Pascal's Triangle Revisited
- Episode aired May 20, 2010
- TV-PG
- 21m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
4.4K
YOUR RATING
Britta and Professor Slater fight for the affection of Jeff. Meanwhile, Troy is confused when Abed doesn't invite him to move into his dorm room.Britta and Professor Slater fight for the affection of Jeff. Meanwhile, Troy is confused when Abed doesn't invite him to move into his dorm room.Britta and Professor Slater fight for the affection of Jeff. Meanwhile, Troy is confused when Abed doesn't invite him to move into his dorm room.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Dean Pelton is announcing the nominees for "Transfer Queen", he mentions the name Danielle Harmon. The creator of the show's name is Dan Harmon.
- Quotes
Troy Barnes: Oh, and for the record? There was an episode of Happy Days where a guy *literally* jumped over a shark. And it was the *best* one.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Cougar Town: A Thing About You (2011)
- SoundtracksAt Least It Was Here (Community Main Title)
(uncredited)
Performed by The 88
Featured review
Season 1: Not at the level of 30 Rock, but aside from sometimes coming over too smug and one-note, it can be very funny and enjoyable
Watching Community was an odd experience for me at first – not because of the show, but rather because of my perception of it. I had never watched so much as a clip of it before, and indeed had only heard of it via the worry it seemed to generate that it would be cancelled; I am not sure why, but this made me assume it must be a more highbrow or difficult comedy – that it got love from people on Tumblr and Twitter who would be "above" regular sitcoms added to this feeling. So imagine my surprise on watching the first season to find that it is nothing of the sort, and actually is more generic in some aspects than many other sitcoms doing the similar thing – which is not a criticism per se.
The action is set within a community college where an oddball group of individuals form a study group to help each other get through Spanish – although actually the group was invented by the smooth but shallow Jeff to try to get time alone with the good looking Britta (who is a girl, not a waterfilter). From here the group navigate the college life, and one another. In terms of base structure the show is perhaps a bit generic – okay it is set in a community college rather than college, so there is a spin to the humor there, but fundamentally it plays to a certain line. This is most reflected in the characters who, despite learning a few lessons here and there (generally in the last few minutes of an episode) are fairly one- note; now, it is worth saying that for all of them I did like their "note", but it is not like they have great complexity to them.
The humor is very knowing, and relies very heavily on cultural references in a way that it frequently returns to whether it be movie references, or internal references to its own setting as being like a sitcom or college movie. For the most part I found this funny and enjoyed the show's knowing and "going with it" tone because it meant that the emotional detachment from the characters was not only fine, but was actually part of it. The cast play to it well; McHale is actually pretty fun with his lead role, while Jacobs works pretty well with him. Pudi has too many references dumped on him – okay it is part of his character, but at times it feels like there is nothing else, so if the references tire, then so does he. Brown is good in her delivery, but her character is probably the weakest in terms of material and use. Brie, Glover, and Chase are all funny, although again you can tell the type of joke that is coming when the camera cuts to them. The smaller roles are wonderfully detached from any connection to reality, and I must confess that I enjoyed the mayhem of Rash's Dean, Jeong's Spanish teacher, and the couple of appearances that John Oliver made.
The show is not at the level of better comedies that trade in similar waters, and it does have a tendency towards being too knowing, and too reliant on detached smugness and references, however it can also be very funny and enjoyable – which I found the majority of the material to be. Hopefully season 2 can open it up some more, but otherwise one I got over my incorrect assumptions about it, I was pretty pleased with it as show.
The action is set within a community college where an oddball group of individuals form a study group to help each other get through Spanish – although actually the group was invented by the smooth but shallow Jeff to try to get time alone with the good looking Britta (who is a girl, not a waterfilter). From here the group navigate the college life, and one another. In terms of base structure the show is perhaps a bit generic – okay it is set in a community college rather than college, so there is a spin to the humor there, but fundamentally it plays to a certain line. This is most reflected in the characters who, despite learning a few lessons here and there (generally in the last few minutes of an episode) are fairly one- note; now, it is worth saying that for all of them I did like their "note", but it is not like they have great complexity to them.
The humor is very knowing, and relies very heavily on cultural references in a way that it frequently returns to whether it be movie references, or internal references to its own setting as being like a sitcom or college movie. For the most part I found this funny and enjoyed the show's knowing and "going with it" tone because it meant that the emotional detachment from the characters was not only fine, but was actually part of it. The cast play to it well; McHale is actually pretty fun with his lead role, while Jacobs works pretty well with him. Pudi has too many references dumped on him – okay it is part of his character, but at times it feels like there is nothing else, so if the references tire, then so does he. Brown is good in her delivery, but her character is probably the weakest in terms of material and use. Brie, Glover, and Chase are all funny, although again you can tell the type of joke that is coming when the camera cuts to them. The smaller roles are wonderfully detached from any connection to reality, and I must confess that I enjoyed the mayhem of Rash's Dean, Jeong's Spanish teacher, and the couple of appearances that John Oliver made.
The show is not at the level of better comedies that trade in similar waters, and it does have a tendency towards being too knowing, and too reliant on detached smugness and references, however it can also be very funny and enjoyable – which I found the majority of the material to be. Hopefully season 2 can open it up some more, but otherwise one I got over my incorrect assumptions about it, I was pretty pleased with it as show.
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- bob the moo
- Apr 9, 2015
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