And yes I still lament the lack of Shirley as well. In fact, just this morning I sent a tweet to creator Dan Harmon that simply said: #GiveMeMoreShirley. :-)
Rosie
February 4th, 2011 10:54 AM
Community should do theme episodes more often, but not so often that it starts becoming unspecial. Since the end of last season I have strongly believed Community deserves to be recognized by the emmys and no one is more deserving than Danny Pudi.
julien
February 4th, 2011 10:09 AM
if this show gets canceled I give up on america. im studying cinema in paris and this show is such an inspiration. ive introduced it to some of my friends, because here in france no one knows it even exists, and they love it. I love the fact that the episode was great to watch even without seeing all the elves and the dragons, it shows how good the dynamic between the actors is. my criticism is always the same one, chang should be a recurring character not a regular. his presence is contractually necessary in every episode, but not useful to the story.
Shae
February 4th, 2011 9:05 AM
I'd like to second Piecar's comments to Insulted Fan - there were precisely two D&D-ers in the entire ep - Neil, whose weight the entire ep was predicated upon, and Garrett, who is one of the only established extras who could have been used
Piecar
February 4th, 2011 9:01 AM
Also, if you're not getting a lot of traffic here, Kirkpatrick, it's because the review is not filed with the reviews and is off the main page. Need to fix that.
Piecar Rank: Guest Star
February 4th, 2011 6:57 AM
Oh, and Insulted Fan....The point of the episode was to tell a guy that being obese doesn't mean you're an unattractive loser. The appearance doesn't equal the worth. You're doing damage to your own point by being offended that Neil is heavy. Nice shootin', Tex.
Piecar Rank: Guest Star
February 4th, 2011 6:54 AM
This was a terrific episode! It did something really interesting in that it showed a strange mortal struggle effectively, all through narrative (with one brief exception) This is exactly the point of D&D. That they used a member of the group, already considered unstable, as the "enemy" was genius as it gave all of the skeptical players a real foe to imagine was great. I shy away from heaping any kind of praise on Danny Pudi as I don't want to build a situation like over on BBT where one broad character gets all the jokes, but Abed WAS very funny as the DM. I love that the characters now don't need to retell their characters. Britta always champions the "beleaguered". No one has to note that she does, they just tell her to shut up. Donald Glover continues to knock every tiny scrap of lines they give him out of the park. He gets virtually nothing to do, most times, and makes it a show stopping joke. His dejected and confused "Huzzah" made me spew liquids. And his shocking
Gamer
February 4th, 2011 5:50 AM
Abed and Chang (with his knowledge of Drow) seem to have roleplayed before and they're obviously not "obese, unattractive losers". Don't get your knickers in a twist "insulted fan". And who else did you include in your "every role-player in this episode"? While I don't think this is the best episode of Community ever, it is still a great one, especially since it was probably meant to be an in-joke for the roleplayers that other people might not have gotten. Do you think that they expect people with no exposure to roleplaying or Jersey-Shore types to watch this and get more enjoyment out of the episode, or people who have roleplayed who would watch and think "Oh man, there is a guy totally like Chang in our group!" I know several people that play roleplaying games like D&D, and while I myself have not yet played D&D, I've definitely been interested. One of my group of friends have gotten close to starting a game of Hunter: the Reckoning (similar to D&D but with a post apocal
Sara K
February 4th, 2011 5:02 AM
Totally agree with Jason. It was genius. Great episode!
TvGuruAU
February 4th, 2011 3:32 AM
I am happy you all enjoyed the episode so much, to me it was a little disappointing. I still love the paintball episode for complete enjoyment. Perhaps because I have been a role-player for many years, it somewhat colored my opinion.
The episode still did have its moments of genius.
insulted fan
February 4th, 2011 3:20 AM
As a life time role-player I found this episode extremely insulting. Why is it that every role-player in this episode was cast as an obese, unattractive loser? Not all role players look like that as I can personally testify to. What's next, a 'black face' episode where all the characters love them some watermelon and chitlins? Or perhaps we can have a jewish episode where all the characters are trying to smell out bargains with their big noses? Very good writing there. Stick to stereotypes, which is sadly what this show excels at. Seriously... everyone who has ever played D&D should be insulted and let Wizards of the Coast know it as they granted NBC the permission to cast their product and entire fan base in an extremely poor light. As for the yokels who think this show is well written, for god's sake go read a book. The writer's here are clearly the bottom of the barrel who can barely write the checks to pay for their baggy unfashionable clothes and internet porn. Whoop
1st of all, what kind of journalistic genius are you to be able punch up such a funny, observant, editorially polished, and passionate essay/review within two hours after the show aired at 8pm? It takes me longer to write an accurate grocery list!
2ndly, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "Community" gives me hope for (American) humanity. I literally clapped at the end of this episode. Not only because of the witty writing, perfect pacing, and particularly clever plot choices, but also for witnessing (for free!) a return to basic craft of talented, well-cast actors vibing off of each other in such a subtle manner. Gravitas! Hubris! Pathos! Bravo! Brava!
Outstanding episode. Literally, from start to finish, every moment was pitch-perfect. Not only were the jokes hilarious, but I really did feel for Neil during the episode and how much "Pierce the Dickish" really made him hurt. I'll be honest, I've never wanted to play D&D before, but this made it seem awesome. If only I had a sound crew, a national audience, and Allison Brie to interact with.
Jeff: I've spent almost four years here, growing and changing and making dioramas.
Rank: Regular Character
February 4th, 2011 12:51 PM
Thanks for the heads up @Piecar. Has been fixed.
And yes I still lament the lack of Shirley as well. In fact, just this morning I sent a tweet to creator Dan Harmon that simply said: #GiveMeMoreShirley. :-)
February 4th, 2011 10:54 AM
Community should do theme episodes more often, but not so often that it starts becoming unspecial. Since the end of last season I have strongly believed Community deserves to be recognized by the emmys and no one is more deserving than Danny Pudi.
February 4th, 2011 10:09 AM
if this show gets canceled I give up on america. im studying cinema in paris and this show is such an inspiration. ive introduced it to some of my friends, because here in france no one knows it even exists, and they love it. I love the fact that the episode was great to watch even without seeing all the elves and the dragons, it shows how good the dynamic between the actors is. my criticism is always the same one, chang should be a recurring character not a regular. his presence is contractually necessary in every episode, but not useful to the story.
February 4th, 2011 9:05 AM
I'd like to second Piecar's comments to Insulted Fan - there were precisely two D&D-ers in the entire ep - Neil, whose weight the entire ep was predicated upon, and Garrett, who is one of the only established extras who could have been used
February 4th, 2011 9:01 AM
Also, if you're not getting a lot of traffic here, Kirkpatrick, it's because the review is not filed with the reviews and is off the main page. Need to fix that.
Rank: Guest Star
February 4th, 2011 6:57 AM
Oh, and Insulted Fan....The point of the episode was to tell a guy that being obese doesn't mean you're an unattractive loser. The appearance doesn't equal the worth. You're doing damage to your own point by being offended that Neil is heavy. Nice shootin', Tex.
Rank: Guest Star
February 4th, 2011 6:54 AM
This was a terrific episode! It did something really interesting in that it showed a strange mortal struggle effectively, all through narrative (with one brief exception) This is exactly the point of D&D. That they used a member of the group, already considered unstable, as the "enemy" was genius as it gave all of the skeptical players a real foe to imagine was great. I shy away from heaping any kind of praise on Danny Pudi as I don't want to build a situation like over on BBT where one broad character gets all the jokes, but Abed WAS very funny as the DM. I love that the characters now don't need to retell their characters. Britta always champions the "beleaguered". No one has to note that she does, they just tell her to shut up. Donald Glover continues to knock every tiny scrap of lines they give him out of the park. He gets virtually nothing to do, most times, and makes it a show stopping joke. His dejected and confused "Huzzah" made me spew liquids. And his shocking
February 4th, 2011 5:50 AM
Abed and Chang (with his knowledge of Drow) seem to have roleplayed before and they're obviously not "obese, unattractive losers". Don't get your knickers in a twist "insulted fan". And who else did you include in your "every role-player in this episode"? While I don't think this is the best episode of Community ever, it is still a great one, especially since it was probably meant to be an in-joke for the roleplayers that other people might not have gotten. Do you think that they expect people with no exposure to roleplaying or Jersey-Shore types to watch this and get more enjoyment out of the episode, or people who have roleplayed who would watch and think "Oh man, there is a guy totally like Chang in our group!" I know several people that play roleplaying games like D&D, and while I myself have not yet played D&D, I've definitely been interested. One of my group of friends have gotten close to starting a game of Hunter: the Reckoning (similar to D&D but with a post apocal
February 4th, 2011 5:02 AM
Totally agree with Jason. It was genius. Great episode!
February 4th, 2011 3:32 AM
I am happy you all enjoyed the episode so much, to me it was a little disappointing. I still love the paintball episode for complete enjoyment. Perhaps because I have been a role-player for many years, it somewhat colored my opinion.
The episode still did have its moments of genius.
February 4th, 2011 3:20 AM
As a life time role-player I found this episode extremely insulting. Why is it that every role-player in this episode was cast as an obese, unattractive loser? Not all role players look like that as I can personally testify to. What's next, a 'black face' episode where all the characters love them some watermelon and chitlins? Or perhaps we can have a jewish episode where all the characters are trying to smell out bargains with their big noses? Very good writing there. Stick to stereotypes, which is sadly what this show excels at. Seriously... everyone who has ever played D&D should be insulted and let Wizards of the Coast know it as they granted NBC the permission to cast their product and entire fan base in an extremely poor light. As for the yokels who think this show is well written, for god's sake go read a book. The writer's here are clearly the bottom of the barrel who can barely write the checks to pay for their baggy unfashionable clothes and internet porn. Whoop
Rank: Regular Character
February 3rd, 2011 11:28 PM
Jason, you are my new favorite. Thank you!
February 3rd, 2011 11:18 PM
1st of all, what kind of journalistic genius are you to be able punch up such a funny, observant, editorially polished, and passionate essay/review within two hours after the show aired at 8pm? It takes me longer to write an accurate grocery list!
2ndly, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "Community" gives me hope for (American) humanity. I literally clapped at the end of this episode. Not only because of the witty writing, perfect pacing, and particularly clever plot choices, but also for witnessing (for free!) a return to basic craft of talented, well-cast actors vibing off of each other in such a subtle manner. Gravitas! Hubris! Pathos! Bravo! Brava!
Rank: Extra
February 3rd, 2011 10:40 PM
Outstanding episode. Literally, from start to finish, every moment was pitch-perfect. Not only were the jokes hilarious, but I really did feel for Neil during the episode and how much "Pierce the Dickish" really made him hurt. I'll be honest, I've never wanted to play D&D before, but this made it seem awesome. If only I had a sound crew, a national audience, and Allison Brie to interact with.