Meet Your GIRLBOSS

Article first published as TV Review: GIRLBOSS on Seat42F.

Netflix’s latest series is GIRLBOSS. It’s the story of Sophia, a young woman who doesn’t yet know what she wants to do with her life, and so bounces between jobs and casually breaks the law while sleeping with drummers. You know, just a typical story. In the process, however, she sort of accidentally starts her own business and becomes a powerhouse entrepreneur worth millions. And it’s (very loosely) based on a true story.

Britt Robertson (Life Unexpected, Tomorrowland) stars as Sophia, and brings just the right mix of moxy and snark to the role. Sophia is not very likable when described outside of the story, and yet, there’s something magnetic about her. You may, as I did, find yourself rooting for her to succeed, even as she’s ripping people off and showing utter disrespect to those who don’t deserve it. She’s a rebel who refuses to play by established rules and cuts her own path, which is a much harder way to go through life and not always necessary (as it isn’t here), and yet could end up being more rewarding. I’ve long liked Robertson, but this may be my favorite role for her yet in its complexity, another well-deserved series lead.

Sadly, if you look into the person Sophia is supposed to be in real life, any success will be fleeting, as the company just getting started in this dramedy series, Nasty Girl, recently filed for bankruptcy.

Robertson is joined by an absolutely terrific cast that includes Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Jim Rash (Community), RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Alphonso McAuley (Breaking In), Johnny Simmons (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), and Ellie Reed. Not all of these are well known, but all are good, mixing younger, fresher faces with experienced, lauded performers. Robertson sort of spans the two groups, talented without a lot of high-profile parts to date, so it works out very well.

The plot itself is pretty good, though after two episodes, I’m not sure it’s completely good enough for the actors. The story itself is relatively predictable and familiar. Coming on the heels of Girls, GIRLBOSS might lack the attention it would otherwise receive. Arrested development has been done before, and somewhat more edgy or raw than it is here. This is like a slightly sanitized version of the too-soon-gone How to Make it in America.

I’m not completely sold on the idea of this being a period piece. 2006 isn’t long enough ago to feel all that different, and aside from the clunky cell phones and a well-placed The Devil Wears Prada billboard, I can’t say it feels all that different from today. The fact that the characters go out of their way to make pop culture references, which do feel shoe-horned in, makes me wish they’d just set it in the present. I don’t know that anything is really added to the story by going backward.

And yet, the truly excellent performances raise the overall profile enough to totally hook viewers in and make you want to watch more. In peak TV, the show might not be good enough to stand out, but I doubt audiences that give it a chance won’t want to see it through. I know I’m full invested already to watch the series until cancellation, whenever than may be.

In all, I do recommend GIRLBOSS, but not unequivocally. This isn’t a show I would tell people they have to watch, but I did enjoy it and do plan to binge it myself. Take that as you will.

GIRLBOSS’s thirteen episode first season is available on Netflix today.

"Emotional Consequences" of Watching COMMUNITY

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Community' Series Finale - "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television" on Blogcritics.

Community wraps up its sixth (and probably final) season today with “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” on Yahoo! Screen, posted now. The school year has ended and Elroy (Keith David) reveals he has a job elsewhere, leaving Greendale behind, maybe for good. His departure, combined with other early reveals, sparks other members of the Save Greendale Committee, especially Jeff (Joel McHale), to wonder if their time together is over or close to it.

I absolutely adore Community, but I’m not sad if this is their final season. I will miss it ferociously, but it’s had a very good, almost entirely solid (*cough* season four *cough*) run, and it has fulfilled the ‘six seasons’ part of its popular hashtag, #sixseasonsandamovie. To me, that feels like a very natural end, especially in the way this episode is presented.

Jeff is the one who is most against the group forming in the beginning, but he’s also the one who needs it the most. While others have lives outside of their troupe, evidenced by how, one by one, they’ve all just faded away, Jeff does not. He is in a terrible place when he comes to Greendale, a broken, directionless man. As he says in “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television,” these people literally saved his life.

It’s not natural for most people to remain stagnant, though, which has been a major theme of season six. As much as Jeff might want to hold the status quo in stasis, no one else spends their life at a community college in this manner, nor do they want to. They came to Greendale to improve themselves and move on. That’s the fate of all of them, and by the end of this episode, Annie (Alison Brie) is heading to an internship in New York and Abed (Danny Pudi) has a job in L.A., removing two more of the original crew.

Much of this half hour is given over to each individual, Annie, Abed, Jeff, Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Chang (Ken Jeong), Frankie (Paget Brewster), and The Dean (Jim Rash), relating their pitch for a seventh “season,” using Abed’s frame of reference. This results in some fun cut-scenes that highlight the personalities of each member, as well as gives us another glimpse of Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), who departed at the start of the season. Jeff is the only one, though, that seems truly bothered that this is merely a thought exercise and not what is going to happen.

Eventually, Jeff does have to be happy for his friends and accept that they are leaving. Even Annie, whom he briefly wonders if he should marry and start a family with, even though they couldn’t make their relationship work in the past, isn’t destined to stay by Jeff’s side, though they have a wonderful goodbye kiss. That should satisfy most fans, even the shippers.

As “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” closes, the remaining five share a toast. It will never be the same, and those left behind are the ones that haven’t grown enough to leave yet. But eventually they might, following in their friends’ footsteps. It’s this hopeful note, combined with the knowledge that Greendale is not inescapable, that gives peace of mind to the viewer.

Oh, and did I mention the episode was funny and meta, too, serving Community well? From finally finding out who the ass crack bandit is, to Chang farting through the fourth ‘cool,’ to Jeff’s glimpse of being at the study table with a bunch of the second-string recurring cast members, and a black screen that said #AndAMovie, there were answers and references left and right. We may not have figured out Frankie’s sexuality, but you gotta leave something for the film, which she deserves to be a part of as much as the original cast, more so than most of those that have come and gone from the table because of the way she so effortlessly slides in and feels like she’s always been there.

Too bad Community screws up the landing slightly with the board game tag. I’m not saying the story should have forced a joke at the end, and barring Troy and Abed being reunited or a movie tease, I don’t know what else could possibly go there. But as has happened repeatedly this season, the tag takes us out of the show. The sort-of-rant (from? about?) Dan Harmon almost saves it, but not quite. I’d rather the series went out without a tag than to use this one.

Still, there’s no denying the impact Community has had on me, nor the almost-perfect sense of closure “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” leaves me with. I’ll be ever grateful for Dan Harmon’s brilliant mind and the fantastic way he ends his genius work.

Now, let’s get started on that movie, whether it’s studio-financed or Kickstarter-ed! (I really, really hope everyone has to band together to save Troy and LeVar Burton from the pirates!)

COMMUNITY Wrecks a "Wedding"

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Community' - "Wedding Videography" on Blogcritics.

In the penultimate episode of Community season six, “Wedding Videography,” Abed (Danny Pudi) makes a video record of the show’s second-most-seen-recurring-character, Garrett’s (Erik Charles Nielsen), wedding. The result is a half hour that highlights the main cast as individuals and as a group, and teeing up what could be the series finale next week.

Much of this episode is done in the style of The Office. Not only does Community have the sit-and-chat segments so familiar to modern sitcom audiences, but Abed also refers to ‘Jim-ing’ as a verb that basically means to gesture to the camera, letting the audience in on a joke at the expense of another character. I love this joke and the way this installment is presented.

I love how “Wedding Videography” reveals something about each main player, or at least reminds us of who they are. Elroy (Keith David) is addicted to encouraging white people. Jeff (Joel McHale) loves himself more than anyone else and has a hero complex that must be served. Britta (Gillian Jacobs) blames others for all of her problems and doesn’t see her own flaws, even when away from the distractions of her friends. The Dean (Jim Rash) just wants to be part of the gang, always the outsider. Abed isn’t seen, but he is heard, and staying behind the camera is exactly who his character is.

Annie (Alison Brie) and Frankie (Paget Brewster) have an interesting conversation because a bit of conflict crops up. Frankie reveals that she’d like to get Annie away from Jeff. Is that because Frankie wants Jeff for herself? Jeff and Frankie’s chemistry has been excellent this season. Or does Frankie think that Jeff is dragging Annie down and Annie will be better off without him? Or perhaps, given Frankie’s ambiguous nature (sexual as well as otherwise), Frankie is in love with Annie? I really hope this plot is served in the season finale.

Besides being about the individuals that make up the Save Greendale Committee, “Wedding Videography” is also about showing us the makeup of the group as a whole. Sometimes this is positive, such as when they are all having fun at Annie and Abed’s apartment, getting ready and playing games before hand, or when Chang (Ken Jeong), who has often made bad decisions on his own, saves the day because of the confidence he has as part of the gang. Other times, though, this is a negative, such as when the group shows up late and interrupts the ceremony, and then proceeds to ruin the reception. Other characters have commented before that this clique always makes things about themselves, and never is it more obvious than this week.

So, with a single episode of Community left, does that mean it’s time for everyone to go their separate ways? The negative aspects listed above are brought to their attention, and most of them (Chang excepted) begin to think that maybe they aren’t better off with their friends. Has the series been a tale of a bunch of people growing up with the help of one another, or has it just been showing us the stunted development that encasing oneself in a bubble causes? I believe it’s the former, but it will be interesting to see how this week’s revelations play into the finale.

The end is a bit disappointing. Since this is the “incest” episode of Community, the “writer” comes out to deliver a sort-of PSA about ignorance surrounding incest. Community has opted to have these stand-alone tags often in season six, and it really makes me miss Troy and Abed in the Morning and other in-story jokes that have been replaced. I think it makes for a more solid overall presentation when the last scene is part of the story, or gives us glimpses of other parts of the main characters’ lives, rather than something like this fake PSA. But it’s only about thirty seconds long, so it doesn’t affect the enjoyment of the episode much.

Community‘s sixth season finale can be found on Yahoo! Screen next Tuesday.

"Modern" COMMUNITY

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Community' - 'Modern Espionage' on Blogcritics.

The paintball war episodes used to be an annual tradition on Community, but it’s been a few years since the students took up the game. As the series quickly approaches the end of its sixth (and most likely final) season, it seems fitting to bring back such an iconic part of the show’s makeup in this week’s installment, “Modern Espionage.” And probably to end it once and for all.

Another paintball war breaks out on Greendale’s campus just as Frankie (Paget Brewster) has banned such things and is presenting an award to Deputy Custodian Lapari (Kumail Nanjiani, Silicon Valley, Portlandia). She begs Jeff (Joel McHale) to help her set an example and call the game off, and Jeff wants to help her. But he also doesn’t want to be the stick in the mud, nor does he want to let rival City College manipulate his co-workers and students into a losing battle. So he agrees to help the rest of the Save Greendale Committee, who are all active in the secret game, figure out who is behind the most recent contest and put a stop to it.

The result is a beautiful, stylized send-up of spy-type movies. Like past paintball outings, “Modern Espionage” doesn’t just tackle a specific film directly. Instead, it combines elements of a number of them such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, James Bond, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Die Hard, and various incarnations of Batman, presenting a homage, not a parody. There’s also a great speech about Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man worked in. Yes, some of these are superheroes, but Community is focusing on the spy and detective elements of the costumed vigilantes, rather than their super powered parts, so it fits.

As usual, some of the references are obvious, while some get pretty deep. Abed (Danny Pudi) and Annie’s (Alison Brie) style of combat at the gala is definitely from Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Dean’s (Jim Rash) ambush in the elevator feels lifted right from Winter Soldier, which in turn references Die Hard With a Vengeance. But did you catch the song playing in the elevator when the Dean is attacked, a melody used repeatedly in the show since season three? And while giving the Committee code names such as Bale, Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, and West are obviously actors that played Batman, did you know that The Dean’s moniker, The Voice of Diedrich Bader, is because Bader lent vocals to The Dark Knight in Batman: The Brave and the Bold?

The plot of “Modern Espionage” is thoroughly entertaining, but also fully Community. The suspense of The Dean’s elevator scene is great, but the only way he can defeat his enemies, which he does, is accidentally, not because of any skills he possesses. Having Jeff and The Dean face Lapari in the hall of mannequins seems an obvious thing to do and is great on itself, but the twist in that showdown is a hallmark of the show, with ineptitude ruling the day. The story is predictable, but that doesn’t matter.

This half hour uses the recurring cast well. From Vicki (Danielle Kaplowitz) and Garrett’s (Erik Charles Nielsen) one-person shows, to Todd (David Neher) and Starburn’s (Dino Stamatopoulos) parking garage confrontation, to Koogler’s (Mitchell Hurwitz) Club Club, we get to see bit players get good material and nail it. This is always welcome.

I do have a couple of complaints about “Modern Espionage.” For one, I would have liked to have seen Lapari joined by other actors who have played custodians in the past (most notably Nathan Fillion), at least in cameos. That’s not a knock on Nanjiani, whom I absolutely love, but it would be nice if he didn’t shoulder the burden of representing the colorful group alone when it’s shown to be a deep bench in the past. I didn’t like Frankie making the Committee actual babies. I’m also disappointed we never learn who Silver Ballz is, a hanging thread unlikely to be followed up upon, sadly.

None of these is super important, though, because Community serves its main characters, and that’s what’s important. Not only do they have a fun playground to use this week, but we see Jeff standing up for Frankie and all of them being forced to grow up a bit, coming together for good. Paintball is part of who they used to be, and as they’ve evolved, it fits less and less into their personalities. Most of the group fully embraces it when it returns now, but it’s glaringly obvious that they have moved beyond such things and this is a reversion, one last bit of fun, before they become responsible adults. Plus, the conversation between Jeff, The Dean, and Lapari about what Greendale is feels very right.

We may be near Community‘s end, with only two more episodes and an as-yet unannounced movie (but there has to be one – #sixseasonsandamovie!) left in the story. I’m OK with that because of the arcs the show has gone through and the wonderful way these characters speak to audiences. “Modern Espionage” is an excellent episode that serves Community well in the larger scheme.

Community posts new episodes every Tuesday on Yahoo! Screen.

"Basic" COMMUNITY

Article first published as TV Review: 'Community' - "Basic RV Repair and Palmistry" on Blogcritics.

 

In the latest episode of Community on Yahoo! Screen, “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry,” the Save Greendale Committee is riding in Elroy’s (Keith David) RV on their way to deliver a giant hand sold on eBay. Why is this happening, you may ask? Well, if Abed (Danny Pudi) ever gets his longed-for flashbacks, you just might find out. Or the characters eventually explain things.

Community has done “bottle” episodes before, where the entire cast is trapped in a single space together, and they’re always good. The reason for this is a large part of the show’s success hangs on the chemistry of the cast. Putting them in a tense situation and allowing their conflict to fester makes for great entertainment, delivering the definition of a situation comedy, or sitcom. “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry” is another example of this.

On the whole, though, it is a pretty tame half hour. The tensions arise because The Dean (Jim Rash) does something stupid, purchasing a giant hand for the community college. Because the college really can’t afford the thing, the Save Greendale Committee decides they must sell it. The Dean is against this, but comes along anyway as they strap it to the roof of the RV and attempt to deliver it. Unfortunately, the RV gets a dead battery and cannot make it.

The logic behind why the entire Save Greendale Committee, except for Chang (Ken Jeong), must be on this trip escapes me, and is never discussed in the episode. I assume The Dean joins them because he doesn’t like to be left out and it’s his hand, but why just two or three of them couldn’t go is beyond me. I don’t mind this leap because, as I’ve said, I enjoy the chemistry of the cast, but “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry” would be a little better if it offered an explanation.

The details of the situation are revealed in snatches. Abed tries to set up a flashback to three weeks ago to establish the scenario, and later tries to save the day by going back in the flashback and changing things. Neither work. Abed’s delusions used to have real meaning that has slowly been drained away from them over the years as he becomes more and more grounded. In this installment, I think Abed is trying too hard to hang on to the device, as in most of season six he has a decently firm grasp on reality.

Typical parts of everyone’s personalities do come up in this episode, and I love how these things are pointed out and picked apart, a bit of tongue-in-cheek self-referencing that is always welcome. Britta (Gillian Jacobs) uses the word brittad as a verb and then acknowledges it. Jeff (Joel McHale) calls The Dean out on his non-apology apologies. Elroy wants to be helpful, but doesn’t want everyone looking at him too closely, preferring to remain a semi-private person. Jeff tries to act like he knows everything. Annie (Alison Brie) and Frankie (Paget Brewster) show their similarity when they both follow the same method to try to get roadside assistance. Chang shows up only at the end, covered in feathers, and no one has noticed his absence.

I can’t say “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry” is one of my favorite episodes, even just within this sixth season. It’s decently fun, but it feels unnecessary and not all that deep. Other episodes have explored character development more fully this year, whereas this one simply points out things we already know about the characters, not changing or deepening anything. It’s funny enough, but because there are only a few episodes left in the season, most likely the series, I do feel like this kind of wastes a half hour.

New episodes of Community post every Tuesday on Yahoo! Screen.

COMMUNITY "Features" Character Development

Article first published as TV Review: 'Community' - "Advanced Safety Features" on Blogcritics.

In the latest installment of Yahoo! Screen’s Community, Britta’s ex-boyfriend from season three, Rick (Travis Schuldt), returns. This time, he’s working for Honda and is guerrilla marketing at Greendale. Britta (Gillian Jacobs) can’t help but fall for him all over again, but can they make their relationship work while serving Rick’s Honda overlords? Also, Jeff (Joel McHale) tries to win Elroy (Keith David) over.

“Advanced Safety Features,” the name of this episode, is a terrific look at Britta, highlighting her various sides. It doesn’t really reveal anything new about her; fans already know she is easily influenced, especially by handsome, charming men, and also that she attempts to be a rebel against corporate interests. But by letting these two sides of her go to war in her heart, Community profiles a character in a way that reignites interest in her and gives her much-deserved focus.

I wish Rick were able to give up his salesman instincts for Britta. As Community is likely starting to wind towards a conclusion, now halfway through the sixth season of what could very well end up being #SixSeasonsAndAMovie, she deserves a happy ending. But it wouldn’t be true to either Rick or Britta for them to give up their ideals, and Community has never been the type of show to let any of its leads have a healthy romantic life. Britta would be the exception, and I’m not sure that really works for the show.

Even Britta’s relationship with her parents (Martin Mull and Lesley Ann Warren), while healing, remains tenuous. When Britta takes Rick to meet them, things seem to be going well, the estrangement ended. But by the conclusion of “Advanced Safety Features,” Britta is frustrated with the pair once more, and they are still clueless as to the why, unable to fix it. All of the players in Community are developmentally arrested, and Britta does not escape that this week.

Speaking of arrested development, Jeff is desperate to have everyone like him. This isn’t news, either, but in Elroy, Jeff finally finds someone who doesn’t fall for his cool aloofness. Jeff goes to extreme measures in order to correct this while trying to make it look like he’s not doing anything, even booking Elroy’s favorite band for the school dance. None of that works, and Elroy remains unmoved.

“Advanced Safety Features” gives Jeff a clue as to how to accomplish his goal early in the hour, but Jeff misses it. After Elroy bonds with Annie (Alison Brie), Abed (Danny Pudi), and Chang (Ken Jeong), they observe that genuine human interaction is something the man responds to. Jeff does eventually show his vulnerable, true side to Elroy, not in a calculated move, but rather through a desperate eruption. Elroy immediately responds.

Jeff has gotten much more open over Community‘s run, sometimes by choice, and sometimes being forced to act real by his friends. One might think that by now Jeff would learn what works and what doesn’t. If he did, then he’d be fixed and able to operate normally in society. This series is about a bunch of misfits, so that won’t fly, at least not until the show comes to an end for good.

“Advanced Safety Features” has great character stuff, but is also charmingly quirky and funny. Jeff tricks Frankie (Paget Brewster) into learning to play steel drums. A song from earlier in the season comes back. A musician keeps complaining that everyone asks where the person in the name of the band is. The Dean (Jim Rash) fills his office with Honda stuff. Billy Zane (Titanic) plays Rick’s boss who ‘magically’ disappears. This is all great stuff that makes the episode feel full and sharp.

I give a ton of credit to Honda for their participation in “Advanced Safety Features.” I don’t know how much involvement they may have had in the production, but surely Community couldn’t release this episode without permission from the brand, and the way the product is portrayed isn’t always 100% favorable. Any company that has a sense of humor has my respect, so if you need good value and lots of leg room, check out the Honda Fit. I assume. I’ve never been in one.

New episodes of Community post every Tuesday on Yahoo! Screen.

COMMUNITY Expands Beyond the "Basic" Sitcom

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Community' - 'Basic Email Security' on Blogcritics.

This week’s episode of Community on Yahoo! Screen finds a hacker hijacking all email accessed on Greendale’s computers. In “Basic Email Security,” the criminal demands the school cancel an offensive comedy show, or see the communications leaked to the world. A sampling of the lunch lady’s missives convinces the Save Greendale Committee that the threat is real and embarrassment is guaranteed, but should they kowtow to terrorism?

It’s rare that Community features stories ripped from the headlines, but the plot of “Basic Email Security” highlights a genuine issue, illustrated by the last year’s Sony hacks, which torpedoed the theatrical release of The Interview. CBS’s The Good Wife, which often does integrate current events into the drama, did a similar story over the past few weeks. So it’s a strange topic for a zany sitcom to tackle.

Community attempts to milk the humor of the situation. Once our main crew’s emails are leaked, many details are dropped about what they’ve written. Funnily enough, as we only ever see them text, not email, there’s a lot of dirt and insults against their friends available. Most of these are presented in a comedic fashion, with the slights being things that would make good zingers in other episodes. Abed (Danny Pudi) is appropriately obtuse about the situation. Office Cackowski (Craig Cackowski) having to bring in a child (Quinn Friedman, Up All Night) to catch the juvenile delinquent (Julian Feder) is an amusing commentary on cyber trends. The speech Britta (Gillian Jacobs) gives to guilt them all into supporting the comedy show (which she had planned on protesting) is also quite silly, playing on the familiar foibles of her character, as well as her meager understanding of rights and laws.

There are some very interesting elements incorporated into the episode as well. Frankie’s (Paget Brewster) sexuality is brought up again, a recurring theme this year that Community is in no hurry to answer. Chang (Ken Jeong) rightly complains he hasn’t had anything substantive to do since serving as a teacher, and the newer members of the group react appropriately to learning the deranged man ever held a position as an educator. The comedian, Gupta Gupti Gupta (Jay Chandrasekhar, Super Troopers), is lame and not at all worth their efforts, rubbing salt in the wound.

Yet, “Basic Email Security” is also upsetting. As in other recent Community episodes, the story goes dark. The players in this tale are complex and fleshed out enough that there are no surprises in the conflict between them, or in the idea that they’d trade jabs behind each other’s backs, or that they’d even peek at the leaked emails after agreeing not to. But that doesn’t make it easier to watch the anger and pain almost all of them feel after everything goes down. Their strength is in being a group, and the events of this installment tear them apart, undermining what most of them have spent years building.

The Dean (Jim Rash) is becoming more slimy each passing week. He is OK with the others being ruined, but does not hesitate to distance himself from the fiasco, sparing himself the consequences. He wants to be a part of the group, but he has no spine, and while that isn’t new information, he seems to sink to new depths in this episode.

I won’t say “Basic Email Security” is poor television; it’s not. But neither is it very funny, on the whole. But the episode explores some new ground for Community, and takes the show further away from its early structure. Should the show continue down this path for many more years, it is likely to break the hearts of many a loyal fan, and become extremely hard to watch. Building towards what will likely be a movie finale (to complete the #SixSeasonsAndAMovie prophecy), it’s really good material pushing towards an ending. It’s also really cool that Dan Harmon would take his creations and change them this much on a show that is, primarily, a comedy.

Yahoo! Screen posts new episodes of Community every Tuesday.

COMMUNITY Lays Down the "Law"

Article first published as TV Review: 'Community' - "Laws of Robotics & Party Rights" on Blogcritics.

This week’s Community, “Laws of Robotics & Party Rights” (now available on Yahoo! Screen) finds Greendale College enrolling a bunch of prisoners. The convicts don’t actually set foot on campus. Instead, they are allowed to attend via iPad-attached-to-motorized-wheels for remote commuting. This seems like a good idea, but as one might expect, trouble soon begins brewing at the community college.

Community makes good use of weird things, and the telecommuting robots are a prime example of this. The school takes a very offbeat, but likely realistic, task for this technology, and then turns it into a story about a bullying murderer, Willy (Brian Van Holt, Cougar Town), who feuds with Jeff (Joel McHale), trying to kill him at one point, and being “killed” by Jeff in return.

Now, the way this shakes out, finding out that Willy is actually innocent, actually makes no sense given how he tries to push Jeff down the stairs. But one might argue that Willy is just having fun, and the absurdest, would-never-work assassination attempt is a great sight gag, so I can’t bring myself to tear down the episode because of it. Van Holt is equally believable as a cold-blooded killer and as a prankster.

More importantly, this plots allows “Laws of Robotics & Party Rights” to give us another look at Jeff in a semi-dramatic fashion. The past couple of seasons have delightfully started to delve into what makes Jeff tick, and this episode is no different. We see Jeff has become as much of a slacker as a teacher as he was a student or lawyer, playing Planet Earth videos during his law class. Willy makes him feel guilty about that, though, as evidenced by the strong reaction Willy provokes in him. Will Jeff become a better professor after this incident? I’m not sure, but he very well might. Concerning Community‘s most central player, any time Jeff is analyzed a bit is very welcome.

Having Van Holt play Willy is great because Abed (Danny Pudi) is obsessed with Cougar Town, which Van Holt co-starred in, and the series just came to an end last week on TBS. There have been other Cougar Town peeps pop up in Community episodes, and Abed made a cameo in that show, so its nice to see the connection continue.

While Jeff deals with this, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) wants to throw a party in the apartment, but Annie (Alison Brie) says no. Britta can’t get Abed to outright overrule Annie, but she does trick Abed by getting him to make a movie about a party, which ends up backfiring horribly. In the end, Britta must beg Annie to make it stop, Annie being the only one who understands how to influence Abed.

“Laws of Robotics & Party Rights” highlights how Abed’s antics have become toned down. In the early years of Community, Abed’s delusions are brought to the forefront in big ways. Now, Abed making a party happen continuously for days, which only a few bits of are shown, seems downright tame. This reflects the show’s more grounded direction and the growth of Abed into a functioning human being. I miss the old Abed, but I applaud the writers and Dan Harmon for understanding that change must happen and matching the most eccentric character to the other things going on in the program.

Besides these major plots, there are some great jokes, Elroy (Keith David) still being used for some clever racial commentary, and The Dean (Jim Rash) being as dean-y as ever. It’s a pretty solid installment for the sixth season, and is entertaining on its own.

New episodes of Community post every Tuesday on Yahoo! Screen.

COMMUNITY Makes Some "Queer" Choices

Article first published as TV Review: 'Community' - "Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing" on Blogcritics.

This week’s Community on Yahoo! Screen, “Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing,”does a number of things. It gives Chang (Ken Jeong) his first subplot in quite awhile. It solidifies the evolving partnership between Jeff (Joel McHale) and Frankie (Paget Brewster). And it references the character Brewster previously played on the series, a lingering question these past few weeks. Overall, it’s a fairly solid installment.

For those that may have forgotten, Brewster appears as the IT girl for one episode in the middle of season five. When her casting as Frankie was announced, I wondered how Community would handle it. Sadly, hopes of establishing a tie between them as sisters, or seeing them interact in any way, seem to be dashed by “Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing.” I can’t help but think that the show’s weirdness could have done so much more than just establish that no one knows where she is and she’s been slacking at her job, a choice many lesser sitcoms would likely make. I guess there’s still a chance Community could tackle her missing person case, but it just doesn’t seem to be the way the show is going.

The new IT girl is Elroy (Keith David), which makes a certain amount of sense. True, he’s old and plenty outdated on modern technology, but this is Greendale Community College; they don’t have the budget for anything too new, and their standards are mediocre, at best. Elroy is exactly the type of IT person one would expect such an institution to have, and it gives him a larger role than as a student, expanding his possible reach on the series.

“Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing” sees Elroy and Abed (Danny Pudi) finding a bird’s nest in the router, breaking all Wi-Fi for the campus because, for some reason, there’s a single, unsecured box that provides Internet connections to everyone. No matter, it’s a good opportunity to demonstrate who Elroy is and help him better connect with his peers as he attempts to live up to Abed’s expectations and keep the birds alive.

Though, the episode does leave a cliffhanger when the surviving baby bird flies into the main transformer. Greendale survives without Internet, sadly sans the type of disaster reaction the school normally goes through. Could the writers be setting up a loss of electricity as an even bigger problem?

I don’t think so, and that’s a little sad. As much as I’ve praised Community for maturing and going more grounded, and in general I think it’s a good move, wasting such a blatant chance to throw the student body into a frenzy in favor of other, more toned-down subplots, is a tad disappointing. Hopefully, there will be other episodes that make up for this later in the season. I’m enjoying season six a lot, but there haven’t been many of those “love it to death” moments that occur in previous seasons.

Chang is often a catalyst for some of the crazier things the show does, although he also tends to live on the fringe, not totally connected to the others. That sort of changes in this episode. He plays Miyagi in a stage production of The Karate Kid, and under the tutelage of director Matt Lundergard (Jason Mantzoukas, The League), finds a way to emotionally reach the study group. I doubt acting will be Chang’s calling and new direction, but any chance where Jeong gets to actually show some range and get some development is more than welcome.

Lastly, “Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing” finally answers a long-standing question: Is The Dean (Jim Rash) gay? Most viewers have long assumed so, and that’s a natural inclination, given the character’s behavior. However, by having The Dean declare that gay is only 2/7ths of his sexuality and that he’s so much more than that, they execute a brilliant twist. It makes absolutely perfect sense that The Dean would be completely unique in this manner, and I hope it challenges at least some preconceptions in the audience about how sexuality is a fluid thing, sometimes not easily definable.
There’s also a hint this week that Frankie might be gay. Could there be a Jeff / Frankie / Annie love triangle with Annie (Alison Brie) the focal point instead of Jeff? That would be super interesting. Please show us that!

Community drops fresh episodes on Yahoo! Screen every Tuesday.

COMMUNITY Finds "Decorum" in a "Crisis"

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Community' - "Basic Crisis Room Decorum" on Blogcritics.

It’s not unexpected that Greendale is accused of granting a dog a diploma on this week’s episode of Community, “Basic Crisis Room Decorum.” It’s only surprising that it’s taken this long. The community college not known for its standards is accused by its rival, City College, of graduating a canine, and the Save Greendale committee must scramble to minimize the impact.

The new Save Greendale group is really coming together. Elroy (Keith David) wanders into the mess when Britta (Gillian Jacobs) runs by his trailer sans pants, and slowly begins to understand them. The Dean (Jim Rash) is more interested in flirting with Jeff (Joel McHale) than admitting his mistakes, but he can still be helpful, if bringing olives is helpful. Even Vicki (Danielle Kaplowitz) and Dave (Darsan Solomon) assist, though they know they aren’t really part of the club, and will barely get to say anything. OK, so Jeff, Annie (Alison Brie), and Frankie (Paget Brewster) are really coming together.

The alpha females are finally clicking. Frankie is the first one Annie calls with the news, and the two seem to have developed a mutually-respectful working relationship. “Basic Crisis Room Decorum” tests that bond when Frankie wants to get Greendale off on a technicality, which goes against Annie’s high moral standards. Annie almost transfer schools in protest. But at the end of the day, they find a way to work together, which is heartening.

Chang (Ken Jeong) remains a bit of an outsider. He isn’t invited, which is kind of a jerk move, considering how long he’s been part of the group. He isn’t getting much of his own stories, either. While Chang isn’t always the best character, I do think he’s earned a little more than “Basic Crisis Room Decorum” and the previous two episodes this year give him.

“Basic Crisis Room Decorum” is a great illustration of Community in general. It is funny, such as when viewers discover that Jeff gave The Dean a false cell phone number and The Dean has been texting a teenager in Japan for some time. But it also has a lot of heart. Abed (Danny Pudi), Jeff, and the others might be willing to deny the truth, but Annie will not, and they care about her hapiness. Thus, they devise a way to make a commercial supporting Greendale that also lives up to Annie’s standards. This sweet / humorous combination is why Community has so much emotional heft, and why it earns so many loyal fans.

The other component that makes the show successful is its weirdness. In season six, the weird comes in little tidbits, rather than devoting a full installment to it, at least so far. While the past may have seen paintball wars and pillow fights, this year Britta has a trippy hallucination mid-episode in “Basic Crisis Room Decorum.” It may be that an entire half hour in a dreamscape won’t fit into the more somber tone Community has taken on in its later years. But by including these bits piecemeal, at least the writers still give fans of the weird what they want.

I don’t have any specific complaints about “Basic Crisis Room Decorum,” which is a very enjoyable episode, but I do have complaints about its presentation. As thrilled as I am that Yahoo! Screen revived Community from cancellation to help fulfill its #sixseasonsandamovie prophecy, I wish the platform had worked its bugs out before launch. The video feed stutters constantly this week on a connection I know is stable and fast, tested before and during streaming.

Tuesday night, the day the episode premiered, it was completely unwatchable, and Wednesday was still tough. Add to that, the player inexplicably switched back to an earlier episode halfway through, and in trying to get back, I had to watch three full batches of commercials (twelve total ads) in a row. It’s worth it to endure these issues to get fresh Community, but it does make the viewing experience a hardship to endure. #FirstWorldProblems

New episodes of Community are available every Tuesday on Yahoo! Screen.

COMMUNITY Climbs "Ladders" on Yahoo Screen

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Community' - Season Six Premiere 'Ladders' and "Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care' on Blogcritics.

Community is back! NBC tried to kill it after a mere five seasons, prior to its prophetic fulfillment of the hashtag #sixseasonsandamovie, but Yahoo Screen has revived the odd comedy about the teachers and students at Greendale Community College, and the first two half-hour episodes are live on their website today. The show’s budget seems to have increased a bit, with more exterior shots than I remember seeing in awhile! Plus, the episodes are no longer confined to a strict twenty-two minutes, which gives them room to breathe, and the writers are using those additional moments wisely.

Some significant things have changed when the first episode “Ladders” begins. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) has moved away to take care of her father (like the real Yvette, who is now starring in the less time-intensive The Odd Couple), and then got herself wrapped up in solving crimes with a man in a wheelchair (unlike the real Yvette, presumably). The idea that Shirley is starring in a spinoff makes sense for the universe as it exists in Abed’s (Danny Pudi) head, and even provides a fun little tag with Steven Weber (Wings, Helix) so fans can see her one last time. But her presence is deeply missed. The group protecting her seat in the library and running her sandwich shop in her absence illustrates that, and makes one hope her absence is temporary. There is, after all, still a movie needed to finish the hashtag, and if she, Troy, and Pierce don’t return, along with the large recurring cast, it will be most regrettable.

Hickey (Jonathan Banks) and Duncan (John Oliver) are nowhere to be seen because Banks is starring in Better Call Saul on AMC and Oliver has Last Week Tonight on HBO, though neither really feel like a part of the main ensemble, anyway.We do see Abed polish Duncan’s nameplate, so presumably he is still around. Still, because they are essential in founding the Save Greendale Committee, and Duncan has been on the show off and on since season one, I miss them.

They are replaced by Frankie Dart (Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds), who is said to be ‘white Shirley’ when the minority members of the group feel their numbers slipping, but is more like ‘grown up Annie,’ an administrator who likes the weird people, and seeks to keep things running smoothly. Frankie is completely unlike any other character on Community, including Brewster’s previous role on the show, in that she likes being boring. This completely shifts the dynamic of the ensemble, since it seems Frankie will be a central player in season six.

The first thing Frankie does is eliminate some of the kooky, wasteful things at Greendale. For instance, there’s a class called “Ladders,” the episode’s namesake, that she feels is a waste of time. In order to push her agenda, she latches onto Abed, who likes the idea of her grounding the school in reality, something he sometimes seeks to do to himself.

Is this the end of Abed as we know him? For five seasons, Abed struggles with the fourth wall, a character seemingly self-aware that he’s on television, even as his friends just see him as weird, which is saying something when he is compared to the other bozos around. While Frankie does try to break him of making montages, though, she does seem to stop short of ruining Abed, so that alone makes me think she’ll be a good addition to Community, rather than a villain.

Jeff (Joel McHale), Annie (Alison Brie), and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) don’t welcome Frankie as easily as Abed does, opening a speak-easy underneath Shirley’s when Frankie bans alcohol on campus. When Frankie eventually breaks them up, though, it’s not because she’s just found out about the project. This is another reason I’m not afraid Frankie will screw up Community, as Jeff and Abed end up wooing her back to campus after she quits. She may seem normal, but is weird in her own ways and is just trying to help. Thankfully that is realized in time to keep her.

There is a small part of “Ladders” that makes me wonder what the series is planning for the rest of the season. Garrett (Erik Charles Nielsen) is glimpsed glaring at Frankie and the group, as if he has some big beef with them. Maybe he’s mad about the Frisbee tidal wave that swept him away after the Save Greendale Committee failed to clear the roof of the plastic toys, their single failure since inception? But Leonard (Richard Erdman) scares him off and offers a thumbs up to the camera. Is Community‘s most frequent recurring player protecting out heroes? I want to know more about this interaction.
The second half hour, “Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care,” does not go back to things as usual, though I’m not sure Community ever really has a definable status quo. Instead, it has two main stories, one of which uncovers a long-secret conspiracy, and introduces viewers to the second major character to join the cast this year, alongside Frankie.

The conspiracy story involves Britta’s parents (Clue‘s Martin Mull and Lesley Ann Warren), who have been secretly funding Britta’s life through her friends. Apparently, throughout the run of the entire series, anytime Britta has been borrowing money from the rest of the group, she’s really been taking it from mom and dad, whom everyone else is familiar with. They know Britta needs to rebel, but they have found a way to support her anyway. The secret comes out when Britta moves in with Annie and Abed and is presented with a brand-new sleeper sofa.

I love the idea that there’s been something happening all this time on Community that has never been mentioned. I don’t know if anyone could ever go back and pick up any dropped clues that this is going on, but it seems perfectly in keeping with the show’s tenor to find this out now, as well as to have everyone except Britta treat it like it’s no big deal. Plus, “Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care” has great actors playing Britta’s parents, so there’s little reason to complain about the story.

In the second major plot, The Dean (Jim Rash) buys a virtual reality system that the school can’t afford. Jeff and Frankie try to return it, but The Dean won’t come out of his fantasy world. Finally, Jeff tracks down the inventor and seller of the unit, Elroy Patashnik (Keith David, The Cape, Platoon), who not only refunds Greendale, but decides to enroll as a student since he’s not doing anything better with his life.

The Dean is always getting into ridiculous situations, and this is just the latest one. I do think “Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care” wastes an opportunity to show all of the characters in a new format, as they have done with clay-mation and 8-bit-animation, among other styles, in the past, but it’s still a fun little bit that is consistent with Community in general.

I also like Elroy. We haven’t yet seen him in the Save Greendale Committee, which he will surely join, but he already seems quite intriguing. Here, we have someone with world experience and supreme intelligence who has wasted his life, which makes the college seem like the perfect place for him. He’s not mean and rich, like Pierce. Instead, he’s worked hard and just not made it. That’s a story many of the main cast members can relate to, and Elroy comes at it from a fresh angle.

Besides the obvious stuff, Community drops what feels like a hundred little gags and one-liners into “Ladders” and “Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care,” often referencing past events on the show, and just delivering its trademark humor in general (not to mention a great cameo from Nathan Fillion). The series remains darker than it used to be, creator Dan Harmon having returned after being fired for season four with a more somber atmosphere, which he’s translated into the natural aging process for the characters. I think these new installments are close enough to what’s come before them to satisfy fans, while still allowing forward movement to keep the show from growing stagnant. Two episodes into season six, Community feels very alive, if possibly building towards an ending.

The first two episodes of Community are available now on Yahoo Screen, with a new half-hour dropping every Tuesday. Check back on Blogcritics for my weekly coverage of future installments.

COMMUNITY Season Six Preview

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This is a preview, so will contain only light spoilers.

COMMUNITY, formerly of NBC, finally gets its sixth season as foretold in the prophetic hashtag #sixseasonsandamovie this week on Yahoo Screen. Two episodes premiere on the online video service, “Ladders” and “Lawnmower.” A number of things have changed for the sitcom, but essentially, it’s still the same show fans know and love.

What I mean by that is, while some the cast has rotated out, leaving voids in the theme song and our hearts, the setting is still the same old Greendale. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) may have departed, but her sandwich shop lives on, and her absence is adequately explained in the first episode back. Hickey (Jonathan Banks) and Duncan (John Oliver) get less of a firm send-off, but the latter especially has always drifted in and out of the series, so while neither appears or is mentioned in this first week, there’s always the chance they could show up later, and the sharp-eyed will see a hint of that for one. These three, along with Pierce and Troy, are replaced with a couple of new faces.

“Ladders” introduces viewers to Frankie Dart (Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds), a new administrator that The Dean (Jim Rash) hires to work with the Save Greendale Committee. Frankie is, at first glance, an older, less quirky version of Annie (Alison Brie), but she’s also a bit more than that. COMMUNITY is bizarre and that’s its strength, but having a level-headed person who is not opposed to the oddness strikes a new dynamic in the cast. I’m a little sad Brewster doesn’t reprise her previous role on the show, but glad she returns, and being honest, Frankie is probably more interesting in the long-run than her techie.

The second addition, Elroy Patashnik (Keith David, Enlisted, Platoon), doesn’t show up until “Lawnmower,” but feels more like a traditional COMMUNITY role. Elroy is a weird genius, which seems a perfect fit to the gang. He brings life experience and plugs a generational hole, while at the same time coming in as a newbie who is open to possibilities. I’m not sure yet exactly what his role will be this season, as his first appearance is more as a guest star than a central lead, but I look forward to finding out.

Lest one wonder what Yahoo has done different with COMMUNITY than NBC, I’m not sure any of the changes made are because of the new platform. If anything, the budget seems increased, with more exteriors and new sets than we’re used to seeing. The same recurring players are glimpsed in multiple scenes. The offbeat sense of humor is present, with some inexplicable and ridiculous plot points and jokes. Abed (Danny Pudi) still thinks of the world as a television show.

Change is a major theme, though, and I think that’s because of necessity. With so many of the original group gone and some cast members no longer being students, there will be a different vibe. Greendale has barely hung on, and while the Save Greendale Committee has done much to ensure the institution’s future, it does feel like we’re building towards a major conclusion. I’m not anxious to see a beloved favorite like this series end, but should these thirteen episodes tee up a movie with much finality, I won’t complain, as long as everyone returns for the end.

As mentioned, there is a lot of weirdness, as usual. The second half hour reveals a major conspiracy happening right under one of our main character’s noses these past six years. It’s quite a secret, but one that proves COMMUNITY has not lost its touch, tying things together and shifting perspective. It’s this sort of thing that makes me comfortable in saying I expect COMMUNITY season six to be every bit as good as season five, even remaining a little more somber and grounded than the first few years.

Oh, and the stinger of the premiere is not yet released, even to press, so I’m guessing they’ll be something really good there.

COMMUNITY launches its first two episodes of season six this Tuesday exclusively on Yahoo Screen.

MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES Mysteriously Hilarious

Article first published as MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES Review on Seat42F.

MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES premieres next week on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. What is MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES, you may ask? Well, imagine you and your buddies got high, watched a bunch of old episodes of Scooby Doo, and wondered what the show would be like if retired boxer Mike Tyson starred in it. Then, toss in an Oscar-winning screenwriter (who also appears in a zany sitcom), a semi-washed-up comedian who doesn’t always get the respect he deserves, and a bunch of jokes that only an on-drugs college student, possibly an English major, could come up, and you have this show.

Which is why MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES is awesome!

In the animated series, Mike Tyson (who also acted in The Hangover films) voices a version of himself taken to extremes. Mike lives with his adopted, eighteen-year-old, Asian daughter, Yung Hee (Rachel Ramras, Mad), a guy who was turned into a pigeon by his ex-wife and who now goes by the name Pigeon (Norm MacDonald, Saturday Night Live), and a closeted gay, gentleman ghost, Marquess of Queensbury (Jim Rash, Community). They form a team that solves mysteries together, because, why not?

The program is created by Hugh Davidson, who is famous for writing and performing on Robot Chicken. Obviously, Hugh gets some of the random gags from his experience there, but puts together a more cohesive story for this project. What he is doing works extremely well.

I’m not sure exactly why I love MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES so much. It’s part nostalgia, to be sure, as the style and tone references older works for children that I grew up watching. It’s partially the inane sense of humor, often dirty, which Adult Swim is known for. It’s somewhat due to the intelligent references, proving the writer is educated. And it’s just all cleverly woven together, bringing subplots back around full circle and letting even the most insane one-liners actually mean something to the larger picture.

Let me give you an example of this. In the first episode, Mike receives a letter from Pulitzer Prize-winner Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) asking him to help find an ending to his latest book. Mike tosses out a crazy theory as to what the mystery might be, which everyone else scoffs at because it seemingly has no basis in reality. A series of mishaps occur that takes the team to McCarthy’s place, even bringing a second author into the story, and then it all wraps up as Mike predicted, to certain extent. The script isn’t predictable; there aren’t clues connecting point A to point B. But in the end, it all makes a strange kind of sense.

Now, I don’t know if McCarthy voices himself or not, and can’t seem to find confirmation on the internet as of yet. But Mike Tyson, who has had a mixed reputation based on past press coverage, must have a sense of humor about himself to participate in this. The fact that McDonald and Rash, both respectable people, signed up to join him should lend weight to the show, too.

Now, I’m sure MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES is not for everyone. It’s off-the-wall enough that it probably will attract a wide variety of viewers, but not everyone likes their comedy this goofy. It’s far from a traditional family sitcom or a show one can watch with one’s kids. But to a thirty-year-old male critic who watches far too much TV, it tickles the funny bone and strikes me as nearly the most original thing to hit the adult animated scene in years, even with its generous borrowing of other works.

MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES premieres Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET on Cartoon Network.

GLEE "Plan" Not Quite As Expected

Article first published as TV Review: 'Glee' - 'The Back-Up Plan' on Blogcritics.

FOX’s Glee presents a very frustrating installment this week in “The Back-Up Plan.” Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is a Broadway star, earning rave reviews for her leading role in Funny Girl. A month into the run, though, she isn’t satisfied and begins to look elsewhere, despite her new agent (Richard Kind, Luck, Spin City) telling her she has a “face for radio” and can’t make it in TV or film. When Rachel catches the eye of a Fox executive (Community‘s Jim Rash), she risks her job to chase the next dream.

Throughout all of Glee, Rachel has wanted to do Broadway. Fewer than 50 shows, and she’s ready to give it up? It just doesn’t make sense. Had this episode taken place a year after opening, sure, I would buy it, and her stylistically cool “Wake Me Up” would work. True, Rachel’s heroes have crossed from stage to screen, so she’d eventually want to follow in their footsteps. But to finally achieve success and then risk it so carelessly, not appreciating what she’s accomplished? That doesn’t seem like Rachel.

I think Rachel’s producer Sidney (Michael Lerner), has it right when he says (I’m paraphrasing here) she’s a stupid, spoiled, bratty child. The only way to accept what Rachel is doing, lying to Sidney so she can fly to L.A. for a screen test and missing a performance, is to chalk it up to the brashness of youth. She doesn’t understand how badly she’s hurting herself, losing all respect and friendship from Sidney by the end of “The Back-Up Plan.”

It is to Rachel’s credit that she confesses what she does. That, combined with the reviews and ticket sales and a good friend are what save Rachel from being fired, barely. I really, really, hope she learns from this mistake and never tries something so boneheaded again.

Except, just when Rachel is at her lowest, the Fox exec calls again, telling Rachel she didn’t get the science fiction series she tested for (good, because sci-fi almost never thrives on Fox; see: Almost Human, Dollhouse, Firefly, etc.). Instead, he offers her a development deal. This means everything is still going right for Rachel, whipping her right back up another hill on the roller coaster. It’s a great moment for her, but I worry it will wash away any lesson she might take to heart in this situation.

The bad screen test could be another learning opportunity for Rachel. It’s hilarious how the execs squirm as Rachel delivers a fantastic rendition of “The Rose” because it’s so inappropriate for the role. This is what Hollywood is, where even greatness doesn’t mean anything in the wrong room, and Rachel should be humbled, even if her lack of preparedness isn’t really her fault here. Hopefully, she will understand she isn’t all that, but given the end result, it’s not likely.

Credit must be given to Jim Rash for a memorable turn. “The Back-Up Plan” is chock-full of big name guest stars, as next week will be, too, and yet, he stands out. It’s likely because his executive role could so easily have been a caricature, but he finds an authentic way to play it. He’s never a jerk, even when he could be, and is as supportive as he is rambling. There’s something likable and charming in the man that just shines through. Awesome.

Rachel isn’t the only character in Glee this week, of course. Kurt (Chris Colfer) invites Blaine (Darren Criss) to sing with him in front of a wealthy benefactor, June Dolloway (the amazing Shirley MacLaine). June only has eyes for Blaine during their fun “Story of My Life,” though, and sets her sights on making him a star, practically ignoring Kurt. This begins right away when she drags Blaine along to a fundraiser (the organizer of which is played by a completely wasted Eric Roberts, The Dark Knight), where they perform together. Then, she schedules him a showcase.
I love, love, love MacLaine, and I think June may be an interesting part for her. Unfortunately, her duet performance with Blaine, “Piece of My Heart,” is lackluster at best. Her voice does betray her age, even if she dances around like someone ten years younger. However, it’s the lack of energy in the song, inherent to this particular number, that does her in. Couldn’t someone have gotten a better musical choice for someone deserving of more? Plus, the way she looks equally at both Kurt and Blaine during their performance and talk after is teasingly cruel, not suited to her part, just done to build dramatics in the story.

Even worse, June means more strife for Kurt and Blaine. Blaine is determined to take Kurt with him on the train to stardom, and Kurt is more supportive than most would be in his situation. But June tells Blaine Kurt can’t be in the showcase, and Blaine lies to Kurt, unable to let down his fiance. Will Blaine choose Kurt or success? This could put a serious damper in their romance, either way.

Finally, Mercedes (Amber Riley) is faced with a similar choice when she wants to duet with Santana (Naya Rivera) on her album, but the producer (Gary Dourdan, CSI) wants a more famous singer, even after the two kill it with “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Santana tells Mercedes it’s fine, she should do what the label wants to give her record the best chance of success. Will Mercedes choose friendship or a chance at fame?

In the end, Mercedes doesn’t have to decide; she wins Santana a contract. This is just as much a cop out as Rachel being rescued at the last minute by the Fox exec. While Glee has only one more season to show us how these characters end up, and it’s always given their characters happy endings as much as possible, it still feels weak to have triumph come so easily now. Why can’t the characters spend the next year struggling, and only find what they seek at the end? It’s cool to see them doing well, but it just doesn’t feel realistic, sadly.

Disturbing are the rumors this week that Rivera has been fired from Glee. While unconfirmed, its been widely reported. The series would suffer a blow to lose her. She and Michele share a terrific scene in “The Back-Up Plan” as Santana saves Rachel’s bacon in the musical, then asks for nothing in return. After finally getting these ladies on good footing, it would be nice to see this friendship continue. I guess Rivera leaving means Santana and Brittany could finally have their happy ending, though if the actress is fired, we may not see the couple run off together, which would suck.

I’m also disappointed that Rachel’s leading man and director are still MIA even though the last two installments have featured major Funny Girl stories. Were the actors just not available? Why cast them earlier in the season if they couldn’t return when needed? It just makes the world seem less fleshed out and more fake.

Still, at least the story is moving and the actors remain as interesting as they ever have been. I love the more narrowed focus of a handful of players every week, giving them more room to breathe and develop than when ten story lines are being juggled. Three threads seems to be the perfect number for Glee, and overall, “The Back-Up Plan,” while frustrating, is a solid episode.

Glee has two weeks left in its fifth season; it airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

COMMUNITY "Story" Far From "Basic"

Article first published as TV Review: 'Community' - 'Basic Story' on Blogcritics.

NBC’s Community has reached the end of its fifth season with the two-parter that airs this week and next. Part one, called “Basic Story,” finds absolutely no story happening at Greendale. This drives Abed (Danny Pudi) nearly insane, as there always must be a story. But no, the Save Greendale Committee has done its job and saved the school, so all is good in the world. That is, until an insurance appraiser (Michael McDonald, Web Therapy) finds the campus has value, and then the school board can’t wait to sell it off, meaning the Save Greendale Committee did their job too well and had the opposite effect on the school.

It’s absolutely fantastic that “Basic Story” starts with no story. True, Seinfeld made a ten-year run off of a lack of plot, but Community is a show that almost always has something going on. The meta way in which Abed references this, combined with his break down, as he sees his life as a television show and can’t cope with that illusion being broken, is funny and intelligent. It’s another new direction for Community, one that feels very apropos, should this end up being the series finale, the real end of the story.

Fans of Community have long pushed for six seasons and a movie, made famous by their hashtag. Since this is only year five, these viewers, myself included, do not want to see things come to an end now. It would be a promise unfilled, and a terrible tease to get so close to that goal and then fall short. Yet, as has frequently been the case in years past, Community teeters on the brink, unsure of it’s fate. Will the network please just give it one more run, bringing us that much closer to the twitter prophecy?

It’s hard to imagine talking about any other show in these terms, pointing to a social media trend and calling it destiny. Yet, for a series as weird as this one, a program that breaks all the conventional rules of the standard sitcom, it feels right. Just like Abed breaks the fourth wall within the confines of the series, Community should match up with the expectations and dreams of its fans. NBC would be stupid not to give it one more pick up, a gift to those who have followed it for so long, even if it barely makes financial sense. It’s not like the network has an abundance of other successful options to choose from.

If “Basic Story” and its second half does end up being the series finale, though, it is sure to be a good one. This whole fifth year has been a depressing tale of accepting life as it is and giving up on flights of fancy. Jeff (Joel McHale) has to be realistic, returning to the place that drives him crazy and accepting that’s where he belongs. That this place may now be yanked away from him, after he’s put forth so much effort to make it work, feels like the ultimate injustice, and yet one that fits with the tone of the show as a whole.

Jeff deals with the situation as fans would expect him to. At first, he’s in denial, even sending Abed away because he’s can’t cope with the possibility that there might be a problem at Greendale. Then, he acts like he’s OK with the outcome, dissolving the Save Greendale Committee without any huge, outward display of emotion. Finally, he prepares to hook up with Britta (Gillian Jacobs) again, even proposing marriage, settling in love as he does in life.

Some root for Jeff and Britta to be a couple, but I’ve long been a Jeff-Annie shipper. While Britta helps Jeff grow, usually unintentionally, she often feels like she’s the wrong choice for Jeff. In the end, she could be right, but not under these circumstances, where Jeff is just clinging to an anchor as the ship goes down. Their almost-sex is pathetic and sad, not celebratory or fulfilling. So Annie (Alison Brie) is still in the running!

Speaking of Annie, she allows herself to be pulled in to a treasure hunt with the Dean (Academy Award-winner Jim Rash) and Abed. At the last moment, Abed discovers a clue that could save Greendale from being bought out by Subway (anyone else getting Chuck flashbacks?), and they begin searching for the lost riches. This is zany, silly stuff, the kind that the best of Community is made of. But is it real, a Greendale mystery brought to light, or is it Abed forcing a savior into being where none exists?

“Basic Story” has other great character moments, too. The Dean’s breakdown is moving, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) shoots off some terrific one-liners, and Hickey (Jonathan Banks) and Duncan (John Oliver) bond over an unexpected possible family connection. Best of all, Chang (Ken Jeong) betrays the group yet again. If this is how Community is going out, it’s fitting that Chang should become a henchman for the wrong side, the Subway stooge that spies on the group. Another excellent effort in a long string of them for this show.

Community will conclude its tale, at least for now, Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

"Jeff" Supported By COMMUNITY

Article first published as "Jeff" Supported By COMMUNITY on TheTVKing.

The latest installment of NBC's Community, "G.I. Jeff," doesn't feel like Community when it first begins. Animated in an older style, the opening has G.I. Joe and company in combat with Cobra. Then Jeff (Joel McHale) and his friends join the battle, fighting for Joe, which ends poorly when Jeff kills one of the bad guys. Because, after all, you're not supposed to kill people in cartoon war.

Community has poked fun at a number of genres and mediums in the past, and the G.I. Joe take-off is the latest in this tradition. It's clever and well-drawn, fitting the style and format. I love how the writers bend the conceits of the genre in general and the show in particular, pointing out the absurdities and inconsistencies.

To make a good idea even better, Community adds themed commercials for the G.I. Joe toys, which are part of the tale, a layer of the world. These are fun, but they also mean something, as does the "message" tag on the end. This demonstrates not only a clear understanding of the topic being parodied, but also a brilliant formation of a cohesive story.

The cast of Community is folded nicely into this imaginary world. Jeff and the study group fight for the right side, with Britta (Gillian Jacobs) being renamed Buzzkill, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) always mentioning her three kids, and so called Three Kids, Abed (Danny Pudi) pointing out the elements of the format as Fourth Wall, the Dean (Jim Rash) serving as the Vice Commander of Cobra, Duncan (John Oliver), Hickey (Jonathan Banks), and Chang (Ken Jeong) are sort of themselves, and Greendale is a dangerous place that thrives on ambition but sucks away the soul. It's a fitting parallel.

That Annie (Alison Brie) is a big-boobed sexpot may not completely match her character, but it quickly becomes clear why she's taken on this persona when we find out "G.I. Jeff" happens in Jeff's mind. Depressed on his fortieth birthday, Jeff has drank too much scotch and taken some suspicious pills, resulting in a delirium while he recovers in the hospital, his friends surrounding him. This whole thing is Jeff's attempt to recapture his youth and expose his frustrations.

Thus, as much of the season has done, "G.I. Jeff" takes a dark turn. Jeff isn't trying to kill himself, but he isn't happy and needs to get unstuck from his current situation. While past years have seen our heroes revel in their joyous fantasies and friendships, this one focuses on the undercurrent of depression and failure. For some, becoming a college professor would feel like a dream fulfilled. For Jeff, returning to a place he has a love-hate relationship with, it's killing him.

There is no closure in this plot, nor can there be at this time. Jeff does realize he's loved, and that will help him heal from the latest wound. But the damage to his psyche is much deeper. He can escape the animated world in his head, but he cannot escape his reality.

This does not bode well as to how the series will end. Jeff has to leave, which will, by necessity, separate him from the people he cares about. The group may remain friends, but nothing will ever be the same when they leave the sheltered community college. However, leave they must, as that's the only way to find the successes and satisfaction they crave.

"G.I. Jeff" is a clever way to deliver this sermon, all the while playing to the familiar Community characteristics and style that make the show so good. A reference to Pierce and 'Harmon Sucks' graffiti are the touches that make the show so beloved, and even when an episode is more emotional than funny, it remains highly entertaining.

Community airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

No "Dungeons" for COMMUNITY

Article first published as No "Dungeons" for COMMUNITY on TheTVKing.

This week's installment of NBC's Community, "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons," is an excellent entry for the series. While avoiding many of the fantasy-heavy elements other, similar episodes show us, in some stellar acting (with choice sound effects tossed in), the cast paints a picture of a tale as personal as it is made up, luxuriating in the relationships between the players. Plus, there are oodles of the stuff that makes Community so charming.

The little touches that season five lacked are in almost every scene of "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons." It begins right off the bat as Jeff (Joel McHale) mentions Neil (Charley Koontz) as a background character - while Neil strolls through the background. The Dean (Jim Rash) says the school doesn't have insurance, Abed (Danny Pudi) is excited to tackle the challenge of making a good sequel, and Hickey (Jonthan Banks) doesn't know the game his son loves involving dungeons and dragons is called Dungeons & Dragons. All of these things kick the writing up a notch.

Also, there are little references for Community fans to pick up. The names Abed comes up with for the characters within the game, from Joseph Gordon and Riggs Diehard to the troll, all mean something. And the Hawthorne Mountains are a clear tribute to Pierce.

There are also brilliant lines of dialogue sprinkled within. Hickey's son, Hank (David Cross, Arrested Development), whom the gang plans this activity to help Hickey reconnect with, calls Abed 'Aziz,' which sounds a little racist, but is a wonderful shout out to Aziz Ansari. When Hickey is asked what drew him to this game at age sixty, he responds with "Dungeons. It'd be the dungeons," delivered just beautifully. Chang wondering if Hank means Times Square when saying his father missed birthdays because he was somewhere rhyming with no there is so earnest it evokes a smile. Everything Abed says as a troll, either troll, is gold. And Shirley's (Yvette Nicole Brown) parting shot after dying in the game, "Just remember, whenever the wind whispers through the woods, you got me killed," is classic wit.

But beyond all of this, as usual, it's the character development that makes the installment a winner. Jeff's own relationship with his father colors his desire to help Hickey and Hank reconnect, and the tenuous bond, which a proud Hickey is willingly to do just about anything to heal, it very moving. This parent-child connection is one the show has explored before, and it really works well here.

Of course, Abed is outside of this, not being one who relates well to others. His role in "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is to take the game completely seriously, at the expense of all else. He even gets mad that Hickey treats some of the proceedings as a joke. We're reminded once more why Abed isn't normal, but there's also a vulnerability here that informs on who he is and still makes him sympathetic, and his detachment is what drives the great scenario.

Other, small moments are also worth noting. Hickey's instincts is to punch things in the heart, but that's because he's interested in setting his own rules and not feeling helpless, not because he's overly violent. Annie (Alison Brie) mourns Shirley for only a moment before rooting around in her gear, showing how she presents a nice facade to the world, but is ruthless enough to be a competitor. And the Dean's commitment to playing Jeff's son in the D&D world is not only sweet, but integral to who he is.

The ending of all this is great and realistic. Hank and Hickey aren't all smiles and hugs, but a door has been opened between them as efforts are made. They cannot repair such a broken relationship in one afternoon, but thanks to the Save Greendale organization, they have the opportunity to find common ground to start from. It may be just about the most perfectly constructed conclusion of a Community episode yet.

Community airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.