Community (NBC)

I don't normally write about TV shows that I'm watching in real-time, on network TV. That's because it usually takes a while to get a feel for the show, and by then, I've lost interest in talking about it. But with Community, I felt that it was worth bringing up. This is a show that many of you might have missed and it's really evolved and found itself. It's very clever and something that lovers of pop-culture should be watching.

Community is a sit-com set in a community college and deals with a study group of unlikely friends and some odd-ball students, teachers, and staff. They all represent stereotypes: the old guy going back to school (Chevy Chase), the guy in his field who is finishing up the formalities of his education (Joel McHale from the Soup), the jock, the nerd, the hippie, the goodie-goodie, the God-squader, etc... During the first few episodes of setup for this show, all of these things came off as cliche, and I was an episode away from giving up. But once it found its legs, the show ran off and became a meta collection of references to TV sitcoms. It's extremely self-aware and it's no longer ABOUT community college. That's just the setting for episodes that quickly turn into spoofs on zombie apocalypse films, Japanese action films, mob movies, claymation Christmas specials, and high fantasy adventure, just to name a few. This is a show you might've skipped, but you should give a shot. It's quickly become one of the first things I flock to on the DVR and is a unique take on comedy.