Community Review: "Digital Exploration of Interior Design" (3.13)
While last week’s episode of Community was the type of densely pop-culture-based humor that the show’s derided for, this week’s was in a lot of ways much less accessible despite being one of the most traditionally structured the show’s ever done. “Digital Exploration of Interior Design” had three tight, self-contained plots, each of them based upon issues in the show’s continuity. “Contemporary Impressionists” had a lot about the need for change within the group dynamics, but here we see it on-screen, and this is the result, with many characters actively working through problems previously set up.... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsCommunity Review: "Contemporary Impressionists" (3.12)
Last week was a particularly important one for Community, given its struggle to obtain a fourth season, so I’m glad that the episode that received such a huge ratings bump. It looks to have been partially the result of a concerted fan effort and, perhaps more importantly, the lack of The Big Bang Theory airing during the same time slot. We’ll see whether all of those viewers tune in again, but it was about as traditional a sitcom episode as anything Community does these days, and so likely a strong move. Had “Contemporary Impressionists” been the episode to air, the... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsCommunity: "Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts" (3.11)
Like the rest of you, I’ve been impatiently waiting for Community to return. There’s been an incredible amount of support from its fanbase, as well as a smaller, but perhaps equally vocal, amount of criticism of the show. Community, it’s been said, is just gimmicks. It’s all pop culture parodies or in-jokes. It’s hermetic, only concerned with the small world within the show. These points have varying levels of truth to them, but one of the most important things that they miss is that there’s nothing else like Community on television. It’s not perfect, but it is original and unique.... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsCommunity To Return March 15
Community fans can breathe a big sigh of relief. Creative mastermind Dan Harmon just tweeted the official return date for the cult sitcom that was put on hiatus last November. read more
Found in: TV, NewsCommunity Review: "Regional Holiday Music" (3.10)
Since we won’t be seeing Community again for a while, I’m very happy that the show went out on a high note. And NBC has been very cagey about the back half of the season—yes, we’ve been assured that there will be one, but how it’ll happen remains undecided. NBC has enough struggling sitcoms that it seems conceivable that Community will end up back on the air during the spring season… but then it might not. It might get thrown away in one night or scattered around the summer to languish.... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsCommunity Review: "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" (3.9)
Last night’s episode of Community had two plots but one of the main things connecting them was their reliance on old sitcom stories. This isn’t Abed going into a Christmas wonderland in his mind here, instead this is standard stuff. In fact, the show goes out of its way to tell you that, when Troy mentions the way Abed has seen his plotline played out 100 times previously on television and can’t be fooled. You’re supposed to recognize that these are pretty ordinary events, to the point that I doubt they work nearly as well if you’re unaware.... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsFans Reward Community With Cover Contest, Higher Ratings
Ever since NBC’s unjust announcement that the network was benching Community until sometime in 2012, the show has been riding a wave of much deserved success. read more
Found in: TV, NewsCommunity Review: "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" (3.8)
If you’re reading this article you’re almost certainly aware of Community‘s current troubles. The show is not officially canceled by any means. It has a full order that will, we’ve been assured, be fulfilled. However, that’s the only good news. After December we don’t know when the show will be back, or how long it will be back for. Anyone who remembers the third season of Arrested Development may end up feeling some deja vu here. Similar scheduling shenanigans forced that show off the air after the fall, and Fox only aired the final episodes in one short, difficult-to-find block... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsEight Reasons NBC Should Keep Community Alive
Last night, NBC announced its mid-season lineup and to our dismay Community was not on it. The news makes a fourth season less likely, and that would be a damned shame. read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayCommunity Review: "Studies in Modern Movement" (3.7)
“Studies in Modern Movement” was one of those episodes that helps illustrate how much Community can do within the old-fashioned sitcom format. The episode centers around Annie moving apartments, and there could hardly be a more predictable set-up for the characters to be in. This is the type of high-stress environment that the show’s format loves, one where stakes aren’t super high but they’re moreso than just sitting around a table. There’s a way in which Community takes each one of its four stories revolving around this and pushes them to the absolute limit.... read more
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