“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”

“Environmental Science” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, November 19, 2009 From August to December 2009, i was an intern at the sports department of a TV news station. My time there was mostly spent in the editing bay archiving … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E10, “Environmental Science”

“Debate 109” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, November 12, 2009. “Meta” became perhaps the most common descriptor of Community as its run went on; a google search for “Community NBC Meta” returns two and a half million results. But … Continue reading A Community Notification for This: S1E09 “Debate 109”

“Home Economics” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, November 5, 2009 Relationships that achieve a certain level of closeness will, at some point, cross an irrevocable threshold from casually hanging out to far deeper and more intimate terms. Once you’ve … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E08, “Home Economics”

“Introduction to Statistics” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, October 29, 2009. What makes someone fall in love with a show? What makes a television program not just something one enjoys, but a favorite thing, an object to be treasured? … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E07 “Introduction to Statistics”

“Football, Feminism, and You” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, October 22, 2009 “Football, Feminism, and You” aired as episode 6 of season one, but its production code is 103 – it got shuffled off later into the schedule, presumably … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E06 “Football, Feminism, and You”

“Advanced Criminal Law” originally aired on NBC Thursday night, October 15, 2009 Jeff Winger is a lawyer. It is his defining character trait, and the yardstick by which he measures his own success and worth as a person. The entire … Continue reading A Community Notification For This: S1E05, “Advanced Criminal Law”