208 replies to this topic

[opus]

I've recently started watching Community in earnest, after catching an episode here and there, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I wouldn't say that I find it continuously hilarious -- though there are scenes that have left me in stitches -- but I enjoy it more for its absurdist atmosphere. Love the pop culture knowledge, but as Josh mentioned earlier, the show does a fine job of not going too far down that path. At least, it hasn't so far for me (I'm about halfway through the first season.)

[Ryan H.]

If you're only in the first season, I'm not surprised you haven't fallen in love yet. The show doesn't pick up until toward the end of the first season, and now that we're well into the second season, it's going quite strong.

[Ryan H.]

I pretty much hated this most recent episode. They've had a reasonably strong season so far, but man, this episode seemed so indifferently plotted.

Edited by Ryan H., 20 March 2011 - 06:59 PM.

[Josh Hurst]

Ryan H., on 20 March 2011 - 06:59 PM, said:

I pretty much hated this most recent episode. They've had a reasonably strong season so far, but man, this episode seemed so indifferently plotted.

It wasn't their funniest, but, as the first episode in a long time to be basically devoid of Pierce, it was a welcome change, at least for me.

[Ryan H.]

Josh Hurst, on 20 March 2011 - 07:04 PM, said:

Ryan H., on 20 March 2011 - 06:59 PM, said:

I pretty much hated this most recent episode. They've had a reasonably strong season so far, but man, this episode seemed so indifferently plotted.

It wasn't their funniest, but, as the first episode in a long time to be basically devoid of Pierce, it was a welcome change, at least for me.

I welcome a little less Pierce. But what they gave us instead was pretty criminally unfunny. And Chang has had good and bad moments throughout this season, but in this episode he's just nails-on-chalkboard-level irritating.

[Josh Hurst]

"Criminally unfunny" strikes me as a little much given that the episode has the hilarious Abed meta-joke/throwaway gag with the sweatshirt and some surprisingly good Britta moments, plus no episode that features Troy is going to be completely devoid of laughs. It wasn't their most memorable episode, I agree-- and as for Chang, he's one of those characters who's good in small doses but should never be the center of an entire half hour. It's like watching a Seinfeld episode that's all about Newman.

[Ryan H.]

Josh Hurst, on 20 March 2011 - 07:17 PM, said:

"Criminally unfunny" strikes me as a little much given that the episode has the hilarious Abed meta-joke/throwaway gag with the sweatshirt and some surprisingly good Britta moments, plus no episode that features Troy is going to be completely devoid of laughs.

I dunno. I think that Britta has come into her own this season--largely because they've stopped treating her as The Love Interest--but I didn't really like what they did with her in this episode. The sweatshirt moment was decent (and yes, any episode with Troy is going to have a laugh or two).

[Ryan H.]

The new episode is a tribute to PULP FICTION.

Looks awesome.

[Tyler]

Ryan H., on 23 March 2011 - 05:04 PM, said:

The new episode is a tribute to PULP FICTION.

Looks awesome.

It was directed by Richard Ayoade, who plays Moss on The IT Crowd and who also directed the upcoming film Submarine.


I wasn't a huge fan of the episode, though.

[Thom Wade]

I don't know...the Pulp Fiction thing that got promoted was a totally nice midirect of the show's primary tribute.

[Ryan H.]

It was an alright episode, but definitely not what I was expecting.

[Gavin Breeden]

I suppose they couldn't really advertise it as the "My Dinner with Andre episode," which is what it was. I still enjoyed it. A little darker and different than the typical Community episode, but episodes like this keep the show very character-centric and provide a refreshing break from the norm.

[J. Henry Waugh]

If nothing else, Community has added Degree of Difficulty to the criteria for judging the humor of sitcoms. This episode was more clever than funny, but for now, I enjoy being surprised by this show week by week.

[Ryan H.]

Gavin Breeden, on 25 March 2011 - 08:55 PM, said:

A little darker and different than the typical Community episode, but episodes like this keep the show very character-centric and provide a refreshing break from the norm.

Certainly.

[Josh Hurst]

I finally caught up with this one-- running almost a week behind!-- and was pleasantly surprised; as someone who tends to be pretty ambivalent about these darker, more experimental episodes, this one really pulled me in. I loved the characterization moments with Abed and Jeff. I could take or leave most of the Pulp Fiction/My Dinner with Andre references, honestly, but I'd call it a classic Community for these reasons alone:

1. Jeff's mortifying/hilarious Halloween story
2. Troy drinking "no-no juice"
3. The relentless Cougar Town slams

[opus]

I'll admit, I first watched this episode because I can't really resist a good Pulp Fiction homage/parody. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that that wasn't really the point of the episode at all. At times, I was reminded of Spaced and it's running meta-commentary on pop culture and the way it shapes our lives, conversation, etc. But then, the episode basically achieved a sort of meta-meta-commentary regarding how such a meta-approach to life affects us that I found rather intriguing. And it didn't hurt that the episode had several hilarious moments, some of which Josh mentioned. And I loved the Abed/Troy moment at the end... "What market are you shopping at?!"

[Tyler]

Last night's episode was another high-concept experiment: a clip show where the clips aren't from real episodes; i.e. they shot the clips just for this episode.

I thought it worked pretty well.

[Ryan H.]

Tyler, on 22 April 2011 - 02:21 PM, said:

Last night's episode was another high-concept experiment: a clip show where the clips aren't from real episodes; i.e. they shot the clips just for this episode.

I thought it worked pretty well.

It was pretty stellar.

[Thom Wade]

Agreed. When I realized what they were doing...I couldn't help to feel it was a little brilliant.

[Ryan H.]

It made 30 ROCK, which came on a little later and was, in fact, a real "clip show" episode, seem pretty darn lackluster, even though it had its share of good moments.

I really lost it when we got the Jeff/Annie montage. And then, when the show pushed it to a new place with the Abed/Pierce montage.