I started a Community rewatch today, for the first time in a while. Some things I've noticed!
1) The version of Social Psychology on Hulu is slightly different than the version on the S1 DVD (which was the first time I watched it.) What the hell! The DVD has some cut scenes (like the Chang scene in the cold open). Is the Hulu version the producers' cut or something?
2) I don't think this show gets enough credit for how diverse its characters are, not just in ethnicity but even in just their backgrounds and personalities. Like, it's interesting to see a show where people like Britta and Shirley or Troy and Pierce can talk and generally get along despite being polar opposites. A lot of shows, comedies in particular, focus on a particular subset of people that are all pretty similar in class/age/race/ect, usually the subset that the creator or audience is in....especially in this new niche programming world we're living in. I love a lot of those shows so I'm not knocking it or anything, but I had forgotten how rare Community is in that regard.
3) Speaking of which, these early episodes got me thinking about where S1 of Community would fit in today's TV landscape. I was thinking it would probably end up on cable or streaming, but honestly, I think it would just be a flat out different show. Ambitious shows masquerading as mainstream fare don't really exist anymore, because cable and streaming allows those kinds of shows to be profitable on their own.Community kind of came at a perfect time, then, didn't it?
4) "Introduction to Film" is always a lot more emotional than I remember it being. And it fucks me up every time!
5) It's weird to see Gillian playing the straight woman in the episodes. I keep expecting Britta lines to end with a joke, and then they just...don't.
6) Community S1 also feels like a show people would be writing a zillion thinkpieces about, if that was more of a thing in 2009. It dealt with some of Tumblr's favorite issues before Tumblr even existed. (Race! class! sexism! activism!) Maybe Community and shows like it even influenced the Tumblr generation that followed shortly after?
That's all for now. Hopefully more to come!
