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"Some Flies Are Too Awesome for the Wall." Recapturing the Weirdness of Last Night's "'Community' of Darkness"

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under TV Reviews | Comments (35)

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Community: I appreciated last night’s show much more than I enjoyed it. On Twitter yesterday, Dan Harmon wrote: “AND, tonight, celebrate “Community’s” unschedulization with the least accessible, least marketable episode in its alienating history!” He wasn’t lying. It was brilliant, and ambitious, and creative, but to me, not all that enjoyable or funny. I loved the last three minutes, but the Heart of Darkness riff was very Heart of Darkness: Abstract and weird and inaccessible. That’s part of what we love about “Community,” and I’m glad that Harmon took that chance, and there was a certain satisfaction in seeing each of the characters given in to Dean Pelton’s madness. I hope that Harmon gets the opportunity to take more risks like that and I will watch and appreciate the hell out of them, even when — like last night’s episdode — they’re more inspired than entertaining.


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Comments

It was nice to see Dean Pelton get another serious moment. I really liked his scene in the clip show episode and hoped they'd do more with him in the same vein.

Posted by: Lucas at November 18, 2011 11:06 AM

I was watching it with my mom and midway through it she said, "I just don't get this show." I replied, "Well, sometimes it's just not funny."

And I hate to say it, but Alison Brie, while cute as hell, is at best an average comedic actress. I didn't buy her supposed insanity for a minute.

But on Parks and Recreation, "All it takes is one nutjob to get them all riled up" made the whole evening worthwhile.

Posted by: Todd at November 18, 2011 11:09 AM

Posted by: Jay at November 18, 2011 11:13 AM

I watched it a second time this morning and enjoyed it even more than I did last night. Joel McHale does an amazing Dean Pelton impression.

Did you all catch Captain Awesome from Chuck in the original Greendale video? He's one of the guys in the "meeting different people" scene.

"I loved you innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn... IMDB."

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at November 18, 2011 11:13 AM

Sooo...you're just going to continue to post these and not give any credit to the people on Tumblr who made them? I mean, the gifs are no big deal, but some of the collages and other graphics take people a long time to make. Seems kind of rude to not even link to them.

But anyway, I love the Dean, but I'm worried he's headed for Chang-like overexposure.

(Gine: I never really know how to credit them, because it's hard to track the source. But henceforth, I will make a concerted effort -- especially with the collages -- to find the original source and attribute appropriately. -- DR)

Posted by: Gine at November 18, 2011 11:16 AM

I liked it, but the mention of "Heart of Darkness" twice in the episode was too on the nose for this one. It was strange, and funny at times, but still good. It was a lot better than the similar "Abed becomes Jesus-like filmmaker" episode from last season.

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 18, 2011 11:17 AM

Community was worth it if for nothing else but Joel McHale's "Jeff Winger as Dean Pelton" schtick. It was uncanny and unsettling at the same time. But yeah, WEIRD episode. I loved the Luis Guzman cameo (especially the scene where he encounters his statue) but I wish they'd done a little more with him.

I have to say, I'm still not on the Parks & Rec. Train. It's too much like "The Office" (though it is BETTER than "The Office" was at any point). I thought last night's episode was only OK. "The Office" was also pretty blah.

And the best part of "Whitney" was when I changed the channel.

Posted by: Bert at November 18, 2011 11:18 AM

I was all caught up in taking care of The Kid last night and didn't get a good chance to watch this episode in full. I'm glad I left it on my DVR to watch again tonight because I was SUPER confused by the bits and pieces I did get to see in real time.

Posted by: JenVegas at November 18, 2011 11:19 AM

The Dean is my favorite character. It was fun watching him crack up. And it's weird liking the show when it's not particularly funny...but I did. The hug at the end - Dean Pelton is so awkward, I just love him.

Posted by: ChickaBoom! at November 18, 2011 11:31 AM

The only thing I would have liked to see different was the sense of time. It didn't feel like 12 days had passed in the episode, and that alone felt silly in a way... Just have Luis Guzman show up in three to four days. That amount of insanity in a much smaller period might have let the episode propel itself a bit more without the speed bump of, "Huh. Nearly two weeks of this and no one's quit yet?"

Otherwise, I think this show just speaks to me in ways that it clearly doesn't to most people, because I enjoyed the hell out of it and thought it was hilarious.

Posted by: RobP at November 18, 2011 11:32 AM

I frickin loved it. Just sayin.

Posted by: jamiepants at November 18, 2011 11:32 AM

Is it me or anyone think Director Pelton was kinda hot in the camos and tee? OK, yeah, it was just me.

I think most of you wishy-washy Community Dubes
(dubious, as opposed to fans, fanatics) are over thinking this show way too much. Just enjoy the weirdness and go with it.

Posted by: kirbyjay at November 18, 2011 11:49 AM

I laughed hard at several parts of this episode but especially at Jeff-as-the-dean. I like those two together. Oh yeah, at Shirley's scary expression and voice change when she said "sassy". hehe

Posted by: snapnhiss at November 18, 2011 11:56 AM

I'm kind of surprised at the general consensus of this episode, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I also had no idea what Heart of Darkness is but I think I put two-and-two together by them mentioning it in their context. Maybe that's why they name-dropped it so much? For the 20 y.o. generation that still hasn't managed to see Apocalypse Now?

Also, I had no idea McHale was so good at impressions! I want more of his Dean.

Posted by: gee. ay. at November 18, 2011 12:09 PM

I haven't laughed so hard in ages

Posted by: PyD at November 18, 2011 12:15 PM

Posted by: kirbyjay at November 18, 2011 11:49 AM

...it wasn't just you. I was a little disturbed, actually, at how attractive I found him.

I think I'm going to agree with Tyler on it being better than the Messianic Myths episode. I'm also going to put forth that it was weird and kind of inaccessible because it was entirely from Abed's perspective, and he's kind of weird and inaccessible. So, for me, that made it an excellent episode, though for the more casual viewer or the new viewer, it's going to be weird and inaccessible, and not funny. But if it were less weird and more accessible all the time, it wouldn't be the Community I know and love.

And I'll be honest, Dean Pelton's crisis moved me. He's just a Craigular Joe, you guys.

Posted by: Anna von Beav at November 18, 2011 12:18 PM

I also thought this was an excellent episode. I'm a little shocked that you didn't enjoy it.

Britta and Troy together must happen. It's close, I can feel it.

Posted by: becks at November 18, 2011 12:34 PM

Okay, let the one with the BFA in Creative Writing and the teacher's license speak please, you're killing me.

In a nutshell, the short story Heart of Darkness (which is what the film Apocalypse Now is based on) is about man versus his primal nature. In both the story and the film, a military man defects to live in the jungle, goes insane, and he amasses an army for himself. The book sets it in Africa, the film sets it in Vietnam. Whether you read about the growing dread of the man sent into the jungle to find him, or watch the batshit insanity that is Vietnam in the film, the very basic question of both is "At what point, if a human is given enough power/trauma/isolation and sent to live in a lawless animalistic world, when will he resort to primal instincts?" Read the book, then see the film. That's your homework for the weekend children.

Or watch this clip to get a basic idea and get creeped the fuck out. That's Marlo Brando in one of his finest roles. He's in shadow so much because he gained so much weight during filming they couldn't film him directly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Dj7nvEBrE

Posted by: scorzi at November 18, 2011 12:50 PM

Thanks MelBivDevoe! I couldn't figure out where I'd seen him before. Did Captain Awesome change his hair color?

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 18, 2011 1:24 PM

Hey, scorzi, that was a nice, if condescending, lesson on Heart of Darkness. The only problem is that Community was referencing the documentary Hearts of Darkness much more than Conrad's novella (not a short story). You know, the documentary about the filming of Apocalypse Now where Coppola has fourteen gajillion things go wrong (hurricane wipes out the majority of the sets, Harvey Keitel fired and Martin Sheen hired, Martin Sheen has a heart attack, and Brando being Brando) and everyone starts questioning Coppola's sanity? You should watch it. Consider it homework, if you will.

Posted by: P-Funk at November 18, 2011 1:33 PM

I really hope they just stop with the group relationships. Cause then you end up with a Jeff/Annie and Troy/Britta double date. Then whine gets spilled. Clothes get taken off. A little joke leads to the bedroom....

I mean, yeah I liked last nights episode. Had no idea the dean could act not so dean-y?. Even Chang is starting to be fun again with his small doses.

Posted by: googergieger at November 18, 2011 1:36 PM

Dang P-Funk, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap....

*flips table over*

Posted by: googergieger at November 18, 2011 1:40 PM

I am not sure I particularly want Britta and Troy to happen, but I was dying of laughter during the whole hugging filming. As they slowly descended into insanity, it was just perfect. Troy yelling at the end to stop calling him different.

I am sitting here in my office chuckling just thinking of it as I write this, and people are looking at me oddly...

Posted by: Hip & Cool User Name at November 18, 2011 1:50 PM

I love that this show takes risks. It's really, really funny and creative. Reminds me of Louis in that way.

Posted by: samantha t at November 18, 2011 2:07 PM

Favorite episode so far this season, I think. No one was grating on my nerves (I'm looking at you, Shirley) and the reference wasn't so absurd to be that inaccessible. I mean, My Dinner with Abed was probably the weirder. Watching a director go crazy isn't that "out there," even if the source material is a little bit.

Posted by: kelsy at November 18, 2011 2:08 PM

I'm really surprised people found this inaccessible -- I had to stop the show several times so I could stop laughing. I even cracked up laughing again thinking about ot on my commute to work this morning. And I've never even seen Apocalypse Now. (I read Heart of Darkness, though. And Achebe's An Image of Africa. It's really a wonder that I can laugh at all).

Posted by: Nora at November 18, 2011 3:03 PM

Three-nineteen - I wonder if he's a natural brunette? I like the blond on him better. Makes him look more awesome.

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at November 18, 2011 3:07 PM

I LOVED this episode. I thought it was on par with the Christmas ones. Sometimes "Community" is so into riffing, it forgets it has a heart, and this episode was all wacky and heart. I thought it was perfect. Comedy should be allowed to slide into drama and dramedy. Especially comedy as fearless as this.

Posted by: Pants at November 18, 2011 7:05 PM

Community episodes come in two flavors: the first is one you can like even if you never saw the show before, the second is one where you really have to follow the show for a while in order to appreciate the episode. This episode was the second flavor.

Joel McHale deserves an Emmy for his Dean.

Posted by: Holfax at November 18, 2011 8:07 PM

I thought it was amazing. Episodes like this are why I love Community. It's wildly creative and original. I thought it had plenty of laughs, though maybe they were a little darker than usual.

I enjoy Parks & Rec, but like the US Office and Modern Family, the format stops me from loving it. The whole faux documentary thing is just lazy writing. If you're going to do it, do it properly like the UK Office. Also, Leslie is starting to annoy me. She can reach almost Michael Scott levels of assholeishness, but unlike Michael Scott, no one seems to notice or care. I almost wanted Ben to reject her after all the manipulative crap she pulled in this episode.

Posted by: Kate at November 18, 2011 8:40 PM

How could anyone not enjoy this episode? It was great.

Posted by: John G. at November 18, 2011 9:17 PM

loved the moment at the very end where Abed looks at the camera.

Genius.

Posted by: susie derkins at November 18, 2011 10:09 PM

@ scorzi: "Okay, let the one with the BFA in Creative Writing and the teacher's license speak please, you're killing me."

You kept the receipts to those, right? You might want to get your money back for something else. Like cosmetology classes.

Posted by: No Thank You at November 20, 2011 9:18 AM

sure, it was a weird episode, but I disagree. I found it very funny. Most any time the Dean was on screen I was laughing.

Posted by: projektidiot at November 20, 2011 5:57 PM

Just catching up been gone, and can I say I think I loved this episode more then a few others. It was genius and awesome. I laughed through the whole thing. I also think Heart of Darkness is awesome. Why can't people go that crazy anymore. Loved it.

Posted by: Muertemaria at November 21, 2011 5:33 AM