TV, but not on TV - Community

One of the most recent TV series I’ve been enjoying in this past season is Community, staring The Soup’s writer, producer and star Joel McHale. Think “Cronica carcotasilor” meets Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane (btw: are all truly funny men Scottish???). The show makes no grand effort to become a hit, but the writing and acting keep you tuning in week after week.



Here it is in a nutshell: all the action focuses around this weird little group of people, who, because something or another went wrong in their lives, had to come back to college. Community college. Greendale Community College.

All of the main characters bring their problems to the table - the one where the Spanish study group was supposed to actually study - resulting in a cautionary tale about how friendships don’t come for granted, but needs constant work and care. At least that’s what I’ve got. They have to adapt and help each other go through some challenge every episode, and that makes them bond.

My absolute favorite episode so far is “Comparative Religion”. Yes, I’m going that way, again. Like to guess what beliefs the characters share with the audience and each other, for the first time? Shirley is Christian, Troy - Jehova’s witness, Annie - Jewish, Abed - Muslim, Britta - Atheist, Pierce thinks he’s a Buddist, but probably belongs to a cult, and, surprise surprise, who gets hit in the face with crumpled pieces of paper throughout the show every time he says he’s Agnostic? Jeff, who is, as Pierce (played by Chevy Chase) puts it “the lazy man’s atheist”.

However, that was not the best agnostic related quote of the episode, but Jeff’s answer to Shirley’s accusation:
“You think religion is stupid”
“No, no. To me, religion is like Paul Rudd. I see the appeal, and I would never take it away from anyone, but I would also never stand in line for it.”

All in all I think the show benefits from some great writing and exceptionally good acting, making me not just watch it and enjoy it every week, but also wanting to endlessly quote scenes and lines.

“Oh, com’on, Shirley, don’t be mad!”
“I’m not mad, I’m disappointed.”
“That’s Mom for mad...”