Wednesday, October 21, 2009
By Shea Farver
Western Sun staff writer
High school dropouts, single moms and old guys trying to pick up that one willing girl have been most of the stereotypical attendees that enroll in community colleges, each one giving the name a bad reputation.
But as community college students attending Golden West College, we know that that is not always the case, especially these days. The brand new TV show “Community” that premiered this fall, shows what they think a junior college is all about.
Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) is a swanky lawyer forced to attend Glendale Community College after the American Bar Association discovers he faked his law degree. He soon realizes that this school isn’t going to be as easy as talking his way to each “A”, with diverse classmates and even more interesting professors, potentially handing him his career back.
In the first few episodes you watch him try to sweet talk his way into feisty Britta’s pants (Gillian Jacobs) and in the process gains a dysfunctional student family that hangs on his every word, whether he wants them to or not.
The labels one would predict to come out of a TV show interpretation are underlying each episode, but more for the comical sense instead of directly offending its viewers, which I’m sure have either gone to a junior college or know someone who has.
“If I wanted to learn, I wouldn’t have come to community college,” jeered Winger in the first episode. That stung a little, but only to be followed by watching people learning how to deal, succeed, and move forward with their lives.
This life comedy hits close to home, with quirky assignments and students trying to detach from the parental unit each day. And even though the main characters do sometimes reflect the stereotypes, they nevertheless reach their audience in a way that perhaps a serious show couldn’t.
“Community” airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. on NBC. If you can’t catch it that night, you can view all the season’s episodes at www.hulu.com.
