with him. Hi, how's it going, Jeff? [mimes putting an arm around an imaginary Jeff, then mimes rubbing Jeff's nipples]

[control-z]

I don't buy Jeff letting Chang move into his apartment in the first place. Jeff strikes me as a neat freak and a control freak, and Chang keeps sawing things in the apartment.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by control-z

I don't buy Jeff letting Chang move into his apartment in the first place. Jeff strikes me as a neat freak and a control freak, and Chang keeps sawing things in the apartment.

That bugged the heck out of me too.

[Sampiro]

And where does he keep getting all those saws?!

[MilTan]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

And where does he keep getting all those saws?!

That exchange killed me.