This ensemble comedy, currently in its second season, is set in a community college in Greendale, CO. Since the show takes its cues from John Hughes' 'The Breakfast Club,' the characters' interactions take place largely in a study lounge in the school library (left). Some of the cast may seem familiar - the indomitable Chevy Chase, Alison Brie (Trudy of 'Mad Men'), John Oliver of 'The Daily Show' and everyone's favorite Chinese guy, Ken Jeong, not to mention Joel McHale from E!'s 'The Soup.'
I'm not about to recap two seasons' worth of episodes - though if you have the time, put it on your Netflix queue! - so let's start with last night's 'Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking.' Pierce Hawthorne (played with prickly ease by Chevy Chase) has decided to exact revenge on his study group because he's been ignored by them. After passing out in a painkiller-induced haze in last week's episode, Pierce lands in the hospital, where everyone in the group gathers, concerned.
The revenge plan? Tell everyone he's dying. Further revenge plan? Bequeath possessions of ostensible sentimentality to everyone in the group. It doesn't take long for the mind games to start.
It wasn't until eight minutes into the show that I remembered Abed (Danny Pudi, left) was behind the camera, in one of his innumerable efforts to make a documentary. This lends the episode an all-encompassing quality: everyone gets to have an arc, which in turn is observed through Abed's trademark prism of objectivity.
But the best thing about this episode was its format. On a quick, roll-with-the-punches, movie-camera-sitcom like 'Community,' it's easy to tell when something changes. And while the show has gone the bottle episode route before ('Cooperative Calligraphy'), adding the mockumentary format was a cool surprise because the characters on 'Community' almost never break the fourth wall. Plus, the writers got to deride shows which consider mockumentary their bread and butter - as Abed puts it, "It's easier to tell a complex story when you can just cut to people explaining things to the camera." (And, as the AV Club wisely points out, if you compare the ratings of 'Modern Family,' 'Parks and Rec' and 'The Office' to 'Community,' you'll see why this is true.)
For his part, Jeff curls up in a blanket in Pierce's hospital room, as though ready to explore the symbiosis between himself and this weird old man who might be his best shot for a father figure. The way everyone comes full circle makes the playing field even again, and while 'Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking' may have had its emotionally troubling moments, it's filled with the hilarity and warmth that promises these misfits, despite their individual anxieties, will go on together.
And that's what good TV is all about.
Tomorrow's reviews: '30 Rock,' 'Outsourced'
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