Community - Season 02

During its freshman season, NBC's perennially underrated and low-watched sitcom Community- the story of a group of 'misfits' (for lack of a better term) that formed a community college study group- was unequivocally the best comedy on TV and perhaps the best since the late, great 'Arrested Development'. Seamlessly combining pop culture references and parodies with honest sentimentality and character humor, Community never went overboard with its references (see: Family Guy) and made for 25 episodes of smart, hilarious television that never talked down to its audience or went for cheap and unfunny gags. Now, in its second season, it is again the best comedy on TV. Ramping up its unique brand of humor for 24 more episodes, Community not only equaled its first season but surpassed it with such genre-bending and ultimately great episodes as "Critical Film Studies" (The 'Pulp Fiction' parody that actually turned out to be so much more), "Mixology Certification" (The '21st birthday' episode that expertly highlighted the 'sorrows of drinking', but without sounding so melodramatic and PSAlike), "Cooperative Calligraphy" (A 'bottle episode' that summed up completely how the show's humor wasn't limited to simple 'parodies' and was a showcase in character-derived humor that circled around, of all things, a missing pen) and "Paradigms of Human Memory" (A fake clip show that might have been the outright funniest episode of anything in 2010-11), themselves just a sampling of the wealth of fantastic episodes in season 2. (See: 'Epidemiology', 'Accounting for Lawyers', the 2-part finale 'A Fist Full of Paintballs' and 'For A Few Paintballs More', 'Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas', 'Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design' and half a dozen more sensational episodes.) The performances from the cast are nothing less than stellar, as lead man Joel McHale, Danny Pudi and Alison Brie all deserve at least Emmy nods (if not wins) for their performances as Jeff, Abed and Annie respectively. The same thing, however, could be said of the entire cast, as the ensemble bounce off each other in tremendous fashion; I could see any one of them as deserving of an Emmy nod (albeit not realistically; Community seems to be the kind of show that will get love from the critics but nothing from the Emmys). The amazing second season of Community (while still only pulling 1.8s in the demo on up weeks) managed to keep things fresh and original and shine the brightest in a stellar year of TV comedy; indeed, despite such other high-quality shows as 'Parks and Recreation', 'Louie', 'Cougar Town' and 'Archer', Community was streets ahead of its competitors. In summation, I apologize for all the superlatives because, well, Community IS the best comedy since Arrested Development. Grade: 5/5

Reviewing Community's 2nd season is probably pointless, since it's the type of show that will probably not have a big appeal to people who haven't already heard of it. It's not a very easily accessible show for casual fans, like Modern Family where you can drop in to any episode without ever having seen it and understand everything necessary in 2 minutes. (That's not a knock on Modern Family, just saying it's a different style of writing.) Community is really about two themes: 1) How and why do people form relationships with other people? 2) Does seeing everything through the lens of pop culture cliches and tropes skew personal experience? Those two ideas can be at odds, since the first is very character and relationship driven, and the second is very plot driven. When the show is working, though, these things blend seamlessly to take the sitcom to the realm of high art. The 2nd season is where, in my opinion, the show was most often at its peak. It's a show that is very rewarding to watch thoroughly, and even rewatch, since the characters have such depth, and there are minor threads that develop over many episodes. It's also, just on the surface, ridiculously funny. If you don't have a love for pop culture and TV cliches, then a lot of references will be lost on you, and the way that the direction of the episodes mirrors the genres being referenced may not be meaningful. You will probably still laugh, but it may just seem goofy and not deep. For me, particular stand-out episodes in the 2nd season are "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", "Critical Film Studies", and "A Fistful of Paintballs." But I could easily name another 5 that are also A+ episodes, and I don't know that there are any real clunkers at all.

Community is a great TV series and season 2 is where it really hits it stride. It really is a freash, intelligent and amazingly funny TV series. I think this is the closest anyone has ever come in making a live action Simpsons-like series. There are crazy homages and references to untold number of movies, other TV shows, and pop culture. And I think almost anyone will love it, from young to old. But my perspective is as someone in their early 30s and univeristy educated and I find so much to love about the show and that I can relate to. As for the DVD set itself it is well worth it. Heaps of extras make it worthwhile and it is the sort of show you can watch over and over. Amazon, again, are great with international shipping and I got my DVDs in 2 weeks on standard shipping from the US to New Zealand. The only depressing thing is the constant rumours and talk that Community won't get renewed for season 4! It has a passionate fan base but not enough TV viewers. I find it outrageous that awful, unfunny shows like 2 and half men and 2 Broke Girls somehow get massive ratings when genuine, intelligent and hilarious comedy like Community gets overlooked. Hence my title, please buy this DVD and support Community! Being in New Zealand we are somewhat behind US screenings of Community so I admit I have watched it on 'alternative' mediums but I appreciate it is a quality show that needs support so I have bought seasons 1 & 2 and will buy season 3 when it is available. Buy set for yourself and some more for gifts for birthdays and Christmas then we will get six seasons and a movie!

Since there are only 8 reviews up at the moment, all addressing the show itself, I would like to write a review specifically for the DVD. First, the image quality: Unfortunately, Blu Ray is not available (yet); however, the image quality is still good and it is presented in widescreen. The box has the aspect ratio listed as 1.78:1. I'm not completely savvy to the different ratios. The monitor I have watched this on is 1080p (1920x1080) 16:9 widescreen, and when watching the show, the image takes up the whole screen (no black bars). Hopefully that information is useful to some of you. Now for the juicy stuff: Last seasons DVD was loaded with tons of special features, blowing away any other TV show DVD I've ever owned. This year, Community returns with just as much. The creators of this show really love the fans and it shows in the DVD. There are bloopers on all four discs, each around 6 minutes. There's commentary on every episode, and like last season, they have multiple cast and crew members sitting in on the commentary, which is both hilarious and informative. They also have a fair bit of behind the scenes extras of how certain episodes were created. Last season, there were a few episodes that had extended versions (I think it was two, but don't quote me). So far I haven't found anything on the inserts that indicate there are extended episodes. That is pretty much the only negative I can say about this box set. Community Season 2 certainly does not disappoint in actual story and dvd. If you like the show, I highly recommend picking up this set.

"Community" is a brilliant show that is shamefully underrated - really, it's criminal. "Community" is witty, its humor understated and ironic (if you enjoy British humor you would definitely enjoy this show!) Unlike most other comedies around today, "Community" is fresh - it never gets stale like certain shows that have seen their glory days, and it is smart and unique enough to not use phallic/sexual humor as a pillar to hold it up. If you like shows such as "Arrested Development" and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" there is no question whatsoever you would enjoy this show. I would recommend starting at the beginning with Community: The Complete First Season . The second season does not fall into the curse of the sophomore slump, it runs strong, if not stronger than the first season (which, admittedly, takes a couple episodes to get into the swing of things - but to this I say: what freshman season doesn't?) And to any people who are already fans of the show: buy this season (and the first, if you haven't yet) and show your support! Much love and affection must have gone into both sets. There is commentary for EVERY episode and over 90 minutes of special features. I ordered both seasons from Amazon and they came packaged well. It is in a slim DVD sleeve - but it suits the show, in a way. They are not big and bulky, and do not take up much room on your DVD shelves. They did a great job designing the graphics for the DVD cases including Abed's mysterious notebook and the ID badges of the study group. I love "Community" and I hope NBC can see what a gem they have and not cancel it before its time. Six seasons and a movie!

its a shame this TV show isn't doing as well as shows like Big Bang Theory and its ilk. This show doesn't require a laugh track to make you feel "smart" while watching it, it just requires you to pay attention to random fads and current events. The 2nd season of Community reached for the stars, and in my opinion they made it. This is easily one of the smartest, stupidest, funniest, most heart warming shows on TV. Very rarely do characters in TV/movies actually make me FEEL for them and wish they were people I could talk to and interact with, but this show has made seven fictional characters very real to me (I'm excluding Senor Chang, played by Ken Jeong, because he is a psychopath). The fact that this show suffers from being slotted against Big Bang Theory and is currently on mid-season hiatus is a shame. The fans that watch this show are tortured by knowing that if more people gave it a shot, this could potentially be one of the best TV series of all time (even though it may not have gone over 4 years regardless of cancellation rumors). So please, give this show a shot because it deserves your attention. It is one of the few things I'll rewatch the COMMENTARY. There's just an atmosphere and feel to this show that so many TV series/movies attempt to create, but fail to reach.

I bought the first season of Community after reading some positive customer reviews and found the show refreshingly entertaining; so proceeded to buy season two. Unfortunately season two was not as satisfying as it seemed to be all over the place. I found that some characters had changed too much from season one and a few of the episodes were way too experimental for my taste. In this season, Chang the student doesn't have the same spark that Chang the teacher had, the somewhat camp Dean Pelton is less dean and a lot more camp, and I could not sit through all of the fully animated episode or the dungeons and dragons episode (I didn't understand it and according to the script, neither did some of the characters). Surprisingly, I found the double paintball episode good fun.

Glad the seller shipped through USPS and I was able to watch the Christmas special.

Community is a great show. I don't recommend it to everyone: Its scenarios are often very wacky and ridiculous, so much that I expect some will be put off. However, I certainly wasn't. If you haven't bought the first season, I suggest you do so, as although this second is better (only slightly), the style is different, and you need the first to introduce you to... well everything. The characters, the humour type, what to expect, the relationships, and the pain in your sides and abdomen that indicates large levels of amusement. The characters: Although initially presented as archetypes, they take on other characteristics to those initially expected and this second season helps with their development even more. It can sometimes feel like a lesson is learnt and then forgotten but it doesn't matter much if you enjoy the characters. Personally, each of them is excellent, providing humour for different reasons. Although some are often unlikeable, redemption (or retribution) is always found. And, the series genuinely surprises on a few occasions. The humour: insane, ridiculous, and very effective, this season turns up the level of Pop Culture tributes, as well as pastiche-ing many typical TV structures and scenarios. Aside from that, the script is quite brilliant-so you get a good mix. If you liked Scrubs, you'll definitely like this. What to expect: The unexpected. Although the series aims to deliver comedy differently, there are several moments of delight when things are different to how you expected them to be. I know I probably haven't given enough information about what happens in the episodes (but here are a few keywords: Paintball, Stop-Motion, Christmas, Zombies, Conspiracies, "space shuttles", Betrayal, Western, Tarantino)or the characters themselves, but that is because I firmly believe it's best to discover it on your own, to go in fresh as it were. I won't write much more, except for saying that this is undeniably the funniest show I have seen in a long time. For me, it is up there with Scrubs, Fawlty Towers (especially for the "madcap" humour style) and Friends as one of the best sitcoms ever. It's almost certainly the best currently on. Catch it now.

La edición de Reino Unido en DVD de la 2ª temporada de Community viene con el audio y los subtítulos en perfecto castellano en los episodios, aunque no en los extras (al menos no en todos). Y a la mitad de precio que la versión española. No lo dudéis!!

Helas, je n'avais pas compris qu'il s’agissait d'un DVD qui ne peut pas être lu sur un lecteur européen. Résultat il faut brancher l'ordi pour le lire....

What makes Community so fantastic is that it isn't bound by the constraints of a regular 'sitcom'. Dan Harmon and his writers are willing to try things that are so outside the box that when you actually see it, your mind is blown. In season 2, they basically take season 1's "Modern Warfare" episode as a jumping off point, then just keep getting better. They pay homage to tons of film and TV tropes, like classic stop-motion animated movies ("Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas"), mockumentaries like The Office ("Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking") and spaghetti Westerns ("A Fistful of Paintballs"). And while it might sound like they're just ripping off other shows and movies, along the way they manage to create things that we simply haven't seen on TV before. Who would have thought that an accurate depiction of a Dungeons and Dragons game (no visual representation, no sound effects, just the characters talking) could be such good TV ("Advanced Dungeons and Dragons")? However, this show isn't for everyone. It requires a fairly thorough outside knowledge of pop culture and its tropes (in other words, if you didn't understand any of the references I made above, you probably won't understand this show), which is what has prevented it from being a mainstream hit, but has helped the quality of the show immensely. Simply put, if you're not watching Community, you're missing out on one of the best comedies, maybe one of the best TV shows, in recent years.

Season two of community carries on the story of the second year of the study group at Greendale Community College. It probably deals with hanging threads of the first season a little bit too quickly and then picks up pace and has the American comedy staples of Halloween, valentines, Christmas episodes. But this is community so it's a bit different. The Halloween episode is a proper zombie episode, the Christmas one is animated completely in stop motion. When I first heard this I was convinced it wouldn't work - but it does. The characters develop a bit more and there are increasingly storylines that touch upon their lives outside the college. Episode highlights are the ones above, advanced dungeons and dragons and the two part paintball finale. This even manages to top the last seasons paintball episode. It's a great season to watch and contains great one liners and set pieces. For instance the whole zombie episode has a soundtrack of ABBA. The payoff for this is right at the end of the episode and is genius. If you loved the first season then this is a must have. If you haven't watched before then this is one of the smartest, funniest and knowing comedies for a long time. Well worth it