(This is the nineteenth 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." Originally conceived as a response to NBC's cancellation of the series before it was revived for its final season on Yahoo.)
After the let-down that was the previous week's "Basic Genealogy", "Community" thankfully rebounds with the competent and wildly entertaining "Beginner Pottery", a broad and frequently amusing diversion that not only delivers on laughs, but manages to establish new concepts that will only grow in importance as time goes on. It may not be the finest of the first season, but it never lets up on the jokes or wonderful character-beats that define the series as a whole.
Jeff (Joel McHale) joins a beginner's pottery class with Abed (Danny Pudi) and Annie (Alison Brie), under the assumption it will be an breezy blow-off class for easy credits. However, he is soon shocked by fellow student Rich (Greg Cromer), a man who is seemingly perfect in virtually every aspect. Jeff becomes obsessed with being shown- up by the humble and good-spirited Rich when his work simply cannot compare, and he goes on a quest to try and prove that Rich is some sort of con-man who only joined the class to attain praise and admiration. At the same time, Shirley (Yvetter Nicole Brown), Pierce (Chevy Chase), Troy (Donald Glover) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) sign up for a one- week course on sailing lead by the gruff Professor Slaughter (Lee Majors), but quickly find themselves in over their head due to their failure to operate as a team.
Part of the success of the episode in comparison to the previous is that it feels more calm and focused, with a clear and defined effort to cut-down on the numerous sub-plots and instead focus on a more simple A and B storyline narrative. There is a clear sense of tonal consistency and both of the ongoing plot lines follow a structure that compliments and contrasts with one-another, helping the overall episode to organically flow. It also gives some really nice business to each and every character, with everyone getting their moment to shine. There's a lot of really clever character development given to both Jeff and Shirley in this episode, including finally getting a glimpse of Jeff's past and what makes him tick, which helps to inform his conflict with Rich.
The humor is also drastically ramped up here. The B storyline involving the Sailing Class is much more focused on broad comedy and it's filled to burst with some beautifully hilarious broad comedic gags and physical humor. Definitely one of those episodes that had me near rolling on the floor with laughter at some of the things writer Hilary Winston came up with. The back-and-forth sort-of battle between Jeff and Rich also supplies plenty of great gags, including an uproariously funny nod to actor Jeff Goldblum and his unique delivery.
As it stands, while far from the best, "Beginner Pottery" is just such a refreshing and good-natured bit of fun, I can't help but adore it. It's consistently funny and has some nice character development that make it a very fun watch. I have to give it a very strong 9 out of 10. Definitely worth giving a re-watch if you haven't seen it in a while.
After the let-down that was the previous week's "Basic Genealogy", "Community" thankfully rebounds with the competent and wildly entertaining "Beginner Pottery", a broad and frequently amusing diversion that not only delivers on laughs, but manages to establish new concepts that will only grow in importance as time goes on. It may not be the finest of the first season, but it never lets up on the jokes or wonderful character-beats that define the series as a whole.
Jeff (Joel McHale) joins a beginner's pottery class with Abed (Danny Pudi) and Annie (Alison Brie), under the assumption it will be an breezy blow-off class for easy credits. However, he is soon shocked by fellow student Rich (Greg Cromer), a man who is seemingly perfect in virtually every aspect. Jeff becomes obsessed with being shown- up by the humble and good-spirited Rich when his work simply cannot compare, and he goes on a quest to try and prove that Rich is some sort of con-man who only joined the class to attain praise and admiration. At the same time, Shirley (Yvetter Nicole Brown), Pierce (Chevy Chase), Troy (Donald Glover) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) sign up for a one- week course on sailing lead by the gruff Professor Slaughter (Lee Majors), but quickly find themselves in over their head due to their failure to operate as a team.
Part of the success of the episode in comparison to the previous is that it feels more calm and focused, with a clear and defined effort to cut-down on the numerous sub-plots and instead focus on a more simple A and B storyline narrative. There is a clear sense of tonal consistency and both of the ongoing plot lines follow a structure that compliments and contrasts with one-another, helping the overall episode to organically flow. It also gives some really nice business to each and every character, with everyone getting their moment to shine. There's a lot of really clever character development given to both Jeff and Shirley in this episode, including finally getting a glimpse of Jeff's past and what makes him tick, which helps to inform his conflict with Rich.
The humor is also drastically ramped up here. The B storyline involving the Sailing Class is much more focused on broad comedy and it's filled to burst with some beautifully hilarious broad comedic gags and physical humor. Definitely one of those episodes that had me near rolling on the floor with laughter at some of the things writer Hilary Winston came up with. The back-and-forth sort-of battle between Jeff and Rich also supplies plenty of great gags, including an uproariously funny nod to actor Jeff Goldblum and his unique delivery.
As it stands, while far from the best, "Beginner Pottery" is just such a refreshing and good-natured bit of fun, I can't help but adore it. It's consistently funny and has some nice character development that make it a very fun watch. I have to give it a very strong 9 out of 10. Definitely worth giving a re-watch if you haven't seen it in a while.
