[5/5/21 UPDATE: These links don’t appear to be active anymore. I’ll re-link if they show up again somewhere. In the meantime, the commentaries ARE available on the Season 6 Blu-ray!]
I still haven’t re-watched every Community Season 6 episode with the addition of Dan Harmon’s commentary tracks, so I decided to make a post with some handy-dandy links for easy access.
Inspired by the latest AV Club Q&A and the upcoming Cupid Day, here are my favorite TV ships of all time. Generally, I only ship characters who legitimately could get together in-universe. Also, I prefer couplings that are actually healthy for the couples; pairings of folks who are wrong for each other can be entertaining, but rooting for them is something different than shipping (at least the kind that I practice). Organized by category, here are my top choices.
PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN -Barry-Caitlin, The Flash
If you binge through this list, you will get a good sense of the televisual excellence of 2015. These selections lean heavily toward comedy, for two reasons: I watch more comedies than dramas, and comedies naturally distill their greatness more readily into individual episodes while dramas do so more naturally in multi-episode arcs. The top 5 are ranked below, while the rest are unranked and organized alphabetically by show.
You can learn a lot about people from their favorite television programs. TV viewing involves spending a lot of time with fictional characters and more or less forming relationships with them. Who we choose to spend our time with says a lot about our own personalities. With that in mind, here are the current standings for my 50 favorite shows of all time.
SPOILER WARNING: This essay discusses in depth the endings of an episode of Community, a 35-year-old movie, and a classic piece of sketch comedy. If you are reading this, you are probably already familiar with Community’s twist. The Shining works perfectly fine even if you know the ending. But if you have not seen the Key & Peele bit yet, do yourself a favor and watch it before reading.
When I took on this assignment, I thought I was going to be able to cover a whole survey of Shining homages. But then I realized that besides Chang’s misadventures in “Bondage and Beta Male Sexuality,” the only other one I am really familiar with is the Key & Peele sketch “Continental Breakfast.” So I looked up some more to make sure that my suspicion of their proliferance was correct. There’s a 2014 IKEA commercial in which a Danny bikes around a store. The Simpsons did it (“Treehouse of Horror V”). So of course Family Guy also did it. There are plenty of directions one can take with a Shining parody: hammy Jack Nicholson impressions, creepy little kid acting, Shelly Duvall’s big eyes, etc. Focusing on a comparison between Community and Key & Peele is instructive because the crux of both homages is the ending and what they say about the nature of reality.
For my detailed thoughts on my predictions and wishlists in the major Drama, Comedy, and Variety categories, check out these links:
–Comedy
–Drama –Variety
Guest Actor, Comedy John Hawkes, Inside Amy Schumer
Michael Rapaport, Louie
Chris Gethard, Parks and Recreation
Dwayne Johnson, Saturday Night Live
Guest Actress, Comedy Susie Essman, Broad City
Guest Actor, Drama Mel Rodriguez, Better Call Saul
Guest Actress, Drama Allison Janney, Masters of Sex Linda Lavin, The Good Wife
Directing, Comedy Rob Schrab, “Modern Espionage,” Community
Directing, Drama Adam Arkin, “The Promise,” Justified
Writing, Comedy Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna, “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television,” Community
Writng, Drama Thomas Schnauz, “Pimento,” Better Call Saul
Animated Program Bojack Horseman – “Downer Ending” American Dad! – “Dreaming of a White Porsche Christmas” The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXV”
Community, “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” (CREDIT: Yahoo! Screen)
Even if there ends up being a movie or a season 7, I’ll still consider this one of the best series finales of all time.
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in June 2015.
“You saved my life, and changed it forever.”
Just as Jeff Winger was irrevocably changed by his friends forcing their way into his life, so too have “Community” fans been profoundly affected by this deeply personal show. This program and its lead character have always been marked by a push-pull between cynicism and sincerity. The guy who made a fake study group just to sleep with someone now cares so much that he cannot let go of the people he met through it. The sitcom that was so distrustful of institutions and deconstructive of all conventions ended the season (and possibly series) with the most heartfelt message from its creator about how much his audience has meant to him.
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.
“Do you try to evolve, or do you try to know who you are?” Season 1 ended with Jeff facing this dilemma. As the years have gone on, this issue has come to define his show as a whole. Season 6 has brought this conflict to a head. Do you try to evolve beyond paintball, or do you try to know who you are and recapture your original homage episode glory?
Community, “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry” (CREDIT: Yahoo! Screen)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.
It is quite the challenge to make a good sitcom episode based around boredom. But that was what Abed – and by extension, “Community” – was attempting to create for this road trip gone awry. He knows the difference between real life and TV, and when he has blended the two, he has done so in a way that felt natural, that is, as natural for someone as odd as him. But imposing explanatory flashbacks onto his actual reality is in physically impossible territory.
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.
“Grifting 101” is the first fully themed episode of “Community” Season 6. The typical Greendale shenanigans have been present this year, but not quite in a way that has overwhelmed everything for a half hour. The pop cultural references have also been there, of course. Just last week, “Intro to Recycled Cinema” took inspiration from “Star Wars” and its schlocky knockoffs, but it was not a full-on pastiche. Greendale was making a space movie, but it had not become a space movie. “Grifting 101” actually was a con man story that purposely mimicked the genre’s tropes. The elements lifted from “The Sting” – the hand-drawn chapter title shots and the ragtime version of the theme song – ensured that this is still a show that can be ambitious in this fashion.
Jmunney's Blog 
Links to Dan Harmon’s Season 6 Communitary
October 29, 2017
jmunney Community, Television commentary, Communitary, Community, Community Season 6, Dan Harmon, Dan Harmon commentary 2 Comments
[5/5/21 UPDATE: These links don’t appear to be active anymore. I’ll re-link if they show up again somewhere. In the meantime, the commentaries ARE available on the Season 6 Blu-ray!]
I still haven’t re-watched every Community Season 6 episode with the addition of Dan Harmon’s commentary tracks, so I decided to make a post with some handy-dandy links for easy access.
1. “Ladders”
2. “Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care”
3. “Basic Crisis Room Decorum”
4. “Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing”
5. “Laws of Robotics and Party Rights”
6. “Basic Email Security”
7. “Advanced Safety Features”
8. “Intro to Recycled Cinema”
9. “Grifting 101”
10. “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry”
11. “Modern Espionage”
12. “Wedding Videography”
13. “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television“