NBC's Community: Best Show You Aren't Watching!

Check out my article about other funny TV shows by clicking the link: Comedy TV

If there was one show on television right now that I would beg people to watch it would be NBC's "Community". It is the best show that no one seems to watch. It's cursed by dark and smart humor that plagued another brilliant comedy by the name of "Arrested Development". People clearly don't want to think or process jokes in their minds when it comes to comedy. People seem to just want to be clearly told why that joke was funny right then and there. People don't want to have to remember jokes told a season ago when it's referenced in a much later episode in the series. Continuity? Come on! Get real! People these days want in your face, slapstick humor that isn't funny and that's why shows like "Are You There Chelsea?" and the terribly unfunny "Whitney" get to stick around while little shows like "Community" get pushed around.

"Community" is a show with serious heart. Each week it tells a pretty poignant 30 minute story that has some kind of message attached to it. They aren't all sweet stories, but all of them have perfect levels of comedy. Don't get me wrong, it's not all dry, witty humor. There is some in your face comedy to try to please everyone. A lot of the humor though, some people may not get, and that's why I think it hasn't registered well with a large audience.

The show follows a group of friends at a community college named Greendale. They started off as a study group for Spanish class. Well it started off with the main character, Jeff, played by Joel McHale starting a fake study group just to get with Britta, the hot blond in the Spanish class. One thing led to another and now we have an eccentric group of friends: Jeff, Britta, Annie, Troy, Abed, Shirley and of course, Pierce. It's not longer a study group but more of an excuse for this group of people to meet every day and become involved in each others crazy lives. It's like a more dysfunctional and modern day version of "The Breakfast Club". 

In fact, the show is awesome at movie and TV references. It's one of those shows that sometimes knows it's a TV show and will break that fourth wall from time to time. There are so many good episodes based off popular films. There was a Pulp Fiction/My Dinner with Andre episode (sounds crazy I know, but it was amazing). They have made several fantastic references to the new Batman series. They have ripped apart Glee on two occasions. They have payed wonderful homage to action films with 2 very popular paintball episodes. Yes, sometimes they leave the reality of their show to do things like "A Fistful of Paintballs" where the show becomes action movie serious and look like a big budget project. The paintball episodes are TV classics in my opinion. They also did an awesome episode making fun of Dungeons and Dragons (one of the best 30 minutes of comedy TV in recent memory) oh and not to mention their "bottle" episode. A bottle episode is where you put the cast of the show into one location for the entire running of the episode to save money on building extra sets. This particular one took place in the study group room and it involved the stealing of one their beloved pens. Of course, we knew this was a bottle episode because Abed clearly says it is. There they go breaking that pesky fourth wall.

Next to "Modern Family", there is no better comedic cast on television then Community. "Parks and Recreation" would be third. This whole cast jives so perfectly together and there isn't a single weak link. They all have their moments. They have all been robbed for Emmy consideration way to many times, and I know by now, it will never happen. Every one of them is just slightly crazy (some more than others) and that's why they are perfect for each other. Pierce, played by Chevy Chase is probably the craziest. He's the instance, racist old man of the group. He has no filter and sometimes it alienates him from the group. Sometimes the way his character is written can be a bit annoying at times, but you can't help but love him. The brightest spots of this show are Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi). The two of them are a match made in heaven and God are they hilarious! Almost every episode ends with the two of them doing some kind of oddball skit not always related to the rest of the episode. They have such bizarre personalities but that's what makes them shine. Troy and Abed are funny as hell and there is no better Christian Bale Batman impression then Abed!

This is a show on the verge of cancellation. It's inevitable at this point and it's a damn shame. The reason being, there are no viewers for this show. It pulls in somewheres around 4 million viewers a week, which for TV standards...is not good. In fact, it's bad, real bad. The show has recently been on hiatus since December and will be returning on March 15th. Plenty of time for everyone to catch up on Season 1 and 2 and the first few episodes of season 3. This show got pulled for crap like "Whitney" and "Are You There Chelsea?" which is apparently what America wants to see. Stupid. Even slipping shows like "30 Rock" and "The Office" can move aside for "Community" I don't care. Just...please give the show a shot. I assure you, if you just watch a few episodes, you will be hooked! It's the smartest comedy on TV and no one is watching it...so please watch it!

It airs (normally) Thursday nights on NBC in the same block as 30 Rock, Parks & Rec and The Office.