"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.

Dystopian COMMUNITY

Article first published as Dystopian COMMUNITY on TheTVKing.

This week's installment of NBC's Community is called "App Development and Condiments." A pair of software developers (Brian Posehn and Steve Agee from The Sarah Silverman Program) introduce Greendale to a new social rating app for their smart phones, MeowMeowBeanz. Soon, as is par for this college, the app makes the campus devolve into a futuristic dystopian society where the highest rated rule the caste system, and the lowers are treated as slaves.

Only at Greendale Community College can the world change so rapidly. It's not like we haven't seen it before, even within this fifth season. A scenario is introduced into the population, and they whole-heartedly embrace it. Until, that is, it gets too dangerous and real and the study group find a way to dismantle the whole system, having worked out their own personal problems. It's the closest thing Community has to a formulaic episode, and it's highly enjoyable.

MeowMeowBeanz is a clever idea. While "App Development and Condiments" doesn't seem to parody any other particular work, it's sort of like if facebook and hot or not went crazy and evolved into a Hunger Games type of world in which everyone is ruled by this bad, useless technology. And having little cat faces all over the dark set is absurd in the best of ways. Toss in some strange future dance and some white curtains, with a flamboyant class just one step below, and suddenly Community has created a familiar and, at the same time, wholly original landscape.

Of course, these are all trappings for the real story. This week finds Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) with her feelings hurt because Jeff (Joel McHale) didn't invite her to a dinner he knows she can't attend. Community doesn't do Jeff-Shirley stories often, but whenever they do, it's great. They are such similar people in their love of other people's adoration, while also being completely different in their belief systems and manipulative tactics, and they make for a surprising friendship.

"App Development and Condiments" lets Shirley and Jeff play out their feud on a grand scale, drawing everyone else into the battle. This hyper reality is a major draw of the show, and it's quite fun when a personal beef is taken to such extremes. At heart is the argument which can be solved with a simple apology, but everything has to fall apart before either can swallow their pride enough to mend the bond, forced to take a look at themselves by their friends forcing them to do so.

Everyone has their own way of coping with the circumstances of the episode, showing beautifully the wonderfully varying people who make up the show. Annie (Alison Brie) becomes Shirley's butt-kisser. Abed (Danny Pudi) succeeds because he understands numbers and stats, but then doesn't like being in a position of authority. Professor Hickey (Jonathan Banks) gets ahead by pretending its his birthday, every day for over a week, while Chang (Ken Jeong) discovers people like limping and commits to that fully. Star-Burns (Dino Stamatopoulos) tries to serve everyone at once, spying and sneaking, but never rising far.

We also have new character Koogler (Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz), who seems to come straight out of an 80s film, a fact hit home by the fake movie trailer in the tag. Not an actor, it seems unlikely that Hurwitz will become part of the recurring cast, which makes his appearance superfluous. I enjoyed his role, but would rather he not be included at all if his presence isn't going to be explained or repeated.

Lastly, we have Britta (Gillian Jacobs) doing what she does best - championing a cause. In this case, she's the one that brings down dystopia when she stages a revolution. Her fellow students begin to listen to her only when she has mustard on her face, so she embraces that until eventually the effect wears off. But it's great to see self-righteous Britta, desperate for approval, making it less likely to be given.

"App Development and Condiments" does seem like a fairly typical episode of Community, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. They are layers of story, always present in the best of the series, and some terrific one-liners, such as when Jeff scolds the students for playing through this on a Saturday, when they could have gone home. Tiny bits, like a 4 approving of 'forbidden love' between 4 Jeff and 2 Britta, sell the universe presented. Very good job.

In fact, if I have one complaint about this season, which we are more than halfway through, it's that the Dean (Jim Rash) hasn't really had any story, reducing him back to the small, supporting role he used to occupy. Rash deserves better material, and he is hilarious when he gets it. Let's hope there's at least one meaty Dean story before the end.

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