Community - Season 2 Thread (1 Viewer)

joshEH · Sep 20, 2010

Alright, bitches, let's get this party started. Thursday night!!!

(Click to animate. Grrrr...)

First up:

Anthropology 101: In the Season 2 premiere, the group reconvenes to study for their anthropology class, which is taught by a kooky professor (Betty White). Elsewhere, Jeff navigates the tangled situation with Britta and Annie, and Señor Chang enrolls at Greendale in hopes of joining the study group.

I am eagerly waiting for an "El Tigre" show this season. It seems Harmon actually understands how to handle him.

I read today that the Christmas episode will be in stop-motion animation. I just wish them luck against that gigantic pile of shit that is The Big Bang Theory.

joshEH · Sep 20, 2010

Just found out:

A stop-motion Christmas episode, and now a zombie apocalypse Halloween episode? The show hasn't even started yet, and oh, my cup, it doth run over.
Big Bang Theory is lowest-common-denominator crap. So, of course, it's the #1 comedy series on television. Community is so damned good and original, which means it's going to get eaten alive (as will 30 Rock against Bullshit Shatner Says). Which really sucks, since Harmon and Co. are twisted geniuses of the highest order.

TravisR · Sep 20, 2010

Originally Posted by joshEH

Big Bang Theory is lowest-common-denominator crap. So, of course, it's the #1 comedy series on television.

Wow, really? I've never seen an episode of that show. I had no clue that it was that popular. Yeah, if Community is going up against the #1 comedy on TV, it might have some problems. But NBC might have some sympathy if the show is going against a big show rather than if it just was tanking in an easier time slot. Plus, it helps that NBC doesn't seem to have much else to fall back on.

joshEH · Sep 20, 2010

Yeah, hopefully NBC sticks with it, as it's arguably the best thing on the network next to Parks and Rec and 30 Rock. I tried watching The Big Bang Theory again this past week, just to see what sort of competition it would be, up against Commnuinty.

Ugh...WHY is the show so popular? I laughed maybe once.

Considering how epic that paintball episode was...I can only dream of what madness they will bring to this season's episodes.

(Also, why isn't there a "KICK PUNCHER" t-shirt yet?)

joshEH · Sep 21, 2010

One more quick addendum to my last post, re: Community and Big Bang:

I don't know if I blame Parsons or the showrunners/writers for this, but Abed is everything that Sheldon Cooper should be.

Having worked for years with special needs students, I actually find it slightly offensive how caricatured Sheldon's version of Asperger Syndrome is. He pushes it into the extremely severe autistic-spectrum realm, and couples it with OCD, making the character almost literally a circus freak. Sheldon isn't a human being; he's an outsider's view of how life must be for an autistic person, for us to laugh at.

Compare him to Abed, who is just a regular guy who has some social awkwardness, but the same level of passion (only for geek shit, instead of nerd shit). After half a season, we felt compassion for Abed in "Physical Education" because of his unconventional way of relating to women, but were shown and told at the end that, "Abed, you're a god" (- Jeff Winger).

I find it very hard to believe that after three seasons, anyone would give a shit if Sheldon were hit by a bus, because he's so damn insufferable. If Big Bang Theory was anything remotely approaching the reality of special needs intervention, Sheldon would be jobless, homeless, muttering to himself in an alleyway somewhere.

And I don't care that "it's just a sitcom, not reality," because Community has easily twice the hyper-stylized elements as BBT, yet all the characters are far more grounded.

Josh Dial · Sep 21, 2010

Originally Posted by joshEH

He pushes it into the extremely severe autistic-spectrum realm, and couples it with OCD, making the character almost literally a circus freak. Sheldon isn't a human being; he's an outsider's view of how life must be for an autistic person, for us to laugh at.

I think this entire section is patently false.

Lucia Duran · Sep 21, 2010

I enjoy both shows a great deal and think they are both funny and clever in their own rights.

Shawn Shultzaberger · Sep 21, 2010

and now a zombie apocalypse Halloween episode?

Great Googly Mooglies!!! Plllllleeeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeee let this episode rock!

Scott-S · Sep 21, 2010

Yea, the opinions about BBT seem to be from people who don't watch it. The Sheldon stuff is a good example.

joshEH · Sep 21, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Dial

I think this entire section is patently false.

Slate.com: "Is the World Ready For an Asperger's Sitcom?"

Many are diagnosed in some way long before they've reached full adulthood, so I too agree that attempting to "diagnose" a fictional TV character with Asperger's (or any other condition on the Autism spectrum) is going a bit far. However, there is some difference between the real social condition, and being the caricature that Sheldon is. On the other hand, it's also a stereotypical way of writing uber-geek characters, one that's gone a bit too far in Hollywood over the years.

Frequently, the most realistic depictions of Asperger's in TV/film are unintentional. That's because writers base the character on a real person who has Asperger's, or considerable social difficulties -- e.g., "Real Nerd" Toby Radloff in American Splendor, discovered he had Asperger's after the film was released. Steve Buscemi's Seymour in Ghost World is based on Robert Crumb, who once said, "To be interested in old music is to be a social outcast!"

When Hollywood writers try to depict "Asperger's," they often create a stereotyped constellation of symptoms, rather than a real person. Sheldon is reportedly based upon several people the series' writers either met or knew personally, some of whom had Asperger's, and some of whom did not.

TravisR · Sep 21, 2010

I don't know if it's an error or not but the first season DVD is $18 on Amazon right now. It'd be nice if there was a Blu-ray but I can live with the DVD for $18.

Josh Dial · Sep 21, 2010

Originally Posted by joshEH
On the other hand, it's also a stereotypical way of writing uber-geek characters, one that's gone a bit too far in Hollywood over the years.

Frequently, the most realistic depictions of Asperger's in TV/film are unintentional.

These two sentences are correct. Everything else is hokum.

joshEH · Sep 22, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Dial

These two sentences are correct. Everything else is hokum.

How do you mean? You're not being specifically clear on this one.

I have a sister with Asperger's, so this is something that hits quite close to home for me.

Aaron Silverman · Sep 23, 2010

I haven't watched Big Bang Theory much recently (mainly for logistical reasons), but by most accounts it's gone way downhill over time (based on general TV history, I'm guessing that began when Leonard and Penny hooked up). When it first started I really enjoyed it. I had no idea it was such a big hit -- #1, really? I wonder if its 9:30 Monday time slot had much to do with that. Thursday at 8 changes the game. At this point I'd probably choose Community, but then I'm not a Nielsen household.

Community is really the only other scripted broadcast network show of the past few years that I try to watch regularly.

I don't think Sheldon is intended to provide some kind of social commentary on Asperger's. He's intended to be funny and some of his idiosyncrasies resemble symptoms. If they started doing "very special episodes" involving medical diagnoses, it'd be a different story.

Walter Kittel · Sep 23, 2010

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I haven't watched Big Bang Theory much recently (mainly for logistical reasons), but by most accounts it's gone way downhill over time (based on general TV history, I'm guessing that began when Leonard and Penny hooked up).[/COLOR]

I could not disagree more with that assessment, but since this is a Community thread I'll leave it at that.

- Walter.

joshEH · Sep 23, 2010

From the official Community Facebook page:

Be sure to fry your chicken fingers early on Thursday, because you won't want to miss the very first Twittersode. That's right -- Jeff, Abed, Troy and the rest of the study group will be tweeting a prequel scene an hour before the premiere episode airs. Who knows -- you may even see Annie's Boobs on Twitter. Find more info on the Twittersode, starting at 7PM ET/4PM PT, by following the link below. http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/09/21/community-twittersode/

I don't Twitter, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the thread now.

And if I could add just one more, this is how I feel about tonight (click on it):

Neil Middlemiss · Sep 23, 2010

Loved it! Laughed out loud and loved the Chang/Gollum ending!

Citizen87645 · Sep 24, 2010

Annie's got a mean right hook.

Someone make an animated GIF!

Aaron Silverman · Sep 24, 2010

Originally Posted by Walter Kittel )

joshEH · Sep 24, 2010

Oh, Community, how I missed you.

Holy balls, what a fantastic episode. The massive showdown/confrontation in the study room was really well put together by all involved. Not even five minutes in, and we get a Donald Glover "Spider-Man" gag, as well as Pierce's "Caddyshack" painting. Amazing. I don't care how overexposed Betty White is, she was incredible here -- like with her crazed eyes, as she was choking Jeff to death. (Need a .GIF of Annie slugging Jeff.) "He thinks all dogs are boys, and all cats are girls!" Chang and Troy were great, but Pierce was the unsung hero of this episode.
I will be crushed tomorrow if Big Bang destroyed it. Fuck NBC and that time slot. Perversely, I quite enjoy that while The Big Bang Theory has come to represent the new status the nerd has achieved culturally, all the nerds are actually going to be watching Community.

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