"Someone tell Britta what an analogy is." "I know what it is.... it's like a thought.... with... another thought's hat on." Jeff's face and shrug fucking killed me.
Holy SHIT 4.89 million viewers last night That is the highest since the zombie episode, which aired on October 28th, 2010
Not it's best, but still a great episode. Troy and Abed's bits were awesome, and Britta was great too. So fucking glad it's back.
The first half was a little disappointing, but it picked up in the second. I love drunk Jeff/Britta. Troy and Abed's routine is getting a little old though, and the attempt to change it didn't work for me in this episode.
From what I understand, they're going to be doing something interesting with Troy and Abed in the back half. Calm down, friend. Also, Troy and Abed had their best moments ever in this year's xmas episode.
I thought the episode was slightly better than the average episode, despite what many have said. Normal Troy & Abed and the Dean particularly had me laughing.
According to her Twitter Q&A, Megan Ganz said that Duncan is still going to be no where to be seen for the rest of Season 3
Although he got a lot better as episodes went on, his terribleness in the first episode almost made me give up on the show, so I don't give a fuck if he's never in it again.
I was kidding by saying it ruined the season but come on. He was one of the best parts of season two.
Yeah are you guys serious? I've lost it on many scenes that he's involved in. That episode where he was carrying that experiment out, but Abed drove him to the same insanity he was testing for........fuck
When he's on, Abed individually is sometimes my favorite character, and Troy can be hilarious. But I think their "relationship" jumped the shark when they got their own place, which turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some guy on imdb pretty much summed up my feelings about this season so far: but btw, a renewal seems likely according to ratings: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/03/20/nbc-community-likely-to-be-renewed/125138/
I love this season and have no issues with it. It's given us at least 5 classic episodes and it has a totally unique, darker vibe.
I figured out something that made me not like this episode ... they have done "Troy and Abed are weird" way too much. Think of when Annie was moving in ... a big plot in that ep was that their zaniness was going to make Annie's life miserable instead of fun. I swear there are at least one other plot in either S2 or S3 that dealt with this directly. Also, Shirley-centric episodes are always awful.
I still think the show is great, but they've definitely taken the 'Troy and Abed are weird' thing too far this season.
I don't see this at all. I get confused when people act like she's just there and they try to fit her in somehow. To me Shirley has had some of the most interesting and rewarding character reveals. Whether it's finding out about her alcoholism, her husband, her forgiveness of his infidelity and abandonment, the lengths she will got to to maintain her pride, her gossipy past with another group etc... It's never felt forced to me and it's always made me enjoy her that much more. The only other character that comes close in this regard is Annie. Shirley doesn't always get the best gags but I've also had some of the biggest laughs of an episode with her. Breaking down and joining the choir of children in the recent Christmas episode for example. Sure she's pretty insular but guess what so is the rest of the group. They aren't just an island unto themselves but also amongst each other. Almost every character has been shown to be foreign and a detriment to the whole. A forced puzzle piece that doesn't quite fit. The whole group gets examined in this way. It's because they are so different in background and interest. It's a breeding ground for contempt and discord. I think the reason why some don't forgive Shirley for this as much as Jeff or Pierce is because she's not as fun or gut busting as the others. So if people say she's just not funny that's fine I'll give you that but to say she is not a fleshed out character is something I just can't get behind.
I can't speak for everyone else since others added to my original post on Shirley, but I agree that they've established "who she is" and we don't ever see them conflict her character for the sake of a joke. However, I think it's a problem to focus episodes on her because her trials never seem funny to me. It's funny to me that Annie (for example) is so naive and trusting because she gets taken and has to awkwardly deal with things she doesn't like (great example being when she wouldn't say "penis"). On the other hand, the "conflict" of her husband being mad that she's late to a recital in a study room? I was like "oh". Even just "be a stay-at-home mom" vs. "be an independent woman" wasn't funny to me, it was just there. I think my all-time favorite Shirley moments are when Jeff figures out that they can gossip together between classes. We dug just a LITTLE bit under her squeaky-clean personality and saw some meanness, and most importantly it was funny. Stuff like the baby, the ex-husband ... it's realistic character development, but it's not funny. It was even worse to have it counter-acted so drastically by Jeff and Britta's zany antics and Troy and Abed trying to be serious but coming across as bizarre. You get these outlandish side bits and then the whole episode screeches to a halt for "serious time with Shirley".
Yeah, all that seems fair. Like I said I don't begrudge anyone from saying she isn't so funny or that episodes centered around her are not always the best. I do think she works better as a complimentary accomplice in story lines rather than the focus with some notable exceptions. I was mostly getting at the general feeling I tend to get from some people that they could just do away with shirley completely. I definitely couldn't.
I think Britta is the most annoying, it's like they're suddenly trying to make her this.. wacky hippy, but she just doesn't pull it off well imo
Maybe Shirley's trials don't seem funny to people (ie Taco Tuesday), because they can't relate to her either comically or tragedically/seriously. For example, the bit last week where Shirley and Andre explained that when you're married "you have to work at it every day" is absolutely true, but you have to be married to really understand what that means. No one takes Pierce seriously as an adult figure because he's too zany and racist, and no one takes Jeff seriously because he's 40-going-on-23. It's Shirley who is the real "adult" of the group, and because of that it's harder to really relate to her. Let's face it, none of us really want to be adults.
Preeeetty sure that's her whole character, actually. She's a wannabee... that's her thing. Like others have stated, at this point Troy and Abed are the only characters dragging things down. Their whole twin-weirdos bit has burnt itself out, and I'm hoping that the writers have done that on purpose so that they can bring them somewhere interesting (being serious for half an ep doesn't really count).
Part of my point, thought, is that the line you mentioned is like "a very special episode of Community". I don't need serious life lessons from this show, it's a comedy. Not saying there can never be drama, but this show usually avoids cliches and tries to keep everything fun and light-hearted.
That line in particular wasn't just a cliche like, "oh, we'll-throw-it-in-there-because-it's-an-episode-about-marriage". It resolved the fight between Shirley and Andre because they realized the truth in it, and it reminded (or told, if you aren't married) the audience that Jeff and Britta's opinions about marriage were immature.** And for the record, I think that a bit of drama or seriousness like that sprinkled throughout a comedy reinforces the comedic parts, not detracts. **Everyone hears how marriage is a crock, and it's reinforced by TV, movies, and anecdotal evidence about how married people are unhappy a few months after getting hitched. This is the belief that Jeff and Britta were holding on to, because they didn't know the truth that the reason those marriages were unhappy is because the people either stopped working at them or never knew to start in the first place. /marriage rant over. That's why I said, if you're married/have kids/etc, you get Shirley better than if you don't.
To me these kind of "lessons" are a huge part of community. I don't ever feel it being done in an after school special kind of way either. This show has some interesting things to say that aren't rooted in your laughter but your heart. Pierce's mom's speech, hell almost all of Jeff's speeches, Troy's coming of age etc... Why is Shirley any different from those concepts. Or maybe you didn't enjoy those either? As far as the cliches I guess this is a disconnect between us because I feel like almost the entirety of the show is built on cliches. It doesn't shy away from them but plays with them in more innovative environments and story lines. Shirley is the stereotypical black woman I grew up with in church. A great heart but sometimes a little judgmental. Troy is the dumb jock we all know. Pierce is the zany old guy who is desperately trying to cling to his youth and failing. And so on and so on. The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds - Jeff Winger
