re: Community and the Death of Quality Network TV

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how exactly is community (which is one of my favorite comedies) challenging

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First, you have to be familiar with the quirks of the characters to find many things funny. With 2 and a half men after the first minute you know Charlie's a womanizer, Allan is a wuss, Jake is an idiot, and Berta's sarcastic. Pierce is probably the only character on community that is so familiar and simple that you can immediately identify him as racist senile old man. I guess overtly but not openly gay dean is about as easy to figure out, but I'm willing to bet that half of the "average" audience finds his flamboyance uncomfortable rather than funny.

Then some of the jokes are very inside. Inspector Space Time probably just seems like a weird fake TV show to people who aren't familiar with Dr. Who. One of the recent episodes Abed got upset when Shirley was singing the praises of Brett Ratner. You have to at least frequent a forum full of film nerds like I do to even have a clue why that would make Abed upset and why his being upset was funny.

One of the peaks of Community as Art IMO was the episode with Abed living a second life in the background of every scene. It's just a clever show that requires you to pay attention to more than the obvious punchline.

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This is just stupid comedy.

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If you're aiming for the middle it's stupid, if you are aiming at a narrow audience that is likely to be familiar with it, it's smart and makes your audience feel special and superior to the unwashed masses that don't get the joke.

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Then some of the jokes are very inside. Inspector Space Time probably just seems like a weird fake TV show to people who aren't familiar with Dr. Who. One of the recent episodes Abed got upset when Shirley was singing the praises of Brett Ratner. You have to at least frequent a forum full of film nerds like I do to even have a clue why that would make Abed upset and why his being upset was funny.

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but in order for people that arent already familiar with these things it would require them to anticipate these jokes and research the needed material before they happen which seems very implausible

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but in order for people that arent already familiar with these things it would require them to anticipate these jokes and research the needed material before they happen which seems very implausible

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Which in turn, makes the comedy not smart.

If people don't laugh, it's not smart comedy.

you nailed it, you silver tongued bastard.




we live in an impatient world. we want results and we want them now. granted, ratings are what pay the bills, but they shouldn't be the majority of the final grade. so, community bombed with most of the country, or nbc laid an egg filled with shite promoting the show, however you view it. i'm alright with failing, as long as you try. community tried. sometimes it failed, but more often than not, it succeeded, imo. while the rest of the world was watching something not named community, dan harmon was taking cut after cut trying to knock it out of the park. the show's cult-like following (proud member) loved the effort.


i feel like i'm using different words to say the same thing so i'm going to stop typing.

Actually, I've defended Chuck Lorre in the past. there's a place for competently made shows like his. There's nothing wrong with middlebrow. I can turn on most of his shows and just turn off my mind and laugh. That's not a bad thing.I don't think TV should stop making police procedurals, just that there's room for other stuff.

What makes Community brilliant is that it is like the French New Wave of TV. Film critics made films to critique films. Same here. It plays like a TV critic critiquing TV. It is all about the tropes and hanging a lantern on it. Community is a show that points out how TV manipulates you. It's cultural criticism.

And while reality TV sucks, it is what has allowed great TV to blossom. It is cheap to make and gets tons of viewers. Networks can fill hundreds of hours with that crap on a shoestring budget, and then use its money to make quality shows. That's a fair deal to me. No one makes me watch those shows (not true -- I'm married).

I also don't think its trying to feel superior. Hell, I watch Big Bang theory, too. It's a funny show. I just think of my mom. She doesn't look to TV to provide quality, it's just something that's on. Unless it's PBS, she thinks its crap. she'd rather read a book. That's here preferred medium. She's also smarter than I am.

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This is all true, however people keep leaving out on huge factor in today's world: DVD sales. DVD sales is a huge factor in whether a show is allowed to stay on when ratings are bad. DVD sales can save a show, or kill it. The hurtful truth is, as much as Community fans claim to be fanatical, it is not reflected in the sales of the DVD's for the show. DVD sales saved Family Guy. They got Firefly a movie. They saved Chuck for two more seasons. Broadcast companies pay attention to that.

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I'd argue that over the last 3-4 years DVD sales have less of an impact. I have 0 empirical data to back up my point, but with the increase of Netflix, onDemand, Streaming, and even blockbuster express and redbox, I am much less inclined to buy any dvds. The last set I bought was BSG. I suspect that dvd sales will continue to decline as these other mediums gain more traction.

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The hurtful truth is, as much as Community fans claim to be fanatical, it is not reflected in the sales of the DVD's for the show.

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i have two copies of season 2. both were Christmas gifts and i haven't/won't return the unopened one.

My Top 20 for the last 10 years (best at top)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Treme (HBO)
Community (NBC)
Psych (USA)
Chappelle's Show (Comedy Central)
Friday Night Lights (NBC)
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
South Park (Comedy Central)
Archer (FX)
Scrubs (NBC)
Modern Family (ABC)
Chuck (NBC)
Monk (USA)
Burn Notice (USA)
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Blue Mountain State (Spike)
Entourage (HBO)
Ancient Aliens (History)(a guilty pleasure)
Family Guy (FOX)
Swamp People (History) (another guilty pleasure)
That 70s Show (FOX) (although it's best episodes were behind it at this point)

*Band of brothers would have made it, but it aired 11 years ago.

Another thing about 2 And a Half men, BBT etc. Multiple times every episode I can easily predict what the punchline is going to be before its even said. That almost never happens with Community.