Thursday, April 25, 2013
Friends Coming to TV Land in June With 5-Night Marathon Event; Episodic Review: Community - "Basic Human Anatomy" Airing Tonight on NBC
On the next...Community:
By: Vincent
NBC's Thursday night comedy that stars Joel McHale airs Thursdays at 8|7c and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (April 25). In the episode airing tonight, "Basic Human Anatomy," when Annie (Alison Brie) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) learn that Leonard (Richard Erdman) is actually holding the spot as the class valedictorian, they join forces to bring him down. Meanwhile, Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) reminisce about one of their favorite body switching films and when they inadvertently re-enact a critical scene, things start becoming a little funky at Greendale.
Watching Community has been kind of hard this season. Not because it's been bad - it's felt slightly off at times, but remains a very enjoyable show - but because, after the firing of creator Dan Harmon, it's hard to objectively look at an episode and not wonder how Dan Harmon would've done it. No matter how talented the cast and remaining writers are, Harmon had such a distinct vision for the show that there was no way the show could've matched what it was under his control. That's why Community tends to be most enjoyable these days when it's not trying any big concepts and is just letting you hang out with the characters - you don't have to worry if the concept could've been better under Harmon, you just get the spend some time with a bunch of characters that are still among the best on television.
Having said all of that, tonight's Community - which, notably, was written by Jim Rash, who plays Dean Pelton - is one of the better ones of its current season, and it's one that many would consider a "concept" episode, paying tribute to the movie Freaky Friday. (Though, considering this is a show that turned its entire cast into Muppets two weeks ago, it's not all that big of a concept for Community standards). And yet, it isn't the concept that makes it such a strong episode - it's the small, intimate character moments make is such a stand-out. One of the things that Community has moved away from a bit without Harmon is its darker, emotional side - the side that wasn't afraid to take its characters out to a bar and put all of their serious flaws on display, or to give one of its characters a mental breakdown in its Christmas episode. This episode doesn't go quite that deep, but the emotion here feels more real than it's been in most of this season. Additionally, this episode just feels more comfortable than most of the season has - it doesn't feel like it's trying far too hard to re-create the Harmon years, which makes everything flow a bit more naturally. There's still some issues here and there - the Dean plot felt a bit over-the-top (a little ironic, considering he wrote the episode), the dialogue still feels a little stilted, and the show still isn't quite as funny as it was in years past. But other than that, this episode was really enjoyable to watch - and most importantly, it didn't make me stop and wonder if Dan Harmon could've done it better. B+
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, May 15
Happy's Place - "Social Discontent" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Steve and Isabella begin shooting marketing content for the tavern, they quickly realize Bobbie has a case of camera madness, causing them to recast her with a local influencer.
Happy's Place - "The Name Game" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bobbie doesn't want Gabby to get her hopes up too soon about her potential pregnancy, but accidentally rains on her parade in the process; Isabella hires Takoda's band to play at the tavern unaware he's in a death metal band.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 11)
Friday, May 15
- Goldie Hawn (Good Morning World) - Watch Goldie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Asif Ali (Deli Boys/Wrecked/Mr. Robinson) and Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) - Asif and Ali are guests on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- John Krasinski (The Office) - John talks about Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa talks about Abbott Elementary and Lisa Ann Walter: It Was an Accident with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Ross are covering the headlines with pals Valerie and Nate Berkus on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Belmont Cameli (Saved by the Bell (2020-2021) - Belmont and Ella Bright talk about Off Campus on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton co-hosts NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This/GLOW) - NBC's Today catches up with Jackie in the 10am hour.
- Y'lan Noel (Insecure) - Y'lan talks about Netflix's Nemesis on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/04/25 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11/25 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11/25 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11/25 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02/25 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16/25 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16/25 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
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