There were a lot of promising pilots coming into this new season of television, and one of the most talked about was NBC’s Community. It was fresh, different, and had a very promising cast including The Soup host Joel McHale and comedy legend Chevy Chase.
I have to admit that as the show went on I was a little disappointed. It didn’t seem to live up to the promise of the pilot, and other new comedies (including Modern Family and Cougar Town) outshined it week to week. It seemed like there was too much focus on Jeff and Britta, and then something great happened. Focus shifted to the rest of the cast, everything came together, and Community got better. As the season has gone on, Community has only continued to improve.
Jeff and Britta weren’t my only concerns over the show. I was happy to see Chevy Chase back on TV, but I was afraid that he was going to be mailing in his performance. Let’s face it, his career hasn’t really been on fire the past few years. I’m thrilled to say that Chase has really come through. In recent episodes he has been doing some of the physical comedy that he is still so good at.
The best part of the series, however, is the cast as a whole. The ensemble has really gelled and it feels like a well rounded show at this point, not just a Joel McHale vehicle. The relationship and interplay between all the characters is really working well these days. Julia pointed out how great Abed and Troy are, but that’s only a small portion. In recent weeks we’ve seen great connections made between Britta and Shirley, Jeff and Annie, and Pierce and Britta.
I recently wrote about some of the minor characters in Parks and Recreation shining this season. I think that something similar has happened on Community with the addition of Jim Rash as Dean Pelton. He’s hysterical as the hapless, well-meaning dean.
I know I’m looking forward to more of this show. Are you enjoying Community?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Dec 08, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
The show has definitely gotten better as it’s gone along, especially with the shift away from Jeff & Britta. After Abed, I’d pick Shirley as my next favorite character. The only grating part is their Spanish teacher, who is annoyingly played way, way, way over the top. Chevy Chase manages to be subtle and ridiculous at the same time. I’d like to see more of John Oliver as one of the other professors, too. I do wish they’d cut back on the “Jeff learns another lesson on his way to being a human being instead of a jerk” plotlines–they do get tedious. But overall, a great, if somewhat cynical, show.
Agreed on all of the above, and love the brilliant, subtle humor sprinkled throughout each episode. I still get Jim Rash mixed up with J.P. Manoux every time, though.