Community (Season 3): POP POP POP! - Page 3

Another random bit I loved:  Dean Pelton gently brushing Jeff's soldier as he leaves, which he barely even notices at this point.

3rd little bit I loved:

 

Shirley:  I see you've added a lizard to your look.  Am I missing anything/

Starburns:  Just the person underneath.  But no one's really interested in that, are they?

Shirley (in high pitch "nice voice"):  Nooooooo...

 

 

Always nice when Shirley can deliver one of the biggest laughs in an episode.

 

 

She also had the "this would be a great time to baptize him" line, which was fantastic

 

That "...baptize him" line killed me.

Britta the needlessly defiant vs. Chang the needlessly empowered plus Lionel Richie might have made this one of my favorite episodes.

I've personally found the first couple of episodes to be flat in a way that's hard to describe. They've been more grounded than the delirious highs of season 2, so maybe I need to adjust my expectations accordingly. I did enjoy the Britta / Chang subplot, however.

 

 

Last season felt a little flat to start as well. I think they take the time to establish before playing fast and loose.

I loved the premiere, but this episode I wasn't crazy about.  Martin Starr kind of went to waste.  And I dunno, the model UN thing just didn't work for me.  

Whole episode was pitched at 11, but I still enjoyed it.  We haven't seen the last of Annie Kim, I'll wager.  

 

Gillian Jacobs must love playing these "extreme Britta" episodes.  

Gillian Jacobs was great tonight. She totally sold the eating of the paper and her dance in the outfit at the end.

Did anyone else catch the Party Down poster behind the model UN flyer? 

 

Gillian Jacobs was comedic gold this episode. Her monologue at the table ending with her fist pump exit was brilliant.

Fine for regular TV. For a Community episode, I found it lacking and kind of obvious. Especially after last week's Kubrick/Cougarton Abbey/John Goodman entry. But if this is the basement, that's still pretty good.

AV Club claims that the Parallel Earth thing was a reference to Fringe. I'm way behind on that show, but what distinguishes this from a DC Infinite Earths reference?

 

The blue UN and red UN matches the "blue universe" and "red universe" on Fringe, whereby each universe has a different title sequence colour scheme. Fans have taken to calling characters from each universe "Blue Olivia" and "Red Olivia", for instance.

I had a lot of fun with this one.

 

Chang and Britta got something pretty sick and twisted going on by the end.

 

I thought Martin Starr was used in a pretty fun and subtle way. 

"They can't do this!"

"The science works out."  (matter of factly)

 

 

To pendant: "We did it..."

This is pretty much how I felt. It had funny jokes (Britta eating the warning, Jeff giving Annie a noogie, You're-A-Gay) but it fell really flat for me overall. I'd go as far as to say that this is my second least favorite episode of the entire series, behind (ahead of?) "Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples", which is the only episode of Community I'd classify as just plain bad.

Without a doubt, the Britta stuff was the best part of this episode. And I loved the head of security. Thought he was hilarious in his few moments.

 

The Jeff-Annie stuff, especially the talk he had with her about her becoming a woman(???), didn't work for me. 

Sepinwall's review features an interesting conversation with the AV Club's Todd Van Der Werff about the show, and how the high-concept episodes often overshadow more grounded eps like this one. Like they mention, the show's seasons often start slowly before ramping up, a fact that's difficult to keep in mind when the season finales have ended in such over-the-top fashion.

kudos for Community for realizing the SBD's are waaaaay more funny than actual fart noises.

Gave the episode a re-watch this morning before work. It's definitely not one of their best, but there's no way this can be one of the worst episodes of the series. While the A-plot was nothing special, there were a ton of great jokes. My favorite background joke is Abed calmly moving his Switzerland plaque when Annie throws her tantrum on the table.

However, I agree that the Jeff/Annie stuff isn't really working. McHale and Brie have good chemistry together but ever since the conspiracy theory episode their will-they/won't-they has come off as somewhat forced.

Was initially a bit lukewarm on this ep, but it's definitely grown on me overnight. Just a lot of great, little moments. The cup gag, Garret's floating CRISIS! head, Troy's Georgian accent, the cut away gag with Abed's plan, etc.

I may still be a child, but I can appreciate a quality fart joke.  That was a quality fart joke.

 

Not the best episode, especially compared to Parks and Sunny and Archer last night, but still good.  Still plenty of funny.  Them bursting through the anus design was pretty great.  

 

The foleyed in sounds of Peirce eating the ribs was really bad, though.

 

This.  Troy's head popping through nearly killed me.

"WHY IS THIS STILL HAPPENING?"

 

I enjoyed this episode. Annie freaking out. Troy replacing the cup she was making that irritating squeaky sound. Annie Kim. The Operation tag at the end. The understated silliness of the model UN...

A solid episode.

That irritating squeaky sound was another visual reference to Annie's tendency to make hand-job gestures, right?

 

TELL ME I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT THIS!!!

 

Rolling the dice?

 

Pottery class!?

 

TELL MEEEEEEEE!!!!

Edited by mcnooj82 - 9/30/11 at 2:38pm

I loved the professor and his general underplayed enthusiasm for pretty much anything. Him just quietly agreeing with Abed's questions cracked me up almost as much as the repeated 'CRISIS ALERT!'.

Nope, it's just you, 'nooj. You might want to seek professional help.

"Highlight?"

"Probably the backpack."

 

Also: "Somebody just won a ride in the wheelchair."

Troy having a Southern accent, but knowing he was talking about Georgia the country, was great. And, I like any episode taking the piss out of the UN.

Edited by Leto II - 9/30/11 at 2:43pm

GASP!

Boutros Boutros Ghali!?

 

 

I'm really really really really really into model UNs.  They used to call me Model UN Guy back in college-WELL... that's not... (strokes beard) ... don't research that.

 

 

Pardon me, Professor... Cligoris!  ... Cli-GORE-is?

 

Either pronunciation is fine.

 

 

Chang's arrest report on Britta...all handwritten on crappy, spiral-bound notebook paper.

 

Community scored a 1.8 last night, 6% better than the premiere, which is rare. Every other show dropped in numbers, including The Office. It looks like Community picked up some 18-49ers who said "fuck this" to Charlie's Angels.

I am with you. But maybe that's because I can't help but sexualize everything Alison Brie does. Even though, you know, they're trying to not sexualize her. Or stuff.

See, I think it's the inverse in terms of laughs for the season. I definitely think this episode was a bit stronger in terms of execution, balancing the bigger emotions of Annie and Britta with the story, as opposed to last week which seemed fairly chock full of set-up, but lacking in memorable character beats.

I dug this episode. I found it a little bizarre at first, but as it went on I just couldn't keep smiling. Most of the good stuff has been mentioned, but I just have to add that we got the old Pierce back - sexist and racist jokes and all!

I frigging love Gillian Jacobs. Somehow she can go way over the top and still seem essentially believable as a character. There was an amazing Britta moment last season that I don't remember anyone calling out in the other thread (yes, I read the entire season two thread despite not watching Community last year), her "Maybe I will, Abed. May. Be. I. Will." that killed me.

A lot of shows get to a point where their casts are obviously having so much fun that it can actually be a little grating to watch, like the reality of the scene ends up getting disrupted by the actors obviously goofing around with each other. There's a ton of this on Community, but somehow it never takes me out of the show. I think Joel McHale deserves a lot of credit for this--he's the one cast member who always, always plays it straight, and it really anchors the show.

I'm digging this season so far. It feels more subtle, methodical, and like something is building. Lots of good stuff in the episode to build on.

Oh and Donald Glover is from Stone Mountain, GEORGIA!

McNooj, you don't have a stash of Annie gifs on hand do you?

Oh and count me in on being happy to have Pierce back the way he is.

OOOOOH yes...

 

(actually, Annie gifs are pretty easy to google for)

 

 

Britta failing to kick the trashcan over / using the trashcan to spit up the warning. Priceless.

 I liked Pierce on Somalia. "18 miles of coast line, no goverment, and a man can have as many wives as he wants. Why haven't I heard of this paradise before?"

Edited by Chaz - 10/2/11 at 1:45pm

 

 

 

Troy and Abed playing human Operation was so funny

 

 

Can you isolate the upper right quadrant?

 

Enhance.

 

Enhance.

Why is the Dean dressed as Mo Rocca?

Apparently Gillian's posting on reddit.

I have one nitpick about the last episode. It doesn't make sense that Britta would protest the U.N. Hating the U.N. is a right wing thing.

I took it as she didn't really care what the cause was, she just wanted to make a scene. I find that to be pretty sharp commentary, as well...

 

Overly photoshopped Yvette Nicole Brown makes me sad.