Community: A Return to Normalcy
âCustody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy,â last Thursdayâs episode of Community, is an ostensibly normal episode for the series. There are very few pop culture references, no clear aesthetic parodies or gimmicks, and clearly delineated plots with little overlap. While the episode moves faster than a classic sitcom and still features the seriesâs typical look, it by no means shows Community performing with its signature high-concept sense of daring. In fact, the episode could easily have been shot with a standard four-camera setup and not deviated terribly from an episode of Friends. The plot is the stuff of standard sitcom conflict: Britta likes handsome new Balkan Luka until she finds out he carried out ethnic cleansings in his homeland, but doesnât want to tell Abed and Troy about his genocidal past for fear of being called out yet again for ruining their friendships. (Incidentally, Abed and Troyâs attachment to various forms of male friendship has reached a point where it probably qualifies as a legitimate dissertation topic.) She spends most of the episode gesturing towards these facts in increasingly bizarre and indirect ways, until Troy and Abed find out about Lukaâs past on their own and tell Britta that a genocidal past is a necessary bit of information in a way that Jeffâs fondness for nipple play is not. In the episodeâs other primary story, Chang tries to finagle his way into becoming a legitimate parent for Shirleyâs new baby even though he has proven himself to be insane. He does so in weird ways, as ever, but the plot is essentially a case of an outcast working his way into a parental role with funny antics.. On Friends, this episode would have most likely involved Monica canoodling with a new friend of Chandler and Joey, only for her to find out that he was the executive attempting to buy out Chandlerâs company and fire all the employees, or something else dumb, but not tell Americaâs favorite zany roommates about it for fear of being called a party pooper. The other story wouldnât have to change much, honestly: by my count, Ross fathered roughly 72 children out of wedlock on the series, and he was borderline-moronic in a manner not especially different from that of Chang. The differences between how Friends would have handled this material and how Community did so are in the specifics. The show's writers never would have allowed Chandler and Joey to make a friend who had been involved in genocide and Ross probably wouldnât have kidnapped a random personâs children, although I think the latter point is up for debate. So, yes, this was about as normal as Community gets, as long as you define ânormalâ as âhewing to conventional sitcom structure.â But, at this point, an episode such as âCustody Law and Eastern European Diplomacyâ is almost a more surprising turn for the series than a gimmick episode like âAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons.â If forced to describe the series to a neophyte, Iâd call it an attempt to make a traditional community sitcom (e.g. Cheers) as filtered through the lens of pop culture fanaticism, which is its own kind of community. âCustody Law and Eastern European Diplomacyâ only accomplished that goal if we choose to view it as a parody of classic sitcom misunderstandings, except, again, it doesnât exactly ask the audience to seriously interrogate the assumptions and structures of those kinds of shows. This expectation of parody means that Community has reached a point where it can only really meet the heights expected from its core audience by parodying a genre or format it hasnât used before. Fans want to hear that creator Dan Harmon and Co. are prepping episodes loaded with references, and theyâll likely be pleased with this weekâs upcoming Pulp Fiction-themed outing. (Harmon and the cast mentioned at last weekâs PaleyFest panel in Los Angeles that theyâre also working on a mock clip show and a sequel to last seasonâs paintball war that shifts genres midway through.) I donât think this is a particularly major problem -- the show is at its best when it melds legitimate emotional arcs with extended riffs on action movies and conspiracy plots and bottle episodes. But it makes me worry that the shelf-life of the most innovative network show on TV is pretty limited, because eventually Harmon is going to run out of genres to parody unless he wants to use History Channel apocalypse specials or match the reality TV obsession of the South Park braintrust. This might not be the worst outcome in the world -- Iâd much rather watch a show of this caliber burn out than fade away -- but itâs an issue nonetheless. Then again, perhaps Community has only leaned on the gimmicks this season because of cancellation fears. In case you missed it, NBC renewed the series for a third season last week (the tremendous Parks and Recreation was reupped, as well), and maybe the writing staff wonât feel as much of a need to swing for the fences now that they seem to be in the networkâs good graces. A show doesnât always focus on a particular style for purely creative reasons. This is a business, after all, and sometimes concern over 60 jobs trumps commitment to artistic intentions. So, if Community eventually takes a turn back towards the normal, it might not be a case of Harmon selling out. It might actually be that he wanted the show to be like that all along.

















