Thanksgiving Prison

Community, S04E05

Jeff was forced to have Thanksgiving with his estranged father because, despite he couldn't find the courage to knock on the door and bolted, Britta went ahead and entered his father's house without him.  Shirley invited the others to her house for Thanksgiving, but they were all so miserable there that they hid in the basement and plotted to escape without Shirley realizing it.

How I wish that Britta would have just burst into flames and turned into ash.  She was so intrusive in this story.  I guess I could blame the Dean for having such a big mouth and telling the gang about him going to meet his father, but I wish that Britta would stop trying to be a therapist to him.  If her ignorance about psychology was humorous maybe I could let her slide, but her stupidity just makes me so angry.  Leave Jeff alone!  He definitely needed a push, but she just thinks she knows exactly what to do to get Jeff to deal with his issues.  It's her smugness about her that made me not want her to be around for the whole first meeting.

That being said, it was great that Jeff didn't end up being too chicken to meet his father.  I think he might have found another way to get over his fear without Britta, but since she was the reason, I have to give her credit there.  I just wish she had left as soon as Jeff had gotten settled in--he and his father really got along well.  Obviously they were both regarding the other with all of their emotions heavily guarded, but they didn't go at each others' throats (at least at first) or act too stiffly as if each second together was torture.  I liked seeing sort of an older version of Jeff.  If that was what Jeff is going to be like, it doesn't seem too bad by his standards.  Still, William didn't seem like the best dad when Willy Jr. acted like the most insincere guy ever.

I loved Willy Jr.  I thought that Jeff's half brother would be some kind of asshole like him, but he was more like a little boy who couldn't get over that his parents had brought home a new baby.  In just a few seconds of meeting Jeff, he evaluated himself as inferior and felt threatened that Jeff would take his place.  His insecurity due to Jeff's existence was pretty funny.  My favorite emotional explosion was when he was having trouble getting out Jeff's name:

[Jeff] My name is Jeff.

[Willy Jr.] Don't help me! Mr. Helper Guy! First, mom died, and now this!

Willy was a mess, but I enjoyed every time he opened his mouth and got frustrated over every little thing.  I was set to be disappointed that Jeff and this little ball of emotions couldn't bond until Willy appeared in the back of Jeff's car.  I was happy that Jeff's outrage at his father's attempt to justify being absent in Jeff's life came to a boil when he heard how Willy was also a victim of William's bad parenting.  It was sort of a moving moment when Jeff exposed his neediness as child, where he faked an illness just to have someone worry about him.  To hear that he still holds onto the get-well cards from then really makes you see how sad Jeff is deep inside.  It was a very effective and colorful way to show that Jeff wasn't the superior child that William claimed to have contributed to by leaving him.  Although his deadbeat dad tried to fake a heart attack to get out of this emotional moment, Jeff's grandstand got through to Willy and he hugged the hell out of his older brother.  Aww!  I hope that Willy returns for another story--him and Jeff would make a funny pair.

In Shirley's story, I felt bad that her friends were so determined to leave her.  I understood that Shirley's family, though, sounded like such unpleasant people.  Anyone who could sit around and laugh at Pierce's antics (especially when he was trying to fake breaking a hip--they didn't think to worry about him) were probably not the best company.  And, as we later found out, they took joy in making fun of Shirley at these gatherings, making her situation feel all the sadder.  While her friends were trying to break out of the "prison," Shirley was locked in her own.  I don't think my heart has ever gone out to Shirley as much as when she admitted that she wanted her friends to be there as her buffer and yet they had been avoiding her the whole time that their presence didn't even matter.  They made me happy when they decided to grin and bear it for her sake.

I also liked how Abed, seeing that they were trapped in a prison-like state, started narrating their actions as if was Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption.  Although, he didn't get to break out of there through a secret tunnel (which was revealed in the extra that he dug out behind a Shirley's Sandwiches poster), he did enough spoofing of this movie that it was pretty funny. 

Troy, too, had a funny moment the first time he escaped to the basement:

What is going on?  Why is Thanksgiving so terrible?

I feel like that's a great summary statement of that holiday.  If this episode was aired in the right season, I'm pretty sure I'd be thinking that in my head at one point or another.

My favorite part of the story was when Jeff had set up the study room for the Thanksgiving dinner that they had all missed out.  Jeff was on a good-guy roll.  I really appreciate those times when he makes up for being so detached all the time (or at least pretending to be).  It assures me no matter what selfish thing he might do or say, he'll eventually show his true colors and win me over again.

This was a good episode, especially for a Thanksgiving story.  I can't remember if it was as good or bad as the others I saw this past year, but I'm betting it was up there.  The meeting between Jeff and his father went much better than I imagined and wasn't the sappy reunion that it could have been.  I most liked the introduction of Willy Jr.  I don't think they could have made a better brother for Jeff if they tried.  Shirley's Thanksgiving was equally as good because we got to see Annie, Troy, Abed, and Pierce act like inmates and attempt to break out.  Although they saw the merit in staying opposed to fleeing, it was amusing to see them struggle along the way.  And thanks to Jeff's surprise dinner for them all, everyone got to have the Thanksgiving they had really been looking for.  Nothing more I like than a great ending!

No One Replaces Troy

Community, S04E03

Abed, Troy, and Britta went to an Inspector Spacetime convention, inviting Annie and Jeff along who planned to go skiing in the area.  Abed introduced a friend he had been emailing for a while named Toby, and Troy quickly began to feel threatened by Toby's obvious attempt to replace him as Abed's best friend.  Annie played as Jeff's wife in the hotel, making Jeff's flirtation with a girl seem like adultery.  Pierce and Shirley also came to the convention, even though they weren't invited, and got pulled into a focus group about the American version of Inspector Spacetime.

I wasn't happy to see Toby, who was so pushy and rude, try to muscle his way into Abed's life through their mutual love of IS, but I did love how Troy got jealous in the same way a woman would if someone was trying to steal her boyfriend.  It's not unlike Abed to not even notice that Troy felt like he was being snubbed, especially since Abed was told to expand his his horizons and Troy was now spending his time more often with Britta.  Even though I'm still not loving the two of them together yet, I'm glad Troy wasn't just left to his lonesome.  Britta's no substitute for Abed, but at least she was there to support him and encourage him to "win back his man."  Troy might have gone off in a more destructive way if Britta hadn't been there instead of just screaming at Toby for forgetting his name.

Abed has really made some progress because he realized that although he had a lot in common with Toby, he was no replacement for Troy who is the one who keeps him grounded or "human," if you will.  It might have been nice if Troy had heard him come to that conclusion, but him simply knowing that Troy is his rock no matter how many other friends his makes is enough for me.  Also, Abed didn't need to freak out much being shoved into that phone booth like he would have in the past.  He trusted that Troy would find him, and of course he did.  That was a really cute moment.

Something else that I liked was when Britta asked about the only female inspector.  Somehow his explanation about Minera seemed to be sort of directed at Britta:

Yes.  And everyone hates her, not because they're sexist but because she sucks.

I liked how they kept using Minerva as a point of discord between Britta and Abed.   She seemed to have tgotten that shirt with her on it to sort of poke fun at Abed, who didn't agree much with her thoughts that Minerva was kinda cool.  It really shows you how Abed and Britta are like polar opposites when it comes to taste.

I thought Annie seemed a little delusional when she was pretending to be Jeff's wife, even if it was just for fun or to pass the time.  I mean, she seemed like a bigger psycho when she brought Jeff into it and made him look like a philandering weasel.  Still, I'm glad that she made him stop lying to that Thoraxis fan.  It made him look sleazy, and his accent was terrible.

My favorite part of their story was actually when Jeff stopped acting like he was too good for the convention and let his inner geek out by shouting Thoraxis' catchphrase.  He even ripped open his shirt and stood dramatically.  It was sort of cute that most of the other fans bowed down to him.   He should have done that sooner and had fun with it rather than sulk around the hotel like a jerk.

The only good thing about Pierce an Shirley joining the focus testing was Pierce's contribution to the show.  When Abed saw the Inspector Spacetime that was made with Pierce's suggestions, he had me laughing at his whispered "I hate you."  I wish I could see Abed get some kind of revenge on him somehow.

So far, I like this episode better than the other two.  It's not exactly noteworthy, but I feel like things are starting to pick up.  I hope that they will be able to have a story that makes me like Britta and Troy together better.  Right now I can't see her as much more than a third wheel to the Troy-Abed dynamic.  I'd rather see Jeff and Annie give it a go again, though.  They were sort of interesting as a fake married couple at least.  I don't know if they would really be so great if they were really man and wife.  Pierce and Shirley didn't have a big part in this episode, but at least they contributed to a final laugh in the extra scene.  Can't end an episode much better than Abed quietly furious at someone.

Great To See The Greendale Crew Again!

Community, S04E01

Jeff fought for admission balls in the Dean's games for the History of Ice Cream class.  His friends didn't want to help him, feeling betrayed at the news that Jeff only needed the one history class to graduate early.  Annie and Shirley decided to play some senior pranks.  Britta joined Troy in his beginning of the year tradition of making wishes at the fountain.  Abed, via Britta's instructions, went to his happy place and refused to leave when hearing about the changes that were to come with their final year of school.

I can't deny that I've missed this show and was dilgently waiting for its return.  I can't say, though, that I really loved any part of this season premiere. What I liked mostly was just seeing their faces and remembering the dynamic of the group.  It's generally entertaining to see them doing just about anything because they're a weird group of people.  However, I didn't laugh as much as I had anticipated.

I definitely missed Dean's outlandish outfits.  This time he was dressed in a red dress and later a tango dress while doing the "Hunger Deans."  Besides the costumes, I didn't really think the games were funny or anything.  Maybe if it hadn't just been Jeff running around to get the balls I might have liked it a little better.

Annie and Shirley could have stirred up some trouble doing pranks around the school, but they didn't do much of anything than realize that Jeff wasn't being as big of a jerk as he seemed.  I did sorta like that Annie was really bad at coming up with pranks, such as moving the Dean's stapler, but that was only slightly successful as a joke when the Dean mentioned he was having a bad day because someone moved in stapler in the end.  Apparently she was right about that being able to drive him crazy.

I'm still not used to the idea of Britta and Troy testing the waters or whatever they are doing instead of officially dating.  In fact, it took me a second to remember that they thought of each other in a romantic way.  I had forgotten about that because they haven't really done much as a couple yet.  Anyway, I didn't like much her messing with the tradition Troy and Abed had made together.  Yes, Troy should be more open to things outside of what Abed deems as right, but on the other hand if it's a choice between Britta's world and Abed's world, I think that Troy better fits in the latter.  Abed may be a little out there, but at least he's intelligent.  I can't get over the fact that Britta just always sounds so stupid, so her giving her two cents about how they should do their fountain wishes wasn't welcome to me.  If this is how their interactions are going to be from now on, I don't see myself supporting them as a couple.

How I have missed Abed and his fantasies.  In the Abed TV universe, I liked that Pierce existed as Fred Willard.  I could get down with that replacement, even though it would be harder to imagine Willard as a naturally rude and racist old man.  It was also cute that when the others were looking at job magazines, "Pierce's" magazine read "Coffins."  Still, even though it was just inside of Abed's world, it was a little annoying to hear the studio audience.  I thought at first they were doing that on the real show and I was about to get scared.  Later, when Abed went into his happy place within his happy place, I got a little kick out of him changing everyone into cartoon babies called "Greendale Babies."  I don't know why, but that was a little funny.  The best thing, though, was when everyone was trying to bring Abed out of his own mind and Jeff walked up to Abed.  In Abed's mind Jeff had told one of his trademark speeches to solve whatever problem was going on that week, but this time Jeff hadn't even gotten the chance:

[Abed] That was a killer speech, Jeff.
[Jeff] I-I didn't say anything.  I literally just walked up.

I also liked the little promos going on during Abed TV.  It was cute to see Abed and Troy in chef outfits in "American Sword Chefs."  What in the world would that show be about?

At the end, Chang was shown handing a mailman a note about his "Changnesia."  He was naked and seemed really confused.  Not sure what to expect from him this season, but I'm a little excited to see him get back into the mix.  Chang was definitely my favorite teacher of theirs.  He needs to have a place at the school again.

Lastly, there was a little extra segment of Abed TV where Abed and Troy were in drag.  It was kinda funny that Dean refused to believe that Britta wasn't a man.  I like the idea that Britta looks less feminine than Abed and Troy do if they were to dress like women.

This episode was okay.  I'm just happy enough that this show is back on the air to worry too much about what the first couple of stories are about.  I am worried that the show might not be able to continue once they do graduate, but I also couldn't see how they could stretch out another year of school at a community college.  There weren't many laughs this time around, but I mostly liked another glimpse of Abed viewing the world through TV eyes.  He seems to be already on board with the changes that will come with the new school year, but I'm sure Abed will find trouble adapting with something else and we'll be treated with Abed TV once more.

Friendship Will Always Prevail

Community, S03E22

Jeff began to focus on completing the phony degree he used to lawyer with, but his friends were too concerned about Troy's absence or their problems to care about passing biology.  However, Jeff decided to represent Shirley when Pierce got his own lawyer to battle her for the right of ownership of the sandwich shop they had finally been granted in the cafeteria.  Troy was miserable at the AC school, but after the vice-dean passed mysteriously, Troy saw there was a need for him to be there.  He defeated the man who had setup the vice-dean's death and claimed the position as the "True Repairman."  Thanks to him taking on that role, he was able to return to the main campus with his friends freely.  Abed also struggled to keep Evil Abed out of power with Troy gone and only Jeff's closing remarks about helping others helped "regular" Abed return.

For a season finale, I felt like this episode wasn't as moving as the other two, but it was still good.  Abed definitely stole the show again with his descent into madness with Evil Abed resurfacing.  I became more convinced that he wasn't going to be all right when Britta revealed that she was going to counsel him now that Troy was gone.  She couldn't counsel the rain to fall if it was already raining.  So it was a delight to see Evil Abed already in place, whittling down at Britta's sanity and turning her dark.  I like that he kept referring to the darkest timeline from one of my favorite episodes and was determined to change things into that timeline.  Still, I didn't think that he was so unbalanced that he would get a bone saw and go after Jeff!  I was so scared he was going to cut him!  Thankfully his cord was too short.  I was laughing when he tried to get Jeff to approach him, and Jeff just kinda ignored him.

Another part that was good was seeing how unhappy Troy was at the AC school.  He just didn't seem to belong, even with everyone in identical uniforms at the school.  But I thought that when the vice-dean suddenly died after telling Troy that he was destined to be the "True Repairman," it was just a ploy to get Troy to accept his fate.  Instead, it seemed that the man who replaced the vice-dean had just arranged an accident to bump him off.  Wow.  And they would have never known if Troy hadn't challenged the murderer in the Sun Chamber.  I liked how Troy just stood in there with his arms folded and then fixed the broken AC unit in a second.  Damn, he has skills.  And despite that he's not the strongest guy around, he does have common sense and can wield leadership when it's necessary.  This was shown when the ACs guys wanted to lock the murderer in some another weird chamber of their own:

When Troy finally came back to the group, I absolutely loved when he went straight to hug Abed, even though Britta was right in front of him.  He totally ignored her for like a good couple of minutes until she had to wrestle away his attention.  He did hug her, but I felt more love between Troy and Abed again than with Britta and Troy.  She's definitely going to have to try a little harder than that if she ever wants to capture his heart.

I'm not sure why at the very end we saw them taking down the Dreamatorium (but Abed still had a cardboard box with the grid lines inside).  Did they want to get rid of it to prevent another Evil Abed incident?  And besides Britta, who else knew about it?  But maybe she told the rest of them about it.  It was also interesting that Chang was seen lurking in the air vents of the dean of City College (who seemed to be plotting something against Greendale again).  So perhaps he'll be gaining a position of power there in the next season.

Well, the finale wasn't as great as I wish I was, but it wasn't too bad.  There was some good jokes and, of course, we got to see a different side of Abed that was disturbing and funny.  Even though the season ended a lot quicker than I expected, I'm happy that it will be around for at least one more year (here's hoping for more!).  I'm nowhere near ready for it go off the air!

The Fall Of Chang, The End Of Trobed

Community, S03E21

Jeff and the study group implemented a plan to save the dean from Chang.  After getting information about the extent of the Chang's army around the school, they were able to remove the dean from the basement Chang was holding him, but Chang stopped them before they could escape and locked all of them up.  Troy got them free by agreeing to be part of the AC school, and they stopped Chang from blowing up the school with fireworks.  Just when Jeff and Chang looked like they were going to go head-to-head with tasers, the school board came and informed Chang the jig was up.  Chang ran away before he could be prosecuted and the dean was reinstated.  Troy had to leave his apartment for the AC school housing and said goodbye to his friends.

I liked how Chang was looked upon as a savior of Greendale, and there was some kind of video at the beginning of the episode about how enrollment was up and tuition was more affordable.   I expected that Greendale would have turned into some kind of hellhole where order had been totally cast aside.  In truth, Chang was running everything into the ground (most apparent from his excessive spending to cover his birthday party), but at his party the board was treating him like a hero.  Chang was aptly dressed as Napoleon, the clothes making him look both hungry for power and off-balance.  I'm a little sad that he had the appearance of a king (with an elaborate throne in his office), but in reality he didn't seem to have heavily established his power.  In fact, I felt like he was just using his power to fund his random whims and get himself pampered.  I sort of wanted to see him hanging a blanket of doom over the students.  I think only the security detail outside that looked more like a militarized border control and his black suited mini-guards patrolling the halls were the only example of that.  But maybe Chang didn't have enough time to "chang" things.  Then again, if he had any more time as the leader of Greendale without opposition, he would blown it up.

As far as the gang's heist, I think it was clever that they pretended to fail so that they could get the jump on Chang, but I wished they had made their escape with the real dean a little faster.  They were strolling out of the school like they were in freaking Oceans Eleven.  I groaned when Chang caught up with them.  Chang would have been an idiot not to.  But at least thanks to Troy he got them out.

Speaking of Troy, it's looking like they truly are going in the direction of Britta and Troy.  Not exactly the biggest fan, but I'll see how that pans out.  The return of the dean wasn't that emotional for me, but it was when Troy had to say goodbye to his friends.  I liked that Pierce said something random about condoms, and Jeff followed it by saying that Troy should never listen to Pierce.  I might have gotten a little in favor of Troy and Britta when Britta gave him a lock of her hair and his response was:

Aww, creepy.

 But I'm probably more in favor of Troy and Abed as a duo because I was tearing up when they had to say goodbye.  Troy leaned into Abed's ear and whispered something and then they did their special handshake.  Annie later asked Abed what Troy had said:

He said, "I know you hate it when people do this in movies." ...Sorry for getting so emotional.

It just broke my heart to see Troy and Abed have to be separated!  If I had to wait a whole week to see what happened next, I would have died with anticipation.  How can they do their talk show without the other one or all of the other amazing things they do??  It's just not right for them to be apart.

I liked this episode, but obviously not as much as I loved the previous one.  I'm disappointed that Chang didn't take his leadership as far as he could, but I'm glad we got to see him enjoying himself as a self-proclaimed king for a little while.  I nearly cried watching Troy leave the gang, but I know that they can't possibly leave him out of the circle for long.  There just wouldn't be a Community without Troy and Abed together.  And if there was permanently, I wouldn't want to watch that for very long.

Greendale Gang Goes Gaming

Community, S03E20

Just when I thought this show couldn't amaze and blow me away, they had an episode where the gang was turned into video bit versions of themselves and had to complete a mission in a classic RPG fashion.  I absolutely love classic bit designed games (sometimes I feel like the excessive realness of games is distracting) and RPGs, so this was an absolute pleasure to watch.  Pierce's father had designed the game so that the person who defeated him would get his inheritance, but they had no idea that Gilbert, the late Hawthorne's secretary, would fight against them as an incredibly skilled opponent.  They were angry at Gilbert for using such underhanded techniques to keep Pierce from his inheiritence until they learned that he was Hawthorne's secret child whose father had wanted to keep under the rug even after his death.  Pierce and the rest decided to just let Gilbert win, and Pierce embraced having a brother.

Who knew that a story revolving around Pierce (my least favorite character) would be so good?  As soon as they all morphed into their game characters of themselves (with a cool bit version of the theme), I was overjoyed.  I basically liked the episode throughout, even with Gilbert kicking their butts, but I'll try to focus on my three favorite aspects.  It's hard to pick when even Pierce was hilarious in his old man-esq lack of skill where he was stuck in corners and unintentionally digging himself underground.  You put these character who already funny in human form into game form, and you pretty much double their hilarity.

One of the best things was the racial and intolerant tones of the games, which was reflected in almost all areas of the game.  It was no more apparent than the names of most of the towns in the game world.  These included "Village of Laziness," "Gay Island," and "Black Cave."  These were all meant to portray stereotypes about Latinos, homosexuals, and blacks.  We didn't get to see what was in the first two towns, but in the last there were afro-headed "jive turkeys" attacking the gang.  It was so ridiculous, you had to laugh.  The late Hawthorne really did just hate just about everyone, despite that he had an affair with a non-white woman.  It's funny how people can spend so much energy on prejudice (and screwing over their own children) to the point that it just comes off as too comical to be taken seriously.  Each time he took a stab at hippies or the disabled ("Free Ride Ferry"--really?), it just made me wonder with amusement how else he could make himself look like a foolish old man with his intolerance.

Another of the great moments was when Annie and Shirley went to the weapons shops.  I know none of them (except Abed who is that kind of genius) had no real idea how to play the game (it seemed like it had a lot more player capabilities than your usual RPGs), but I never expected that Annie would set the blacksmith on fire, beat him to death, and try to hide his body!  It was so funny!  Usually in the games you can't grab torches and throw them at townspeople.  I loved it!  Then to add to that great scene, Shirley burned the blacksmith's wife and beat her to death too, claiming they would have no witnesses to their crimes.  Never would have guessed those two would be acting like murderers.  Plus, thy burned down the house just to be sure!  Wow!  If only you could do that in some games.  That would be so awesome!  It was so great the sort of things they could get away with in the game.  One of my main annoyances about role-playing is that you are limited to certain things, but not in their game.  It was simply wonderful.

The absolute best thing about the Hawthorne game was Abed's romance with Hilda and the ease in which he began to change the game to suit his own purposes.  I loved how taken he was with Hilda once he found out she had all kinds of information he could learn about.  Some of my favorite topics were:

• cinnamon island
• raccoon clothes
• unstable bath
• unkillable bears
• island of annoying voices
• collect all blue coins
• boring regular old fire
• fun murder quests

Hilda had an incredible list of topics that I'm sure that Abed listened to in their entirety.  I was amazed that he decided to stay by her side when her parents died and stayed in the village with her.  Wow.  He was really in love.  He continued to amaze me with the transformation he did in the city, with a huge, golden building where a mold of his head sat at the top.  I thought it might end there, but then Hilda suddenly made a baby for him!  A little Abed baby saying "cool, cool, cool."  But even better was that was the conversation Abed and Troy had during then:

[Abed] She can make me babies.

[Troy] Oh, and I can't? ...I can't.

How I love the bond between Troy and Abed.  Only with those two would that conversation not raise an eyebrow, but just make you laugh.  He was jealous of basically a computer program.  But with Abed's peculiarity, something electronic or digital is more likely to steal Abed's attention away from Troy than any flesh woman is.

But I felt a little uneasy that even within the fantasy of a game that Abed was using his children as slaves, mostly in those mines (it was funnier when the babies were used as ammo).  He made so much progress (in a conquering way) that I wouldn't have been surprised with more time left to himself that he would have been able to replace the old man as the end boss (and changed all the racist lands into Abed-themed towns).  It's interesting that Abed has these dictator qualities that he sometimes gives off.  I'm really glad that he does have Troy by his side.  As seen in a later episode Abed stands on edge when it comes to dancing on the dark side.  But luckily he has friends who give him a better purpose, like using his new establishment in the game to provide the gang with weapons to weaken Hawthorne.  Good thing Abed is part of the gang and not working for Gilbert.

Can't praise this episode enough.  If I could make one complaint it would be that it didn't encompass the whole 3 blocks of Community time we had this Thursday.  Not to say the others were crap, but this one was so good, it should have been much longer.  But I guess that the non-geeks of this show would get too bored with that.  Well, whether long or short, this still ranks as one of my favorite episodes of not just this show, but also one of the best of all TV I seen.

Abed Is The Sanest of All

Community, S03E19

Abed had to see a psychiatrist to avoid trespassing charges from the "dean."  Jeff and the other accompanied him (he hates to see doctors on his own), and they all defended Abed's eccentricity by showing their own and proving that he was no crazier than any one else.  The doctor not only determined that Abed should be committed, but revealed that Greendale was not a school but an asylum they had all attended for 3 years.  Everyone believed him for about a few minutes before they got the truth from him--he was working for Chang and the dean had been replaced with a lookalike (as Abed kept telling them).  They planned to get the dean back.

I'm happy that the gang was still finding a way to see each other after two months have passed since their expulsion.  Troy had a really interesting dish that had Bagel Bites, Doritos and a deconstructed Hot Pocket mixed in it.  I probably would try that no matter how odd the combination sounds.  It was also good to see Abed up to some mischief, wearing his Inspector Spacetime outfit, but unfortunate that it led to him having to go see a psychiatrist.  Especially because he was probably trying to find evidence to prove that the dean had been kidnapped and replaced and no one was paying attention to his theories.

I loved that Jeff and the others went with Abed to the psychiatrist.  On one hand you could think that they had nothing else better to do (being ex-students with no jobs), but on the other hand, they all really love Abed so much that they wouldn't let him go alone.  They didn't let the doctor step over Abed and make him sound insane, but instead made themselves sound just as crazy (if not crazier) than Abed through stories of their own lapses of sanity.  Now that's friendship.  But I really liked when they were recalling some highlights of Abed's weirdness.  Troy had a really good quote about him regarding that:

You have to understand about Abed, he’s usually adorable weird like Mork from Ork but since we got expelled he’s been creepy weird like present day Robin Williams.

Some of the best Abed memories were Shirley's and Pierce's.  In the former, he got pissed that Shirley claimed someone was the "new Speilberg" and called her a  "bad person."  I could see him shoving the tray in her face if she wasn't his friend.  I love angry Abed.  But the latter, where Abed was narrating Pierce's life, was absolute gold.  I couldn't stop laughing at that.  He was saying such rude stuff and Pierce was getting so angry!  And it was great that he even narrated when Pierce spoke to him, but made it seem like Pierce was talking to himself.  Abed is so damn good!  That was my absolute favorite scene.

I got a little scared when the doctor said that Abed needed to be committed, but I was glad that Jeff was trying to joke his way out of it.  It was cute when he told Abed to do his Don Draper impression and all Abed really did was pose and say "cigarettes."  Adorable.  But what I liked best is that they didn't readily accept that Abed should be locked away as if he were a maniac on the rise.  It made my heart smile to see them fight for him.

It was also a little cute how they noticed how the dean always used to have their back, even for the most trivial things.  He's creepy and odd, but he's most certainly their friend, whether they want him to be or not.  He's at least less of a negative existence in their past Greendale life than Chang was.  If anyone needs to be committed, the guy snorting corn chips up his nose like crack is a better choice.

It was a good trick that the doctor pulled on the gang to make them think that Greendale was never a college.  They are a little guillible sometimes, so I'm not surprised they began to believe it at first (plus they are a little co-dependent at times).  I almost thought that would be a great twist (though kind of a cop out) on this show, but I was happier that they caught the doctor trying to sneak out and called him out on his shit.  If they hadn't, Chang would have been able to keep them oblivious of his plan (save Abed) for longer, and he might have come up with a better plan to eliminate them.  Plus, it was really funny when the doctor tried to come up with another lie on the spot about Greendale being purgatory and Jeff slapped Troy for falling for that.  Oh, Troy.

It's also funny that Chang was plotting to take care of them now that they were on to him.  He is really starting to look a villian!  I like how he's changed from an unqualified Spanish teacher who used to make their lives unnecessarily miserable to a power-hungry mastermind.  I wonder what will happen to him if he's fired from that job?  Someone as crazy as him can't be left to his own devices for very long.  He's needs to have some kind of task or we might see him setting off explosives somewhere.

It's wonderful how the gang all hugged each other when they realized they weren't crazy and that they had something they needed to do (aka save the dean).  Chang may have one foot in the crazy house right now, but his horrible plan is really bringing them all together.  I thought they were tight before, but they are really proving that their bonds go deeper than a shared class or school.  I can't imagine anything ever breaking them apart.

This is one of my favorite episodes.  It's been a while since I've liked one that wasn't a more adventurous tale of battle or chaos in the school.  This time I just really enjoyed the depth of everyone's friendship and the hilarious memories they could look back upon.  Abed, although being silent throughout most of the doctor's appointment, was really funny through his friends' eyes.  Finally, everyone has seen that their enemy Chang needs to be taken down and the dean needs to be rescued.  Can't wait to see how Chang plans to stop them and how Jeff and the others manage to take him down.

Abed and Troy As Cops? Hell, Yeah!

Community, S03E17

This week, the gang was spoofing Law and Order.  I've never watched it before, but I could still appreciate the joke.  The gang's yam for biology was destroyed and Annie employed Shirley to find a culprit that she and Jeff could take to Professor Kane to get the grade they deserved.  Shirley, a fan of crime shows, immediately tasked Abed and Troy to interview suspects and do the leg work.  After talking to a lot of people, the two pointed the blame to Todd, one of their initials suspects.  They had a court-like session in the biology lab, with Professor Kane as the judge, and proved that Todd was the one who dropped their yam jar.  However, Jeff realized that Todd wasn't entirely to blame and requested that both of them be given C grades.  In Jeff's closing remarks, he revealed that the reason Todd dropped their jar was because another student was sabotaging everyone's projects to prevent his girlfriend from failing.

I liked that Troy and Abed were acting like cops, but were careful enough to know that they didn't have the actual power to hold anyone against their will or punish them for their crimes.  They really commit to any role that someone gives them, especially if it's reflective of a TV show or movie.  The best investigation work was when they had to catch Starburns in the library and Troy dressed up as a "typical nerd" to bait him.  Their plan was so ridiculous, yet it worked like a charm to get Starburns to steal Troy's bag.  Then they interrogated him with the "good cop/bad cop" method.  They were acting insane, but for the most part, everyone was cooperating with them.  In another scene, Abed was flying off the handle when it looked like Jeff and Annie wouldn't be able to pin the crime on Todd with his real lawyer present.  He was shoving off papers on their tables like he was really pissed off.  I loved it.

Another person who was pretty funny in this episode was Professor Kane.  I liked how he was annoyed by their court room antics, but allowed them to act like that anyway.  The part I liked best about him was when he was defending the honor of the pinky swear Abed and Troy made with Starburns.  Kane wasn't about to back down even when the Lieutenant Lawyer was demanding that the person who saw Todd in the room have his reasons for being in the biology lab explained.  He can be some a formidable presence when he wants to be.  But he is an incredibly fair man.  Maybe a little hard, but he is damn fair.  And I respect his character for that.

I was amazed that Jeff was the only one who picked up on the strangeness of Todd burning himself on their jar.  I thought that was really weird and wondered what that was about until Jeff brought it to attention at the end of the "trial."  I never expected it would be Neil behind it.  Actually, scratch that.  When he was talking to Abed and Troy when showing them the log, I had a good feeling he was involved in the crime.  After all, he commented that he had already heard about their yam being destroyed and that his yam had bloomed.  There was no need for him to say all that.  I didn't think he would have done it so he could have sex with his girlfriend.  What a weirdo.  Good thing Jeff showed how mushy all the yams were or Neil would have gotten away with it and all the blame would have gone to Todd.

The last thing that was funny (in a creepy way) was the extra where Shirley wondered why the boys were still bunking in the study room.  The dean came in with warm milk and sang them a bedtime song that proclaimed he would be there staring at them when they woke up the next morning.  What the hell??  Still, it was cute that Abed and Troy were comforted to sleep by this weird lullaby.  I have no idea why the dean is taking care of them, though.  That dean is such a mystery.

Sometimes I think that this show would be great if it was nothing but parodies.  I like seeing what roles each of them can play in a different situation besides being a student.  They can turn all kind of problems at school into a creative and more serious matters than they are.  Really love how they can do that.  But I guess if they do it all the time, it wouldn't be as special.  However, I'm willing to see them prove me wrong.  So far, I've enjoyed every one of their extraordinary adventures from the paintball fights to the Law and Order case.  This show better have many, many more opportunities to stretch their creativity in the future.

Pillows Versus Blankets, Part Two

Community, S03E14

The conclusion of Abed and Troy's epic pillow fort battle was told to us in a mock documentary style, narrated by Keith David.  There seemed to be no reasoning with the two commanders of Blanketsburg and Pillowtown, even with Jeff's weakest attempts.  In fact, Jeff was content to stay on the sidelines, texting and occasionally giving speeches to the two sides to prolong the battle as long as possible to keep himself out of class.  Thanks to Annie, he gradually changed his position to be neutral and tried to get the two friends to reconcile.  Meanwhile, Pierce was battling Chang's army of kids, and Shirley was knocking down as many people as she could with her mighty pillow attacks.  It was Jeff who got Abed and Troy to eventually put down their pillows, but it was them losing their chance to get the world record that made the rest of the "soldiers" throw in the towel (or blanket, if you will).

Hearing Keith David's voice and watching the format of this episode, made me feel like I was back in class for a minute.  I really enjoyed that since they were mapping out Greendale like a real battlefield.  The serious way that they presented the story emphasized how little meaning the fight had at all.  It was easier to laugh at it, instead of getting annoyed about how Troy and Abed were acting like kids who just needed to make up already.

I particularly liked that the narrator was making fun of Greta's photographing skills.  He made a good point that just because it's in black and white, doesn't mean that it's good.  Greta's pictures looked like the stuff people take by mistake from their pockets with their camera phones.  He gave her credit for capturing the moment that Abed and Troy became one again, but she just got lucky when she was trying to get the light hitting off of a stack of pancakes.  What??  Who takes pictures like that?? I loved the stupidity.

What I didn't love was the cheap shots that Abed and Troy were making on each other.  Abed wrote an email that listed all of Troy's weaknesses, making it seem like he didn't have an ounce of respect for him or his feelings.  Troy, in return, told Abed that Troy was his only hope for a friend because no one else would have the patience.  They were being so mean to each other!  The worst kind of mean where it's nothing but the ugly truth.  But I guess it's good they got some things off their chest.  A friendship without any arguments sounds a little too good to be true (even for TV).

Usually, when Jeff comes to "save the day," it just makes me roll my eyes.  But this time, when he used Abed and Troy's child-like nature to prove they valued their friendship, I thought he was sweet.  I mean, he didn't just pretend to put their friendship hats on them again, he went back to the dean's office, pretended to find them, fixed them, and then brought them back to place on their heads.  Way to go above and beyond, Jeff.  He may never stop being self-centered, but he does care about his friends on some level.  Even if Annie needs to push him (though, I feel like he's always trying to please her because he wants to date her), he'll eventually get it through his thick skull what the right thing is to do.

On a random note that I meant to mention last time, it's pretty annoying that Subway is sponsoring Community.  Advertising on shows is nothing new, but I absolutely hate it when it's so obvious (an example that comes to mind is recent episodes of Psych where they practically have a commercial within an episode).  I suppose now with Subway being a part of the cafeteria, we will have to see a glimpse of their brand in every episode now.  Boo.  It might be necessary for funding or whatever, but can't we make these things subtle??  Ugh.  I'm not going to go to Subway because I like this show.

Anyway, as long as Troy and Abed got back together (and we got to see them doing their routine extra at the end of the episode--pledge drive), I liked the episode.  I wish their battle was a little more exciting and less of a joke, frankly.  It was good, but it could have been better (I'm shooting for the stars because the paintball episodes were so good).  Also, I liked how it ended with Jeff talking with the narrator and him asking if he was in The Cape.  The narrator pauses and says no, but we know that Keith David surely was.  Good ending to a good episode.

Pillows Versus Blankets, Part One

Community, S03E13

The stories of Jeff apologizing to the mysterious Kim who sent him a hate letter before "she died" and Shirley and Pierce's using Greta as a pawn to bring down a personified version of Subway Corporation were nothing to the story of Abed and Troy starting a war over a pillow and blanket fort.  This was an unfinished story, so it's unclear whether the rivalry between the best TV duo I know is going to end up being a permanent thing.  Despite that the vice-dean had a hand in creating the rift between these friends, my dislike of Abed continues in this episode.

I have little to say about the non-Abed Troy stories, but I was interested in one aspect of Greta's story.  The man who played Subway was Travis Schuldt!  No matter what I see him in, I will always see him as the original Ethan Winthrop from Passions.  I don't think I've seen him since his short-lived role on Srubs.  In this episode, he managed to sweep someone as cynical as Greta off her feet and was his usual charming self (Ethan was always pretty hot).  It's too bad he had depraved sex with Greta and the corporation took him away and replaced him with a less handsome look-alike.  He and Greta could have made a cute couple.  And it would have been nice to see her in love instead of being the source of negativity for everyone.

Now onto to Troy versus Abed.  I worried if the tension we saw last week would still be there this week, and it totally was, even though it looked like the two were fine.  Nothing says Abed and Troy like a pillow fort, but thanks to the dean suggesting that they go for the Guinness Book of World Records for a fort made of either pillows or blankets, Troy started to feel second-rate to Abed.  It's so hard for me to abandon all of the love I have for such an unique character like Abed, but through Troy I see how selfish he can be.  Troy was eager to take on the challenge of breaking the record, but Abed (although, wanting no glory from building a fort beyond the fun they could have) ignored Troy's desire completely.  No wonder it was so easy for the vice dean to whisper in his ear that Abed didn't respect his opinion--he wasn't lying!  When Abed was telling him how to stack the pillows before he told Troy to basically go ahead and waste his time building a pillow fort but he wasn't going to help, I was almost a little happy that Troy ran off.  I say little because I don't want them to fight!  But I understand why Troy would feel like he wasn't important to Abed unless Troy was doing something for him.  

I changed my mind a little about Abed later when he rather easily agreed to tear down his fort in order to make room for Troy's (so he does care about Troy's desires?), but of course, the vice-dean came and interfered right before Abed pulled the crucial sock (I guess that would have sent everything crashing down?).  After that, Abed wasn't backing down, nor was Troy, so they were both the leaders of their own little pretend forts.  Seeing them stand on opposite sides broke my heart, but at the same time it was a little exciting to see.  They usually work together, so if they go against each other, which one of them would win?  I wouldn't be mad if they resolved their issues easily after one heart-to-heart talk (because I love them together and I don't care about plot when that's concerned), but I doubt it will happen if they are going to drag out the story until next time.  And what sort of fights will they have with pillows and blankets?  That's extremely interesting to me.

If the next episode can turn to anything like that fabulous paintball story, I will die.  That was insanely cool!  I didn't think they would do anything like that again any time soon, since they just brought back Community and all, but perhaps they're playing all their cards while they can (who knows if someone stupid will try to cancel their prematurely again?).  I can't wait for the conclusion of Team Abed versus Team Troy!

Abed's Free-Spirted Quirkiness Borders On Selfishness

Community, S03E12

Last night we saw that Abed, although very cute and amusing with his love of make-believe, was so busy satisfying his own needs that he didn't realize that he was causing trouble for people who are supposedly his friends (most of all Troy).  Jeff, too, showed a new level of his personality by taking therapy that allowed his ego to run dangerously too free.  With the gang being forced to act like famous impersonators at a teenager's party, you would think that would be enough "excitement" for one episode.  Nope.  As a cherry on the top, we had Chang's return to Community and the rise of his "Chang Warriors."

I want to start with Jeff.  I'm not sure why, but I sort of liked him on anti-anxiety pills.  I think that most people like him who are so full of themselves are actually covering for their complete lack of confidence, so I viewed Jeff as a more likeable, confident man.  I thought that Greta was simply just trying to bring Jeff down (as she likes to be a downer about most things) until she warned him about his ego exploding like an over-pumped apple (glad Jeff questioned why she would use an apple to illustrate his ego over-inflating).  I was surprised that Jeff actually listened to Greta and asked for her help when he saw that her warnings were more valid than her psychology credentials would suggest.  She couldn't really do anything for him while the women at the party were fawning over him and the guest of honor was being showered with vanity awards, and he unexpectedly turned into an super-ego fueled Hulk.  That was a pretty good moment.  Jeff was acting like a crazy person, but somehow he managed to save Abed's legs by not ruining the party.

Abed's legs indeed needed saving.  This might have been one of the few episodes, if ever, that I wanted someone to shake Abed or even hit him.  Troy was being a great friend by not only convincing the gang that they owed to Abed to participate in the party so that Abed's debts would be cleared, but he also worked his ass off to make sure that everyone performed well enough to the manager's standards.  All the while, Abed was enjoying himself at the party, with not a care in the world.  I loved how threatening French Stewart's presence was in this episode; he and Troy had some funny exchanges.

The best thing about the gang having to work at the party was that the manager said that with Troy and Greta they would have both versions of Michael Jackson.  LOL.  Shirley as Oprah was a no-brainer, but I would have never guessed those roles for those two.  I felt a little bad for Pierce who couldn't be the celebrity he wanted, but at least one of the guests at the party recognized him as the fat version of Burt Reynolds and made an old man happy.  You gotta toss Pierce a bone every now and then.

When Troy saw that Abed was continuing to purchase the lookalikes for his own entertainment, I wasn't shocked, but I began to worry about their friendship.  I was more worried when Abed didn't recognize Troy's anger (although, you wouldn't expect him to), and Troy had to spell it out for them.  It seemed like Abed was able to trust Troy a little more and their relationship was going to go deeper, but then Abed brushed off Troy's company to play and also didn't do their special handshake with him!  What??  They always do that in the end!  If Abed ruins their friendship, it will break my heart.  They are great characters by themselves, but nothing beats a combo like Abed and Troy.  It just wouldn't be the same!  I wonder if they will address this next time, or wipe the slate clean of their problems.

I wish there was more Chang, and yet I wish he hadn't been there at all.  I'm a little worried about what Chang is planning by recruiting people to work with him, especially since he doesn't really do anything of  value at the school currently.  I never thought he would be able to trick some kids into his security intern program.  If the kids haven't caught on by the next episode that Chang is not operating with a full deck of cards, I would like to see his plans for his new army.

Not sure what's going on with Abed and that other version of him (Evil Abed?).  Does that signal the start of Abed going off in a sinister direction apart from Troy?  Don't do this to me, writers.  I was so looking forward to Troy and Abed getting into strange situations together, not moving apart from each other.  Chang needs to have more screen time so I can hear more of the crazy things from his mouth I had come to love once upon a time.  As for the other characters, I have no complaints at the moment.  Let's see if that will continue for the rest of the "season."

"Normal" Abed And Troy Are Still Funny As Normal

Community, S03E11

Finally Community came back last week!  It was worth the wait to see the gang back to their usual Greendale routine.  This episode was mostly about Shirley's second marriage to Andre (Gotta love Theo, aka Malcolm Jamal Warner).  This standard ceremony (as standard as a marriage ceremony set up in a room at a college could be) sets the background for everyone to act anything but normal, except perhaps Annie who was unsurprisingly her typical girly self who was dying to get involved with the wedding.  It was sort of relief to watch this show after a while (especially fearing that it would never be picked up again) and see that it was still as funny as I remembered.

Greta was her usual self, giving everyone her downer opinion of why marriage was horrible and repressive, but she contradicted all of her complaints by being the "Martha Stewart" of weddings.  She could amazingly arrange flowers into a beautiful piece of art and transform that study room into a romantic wonderland that most girls would give their left leg to have their nuptials performed.  It was good that she was fighting so hard against her natural instinct to become another "Stepford wife"; sometimes with Greta's need to argue against everything, you forget she's a woman for some reason.  She comes off a little manly, I think, because she's not very honest about her feelings and thinks that every establishment is some kind of social scam.

Jeff, as if to mirror Greta, went off in a drunken spiral about how marriage was a lie and would have ruined the ceremony if not for Greta's ranting and Shirley and Andre's fight beforehand.  I definitely would have guessed that his parents got divorced, although I don't think that is the main factor that leads him to be so jaded.  But the fact that his parents couldn't stay together must have hit him really hard since he couldn't bring himself to just lie and make a semi-decent speech about how wonderful it was that his friend was going to get married.  I'm glad that Andre and Shirley got the "marriage is the worst" club to shut up and renewed their vows.  I couldn't listen to Jeff whine about how miserable he was made through the loss of his parents' union nor Greta about how she was surrendering to marriage (she should be so lucky that someone would want that brand of crazy to wake up to every morning--though, I bet only Jeff would be able to match that as a husband).

My favorite thing about the wedding was that Shirley asked Abed and Troy to act "normal."  Although I love the two to death, I think it is a reasonable request because they have imagination levels that are off the charts at most times.  When they decided that they would tone it down for Shirley's sake, I was worried that they would become so stereotypically "normal" that they would be even weirder than usual.  Instead, they pulled off normal pretty well!  It was hilarious when they were talking to Andre in their sympathetic, "normal" tone, but all he could hear was sarcasm.  So great.  I almost didn't want them to turn back, but I'm sure it wouldn't be as funny after a while.  I mean, it only works in a comedic fashion because it's a contrast to the bizarre rocket these two can get on over even the smallest thing once they have set their mind to it.

On a completely different note, does Pierce look a little younger?  It might be perhaps he wasn't dressed too much like a retired old man and his hair isn't as white as it usually was.  I'm not entirely sure.  I'm a little disappointed that he and Shirley didn't get to have their little sandwich shop together.  I think that would have set up some crazy situations down the road.  But I guess they don't really need to try hard in Community to set up the weirdness.  It will just come naturally as this weird study group interacts with each other.

So glad that Community is back in the NBC mix.  It was especially nice since there was no Parks and Recreation to watch last Thursday.  I've heard some buzz about Chang (you brought the show back and didn't have him all up in it??) being up to no good in an episode soon, so I'm excited about that.  "Senior Chang" was probably one of my favorite characters a while ago, and I have missed the insane stuff he used to say.  He best be in the next episode.