Happy October 19th!

Community is back tonight! To get everybody excited for season 4, I have compiled the best promotions into one epic list. Tune in tonight at 8pm on NBC and let's help make this season the best one yet. Six seasons and a movie!


5. Changnesia

From Spanish teacher to outcast student; from security guard to evil dictator; from weird guy with no memory issues to weird guy with a serious case of Changnesia, Ken Jeong proves time and time again that he has more range than Tom Hanks, Daniel Day Lewis, and Leonardo DeCaprio combined.

4. The Hunger Deans

We all know Community is at it's best when they fully dive into an off-the-wall storyline i.e.Contemporary American Poultry, A Fistful Of Paintballs, and Pillows and Blankets. This episode should go down as one of the all time greats.

3. Study Hard

Today is a good day to study hard. Yippee ki yay Father Christmas. 

2. Odd Jobs

Nothing like taking some subtle shots at NBC. Conan and 30 Rock did a masterful job at such. Time for Community to carry the torch.

1. October 19th

From poking fun at the seemingly endless push backs and delays, to referencing fan-made flash mobs and Annie's Boobs new role on Animal Hospital, this promo has it all.

Community: "Welcome to our fourth season. We spoke to the powers that be and agreed to premier on October 19th."
NBC: "What powers that be? It's just the two of you pretending to have a show"
Community: "Heh, sometimes it feels that way. Honestly we don't do it for them, we do it for the fans."

Whoops, I may have screwed up who was responsible for those quotes. Oh well. Happy October 19th Everybody!

Top 5 Best Community Episodes of Season 3

We are currently one month away from the return of Community. Granted, this is assuming NBC doesn't move it back again or cancel it all together, but assuming network television does the right thing for once and keeps a great show on the air, (ahem Arrested Development...) we only have one month left! So, in honor of way too much time away from Greendale and, to be frank, a heavy dose of Community withdrawal, I've decided to post a top 5 countdown of the best episodes from season 3. I truly feel like every episode is brilliant and hilarious as Community is one of my favorite shows, so try not to be too disappointed if your pick does not appear on this list. If you are feeling passionate one way or the other, just post your top five in the comment section; I would love to see them. So without wasting too much more time, let's jump right in.


5. Pillows and Blankets

The best episodes of community are the ones in which they fully commit to a different format for the show. After Troy and Abed disagree about what to make their giant forts out of, pillows versus blankets, the dispute progresses into a war and hilarity ensues. The entire episode is shot like a Ken Burns style documentary, which is famous for the camera panning in or out on still photographs, making them seem more alive, in addition to the iconic narration. Community captures the style perfectly, and in my opinion, is well deserving of the top 5 countdown.

4. Digital Estate Planning

This episode simply had to be on this list, if for no other reason than it's sheer boldness. The vast majority of Digital Estate Planning is presented in the style of an 8 bit video game console, which even for Community, is a big risk. Risks like this are what have hurt Community in the ratings at times, while also making them a cult favorite with a small army of passionate fans. Another strength of Community is their ability to make amazing cultural references, and this episode is full of them. From detailing the instructions on finding Missingno, the famous glitch from early Pokemon Games, to referencing Crystal Meth, as the guest star is known for his role on Breaking Bad, this show embodies all that is community; clever plots, intelligent writing, and a willingness to take risks. Brilliant.

3. Documentary Filmmaking: Redux

Yet another brilliant episode. I'm running out of adjectives and we're only on number 3. When Dean Pelton, probably the most underrated character on the show, is tasked with creating a new commericial for Greendale College, Abed decides to film the process, simultaneously referencing Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse and Waiting for Guffman. I strongly suggest you watch one, if not both films to fully enjoy the cultural references in this episode. Although the ratings were less than spectacular, critics gave rave reviews calling this episode the reason why Community should not be canceled, as well as a perfect example of how only Community fans can love the show enough to appreciate this episode. If you've never seen Community before, I would not suggest starting with this one. Let's just say Documentary Filmmaking: Redux is for the more advanced viewer. You have to work up to it.

2. Regional Holiday Music

This season's Christmas episode, a spoof on Fox's Glee, may take the cake as the most full-of-references episode Community has ever done. The initial song features SNL's Taran Killam as "Mr. Rad," a spoof on Glee's Will Schuester and the lyrics cleverly explain the inherent silliness of the Fox hit series. Troy and Abed rap together on "Christmas Infiltration," no doubt an homage to Donald Glover's second career, rapping under the alias Childish Gambino. "Baby Boomer Santa" is rife with music references dating from the 1940s to the 1980s. Annie's "Teach Me How To Understand Christmas," is a play on Madonna's "Santa Baby." The song ends with Jeff saying "Look, eventually, you hit a point of diminishing returns on the sexiness," poking fun at the songs' baby-talk style. Finally, Shirley's "Happy Birthday Jesus" makes fun of the super-religious take on Christmas. Outside references include Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the Star Wars Holiday Special. Everything from the Glee-like scene transitions, to the Kings of Leon/bullying reference, makes this episode a top pick. However, it is not THE top pick.

1. Remedial Chaos Theory

I chose "Remedial Chaos Theory" as the best episode of season 3 for a couple reasons. First of all, it's sheer density is impressive. In what only amounts to about  22 minutes of air time, viewers are left with a feeling that they just watched a full length feature film. In fact, I had to watch the episode a few times before I fully grasped all it had to offer. When a dice is rolled in order to determine who goes downstairs to meet the pizza delivery guy, Abed points out that 6 different timelines are now being created, as each number on the die leads to a different outcome. The second reason I chose this episode as the top pick was it's importance to the rest of the season. I believe that one of the best subplots of season 3 included Evil Abed and the darkest timeline, a story that began in this episode. One of the timelines was labeled 'the darkest' in which Jeff lost an arm, Pierce was shot and killed, Shirley became an alcoholic, Annie went to a mental hospital, Troy lost the ability to speak, and Britta put a purple streak in her hair. At this point, Troy and Abed vow to break into the other timeline and take over the good as 'Evil Troy and Evil Abed.'


The intelligence Community demands of its audience is commendable and far too uncommon. While so many shows allow the audience to tune in inconsistently, tell them when to laugh with a laugh track, or use 'documentary style story telling' to explain complicated plot points in an easy to understand way, Community tirelessly runs from the norm. They vary their format, dive deep into ingenious plot-lines, and continue to challenge their audience to pay attention and look for more out of network television shows. Not only should Community not be canceled, but it should be the most popular show on television. Although, I will admit there is a certain charm to the majority not fully 'getting it.' As with all cult favorites, the alienation of the fan base is a big part of what makes the smaller group so passionate. So in a world where shows can be saved by flash mobs and email campaigns, let's just hope that the firing of 'captain of the ship,' Dan Harmon doesn't ruin a good thing, and that Community finally gets the appreciation it deserves! #SixSeasonsAndAMovie

A Mass Effect: Television's Impact on American Culture (Conclusion)

The final, arguably most important impact that television has had on our culture is its double sided effect on our fears, attitude towards violence and overall values. Television programming and news stations often paint a picture of the world as a terrifying, violent place. This creates an inflated sense of fear among viewers while also desensitizing the public to violence and cruelty. Research shows that heavy television viewers perceive that world as a much more dangerous place than those people who don’t watch nearly as much television. When the evening news comes on TV, the majority of the stories are saturated with crime and violence. Such stories often times result in a spike in ratings and viewership, especially among viewers who watch television later at night. (1990: 93) “Violence and other adult themes increase with the hour. The 8 o’clock (news) has more violence than the two earlier ones, and 10 P.M. programs have even more.”

The violence doesn’t stop at the news. American television programs are notorious for containing scenes of violence, especially in prime-time slots. In a study done by Gerbner in 1985, data shows that five to six violent acts per hour were found in prime-time television shows, often times within some sort of action series. Today, shows that air on premium networks like HBO and Showtime are often extremely violent, holding little to nothing back in the department of blood and core. Shows like Dexter, where the main character is a serial killer and Boardwalk Empire, which chronicles the violent lives of prohibition gangsters, build every episode around violence. It is not rare to see a couple murders, often times detailed and gruesome, in each episode. Violent programming is not limited to such channels, however. Network television features increasingly graphic shows, as well. Law & Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit, is a show the follows the cases of a crime unit in New York Police Department, who specialize in special cases, nearly always involving some combination of rape, murder, and assault. For years, this show has aired in prime-time weeknight time slots; currently airing on Wednesdays at 9 P.M. SVU is just one example of violent network television programming. Others include Revolution, a post-apocalyptic setting riddled with fight scenes and killing, 666 Park Avenue, a show that falls in the horror genre rife with violent murders and references to the devil, and NCIS, a show much like Law & Order where the writers serve up stories about abductions, sexual assault, and child pornography. All three shows air on different networks, NBC, ABC, and CBS respectively and all have a rating of TV-14, indicating that they are not appropriate for children under the age of 14. It is safe to assume, however, that simply flashing a rating on the top corner of the TV screen at the beginning of an episode is going to do very little in the way of deterring underage viewers.

Now that we’ve established the fact that violence exists on TV, the next step is to weigh the consequences of such. There are conflicting schools of thought on whether or not media violence has a positive correlation with real life violence or not. In a study done by Neil Malamuth of the University of California, Malamuth states that (1990: 99) “steady viewing of graphic violence, including sexual assault, was associated with greater tolerance for and less disapproval of rape and wife-beating.” According to Smith, “the evidence is becoming overwhelming that just as witnessing violence in the home may contribute to normal adults and children learning and acting out violent behavior, violence on TV and movies may lead to the same result.” Not everyone is so convinced however. Freedman sees that there is a slight correlation between TV violence and aggression, but not enough to positively determine that Tv violence is the cause of increased aggression. According to Freedman, “Something in their personalities or behavioral patterns, some predisposition, trait, combination of environmental pressures, learning history, or whatever, causes people to like aggressive programming and also to be aggressive.” Freedman feels that a clear determination between whether the violent television leads to an aggressive personality or if the aggressive personality draws the person to violent television cannot be made. Personally, I have to side with Malamuth and Smith on this particular issue. It seems intuitive to think that a person who is exposed to violence in the media is going to be desensitized to violence in real life; if for no other reason than the fact that if a horrific event happens to them or they pay witness to such an event, a person familiar with seeing such events on TV will likely be able to cope with the trauma by mentally reverting to the comfort of their homes, sitting in front of a TV screen.

The specific areas of life affected in addition to the extent of the impact have been debated for years. Naturally, a medium as intrusive and extensively involved in American life will have long term consequences on the way people act, think, and perceive. Learned television watching behaviors, such as eating, talking, and going to the bathroom whenever you please often translate into other areas of life, going from strictly an action performed in the privacy of our homes to an action performed in movie theatres, lecture halls, and office buildings. Culture, which according to its definition includes learned, shared understandings, has been forever changed as the mass media has the ability to spread a message to people from all walks of life, affecting the collective knowledge that we, as a people, share with one another. Finally and most importantly, television affects the way we think, especially in reference to violence. We have been desensitized due to the scheduling of violent programming in addition to a focus on violence in news broadcasts. Countless examples and various studies have been performed testing all sorts of different theories out about what the long term effects of such a dominating invention will have on our society, yielding a lot of different results. The one constant that remains, however, is that there are some definite effects; strong ones at that. The mass effect of television on our culture cannot be taken lightly, and an ever-continuing research effort is a must for the better understanding of such a powerful tool.

A Mass Effect: Television's Impact on American Culture (How We Think and Act)

Television habits that we practice at home are translated into other areas of our lives. For example, talking while watching television is extremely common. ‘Stage IV’ viewers often converse with other people in the room as they watch television. This behavioral pattern has translated to other places including, but not limited to, the movie theatre, the classroom, and the work environment.

People also tend to execute their freedom to get up and go to the bathroom whenever they please, yet another trend that has translated from an in-home habit to one that is demonstrated in public. Students often get up in the middle of class and walk out, without saying a word, in order to use the bathroom. Just like a television program only holds part of our attention, as does the actor on the movie screen or the professor in the classroom. This is the direct result of shorter attention spans, a behavior developed over time as focus on the television becomes less constant. Kottak states that these people (1990: 4) “intend no disrespect. They are simply transferring a home-grown pattern of snack-and-bathroom break from family room to classroom. They perceive nothing unusual in acting the same way in front of a live speaker and fellow students as they do when they watch television.”

In addition to the way we act, television affects the way we think. According to Thinking Like An Anthropologist: A Practical Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, written by John T. Omohundro, culture is defined as (2008: 27) “the learned, shared understandings among a group of people about how to behave and what everything means.” There is a minimal effect from any single show, just as a show cannot tell a person exactly how to feel. It is important to focus in on television as a whole rather than a series of individual parts. The collective exposure to television in combination with the pervasiveness of the media lead to a complete redefinition of the common knowledge we share with our fellow Americans. Television does not discriminate against a particular segment of the population, but rather spreads the same exact product to every single viewer all at one time. In the words of Kottak, (1990: 7) “Televiewing encompasses men and women of different ages, colors, classes, ethnic groups, and levels of educational achievement. Television is seen in cities, suburbs, towns and country – by farmers, factory workers, and philosophers.” There is simply no other means for delivering the same consistent message to this amount of people from all different walks of life. The result is a change in our interpretation and expectation of the world around us. In order for such a massive change to take place across the board, there must be a shared knowledge held by all members within such a culture. For example, football is a popular sport because most of the people who watch it understand the rules of the game. (Kottak 1990: 43) “Such mass knowledge contrasts with the privileged expertise and resultant prestige of professionals such as lawyers and economists. An activity’s clarity democratizes it.” In other words, mass knowledge delivered via the television set, settles into the collective consciousness of the public, which, in turn, creates a feeling of comradery and enjoyment.

Every time you hear a person spit out a quote from South Park, a cartoon show on Comedy Central, followed by a group of people laughing at the quote, you are experiencing the aforementioned comradery and enjoyment. Part of the enjoyment revolves around the humor in the words themselves, while the other part is the collective recognition and understanding shared by those involved. Another example of shared knowledge leading to joy is in the form of references and call backs. Often times television programs will make a reference to some other event and there, in itself, lies the joke. For example, Community, a prime-time sitcom on NBC, features a reference to the movie Beetlejuice. In the movie, saying the word ‘Beetlejuice’ three times summons the monster from his grave. In Community the word Beetlejuice is worked into the conversation on three separate occasions over the course of the show, and on the third time, a man dressed as Beetlejuice walks by in the background. There is no punch line here other than the fact that a cleverly written reference is being made, and yet, nearly 1.5 million people viewed the clip on YouTube, proving that there is a certain level of enjoyment in the sharing of a common knowledge.

A Mass Effect: Television's Impact on American Culture (Stages of Televiewing)

Television has become so intertwined with the American way of life, that an entirely new standard for what is considered rude behavior versus polite behavior has been created. Shorter attention spans become more and more evident as Americans have branched many of the habits formed from watching television into how they conduct themselves in the classroom, the workplace and other public settings. According to Conrad Phillip Kottak, author of Prime-Time Society: An Anthropological Analysis of Television and Culture, there are various stages of televiewing. Different stages correspond to the length of television exposure in a particular society.

The initial stage is one of fascination and focus. When television is first introduced, the viewers are glued to the set in awe. In this stage, the message on the television is less likely to be received, as people are more amazed by the object in front of them than the actual content on the screen. Typically, after about 10-15 years of exposure, viewers move onto ‘Stage II,’ where partial absorption is achieved. As a result of becoming more familiar with the phenomenon of television, people begin understanding more of the content on the screen. They begin accepting certain pieces of information while rejecting others. Understanding increases, and therefore, personal interpretation of the information being delivered becomes more prevalent. The greater the understanding demonstrated by the viewers, the more divided their attention becomes. This may seem counterintuitive at first, but once the novelty of the television wears off, the steadfast gazing fades away as well along with the curiosity. Viewers find themselves more comfortable with doing other things while they watch, and therefore, they pay less attention to the content. ‘Stage III’ occurs once television has reached the majority of homes in a community, causing a further decrease in the statistical measures of TV impact. According to Kottak, (1990: 143) “as a phenomenon pervades a community, its presence differentiates less and less among residents,” leading to less obvious and accurate statistical measurements. Finally, ‘Stage IV’ represents the lifelong effect of growing up in a culture that is constantly exposed to a television world.

Americans are currently in ‘Stage IV.’ Americans live in a culture where television and the effects of mass media surround nearly all of us in our day to day lives. Studies have shown that increased television exposure at a young age can result in an increased chance of having attention problems. According to Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, “frequent television viewers were most likely to score in the highest 10% for concentration problems, impulsiveness and restlessness. Every hour of watching TV increased a child’s odds of having attention problems by about 10%.” In other words, children who watch television for 4 hours a day will be 40% more likely to have attention problems compared with children who watch no television.

A Mass Effect: Television's Impact on American Culture (Introduction)

(I just completed a research paper on 'Television's Effect on American Culture.' Through my research, I encountered some interesting studies and came across some solid arguments, both positive and negative, as to what the long term affects of living in a society dominated by television will be. One of the points of exploration involves the shortening of the American attention span, which I feel is a direct result of exposure to television as a mass media. It is for that reason that I am breaking this paper into weekly segments so that all you children of the TV era can stay focused. If you make it through the full paper, then you are officially less distracted than the average American citizen. Good luck!)

Since its commercial availability in 1927, there has been no denying the popularity of a little invention called the television. Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as an electronic system of transmitting images of fixed or moving objects together with sound over a wire or through space by apparatus that converts light and sound into electrical waves and reconverts them into visible light rays and audible sound, the television brought something truly and completely original to the households of people everywhere. It’s hard to put yourself in the mindset of a pre-television world, unless of course you’re old enough to remember one, but try to imagine how wild it must have been to see a moving image in front of you for the first time. Even the most revolutionary inventions in the world, i.e. the electric light bulb, the automobile, etc., were all based on previous inventions. Before the light bulb was the kerosene lamp. Before the automobile was the horse drawn carriage. Before television, however, the closest thing to watching TV in your household was watching your children put on some sort of play or listening to the radio while conjuring up images in your imagination. As is expected with such a drastically new form of media, there is bound to be some major changes in our culture as a result of its implementation. Television has created an entirely new behavioral pattern, never before seen, where attention spans are shorter than ever, shared knowledge has been altered dramatically, and the way we, as a people, think, react, and emote has been desensitized and dulled.

The Wire: A Very Late Review

Admittedly, I was very late to hop on The Wire train. I had always heard such great things about the show, however a combination of not having HBO and lacking the internet skills I possess today, I never had the chance to actually watch it. Fortunately, one of my girlfriend's coworkers had the box set. So, four and a half years after the show aired its final episode, here's my review. Better late than never.

I'm not entirely sure if the show was over-hyped by passionate friends or if I had just built it up in my head over the years, but to be completely honest, I was underwhelmed the first time I saw it. As I made my way through the first season, I was certainly entertained and enjoyed the show, but could not see why people were so obsessed with it. Over time, my vision became more clear. The cast is great. Not every actor blows you away with their acting chops, although certain performances definitely stand out as elite. The true magic of the cast, however, is that they all seem so real. Certain people get on your nerves, while others are undeniably lovable, but such is life. Another interesting aspect of the show is how willing the writers are to completely change the cast. Fan favorites are often killed off along with the characters you hate. This creates two positive outcomes. On one hand, it creates the mindset within the audience that no character is safe.Take, for example, the show Dexter. I love Dexter but you know the main character can never die unless it's in the series finale, because the title is named after him. The second positive is that The Wire has managed to add new, strong characters at an impressive rate. In fact, I can't recall a show with as rapidly changing a cast of characters as The Wire. Each season adds a large number of new faces while keeping the story lines strong within the core cast. This is a very impressive feat.

The final aspect of The Wire that keeps me coming back is the authenticity of it all. I have never been to West Baltimore to pick up a vile of heroine. I also have never worked in the homicide unit of the BPD. Whether this is an accurate statement or not, it sure does seem like I would be able to fit in to either environment seamlessly. The show allows the audience to experience the every day horrors of a Baltimore ghetto, one of the most brutal and violent places in the country. The complex "Godfather"-esque politics that take place within both the crime families and the police department provide pride and frustration alike for the people trapped within. Those emotions are shared by the viewer as forming a personal connection with each character is inevitable. The more I watched the show, the more difficult I found it to not move on to the next episode as soon as the credits began rolling. The Wire is flat out addicting. I strongly encourage you give it a shot if you haven't already. Granted, the show is a bit outdated. I specifically recall a scene in season 2 where the characters were first learning what 'texting' was. But if you can get into an early 2000s state of mind, you should be all set. Definitely check it out!