It took me long enough, but I finally finished Season One of Community! I think it's safe to say that this is a "certified great" show now. While it's not as grounded in reality as Parks & Rec, both shows have a similarly positive, optimistic vibe; even though they're both set in rather dismal locations. I love dark comedies like Archer and Delocated as much as the next guy, but it's always nice to see something legitimately positive on TV.
Anyway, here's how I'd rank the characters, now that I'm more familiar with them:
Troy > Shirley > Pierce > Britta > Jeff > Chang > Dean Pelton > Annie > Abed
The first three are seriously neck-and-neck in my book, and I think they're three of my all-time favorite sitcom characters. Their comedic timing is just so damn perfect, but what makes Troy #1 in my book are his epic "dramatic" moments. Like in the pottery episode: "What in God's name have we done..."
Britta and Jeff have become way more interesting since the series' start - especially Britta. The "baggel" episode was legendary. Chang has stayed consistently awesome. I don't like the other three quite as much as I did initially, however, but I do like them still.
The best episodes so far, I think: Triangle Revisited, Modern Warfare, Beginner Pottery, Human Sexuality and Home Economics. But there really isn't a bad episode in the bunch.
Guess this is my substitute for a watchthrough topic. :P
-- Hey, you ever coming back? You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard.
Coffee Ninja knows what's up! Shirley is freaking hilarious, and I can't understand why she's always at the bottom of the totem pole for most people.
As for Abed, I wouldn't be surprised if he passed Dean Pelton and Annie soon, as those three characters are all pretty close in my book. I just wish he would have been as good in the second half of S1 as he was in the first. His character had more depth then, IMO.
-- Hey, you ever coming back? You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard.
I'd say out of that ranking it'd either be Pelton or Shirley, Pelton because he wasn't fully fleshed out by season 1, and shirley just because the other characters are just better >_>
So you justify putting Abed last because he loses depth of character but put Shirley in the second spot? <_<
Shirley occasionally gets a funny line or two, but not nearly as many as the rest of the cast, and she's easily the least interesting out of all of them, especially in the first season. She's not bad, she's just incredibly mediocre by comparison.
To me, Abed's humor can either pay off really well, or just be kind of alienating and over-the-top. The difference, though, is that his character got to have some great dramatic moments in episodes like "Introduction to Film" and "Home Economics," but those moments didn't really crop up as much later in the season.
Speaking of dramatic moments, I think the "good luck" scene with Jeff and Pierce is one of my favorites of any TV show. It's just perfect on every level.
"Don't need it. Never had it."
-- Hey, you ever coming back? You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard.
Oh, and one more thing! I'm officially on the Gillian Jacobs > Alison Brie bandwagon. She was just so damn cute in the baggel episode, man!
I can almost accept this opinion in real life (though I still disagree), but on just Community itself? No way in hell. (Assuming we're talking looks here.)
From: TheCodeisBosco | #104 Oh, and one more thing! I'm officially on the Gillian Jacobs > Alison Brie bandwagon. She was just so damn cute in the baggel episode, man!
You do realize that's supposed to be awful and annoying, right? You don't have to like it, of course (just like I don't have to like the "schmitty" kids). But I don't get why people try to use this as evidence to define her character when it's spelled out as regression before it even happens.
Also, why do we keep talking about stuff past S1 here?
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"One toot on this whistle will take you to a far away land." -Toad, SMB3