warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

'Community' Recap: Alternative History Of The German Invasion

Jeremy Fuster |
March 1, 2013 | 11:30 a.m. PST

Staff Reporter

The German Greendale students (NBC)
The German Greendale students (NBC)
After two weeks of fooling around at faux-haunted mansions and cliched sci-fi conventions, "Community" returned to Greendale this week as the Greendale Seven and Dean Pelton feud with enemies from their past. Despite several pacing problems with the story, this week's installment provides way more laughs than last week's snoozer.  

In "Alternative History of the German Invasion," the study group begins their History 101 class with Professor Noel Cornwallis, played by the King of the Droogs himself, Malcolm McDowell. His lesson about how history is interpreted differently by the victors and the vanquished becomes the framework for a feud between the study group and the trio of German students Jeff and Shirley faced off against in foosball last season. Meanwhile, the Dean finds to his shock that the school board has placed him in charge of the returning Chang, who now goes by the name Kevin and claims to be diagnosed with "Changnesia."

The premise for the episode is certainly interesting. For the longest time, the study group has been seen as the protagonists, and through the first two acts, they continue to be just that, taking it to the smug Germans trying to steal their study room. But when they finally get the room back, the Germans lead the entire student body in a protest against them, accusing them of hogging the study room for three seasons when others want to use it. It provides an important lesson for the group, reminding them that they need to be considerate to everyone, and not just the people in their little clique. After several episodes of the group's members learning to support one another, it's nice to have an episode that takes that lesson a step further.

The problem is that while the lesson is clear, it isn't developed very well, for two reasons. The first is the Germans, who are the most obnoxious and terrible part of the foosball episode, and are just as obnoxious and terrible here. With the exception of the sight of one of them embracing 99 red balloons, they don't provide a single funny moment in the episode and weigh the story down for two whole acts. That leaves the story with only one act to show the damage the study group has unwittingly done after all these years and their attempts to make amends. That third act is the most important scene because it gives the episode emotional value, but it is so rushed that it doesn't feel believable. If there has been so much resentment towards the group for so long, shouldn't it take more than just a few cleaned-up rooms to earn forgiveness?

In addition, McDowell is woefully underused in this episode, which is a shame because his character is so interesting. Prof. Cornwallis is a natural progression from the previous professors the study group has had in the past. We've gone from incompetent fools like Chang, to no-nonsense aspiring teachers like Kane, to a former Oxford professor in Cornwallis. Seeing him scoff at the idea that the entire plot was set up by him to teach his class a lesson like all the other Greendale professors was truly hilarious. It's nice seeing a character rooted in reality call out the others on their ridiculousness, and it would be great to see him butt heads in future episodes with the Dean, who was once obsessed with turning Greendale into a university at the cost of its identity.  

READ: 'Community' Recap: Conventions of Space and Time

But the flaws in the story don't change the fact that there are many good jokes in this episode.  The Dean's explanation to the Germans that it is against the college's rules to celebrate one's own culture is the highlight of the episode and a great parody of the multiculturalism often seen in academic institutions ("If the Hasidic students want to celebrate Kwanzaa, you go, Jews!"). The Dean's subplot with Chang is also great, as Jim Rash gets to fire off one great line after another while also getting to show the deep sense of distrust the Dean holds for the man that tried to overthrow him. The study group also had some amusing moments, like Troy comparing the flickering lights in one alternate study room to a Darren Aronofsky film and Jeff asking Annie "What's that sound you make when you see something shocking? Oh that's it."

The new "Community" is still trying to figure out how to properly pace a story through 22 minutes and provide sufficient comedy, but "Alternative History of the German Invasion" is the closest they have gotten so far, and it left me feeling very entertained and eager to see where the Changnesia story arc goes from here. Aside from the Germans, everyone turns in good performances in this episode (yes, even you, Chevy Chase), and having the episode take place on campus instead of some random locale gives the episode more focus.  It's a lot easier to be funny at a place where all the weird idiosyncrasies have been established than a dumb TV convention based on one flimsy running gag.  Hopefully, we are seeing the start of an upward trend in quality in this season, culminating with a complete return to the top-notch quality fans have come to expect from "Community."

Reach Staff Reporter Jeremy Fuster here. Follow him on Twitter here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness