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I liked Abed's non story this episode. Seeing him act like Abed while everyone else was acting normal was unsettling. As a single episode of the show it isn't a great one and is about as inaccessible as anything Community has done (not that they've cared about that for a while) but taken next to the rest of the series I dug it.
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Apr 11, 2014 19:27
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Ya'know I kinda thought that this episode had some wasted potential. Mostly in that I thought it would be a good character development episode by having everybody just stand around without any big drama happening. Particularly Abed, since it would seem that a good way for him to develop is to help rebuild the fourth wall; and to make him realize that in order for the other three walls to exist, he needs to fix the gaping hole. Also I just wanted to see the show get experimental by doing an episode that tried to stray away from Harmon's Story Circle as much as possible.
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Apr 11, 2014 19:27
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It felt like one of the latter episodes of season 3, which isn't a bad thing in my eyes. It's obviously setting up for the next episode, so I'm going to withhold my judgement on it for now. Mr. Mohammed (and The Dean) shaking down the vending machine and Chang singing about five-dollar footlongs got to me very hard.
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Apr 11, 2014 19:29
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This was the weirdest episode to me. I enjoyed it but it wasn't really funny. Just strange.
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Apr 11, 2014 20:35
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Did anyone mention yet that it sure was an episode of community? It sure was. I'll add this much; it was better than the season finale of TWD.
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Apr 11, 2014 20:47
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egon_beeblebrox posted:This was the weirdest episode to me. I enjoyed it but it wasn't really funny. Just strange. It was strange but it wasn't stupidly strange like the Dreamatorium episode in Season 3. It just sorta...was.
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Apr 11, 2014 20:48
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ETB posted:It felt like one of the latter episodes of season 3, which isn't a bad thing in my eyes. It's obviously setting up for the next episode, so I'm going to withhold my judgement on it for now. I hate season 3 with a passion that's downright embarrassing, and I liked this episode for the exact opposite reason. It felt like 20 minutes of telling season 3/4 to go gently caress itself.
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Apr 11, 2014 21:04
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Abed trying to lose the camera with a misdirect to the teachers lounge was hilarious and I won't hear otherwise.
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Apr 11, 2014 22:23
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I liked this episode, but then again, I also think that the majority of season 3 was some of Community's finest work, so I guess I'm not to be trusted.
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Apr 12, 2014 00:41
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Season 3 was just fine in my book. It gave us Remedial Chaos Theory, Pillows and Blankets, and Basic Lupine Urology. Great stuff. The rest of the season varied in quality, but was still good television.
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Apr 12, 2014 00:44
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Solice Kirsk posted:EKG's don't dip down that far!!  Actually they do. There aren't any P waves, or they are being lost in the QRS complex. Its a small tracing, but I would call it a 2nd Heart Block, type 1.
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Apr 12, 2014 01:13
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Last Chance posted:Season 3 was just fine in my book. It gave us Remedial Chaos Theory, Pillows and Blankets, and Basic Lupine Urology. Great stuff. The rest of the season varied in quality, but was still good television. I liked season three, too. Michael Ironside in a sitcom episode? Sign me the gently caress up.
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Apr 12, 2014 01:30
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"My name is Ronald Muhammad. Go ahead, I'm heard 'em all" just laid me out. And if we're playing the favourite metaphor game, mine was Jeff and Britta finally trying to settle for some normalcy only to have pure insanity (in the form of Annie, Abed, and the dean) burst through the door. There might only be one episode of Community left, oh man.
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Apr 12, 2014 01:48
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This episode would've worked much better if the whole "save Greendale" story amounted to more than 10 minutes of an episode that aired half a season ago.
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Apr 12, 2014 01:55
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tinstaach posted:"My name is Ronald Muhammad. Go ahead, I'm heard 'em all" just laid me out. It's had a fairly decent run, at least. Newsradio only had five seasons (97 episodes), and it's The Greatest Sitcom. So if Community dies after five seasons (97 episodes), I'll consider it a success.
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Apr 12, 2014 01:58
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97 episodes is outrageously good for a show that has only ended one season with its future assured.
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Apr 12, 2014 02:37
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I don't get the hate for this episode. I enjoyed it, and I really liked the Jeff/Britta thing, a desperation move to cling to emotions they don't want to admit they're having - possibly more about the school than about each other. Plus Abed With A Beard = Harmon. I really want Buzz to be related to Duncan.
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Apr 12, 2014 02:54
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Steve Vader posted:
Was it hinting that he hosed his Uncle?
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Apr 12, 2014 03:06
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Mustached5thGrader posted:Was it hinting that he hosed his Uncle? It was hinting that he hosed his aunt and is the father of his cousin.
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Apr 12, 2014 03:10
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Space Cadet Omoly posted:It was hinting that he hosed his aunt and is the father of his cousin. I chew my cereal very loudly
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Apr 12, 2014 03:12
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ashpanash posted:The behind-the-scenes video has a few gems in it this week. It would have been kind of awesome if they actually used the "BAD DEAN UUE34" label in the actual shot.
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Apr 12, 2014 03:46
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Community: ABC - Abed's Berating Contentment. Also, with all those Leon references, where is Jean Reno or Gary Oldman?
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Apr 12, 2014 04:07
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wins.
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I can't believe nobody else has mentioned "Six people are killed this way every year - and five of them are insurance appraisers, so I take this job very seriously". Maybe it was the spot-on delivery, but that line still makes me laugh every time I think about it.
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Apr 12, 2014 04:32
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"wow you just made my joke more accurate now it's hilarious" is one of the best lines I've ever heard.
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Apr 12, 2014 04:32
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fount of knowledge posted:I can't believe nobody else has mentioned "Six people are killed this way every year - and five of them are insurance appraisers, so I take this job very seriously". Maybe it was the spot-on delivery, but that line still makes me laugh every time I think about it. Cast No Engine posted:"wow you just made my joke more accurate now it's hilarious" is one of the best lines I've ever heard. I enjoyed both of these, yes. When they zoomed in on the sipping of the soup, I thought it was going to be some strange "art" piece of some sort. Or a minor characters type episode. Those would have been wasteful episodes at this point.
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Apr 12, 2014 05:49
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kayakyakr posted:When they zoomed in on the sipping of the soup, I thought it was going to be some strange "art" piece of some sort. Or a minor characters type episode. Those would have been wasteful episodes at this point. You can't deny that an episode that's all the minor characters' stories playing out something like that similar episode of The Simpsons would be amazing. Just sixty seconds or so with each character as it pops around Greendale.
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Apr 12, 2014 06:35
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El Tortuga posted:You can't deny that an episode that's all the minor characters' stories playing out something like that similar episode of The Simpsons would be amazing. Just sixty seconds or so with each character as it pops around Greendale. Nah we need a full on Lower Decks episode with Garrett, Vicki, Magnitude and maybe Quendra.
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Apr 12, 2014 06:39
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Spoeank posted:Nah we need a full on Lower Decks episode with Garrett, Vicki, Magnitude and maybe Quendra. A Day in the Life of Leonard.
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Apr 12, 2014 06:41
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Spoeank posted:Nah we need a full on Lower Decks episode with Garrett, Vicki, Magnitude and maybe Quendra. This time they really don't save Garrett.
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Apr 12, 2014 06:45
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El Tortuga posted:You can't deny that an episode that's all the minor characters' stories playing out something like that similar episode of The Simpsons would be amazing. Just sixty seconds or so with each character as it pops around Greendale. Oh poo poo if they did an homage to Linklater's Slacker that would be amazing.
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Apr 12, 2014 07:11
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kayakyakr posted:When they zoomed in on the sipping of the soup, I thought it was going to be some strange "art" piece of some sort. Or a minor characters type episode. Those would have been wasteful episodes at this point. That (and Abed's B-plot in total) was kind of a version of this, from early Dan Harmon: http://www.channel101.com/segment/1098
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Apr 12, 2014 07:17
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swickles posted:A Day in the Life of Leonard. Unsubscribe.
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Apr 12, 2014 07:23
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My opinion on this season (unnecessarily long and possibly incomprehensible): I think that Community is operating at a different level from about every other comedy on TV this season. I just don't see any other comedy - network or cable - that is constantly willing to challenge itself to deliver (Harmon wrote D&D2 as a specific gently caress you to the network) (edit: except Archer, obv.). I guess I understand why the show is often perceived as hollow and insincere, as though it's just a vehicle for every smarmy Harmon impulse, but for me it is so much more satisfying than the numbing familiarity of every other late-season sitcom. While pretty much every show eventually declines in quality, Harmon is too self-aware to go quietly and has the ego to believe that he can evolve the form. I think that kind of ambition is worth celebrating even if it's occasionally self-congratulatory and petty and flawed. I know that not every episode worked completely (I'm out of the specific G.I. Joe demographic by a couple years) but I give points for effort and for trying... something. I think that for some reason people now hold this show to an almost impossible standard - I remember the incredible popularity it had while airing season 3 and now everyone is very restrained. It's like the real life story of production over the past couple seasons has overwhelmed what's on the screen and sapped everyone's attention and patience. But if I compare the current season to how remarkably lazy and self-indulgent even a show like Parks and Recreation has become this season (where every characters' personality is dialed up to 11, occupations and most plot lines are completely meaningless, glacial plot development, etc.) I only appreciate Community more. Arrested Development is the only other comedy I've seen that is willing to throw this much poo poo at the wall, to try as hard as the writers and actors do. Think about how many tones 'Basic Story' shifts through, the varied oblique references to The Truman Show and EDtv, and the layered plot (bottom: recognition by the characters of how they are caught in a loop; middle: Abed realizes that it is all a show; top: meta history of Greendale as Community's fractured production history, rehabilitation and current predicament of imminent cancellation/syndication). I can only imagine that while P&R and Modern Family writers are at home with their kids at 9pm, Community's writers are prepping for another all-nighter around a whiteboard. Yet pretty much every review says there is not much to this episode beyond set-up for next week. Every show deigns to do a concept episode now and then (HIMYM & Scrubs did their share, Trophy Wife just did Scandal) but Community, which treats convention like a plague, is just counting down the minutes until they can go all in on the next one. The show is pretty much impenetrable to new viewers at this point (Harmon has basically written off the very concept of new viewers) but carries on a constant conversation and parrying act with the fans and the critics. What's going on with Annie and Jeff? Let's have the Dean put a finger on it directly. What was Pierce's legacy on the show? On P&R this would have been pure schmaltz and sentiment; on Community it is 7 canisters of frozen sperm and a boat trip around the world. How long can Jeff and Britta keep going through the motions while everything and nothing changes? Throw them into a marriage they both know is depressingly predictable. Every episode was a thematic callback to a prior season episode with a tweak (Bandit/Conspiracy Theories, Polygraphy/Calligraphy, Duncan & Britta/Mixology Certification, etc.) and advanced character growth through even absurd story lines. Personally, for me D&D2 is the most re-watchable episode of the show (probably because it moderates the uncomfortable stakes of D&D1 and doesn't raise questions as to why the group voluntarily continues to hang out with a man who almost bullied someone into suicide out of spite). I guess I'm fully indoctrinated into the 'Cult of Harmon' at this point but I truly believe he put together one of the most cohesive and impressively-written seasons of TV that I've seen - for me it's night and day from how cynically season 4 tried to recreate the beats of the first 3 seasons. Instead he used season 5 as potentially a last opportunity to prove how ambitious and experimental a network show could be in his hands - it was imperfect but I think he succeeded. There are a few transcendent comedies on TV right now (Veep, Archer, Review, Rick and Morty) and a lot of pretty good ones but Community is the only one that promises to hit a home run for the kid in the hospital and then gets to the plate and starts swinging. I've put too much thought into this and maybe I'm alone but I thought I would put it out there. Unmerciful fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Apr 12, 2014 |
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Apr 12, 2014 07:30
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Unmerciful posted:unnecessarily long and possibly incomprehensible I'm interested, what puts Community above Rick & Morty, to you?
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Apr 12, 2014 07:40
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Good god that post is exactly why I hate talking about Community, this show can be funny at times but it is not some kind of transcendent television experience and Dan Harmon isn't a genius, he's just a funny rear end in a top hat.
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Apr 12, 2014 08:30
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1st AD posted:Good god that post is exactly why I hate talking about Community, this show can be funny at times but it is not some kind of transcendent television experience and Dan Harmon isn't a genius, he's just a funny rear end in a top hat. This. It's really not a groundbreaking show, this coming from somebody who has watched it since the start and enjoyed the first two seasons immensely.
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Apr 12, 2014 08:35
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Catsplosion posted:This. It's really not a groundbreaking show, this coming from somebody who has watched it since the start and enjoyed the first two seasons immensely. I guess I would just ask why you don't think it's groundbreaking. It's potentially comparable to Arrested and 30 Rock but I'm hard pressed to name another show that bats around and subverts every trope, regularly breaks the 4th wall and half the episodes are themed/concept/homages. Can you watch this show after Frasier and say hey, these are pretty similar sitcoms? 1st AD posted:Good god that post is exactly why I hate talking about Community, this show can be funny at times but it is not some kind of transcendent television experience and Dan Harmon isn't a genius, he's just a funny rear end in a top hat. I don't blame anyone for not treating the show like a transcendent experience. I understand that a lot of people feel it is hit or miss from week to week and that's obviously valid. But I don't think should be annoying or stupid to read a few reasons why I think the show is doing interesting things with the format. When was the last time we saw a character like Abed on TV? When will we ever see one again? I think that's an interesting conversation worth having but if you think I'm just being a dipshit who's reading too much into everything then fair enough
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Apr 12, 2014 08:52
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Just because something is different or has never been done before doesn't mean that it is categorically good or valuable. I am totally okay living my life knowing that there will never be another Abed on TV, probably.
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Apr 12, 2014 08:55
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Unmerciful posted:When was the last time we saw a character like Abed on TV? When will we ever see one again? Every Thursday at 8pm for the next three years. I appreciate what Harmon's been doing with this season, but I'm not going to give him a pass for being experimental. At the end of the day, all that matters is how funny the show is. If Harmon can't deliver the yuks, him constantly crossing the line just proves why the line exists in the first place.
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Apr 12, 2014 12:05
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I'm all for experimentation, but I feel Community often exists in a weird ghost zone where its premises and ideas are really cool, but they're padded with totally bog-standard sitcom beats that aren't particularly funny or moving. Example: the MeowMeowBeenz episode is hilarious and experimental, but the "Jeff and Shirley have a disagreement" character arc that supports it is really stretched and hollow. There are often great jokes that play with form, but there's also a strange preponderance of jokes that feel like they came out of a machine, like Leonard passing Abed in the hallway and saying "Unsubscribe!". It's not always like that, it's not even like that most of the time (this show has had plenty of fantastic episodes that are hilarious), but it's something I've thought about the show for a long time. It does experiment, but it also has pockets of dull mediocrity within that experimentation that feel as if someone forgot they were trying to do something interesting. I think Rick and Morty is a natural comparison, and I'd say that that's a better show because it goes all out on the bizarreness. Community often feels like someone's checking on the reins, saying, "well, hold on guys, we are a network sitcom after all, we need to do at least one hackneyed joke about how everyone loves smartphone games, and throw in some emotion about how Character A and Character B resolved their differences". This would be fine, but I really don't think the show is as good at that playing-it-straight stuff as shows that make it their wheelhouse like Parks or Brooklyn 99. I don't feel a thing about Britta and Jeff deciding to get married, or Annie and Abed fighting because they miss Troy. It feels like a beat that's there because the form demands it, rather than one that the creators are genuinely interested in and good at conveying.
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Apr 12, 2014 13:52
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