And so it’s come to this: NBC’s Thursday night comedy bloc kicks off right now on the East Coast, and “Community” is not a part of it. I’m glad to have “30 Rock” back, and to give “Up All Night” a chance to pick up viewers after being adrift on the Wednesday lineup, but dammit… I want Troy and Abed on my TV.
Once again, my plan is to spend every Thursday from now until NBC announces the show’s return to the schedule (if not until the show is actually back on the schedule) revisiting a favorite moment or storyline from the series. If we can’t have new “Community,” at least we can bask in memories of the old ones.
For two weeks in a row of this project, I went with scenes from season 1’s “Physical Education,” which many of you cited as the series’ funniest non-conceptual episode. Today, I’m going with the finale scene of the series’ first really notable high-concept show: “Contemporary American Poultry,” an extended “Goodfellas” parody about chicken fingers.
The scene below is actually not incredibly funny, but that’s the point: it’s a sincere, poignant moment between Jeff and Abed that justifies all the Scorsese spoofery that came before it by talking about how Abed views the world, and how much trouble he has connecting with people who don’t view it that way. While not all of the show’s conceptual episodes have worked, the ones that have tend to have a real character story at the center of it, whether it’s Jeff and Britta finally hooking up during the paintball tournament or Abed’s holiday depression during “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.”
So enjoy the scene and, as always, feel free to talk about any and everything “Community”-related.