Banana Scoop

Community was snubbed this year at the Emmy’s Nominations.  What a sham.  Writing, direction, acting, all of these things about NBC’s Community is Emmy worthy, but nothing.  Creator Dan Harmon even commented on how he was shafted by the Emmy’s during this year’s San Diego Comic Con.  He hinted at some awesome things he had planned for Season 3 and he firmly believes that he’ll get one some day and I completely agree with him.  Below, I’ve listed a couple of reasons why Community shines so much.   Hit the jump for the break down.

Abed’s Meta Moments

Abed was actually on the set of Cougar Town

Abed is by far my favorite character on the show.  His disillusioned mix between TV and reality is an issue my friends have told me I have a problem with.  So when Abed begins talking, it’s important to listen to what he has to say because everything he says is relevant.  In the episode where he takes Jeff out for Dinner, he begins mentioning that he was once on the set of Cougar Town as a part of his anecdote.  But if you tuned into ABC’s Cougar Town [a rival network of NBC might I add], you’ll see this particular scene.

Other moment’s of Abed’s awesomeness include his birthing scene [the picture above] when Abed is unnoticeably gone and you can see him in the backgrounds talking with a pregnant woman.  During the episodes resolution, you can see in the background that Abed is clearly delivering a baby.  Other instances include his movie within a movie within a movie and his references of the episode types the gang is about to go through [the bottle episode].  Jeff Winger even told Abed to his face how Meta he is.  All these moments are instances of genius writing that should make Community’s writers Emmy nominated.

Whenever the Writers Parody a Skeleton/Commonly Used Sitcom Script

Flashback episode with a catch. THESE FLASHBACKS NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED

A bottle episode.  A memory flashback episode.  A space episode.  A twist-ending episode.  Think of any formula a sitcom has used for an episode and surely Community has parodied it.   This is not a lack of creativity nor is it plagiarism, because Community writers take these ideas and make it unique and memorable. I’ve told people that Community will one day parody the beach episode every sitcom has where the gang goes to a tropical area where the writers can offer fan service on it’s female cast members.  This instance is best summarized in the Paradigms of Human Memory episode, where all the sitcommy moments are drawn out in the open.  The ‘Pierce and Abed moment’ video compilation was especially hilarious.  Other moments where they reference the gang going through some crazy things in the past [that didn’t actually happen] are also hilarious and witty.  Once again, another toast to the writers of Community.

The Pop Culture References that only the Pop Culturally Educated Can Pick Up On

Die Hard anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

To me, the writers make Community everything it is.  And when they include things that may occasionally go over slightly ignorant people’s head, it makes me smile when I catch them.  I haven’t felt this way since I watched Arrested Development where I could watch the same episode 5 times and still pick up on something new.  Community is definitely catered to all audiences, but those who love television and movies will pick up on the more subtle references.  From John McClane to Mad Men to Alien to all other television shows, only those who are educated can pick up on just how clever the show is.  There are instances where Jeff Winger is called to go host American Idol and to go get some soup.  Both of these are references to his close appearance related to Ryan Seacrest and his job as a show host on The Soup.  You better perk your ears up next time you watch Community, you might catch something you missed before.

The Award Winning Performances

Okay, nothing stands out as much as Peter Dinklage’s performance as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones or Amy Poehler’s performance as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation.  But I must admit Joel McHale and Danni Pudi both give very convincing performances as an arrogant lawyer and film geek, respectively.  Maybe this aspect isn’t particularly Emmy worthy yet, but Dan Harmon says this season will focus more on the characters, giving them a chance to display their talent and hopefully that will give them a chance to get nominated also.

The Series has so much Potential

After 2 Seasons, no character seems exhausted or unneeded

It’s commonly known all television series hit their strides come Season 3 and 4.  The writers have found what works with audiences and are now comfortable with the characters they’re writing for.  And with Season 2 giving us a worthy cliff hanger and with no character fatigue settling in, I can safely say Community‘s audience is very ready for more.  I say no character fatigue is setting in because quite frankly, Michael Scott had his run, and to be quite honest The Office should be cancelled completely these days[but that’s a completely different story].  And with Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) joining as a permanent cast member, I honestly can’t wait till Season 3 this fall.