Community: I Like This Show A Lot, But I'm Still Not Sure It's Great

I have time to really blog tonight! Woo hoo! The evening started off with Community, which I'm normally excited to watch because I love Joel McHale and The Soup so much. Tonight's episode felt a little off though. I'm not saying it wasn't funny, it just wasn't consistently funny, which I would expect from a show that's got a few episodes under its belt. Let's break it down:

The Good:

• Senor Chang. He's got just enough "My life blows" in his personality to be crazy without going overboard. Ken Jeong is a fantastic actor.
  
• Jeff and Britta. I'm a sucker for romantic tension and I think I will like them as a couple when they get there. Until then, I will like Britta continually sniping at Jeff until he does something nice for her.
  
• Annie, aka Alison Brie, aka Trudy Campbell. I'm not sure I love Annie as a character. She can be a bit shrill. I do like seeing Alison Brie flex her comedic chops, because it's clear she's got great range to do drama and comedy. She needs to get her butt back over to Mad Men, though, because Pete's eyes are a-wandering and someone needs to watch him.
  

The Bad:

• Abed's storyline. Just didn't do it for me tonight. I kept waiting for him to walk off screen so I wouldn't have to see him. I found him irritating and not at all engaging like he was when he was making his student film.
  
• Chevy Chase. No disrespect to Chevy, but I find his character, Pierce, infinitely, infinitely annoying. Infinitely. Like I just want him to shut up when he opens his mouth. I'll give him some props based on the school song set to Tupac's "Changes" at the end of the episode, but honestly I wouldn't mind seeing Pierce get expelled.
  
• The British Guy. I don't know the character's name because we haven't seen him in a while, but his presence feels unnecessary. And unfunny. Save for his scenes with Senor Chang.
  

The Undecided:

• The rapid fire pop culture references. Ok, I know, I know, I should love them, but honestly they're hard to keep up with and this isn't 30 Rock. Case in point: in the opening scene tonight Senor Chang called Annie "Mary Ann," Pierce, "Grandpa," Shirley, "Jackee," Abed, "Kumar," and himself, "Mr. Miyagi." That's references to Gilligan's Island, The Munsters, the mom from Sister, Sister, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and The Karate Kid all in a span of five seconds. That is a shit-ton, yes a shit-ton, of pop culture references. I like them, but I also like not having my brain working on all cylinders watching for and working out pop culture references all episode.
  

Ok so those are my thoughts. Now for some quotes, which were pretty damn funny:

"Well I may be a genius, but I'm not a lesbian."--Pierce. Yup, just yup.

"We are mature. Too mature to sit in a class with a cheating, lying poopface."--Senor Chang

"She stormed out of the room in her high-heeled boots like it was tampon time."--Senor Chang. Woah. He went there.

"You're very confident, I'll say that." "You shouldn't be."--British Guy and Senor Chang to the man taking a shower.

Am I alone here in thinking that tonight was a little off? Please tell me if I'm wrong.

Grey's Anatomy, The Office, and Community Recaps: Doing These All Together to Save Myself Time

So I'm only getting around to these three now (it was a busy weekend) and I don't have too much to say about each, so let's just take them in turn:

Grey's Anatomy: Really, after that episode what is there left to say? Let's use the characters own words, shall we? To tee this up, this exchange occurs after Izzie runs away from George's grave during the funeral and Alex, Meredith, and Cristina follow. Turns out, Izzie is laughing, not crying:

Izzie (still guffawing): George is dead. He's dead. They're about to put him in the ground, and the priest is doing classic rock lyrics, and that girl, that redhead, is crying harder than his mother. Cristina: You are far more twisted than I ever realized.
Izzie, to Meredith: And you got married on a Post-It!
Meredith: I got married on a Post-It, I did.
Cristina, to Izzie and Alex: And you guys got married for real?!
Izzie: And I got cancer? What?

The fact that these characters have acknowledged just how ridiculous this show has become only makes me even more angry. I get that this might be how they're coping with George's death, and I get that T.R. Knight has to leave, and I get that we need to deal with all the weird shit that's happened to move forward, but honestly, I just don't give a fuck anymore. Because Izzie's cancer has only made her more shrill and preachy (I know the red head deserved to get yelled at, but it should have come from Cristina, it would have been more believable and effective.) Because now they need to hide Ellen Pompeo behind things because of her pregnancy. Because the Chief has become a complete and utter tool. Because, because, because, ughhh I don't care.

There were some good things: Owen and Cristina's relationship (their scenes with the shrink--yay Amy Madigan!--were fantastic), Dr. Bailey going ice queen (GIVE CHANDRA WILSON AN EMMY!), the fact that Meredith and Derek seem happy, but those will do little to help reform my attachment. I may continue watching to see how this merger storyline plays out, but don't expect me to write much more about it. Ughh.

The Office: Now this was the episode we deserved last week, not that stinking piece of crap we got instead. The main plot was actually funny and really engaging (Michael fearing for his job and screwing Jim over in the process), the side plots were funny too (Pam getting RSVPs for her wedding and Dwight and Toby investigating Darryl), and it set up a great tension for the next few episodes (Michael and Jim being co-managers of the branch). Also, Dwight's reaction to the news was just priceless: I finally understand what that painting The Scream is all about.

Community: Very funny second outing. The pacing has settled down and the characters are really falling into their roles nicely. Ken Jeong has made a nice addition as the crazy Spanish teacher, and I really enjoyed Jeff and Pierce's presentation prep and subsequent disaster of a presentation. Also, how ridiculous was the protest for Guatemala? Did you catch the students protesting were chanting "We hate Guatemala?" Hilarious. This is my second favorite new show. Definitely.

Community Season Premiere: A Bajillion Thumbs Up

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we have a winner here folks! Community was, in a word, fucking fantastic. It is funny and irreverent and smart. Finally, finally, Joel McHale will get the broader audience he deserves. Now, if you're a frequent reader of this space, you may know that I think Joel McHale and The Soup, his show on E!, are two of the funniest things in creation. The awesome, awesome, awesomely awesome thing here is that he brings his rapid fire, joke-a-minute, lots-of-pop-culture-references style to this show with very promising results.

Here, McHale plays Jeff, a lawyer who must return to community college to get the degree he lied about so that he won't get disbarred. Early on, Jeff sets his sights on Britta (a woman, not the water pitcher), but she's not interested in anything but the Spanish test tomorrow they have the next day. He, of course, tells her that he is a certified Spanish tutor, even though he can barely string together a coherent sentence in Spanish. (He does know lots of Spanish words though). He offers to tutor her one-on-one, but eventually winds up with a large study group comprised of the most motley crew I've seen in a while: Chevy Chase playing a creepy hippy (I think), a sassy black lady, a token Indian/Middle Eastern guy with Asperger's (I think), a former high school jock, and Trudy Campbell from Mad Men. Not gonna lie, I practically JIMPed when I realized it was her. I love when my pop culture loves cross paths. It's like fireworks! (I sound crazy. Yeah.)

Moving along, Jeff decides to derail the study session in the interests of taking Britta to dinner and getting in her pants (her words, not mine), so he gets everyone to fight with each other, which is pretty amazing. Britta forces him to make everyone make up, which he does, before she kicks him out of the study group, only to allow him back in at the end of the episode when these fools all realize that they need each other. There were also a ton of references to them being like The Breakfast Club, which is kind of true and kind of not (and I know that caused others out there to JIMP as well).

I haven't even addressed the hilarious British fellow who plays Jeff's professor friend, but there will be many, many more weeks for that, because I'm hoping this show will be around for a while and I'm planning on doing everything in my power to make it happen. I will leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the episode:

"Are you familiar with the adage 'Cheaters never prosper?" "No and if I wanted to learn something, I wouldn't have come to community college." --Professor Duncan and Jeff. Oh snap.

"I'm sorry, I was raised on TV and I've been conditioned to believe that every black woman over 50 is a cosmic mentor."--Joel McHale to the black lady. Not only is this a universal truth, but this is also the EXACT MOMENT I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS SHOW.

"Being younger doesn't make me any stupider. Given your age, you must have made bad life decisions."--Trudy Campbell, I mean Annie, to Shirley

"You are all better than you think you are, you are just aren't designed to believe it."--Jeff, in an uplifitng speech full of other jokes that I didn't catch.

"Asperger's, hehe." "It's a serious disorder." "If it's so serious, why didn't they call it meningitis."--Troy, Trudy Campell, and Chevy Chase. I will not refer to Chevy Chase's character's name, because I doubt I will be able to remember it, and it's just so much easier to call him Chevy Chase.

So, what did you all think? Mind you, answers other than "THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME" will not be accepted. I'm kind of hoping that McHale can find some way to incorporate his greatest Soup moments into the show somehow. I'd love him to randomly pull out the Whitney Houston "Kiss My Ass!" clip or the one of Tyra's fat ass. Yeah, that would be great.

Check back tomorrow for my overview of the Lead Actress - Drama category (Glenn Close is watching you, so you better pick her or else.)

Your Fall Television Primer: The Rookies

So following up on Tuesday's post about our favorite returning shows, today I'd like to overview the new shows that most caught my attention. Let's begin:

September 9th: GLEE, 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Fox
It's fitting that I start out with the show that I think is the biggest wild card of the upcoming season. Glee is about, well, a high school glee club and all of the associated trials and tribulations. We have the popular jock who looking to be more than just a jock, the outcast girl who pines for the popular jock, the schoolteacher who loves teaching, the shrill wife, the wallflower, etc., etc. None of these things make Glee any different from all the other high school dramas or comedies or dramedies we've seen over the years. Nope, the thing that sets Glee apart is that it is essentially a musical. As we know, shows that incorporate characters singing on a regular basis have not fared well on network television, just take a look at Cop Rock and Viva Laughlin. Actually, don't, because they are awful, awful clips from awful, awful shows. The good thing is, I don't think Glee is going to suffer the same fate. It's a musical in the way the movie Once was a musical, as in that when characters sing on Glee it's because the situation calls for it (practice, competition, etc.) At least that's true for the episode I've seen. I'm willing to give Glee a shot, but I promise as soon as it veers into Cop Rock territory, I'm changing the channel.

September 14th: THE JAY LENO SHOW, 10 p.m. Weeknights, NBC
Do not watch this show. If you like scripted television, do not watch this show. If you know someone who likes scripted television, do not watch this show. If you believe in goodness or happiness, do not watch this show. If you have a soul, DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW. Armageddon is upon us TV fans: NBC is taking 5 hours of its nightly schedule away from thought-provoking adult dramas and giving them to one man, Jay fucking Leno. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the guy, but he has no place in prime time. It makes me absolutely and utterly sad to think that NBC, the network that brought us Friends, Seinfeld, Fraiser, ER, Cheers, The Cosby Show, Mad About You, Hill St. Blues, St. Elsewhere, and even Miami Vice, is abandoning that history, that legacy of strong, quality, enter-fucking-taining programming, and going with a cheap talk show. NBC would argue that television viewership is down across the board so this makes good commercial sense for them, and while, yes, nightly ratings may be dropping, people will still watch good television when given the chance. NBC just doesn't know how to produce good shows anymore (The Office and 30 Rock excluded), so they're taking the easy way out. For shame, NBC, for shame. Please, I beg you, do not watch this show.

September 17th: COMMUNITY, 9:30 p.m. Thursdays, NBC
If you've been a reader of this space before, you know I love a little show on E! called The Soup, hosted by Joel McHale. Well, boys and girls, Christmas is coming early this year, because McHale, a hilariously funny and witty and sharp individual, is finally getting his own show. In Community, he plays Jeff, a suspended lawyer who is back in school after his college degree is deemed invalid by the State Bar. The cast includes Chevy Chase and Ken Jeong (the Asian guy from The Hangover). If this show can't bring people back to NBC, nothing can. You can view the trailer here. At the very least, watching will help prevent NBC from expanding Leno to 90 minutes on Thursdays.

September 23rd: COUGAR TOWN, 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, ABC
Do I even need to say anything? The show stars Courtney Cox and has the word COUGAR in the title. Courtney Cox is a COUGAR. Therefore this show is about COUGARS. ABC is airing a show about COUGARS. ABC is airing a show about COUGARS starring Courtney Cox. COUGARS, COUGARS, COUGARS, Courtney Cox, COUGARS. COUGARS. I hope this show is good, because COUGARS. Courtney Cox.

September 24th: FLASHFORWARD, 8 p.m. Thursdays, ABC
Created by Brannon Braga (Star Trek: TNG and Voyager, which makes him my hero) and David S. Goyer (a co-writer on a little film called The Dark Knight, which you may have seen), this show is about what happens after every person on the planet blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and sees a vision of their life 6 months in the future. This show is the clear heir to LOST (which wraps up next spring) and I'll be damned if I'm not ready to watch every minute of it. Besides it's wonderful creative pedigree, the show also stars LOST veterans Sonya Walger (Penny!) and Dominic Monaghan (Charlie!), as wells such familiar faces as John Cho, Gabrielle Union, and Joseph Fiennes. You can watch the promo here. I'm going to go ahead and say that this is my early pick for new favorite show of the season.

Other new shows:

• Sept 8: Melrose Place (9 p.m., The CW). Because one crappy CW remake wasn't enough. Oh you're still considering watching? Well Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is the star. There, I knew I could convince you.
  
• Sept 10: Vampire Diaries (8 p.m., The CW). This show looks just like Twilight, which depending on how you feel about that madness might determine your interest. If you'd like to watch a truly great TV show about vampires, go watch True Blood. Or get some Buffy DVDs. Either works. But especially True Blood.
  
• Sept 16: The Beautiful Life (9 p.m., The CW). This show is about Mischa Barton being a model and most likely a hot mess. Don't say I didn't warn you.
• Sept 21: Accidentally on Purpose (8:30 p.m., CBS). Jenna Elfman plays a woman who gets knocked up. I'm sure I will watch this once or twice accidentally on purpose after HIMYM as I anticipate what the boobs will be up to at 9 p.m.
• Sept 22: The Forgotten (10 p.m., ABC). Christian Slater stars as a former cop solving John and Jane Doe murder mysteries. Wait, what did I say this was about? I've....forgotten.
  
• Sept 22: The Good Wife (10 p.m., CBS). The only thing I know about this show is that Julianna Margulies looks like Famke Janssen in the posters.
  
• Sept 23: Mercy (8 p.m., NBC). Georgina Sparks plays a nurse. That idea scares me. If you don't watch, Leno gets this timeslot too.
  
• Sept 23: Eastwick (10 p.m., ABC). Lipstick Jungle with magic powers. No thank you.
• Sept 27: The Cleveland Show (8:30 p.m., Fox). Quagmire's Quagmire would have made a much better Family Guy spin-off, don't you think?

So that's it for my TV season preview. Is there a show that I missed that you'd like to get my sage opinion on? Let me know. I'll be back Sunday with the first of a series of posts analyzing the Emmy races this year. First up, comedy supporting actor/actress.