Not to cherry-pick from my own Twitter feed (not that I haven’t done it before), but “Contemporary Impressionists” is just a weird episode of Community. Weird doesn’t mean “bad” or “awful,” just as it also doesn’t mean “great.” This one featured some really intriguing character development, but was undercut by tonal and balance issues throughout. … Continue reading Review: Community, “Contemporary Impressionists”
Tag: Britta Perry
Review: Community, “Urban Matrimony and Sandwich Arts”
Well here we are folks. After three months of agonizing, waiting, Twitter campaigns, flash mobs and a whole lot of kvetching, Community is back on our television screens in one of the deadliest timeslots around. I was supremely excited for the series’ return, just as I was fairly sad that NBC made the (fairly logical) … Continue reading Review: Community, “Urban Matrimony and Sandwich Arts”
TV Surveillance’s Best of 2011: Best Performances, Comedy
It is that time again folks! The end of the year is upon us and that means it is time to look back on the highs, lows and WTFs in television from the past 12 months. There is a lot to reflect on in regard to television 2011. Charlie Sheen went crazy. Well, crazier. Comedy … Continue reading TV Surveillance’s Best of 2011: Best Performances, Comedy
Review: Community, “Regional Holiday Music”
Note: I’m a little short on time today, so I plan on keeping it brief. We’ll see if that actually happens. Chances are you folks know that I watch Glee. Maybe you just come to the site for my Community work, but you probably still see that just a few posts down, I have written … Continue reading Review: Community, “Regional Holiday Music”
Review: Community, “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism”
Community is kind of screwed. Now, let me say that I don’t mean that the series is screwed in regards to its place on NBC’s schedule. That might be the case, but there’s no need to be upset about that tonight (and I still think Community is ultimately going to be fine). What I mean … Continue reading Review: Community, “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism”
Review: Community, “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”
Just picture for a moment that someone who was randomly, in the off-chance, moved by the swell of online support for Community in the wake of NBC’s decision to “bench” it for a bit in early 2012 decided to watch tonight’s episode and it was their first experience with Community. Can you even begin to … Continue reading Review: Community, “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”
Review: Community, “Studies in Modern Movement”
There are a lot of real awful things in this world – hunger, terrorism, disease – but if we’re talking about somewhat less real awful things, it’s hard to top moving. I lived in the same house my entire life until I went to college and perhaps it’s just because of those 17 years of … Continue reading Review: Community, “Studies in Modern Movement”
Review: Community, “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps”
Halloween is a big deal for Community. Although the series was off to a solid start, “Introduction to Statistics” is the first great or borderline great episode the first season had. From Pierce’s ridiculous freak-out to Abed’s Batman costume/voice, “Statistics” nicely combined the series’ pop culture-soaked sensibilities with its thematic and character aims. Of course, … Continue reading Review: Community, “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps”
TV Surveillance Podcast Episode 12 — Thematic Analysis of Social Decorum and Legal Procedures 300
In this episode of the podcast, my buddy Noel Kirkpatrick from Monsters of Television joins me for a lengthy discussion of the opening four episodes of Community and The Good Wife's respective third seasons. Remember, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, if you'd like.
Investigating Community’s alternate timeline possibilites
Last night's episode of Community, "Remedial Chaos Theory" was an all-timer. The reviews for the complex, complicated alternate timeline-centric episode are all super positive (including my own) and most of those folks who were worried about the series' quality have reaffirmed their commitment. The episode was awesome, I'm glad that the fans are calming down … Continue reading Investigating Community’s alternate timeline possibilites
Review: Community, “Remedial Chaos Theory”
Do you really ever know if you’re the problem? How can you know? And if you do know, what do you to do to fix those problems? As we move along season three of Community, these are the big questions that one Jeff Winger has to answer. He – and admittedly, the rest of the … Continue reading Review: Community, “Remedial Chaos Theory”
Review: Community, “Competitive Ecology”
How many times can you do a story or tell a joke before it becomes stale or obvious? Television is defined by its formulaic nature and its ability to tell the same story over and over again, only with enough variation to make things seem different. Check out any police, medical and legal procedural on … Continue reading Review: Community, “Competitive Ecology”
Review: Community, “Geography of Global Conflict”
The nature of the television sitcom is often, if not always, in direct conflict with substantial character development. Critics and people like me want to pull at thematic threads and discuss the big moments for our favorite fictional people, but when it comes to a sitcom, even one as complex, complicated and interesting as Community, … Continue reading Review: Community, “Geography of Global Conflict”
Season Premiere review — Community, “Biology 101”
If you've read any of the articles, spoiler dumps and interviews with the Community cast and crew published since season two ended, you've probably gathered that season three is going to be more character-based and less "big event"-based. In the most simplistic terms, you could say that Community season three is going to be more … Continue reading Season Premiere review — Community, “Biology 101”
Surveillance Summer Watch: Season Finale — Cheers, “Showdown” Parts One and Two
This is the newest post in 2011′s Surveillance Summer Watch series featuring Cheers and Hill Street Blues. For the next couple of months, I’ll be writing weekly reviews of episodes from each series’ first seasons, with Cheerson Tuesdays and Hill Street Blues on Thursdays. For more information, see this post and for all the SSW pieces, visit this page. Whoa, here we are at … Continue reading Surveillance Summer Watch: Season Finale — Cheers, “Showdown” Parts One and Two
