The COMMUNITY Interrobang: “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux” (S3E8)
Posted on 18. Nov, 2011 by theashcan in Interrobang, Television
Jef and Simon met in a school environment much like that of Greendale. That’s just one of the many reasons they love Community. They’ll be chatting about season three every week, and you should join them, because you’re streets ahead.
Jef: Man.
Simon: that was an amazing episode
naturally
to make us sadder
Jef: It almost upset me how good this episode was.
haha yeah
I really do fear that we are recapping the final season of Community here.
Simon: don’t SAY THAT
“six seasons and a movie!” remember??
Jef: “My clique should be canceled
Freaks and Geeks”
Sigh
Alright
So in this episode the Dean has to film a new enrolment commercial for Greendale
I kind of liked that the whole episode was a countdown to a Luis Guzman cameo
You’re waiting for fucking Luis Guzman to come make things right again.
Simon: … and he does
Jef: Haha yeah
Simon: so many shows would use an obscure reference like that without following through
Jef: Or use him to up the weirdness levels
instead of returning things to normalcy
Simon: this was a Simpsons level cameo
Jef: Yeah, totally
Simon: did you go to Humber because of an ad?
Jef: LOL
I’m not even quite sure how I ended up there.
Simon: I don’t know if they had ads back then?
they have posters on the TTC these days
Jef: Yeah I’ve seen the ads playing in Yonge and Dundas square
The “journalism student” wears such funky hats.
Simon: … we kind of do though
Jef: Totally accurate!
Speaking of wardrobes
Annie was extra hot this week
Simon: why?
Jef: These are the intelligent thoughts I have to contribute this week!
Simon: I have literally no complaints
I just want to list all the amazing things about this episode
Jef: Let’s do it
Simon: chronologically
because it’s a recap? I don’t know
Jeff does a really mean Dean Pelton
Jef: Holy crap he was amazing
“This is my sister’s outfit!”
Simon: he even got the mannerisms down!
I also really enjoyed that the Dean’s office had his dalmatian posters up
Jef: Yeah, all that stuff we complained about last week re: Dean just turning into a gay caricature…
Totally solved this week.
This is exactly the kind of stuff I’ve been wanting them to do.
Simon: yes, he was pretty incredible
for some reason this show really lends itself to the fake documentary format
Jef: It’s so cinematic already
Simon: all the meta comments about Hearts of Darkness were just icing
Jef: Haha man, the Dean’s breakdown scene
Simon: YES hahaha
Jef: where he’s rubbing ash over his face and naked body
“I’m horrible….I’m horrible.”
I couldn’t even handle how hilarious and genuinely beautiful that was
Simon: what DID he do to the ice cream machine??
Jef: Â Â Haha
I am guessing he made love to it.
The pan-sexual imp is back!
Simon: that sounds painful.
what did you think of Pierce’s role?
he was kind of like a running gag but I’m not sure why they chose that route for him
Jef: yeah, I don’t mind when they segregate Chevy usually, because normally it just gives him room to show his physical comedy chops
but here I think he definitely would have been better used actually being IN the documentary
Simon: right? I mean I get that he’s a crazy old dude
but he really did seem a bit squandered
Jef: He would have been hilarious on set
And he was already separated last week
Simon: good point.
the amount of details in this episode
was incredible
Jef: Yeah, the details! The details.
Britta’s title card: “Britta Perry: anarchist cat owner”
Simon: so accurate!
the scene of her and Troy doing the 12 hour take was comedy gold
Jef: Haha holy shit
Simon: i pretty much died
when Troy yelled “stop saying I’m different!”
Jef: When they tied ropes around them and were pulling their arms
And Dean was all “You can’t even do it when we’re helping you!”
Simon: I think part of the reason this episode was so great
was it really allows us to define the best parts of each character
Jef: It was another sweet episode
Simon: it was essentially a way to individually spotlight each cast member
each interview reinforced what we enjoy about them
Annie’s keenerism turning into stockholm syndrome
Britta psycho analyzing
Troy being Troy
Jeff was a pleasant surprise again though
he’s been a bit out of characters two weeks in a row now
in an awesome way though
“I made bald friends!”
Jef: Jeff’s been trying lately
Which is really different for him but feels organic
I like it a lot
Simon: their ability to transform him from normal Jeff to Jeff-sucked-into-crazy-director-Dean’s-vision-and-desperate-for-screen-time was pretty unbelievable
they did it in like 7 minutes with 4 shots
Jef: Haha yeah, I did make a note of the fact that the tone totally changes
after the first commercial break.
It all goes to hell really fast lol
Simon: Pelton’s costumes were amazing
I feel like they’re making fun of a director
but I couldn’t pin down who
Jef: It would be great if it were Dan Harmon
Simon: he wears hoodies with no shirt underneath?
Jef: Haha I have no idea
Simon: WHO DOES THAT
Jef: I was a little dismayed that as his stubble grew and his clothes got grimier…
…he started to look more and more like me.
I think it’s time for a new look.
Simon: I think you’re ahead of the trends
Jef: wait for it
…
STREETS AHEAD.
Simon: you deserve a trailer for that
Jef: And I’m not coming out!
How do you feel about this Troy/Britta deal?
Simon: I like that even the Dean knows Troy is into her
Jef: Haha yeah
I love love love the awkwardness of it
because they are both really good at doing awkward
Simon: i totally thought they were going to start making out
as the punchline to that scene
Jef: Haha yeah
And I’m glad they didn’t though
Simon: yes, Harmon wins again
them being scared at the sight of each other is infinitely more hilarious
Jef: Yeah, trauma!
Simon: i don’t think they should get together though
that seems kind of absurd to me?
i feel like their age difference is the same as Jeff and Annie’s?
which for some reason is always a huge deal
Jef: It’s weird because it’s definitely not as big of an age gap
But it feels like it is because Troy is like….12 at heart
Britta had my favourite line of the episode
(Which I guess goes without saying now)
Simon: *nodding*
Jef: “As a licensed psychology major I am declaring this a violation of human rights!”
Which makes no sense three different ways, lol
Simon: i peed myself
“I’m taking psych 101 and I don’t even know what’s happening to me” was a close second
Jef: Haha yeah.
And for subtlety, she also had
“I don’t know why, but this is the last straw!”
Simon: I really enjoyed when the Dean demanded reality
then subbed in a blonde wig wearing Chang
Jef: Chang was so good here too!
Simon: him pacing behind Jeff?
Jef: He was really restrained and still killing it
Haha yeah
And when he was explaining the wig under the bald cap
“I’m literally dying.”
Even Leonard was great this episode!
Simon: yes!
Jef: It was full of win for everyone
Simon: i wondered what happened to him
I am kind of shocked we didn’t see starburns
but watching the fat kid in a motion capture suit more than made up for it
“that’s a toilet!”
Jef: Haha I will never remember that kid’s name
And that’s ok with me
Simon: word
Jef: It seems appropriate.
Is this is the first episode to be that kind to Greendale as a school?
Luis Guzman’s line at the end to the Dean, “Worship the people who are here right now. This is a special school. You don’t deserve to be here.” That was….sweet.
Simon: I thought that was a really interesting angle
because it REALLY captures community college as an experience
Jef: Totally
Simon: Luis Guzman is wrong
colleges are not special schools
they, in general, are kind of awful hahahaha
Jef: Hahaha
Hey now!
Simon: but that awfulness ABSOLUTELY fosters bonding
the type that doesn’t happen in university.
we can totally attest to that I think
Jef: That’s been my experience for sure yeah, having attended both as well.
Jeff has that line at the end when he’s forgiving the Dean for his breakdown
where he says he forgives him “because we’ve all been there; which is why we’re all here.”
Simon: perfect Community ending
Jef: It’s a diss to the school in a way but goes back to painting it as a place for second chances
Simon: appropriately sappy
Jef: Which was really nice
Simon: yea
I mean, that’s the whole crux of the episode right?
the insanity of making a commercial
when in the end Abed reuses the final scene of the dancing dude
because come on
nobody picks a community college based on the ads hahaha
people go because they have to go
Jef: Yeah, you go because you need to for whatever life reasons.
Simon: but they meet special people there
which the episode portrayed astoundingly accurately
Jef: And the Dean was a great choice to focus the episode on
He runs the college but doesn’t “get” college
Simon: because he went to university
Jef: Â This is all very obvious stuff I’m saying
But it was just really nice
Simon: hahaha
Jef: Haha are we saying this stuff just because we went to college?
Simon: i think so yes hahaha
i do think there’s a certain level of
…. recognition?
that you might not appreciate unless you’ve been to a community college when watching this show
Jef: Yeah, the understanding is there.
Of the community college experience and of these characters and why they’re there.
lol ok
Tangent
But how amazing were the noises coming from the Dean’s edit of the documentary?
*gunshots*
*porn moans*
Simon: i particularly liked how sudden the cuts were
Jef: Haha yeah
And Guzman’s reactions to watching it were amazing
Simon: I liked that he was editing it on his totally normal laptop
Jef: Yeah, nothing crazy there
Simon: after all that insanity
still using Microsoft movie maker
Jef: You know, the other great thing about how the show used Guzman is in just that he was playing himself.
So Greendale really is a place that you can graduate from and make something of yourself from.
Again, sweet episode.
Simon: yes, I loved that aspect of it
the shot of him looking at his statue was priceless
Jef: Hahahaha yeah
Simon: or saying
“helllooooo, it’s meeeee. Luis Guzman”
Jef: LOL yeah
And stepping out his car with a big shit-eating Jack Nicholson grin
Simon: ok, so finally, my favourite part of the episode
the final scene in the study room
where Abed is filiming
but also in random shots
while the show’s real camera guy
sporadically appears and disappears
I was like
WHAT THE FUCK
SO AMAZING
Jef: Oh the meta was done so well this week!
I agree
Simon: it was so subtle!
Jef: And Abed’s speech about how telling sad stories can make them happy, simply for the fact that they’re being told
Like, wow
I just said “like, wow”
Simon: twice!
Jef: THAT’S HOW GOOD IT WAS
Simon: his little glance at the camera as he walks away
Jef: Seriously though, episodes like this make the news of the mid-season pull really hard to take
Because I NEED to see these people graduate now.
I know they’re going to tell the fuck out of that story.
Simon: do you think they played this episode out of order just to go out into the hiatus with a bang?
Jef: I don’t know but I wouldn’t be surprised.
This isn’t the last one before the break, is it?
Simon: I’m not sure to be honest
i wasn’t even sure there would be an episode this week
Jef: I refuse to believe that we’re not getting a Christmas episode.
That can’t be real life.
Simon: I don’t understand why anybody would NOT watch this show
how it could have poor ratings is literally unfathomable to me
Jef: I saw some off-hand comments on Facebook that the show had jumped the shark this season anyway.
Simon: who said that? punch that person in the face.
Jef: DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT JUMPING THE SHARK MEANS.
Simon: they did a whole episode about that!
that’s how streets ahead they are!
Jef: Haha
“Just so you know, there was an episode of Happy Days where they literally jumped over a shark. And it was THE BEST ONE.”
Simon: exactly
there’s a lot of Community left to go
I honestly don’t know if it has 6 seasons in it
maybe one or two more at most
but it definitely needs one or two more
Jef: Yeah, at this point honestly all I’m asking is for four seasons.
I want them to graduate.
I can live comfortably with just that.
They’re building up to that story so confidently and brilliantly
Simon: i do think one more, and then it can go out still riding high
beyond a fourth season i legitimately can see it jumping the shark
Jef: Definitely, me too.
Simon: it’d still be good
but not the best
Jef: Haha yeah I’d still watch.
But that’s what makes this possible cancellation even more frustrating
If we end up reaching three years, and we know they only needed one more to score this television home run
….
I’ll be no fun to be around for awhile
Simon: i’m trying to figure out what fans will mail to NBC in a show of support
Jef: …possums?
Simon: dalmations?
Jef: I like that we pick the most threatening things.
Simon: Seal cds
Jef: YES
Simon: that’d be pretty amazing actually
Jef: Let’s start this movement
Simon: dude, if someone MAILED me a possum, I would be terrified
Jef: haha yeah
Don’t do that, people.
Just send them some kisses from some roses.
Simon: i’m sad
Jef: Haha
I’ve got no words of comfort for you
I think this might be it, to be honest
Simon: stiff upper lip
there’s more episodes
it’s not the END end
Jef: I know they were already thinking of axing it before
So they might have run out of goodwill by now
Simon: yea
i suspect the fan outrage might be pretty significant
i feel like it’s just one of those shows everybody watches via download or Hulu
Jef: We’re a passionate fandom
But are we really that large?
I don’t know
Simon: it’s true
nobody I know really watches it
except my girlfriend, because i made her
Jef: Yeah same, and I have two friends who are really into it
Everyone else says shit like “I don’t get it” or “IT JUMPED THE SHARK”
Simon: i don’t get that though
it’s so accessible
i don’t get how people don’t immediately find it hilarious
Jef: Yeah I don’t think it’s hard to get into at all
My girlfriend doesn’t even catch half of the reference but still laughs her ass of anyway
On the pure comical level it still works
Just like the Simpsons did
Simon: yes, and it just gets better the more you understand
Jef: And the characters are real
Treated with respect and fleshed out
Simon: sigh
Jef: Â Hahahaha
look at us ranting on the internet about television at 12:30 in the morning
Simon: we lead difficult lives
Jef: Fight the power, people. Fight it with your hugs!
Simon: who are you talking to?
Jef: Uh…
Simon: nice try there
