Feb. 17 - Thursday Night TV, Pt. 1

If I had my druthers every single one of you would tune into NBC at 8 PM every Thursday night. Why? Because unless you'd like to turn your brain cells into unidentifiable substances by watching 'CSI', I recommend Community.

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.

Let the bequeathals begin: Britta (Gillian Jacobs) is handed a check for ten grand, which she'd under normal circumstances hand over to the nearest Central American feminist collective. But there are bills to consider - rent, credit card, gas. Annie (Alison Brie) receives a glittery family heirloom tiara from Pierce, purely for being "his favorite." (Annie's response: "What does that mean?!") And all Troy (Donald Glover) wanted was a signed photo of LeVar Burton "because a photo can't disappoint you." When Pierce's vast funds facilitate the arrival of Kunta Kinte himself, (above right) Troy's catatonia becomes spectacular.

The most important plot of the week: the impending arrival of Jeff's (Joel McHale) father. The two have been estranged since young Winger's childhood, and watching McHale agonize over Pierce's promise that Winger Sr. is going to roll up at the hospital is one of the episode's purer pleasures. But it is also one of the crueler set-ups Pierce puts into motion, because the audience is aware of Jeff's daddy issues, and how Pierce and Jeff trade off on being surrogate dads to each other. So when Jeff pounces onto the black Cadillac and discovers the driver is indeed Pierce, he whales on him, interspersing his punches with some choice phrases we realize he's been saving for his father. There's clearly more to all this, and I hope we see the storyline develop over the rest of the season.

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.)

Conclusions: Annie comes to a convoluted solution about the motives behind the tiara (which Pierce accepts, but says, "It's really only because she's my favorite"). Troy never recovers, sobbing on the floor of a bathroom while singing the theme to 'Reading Rainbow.' Britta hands over every penny to the Red Cross, but only because she knows she'd keep it if a camera crew hadn't been there. Most interestingly, Shirley (left) is afraid to play a CD which Pierce says records the study group talking about her. After Britta plays the CD - where the group defends her to Pierce - Shirley's a bit lost. When Abed catches her speaking forlornly to the camera in a hospital supply closet, he backs out quietly, and Shirley continues describing her fears about not fitting in with the group. It's an emotional, safe moment, filled with valid apprehensions that we can guess probably aren't unique to Shirley.

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'