“Anthropology 101” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, September 23, 2010 If Community was a sports team, “Anthropology 101” would mark the start of its “rebuilding” effort. Where the show’s first finale went off the rails, its second premiere works … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S2E01, “Anthropology 101”

“Pascal’s Triangle Revisited” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, May 20, 2010″ One of the dirtiest little secrets of Community is that it never quite sticks the landing. Other than the series-ending “Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television”, i can’t think … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E25, “Pascal’s Triangle Revisited”

“English as a Second Language” originally aired on NBC Thursday night May 13, 2010 Couple things: 1) Community never set out to be “the show that just parodies everything”, and 2) nearly anything that followed “Modern Warfare” would seem like … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E24, “English As A Second Language”

“Modern Warfare” originally aired on NBC Thursday night May 6, 2010 Community doesn’t really “become” Community until “Modern Warfare”. That’s the accepted narrative, anyway. i happen to disagree with this, but i’ve long since stopped kidding myself. Without “Modern Warfare”, … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E23, “Modern Warfare”

“The Art Of Discourse” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, April 29, 2010 It’s not as if i don’t understand why “The Art Of Discourse” has such a negative reputation among Community fans. Its placement in the episode order makes … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E22, “The Art Of Discourse”

“Contemporary American Poultry” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, April 22, 2010 Emotional anchors — that’s what made Community’s concept episodes work so well. Such a simple and important idea, and yet one that is so often overlooked in discussions … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E21, “Contemporary American Poultry”

“The Science Of Illusion” originally aired on NBC Thursday night March 25, 2010 All it takes to redeem a whole episode is one perfectly-executed scene. Not that “The Science Of Illusion” ever comes close to being bad, but until the … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E20, “The Science Of Illusion”

“Beginner Pottery” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, March 18, 2010 Anyone who writes about Community for long enough will eventually face the question of what its setting means. Why is Greendale? What is so special about this place that … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E19, “Beginner Pottery”

“Basic Genealogy” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, March 11, 2010 Workplace sitcoms are just family sitcoms with a different setting. Community was somehow both and neither — mainly because over time, it grew into a show that could be … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E18, “Basic Geneaolgy”

“Physical Education” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, March 4, 2010 Sometimes an episode of Community succeeds because it explores a resonant theme, or it nails the tone and feel of a certain genre dead-on, or it creates an iconic … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E17, “Physical Education”

“Communication Studies” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, February 11, 2010 Hello and thank you for coming to my TED talk about cringe comedy. Community was not a cringe comedy — arguably, to the detriment of its popularity. But that … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E16, “Communication Studies”

“Romantic Expressionism” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, February 4, 2010 “Romantic Expressionism” is a near-flawless episode of television, and the strongest outing this show has had since “Comparative Religion”, so naturally i want to open this article with some … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E15, “Romantic Expressionism”

“Interpretive Dance” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, January 21, 2010 Back in May, we ran a “Best Episode Of Community” tournament. Perhaps predictably, it was the gimmicked-up concept episodes that proved to be most popular. Chances were, if voters … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E14, “Interpretive Dance”

“Investigative Journalism” originally aired on NBC Thursday night January 14, 2010 It’s official — Netflix is where shows go to be reborn. 2020 has seen a slew of existing shows premiering on Netflix and surging in popularity, from Community to … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E13, “Investigative Journalism”

“Comparative Religion” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, December 10, 2009 PLARN: Dear Tereglith, In our essays about the first eleven episodes of Community, we’ve both written at length about the evolution of the show, often tying it in with … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E12, “Comparative Religion”

“The Politics Of Human Sexuality” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, December 3, 2009 In popular culture, college is often stereotyped as a period of maximum bacchanalia. Countless movies have depicted students marking their young adulthood by unleashing their wildest … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E11, “The Politics Of Human Sexuality”