So, lately I've gotten really into a show. That show is called Community.
Maybe you've heard of it. Maybe you haven't. But I suggest you watch a few episodes. You'll probably like it.
Or....
Well, some people start out liking it and then get tired of it. I was the opposite. I started out not really thinking much of it, and then loving it.
Basic concept:
Seven very different people meet up at a crappy community college. They're all taking spanish, so they form a study group. And that study group becomes a kind of family.
The writing in this show is good, but what I really really love about it is that the characters all have their very own, very distinct identity:
Jeff: He was a bigshot lawyer before he got kicked out of his law firm for not having the proper papers for being a legitimate lawyer. He knew he didn't have the proper papers - Jeff is very used to scamming his way through life. So, in order to get back easy, he went to a crappy community college to get the easiest way back into being a real lawyer. Jeff is a master at manipulating people, and he will if he feels it will help him gain something. He seems to think - or at least tells people that he thinks - that he is the most deserving person on earth. He very rarely likes to admit he cares about something - he prefers to be extremely non-chalant and cool toward people. He's the one who starts the study group in the first place, but not for the proper reason - he did it so that he could get in Britta's bed.
What I like about this character is that he starts out, as you can probably tell, as a huge D-bag. But he does have a kind of evolution through the series, as does every character. He uses his "powers" to bring the group together. He starts thinking about other people - sometimes over himself. He starts to show that he does care about some things. But you need to be following the series to see this - if you start an episode without knowing what's going on, then he's just going to look like a D-bag.
Britta: She's what you would call a modern hippie. A rebel without a cause - or as the show once described her, the "needlessly defiant". She talks about being all for female empowerment, charity, organicness and naturality, to the point of being annoying to the others. She's attractive - she knows it, and uses it. She can be very immature - she has what one could call a brother/sisterly rivalry with Jeff, and they're often bickering and making fun of each other - but she can also be very mature. She and Jeff act as the mother and father figures of the study group, respectively. What Britta most cares about is putting others before herself, and helping others - even if some other people accidentally get hurt in the process. But she's also very defiant by nature, and if someone offends her, then she will do what she can to shove it back in their face.
Annie: A nineteen year old girl, very driven, very smart, very determined. She probably could have gone to a better college, but in high school she got addicted to pills and had a nervous breakdown. She had to go to rehab. Her mother didn't support her in rehab, and as a result they've turned their backs on each other and Annie now lives in an apartment by herself in a dangerous neighbourhood. You wouldn't be able to tell she ever had that problem now. She's quite by-the-book, though she does have the ability to adapt and be resourceful. She had a crush on Troy, and now appears to have a crushy thing on Jeff. She, like me, analyzes everything, though as a result she reads too far into things and ends up expecting more than people actually offered. She's an adult by her actions, but childlike by her morals - her distinction between right and wrong is very bold, and if someone lies or is disrespectful then she will be the one to "tell on them". Her friends are a top priority for her. She wants the best for the people around her, but her judgement of what's best may not be the same as others.
Troy: He and Annie went to high school together. He was the jock in high school, and was very popular then. Now he goes to Greendale...... for some reason. Troy is a believer in passion, and a believer in fun over work. His brotha-from-anotha-motha is Abed.... who I will get to. Troy is not smart.... in the traditional sense. He's not smart intellectually/academically, or particularly street smart..... but he knows instinct, and he knows motivation. And every once in a while he dazzles them with a good idea. Troy is a little bit like Jeff in some ways..... being the popular jock in high school left him under the impression that he was a little more entitled than the rest. But he also has a very dutiful sense of right and wrong, and he always corrects himself if he offends someone, and will tell someone if he thinks they're doing something wrong. He's a little childish - in fact, he's quite childish, but he knows when to be mature.
Shirley: She's a born again christian woman, single mother - her husband cheated on her, so she kicked him out, and then when he came back she forgave him because of her christian values. She fancies herself the perfect christian - she forgives everyone (or says she does) and works hard to always be considerate and nice to people. She responds to good news with an "oh, that's nice," in a very super sweet way and responds to bad news with questions about why that would happen. Shirley.... has thinly veiled anger issues hidden shallowly beneath the surface. If someone offends her, or someone she cares about, then forgiveness and turning the other cheek sort of goes out the window - she knows how to kick ass. She believes in perfection - she strives for it, and can't understand why other people wouldn't. I mean..... she accepts people for their imperfections, but she strives to make sure that nothing that would make people unhappy happens, and can't understand when other people let that happen. She's had some darkness.... she used to be an alcoholic. Which is probably one of the reasons she tries so hard to keep that kind of darkness out.
Pierce: Pretty much Community's equivalent of a crazy old man. Ah, wait, scratch that - that would be Leonard. Pierce is older than the others (like in his sixties) and has very... outdated points of view. That is, he's pretty much racist and homophobic. He thinks he can rule other people's worlds with his money and riches. He likes to manipulate people that way - he's not dependent on people, but he's dependent on people being dependent on him. He demands respect in spite of the fact that it's very hard to. At least in the second season, he was pretty selfish and self-centered, but he was mostly playing the antagonist in the second season, so........ What he wants is to be accepted somewhere, to be liked. He makes it hard for himself though, because if he has any negative feelings toward anyone he tends to blow it out of proportion and just make things worse. He's been married seven times, divorced every single one. When he meets someone he likes, he tests their boundaries. Pushes them. That's why most of them don't last very long. But he gives respect where he can see that respect is due.
Abed: Last but not least. Certainly not least. He's my ultimate favourite out of this show. He's just made of awesome.
Abed is undiagnosable. Jeff's said Aspergers, but that's not the point. The point is Abed is..... weird. He doesn't know how to act around people, he doesn't understand people. He doesn't understand emotion, and he seldom ever really shows any emotion through any facial expression - the only emotion he shows is through cliches from TV that he happens to find relatable at that point in time. He likes TV more than he likes life - he understands TV more. To him, TV has more structure than life, and so because of this he's developed a kind of obsession with television. He's always making references to TV, slipping into blatantly obvious stereotypes or characters from TV and movies, because to him it just makes more sense to apply it that way. Abed does not understand people at all, and he does not know how anything he does will affect anyone, so Abed learns by observation. He observes how people talk to each other, and he usually makes the connections of their psychologies/personalities........ but he doesn't have the natural instinct for it that "normal" people do. He needs to work hard to act accordingly around people. Abed is used to not being understood, and though his facial expression never shows SIGNIFICANT change, one can tell when he's been hurt or doesn't understand something. The most enthusiasm Abed usually shows is a slight twitch at the corner of the mouth and a "Cool. Cool cool cool." People often think that Abed is incompetent because of this.... "disability", and then discover they're sadly mistaken when Abed swiftly and unexpectedly proves his point and make everyone rethink everything. Abed knows the difference between right and wrong, and though you wouldn't know it sometimes, he knows the difference between TV and real life. But Abed has difficulty expressing his emotions. Observations and thoughts, no problem. But emotions are hard for him. That's why he makes movies. People understand movies. They make sense to everyone. So Abed is working to become a filmmaker. He's also Troy's brotha-from-anotha-motha - they have lots of fun doing ridiculous things together.
Those are my summaries of the characters. I know I was supposed to be reviewing the show, but this is pretty much the Community rant I've been wanting to have. But, all in all, the show is wacky, fun, light-hearted, ridiculous at times, great if you like spoofs (courtesy of Abed) and hilarious. It's also great for analyzers like myself, because those wonderful writers are constantly adding dimensions to the characters.
There's always conflict, but it's usually light-hearted nonetheless. It's always wacky, but never nonsensical. It's ingeniusly balanced.
If you like to think, it's a fun show. If you just watch a show for the sake of watching it, then it's fine then too - it will provide you with the laughter you seek. All in all, it's a great show to watch, and you should all watch at least a few episodes.
5/5 stars.
P.S Did I mention that Abed is the best? Because Abed is like the best character. He's awesome.
