You know; I’m still not entirely sure why we can’t just be happy with Sherlock, an absolutely fantastic show that millions of people across the globe absolutely love. We know a third season of it is coming, and everybody loves the chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Do they really think Miller and Liu can top it or are they just following the money?

Elementary is going to get a season, I’m sure of that, but I don’t think it’s going to go any further than that. While I can’t complain about Miller’s performance as Sherlock – even though he ain’t no Cumberbatch, and I’m not too sure about the accent – Lucy Liu doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Sure, she’s a female Watson, which is new, but she plays her character as if she were playing … Lucy Liu. You know; it’s kind of the problem that I still have with Nick Fury in The Avengers. I don’t see Nick Fury, I see Samuel L. Jackson.

Also; no matter what I’m talking about, I always seem to be able to bring it round to being about The Avengers. I’m awesome that way.

It’s not a particularly revealing clip, but I like it. It has a definite Batman Begins vibe to it. Amell is clearly well cast, and I’m really excited to see him alongside co-star Katie Cassidy (who is playing Dinah Lance, aka Black Canary).

Arrow will be airing Wednesdays at 8, alongside veteran series Supernatural. It’s set to premiere in early October.

The Greendale Seven and a mystery woman go on a video game adventure.

The game will be part of a plan to keep Pierce from losing his inheritance to Gilbert Lawson, played by the always amazing Giancarlo Esposito. I’m not sure exactly what a video game has to do with holding on to the Hawthorne moist towelette fortune, but I’m willing to run with it if this is what it gets me.

I'm really hoping that mystery woman is the Dean.

I know Dan Harmon mentioned that one of the three episodes we’ll be seeing tonight had to air out of order because of the animation it required. I’m guessing this is the one. Even though we won’t be seeing actual game footage, I can’t help but hope this episode will turn into a little Community game. I love Community to the point of ridiculousness, and being able to experience the show as a classic RPG would be the stuff of dreams. Someone needs to make this happen!

Community will air tonight at its usual time, 8pm EST, with two more episodes airing at 9 and 9:30.

We speculated that Toonami might be back after this year’s April Fool’s prank, but I was never expecting it to return so soon. The announcement was made on the Adult Swim Twitter, in true Adult Swim fashion.

13 year old me is appalled at Tom's language. Present day me thinks this is awesome.

The above image is the only information we’ve gotten so far, but it’s a safe bet that this will be a mix of classic and new programming. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki is all but guaranteed, and it seems pretty likely we’ll see shows like Dragonball Z and Outlaw Star. I don’t think Cartoon Network has the rights to Sailor Moon anymore, which is a shame. That show was a vital part of my youth.

I can’t wait to see what Adult Swim has in store for us. This whole thing feels a little surreal. I don’t think it’ll fully sink in until I sit down to watch Toonami on a Saturday night. Sometimes, internet denizens, life is pretty good.

As her battle against Regina steps up, August suggests Emma (Jennifer Morrison) take a day off and follow him – although he won’t say where – so that she can see what the best way to defeat Regina would be. Henry (Jared Gilmore) calls Emma in to discuss something strange that he’s discovered in The Book. There’s a story in there that didn’t used to be in there, a half-finished story about Pinocchio. It’s weird, he says, because everybody knows how that story ends; why isn’t the story finished?

… Which is when we turn our attention to Fairytale, where Gepetto (Tony Amendola) and Pinocchio are fighting the elements out at sea, shipwreck and are washed ashore. Somehow, the boy made of wood manages to drown, but the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) comes and saves the day, turning him into a real boy (Jakob Davies).

In Storybrooke, Henry stands up to his mother when she wants to move him to another class. “Snow White will have her happy ending. She and Prince Charming will be together. The curse will end, the good will win. I am not transferring classes”. Over in Mr. Gold’s (Robert Carlyle) shop, August suggests that Mr. Gold steer Emma in her direction so that he can get her to understand what’s important here. The two make an unlikely pair, but definitely an interesting one.

In Fairytale, Gepetto is visited by the Blue Fairy, who brings him a dire word of warning.

The Evil Queen. She’s threatened the entire kingdom with a curse. A curse that will rip away all that we love. [...] There is hope, if you will help us. Snow White is about to give birth to a child; a child that will save us all when she reaches her 28th year, but only if she can be protected from the powerful effects of the dark curse.

This is where Gepetto gets the mission to carve the wardrobe to save Emma from the effects of the curse. I’m sure Pinocchio overheard the message and believes that this is the way to save things. Since Emma is 28 years old now, she’s going to be the perfect savior. After all, the Blue Fairy said so. Gepetto carves the wardrobe, and is told by the Blue Fairy that it will fit two – Snow White and Prince Charming. This goes against what we learned in the first episode, when we learned that the wardrobe will fit only one. It turns out Gepetto is a good negotiator; the wardrobe will fit one person in addition to Pinocchio. Plans change, things happen, and Gepetto sends Pinocchio through the wardrobe in advance. We all know what happens after that.

Over in Storybrooke, Regina (Lana Parrilla) is seducing David (Josh Dallas), and doing a pretty good job at it, going by his reaction, even though he finally rejects her approaches when she leans in to try to kiss her. I’m not entirely sure I understand the direction they’re taking his character in, to be honest, but I’m sure there’s a plan here.

Meanwhile, August brings Emma over to a diner in the middle of nowhere outside of Storybrooke, and she acknowledges that this is where she was brought when she was found. He lets her know that this is not the full extent of the truth – he was the seven-year old boy who found her and brought her there. The two have a falling out – as she still doesn’t believe – and he tries showing her his wooden leg. She doesn’t see it. If she’s their only hope, they’re all screwed. Tell me; am I the only one seeing a couple of Jack/Locke-parallels here?

In the end of the episode, August goes to Gepetto and helps him out with something he was working on, and the two have a good chat. On the other side of town, Emma abducts Henry, telling him that they’re leaving Storybrooke. Oh, Emma, why you so silly?

The last thing I remember happening was when Emma (Jennifer Morrison) heard Ruby (Meghan Ory) shouting from an alley behind the diner. She ran over there and, lo and behold, we find a very-not-dead, but very confused-looking, Kathryn (Anastasia Griffith). How will this affect the possible prosecution of Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin), who was to be charged with her murder? Let’s watch and find out …

The episode opens with August W. Booth (Eion Bailey) waking up from what appears to be a very weird nightmare. Apparently, as he says to a mysterious somebody on the phone right afterwards, he needs to accelerate the plan. The plot thickens. Whatever it is he needs to do involves tricking Henry (Jared Gilmore) into talking to Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) as he takes a look at the secret stash behind the shop. Plot; thicker and thicker.

Later on, we find out that Regina (Lana Parrilla) had hired Mr. Gold to kill Kathryn, but seeing as how her phrasing was poor, we were left to “something tragic” happening to her. Apparently, being kidnapped and then released a few days later is tragic. Regina doesn’t quite agree with his semantics.

In Fairytale, we meet Rumpelstiltskin’s son, Baelfire (Dylan Schmid). Apparently, Rumpelstiltskin is very protective of his son, as he turns a cart driver that almost ran him over into a slug that he then steps on. It’s a very odd scene, but one that I think will be far more interesting and revealing as time goes by. When Baelfire later meets Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy), she reveals that the only way to cure Rumpelstiltskin is to bring him to a world that does not contain magic. They head off to the forest, where Baelfire is to plant a magic bean given to him by the Blue Fairy. Once the portal to the magic-free world opens, Rumpelstiltskin gets cold feet; he can’t join his son. They fight, Baelfire goes through the portal, and it closes behind him, leaving Rumpelstiltskin alone in Fairytale.

Dylan Schmid as Baelfire

In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold returns the favor and breaks in to the room where August W. Booth is staying. One of the few things of interest that he finds in the apartment is … a piece of paper with Rumpelstiltskin’s dagger drawn on it! Curious about what this might mean, he follows him to a house where he spots August conversing with Mother Superior. Apparently, the young boy – August – has recently found his father after being separated from him for a long time, but has not spoken to him yet. It was a difficult parting and there are issues to be resolved.

We’re meant to assume that August is Rumpelstiltskin’s son, but it feels a little too clean-cut to be true. It feels just a little bit too obvious, and when even Mr. Gold falls for it, it sounds like we’re being set up for something interesting, a plot twist that will replace the plot twist of Kathryn’s apparent murder.

The two meet, Mr. Gold begs forgiveness, August hugs him, and the reunion seems too good to be true. The dagger’s been buried in the forest for all these years so that Regina wouldn’t find it, and the two go out digging for it. I’m not entirely sure why, but there you go. Once found, Mr. Gold asks August to destroy it, at which point he … aims it at Rumpelstiltskin and enchants, “By the power of the darkness, I command thee, dark one”. It doesn’t really seem to work, however, as this world doesn’t have magic.

It’s at this point that we – and Mr. Gold – realize that this is not Baelfire, but somebody else. It’s somebody who knows about Fairytale, somebody who needs help so that he doesn’t die. He needs magic. You know what? I think he’s Pinocchio. I think he’s turning into wood.

The show ends with Sidney (Giancarlo Esposito) claiming responsibility for what happened to Kathryn. Emma doesn’t fall for it, takes Regina off to the side and tells her she knows she’s responsible. She doesn’t care what happens now; she’s going to beat Regina.

You tried taking away somebody I love. And now … I’m going to take away somebody you love. I’m taking back my son!

In a strange way, the trailer kind of reminds me of Falling Skies, in that it shows us a future without power, a future where people have had to make do with the bare minimum, fighting the elements and forming small groups of survivors. As befits a show by J.J. Abrams, however, there’s a conspiracy or similar behind everything, and I’m guessing we’re not going to find out what that conspiracy entails until well into the series. By then, we won’t really care about the conspiracy all too much, but be more interested in the characters.

Anyway, this is a great piece of news, and I hope it can pick up the storytelling slack that both Awake and Alcatraz leave in their wake.

Leslie Knope

Calling Parks and Recreation, Parks and Recreation feels a little odd these days as the fourth season was split in two main parts with neither actually focusing on the department the show is named for. The first half of the season saw Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) ponder the ethical dilemmas of their relationship whilst Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) opened his own disatarous night-club. The second half of the season saw Leslie running for local city council with the support of her team against one of Pawnees oldest family heritages; the Newports.

The fourth season was an overall good season but one that was hampered mostly by the shows painful ability to back itself into corners. As mentioned the name Parks and Recreation almost no longer applies as the writers feel desperate to stretch outside the confides of a quiet office. Much like in the second season where the writers had to come up with clever reasons as to why Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) a nurse from the local hospital frequented the park and recreation department daily, the writers have now felt the need to develop story-lines that take place outside the confines of the parks and recreation department for the rest of the characters. Its a slightly uncomfortable transition but one that does pay-off as it gives the writers more breathing room for ideas over the season.

Tiom Haverfort and Leslie Knope

However as clever as the writers have been with the overall story arcs of the show they have cornered themselves massively with some of the characters who, over the season, have felt a lot weaker than in previous seasons. Andy Dwyers (Chris Pratt) character began the show as a lazy boyfriend with an overall air of arrogance. By season four Andy has now become an almost man-child with his short sleeve shirts and tie numbers. His character has become the doofus in the group making large clumsy mistakes which are often delivered with over-exaggerated acting. His now wife in the show April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) fairs better but has also gone from the moody carefree teenager of the first season to a role in the show where I’m not even sure what slot in the character roster the writers were hoping for her to fill. What made Aprils character interesting in the first season has now been lost in her marriage to Andy and both have felt their progression as characters hampered by the constraints of their marriage.

God

On the flip side to this though Parks and Recreation also has some of the strongest comedy characters currently on TV to even the balance. Leslie Knope is portrayed brilliantly by Amy Poehler who carefully walks the character down a fine-line between being annoying and loveable. Leslie is frequently hilarious and delivers some of the strongest jokes of the season. Most importantly though is that as the lead in the show the writers have made sure you genuinly feel for Leslie and want to see her succeed. When Leslie wins or loses the audience empathizes with her which is a crucial dynamic to get right being that she is the constant lead in the show.

We then come to Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) who currently in the sitcom world has no rival to compare with. A stunningly strong character who the writers have been smart to not over-use in this season. Ron Swanson could often steal the show in most episodes but instead the writers have allowed for his relationship towards other characters to be what defines his own presence in the show. I would be hard pressed to find anything bad to say about his character in Parks and Recreation. I just hope the writers continue to realize that Ron works best in a supporting role, acting as a father figure or an anchor to the other characters allowing them to bounce off his brash wisdom filled personality.

It’s often odd the way the writers treat some of their characters in Parks and Recreation and season four has shown this more evidently than previous seasons. Tom Haverford for example featured heavily in the first half of the season in a story arc that overall demonstrated that his character works better as a supporting eccentric character to the main cast rather than a lead in his own right. It almost feels as though the writers acknowledge this as Tom then for the second half of the season can almost go unnoticed in whole episodes with only a few lines being given here and there. Its strange they felt the need to push the use of Toms character in this season whereas let a character like Ron they wisely continue using in a secondary role.

Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt

No more though is it evident that the writers haven’t yet ironed out their characters than in the form of Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) and Ben Wyatt. Both characters were brought into the show in the second season to cover for the sudden departure of Mark Bredanawicz (Paul Schneider) and sadly both characters have failed to deliver great comedy in their roles or provide any real chemistry for the other characters to work with. Chris Traeger is a particularly weak character and I can count the number of strong jokes he has delivered this season on my left hand. Ben Wyatt fairs up a little better but only due to the close proximity he has with the character of Leslie Knope. The writers would do well to find ways to quickly remove these characters from the show and focus on developing some new identities for the stronger cast members to bounce off.

Thankfully though the show has enough strong ingredients to have cooked up a decent meal over the season. Some episodes and story-arcs have felt a little weak and you could even say that season four felt almost like a rehearsal, a testing ground, or a transition period for a show that you almost sense the creators thought they would only get a season or two out of from the networks. Parks and Recreation needs some more time to find its groove and smooth out the rough edges the writers have developed over the show. There’s no denying though that the quality is there due to that some episodes of the fourth season have been the strongest so far for the show (namely The Treaty, The Comeback Kid, and Bowling for Votes) but you can’t help also notice some cracks in the veneer slowly but surely beginning to show.

Parks and Recreation

So as season four wraps up for Parks and Recreation you wonder what direction the show will take next season. Parks and Recreation has enough meat on its bones to continue onward and it would fill wrong for the stronger characters in the show to be cut short at this stage by the television networks. But the creators and writers do need to up their game a little in season five and focus on what they want Parks and Recreation to be and what they want it to become. If they don’t one of the best comedies of recent years will continue to gently slide downwards in quality and eventually we’ll be left with a few strong characters carrying the entire weight of the Parks and Recreation department on their backs.

I’ll be honest; while I’m a huge fan of Fringe, I haven’t been entirely pleased with the show these past couple of weeks. It’s been pretty formulaic, predictable and – to put it bluntly – not nearly as interesting as the Fringe I fell in love with back in the days.

In this episode, the season finale of season four, we get to see the scene where Olivia (Anna Torv) dies, like we always knew she had to. Naturally, she is magically made alive again due to the massive amounts of Cortexiphan in her bloodstream, not that anybody would have ever figured that out from all the foreshadowing they’ve given us these past couple of weeks. The Fringe team also catches up to William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), and, while they don’t kill him, they certainly put him out of business for now. For all the great work done by the people working for him, Broyles (Lance Reddick) is promoted to General, giving the Fringe team a bigger budget, and he skips down the street with Nina (Blair Brown), giggling and laughing like a young couple on their first date. Olivia drops the bomb on Peter (Joshua Jackson); she’s pregnant! Nobody ever saw that one coming! I wonder if they’ll call their baby Henry or Henrietta!

Here’s what didn’t happen, however.

We didn’t get any closure on the alternative universe or of Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel). You know, I’m still kind of curious about whether or not he’s getting it on with Alternate Olivia. They played up his character so much in the last two months that we really grew to like him in a much deeper and more personal way, and then they just “You know, I’m staying over there.”, “Okay”:ed him.

Also, we didn’t really get any more information about the new universe that was created in season four. We know Olivia now has all of her Season one through three-memories, but nobody else does. Isn’t this bound to cause a little confusion as we move forward? Isn’t she going to remember, for example, that Peter has a baby on the other universe, given to him by her own alternate? Isn’t this all just overly complicated for no reason whatsoever?

I’m really hoping season five, which launches in September, helps fix some of the weirdness that we have here.

Anna:

Has it been a week already? Am I stuck in some sort of time bubble, or am I just easily distraced? I pick both options. But regardless: I’ve finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, which was just wonderful, and I am quite intrigued as to how the film version turned out. Also started reading Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor earlier today, so I have nothing to say about it just yet.

In other news, I went to see advanced screenings of both The Cabin in the Woods and Dark Shadows, and loved one of them, but not the other (hint: my review might help determine which is which), and have been promised a free look at Moonrise Kingdom as soon as it is schematically possible, hooray!

Arkenor:

Struggling with Wurm virus nonsense, and investigating The Secret World.

Breki:

I was at the media screening for The Dictator, got aggressive in the union discussions at the office (and got all I demanded!), found suspicious bruises on both of my forearms that I can’t explain, and looked at the calendar every five minutes to see if it’s the fifteenth yet. The fire from the sky still falls. Diablo III has not yet launched.

Jamie:

I’ve been reading about Phoenix Jones and the rest of the “real life superhero” movement a lot this week, ostensibly as research.

Lewis:

Playing a bunch of comic book themed music. Finally got some new shoes which is good because the current ones I have really hurt my feet. Sorting and getting ready to back up a bunch of files. MP3 tag is great for sorting your music. I actually got a shinny new computer a few months ago yet all I’ve been playing on it are older games. I’m almost done with the orc campaign in Warcraft III. [Work, work -Ed. Note]

Mandi:

I read Divergent, which I thought was okay, Batman #9, which was spectacular, and a bunch of other comics that were varying degrees of awesome. I’ve been working on Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, but am having so much fun talking to townspeople that I’m not making much progress.

Since Community was renewed, I’ve been re-watching my favorite episodes obsessively. 12 seasons and a theme park!

Tom:

Movies, movies, movies. 6 films in 5 days as I saw media screenings for Bel Ami, Dark Shadows, Safe, Margaret, Iron Sky and The Dictator.

Read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline over the week and enjoyed it thoroughly, anyone who hasn’t read it and might like it from its synopsis gogogo.

Also been an excited mess to play both Max Payne 3 and Diablo 3, goodbye university degree.

This week’s awesome pic is courtesy of Znuese.

I'm pretty sure this was the best thing ever.

From the beginning, it was clear that something big was going to go down at the pro-bending finals. However, I got so caught up in the match that I couldn’t even think about what might be coming. All I cared about was seeing Korra knock Tahno’s stupid hair off his stupid head. Even though the Wolfbats cheat their butts off, they’re very skilled, and the challenge brings out the best in the Fire Ferrets. We’ve seen them play well before, but this episode shows Mako, Bolin, and especially Korra at their greatest, fighting back against every dirty trick the Wolfbats throw at them. I’m guessing we won’t be seeing any more pro-bending this season, but I’m okay with that. I can’t imagine any match that would be better than this one.

And before the injustice of the Fire Ferret’s loss could even begin to sink in, the reveal of the hidden Equalists had me riveted to my screen. Lin Beifong and her metal benders are not weak opponents, and it was frightening to see how easily they all went down. I know that this is a cartoon, and Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko aren’t about to kill off their main characters halfway through their show’s first season, but there was a part of me that was genuinely terrified of what might happen when the Fire Ferrets were electrocuted in the water. Everything happened so quickly and was so intense that it was hard to think about it logically. I simply remained glued to my screen, heart pounding wildly, trying my hardest not to blink.

The Wolfbats losing their bending happened so quickly that at first I wasn’t sure it had happened at all. I have my doubts about the veracity of Amon’s abilities, but the look of terror on Tahno’s face was genuine, and for the time being, I’m certain his bending is gone. While the Wolfbats were all too happy to cheat, I have to wonder if Amon wasn’t the one who paid off the ref. The outcome seemed designed to feed into his “Benders are bullies” mantra, and his speech would’ve have been particularly effective had either team won fair and square. Amon doesn’t want to create martyrs, and setting people up to fail seems like the perfect way to ensure that what he does seems just.

Spider-Lin, Spider-Lin, does whatever a metalbender can. Soaring through Republic City's skies, catchin' equalists just like flies. Look out! Here comes Spider-Lin.

But before I could formulate a theory, Korra began to see more flashes of Aang’s past, and before I could process that, Korra was soaring through the air, with Spider-Lin Beifong swinging after her. I liked what we’d seen of Lin before this, but after this episode? I’m in love. She and Korra make an incredible team, and I’m not sure how Tenzin ever let her go. She may have been defeated, but she proved she was still a force to be reckoned with, and in an episode full of amazing action, her metal-slinging was the highlight. Saving Korra was obviously the right choice, but there’s a part of me who really wishes we could’ve seen what she would have done if she’d been able to keep fighting.

Any doubts I had about Tarrlok either being or working for Amon have vanished. Lin said she played right into Amon’s hand, but it seemed pretty clear she was playing into Tarrlok’s hand during that council meeting. There’s no way the writers are making him that suspicious without a reason. This is just rampant speculation, but the sideburns-wearing man we saw with Aang in the courtroom looked like he could be an older Tarrlok. Could it have been his father, or another relative? Tarrlok is almost certainly connected to Amon in someway, and whoever Amon is, he definitely has a connection to Aang’s past.

Batman hates chocolate, Korra hates kisses.

This episode was packed with action and packed with intensity, but is also one of the funniest episodes we’ve seen. Shiro Shinobi’s play by play of his attack had me in tears, and Bolin’s adoration of Pabu is both sweet and hilarious. Often, serious episodes are devoid of humor, but And the Winner Is… used humor to advance its story. Korra teasing Tenzin, or the look of disgust on her face while Mako and Asami blew kisses at each other- all these things made me giggle, but managed to move the plot along as well. It’s some really sharp writing, and is reminiscent of the best episodes of Avatar.

So many amazing things happened in this episode that there’s no room to discuss them all. Lin Beifong and Tenzin’s romantic past was confirmed! I don’t know their shipping name, but if there’s on ship I’ll get on board for, this is it. I’m pretty sure Lance Henriksen‘s henchman is still unnamed, but his rooftop fight with Korra was the stuff of legends. Last week’s episode was entertaining, but this week’s is one I’ll be watching again and again. This appears to be a turning point for the season, and I can’t wait to see what the show has in store.

You can find more Korra gifs in this gallery.

It’s a bit of a shame, really, as Awake had a really interesting gimmick behind it, but didn’t really manage to deliver on its promise. I’m hoping Jason Isaacs finds something interesting to move towards, as he’s a good actor that can do so much better than Awake. Maybe the concept would have worked better as a feature-length movie that brings us a resolution to the mysterious parallel-world thing at the end, uniting the two worlds or something on those lines.

When a show like Community begins to border on becoming a cult classic an inevitable wave of fan-art also springs out of the depths of the internet in displays of miss-directed love by its fans. When a show is clutched from the brinks of cancellation, the fan-art goes from a little splattering to damn fine quality drawings! Enjoy these examples and be sure to check the artists involved other works.

Troy as Wolverine

Geoff as Cyclops

Brita as Jean Gray (right?)

Annie as an X-men..I think its, I dunno, Gambit?

Pierce as Magento

Chang as Nightcrawler (right?)

Shirley as Storm

Abed as Professor Xavier

Dean as ... I have no idea ok! just look at the pictures will ya!

Community X-Assemble!

Make sure to head over and visit the incredible artists other behind these at Avivor.

In writing this peice I dipped my toe into the area of Community fan-art and discovered an ocean. Enjoy some more incredible art from what must be a devoted community to Community.

Community as the Batman cast

More Community as the Batman Cast

The above pieces were done by the talented artist Kinjamin.

Community as the Indiana Jones cast

The above incredible piece was done by OtisFrampton.

Community as Street Fighter

And the above piece was also done by user Kinjamin.

Here at CSICON, we’ve been covering Arrow for quite some time. At first, it was hard not to be skeptical of Arrow, but it’s beginning to look really promising- more Smallville than David E. Kelley‘s Wonder Woman.

The premiere date for the show won’t be announced until later this month, but this is one pilot I’m really looking forward to watching. Green Arrow is an interesting character, and if they handle him well, this show could be a lot of fun.

So, for this week’s Friday Five Double Feature, I’d like to share my 10 favorite Community episodes. Some are classics, some are polarizing, but all of them are episodes I can enjoy over and over again. Because I haven’t had a chance to watch most of Season 3′s episodes more than once, this list is primarily comprised of episodes from the show’s first two seasons. However, Community being Community meant that this list was still very hard to make.

10. Debate 109

Annie lets her hair down.

I started watching Community mostly because I liked The Soup, and I figured it would be fun to see Joel McHale in something else. I thought it was alright until the show’s first Halloween episode, Introduction to Statistics, which made me think it might be something truly special. Debate 109 cemented that for me, and the show’s been one of my favorites ever since.

I was on the debate team in high school, and the way debate is represented in entertainment frequently makes me cringe. But somehow, even though Community got as much wrong as anyone in this episode, it still worked, from its unexpected start to its insane, flying man finish.

This episode was the beginning of many things for Community. It was the first time the show really acknowledged that hey, little Annie Adderall was pretty hot. It was the introduction of the Jeff/Annie pairing, a plotline that, for better or worse, has been a part of the show ever since. And I’m pretty sure this is where the running joke about Troy and Come Sail Away started, though I could be wrong about that. Community‘s produced a lot of magic since, but for me, this is where it all began.

9. Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking

"Set phasers to LOVE ME!"

Pierce’s season two characterization was the source of a lot of controversy, and while I think it lead to a lot of great moments on the show, I understand the complaints. He did some really vile, awful things, and it’s hard to believe anyone would tolerate him, no matter how much their group needed a Pierce. I expected Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking to simply blame everything on Pierce’s pill addiction, but it didn’t, and it’s a much better episode for it.

While I relate most to the punishment Pierce bestows upon Troy (if I met Grant Morrison, you can bet I’d be a sobbing wreck), there’s a sort of universality in everyone’s story. We all worry about whether or not we’re a good person, especially when LeVar Burton isn’t around to let us know that we’re just bad with money. Everyone fears that their friends think the worst of them, and then hate themselves for thinking the worst of their friends. And sometimes, it’s hard to believe that you really are just someone’s favorite.

The documentary format is used flawlessly, especially during Abed’s wrap-up, but it’s the character work that really makes this episode shine. Community is at its best when the whole main cast is getting story time, and this episode does that beautifully.

8. Contemporary American Poultry

I need lip balm too, Abed. I need lip balm too.

These days, fans are pretty used to Community‘s themed episodes, but when Contemporary American Poultry first aired, it was something new. Goodfellas at a community college sounds like one of the worst pitches in the world, but it works beautifully, at least partially because of the ridiculousness of its premise.

This episode is filled with hidden delights- I love the board with everyone’s likes and wants- but is also a terrific character piece for Abed, one of the best the show has ever done. The scene with him and Jeff near the end of the episode was a terrific moment for both characters, and showed that there was much, much more to Abed than an endless supply of pop culture references.

Contemporary American Poultry also has a special place in my heart because it introduced Annie’s Boobs. The wonderfully named monkey hasn’t has a lot of time on the show, but has managed to make a big impact nonetheless.

7. Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design

Would that this post were a time post.

When it comes to Community episodes, there’s nothing I quote quite as much as Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design. “Would that this hoodie were a time hoodie” is a classic, but this conspiracy thriller pastiche is full of brilliant one liners. There are few put downs as cutting as “Enjoy eating fiber and watching The Mentalist“, and life is full of so many opportunities to point out tiny, underwhelming messages.

While this episode is great from start to finish, it really starts to pick up around the time of the blanket fort chase. The episode’s A and B plots come crashing together in the most brilliant of ways, and Britta proves that even when her screentime is limited, she can still steal the show. By the time I get to the hilariously neverending sequence of twists, I actually want to stand up and cheer.

This episode is Community at its crazy, hysterical best. This season had plenty of blanket fort action, and I hope next year, the show will find more ways to use Professor Professorson.

6. Mixology Certification

If I ever make a "top birthday cakes" list, this will be number one.

Community makes me laugh, a lot, but that’s not the main reason I watch the show. On the laughs-per-minute scale, it’s definitely behind Archer, and occasionally comes on third to a few of the other comedies in my rotation. For me, the show works on a deeper level. I care so much about the characters, and relate to them in major, occasionally painful ways. No episode showcases this like Mixology Certification.

While Mixology Certification has a few great jokes (see above), it isn’t really a comedic episode. It’s a character piece that dwells on all of our main cast, and illustrates just how much it can suck to grow up. When you’re young, it’s easy to idealize the adults in your life. Everyone seems like they know just what they’re doing, and all the things they do look so awesome. Slowly but surely, life forces us to realize that getting older isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and no one is ever as together as they seem.

Abed’s story here is a minor one, but it’s one I really love. Ignoring the fact that someone is hitting on me just so I can keep talking with them about something I love is exactly the sort of sad, awkward thing I would do. Most of the other stories here are much darker, especially Shirley’s, and it’s impressive to see that Community can take its occasionally cartoonish characters to such a real place.

5. Critical Film Studies

Critical Film Studies was heavily promoted as a Pulp Fiction episode, but anyone who’s seen it knows that that’s not quite right. Unlike many viewers, I didn’t pick up on the secondary send-up right away, but that just made it all the more effective.

Abed’s Chad monologue (linked above) remains one of the most strangely compelling pieces of television I’ve ever seen. The first time I watched it, I had no idea what was going on, but it’s not any less riveting even when I know exactly why Abed is doing what he’s doing. Danny Pudi is a terrific actor, and this episode utilizes him wonderfully.

Even outside the fun of seeing the Community cast clad in their Pulp Fiction garb or the magic of Abed’s strange, humiliating story, Critical Film Studies is a beautiful and bittersweet story about friendship. Often, we’re friends with people for the silliest, most flimsy of reasons, and as much as you might like someone, it’s not a guarantee that your friendship will last. Critical Film Studies is one of the most risky, ambitious episodes the show has ever done, and for me, it’s one of the very best.

4. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Network television could really use more D&D.

Part of Community‘s magic is the affection with which it treats its minor characters. Characters like Leonard, Magnitude (Pop Pop!) and Garrett don’t appear very often, but they feel like important parts of the show anyways. Before this episode, Fat Neal was mostly just mentioned in passing, and his few onscreen appearances were pretty brief. But for one episode, he was a main character, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

When I first heard about Community doing a D&D episode, I was expecting something along the lines of Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas, but I’m so glad they didn’t go in that direction. There are very few shows that could pull off an episode almost entirely consisting of characters roleplaying at a table, but Community manages to deliver an exciting adventure using nothing but its talented cast of actors. Maybe the table really is magic.

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons goes to some pretty dark places, and it’s because of that the final victory feels so triumphant. Fat Neal (now known as “Just Neal” and “The Real Neal”) has never been more that a minor character since, but he’ll always feel like an important part of the show.

3. Modern Warfare

"Study group....come out and plaaaaay...."

Modern Warfare was a gamechanger for Community. The show had received some critical acclaim before, but this was an episode that couldn’t be ignored. In less than 30 minutes, the show delivered a better action tale than most movies can tell in 2 hours. It’ll always be one of the show’s biggest accomplishments.

Now, paintball and Community go together like Batman and Robin, but when Jeff stepped back into the school, I really had no idea what was going on. No television show had ever even tried to do something like Modern Warfare, and it’s for the best, because none of them could pull it off so well.

What’s great about Community is that its theme episodes are never just theme episodes. Modern Warfare is a brilliant action movie send-up, but it also tells a solid story, building on story threads from earlier in the season. For many, Modern Warfare will always be the greatest Community, a high the show will always struggle to recapture. While it isn’t my favorite episode of the show, I can certainly understand that feeling.

2. Remedial Chaos Theory

The darkest timeline.

No matter how many times I watch it, Remedial Chaos Theory, it always leaves me stunned. It’s hard to believe that the show told so many separate stories in only 24 minutes, and it’s even more impressive that the episode managed to have a cohesive story on its own. There’s some major character stuff here, some of which I think will be a big part of this season’s final episodes.

While many of Community‘s send-ups are unique, lots of shows have done a Rashomon inspired episode. Many of them have even been very good. But Remedial Chaos Theory manages to feel like something really special and different. Sure, it has all the trademarks of these episodes, right down to the slightly varying jokes (Pierce’s Eartha Kitt stuff kills me), but underneath the very well utilized gimmick, it has an overabundance of heart. And the best tagline the show has ever done.

By the end of the episode, I should be completely sick of hearing Roxanne, but I just want to jump up and dance with anyone else. Jeff standing alone is a painful, powerful moment, and a bittersweet contrast to everyone else’s joy. He hasn’t seen the outcome of the other universes, but it still seems like a part of him realizes that everyone else is happier without him. Season three hasn’t been as consistent as season 2, for me, but with highs like this episode, I’m okay with that.

1. Cooperative Calligraphy

And all because of a missing pen.

Not only is Cooperative Calligraphy the best story of a missing pen I’ve ever seen, it’s my all time favorite episode of Community. Unlike Abed, I have a natural fondness for bottle episodes. I watch TV shows more than the characters than anything else, and bottle episodes are characterization showpieces.

Community being Community, its bottle episode manages to devolve into complete ridiculousness while leaving me in tears every time. No matter how many times I watch this episode, I can’t help but well up at Troy’s speech about the ghost, and everyone else’s reaction. By the time Jeff delivers his brilliant “non-miraculous son of a bitch” line, my eyes are red and puffy, and I have the biggest grin on my face you’ve ever seen.

A running theme in Community is people going along with something they think is silly or stupid for the sake of people they care about, and no episode showcases that more beautifully than this one. On paper, choosing to believe in ghosts because you can’t explain a missing pen sounds ridiculous, but this episode sells it completely. I love Greendale, but Community isn’t as much a show about community college as it is a show about friendship, and this is one of the most hilarious, wonderful stories of friendship I’ve ever seen.

Honorable Mentions:

Epidemiology, Pillows and Blankets, Paradigms Of Human Memory