Community, the tv show

harmon is totally right to be afraid - BBT's audience is over double that of Community's, actually increasing every season. it's a legitimate hit compared to the entire NBC thursday night line-up

we should all be crossing fingers that devil Chuck Lorre hasn't killed the show by this time next year

arrested development was instantly stunning, but I have a hard time thinking of a comedy that revved up so intensely over its first season (30 rock, maybe? i didn't get on the train til later). Simpsons were in their second before things got "holy shit."

Watched "Mystery Team." It's pretty amusing, but Glover is obviously the star of his comedy team; other two dudes are pretty much dead weight. I think they must have realized this because he has the biggest part. Aubrey Plaza and Bobby Moynihan are in it too, plus cameos from Matt Walsh, Dot Com, Lutz, Erin from The Office.

the kinda tallish dead-weight dude from the team's viral karate sketch has been getting bit parts in lots of NBC comedies lately. don't count derrick comedy viral karate dude out yet!

yeah that guy is easily the worst of the three. the other dude seems ok maybe but was basically doing a Napolean Dynamite impression through the whole movie

you don't like viral karate dude? he's like the kevin mcdonald to glover's bruce mcculloch.

I have not seen viral karate. If we're talking about the same dude, he is very very bland in Mystery Team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFEcNy3u61Y

i'm mystified by the fact that so many people hear loved the paintball episode, which was the weakest one yet imo

while watching it, i thought 'oh heck, i guess at some imminent point jeff will wake up and there will be a funny dream-related plot twist, like maybe he passed out drunk at abed's place again', but no...it turned out to be just lame pop cultural reference trope. didn't simpsons, et al, run that kind of thing into the effin ground?

i only complain so vehemently b/c community was so funny w/o that kind of thing. to my mind it became less funny with that crap. i wish the people writing the show would have confidence that the characters and their relationships are plenty sufficient to bring the lol's. now the show risks becoming trainspotting territory to an audience of stand-ins for the abed character

i definitely think the paintball episode shows how the show could eventually turn into some kind of family guy culture ref repository, but I think it did a witty job of it (I quite like a lot of those old simpsons homages!) and still utilized the character's personalities within the context. I love that it actually advanced relationships - that it wasn't just the usual "finch dreams everyone on just shoot me are characters in the wizard of oz" sitcom thing. i'd be bummed if the show stopped doing small scale stuff and every episode became a movie tribute, but I'm not going to slam a great movie tribute on principle.

It would totally suck if they started doing that kind of episode every week, yeah, it would get totally boring. But the fact that this was a one-off, guns blazin' episode totally worked for me. Plus, I think almost any other attempt at resolving the Jeff/Britta sexual tension would have been awkward and hamfisted. This way they could set their inevitable hook-up in a crazy setting where it wouldn't have been the episode's sole focus.

fair enough. it just prompted far fewer laughs in me than previous episodes did, hence my harshing on it. it occasioned my first disappointment in a show that was surprisingly funny right out of the starting gate. you're very right in that it wasn't purely lazy, as many other shows might have been when ambling into similar territory

I love that it actually advanced relationships - that it wasn't just the usual "finch dreams everyone on just shoot me are characters in the wizard of oz" sitcom thing.

yeah this is otm

it might have bothered me had the execution not been so perfect.

I would hope they'd limit their over-the-top/incongruous episodes to one per season, kind of like how CSI only bases one ep per season on the lab techs or some completely ridiculous case. It's a nice opportunity to see characters you love because they act one way to act that way (or differently) in completely different circumstances.

They just went farther with that episode than others, but the Color of Money and Goodfellas ones were also great. Guys, it's okay to like parodies!

re: paintball episode

I agree it worked partially because it was sort of a one time thing.

What had me going was the experience. They start the episode with them talking about some random stuff I can't remember in their study room. The PA system announces some paintball competition and that announcement came off as background noise. The characters kept on talking and pretty much disregarded the PA announcement if I remember correctly. I knew the episode would have paintball in it (from the previous week's previews) but like the characters, I basically blew off the announcement (for the time being) as well.

But then it was like a sudden onslaught of visceral paintball Armageddon with a wide pan shot of Jeff waking up in his car. The episode became mesmeric because of the sudden immersion and randomness of it all.

Then what kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next was all the great qualities you would find in an action movie. The tension. The drama. The survival aspect. The sex. The twist (Chang enrolling/no prize). The coolness of it all - Abed coming in jumping off the wall playing the part of the all-American hero, Troy with the great "you son of a bitch" line, the girls coming out of the bathroom stalls, the dark cafeteria with roller-skate dudes attacking, Chang with the paintball machine gun...

The cinematography/sets really pulled it all together. The action moments/tense moments were filmed really well and it was crazy to see a whole school messed up badly - something I dreamed of as a kid. "This would never happen" crossed my mind a few times but I that didn't distract me from letting the show unfold because it was all weirdly enjoyable

There was definitely less funny quotes than normal but a there was a lot of silly situational stuff instead

I watched the paintball episode late at night in my basement on a huge HG TV. Plus the episode worked better in that I wasn't expecting so much. I think my experience was also benefited from feeling some of the tension - the kind of tension that people are supposed to feel when watching action movies. Understandably, some people may have not had the same kind of reaction as me - they may have been less susceptible to the tense parts (maybe they were wanting more comedy in a comedy series). People could have easily been in the 'wrong state of mind' for this episode. Different states of mind (e.g. different kinds of logical, emotional, open, closed, sleepy...) is rationale for people's largely varied opinions on any given episode of Lost last season (as I gathered from the Lost thread)

loving this series. the paintball episode was absolute, unalloyed and audacious genius. and i loved the 'shmitty' kids too. shows like this and modern family are STREETS AHEAD of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, both of which I think are truly charmless and terrible.

Watching the paintball episode now, and it's just as good as everybody said (possibly even better)

the 'shmitty' kids

XD

Am I the only one who enjoys both Community and Big Bang Theory? I'm only into season 2 of BBT but I don't see a major difference in quality between the shows. (One makes pop culture references. The other makes science references.) If I had to pick one, I may go with Community and I hope the shows don't enter into competition but I do think both are good.

I enjoy them both, community has a slight edge but I like BBT especially as my partner is an academic and I think most academics have a little bit of Sheldon inside them.

xp they're going to be in the same time slot next season, where BBT will undoubtedly thrash Community in viewership and drive it towards extinction, hence the anticipatory hate

I hate pretty much any sitcom with a studio audience. Just don't like the format.

Oh, they're definitely going to be in the same slot? Bastards.

"BBT will undoubtedly thrash Community in viewership"

Is there a demographic breakdown of who watches BBT and who watches Community?

I hate pretty much any sitcom with a studio audience. Just don't like the format.

― no turkey unless it's a club sandwich (polyphonic), Monday, June 21, 2010 5:45 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if you mean of current shows I might be like OK that's defensible but if you mean of all sitcoms ever then you're just nuts.

Whats that weird new show that comes on Thursday in the time slot that Parks and Recreation used to have that is shot in a Community format but has canned laughter anyway? That combination creeps me out really bad. The show is a terrible second attempt at "Friends" by the way.

100 Questions or something like that. Historically awful.

is shot in a Community format but has canned laughter anyway? That combination creeps me out really bad.

That does sound comically creepy and depressing.

we have a thread about it, it's amazingly bad: Is "100 Questions" the worst show in recent history?

Is there a demographic breakdown of who watches BBT and who watches Community?

7 BIG BANG THEORY, THE CBS Mon VAR 23 5.3 14,143
70 COMMUNITY NBC Thu VAR 24 2.1 4,990

From the 2009-10 primetime season rankings. Last two numbers are 18-49 rating and total viewers in millions. BBT is #7 OVERALL - the #1 scripted show, which is kinda nuts already, going up against Community which is #70. (BTW, Community ranks even worse when you compare it by overall viewers, instead of just the 18-49 demo, unsurprisingly - less old folks watching).

whaaaaa?! this data has to be wrong! there's got to be some diebold shenanigans.

The only reason BBT is such a runaway success is because half the cast of Roseanne are in and out of there on such a regular basis that people are confused and think they're watching something that's good.

Also, it's funny.

I'll concede there are many less funny shows currently on television than BBT. Anything with Tyler Perry's name on it for starters. Oh, and The Office.

Whatever you think of these shows, they all lost to UNDERCOVER BOSS. WHA?!

BBT is weird because it contains a lot of smart and seemingly well researched references, but the plots themselves are lowest-common-denominator sitcom schlock. Raj gets drunk and sleeps with a fat lady! Penny's friends don't like Leonard because he doesn't understand football! Howard and his mom yell at each other a lot!

I still watch it and enjoy it, but Community is the better show and it pisses me off that they're going head to head.

really, what else can you expect from the genius creator of Dharma & Greg and Two and a Half Men?

GET READY AMERICA

Police officer Mike Biggs knows his way around the streets. As a cop, Mike’s not scared of anything—except dating, so he’s joined Overeaters Anonymous® to lose those extra pounds and gain some much-needed confidence. When he meets Molly at a meeting, the attraction is immediate, and suddenly Mike is excited about the prospect of a new life. But now he must find the willpower to give up his beloved junk food for the apple of his eye.

LOL, it's funny becuz he's fat.

The show is a terrible second attempt at "Friends" by the way.

a worse and more brazen attempt at being Friends than HIMYM?? the mind boggles, and then shudders...

It actually reminds me a lot of Couplings.

shows like this and modern family are STREETS AHEAD of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, both of which I think are truly charmless and terrible.

― Worth waiting for the fannypunch at 4.02 (stevie), Sunday, June 20, 2010 11:32 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

modern fam is blah, HIMYM is aces

u rong, dog

allyson hannigan = charisma vaccuum

i think she's the weakest of the five principals and that's still wrong

Allyson Hannigan being the ultimate nerdfox makes up for a lot, but I still am not into HIMYM

At its best, HIMYM is a contender to Arrested Development for best developed sitcom universe, with a million callbacks, well-planned arcs and charming actors (who doesn't like Jason Segel, Allyson Hannigan or Neil Patrick Harris off the bat?). At its worst, it's just another Friends clone with one of the most unlikeable main characters I've ever seen in a sitcom.

NPH is almost never funny on that show. Most of the humor comes from the women and Jason Siegel.

The only reason BBT is such a runaway success is because half the cast of Roseanne are in and out of there on such a regular basis that people are confused and think they're watching something that's good.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, June 21, 2010 9:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ah yes, the famous 'Roseanne effect' that made shows like Twins and Charlie Lawrence into long-running ratings juggernauts.