Only three episodes in and Community already manages to be good. Kudos. Some of the lines are so good i still randomly remember them and laugh. If it wasn't for the weird "Indians as Arabs" thing it would've been great.
6 Reviews
Very good but could've been even better
julianbaum-572723 January 2024
In Episode 3 the show is still finding its place, so people shouldn't be too critical. But even though this episode is good, I think it could've have been even better.
Both Britta's and Jeff's plots are conceptually very good respectively, yet hold each other back through the sheer potential they bear. Either of these 2 story lines could've easily suffice as the main plot of an episode without the other coexisting. Thus I feel like the lost some potential, especially Jeff's plot, since towards the end of the episode, Britta's plot delivers the main emotional pivot point.
Also, the dialogue scene at the beginning of the episode is in my opinion the true first feeling of what is to come comedically. I adore that scene of fast dialogue and joke-density.
Both Britta's and Jeff's plots are conceptually very good respectively, yet hold each other back through the sheer potential they bear. Either of these 2 story lines could've easily suffice as the main plot of an episode without the other coexisting. Thus I feel like the lost some potential, especially Jeff's plot, since towards the end of the episode, Britta's plot delivers the main emotional pivot point.
Also, the dialogue scene at the beginning of the episode is in my opinion the true first feeling of what is to come comedically. I adore that scene of fast dialogue and joke-density.
In honor of "Community"- a review of every episode. (S1;E03- "Introduction to Film")
TedStixonAKAMaximumMadness10 May 2014
(This is the third part in an ongoing series, in which I am writing brief reviews of each and every episode of Dan Harmon's beloved cult-comedy "Community.")
"Introduction to Film" is where creator Dan Harmon and his talented cast and crew hit the nail on the head, and show just how brilliant "Community" is and can be. A wonderful episode featuring both broad humor and absolutely touching character development, this very well could be one of my top 5 favorites of the first season. And it's the first episode to really explore the character of Abed (Danny Pudi), who has almost, in a very strange way, become the sort-of mascot of the series thanks to an incredible performance and expert crafting by the actor and writers. (Although that's likely not the best way to describe him.)
While Jeff (Joel McHale) finds himself in a kerfuffle contending with the eccentric Professor Whitman (John Michael Higgins), Abed enrolls in a filmmaking class with the help of Britta (Gillian Jacobs). As he works on a project (which involves him following Jeff and Britta around, asking them to play his parents in a film based on his life), Abed also comes to odds with his father Gobi (Iqbal Theba).
The exploration of Abed (and to a lesser extent the character of Jeff Winger) is what really elevates this episode. Abed, who is hinted to have some sort of developmental disorder, and models his life after film and television tropes, is a fascinating character. And he was sort-of the main driving force behind how "meta" and self-aware the show "Community" became over time. Pudi has consistently knocked the ball out of the park with the character, and this was his first chance to shine. He plays someone who is convincingly contending with a disorder, yet also gives a lot of nice subtleties to the character, showing there is emotion and reason beneath the surface. As someone who suffers disabilities myself (Asperger's, Bipolar and Depression), I have to say Pudi and his character are absolute revelations.
I also have to comment that I appreciated the slight further development of the Britta character (who has always been my favorite character, honestly), in addition to her interactions and rapport with Jeff. The supporting character of Professor Whitman is also a complete blast. John Michael Higgins is fantastic in the role (that of a bizarre, light- hearted professor who lives by the motto "Seize the day", and will fail Jeff if he doesn't appropriately seize one day), and it's a shame that he only appears in three episodes of the series. I also quite enjoyed the character of Gobi, and Iqbal Theba is able to bring life to an otherwise simplistic character.
This is a fantastic episode all around. It was a great early example of the magic of "Community", and is easily a 10 out of 10.
"Introduction to Film" is where creator Dan Harmon and his talented cast and crew hit the nail on the head, and show just how brilliant "Community" is and can be. A wonderful episode featuring both broad humor and absolutely touching character development, this very well could be one of my top 5 favorites of the first season. And it's the first episode to really explore the character of Abed (Danny Pudi), who has almost, in a very strange way, become the sort-of mascot of the series thanks to an incredible performance and expert crafting by the actor and writers. (Although that's likely not the best way to describe him.)
While Jeff (Joel McHale) finds himself in a kerfuffle contending with the eccentric Professor Whitman (John Michael Higgins), Abed enrolls in a filmmaking class with the help of Britta (Gillian Jacobs). As he works on a project (which involves him following Jeff and Britta around, asking them to play his parents in a film based on his life), Abed also comes to odds with his father Gobi (Iqbal Theba).
The exploration of Abed (and to a lesser extent the character of Jeff Winger) is what really elevates this episode. Abed, who is hinted to have some sort of developmental disorder, and models his life after film and television tropes, is a fascinating character. And he was sort-of the main driving force behind how "meta" and self-aware the show "Community" became over time. Pudi has consistently knocked the ball out of the park with the character, and this was his first chance to shine. He plays someone who is convincingly contending with a disorder, yet also gives a lot of nice subtleties to the character, showing there is emotion and reason beneath the surface. As someone who suffers disabilities myself (Asperger's, Bipolar and Depression), I have to say Pudi and his character are absolute revelations.
I also have to comment that I appreciated the slight further development of the Britta character (who has always been my favorite character, honestly), in addition to her interactions and rapport with Jeff. The supporting character of Professor Whitman is also a complete blast. John Michael Higgins is fantastic in the role (that of a bizarre, light- hearted professor who lives by the motto "Seize the day", and will fail Jeff if he doesn't appropriately seize one day), and it's a shame that he only appears in three episodes of the series. I also quite enjoyed the character of Gobi, and Iqbal Theba is able to bring life to an otherwise simplistic character.
This is a fantastic episode all around. It was a great early example of the magic of "Community", and is easily a 10 out of 10.
I could watch the film Abed made over and over
becca793112 November 2019
Incredible Arabic
fortunate11 October 2009
I know this is arcane, but why the writers have a Pakistani father and his Indian son speaking to each other in stilted, heavily South-Asian-accented Classical Arabic is beyond weird. This particular form of the language is rarely spoken in circumstances like a father and son conversing (as the awkwardness of their dialog shows) and never between people for whom Arabic is not a mother-tongue; that the writers would do it on the plotting assumption that Muslims must be Arabs is –well, I wouldn't have thought it so hard to make this plot aspect true for producers working in as cosmopolitan a town as LA, even by doing something as simple as asking the person who wrote the single sub-title about it. I was distracted when the sub-title appeared, but it begs the question, "who, watching the show, was meant to understand it?"
On the positive side, I thought Abed's film was good, if improbably precocious.
On the positive side, I thought Abed's film was good, if improbably precocious.
Poor arabic
baraa_z8821 June 2020
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