Tag: Dan Harmon
-
Community, “Asian Population Studies”
There’s been a lot of discussion about the two different kinds of Community. It’s not quite “3 Glees” worthy, but critics and fans can obviously see how this series can present us with high-concept, meta-driven episodes like “Epidemiology” and then follow it up with character-driven efforts like “Cooperative Calligraphy” or even “Mixology Certification.” What’s interesting…
-
TV Surveillance’s Best of 2010: The 25 Best Series, 10-1
2010 has been a fantastic year for television. This year brought us a slew of great new programs and if we include the second halves of all the series that debuted in the fall of 2009 (which I am for these features), we have probably just experienced the best run of newbies since 2004. While…
-
TV Surveillance’s Best of 2010: Top 60 Episodes, 20-11
2010 has been a fantastic year for television. This year brought us a slew of great new programs and if we include the second halves of all the series that debuted in the fall of 2009 (which I am for these features), we have probably just experienced the best run of newbies since 2004. While…
-
TV Surveillance’s Best of 2010: Top 60 Episodes, 30-21
2010 has been a fantastic year for television. This year brought us a slew of great new programs and if we include the second halves of all the series that debuted in the fall of 2009 (which I am for these features), we have probably just experienced the best run of newbies since 2004. While…
-
Community, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”
As I was watching Community‘s glorious entry into the claymation Christmas canon last night, I couldn’t help from thinking about my essay about the series that discusses Abed’s popular culture-tinted worldview. Last night’s episode is kind of an obvious example for the points I make in that long essay, but I’m not really sure that…
-
“Hey, did you guys see Toy Story 3?” — Exploring pop culture as a catalyst for 21st century interpersonal relationships in NBC’s Community
Note: This is the “final draft” of an essay for my Television Comedy class at Bowling Green State University. It’s posted here for the purposes of a makeshift, internet-powered peer review. I’ll field any comments or emailed questions as they come in. If you read the whole thing, I really appreciate it. I intend to…
-
Community, “Mixology Certification”
I imagine that “Mixology Certification” is the most divisive episode of Community‘s second season. It’s set outside of the safe Greendale walls, features little pop culture referencing and for the most part, isn’t funny in the same kind of way all the “great” episodes of Community are. Instead, it features a fairly boiler-plate sitcom plot…
-
Community, “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design”
After last week’s epic, but ultimately small-in-scale episode, Community starts to build back upward with an episode that is heavy on the pop culture references, but doesn’t explicitly reference certain texts or spend an entire episode focusing on that one genre/text/whatever. “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design” probably isn’t the technically “best” episode of the season,…
-
Community, “Epidemiology”
Apologies for the delay in this write-up, it’s been a busy couple of days. That’s unfortunate, however, because “Epidemiology” is most certainly the highlight of Community‘s young second season and one of the best episodes the series has ever done. A few weeks ago, I wasn’t too high on “Basic Rocket Science,” the NASA-related episode…
-
Community, “Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples”
Though most people judge comedies on their ability to execute and deliver jokes, it’s sometimes nice to give a series credit for at least trying new things, even when the failures come. I find myself putting Community in that second category, maybe because I just adore the series and need any excuse I can to…
-
Community, “Basic Rocket Science”
When Community really picked up steam with critics and internet commentors (because let’s be honest, it still hasn’t caught on with the general audience), most people pointed to episodes like “Contemporary American Poultry” and “Modern Warfare,” and for good reason. Those two episodes are probably the best the series has to offer (I personally prefer…
-
Is it time to swap Community and 30 Rock?
Full disclosure: The following post is spurred on by my die-hard love for NBC’s Community. In less than 30 episodes, it is already my favorite comedy of all-time. That might be an irrational statement, but it’s the kind of series that’s tailor-made for my interests and sense of humor. It’s certainly not the best comedy…
-
Community, “The Psychology of Letting Go”
Community typically strikes a nice balance between it’s riffs on the sitcom form, reference humor and heartfelt endings, usually in that order. With that in mind, this week’s episode, “The Psychology of Letting Go” surprisingly mixes that order all up to an extent where the episode works more as a fairly emotional story about loss and letting…
-
Community, “Accounting for Lawyers”
Throughout the second half of Community‘s first season, I wondered when the series would finally step outside Greendale and tell other stories. It wasn’t that I didn’t love what was happening inside the walls of that zany community college, I just wanted to see what Dan Harmon and company could do outside of it. Turns…
-
TV Surveillance Dream Emmy Ballot: Writing for a Comedy Series
This week I’ll be pretending that I have an Emmy vote and discussing my picks for all the major categories. Once it gets closer to the time that nominees are actually announced, I’ll do an official “picks” column. Up first: Writing for a Comedy Series! Two things before we get going: First, I’m only choosing…
CB, PhD 