Exactly. Kinda baffling that anyone needs this explained to them, particularly in a musical episode where it's pointed out that a piano is playing itself.
― In Your Velour Slacks (Hairplug Receipts), Sunday, 11 December 2011 18:40 (twelve years ago) link
I think, if Community were cancelled at this point, I might ultimately miss the characters/actors more than the show itself. I say this because I feel like there's been a tug of war between the two modes of this show (semi-grounded exploration of what constitutes a community vs. balls-out rapid-fire experimental genre pastiche) for a while, and the latter seems to be winning out this season. Which is fine, because it's still an excellent show, but there's also a danger of it becoming more of a show I am in awe of and respect (a la Arrested Development) than a show that I love.
― In Your Velour Slacks (Hairplug Receipts), Sunday, 11 December 2011 18:49 (twelve years ago) link
hey guys, i know it's a "musical," i'm saying their parodies are funnier when they don't just zip characters into the world their parodying, but parodies that spring naturally out of the world of Community (i.e., every other song sequence in the episode).
― pothole pleasures, Sunday, 11 December 2011 20:32 (twelve years ago) link
having a rap video backdrop magically appear for our delight would be like having the paintball episode feature an interlude in an actual jungle.
― pothole pleasures, Sunday, 11 December 2011 20:34 (twelve years ago) link
obv the line is blurry (I'm fine with the self-playing piano, etc) and funny is funny, i just think the rap video, anime bit, etc. move the show to the seth mcfarlane side of things more than I'd like
― pothole pleasures, Sunday, 11 December 2011 20:38 (twelve years ago) link
the point is, the weird bits aren't thrown in as random cut-away pop-cultural references, they're used to highlight what's already going in with the character interactions. The 2001 bit made sense as Jeff was hallucinating from monkey sleeping gas and already has so many deep father issues and an even deeper fear of turning into Pierce. Both he & Pierce so need to be a part of the group that they're obsessed with it, which is why the study table was there in the sequence, not the obelisk.
― kingfish sandbox bonaparte, Sunday, 11 December 2011 21:02 (twelve years ago) link
And I liked the Detective Chang bit, as it gives a glimpse into the head of a guy who desperately needs to be in authority and important, so he crafts a highly dramatic narrative out of quotidian measly shit. The joke works in the contrast between what actually is and what chang really, really needs them to be.
Also, the dueling voiceover gag at the end of the ep was awesome.
― kingfish sandbox bonaparte, Sunday, 11 December 2011 21:04 (twelve years ago) link
they're used to highlight what's already going in with the character interactions
How did the rap video do this for you? Not denying it, just wondering. I was actually OK with it as a musical sequence, to be clear.
― EveningStar, Sunday, 11 December 2011 22:30 (twelve years ago) link
Okay, you know what my problem with the rap video was? It took place in the blanket fort instead of the Dreamatorium.
― In Your Velour Slacks (Hairplug Receipts), Sunday, 11 December 2011 22:53 (twelve years ago) link
each song we're shown that transmitted the glee virus was customized to have maximum persuasive impact to the character. since troy & abed clearly have abnormally rich inner lives, and the two of them doing a childish gambino song inside their heads/fort works.
the rest of it fit in with the abnormality of the episode, established with the very first abed song.
― kingfish sandbox bonaparte, Sunday, 11 December 2011 22:57 (twelve years ago) link
my problem w/ the rap video was mainly that both of their flows were distractingly awkward in a not-funny-on-purpose way even though one of them has sold tens of thousands of copies of a rap album
― skrillex pretend (Mr. Stevenson #2), Sunday, 11 December 2011 23:58 (twelve years ago) link
man i knew that after this episode tumblr would be filled with animated gifs and people saying "best episode ever" but i thought that ilx would as usual provide an oasis of sanity, guess not though, this episode was really really subpar, not "bad" per se but i didnt laugh out loud once and the glee parody felt so forced and awkward and stupid and like... song parodies? really?
― max max max max, Monday, 12 December 2011 00:12 (twelve years ago) link
sure but Alison Brie
― Mordy, Monday, 12 December 2011 00:13 (twelve years ago) link
the thing with making fun of something like glee is it's go hard or go home...you kinda have to be as over the top as the target, for better or worse
― skrillex pretend (Mr. Stevenson #2), Monday, 12 December 2011 00:38 (twelve years ago) link
there's always something crazily abnormal happening even if it isn't a theme episode
that being said, I don't think the rap or anime bits improved the episodes much but I understand the resilience to anything like a family guy cutaway. maybe the merits of the flashy rap and anime sequences weren't enough to defend crossing into family guy territory (and I feel like these are ratings stunts). but in the context of the foosball episode, I'm glad I saw anime instead of real life because they sounded really emo during the anime
― CaptainBurlapSax, Monday, 12 December 2011 01:46 (twelve years ago) link
how can something be a ratings stunt if it's happened more than halfway into an episode after anyone 'on the fence' has tuned out and wasn't in any commercials for the episode
― skrillex pretend (Mr. Stevenson #2), Monday, 12 December 2011 01:52 (twelve years ago) link
anyway the more i think about it the more this episode was a total success -- annie's sexy idiot song, the baby boomer song and the children who don't know about jesus song were all perfection
― skrillex pretend (Mr. Stevenson #2), Monday, 12 December 2011 01:54 (twelve years ago) link
I laughed a few times (this Christmas musical episode) because the insanity was awkward and insane (and they were supposed to be brainwashed and acting insanely). It was amazing that Alison was able to exponentially escalate the awkwardness and dumbness of her glee personality during her song. As you watch it, you think she can't sink any farther but she does so incredibly. The very last line was perfect
― CaptainBurlapSax, Monday, 12 December 2011 01:57 (twelve years ago) link
― skrillex pretend (Mr. Stevenson #2)
it's because the writers are still in over-the-top ratings mode... it doesn't brush off so easily. they aren't just trying to get new people (putting stuff in the first 5 minutes)... they are trying to keep the folks who are on the fence
― CaptainBurlapSax, Monday, 12 December 2011 02:01 (twelve years ago) link
and how do you keep people watching if they are only watching with one eye open? big flashy anime and rap sequences
― CaptainBurlapSax, Monday, 12 December 2011 02:02 (twelve years ago) link
impressed anew with ilx's ability to suck the fun out of anything
― mookieproof, Monday, 12 December 2011 02:03 (twelve years ago) link
the honeymoon is over mookie
― CaptainBurlapSax, Monday, 12 December 2011 02:05 (twelve years ago) link
Too much overthinkin' goin' on up in this bitch
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx22ff3gO1qe3p9bo1_500.gifhttp://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx22ff3gO1qe3p9bo2_500.gif
― Tumblr Whites Off Earth Now!! (Sandbox Grisso-McCain), Monday, 12 December 2011 02:08 (twelve years ago) link
my bad
― Tumblr Whites Off Earth Now!! (Sandbox Grisso-McCain), Monday, 12 December 2011 02:09 (twelve years ago) link
i read an article today about how community & himym are like 'post-tumblr' where clearly a lot of jokes are written with an internet afterlife in mind--moments made for gifs & hastags
it was all v rmde til i opened this thread
― HOOS aka driver of steen, Monday, 12 December 2011 02:51 (twelve years ago) link
thing is people have been like this w/ comedy for the longest time -- i mean seinfeld may be more meme-y than anything actually made in the era of people saying the word "meme" constantly. but now every other fucking show has the title w/ a hashtag in front of it in the corner of the screen or quotes names with @ in front of them in ads instead of magazines or newspapers, so there's a whole self-consciousness about how entertaining audiences is somehow different now that the audience is all having a million public conversations with each other as soon as the show is over.
― Mr. Stevenson #2, Monday, 12 December 2011 03:07 (twelve years ago) link
just watched the claymation episode with my sisters, full of renewed love for this show.
― reddening, Monday, 12 December 2011 03:11 (twelve years ago) link
Assuming NBC had any intention of giving Community a bump in order to attract a bit more viewership, they'd do well to rerun the claymation Christmas episode at some point this month.
― In Your Velour Slacks (Hairplug Receipts), Monday, 12 December 2011 03:22 (twelve years ago) link
they are, either this week or next week
― reddening, Monday, 12 December 2011 03:27 (twelve years ago) link
They didn't promote the Glee episode at all -- the online previews didn't show up until two days before -- so I doubt they'll take any extra measures to promote a rerun from last year (untouchably brilliant as it is).
― Tarfumes the Escape Goat, Monday, 12 December 2011 03:31 (twelve years ago) link
Two important things to remember when I sound nonchalant about Community's fate:
a) I basically resent serial TV (too much investment and time, same reason I resent comic books), and would prefer to experience as much as possible in "Trade Paperback" Form. However, my wife is a TV enthusiast and I wind up getting invested in more shows than I'd like to be.
b) a Community I'm not watching would bum me out (the fact that the simpsons is not worth my time STILL bums me out) and I'd rather it die while it was young and beautiful. which it is.
― pothole pleasures, Monday, 12 December 2011 03:39 (twelve years ago) link
otm
― є(٥_ ٥)э, Monday, 12 December 2011 04:13 (twelve years ago) link
offtm
― if you ain't gonna wash it, i ain't gonna eat it, Monday, 12 December 2011 04:24 (twelve years ago) link
i did lol @ "diminishing returns" "what's a dimibidibwibibdib"
― HOOS aka driver of steen, Monday, 12 December 2011 04:28 (twelve years ago) link
i enjoyed how blasé everyone was after mr. rad confessed to murdering the first glee club, like "oh that guy tricked us" rather than "wow he killed eight people."
― reddening, Monday, 12 December 2011 04:37 (twelve years ago) link
PS this is who mr. rad was based on from glee, mr. schuester AKA mr. schue:
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/feb2010/9/7/mirror-22-02-10-image-2-485221691.jpg
― reddening, Monday, 12 December 2011 04:42 (twelve years ago) link
He is the worst person in the world.
― Nicole, Monday, 12 December 2011 11:12 (twelve years ago) link
I loved how cynically contrived each of those songs was as a recruitment tool, especially Shirley's.
― Matt DC, Monday, 12 December 2011 13:19 (twelve years ago) link
is it someone's birthday today??? public schools won't tell me!
― j., Monday, 12 December 2011 13:37 (twelve years ago) link
This episode was hilarious and it was more because of the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" vibe than it was because it was a musical. Britta going up to Jeff and having him turn around going "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" and her subsequent scream was just money.
― OH NOES, Monday, 12 December 2011 15:58 (twelve years ago) link
yup
― flexidisc, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:06 (twelve years ago) link
yeah just the bland laaaaaaaaaaaaaaa was the lolingest part of that
― HOOS aka driver of steen, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:14 (twelve years ago) link
also the implication that everyone else had to be brainwashed via a specific type of song geared towards their sensibilities in order to get sucked into the glee club, but Jeff could just go "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" at Britta and after a good scream she's totally down
― OH NOES, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:16 (twelve years ago) link
like, it actually subtly played to the character's total lack of connection to music
― OH NOES, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:17 (twelve years ago) link
I got a Christmastime for me. I got a Christmastime for a tree.
― Tarfumes the Escape Goat, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:18 (twelve years ago) link
― OH NOES, Monday, December 12, 2011 11:17 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink
haha yes i remember thinking "that's all it takes?"
― HOOS aka driver of steen, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:25 (twelve years ago) link
Pretty good ep. I really hate musicals and would never watch Glee willingly and was going to stop watching until Annie's dance. A pretty enjoyable episode. I liked how Pierce took credit for the perfection of music by the baby boomers. And the "Laaaaa" part was LOL, otm. And yay for animated gifs:
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx5i4AgTm1qbmsgzo1_250.gifhttp://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx5i4AgTm1qbmsgzo2_250.gifhttp://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx5i4AgTm1qbmsgzo3_250.gif
― Emperor Cos Dashit, Monday, 12 December 2011 16:30 (twelve years ago) link
i was cringing that entire scene.
― sir thermo of thinwall, Monday, 12 December 2011 18:28 (twelve years ago) link
prefer it in animated gif form.
I am reasonably certain that scene was supposed to induce cringing, hence Jeff's commentary at the end.
― OH NOES, Monday, 12 December 2011 18:35 (twelve years ago) link