Community is fantastic. Mixology Certification is tonally at odds with the rest of the series, I'll admit, but that doesn't mean it's weaker; it's just different. Remember, this is the show with episodes like the action-packed Modern Warfare as well as bottle episode Cooperative Calligraphy. It's a young show, and its willingness to experiment shouldn't be held against it. In fact, I think its unpredictability in style and plot, grounded in its strong and familiar cast, makes it all the more compelling.
Thursday's episode wasn't very funny. And I say that in the best possible way. Because at the expense of humor, we got to look at these characters in a very different light. We saw them in a bar, where Jeff and Britta are exposed as children and Shirley as imperfect with a shameful past, and we see Troy absorb all of this. Troy's the stupid, funny jock but as he turns 21 he grows up. He becomes a man, according to Jeff. It's strange to see Troy as the moral center, the most down to earth member of the crew; but tonight he is. This might have been the obligatory character development installment of the season, but I think it turned out to be a lot more than that. It exposed all the characters, some in more obvious ways than others, but all still poignant: Pierce is helpless, Shirley regrets her alcoholic past, Annie is unsure of the path she's choosing (played BRILLIANTLY by Alison Brie, as usual), Jeff and Britta are argumentative and immature. And Troy sees all of this, and for once we see an episode through him, and it's surprisingly sincere.
Mixology Certification is bleak, and I love it for risking that. If I've learned anything from writing this blog, it's that I love shows that are a hybrid of comedy, drama, and heart. (Sprinkle a few aliens or alternate dimensions or superhero ASBO shitheads in there, and you have my undying love.) There are sketch comedies like Bruiser that are hilarious but don't have an emotional draw. And that's not a fault, that's just the way the show is. It's still ace. But if I'm not emotionally invested in some way, it's not an all-time favorite... or at least, that's the hypothesis right now. We'll see! This blog is an experiment!
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"Imagine a country... where forks are irrelevant." All right, Office, you can make me laugh occasionally (and I am always surprised when you do), but you can't make me love you again. The spark is gone. I used to be emotionally invested in Pam and Jim and amused by Michael (wow, those were the days) but now I simply don't care about anyone. Are the characters less real now that we know so much about Oscar's holier-than-thou attitude (remember when he was just the gay Mexican one? With the bitchy art critic boyfriend Gil?), and we have been fully exposed to the deviousness of Angela. Shouldn't fleshed-out characters deepen an audience's relationship with a show? In a sitcom like The Office, plot propels but characters compel. And that's the most important thing. That's what keeps viewers watching and wanting more. Pam and Jim were TV's most popular "will they or won't they" because they were endearing and realistic.
Thursday's episode China is funny, but I found that while watching, I was bored and simply uninterested in what was going to happen next. Maybe I've just lost interest.
Unfortunately I was only half paying attention by the end and can't write an informed piece about Dwight being "not motivated by compassion" which seems like something I'd normally like to explore. Oh well.
This emotion in comedy thing... I'd like to write about the Extras special sometime. I'd say the same about the British Office, but I'd just be reiterating all the positives I've written about the US Office. (I.E. investment in Jim and Pam = good. Relatable humor in the mundane = good. Though it would differ in the Gareth/Dwight and Brent/Scott aspects because both versions of the characters are excellent for different reasons.)
And one of these days I will write about Catterick. One day.
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