I've been looking for the next Arrested Development on TV for years; and for years, I have been left disappointed. I probably should give up hope, because there probably will never be a show that brilliant, that amazing. There will be shows as funny, as creative, but never as genius. That was a show for the comedy savants. Never a bad episode, never a bad scene, never a dull moment. That said, when I set out on a little voyage to start watching Community like it was a drug, I was amazed. Here was a show almost as brilliant; almost as referential; almost as layered; almost as funny. It was almost Arrested Development, and it was even a show in a similar style, with a large cavalcade of main characters all with different personality traits and quirks. However, the fact that it almost adds up to Arrested Development 2.0 but falls a bit short makes it hurt that much more.
Let me start with saying that I thoroughly enjoy almost every episode in Communities run (granted, I've only gone halfway through Season 2). It is a fabulous show, with great writing, better acting and a unique quirk that sets it apart from any other show I've ever seen (the uber-meta-ness of the show, especially the Abed character). It is, to me, the best comedy out on television right now.
*Sidebar: That doesn't mean it is the funniest. That's a different category, and I think it is a tie between Community and Its Always Sunny of Philadelphia, with Sunny having higher highs and lower lows in the laugh department. Best is about the show as a work of art. Arrested Development was that. Community is that*
It does an amazing job splitting screen-time between seven main characters (although Chevy Chase's is basically comic relief, with few actual storylines for him, and Shirley is underused). Very few shows can pull off having this many characters and not make it feel like too many. I know this sounds like I'm having a full hard-on for Arrested Development (and I am), but it did it better than anyone, with 9 main characters. Community comes close. Also, I love the incestuous dynamic of the whole group, with Jeff having slept with Britta, hooked up with Annie, and Pierce having sexual tension with Shirley, and of course the odd quasi-homosexual relationship between Troy and Abed. The gang in Community is really perfect. Everyone has their place. Everyone has their moments, their jokes, their gags. It all fits, like an intricate puzzle. The writers to an amazing job overall. It really is a great show; the best comedy on television right now.
That said, its biggest unique quality is its only failing. The meta-humor is just too much for a show that is so redeeming as just a show. The idea of Abed relaying to the group - as well as the audience - the state of the show at large, just comes across as odd. Community tries to toe the line between sitcom and reality, and in that, it really is not served well. For a show that has no third-party narration, or no Office-like draw as in a documentary, the show would be better served to stay a show, and not have the meta-humor in the interactive portal that is Abed. I enjoy the other meta-humor jokes that are laid into the dialogue of the show, the jokes that are layered in meta-humor. That's where the show becomes brilliant, and what makes it so much like Arrested Development.
Also, the reliance of pop culture references that are mainly confined to entertainment art like movies, games, etc. are a little too narrow in scope. Again, Abed's continual reference of the show scenarios in comparison to their similarities in other movies and shows are just too much, especially since most of the references aren't mainstream enough to be thoroughly enjoyed. The use of referential humor in the show itself is great, from the Glee-club in the paintball episode, or the entire Goodfellas homage in Abed's chicken-finger mafia. The show itself is great at portraying it as a satire of the entertainment industry. However, despite my love of the mafia chicken -finger scheme as an episode, the use of a famous film or genre as a framework for an episode takes away from the show in general. The show seems to get lost too much in answering the question "How much is too much?" The small, funny inserts of references to events and arts are great. The giant use of the entertainment industry, despite being funny, is sometimes a crutch that a show like Community does not need.
The reason why this use of the entertainment industry is as hurtful as it is (and remember, despite this, the show is still exceptional) is because after it is stripped of all of the arts industry references is a great show itself, with 7 characters that balance together perfectly - just quirky enough; just dry enough. The characters are mostly all likable (which is a huge contrast with AD, where the characters were loved for being bizarre), and play off each other well. The story has a lot of heart in it, with Jeff learning time and time again the subtle beauty of a life stripped of all the comforts of normal, corporate America. The show itself is great without the use of references and meta-humor. The addition of those two things makes the show great, but the overuse hurts the show.
Everything is there for Community to become the next Arrested Development, and it has advantages that Arrested Development did not have. Community has no threat of cancellation, which Arrested Development always had. Community has attractive women leads, which Arrested Development did not really have (Portia de Rossi was/is attractive, but that wasn't part of her character on the show - and she was married to Tobias). Community also has time to expand, to grow, to change. However, after two seasons, Community is near the threshold of losing all sense of reality, and this is due to the overload of references and reliances on creating satirical scenarios, instead of subtely layering in references onto normal dialogue. Arrested Development still always felt like this could be a real family - a screwed up one, definitely, but a real one. Community isn't exactly there. Despite the brilliance of episodes like the Apocalyptic Paintball fight, these make Community get further attached to the reality that is seven unlikely friends in a Community College.
Nevertheless, I will enjoy watching Community to continue to grow (although the run probably can't be too long, since the setting of a Community College has an attached timeline to it). I will enjoy watching it, and watching a show that reminds of me the greatest sitcom of the past decade. However, I will also have to enjoy the areas where it fails to match that sitcom. That should be easy, as those areas are quite funny themselves.
