17223 replies to this topic

[The Mad Maple]

Y'know, it's strange that nobody started a thread for this show yet, considering how much love there is in this forum for Joel McHale. Maybe everyone's still bitter that NBC bumped My Name is Earl to fit it into the schedule.

Don't know about anyone else, but I'm definitely planning to check it out. So far, I've only seen one preview of it, and it did end on kind of a syrupy note, but the cast (mainly Joel and Chevy Chase) seems pretty solid, so I'm going to give it a chance. Your thoughts?

[CantThinkUpName]

I hate in the description how it said he loses his law degree. Doesn't one lose their law license?

[AnnaRose]

I thought the preview looked funny and quite promising. The only new shows I'm really looking forward to this fall are Community, Parenthood, and Glee. I hope they all do well.

[jenmarie]

It looks cute. It's got John Oliver which is a good thing, and Andrew from Reno 911! was in the clip I saw. He's not a regular but if they even just feature him the show could be very funny.

[The Mad Maple]

I hate in the description how it said he loses his law degree. Doesn't one lose their law license?

Judging from the ad they ran during The Tonight Show last night, he lost his law license because his law degree was discredited.

Paraphrasing the conversation between him and his buddy ('cause I saw it over 24 hours ago, and my memory sucks):

"But I thought you had a degree from Columbia."

"Yeah. And now I have to get one from this country."

[hardy har]

Here are a couple reviews of the pilot:

Televisionary: Pilot Insepktor

The Futon Critic: Rants & Reviews

[Split Ends]

Michael Ausiello says over on EW that the pilot is hysterical. I'm looking forward to this one -- sitcoms and I don't generally get along, but I'm always on the lookout for good ones. Plus, Joel McHale is awesome.

I always wondered what happened to The IT Guys, which was supposed to be a midseason replacement last year with him. Where did it go? But Community looks pretty damn funny.

Personally, I'm not bitter about My Name is Earl. That show had great stuff in the beginning, but the premise and the jokes had both worn thin.

[dbrits]

As an individual who works in this particular realm of education, I'm very much looking forward to this show. That, and Joel McHale is hilarious. I hope this show does well.

[Split Ends]

Hey, dbrits, did you see the Time magazine feature on how community colleges might save America? They even had a little picture of Joel McHale and mentioned the show.

[hardy har]

I don't know if everyone has this problem, but getting the videos on the NBC site to play smoothly is always a giant pain in the ass for my laptop. So, here's the youtube link to the extended promo for anyone else who doesn't feel like shouting at the NBC site while you wait for the vid(s) to load.

Edited by hardy har, Jul 18, 2009 @ 11:26 PM.

[dbrits]

Thanks for the heads up, Split Ends! I hadn't read that particular article. I found it at Time's website and I particularly enjoyed how the writer integrated a mention of the show into the body of the article:

Many politicians and their well-heeled constituents may be under the impression that a community college — as described in a promo for NBC's upcoming comedy Community — is a "loser college for remedial teens, 20-something dropouts, middle-aged divorcées and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity." But there's at least one Ivy Leaguer who is trying to help Americans get past the stereotypes and start thinking about community college not as a dumping ground but as one of the best tools the U.S. has to dig itself out of the current economic hole. His name: Barack Obama.

[mooncreek]

Another community college employee here. I haven't watched the nbc link yet but I know it will be odd to see my place is represented.

[icyblue]

I'm not as big a fan of Joel McHale as others. So I hadn't thought much about this show until I finally realized where it was set. It might have some promise.

Meanwhile, with my current and past jobs at a communty college, a parks and rec department and in TV -- I'm qualified to write most of NBC's Thurs. night lineup. (And then there's my art institute gig if they ever turn Night at the Museum into a show ...)

[Occono]

I'm going to watch this just because it's created by Dan Harmon, but there's lots of other reasons to (Joel McHale, John Oliver, the Arrested Development directors....) and it looks funny.

[orangepassion76]

I do enjoy Joel McHale and also work at a community college, so this has my interest! I hope this is funny - right now, I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I just hope it doesn't simply base the humor on the various sterotypes that already exist about community colleges, you know?

[dbrits]

If you become a fan of the show on Facebook, you can watch the pilot episode online. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but when I have a free moment - oh, I'm so there.

[dustdevil]

Just watched the pilot on Facebook. I realize that I'd seen most of it in the preview clips, but I was impressed at how quick it moved, and I thought it did a great job of introducing the premise and the characters in an action-packed way. Plus, seeing John Oliver and Joel McHale interact in several scenes was heaven.

[DKGoinToNW]

Every time I try to watch the pilot, it cuts off just after the 17-minute mark, right when Joel is starting to explain why Pierce is awesome. Anyone else have this problem?

[Paul O Regan]

Just watched it (I used Firefox to save it to my computer and watch on my iPod, so I don't know about any problems, DK).

Very promising. Definitely going to keep watching this.

[Beacon]

Just saw it on Facebook. I liked it, but I wonder what would happen if the show goes two years. Those students would have to move on at some point.

Edited by Beacon, Aug 12, 2009 @ 6:18 PM.

[boewyr]

I enjoyed it. Most of the funny parts were in the trailers, but that won't be an issue when the show gets going. The cast is good. The concept isn't exactly what it would seem, and it was funny, so I'm in, for now.

Allison Brie, Joel McHale, Britta and Yvette Nicole Brown were the stand outs to me. Though I liked three of them beforehand, so maybe I'm biased. Loved Allison Brie's character. Chevy Chase should be good so long as they keep him as a supporting player. Abed was fine, but I'm getting a Rainn Wilson/Dwight best-in-doses vibe from him.

[dbrits]

I liked it, but I wonder what would happen if the show goes two years. Those students would have to move on at some point.

They don't have to go anywhere. This is community college. They can stay there for years.

I too had a problem with the video cutting off mid-way through the pilot, but based upon what I did see, I'll definitely be setting the DVR to record the entire season.

ETA: The Facebook video finally worked. I really, really enjoyed it.

Edited by dbrits, Aug 14, 2009 @ 11:48 AM.

[McKittenplan]

I'm so excited about the premiere tonight! I love Joel McHale but I'm also looking forward to seeing Alison Brie in something else. I've only seen her as Trudy in Mad Men and I think she's great in that. I don't like Chevy Chase at all but I still think the show is going to be good. I hope it does well in the ratings.

[hardy har]

EW has a short interview with Gillian Jacobs (Britta) in the PopWatch section.

I finally figured out why I recognize her. She was in a monumentally depressing but good movie called Gardens of the Night about 2 street teens who were abducted by pedophiles when they were little and she played Cherry Daiquiri/Beth in Choke. Damn, that was driving me nuts.

[prodigalchicken]

I really liked the first episode. This show has a lot of potential. I loved the call out to the Breakfast Club (and the remix of that movie's closing song) as well as the John Hughes In Memoriam.

[tomsmom]

Joel is one of my favs, so I was biased going in but I really loved it! I do have a bad feeling that I'm going to be saying "Booyah" way too much tommorow!

[ReadIshmael]

Definitely liked it. In fact, it exceeded my expectations, and I was pretty excited going into it (I so love Joel McHale). The dialogue is so fast and clever, and I liked all the characters.

The Breakfast Club references were awesome.

[samsnee]

Sounds like it's a 4 year college, which is weird for a community college.

Anyway, not the worst pilot I've seen, but wasn't the best. It definitely had some good laugh out loud moments, particularly AFTER Joel's speech about community.

[orangepassion76]

Some states are moving towards allowing community colleges to start offering 4-year degrees, so I'm just going to assume that this school falls into that category. I was pleased that the show didn't rely on cheap sterotypes - the students actually seemed quite realistic. That said, I call a bit of bullshit on the dean who delievered the welcome speech!

Edited by orangepassion76, Sep 17, 2009 @ 9:28 PM.

[Peace_47]

Just watched the pilot on Facebook. I realize that I'd seen most of it in the preview clips, but I was impressed at how quick it moved, and I thought it did a great job of introducing the premise and the characters in an action-packed way.

I agree, and I really, really appreciate that we didn't have to waste 15 minutes watching Joel's character lose his license, decide to enroll in college, etc. I've rarely seen pilots establish their premise so quickly and effectively.

My dislike of Chevy Chase is pretty strong, but otherwise, I enjoyed the show. (He's one of those actors whose reported offscreen antics have affected my ability to enjoy him in anything onscreen.) Joel did a good job with his role. He didn't play it too over-the-top smarmy: I thought he had a very cool, almost understated humor.