Community is far from the first low-rated network show to utilize product placement to help justify its expenses. But it is now, I believe, the first show to ever have one of its main characters fornicate with that sponsor — unless there’s some outtake from the first few seasons of The Office in which Michael Scott mounts a Chili’s restaurant.
Like Mom said, “when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me”. Lane Pryce assumed that the woman he met on the internet would treat her marriage as disrespectfully as he does his. Joan Harris assumed that she was being replaced. Pete Campbell assumed that bringing in most of the clients would get him respected by his bosses and fulfilled at work and home. Harry assumed that dropping 30 pounds would make him less of a jackass. Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper assumed they still had relevance. The African Americans fighting for Civil Rights assumed SCDP actually cared about equality. And Don Draper assumed that he had Megan’s number. And so did we.
Somewhere at the heart of this cacophonous jumble of an episode are two well-realized parallel stories in which both Troy and Britta come to the realization that they can’t save the narcissist that they love. Instead, focus goes to those narcissists themselves, one of the reasons that this installment felt so flat.
On any other network, Community would never have come back. Luckily, Community airs on NBC. This is great news, not because the network will stand behind a critically acclaimed but low-rated show with a loyal following and huge internet buzz, but because NBC has fuck-all-else to air. The network shifted its line-up around to give more attention to new shows Whitney and Up All Night, and placed its beloved 30 Rock in Community’s time slot.