I Shouldn't Like Community

I can actually remember the first time I saw a promo for the show Community:it flashed across the screen during a commercial break in The Office. This was back when The Office was basically NBC's flagship (AKA, when Steve Carell was still in the cast and before Jim and Pam devolved into snarky parents), and they were trying desperately to get viewers to try other offerings by both leading and following with new shows. Community was one of those, and during that first promo, it seemed like yet another cookie-cutter NBC sitcom: there's the leading male that will appeal to the hipsters (Joel McHale), the hot commodity (Ken Jeong, fresh of The Hangover), the cute chick (Alison Brie), the funny black guy (Donald Glover), the old guy (Chevy Chase), and supporting cast. The inclusion of Chevy was probably the biggest red flag for me: since he's had so little work in the last decade, it smacked of desperate casting in an attempt to attach a well-known name to the project and attract older viewers.

For almost two seasons, I had basically no interest, and it was actually the aforementioned slide of The Office that made me give it a shot. What I found was an oddly funny mix of whimsy, light social commentary, and focus on somewhat stereotypical but entertaining characters. What follows are the reasons I shouldn't like Community, but do.

1. It gets pretty weird sometimes.

Excluding animated series, I am not a person who likes a lot of deviation from reality; if there's a strong fantasy element or an overarching supernatural element, I'm probably changing the channel (see Merlin, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, etc.). I like stories/characters to which I can relate in a way, and flying a spaceship is one level too far. One of the more consistent criticisms of the show I've heard is that it basically gets very silly at times: from epic pillow fights to claymation, the creators have no qualms taking a detour through some very odd paths. But they pull it off expertly, and I think it's because it's done in a very self-aware way and the characters always stay the characters.

Whether the gang is fighting for their "lives" in an over-the-top game of paintball or battling in an 8-bit video game, their personalities and proclivities stay the same; Jeff is always going to give a sardonic quip, Shirley and Annie are always going to go "awwwww" at cute things, Abed will always be robotic and slightly weird, and Pierce will always be a hateful bigot. In TV, when well-known characters are introduced to new worlds/settings and their behavior or speech changes, I think we sense these aren't really the characters we have come to like and the group dynamic (which makes most sitcoms work) has changed. When character identities are kept intact, not only can the normal flow of interaction remain, but the (relative) normalcy of the characters can act in stark contrast to the surroundings and be funny in and of itself. Community balances this as well as any show I've seen, and although an episode which lacks real continuity and doesn't forward any major plot arcs sounds like a waste, they're usually entertaining enough to make it more than worth it.

Another help is that the writers realize that all of this is ridiculous, so both metaphorical and physical winks are a mainstay, letting the viewer know that yes, this is a joke. This hits some as hipster irony-gloating, but I think Community walks the line fairly well, rarely falling into bad satire and, at worst, playing up the meta card too often.

2. Romantic subplots abound.

By now, it seems nearly every TV writer has realized the formula for romantic interests in sitcoms is to have two characters fall for each other, be in positions where they don't get together, and string the viewers along with either constant pursuit by the man when the woman isn't interested/isn't aware (Sam and Diane on Cheers, Niles and Daphne on Frasier, Dan and Christine on Night Court) or have them both be in unfortunate circumstances which keep them apart even thought they're both interested (Pam and Jim on The Office, Elliot and JD on Scrubs). There is also the third option of never quite having the characters get together, but having some sexual tension there (Liz and Jack on 30 Rock), but that's not really a romantic interest.

Community doesn't throw all this out the window; more like combines all of them. Without going into soap opera-like detail, there are several overarching romantic interests that have run the full three seasons, but then there are seemingly random episodes where you think two characters who have previously shown zero interest in each other might get together. There is an early hookup to mess up the standard "will they ever do it?" standard, and there is a surprise one later which comes out of nowhere. The best thing the writers do is to keep everything light: there are no obsessions which look like they could devolve into violence or pathetic pining, so none of it feels like there will be any real consequences, which works rather well in a comedy.

3. It has "very special" moments.

Louie is one of my favorite shows, not only because it's hilarious, but because it dares to show the realities of life, including really bad/depressing things happening to its characters, up to and including an inferred suicide of a friend. So many shows predictably wrap up every episode with a clean conclusion to the A and B plot arcs and a happy ending (not the Cinemax kind) that's just a little too sweet and convenient. The biggest offender in this category today is Modern Family: no matter what happens, you know the last minute is going to be a narrative monologue about the importance of family/doing the right thing/accepting yourself/whatever over a montage of all the stories being wrapped up.

I am not saying Community does not do this: it does, just not with the frequency and finality of most shows. There have been several episodes that have gotten warm and fuzzy with the characters either professing how important they are to each other or exchanging meaningful looks to the same. I can tolerate this because right afterward, I know there's a gag; when they end each episode with a laugh instead of an after-school special on friendship, it's far easier to overlook the fact that most things get tied up fairly neatly at the end of the episode.

4. I would not hang out with the characters in real life.

As with the last one, this is more of a half-reason considering a fair number of characters from my favorite shows are either morally bad people (Seinfeld, The Wire, The League) or would be very annoying to be around in real life (Flight of the Conchords, Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle). Many shows are purposefully built around very bad people, but the criticism of Community's characters isn't that as much as they're just your run of the mill self-centered jerks: the members of the study group make very clear that they don't care about people outside of it, they're pretty terrible to each other a lot of the time (and not just Pierce), most exhibit some form of narcissism, and a few have some pretty bad character flaws (judgmental, attention-seeking, racist, sociopathic, etc.).

I think I have a different standard for characters in comedy and drama. One of the reasons I stopped watching Mad Men was that the show was the equivalent of Abraham walking around Sodom: you couldn't find one good person in the whole lot (Lot, get it?). I can deal with a cast full of terrible people as long as there is one person for whom I can root (Game of Thrones) or a realistic duality where people are both good and bad (The Wire), but after watching nearly two seasons of Mad Men, it just held no interest for me. It was basically a self-destructive guy living two lives and ruining everything around him while simultaneously wasting all his (significant) talent; no thanks. However, if I'm watching a comedy, I apparently couldn't care less about the moral ground of the characters. As long as it's clever or funny, I'm fine; I'm not looking to identify with these characters or gain a greater understanding of the the human condition, just looking for a laugh. As a result, the fact that the Community characters are, for the most part, a bunch of assholes doesn't bother me.

5. It makes a lot of pop culture references.

I'm actually a little surprised I didn't notice this until I read a critique on the show. They do make quite a few pop culture references in the show, and that seems to hit some people the wrong way, but I guess I'm solidly in the target demographic, because I pretty much get them all and they don't get on my nerves. I normally end up watching it with people near my age (late 20s, early 30s), and the vast majority seem to get the references, and since they mostly have to do with people/events/fads of the past, it doesn't seem as hokey or forced as other shows that are trying to look hip by referencing current cultural obsessions.

Community seems to be more of a polarizing show than many others, and while I can understand the complaints of those who dislike it, I find it a fairly novel and funny show amid all the standard cop dramas and comedian-of-the-minute laugh track sitcoms.