Talk about Community here

[AniX]

"There are many times when this doesn't seem like a community college at all. Particularly this year ... I think we've gone way south. And way north. It doesn't even appear to have anything to do with college. It's got its own secrets that reside in the creator of the show [Dan Harmon]. What does it mean, really? I think you could just as well take these people and put them in a bar every week, and have nothing to do with academics or anything else, and we'd still have the same basic interactions. The community college thing sort of went down the drain this year."

Chevy Chase pretty much sums up my problems with Community as of late.

[AniX]

was it just me or did the tag completely reverse all of abed's char development

I'm pretty sure the tags are non-canon.

Based on what, exactly?

[AniX]

That video game episode was everything bad about Community: It wasn't related to Community college, it was barely related to the characters themselves (You could have put basically any characters with the Greendale 7's traits in and seen the same episode), it didn't move ANY plot forward (It brought in a character we never saw before to deal with a plotline we've never heard of before and resolved it in one), it relied completely on being meta and gimmicks, and it frankly just wasn't funny.

Luckily the other episodes were slightly better.

[AniX]

Donald Glover has been fueling rumors that he's been trying to get out of his contracts with nbc and not finish filming season 4. Honestly, if he's gone I will have little to no reason to watch. I like the group as a whole I don't want anyone gone and if Chevy and Donald leave then it'll just feel unbalanced.

source?

Because I have not seen ANYTHING of the sort

I think his father, actor Danny Glover, mentioned off-hand in an interview that Donald "was getting too old for this shit."

[AniX]

British Office was a hell of a lot more bleak than the American one.

It was British. That means it never stopped raining and everyone had to maintain a stiff upper lip.

[AniX]

If they want to beat Big Bang they need to tap that Asexual viewer vein.

[AniX]

If they want to beat Big Bang they need to tap that Asexual viewer vein.

I actually found BBT kind of insulting to asexuals. Like Sheldon's 'girlfriend', my memory is vague but I'm pretty sure they wrote her character as acting asexual and hiding her heterosexuality.

I mean, they are a scourge we need to deal with. I've met more than a few girls who say things like "I'm so done with boys. I'm asexual like you from now on, Dan."

I mean, BBT is not perfect by any stretch. But Sheldon is one of the few consistently asexual characters on television. I can't even really think of anyone else who even comes close on TV right now, in fact.

[AniX]

Most interesting thing to me is that in the pilot, Leonard mentioned Sheldon masturbates. I wonder if the writers just chose to ignore that fact, or if Sheldon is really one of these false (according to Anix) asexuals...

Community really appealed to me because I wasn't forced to care about the relationships. I really hate sexual tension used for drama. To me, it's boring and sometimes confusing. Maybe that's why I had such a bad reaction to the season 1 finale. But anyway, Community is superior to those other shows because sex isn't treated as dramatic or humourous or interesting in any way. It's not a character's motivation or a punchline.

I tend to not include characterizations and facts as presented in pilots in my review of a character's final personality. Not specifically for Big Bang Theory, but Actors change, characters disappear, characters appear as if they were always there, personality traits that conflict with or outright contradict future characterization are present. And this even happens with some detail-centric shows, which Big Bang Theory is not. Hell, for some shows this house-breaking playing of facts might last for part or whole of the first season.

I think it is pretty obvious from the 5+ years of characterization since then that the masturbation line is effectively retconned away and wouldn't get anywhere close to being written today.

[AniX]

Umbrage pot-committed to traits as presented in the pilot in the same post, so he wrote his own ticket to ride on the school bus.

[AniX]

Umbrage, a poster on this very site, previously made a post in which he invoked a scene in the pilot of a television program known as the Big Bang Theory to support a hypothesis, which I described using a poker term. In the same post he made reference to another program, Community, and praised it for not having sex as a character motive. He was rebutted by a citation of the pilot of said Community program, where the character Jeff Winger is indeed portrayed in the plot of that Pilot as someone motivated by sexual attraction. I then spoke up to note that Umbrage's previous reliance on the actions of the plot of Pilots left him unable to invoke the normal tactic to avoid snafus of this type: Namely, the pilot often has significant deviations from the show that proceeds from it. I thereby used the metaphor of the school bus to indicate that Umbrage's own actions locked him into a path by which he would be figuratively made to board a bus that will drive him to a building to receive an education, to wit, he set himself up to the schooled.

[AniX]

I don't know. I think Bill Murray would lead to too much suspension of disbelief. He'd do all the crazy Pierce shit, and nobody would ever believe it.

[AniX]

Pointing out that you are violating the very premise of the show doesn't excuse violating that premise.

[AniX]

i'll take a stronger episode outside of the college over super weak college based episodes any day.

I agree. Better still would be they actually write good episodes about the topic their show is about. If you can't consistently write strong college-based episodes, you shouldn't be working on a show based in, titled after, and (originally) plot-centered around college.

[AniX]

This episode just felt so...generic. I feel like you could replace the entire cast with the cast of some other show that had a "geeky" character and little would need to be changed.

[AniX]

Urkel, Eddie, Eddie's girlfriend of the week, Laura and Stefan Urkelle go to a Sci-Fi convention, Laura and Stefan just so they can go skiing. Urkel leaves Eddie in the dust after he unites with a fellow Accordion player, making Eddie worry for their friendship. Meanwhile, Laura is mistaken for Stefan's boyfriend and has some fun with the error, while Stefan is mistaken for a villain from one of the big Sci-Fi shows.

Meanwhile, Carl and Harriet, feeling their children have left them out of the fun, head to the same convention, where the two are recruited for a focus group and Carl offers some "helpful" advice to make it more relatable.

[AniX]

I'm saying it would be a good episode for another show. But for Community, which has such a talented cast and has shown itself willing to push boundaries before, it's sort of like a student you know is capable of really "A" creative thinking turning in a generic "B" paper. "B" isn't bad per say, and for a student who isn't perhaps the best writer it might be a great grade. But when a student has shown themselves to be capable of better work, it is disappointing when they hand in a paper any student could have.

[AniX]

What novel and not gimmick-for-the-sake-of-gimmick ideas those are.

[AniX]

Anyone who bets this character growth will have a lasting effect on how Jeff is written must be a communist, because they hate having money.

[AniX]

At least they are back at school doing school related activities.

[AniX]

oh. thats not how umbrage's complaints about the finale for season 1 made it sound

i'll watch it then i guess

I mean, there isn't always underlying character stories that continue from season to season, but none are so demanding on your thoughts that you couldn't walk away from them.

[AniX]

If he has sex, there is going to be problems.

[AniX]

That was one of the worst episodes of Community I've seen yet, perhaps only beaten out by the 8-Bit episode. Heavy on the meta/light on the actual Community college premise of the show, Horrible pacing, go-nowhere plot, poorly sung songs (Except for Shirley, none of these people have a particularly good voice), poorly written songs (uninspired lyrics, uninspired music), stunt casting that added nothing (Hey, Jason Alexander. Bye, Jason Alexander.), Zoraster's solid point about the secret (any one of these could have sustained their own episode, now they are muddled).

[AniX]

An episode actually dealing with individuals attending classes and getting grades? Surely I am watching some other program!

[AniX]

This is all part of the Dean's plan.

1. Spend 3.5 years crafting a decent story.
2. A half-year before you release your plot, have Harmon fired.
3. Watch as the rest of the staff struggles to keep up and fail.
4. Release your story.
5. Be praised.
6. Get creative control.
7. DEAN/JEFF SLASH FICTION FOREVER.

[AniX]

You assume, of course, the writers care if it feels forced or not at this point. I submit to you they do not.

[AniX]

5/13 is horrible when the whole show is about the study group as a whole. Now they are literally down 1/3 of the show's core.

[AniX]

Reading up on the situation, my respect for Glover is plummeting. It is one thing if you set yourself up another project and now it conflicts with Community. We all knew Community's future is rough. But to do it because he wants to focus on his music-career, something he is wholly in control of, and especially because 8 more episodes isn't that huge of a burden. You dance with the Girl who brought you, and Glover owes a large part of his music career's success to the limelight Community gave him and he can't even given them 8 more episodes.

[AniX]

Glover's decision was also made before Harmon was confirmed as returning. I think that might've changed his decision.

Too bad his music career is completely out of his hands and he can't change his plans as circumstances change.

You dance with the girl that brought you, but you don't owe her the entire night. It was inevitable that someone would lose interest in this thing they have been doing for four years, especially after last season.

It would be one thing if it was a Steve Carrell situation where the show wants to continue for a few more seasons and he wants to retire. That's leaving early because you have other plans. But it is another thing to hear "Last Dance" and go "Fuck that, I'm leaving now." right as your date reaches for your arm.

[AniX]

But it is another thing to hear "Last Dance" and go "Fuck that, I'm leaving now." right as your date reaches for your arm.

Assuming you're sticking close to your analogy, how do you know this is the last dance? There's every chance that it'll get its sixth season, especially if the ratings pick up a bit and NBC has another year of shit comedies (although fuck them for cancelling Go On).

You'd be saying the exact same thing if he gave you this year and then quit next year and it got renewed.

No, Glover doesn't owe us anything. If he's not contractually obliged to do another season then good luck to him.

Then you let them know this will be your final season and you finish it out.

He doesn't owe US anything. He owes the Community writers, producers, and other actors quite a bit.

[AniX]

Has anyone noticed that they have transitioned Annie from skirts into trousers pretty heavily? I noticed in the first episode of the season and renoticed again in this one (probably because the in-between episodes have mainly been tablebound ones).

[AniX]

Good job managing a cross-season dalmatian theme in your examples.

[AniX]

so.... this season has been pretty great. the book stealing storyline was weak, but the pile of bullets was hilarious, and i rewatched the payday rap about 6 times.

Really? I guess I'm still nostalgic for when a show called Community was about Community College. This is my second to last favorite season yet.

[AniX]

i mean, community was never really into realism.

I don't need realism. I guess I liked it better before it was all about tropes.

[AniX]

I enjoyed the episode in so far as I thought it was a well-written and well-acted episode.

I didn't enjoy it in so much as Abed is a HORRIBLE DM and the writers obviously did not do their research, so I kind of feel like I'm a sportsfan watching people play Calvinball and saying "This is a great baseball game".

[AniX]

Vis a vis his latest episode: No. Absolutely not. This isn't even about being meta anymore. They are literally just making fan fiction and airing it as the show.

[AniX]

i don't think P&R has slipped big time at all.

BUT ZOR, EVERYTHING LESLIE HAS ACCOMPLISHED UP UNTIL NOW IS ALL IN SERVICE OF HER BEING A MOTHER, HER ONE TRU CALLIN' YO

I think we all know I hate pregnancy and having children of all kinds, but even I didn't take that away from the season. In fact, I think they did an excellent job of showing that ISN'T the case. Hell, she got her big promotion (and managed to get it moved to Pawnee) WHILE pregnant.

[AniX]

I mean I'll be real, I think season 2 was perfect. The characters were all in a good place and the mood was perfect. There was a couple tongue in cheek goofiness, but nothing like a Dictator taking over the school with children militia requiring the study group to put on costumes to infiltrate it. Like, imagine that being pitched to you Season 2. You'd be like "That's way too absurd, Community keeps it right between not real and a little absurd, that's out of place."

So if they could reel back on the absurd factor, I'd be okay with it? Hell, go back to Season 1 status if you need to where it was just like a more typical normal show.

Maybe I just have too high expectations.

I 100% agree to that. The moment I stopped enjoying the show was when they stopped being a show about Community College with interesting characters and started being a show about WACKY HIJINKS starring Abed and the rest of the gang that sometimes referenced its nominal setting.

[AniX]

I really wish Chang wasn't a main character/suffer the character derailment to "OMG RUNDUM" that he did.

[AniX]

Yea wasn't he a super villain three seasons ago?

And before that he was just a dickish teacher whose biggest complaint was perceived racism over an asian teaching spanish.

[AniX]

What did Jeff say that was dubbed over with "steel drums" and for what purpose?

[AniX]

I borrrowed a copy of the episode from my friend Torvald Rent, so I had to deal with none of that.

[AniX]

Me either. It is like they have a completely different show in the time slot at this point.