I don’t even think about it anymore. Back when life was life and there was shit, I would always get this tinge of guilt/hesitancy/shame about plopping my ass down on the couch and doing a post dinner TV binge. I’d still do it from time to time, but it was limited (usually to a day with a hangover… limited), or to after I had completed some superficial achievement on one of my imaginary timelines (“How about that, I did finish by Thursday!”). But… it always had a niche. I didn’t just watch TV, because that’s just not how I did things, but now… that’s exactly how I do things.
The thought was my solo coronavirus time was going to allow me the open time frame to become the Renaissance man I never was. Evenings would be dedicated to reading, learning new skills, meditation, and classic cinema. Days would of course be dedicated to the rapid, concentrated completion of projects, physical exercise, and eating healthy/inexpensive home cooked meals. My internal high achiever was finally going to have his day! Well, like everything in life (which makes life so stupid), what’s transpired has been a giant helping of… sort of. I’m completing projects and working slower than ever. I’m exercising and eating like shit. I’ve attempted to learn guitar and inevitably put it down… to watch television. I even spent some real deal money on new strings and guitar setup to put the pressure on myself, but after a couple weeks… I'd rather drink vodak... and watch TV!
Community is a show I always knew about, but I never knew why. There was this sense (like Parks and Rec, at least for me) that it was a known good, solid show, but I have to admit I also thought, ‘It’s on a network, so, honestly, how good can it really be?” Like Parks and Rec, as the years went by, and the missed episodes piled up, I kind tossed the idea of chasing this show into the scrap heap that contains Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and other excellent shows where they produced too many episodes for outsiders to join the party later. Sadly, or I guess luckily, I got the idea to give Community a shot when it was recently added to Netflix and advertised obnoxiously on the first one or two rows (tiles? categories?). Like any good member of the algorithm community I clicked “Yes,” because I do what told.
As TV time was clearly starting to become the norm for my evenings, it was clear that lagging way behind in episodes on any show was now more of an asset than a liability. I bulldozed through Ozark within a week, and once I was in the Netflix groove, it was easy to make the jump into Community in early/mid April…. Fuck me man, this is really a terrific show. Honestly, I found it to be groundbreaking, and right up my alley – meta tricks, narrative-less episodes, characters that were both self aware and relatable. And Jeff fucking Winger. That Dan Harmon, the show’s creator, was able to transform the Jeff Winger character (Joel McHale) from the over-aged Van Wilder of Glendale Community College into a vehicle for the pathos, aging and regret for those of us that desire to ride through life like it’s a party, only to see that party move forward without us… damn.
The best way I can describe Community is that it’s a show in which, in the moment, you’re both laughing your ass off and experiencing appreciation for the (obviously labored upon) quality of the content in front of you. The show’s rich meta elements offers the viewer multiple realms in which to connect with every episode. You can watch the narrative action with the show and enjoy it, or you can simply vibe with the characters’ clear, absurd self awareness in executing the narrative action of each show. To me it’s like getting two shows in one, and I’ll go ahead and say, “That’s pretty damn good.” I'm not afraid to say stuff like that. And don’t even get me started on Alison Brie (!)… she easily could have ruined my life! Yes, TV time…. here to stay... until next week when I hit the road for country livin in beautiful northern California… Peace Yall, we be talkin.
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