Valloween; Or, Community Returns to Form

Community had a somewhat rocky season 4 premiere last week, but this week's Halloween episode (it was supposed to air October 26th!) "Paranormal Parentage" was a funny, sweet, and a little bit spooky Valentine for fans.

The study group is meeting up at Greendale CC to head to Vicki's awesome Halloween party; Troy and Abed's "Calvin and Hobbes" costumes were absolutely adorable and perfect (seriously, Donald Glover rocked that tiger costume!), and the miscommunication between Jeff (as a boxer) and Annie (who was supposed to be his ring girl, but showed up as the creepy little ghost girl from the movie the Ring) was actually a pretty clever touch. Britta is inexplicably a ham.

Okay: Tangent. I never know whether to expect anything between Annie and Jeff; of course it's been hinted at pretty heavily since the Season 1 finale, but I almost feel like choosing "now" to expand their relationship (or close the lack there-of) would seem a little tired since the writers have already settled on Britta and Troy exploring their relationship. I hate it when shows shoehorn as many couples as possible at one time, especially when it's relationships within the main cast. At any rate, I liked that Annie stood up for herself when Jeff said "are you naive?" and she replied "I'm sure as stuff not your sexy little ring girl!". You go, Annie! That being said, she felt more like her early Community self as opposed to the more confident and clever girl she's (supposedly) grown in to.

The episode itself centers around "rescuing" Pierce from his panic room - along the way, spoooky mishaps happen to the study group as they divide up to search the house and look for the passcode. Could it be the ghost of Pierce's overbearing (and extremely racist) father? Unlike last week, the B and C plots didn't feel rushed or cheap. Britta is intent on solving Jeff's own daddy issues, and Shirley (unintentionally) shakes Troy's confidence in his ability to keep up with Britta. Abed finds the secret security room and watches the events unfold from behind the revolving bookshelf. Annie, in an act of meta so meta that it's just mindblowingly meta, reveals that she hates reference humor. Touche, Community. You do not disappoint. On the whole, though, the humor was somewhat low-key. It's not that most of the jokes didn't land - it's just like the show wasn't even trying to raise the bar humor-wise. It was a comfortable and reassuring "shhhhh, don't let the last episode give you the wrong impression."

Hawthorne Manor was a real treat to finally see - we'd heard so much about it from when Troy was living there, yet it's taken this long to get a proper glimpse of the place. And, of course, Torg the Norwegian Troll is missing from his rightful place on the bookshelf. Much like Pierce himself, the decor is stuck perpetually in the 1980s and giant picture of Chevy Chase Pierce, in his glory days, adorns his bedroom.

Now, I love Community and its doses of whackiness and suspension of disbelief (especially with the Halloween episodes). However, as much as I felt this episode will hopefully be indicative of a season that can only go up from here, I really am looking forward to a plot in the study room, at Greendale, with the characters grounding themselves and dealing with slice-of-life issues. The Study Group has a way of finding and amplifying the craziness among the normal goings-on at Greendale CC and I really like those episodes the most, I think (for example, their extreme and overblown hatred of Todd is really funny to me).

Finally, I love that Britta is ready to start her journey of becoming a Spacetimian.

Abed's Happy Community College Show: a Review

At last! At last! Community has returned to us! And to...semi-disappointed reviews? A slight bump in ratings? Oh...that doesn't sound good.

A lot has happened since Season 3's finale; Creator Dan Harmon was fired by Sony, prompting the hiring of two new Showrunners, Chevy Chase finally showed himself out, NBC only ordered the front half of a season, making Community's 4th season a sure 13 episodes long. Talks of cancellation were abound, and fan groups banded together to spread the word about the show. Adding insult to injury, the show's cries of "we're not too meta and high concept to be enjoyed by everyone!" were drowned out by another "lol look at nerds they're so nerdy! NERDS!" joke on the Big Bang Theory, which gets all the ratings ever.

A lot of the criticism behind the Season 4 opener "History 101" had to do with the "feel" of the show. Now, full (yet possibly redundant) disclosure: I actually haven't watched the episode yet. I wanted to get down these feelings of anxiety and anticipation after hearing word that OMG COMMUNITY ISN'T THE SAME ABANDON SHIP!

That's not fair. I'm going into this, my beloved show, with the hopes that the episode isn't on par with the season as a whole if it is truly bad. On the other hand, I've heard people say that the quality is equal to that of some of Harmon's weaker episodes, so that gives me a little insight as to what to expect.

Well, everyone, give me your hands, show me the door, I cannot stand to wait anymore:

"History 101"

The cold opening was genuinely pretty good; a multi-camera sitcom whitewash (complete with laugh track) that relied completely on identifying things and saying that they were things while whacky hijinks ensue (like everyone showing up with the SAME HIPSTER GLASSES!). I'd like to believe this was a not-so-subtle "Fuck YOU" * to NBC, the Big Bang Theory (as Abed makes some sort of half-hearted nerd joke the likes of which Sheldon Cooper would utter), and maybe the whole idea of the generic Sitcom formula that seems to thrive these days despite having been done to death. We go on to find out that this is Abed's "happy place" inside his mind - he'd started out with a babbling brook, but decided to incorporate aspects of his own life into it. As Abed is established as seeing things through rose colored tv-trope lenses, the show cuts to a meta version of the opening credits (referenced in the title of this blog post). Abed's internal happy place aside, I'm sticking to the idea that the cold open was definitely a message of some sort - would it take Community selling its soul to finally get the ratings it deserves? WOULD THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY, NBC?

Now, that being said, the tone itself does feel a bit off. Not Multi-cam laughtrack off, but there's something happening here that I can't put my finger on (and I'm not talking about Dean Pelton in a dress riding through the cafeteria in a chariot announcing "The Hunger Deans"...that's pretty normal). It's not Jeff's admission of his graduating "early", or New Jeff at all, or Abed's brink of mental breakdown at the idea that the Study Group has only a limited amount of time together. Is it the directing? The lighting? The cinematography? Was the catering spread subpar?

Is it because the group dynamic is broken up so early in the episode? The Study Group is barely in one place at the same time, instead opting to show Pierce and Abed side by side, Annie and Shirley together pulling pranks, Britta and Troy being progressive and making wishes, Jeff doing...the tango. Even the "Greendale babies" segment wasn't that out of the ordinary...but at the same time it wasn't hilarious.

Heart? Is the episode missing heart? The organic kind of feeling that this is actually a school, where it took people time to get to, and the people in the background are trying to get to class or eat lunch, and things happen in a way that's only meaningful to the Greendale 7 (and therefore to the audience as well)?

Okay, the ABED TV Blinde/Blonde promo was pretty funny.

"Can somebody tell me what the hell we just did?" I'm kind of confused, too, Pierce. For once, we're on the same page. I mean, the plot makes sense. The jokes are there. But nothing seems finished, or fleshed out. Jeff's characteristic "speech" at the end seems wasted because the episode wasn't set up correctly for it. The reviewers were right; it wasn't a great episode. It could have been so much more, and it should have been.

For all the people I've been bugging to get into Community, I urge you not to judge the series on this episode. Thank you for tuning in and giving it a shot; if possible, please go back and watch the first three seasons. You'll see why I love the show and really want it to thrive to Six Seasons and a Movie, but not at the cost that the latter half of the series loses what makes it so special in the first place.


* Sorry, dad, for the language.

From inside the snowglobe: Continuity and Fictional Universes

Note: On Occasion, we will be reposting updated posts from the Quo Vadimus, the first iteration of this blog. Some might say this is because we're out of ideas, and they may be right. Just as accurately, we feel these posts are worthy of the "high standards" of Doctor Strangeblog, and deserve being exposed to you, our readers. We considered also editing the posts for content and to better cultivate our ideas, but we decided to keep the posts as they are, warts and all. In other words, we don't cotton to Special Editions around here.

Originally Posted: September 6, 2012

If you look at the majority of my favorite TV shows, most are serialized to some extent. They range from fully serialized shows such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, to Star Trek: DS9 which has standalone episodes, but is dominated by a clear serialized storyline. Even Futurama, which isn't all that serialized in many episodes, has a clear line of continuity and a few multiseason arcs. Of my most favorite shows, only The Simpsons and Newsradio really don't have any serialized elements.

I'm not entirely sure why I favor serialization of more episodic shows. I think it's because I love getting enveloped by the mythology and back story, and abhor the usual repetition and note hitting of largely episodic procedural shows such as Law and Order, CSI, and NCIS. Frankly, they are tedious and slow to me, much in the way many people think about shows like Mad Men.

Of course, because I enjoy Continuity and Serialization so much, it can cause a bit of consternation with some of my favorite shows. The fact is in most cases us fans care much more about this crap than the show creators do. This isn't always the case, particularly the auteur shows like Mad Men or Breaking Bad. However, there are plenty of holes out there. For example, let's talk about The West Wing. Sure, there is a nice story arc for most of the characters through its entire seven season run. Sure, the length of Jed and Leo's friendship varied over time, but that was explainable. However, a bit less explainable* is that sad magical village known as Mandyville. Here former media consultant Mandy disappeared to without explanation after the first season. Also disappearing into this land were Republican Ainsley Hayes, youngest daughter of the President Zoey Bartlet, and several other secondary and tertiary characters. Obviously the most famous resident of Mandyville was Sam Seaborn, who just disappeared without explanation part way through the fourth season. Granted, both Ainsley and Sam came back from Mandyville at the end of the series, but it still was a bit frustrating. I know, I know, magic xylophone and a wizard did it and such**.

Also, it's interesting how quickly you can go down a very deep rabbit hole when thinking about show universes. For example, although there are obvious animation and creative similarities between The Simpsons and Futurama, the former is considered a fictional part of the latter's universe. This is partly because there are Bart dolls amongst the trash asteroid that was threatening Earth in one of the episodes. Your brain twists even more if you've seen a latter-day episode of The Simpsons where Bender makes a cameo. Of course, the best explanation is that The Simpsons is a stupid-age show running during Futurama, and Bender's "cameo" was during one of his short periods of in universe notoriety. Then again, the only references to The Simpsons are from the present day, not in the Futurama timeline (3000-3012). Yeah, I've spent too much time (read: any time) thinking about this crap.

Of course, I would be remiss if I talked about continuity and show universes and left out St. Elsewhere. The amount of connections that could theoretically exist and relate to the end of that series is absolutely astonishing, and there is even a "hypothesis" about this. Obviously this is going way too far, and clearly wasn't the intention of the writers of the show***. Still, it can be fun at times to think about this stuff.

Although it was one of the few shows that didn't have a connection to that St. Elsewhere finale, one episode of Newsradio did parody that ending***. Which I suppose should be appropriate considering that show's lack of serialization. In the end all of this stuff, even the really well tuned and serialized stuff, is fake. They are all constructs of fiction, perpetuated by fans and (for the forseeable future) by the copyright owners. Unlike our universe, these can be extinguished by us forgetting about them, or expanded into additional universes, where different possibilities and timelines exist. Hell, perhaps our universe is just a fictional construct of some other beings. Eh, whatever, as long as we aren't in the darkest timeline.



*It is less explainable in-universe. Obviously real world situations explain about every one of these.
**If you don't get these references, then God, Jed, I don't want to know you. Or you are twelve, and thinks The Simpsons is that so-so show before Family Guy.
***Or maybe they just want you to think that's the case. The truth is out there, man.
****I would have loved to point you to a clip of that ending, but I couldn't find it during a short search.

My Favorite Seasons of TV: Part Two

The Simpsons: Season Four
This was the toughest one of the bunch to pick. Frankly, any of seasons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 would be worthy for this list. However, one of them stands above the rest just enough to represent what is quite arguably the greatest TV show ever. That season is season four.

Why? Because this is the season with "Marge vs. the Monorail" and "Last Exit to Springfield", two of the most cromulent episodes of the entire run of the show. And other than maybe the clip show, every other episode in this season is top notch. This is the season of "Mr. Plow", "A Streetcar Named Marge", and "Whacking Day". It is the season that began with "Kamp Krusty" and ended with "Krusty Gets Kancelled".

GABBO!

GABBO!

GABBO!

Um...excuse me. The season dealt with issues both thorny (faith) and well-trodden (young love, both done excellently. It is the season of "Can't sleep, clown'll eat me. Can't sleep, clown'll eat me." and "Iron helps us play!"

Hell, even Ralph has his day in the sun, reaching deep down and using heartbreak and humiliation to give one heck of a rendition as George Washington. Sure, some day he'll bend his wookie, but for one episode he was truly more than a joke.

Of course, there are several more great moments, but I don't have much space. Instead, enjoy music clip from "Last Exit to Springfield".



(That oughta hold the little SOBs)

Futurama: Volume Four
Frankly this season would be in the running if "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" and "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" were the only episodes in this season. However, there were many other episodes, such as the beautifully trippy "The Sting" and "Farnsworth's Parabox". The vitriol towards Fox (or network TV in general) can be felt from "Bender Shouldn't Be Allowed on TV", or the superhero parody "Less Than Hero". Oh yeah, can't forget about "Leela's Homeworld", particularly the ending.

Yep, a truly great set of episodes.

Oh, and we can't forget about this, can we?

Parks and Recreation: Season Three
We are conditioned to think more is better. So when we here a show has its episode count cut, we are worried about how that will affect the show. It has caused problems for some shows, including one that will appear later on this list. However, for Parks and Recreation, I think the abbreviated third season was an asset.

The season can be broken into two parts: the first part which resolves the Harvest Fest arc (filmed at the end of season two), and the nine other episodes, leading up to Leslie's big decision. Somehow the Ron, Leslie, Ben, Chris, and the P & R gang pull off a Harvest Fest, an impromptu wedding, and a beautiful memorial service for a Pawnee institution in those sixteen episodes.

My favorite part of the season has to be how Leslie just totally fights through her flu to give one hell of a presentation for the Harvest Fest. Somehow, I was as pumped watching that as Ben seemed to be, both simultaneously remembering Michael Jordan's lit-er-ally ill performance in the NBA Finals. Of course, I remembered this was a TV show, and that wasn't real. Unless Amy Poehler was actually sick during those scenes. If so, that would totally be method.

Community: Season Two
Each season of Community has had its moments. I'm sure even the upcoming Harmonless season will have great episodes and scenes. But by far my most favorite of the three currently produced seasons is season two. I suppose it is because this season had the greatest number of favorite episodes.

What can I say? "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" has made my annual holiday show and film rotation. I'm a sucker for fake clip shows, like "Paradigms of Human Memory", and any show that promises a Pulp Fiction take-off, but delivers My Dinner With Andre instead is a winner (especially if the episode is good). And that is before I even mention "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons", which achieved that precarious balance of nerd wanking that was also heartfelt and earnest. Yep, no one can say season two was part of the darkest timeline.

The West Wing: Season Two
The second season of The West Wing picks right up where the first season left off, as we discover who had been shot outside the Newseum. It doesn't stop until the "Cliffhanger that wasn't really a cliffhanger, didn't you see Jed put his hands in his pockets?" In between, a friend helps Josh find his way out of a hole, and the White House celebrates the pursuit of science, even if the scientific mission failed. A noble senator stands up for his grandson in a far more sympathetic filibuster than most of crap that happens in real life. And all the while, Toby figures out the big secret 17 people know, and we're off on the road to "Two Cathedrals". It is my opinion that "17 People" to "Two Cathedrals" is the best five episode run of any show I've ever seen. If you've watched them and disagree, I can respect that. But if you haven't because you are afraid or can't be bothered, then I don't even want to know you.

Arrested Development: Season Two
I have to admit, this show is hard to sell to people. On the surface it's "plot" (a formerly rich and powerful family rebuilds after the head of the family goes to jail) isn't that enticing. Much of the humor is so densely packed, that it requires multiple viewings to get so many of the jokes.* Unless you've watched it so often that you've almost memorized it, it requires attention. I get all that, but it doesn't matter. This is the best comedy of the 2000s, and one of the best ever.

All three seasons have plenty to offer, but clearly season two stands above the others. Season one was just a warm up, whereas season three started to get a bit sloppy, although still quite sharp. But season two...season two is like all the juice you can drink.

My favorite episode of this season is "Good Grief", which is nestled in the early middle of the season. My favorite part of the episode (and this was tough to pick) is probably George Micheal's sad walk set to "Christmastime is here".



I'd include more clips, but I'm pretty sure after a while I'd include the entire episode, plus most of several episodes around it. Just go check them out for yourself, OK? As your resident maritime lawyer, Chareth Cutestory recommends it.

Honorable Mention: Star Trek: TNG: Season Four, Star Trek: DS9: Season Five, Newsradio: Season Four, Louie: Season Two

*It took me several times watching to realize there was a Henry Winkler "jumping the shark" joke in one episode. And this was one of the more obvious ones.