Community (former NBC TV series, now Yahoo)*

I recently heard TV critic Alan Sepinwall state in a podcast that fans of Modern Family don't like Community and vise versa, which is sad because he thinks they're both great. I fell right into the former group and felt some validation for not liking Community. Early reviews and the inclusion of Ken Jeong gave me high expectations, but I couldn't get past Joel McHale's Jeff Winger. To me it was an attempt at a typical Vince Vaughn character without VV's charisma to pull it off. That set the tone for me and probably because of it I found almost nothing to laugh at in this show. Because some people I respect (including a few here) like the show I've kept the most recent episode on my DVR and have given the show plenty of chances.

Last week's "Contemporary American Poultry" has finally made me a fan. I'm a sucker for well executed pop culture references and the Goddfellas parody from Abed as Henry Hill to the "Layla" piano played very well for me. Then I realized there wasn't as much Joel McHale as in previous episodes I've seen and his character was helpful and sympathetic in this ep. Hopefully I'll let this episode be my baseline and watch each episode believing it will be entertaining instead of hoping it might be.

Anyone else like/ dislike this show?

 

Love the show and love Joel McHale...I think he does a great parody of the typical Vince Vaughn character, not just emulating VV.

I've been watching it consistently and while sometimes I can see a full episode without as much of a chuckle, I think it can't be beat (at least on network TV) when it's running on all cylinders.

BTW, I've never seen Modern Family....

 

Prefer Modern Family but last week's Community was pretty good.

 

The one thing that sours me on Modern Family is, no matter how snarky they get, they always resort to the final "AWWW" moment, and ruin it for me.

The one thing that sours me on Community is, I wish to heck they would run it :30 earlier, then it wouldn't make the next 4 NBC shows run late so I have to go bouncing all over my DVR to catch that last bit of all of them.

 

The only thing show in recent memory that has made me laugh as much as Community is Better off Ted. The jokes occasionally fall flat, but I echo the statement that it's damn near perfect when it's on a roll. With Ted (all but) finished, I'm glad that Community is still around. It reminds me of how consistent 30 Rock used to be up through Season 3 or so.

The only episode that I didn't like was the Jack Black mid-season premier. I usually like Jack, but him doing his usual shtick really threw off the chemistry of the rest of the ensemble (plus the obviously filmed-seperately cameo ending).

 

Community is great. If it had nothing else going for it, it would still earn a big thumbs-up from me for making Chevy Chase comedically relevant again.

 

I love Community! I was sold from the moment the pilot started. Great cast, writing and production. It's only gotten better as the season's progressed IMHO. The little non-romance between Jeff and Britta has taken a back seat to some fantastic character development. And I can't think of a show that has crammed so many brilliant pop culture references as effortlessly as this show.

Oh, and I never thought I'd like Chase again.

One of the best shows on TV, IMHO.

dan c

 

I am a fan of both Community and Modern Family. I don't know why it is a chose of one or the other. I think they are both well written, well acted sitcoms.

 

THIS is absolutely frustrating. Is this exclusive to NBC Thursday, or are they doing it on other nights as well?

Back on topic: I like Community, and have yet to check out Modern Family, though I hear it's right up my alley.

 

I have to agree. I watch them both, DVR them both. Great TV. I have no idea why one show demographic would preclude that group from enjoying the other show. Love 'em both.

 

Other networks do it too. And on purpose... they don't want to make it easy for you to switch the channel to the beginning of another show. Obviously that dynamic is even more annoying the dvr age. i usually adjust the timer, but we could 30 rock and The Office, so yeah it's annoying to have to start the next show to catch the very end etc

I like both shows. I am a fan of Sepinwall's blog and saw him write that, but I think both are good.

The Goodfellas parody was excellent.

 

Both favorites in our house.

dan c

 

A fan of Community from the first episode.

 

It took a few episodes but I have come to like this show. It doesn't quite measure up to "My Name Is Earl" though.

 

Another stellar show in the NBC arsenal...

 

Last night was hands down the worst episode of the season.

I thought that the Pierce/Shirley bits were funny, and the final Abed/Troy segment, but every time those high school kids showed up it ground to a halt, which was far too much of the episode.

 

For those who saw it, what did everyone think of the Claymation Christmas episode?

A nice homage to all those old Claymation Christmas shows.

(Fans in later time zones, make sure to watch it or at least record it.)

 

Very well done.

 

That was terrific, and even touching.

Did you notice the reflection of the real cast in the TV at the very end? Very subtle, my wife caught it and we had to rewind the Tivo to see it again. Such a smart show!

dan c

 

Community is the wittiest and best written american sitcom currently running, it's a joy to watch.

"Modern family" second season has been terrible for most parts, am i the only who find the red head lawyer character to be really annoying?, there's something about him that is really off putting.

 

My friend has been telling me to get into this show, especially for the "paintball" episode.

I'm gonna find this on DVD asap.

 

Couldn't make it through it. First time I switched that show off.

 

It takes 3 or 4 episode to take off and to get used to the characters but it's worth it, what a great sitcom.

 

I thought the Goodfellas episode was brilliant.

 

This show has been high on my list since about halfway through the first season. Some very clever writing and characters.