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Community S4 |OT| I Remember When This Show Was About Community College

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Yup, I really enjoyed the Jeff/Dad stuff (thought it was ruined a bit by the fake heart attack, which I understand is a running gag in this show but still felt inappropriate during the scene) since I have some unaired stuff between me and my dad. I could totally feel what Jeff was feeling with how he yearned for a father to simply care for him, and would go to extreme lengths just to feel better (i.e. cutting himself to make it appear he had appendicitus) and finally telling his dad off. I honestly got teary eyed, and I don't think that's ever happened during a Community episode.

Surprise! Whole episode was homage to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's "Why don't he love me man?"
 
Jeff's visit with his Dad was the first story that I really enjoyed this season. The half-brother felt completely unnecessary, though, as did the fake heart attack.
 
Nert said:
Jeff's visit with his Dad was the first story that I really enjoyed this season. The half-brother felt completely unnecessary, though, as did the fake heart attack.
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I read over the AV Club review and I liked their spin on it:

Weirdly enough, the scene between Jeff and his dad also put a pretty solid capper on the Jeff and Pierce relationship. Since Chevy Chase checked out of the show or became too antagonistic to be dealt with or whatever, the show has had to backpedal from some of the stronger material featuring his character, which usually dealt with how he was simultaneously an omen of what Jeff Winger could become and a stand-in for the father Jeff never knew. When Jeff’s dad tries to get out of an emotionally complex moment by faking a heart attack, it’s a callback to all of the times Pierce has done something similar, and the episode suggests that Jeff isn’t just moving past his father and all the baggage from that relationship. He’s also moving past his fears of becoming Pierce. Now, granted, this all feels very sudden—in reality, this would probably take years of work—but it’s a TV sitcom, and I suspect we’ll see something more of this at some point or another.
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Overall, I did a rewatch and I really do like this episode. Totally forgot about the great return of the study group table scene at the beginning.
 
Jest Chillin said:
Plenty of Gaf still watches, though they may not post. Personally I feel less and less urge to post due to the general direction the thread has taken.
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Yeah. I havent been actively posting since season 1, and now that negative discourse is either so over the top (posts like "Season 4 fails the basic tenants of sitcom writing" or the weird recent discussion about how sitcoms should never reuse a side character) that Im not even sure where to begin in engaging it, or so bitter (one week I saw a poster straight trash a dude for liking the episode and called him a blind fanboy who couldnt see the TRUTH of it sucking or something) that I really dont feel like dropping my two cents.
 
The Jeff/Britta side of things was pretty solid, but I mostly hated the Thanksgiving at Shirley's. That whole plot felt like a real cheap, standard sitcom setup. I can picture countless sitcoms with the cast hiding away in a garage, and the prison break stuff wasn't funny or clever, so there was no great twist on the idea. I was also rather annoyed that the characters were so clueless and selfish about the situation.

gabbo said:
Britta felt more real and like her pre-Britta'd self (evn with Jeff's mention of it)
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I very much appreciated that.

How do you have Chevy Chase doing pratfalls and not showcase that on screen?
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Chase is too old for doing real pratfalls. That's surely a decision based on what's practical and possible (insurance, etc) more than a creative one. Plus, I don't think they could afford to have the additional set.
 
Really enjoyed this episode really felt like a typical Community episode
Jeff's storyline was really good and i quite liked the half brother but i may be a bit biased due to really liking the actor
 
This episode was good overall, but Willy Jr. was so repulsive and annoying. Whose idea was it to add that guy to the episode? Did not fit at all.

The Shawshank prison stuff was forced, but serviceable. I'm just glad we had more Britta+Jeff development instead of Annie, Annie, Annie.
 
Also, one more question...they didn't green screen parts of the study room at the beginning did they? The close ups looked really...off. I'm probably just tired.
 
Dan said:
Chase is too old for doing real pratfalls. That's surely a decision based on what's practical and possible (insurance, etc) more than a creative one. Plus, I don't think they could afford to have the additional set.
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But he was doing them as recently as season 1. Kind of sad to not see it. Wish they hadn't spent all that time in the garage.
 
inm8num2 said:
This episode was good overall, but Willy Jr. was so repulsive and annoying. Whose idea was it to add that guy to the episode? Did not fit at all.
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It's an interesting idea to show how Jeff could have turned out, but it didn't work very well in execution.
 
I liked it quite a bit. It was a "heart" episode and the shawshank b-plot was great too.


Writers are doing a good job of minimalizing Pierce. Although I wonder if they edited him out of more episodes once he quit.
 
gabbo said:
It's an interesting idea to show how Jeff could have turned out, but it didn't work very well in execution.
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Would've been more funny if they simply had Joel in a flabby suit and acted totally different and whiny like White Abed (Joey) from Season 1.
 
Lijik said:
Yeah. I havent been actively posting since season 1, and now that negative discourse is either so over the top (posts like "Season 4 fails the basic tenants of sitcom writing" or the weird recent discussion about how sitcoms should never reuse a side character) that Im not even sure where to begin in engaging it, or so bitter (one week I saw a poster straight trash a dude for liking the episode and called him a blind fanboy who couldnt see the TRUTH of it sucking or something) that I really dont feel like dropping my two cents.
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I've mostly stopped paying attention to the online fanbase of this show because it's gotten so over the top negative. It's either that or the fans are really, really in love with the show - which isn't bad, but it can get old fast, especially when people start getting smug about it (the one-sided war against The Big Bang Theory is the best example I can think of of the fanbase being too passionate). I've been liking Parks and Rec a lot this season partially because the fanbase is really chill for the most part, but then again I think that show is way less erratic than Community, so the viewers have less to worry about.

Liked this episode a lot, definitely hit close to home in some ways which was the kind of personal connection I haven't really felt with Community in a long time (maybe since season two).

The Shirley plot was pretty boring though, aside from Troy.
 
I liked the Jeff/Britta story. The Shawshank stuff was forced and lame. Not understanding why some people think the half-brother was unnecessary. I thought the story only worked because of the presence of another son that was "cared" for by the dad. Unfortunately the part of the brother wasn't written very well, but he did OK with what they gave him. I was just happy that the actor wasn't doing his usual Jack Black impression.
 
As far as enjoyment goes, this is probably my favorite episode of the season. The comedy still comes across as desperate but the dramatic moments worked very well and Joel McHale was terrific.

Man, Chevy Chase has really checked out, hasn't he?
 
I know I sound like the flavor-aid drinker, but I've enjoyed every ep of this season so far. The plot over at Shirley's house was a little frantic overall and disjointed, but the overarching joke of Abed trying to force it into a Shawshank mold and failing was great.

With the Jeff plot, I came in with no particular love for Adam Devine (don't watch Workaholics, sorry), but it wasn't that funny overall -- though Britta did some great comedy. But it was certainly really solid in the dramatic stuff though. Also, I enjoyed William Winger Sr launching into a Winger speech.


Production values have taken a severe beating this year, with the exception of the SpaceTime con, which looked pretty good. Ah well.
 
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hubba hubba,
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This thread,
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I can't really describe whats different this season, but it's worse.

The most offensive groaner of a joke was Shirley at the very end of the episode "Oooh, I'll have to remember this for next year!", blech
 
&Divius said:
Okay, I'm done with the show. Couldn't even finish this last episode. So long Community.

:(
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I got interrupted by a phone call a little over halfway through the episode and when I came back I had no desire to continue. I'll leave the series recording set up on my PVR but each episode I've watched this season has been little more than disappointment.

Going to rewatch the earlier seasons to make sure I'm not just losing my mind.
 
This episode was the first one this season that i really thought Community's back. Previous ones were ok, i enjoyed watching them, but there was something off about the writing. This one was spot on.
It started as a Community episode, with them at the table, escalated quickly and ended as well as it could.

Minor problem was the half-brother character, but i guess he could be pretty much the Chang of this episode, and gang's escape to the garage was too abrupt, there should be a scene there building that up.
 
Nice! Community got a 1.5/5 this week.

It was actually NBC's most watched show from 8-10 and nearly beat out total viewers of their 10pm show.

8:00pm Community 1.5/5 3.36 million
8:30pm Parks 1.0/3 2.34 million
9:00pm The Office 1.1/3 2.42 million
9:30pm 1600 Penn 0.9/2 2.18

10:00pm Law & Order SVU 1.0/3 3.87 million
 
rakhir said:
This episode was the first one this season that i really thought Community's back. Previous ones were ok, i enjoyed watching them, but there was something off about the writing. This one was spot on.
It started as a Community episode, with them at the table, escalated quickly and ended as well as it could.
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Pretty much my feelings on the episode. The beginning banter at the table felt exactly like a regular Community episode and had me rolling on the floor. Also enjoyed Jeff meeting his dad and wasn't bothered by the brother character at all. The other half of the episode you could tell was restrained by budget. They did good with what they had to work with, but obviously if the show was doing better and had more money I think that entire scenario would have worked better. Pierce was actually funny this ep, though.

It's obvious, though, that they don't know what to do with Abed. He's basically become "TV show reference" guy.
 
I LOVED last nights episode. The season really gets better with each episode. Terrible start but now they are totally back! Fuck yea!

I got the most laughs out of Chevy. Gonna suck without him to be honest. And I like that they are moving away from closing speeches from Jeff to Abed doing them or not having them at all.
 
mj1108 said:
Nice! Community got a 1.5/5 this week.

It was actually NBC's most watched show from 8-10 and nearly beat out total viewers of their 10pm show.

8:00pm Community 1.5/5 3.36 million
8:30pm Parks 1.0/3 2.34 million
9:00pm The Office 1.1/3 2.42 million
9:30pm 1600 Penn 0.9/2 2.18

10:00pm Law & Order SVU 1.0/3 3.87 million
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Nice to see them that high again. Even if it won't really matter.

Wasn't Parks and Office reruns anyway? And seriously, who watches 1600? Why the hell can't NBC just put that at 8PM and shift everyone up... though that's the same bad move that killed Conan on TTS. I just want them to avoid BBT.

Speaking of which, was BBT not on last night or a rerun? Strange that the show actually got more viewers after having taken a terrible dive recently.
Edit: I guess it's not a dive. According to Wikipedia this season is still being watched by more people than last years finale. Still it's pretty low.
 
black_13 said:
I LOVED last nights episode. The season really gets better with each episode. Terrible start but now they are totally back! Fuck yea!

I got the most laughs out of Chevy. Gonna suck without him to be honest. And I like that they are moving away from closing speeches from Jeff to Abed doing them or not having them at all.
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Huh? This episode had like 2 Jeff Inspirational Speeches in it. I think they're pretty insufferable from New Jeff, personally.
 
i liked last night's episode. not only was it my favorite of s4 (only 8 to go!), but it felt like an old community episode as well.
 
Dan said:
The Jeff/Britta side of things was pretty solid, but I mostly hated the Thanksgiving at Shirley's. That whole plot felt like a real cheap, standard sitcom setup. I can picture countless sitcoms with the cast hiding away in a garage, and the prison break stuff wasn't funny or clever, so there was no great twist on the idea. I was also rather annoyed that the characters were so clueless and selfish about the situation.


I very much appreciated that.



Chase is too old for doing real pratfalls. That's surely a decision based on what's practical and possible (insurance, etc) more than a creative one. Plus, I don't think they could afford to have the additional set.
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I wouldn't have minded if the entire episode focused on Jeff, Britta, his dad, and brother-in-law. I still thought that the Shirley stuff was good, but it wasn't the best part about the episode.
 
mj1108 said:
Nice! Community got a 1.5/5 this week.

It was actually NBC's most watched show from 8-10 and nearly beat out total viewers of their 10pm show.

8:00pm Community 1.5/5 3.36 million
8:30pm Parks 1.0/3 2.34 million
9:00pm The Office 1.1/3 2.42 million
9:30pm 1600 Penn 0.9/2 2.18

10:00pm Law & Order SVU 1.0/3 3.87 million
Click to expand...

So Community is NBCs top rated sitcom?

A 1.5 on NBC is pretty much "renew for 9 seasons"

Amazing.
 
Really liked last night's episode. Pretty big development on Jeff as a character plus I was not expecting the guy from Workaholics to be in it, I make sure to avoid Facebook right before the episodes.
 
A Link to the Snitch said:
I wouldn't have minded if the entire episode focused on Jeff, Britta, his dad, and brother-in-law. I still thought that the Shirley stuff was good, but it wasn't the best part about the episode.
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I'm rewatching the episode and I agree. I wish they spent more time on Jeff/dad/Britta. I wouldn't even mind if they completely cut out Shirley's storyline to completely flesh out Jeff's storyline.

I'm loving Britta this season. Her and Jeff's interactions and especially conversation in the car at the end felt like something out of season 1, which I loved (even though I felt it was kind of odd that he was talking about them sleeping together when he knows she and Troy are in a relationship).

I still think this was my least favourite episode due to the half-cooked storylines.
 
So according to Wikipedia, after next week they're skipping a week. Is something happening that week? (The 21st)

Also I loved Abed talking about Christmas and hoping it'd be Die Hard themed.
We already know it is going to sort of be
 
I thought it was one of the better episodes of the season so far. Jeff meeting his dad was good but I didn't like how thanksgiving at Shirley's was confined to the basement and everything was happening offscreen.
I'd rather watch one fully-fledged story with most of the study group than various half-assed storylines.
 
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