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: Greendale Community College
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”
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”
Surveillance Summer Watch: Cheers, “Coach Returns to Action,” “Endless Slumper” and “One for the Book”
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. People like to talk about … Continue reading Surveillance Summer Watch: Cheers, “Coach Returns to Action,” “Endless Slumper” and “One for the Book”
2010-2011 season wrap: Ranking the episodes of Community’s second season
The 2010-2011 television series officially ended last week. Obviously, there will be a lot of great television coming in the summer months ahead and it is sort of silly to stick to the ancient constructs of the broadcast television season (which ran from September 20, 2010 to May 25, 2011 this season), but I’ve never … Continue reading 2010-2011 season wrap: Ranking the episodes of Community’s second season
Community, “Celebrity Pharmacology”
When a series is as lowly-rated as Community is, the internet-fueled hype about its greatness is a good thing. But as with anything, that hype comes with a price: expectations. When you've been anointed as the next Arrested Development by the internet commenter hive-mind, it's a blessing and a curse. After tonight's "Celebrity Pharmacology," I … Continue reading Community, “Celebrity Pharmacology”
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 … Continue reading Community, “Mixology Certification”
Community, “Cooperative Calligraphy”
I've had some discussions with Community fans who have been a little disappointed by the first batch of S2 episodes because there's been a lot of "theme" episodes and little Greendale-heavy, smaller-scale episodes. If those people didn't love "Cooperative Calligraphy" I don't know what the heck to tell them. Dan Harmon said in an interview … Continue reading Community, “Cooperative Calligraphy”
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 … Continue reading Community, “Epidemiology”
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 … Continue reading Community, “Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples”
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 … Continue reading Community, “Basic Rocket Science”
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 … Continue reading Community, “The Psychology of Letting Go”
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 … Continue reading Community, “Accounting for Lawyers”
2009-10 season wrap: Community
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be summarizing my thoughts on many of the series that ended just as the “official” television season came to a close recently. Overview: Though it offered a strong pilot, Community quickly evolved into something much better than what I originally thought it could be. As the first season progressed, … Continue reading 2009-10 season wrap: Community
