Talk about Community here

xRECKONERx · Post Post #75 (ISO) » Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:49 pm

Okay, that was definitely a step up.

Britta's sideplot was redeemed only by Chang. And I am very hesitant to pride Chang on anything.

Though, they kinda dropped the big storylines setup last week. No Dr. Kane, no Dean Laybourne...

zoraster · Post Post #76 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:20 am

But Garret!

Porochaz · Post Post #77 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:17 am

I dislike Garret, he is to whiney and I cant bare listening to him.

In other news, that episode was dull. The Britta-Chang thing was funny to begin with but got boring quickly and Annie vs Annie was just boring. I mean it was all by the numbers and hearing Allison Brie get increasingly - almost Monica Gellar - shrill was not fun. I dont enjoy her episodes at the best of times, much preferring seeing her as a supporting character but basically they cut out Pierce, Shirley, Troy and Abed from the episode (mostly) and Dean Pelton completely. I understand they can't highlight everyone each week but they could have done a better job than that.

zoraster · Post Post #78 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:21 am

You're shrill and not fun!

1. Garret is great. You have no leg to stand on. Of course he's whiney!
2. Annie vs. Annie was almost more of a reason for the competition to exist than anything else. The humor of community is often not in the actual plot but in the small interactions.
3. Take Abed. I loved the way he kept going back to the parallel universes but in the character of Switzerland. And THEN despite obviously just being a funny thing that Abed would think about, it actually plays into the resolution of the competition. Hilarious.
4. Similarly, I thought Pierce was at his funniest this episode as he is obviously taking the piss by making Somalia into a "shangri la." I am not a Chevy fan, and I'm not much of a fan of episodes that are Pierce heavy with the exception of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (the hospital episode last season was one of the weakest in the series). But here he is utilized at his best: one off cutting and inappropriate remarks.

This episode was in the top half of all community episodes.

Porochaz · Post Post #79 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:46 am

I understand that the humour of Community is almost never about the plots, but the plots keep it grounded to the funny.

I think Garret could have easily been replaced by Dean Pelton and it would have made for a funnier episode.

Im not much of a chevy fan either (altough the two episodes you mention are two of my favourites), I felt the whole Abed thing was kinda forced in so that this episode could have a resolution. It is an Abed kinda thing, but it was jammed in there. Pierce was funny but as he featured in the episode so minorly, it didn't matter too much. Asian Annie could have been better utilised, I kinda expected her to descend into drugs and end up like Annie before Community or something like that. I've seen community do better one off students, better teachers, better "competitions" and just better storylines overall. I mean even the ending with the game of Chevy operation was meh.

I'd totally disagree with you. I'd say this is in the bottom 5.

zoraster · Post Post #80 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:53 am

I kind of like the idea of Asian Annie descending into drugs. But otherwise, I disagree with you complete. Garret was WAY funnier than the Dean would have been. But I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree as I thought the episode, with the exception of the kind of lame Britta plotline, was pretty great.

I think I'll look into a way of getting Garret saying, "Crisis Alert!" as a ringtone (probably for my texts)

Korts · Post Post #81 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:15 am

I don't know why so many of you say the Britta sideplot was bad. I thought that was one of the better gags in this episode.

xRECKONERx · Post Post #82 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 5:24 am

In post 78, zoraster wrote:1. Garret is great. You have no leg to stand on. Of course he's whiney!

He was the funniest part of this episode.

@Korts: It felt like a complete rehash. It also felt like twenty steps backwards after having her declare a major last week.

DarthYoshi · Post Post #83 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:57 am

CRISIS ALERT!!!

zoraster · Post Post #84 (ISO) » Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:37 am

CRISIS ALERT!

Amrun · Post Post #85 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:18 am

Abed, you can't mumble random stuff and wait for the scene to cut away...

BBmolla · Post Post #86 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 8:47 am

I don't even know where this show is headed anymore tbh. Like, before it kind of had a general "Oh this character is dealing with this overlaying problem that is covered minorly while episode's plots occur."

Episode 2 was an improvement over 1.

I want more Troy.

Amrun · Post Post #87 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:59 pm

CRISIS ALERT!

BBmolla has fallen off the wagon. How do we get him back on?

Drench · Post Post #88 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:04 pm

In post 87, Amrun wrote:CRISIS ALERT!

BBmolla has fallen off the wagon. How do we get him back on?

You don't. He's a pizza burn on the roof of the world's mouth.

Amrun · Post Post #89 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:07 pm

Let's send him back to Earth 1 to rot alone.

BBmolla · Post Post #90 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:20 pm

D:

I'm still watching it, I just don't know where this season is going.

DarthYoshi · Post Post #91 (ISO) » Mon Oct 03, 2011 6:22 pm

In post 90, BBmolla wrote:D:

I'm still watching it, I just don't know where this season is going.

It's going straight through you from nostril to rectum, now until the end of time.

That's

what's up

where this season is going.

bv310 · Post Post #92 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 4:42 am

Well I enjoyed Chang's descent in to film noir madness, and Troy and Abed realizing that moving in together might have been a mistake.

Porochaz · Post Post #93 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 5:01 am

Episode 3 was a definite improvement on the first 2.

zoraster · Post Post #94 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 5:49 am

really? I thought it was a step down from episode 2, but still funnier than the first episode.

Lurconis · Post Post #95 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 7:27 am

I hope there is a todd revenge episode now

xRECKONERx · Post Post #96 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:18 am

Alright -- last night's episode was good. Probably the best they've done this season, but nowhere near the level of quality I've come to expect from Community.

Problems with this season:

#1) The characters have become too much like caricatures. They were

already

caricatures, but now they're caricatures of caricatures. It's the same problem It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ran into during the middle seasons. For example, Abed has always been weird, so he can get away with most things, but I thought his shrill shriek when Cougarton Abbey ended during the first episode was a bit too over the top. Same goes for Annie's temper tantrum on the table from the Model UN episode. Same goes for Britta's "protest" storyline last week, and same goes for this week with Todd's bizarre rant on the group and Britta jumping on the table and setting the ballots on fire this week. Troy, Shirley, and Pierce all seem to be fine. I can even accept Abed being a little over-the-top. But Jeff's weird "kiddo" thing with Annie, and all the aforementioned problems, have created a serious issue on the show.

#2) I don't feel like the writers are prioritizing storylines well enough. Week 1, we got a proverbial clusterfuck of B-plots packed into an episode without any really strong A-plot, and not enough time was given to each. Last week, the Chang/Britta pairing was a little too hokey and one-note (after the second time the Lionel Richie song played, I was already shaking my head...that joke had nowhere else to go). This week, giving Chang his own film noir-type storyline while the rest of the group (plus Todd) were packed into yet another THE GROUP HAS A QUARREL! plot just seemed off. The best episodes, in my opinion, are the ones that utilize the characters' differences well and play them off of each other. I also feel the whole "WE'RE A GROUP THAT FIGHTS THAT GETS BACK TOGETHER BECAUSE WE'RE A LOVING FAMILY" bit has been done as much as it can -- the Annie's Pen episode from S2 kinda put the nail in that coffin, as did "Paradigms of Human Memory".

#3) Jim Rash is main cast now. Use him. I think most of my laughs this week came from Dean Pelton. But for someone who has been bumped up to "main cast", he's not getting enough screentime, especially in comparison to Ken Jeong, who isn't main cast AFAIK (or maybe he is and I missed him getting the bump), and Ken Jeong is one of those "a little bit goes a long way" types.

#4) Being "less weird than the first two years combined"

isn't fucking working

. Looking back at Community, you know what episodes stand out the most? The ones with themes/gimmicks. Paintball 1, 2, and 3... the chicken fingers episode... Halloween zombie apocalypse... Dungeons & Dragons... Paradigms of Human Memory... those are the ones I remember the most. Part of Community's brilliance is the ability to shove these characters into outlandish situations and navigate it with a calm, cool pop culture lacquer coated on top. Granted, I don't want more, "Oh hey! Nerds like this, let's make a reference to it!" episodes, but three episodes into season three and I'm already begging for the next themed episode.

So while this week was an improvement and I had several laughs, I also feel like they're mis-stepping quite a bit. Tone down the characters, ratchet the zany episodes up a notch, and for the love of god, keep Ken Jeong's screentime limited. His character is

fucking retarded

and he can't carry an entire episode by himself.

/rant

zoraster · Post Post #97 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:45 am

I thought the chicken fingers episode was weak.

xRECKONERx · Post Post #98 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:50 am

How can you not like Abed stealing Jeff's power?

And that final chat between Abed & Jeff about needing to connect with people was great.

BBmolla · Post Post #99 (ISO) » Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:24 am

The Todd-hate was just dumb. Todd as a character is very similar to Fat Neil, in that he does nothing wrong and gets treated like crap(Except he doesn't get as depressed a easy). It was kind of funny at first(The whole "No offense Todd" thing I mean), but the degree they took it to was nonsensical. Why would this group of characters, who previously played dungeons and dragons with Neil to cheer him up, treat Todd like such shit? I guess if he was a bit more annoying it'd make sense, but in this episode he seemed to be the only sane character, and I feel the ending with him crying did not give the intended feeling.

The DND episode and this last episode totally contradict each other, like, two very different shows.

I agree with Reck's post.

The Chang subplot was garbage.

And I just noticed the similarities between this one and the pen one. Pretty much same plot.

Just my thoughts.