Sunday, October 6, 2024
On “Community” this week, we’re back to focusing on the original members of the study group: Annie (Alison Brie), Abed (Danny Pudi), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), Jeff (Joel McHale), and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) — but ultimately this is Jeff and Shirley’s story. Like most Jeff and Shirley stories, the theme of “App Development and Condiments” is competition. Greendale is ground...
Now that the Olympics are over, “Community” is back, but I’m not sure this was the best episode to come back with. It’s good that the show is trying to work in its new characters — Professors Duncan (John Oliver) and Hickey (Jonathan Banks) — in a way that feels organic. They’re part of the Save Greendale Committee, and it...
If you played Hot Lava as a kid, where you stood on various pieces of furniture to keep from touching the now lava-covered floor, then you’ll understand what “Geothermal Escapism” is all about. On the day Troy (Donald Glover) is set to leave Greendale, Abed (Danny Pudi) initiates a school-wide game of Hot Lava for Troy’s going-away present. If there’s...
Thankfully, “Cooperative Polygraphy” addressed a few of the concerns I’ve had with this season of “Community” so far, namely the splitting of the group and the lack of emotional connection. This episode was a group effort with all six of the study group members involved in the main plotline, and of course, since they were dealing with Pierce’s death,...
Ever since “Community” pulled out a mafia episode and a paintball episode at the end of season one, the show has been praised for its “high concept” episodes — ideas that can be easily summed up and will appeal to a number of people. For instance, you can describe “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” as the stop-motion animated episode, or “Intro...
If you watch “Community,” you probably know about the largely negative reaction to season four, written without the show’s creator, Dan Harmon. After the negative reaction, Harmon is back for season five with a premiere of two strong episodes, which bodes well for the show. Given the 13-episode lineup, it seems strange to air two of them on the...
Chances are, if you were on the Internet on Saturday, you saw someone mention what is now officially (according to Guinness World Records) the largest ever television simulcast: the “Doctor Who” 50th anniversary special. We knew “The Day of the Doctor” was going to be a big one, teaming up the two most recent Doctors (Matt Smith’s Eleventh and...