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Worldly Distractions: Community 6.3 - Basic Crisis Room Decorum


crazyforkate

1,281 views

blog-dean.pngdean

After last week's perfectly suitable beginning, we're ready to get into the real meat of the season. So how is this new group going to function? Let's find out.

Checking her to-do list, Annie sees something so terrifying that she immediately gets the committee on the phone for an emergency meeting. Their texts appear in mid-air. Is this the new way we're representing texts now, or are we in for a House of Cards parody? Because I'm sincerely hoping for the latter. We learn that two teens from Asia have been pranking the Dean for years, giving him false hope of Jeff's love. I'm actually impressed with the little bastards' skills. Opening credits.

Everyone shows up in the middle of the night, Abed in his pyjamas and Jeff and Chang very pissed off. Only Britta is perky, probably because she's drunk. Annie explains - City College is going to run a negative ad campaign about Greendale. Frankie concludes it's because they're desperate in the face of Greendale's improving enrollment numbers (which Jeff points out is mostly due to the fact that no one ever graduates). There's also some babbling about someone named Brenda, whom I don't remember from the series at all. Frankie declares the study room a "Situation Room", which sends Abed into full Dr. Strangelove mode. Jeff tries to escape, but Annie won't let him. Elroy shows up with a pantsless Britta on his arm.

Abed manages to track down the ad, which is about Greendale granting a degree to a dog. And not just any dog, but a terrier. The horror. Frankie doesn't quite believe that it's true. She gathers everyone in the situation room and interrogates everyone as to the dog's history. No one can quite remember. Or maybe they're in serious denial. Jeff lawyers about their tactics for a while,  which is great, because we haven't had a Jeff Speech for a while. Elroy thinks he's found the dog in question, but they get into arguments about the breed. Frankie questions why they're going after the dog. Jeff insists that they have to destroy the source's credibility. So the pup hunt is on. And Britta is still drunk.

Elroy appoints himself Britta chaperone. Annie and Jeff continue to argue about whether they actually gave out the degree or not. Jeff writes on the glass like he's Russell Crowe. Chang suggests a sneaky and gross way to discredit City College, which Jeff allows without really listening. (I'm sure this will come back to bite them.) Meanwhile, the two Asian boys continue to mess with the Dean. Seriously, a prank of that level is Bart Simpson quality. Rock on, kids.

Britta and Elroy admit that neither of them care about the dog. Over coffee, Britta admits that she feels like a joke, and maybe giving a degree to a dog will make them all into jokes, thus leveling the playing field. She discovers that she and Elroy have a favourite (terrible) band in common. An eccentric friendship is born.

Suddenly, the music overtakes Britta and she is beamed into her own music video. Or is she hallucinating? (She's hallucinating.) Understandably weirded out, Elroy backs off a bit.

Frankie and Annie sort through files and discuss whether the truth can be predicted. Serious question - is Frankie intended to be a parody of Sheldon Cooper? Or do the writers of Community just like to pretend that that show doesn't exist? Anyway, we learn that Frankie has no time for feelings (or at least pretends not to). They come across a transcript for "Ruffles", and realize that they have struck gold.

So yeah, your favourite educational institution (suck it, Harvard) gave a degree to a dog. After giving Annie an "I told you so", Frankie points out the bright side - the file does not actually contain a diploma.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Abed do something online, trading barbs the entire time. Elroy arrives with coffee and a still-loopy Britta (seriously, what the hell did she drink?!). Abed has produced an attack ad against Ruffles, which among other things claims she has twenty-seven children by five fathers, and also has worms. Meanwhile, on the recommendation of the pranksters, the Dean brings Jeff olives, which is not well-received.

Frankie brings some more bad news - it turns out that the dog did complete the degree, with great marks (mostly attendance-based classes), but the degree was withheld due to a library fine. Jeff, however, runs with it as proof that the dog never actually graduated, so the commercial is - technically - a lie. Annie protests that this is still really bad for the school, as it shows a dog is capable of graduating from Greendale, but Jeff ignores this. She declares their attempt to discredit Ruffles and City College "dishonest" and "evil".

She suggests that they let the ad run and accept the consequences. When Jeff mocks her, she attempts to yank his research from his hands. Jeff asks Britta to attack her (as a male teacher, he can't), but Britta is passed out on the couch. Frankie asks Annie why it matters so much to let the ad run. Annie admits that it's not really about honesty - it's that she's realized that her grades from Greendale don't matter. Frankie gives her the hard truth. They will take the transcript over Annie. If she wants to transfer, fine, but the story of Ruffles must remain buried. Annie throws them the transcript and storms out. Suddenly, everyone in the room is shocked and guilty - except Elroy, who rambles on about the good old days.

Abed visits Annie in her room and offers to show her their soon-to-be-released pro-Greendale ad. Narrated by the Dean, it turns out to be very honest, explaining Ruffles' story as an example of how Greendale will help anyone who works hard. Annie squeals and hugs her friend. Looks like that transfer's not going through anytime soon. Jeff claims they were only getting in front of the scandal, but everyone sees through it. Just then, Chang arrives with his newly finished porno, traumatizing everyone there, except Abed, who considers him a brilliant filmmaker.

Across the ocean, one of the Dean's Japanese pranksters is lectured by his father for insane data charges. The Dean is suddenly awakened in Colorado with a barrage of existential questions about life's difficulties. The boy tries to confess that he's not Jeff, but the Dean continues to take this in philosophical terms. I guess he's in Deanial.

...sorry.

The teen, now grown up, reflects in voice-over that this moment was the most pivotal of his life - the one that set him on a path as a Yakuza leader. End credits.

Well? Choppy. Not terribly funny. Ultimately, it functioned well as a good showcase for both Annie and Frankie, who are similar in traits but entirely different in outlook. I'm still not sure what Elroy's purpose is, and hope they give his character a decent storyline soon. However, overall Community needs to up its gimmicks and move closer to their previous tone. The situation room could have been played with further, but ultimately only served as decoration. A bit of deadpan, for example would have helped greatly. The bits with the Dean and the two pranksters, though, were a highlight. Can Community find its footing again? I guess we'll have to wait another week to find out.

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  • Posts

    • Xan

      Posted

      I always find these Trump fantasy worlds very bizarre.  He's never in a nice suit meeting a world leader or even in a fireman's suit saving a child from a burning building.  It's always some fake macho outfit and, in this case, driving a car with a Confederate flag on it.  Their heroes don't seem that heroic.

    • JDuggs

      Posted

      On 12/22/2023 at 11:51 PM, JDuggs said:

      It looks like Micah is in a relationship, or very good friends, with this Florida realtor Veronica Peters. I’ve seen photos of them together on Micah’s IG, but I always thought she kind of looked too old for him. Maybe not.

      This was on Moriah’s IG:

        Hide contents

      image.thumb.jpeg.e5583f82734714ccb023fc889e4f0f90.jpeg

      And this was on Veronica’s personal IG and professional IG:

        Hide contents

      image.thumb.jpeg.e637a588be2f14fc379935962e743f47.jpeg

        Hide contentsimage.thumb.png.bfaa9a4a2ac77388067acef5c5afb81c.png

       

      Quoting myself from six months ago. I think this really is Micah’s girlfriend. She doesn’t seem quite as public about their relationship as she did back then.

      This photo of Veronica didn’t get copied over from my old post.

      Spoiler

      image.thumb.jpeg.0ae44da117d43f1db49868c42924ea03.jpeg

       

      • Upvote 1
    • JermajestyDuggar

      Posted

      There was a post on social media talking about this recent interview with Ballerina Farm and asking what people think about some of the things in it. So many commenters were like, “it’s her business! It’s not your life so why do you care?” This is the type of thing that bugs me to no end. Ballerina Farm posts their lives willingly! They post their children’s lives! Of course people will speculate and care! If they didn’t put their lives all over social media none of us would know anything about them. 

      • Upvote 1
    • LongTimeLurkerOG

      Posted

      On 7/25/2024 at 6:47 PM, LilMissMetaphor said:

      Just FYI in case someone missed it the first time round, this is what Art wrote on Reddit a year ago addressing some of the concerns that were brought up.  It's very telling if you read between some of the lines.

      "I don’t lie or make fraudulent claims to get money. That’s what a grifter is. I’ve closed all previous fundraisers and not all of them were successfully funded – for instance my legal name change and wedding fund did not get funded, so I still haven’t had a chance to do those things.

      I’m unable to work for a variety of medically supported reasons. It’s not okay to ask disabled people for proof of their disability simply because it’s medical information. To entertain the question is to concede that it’s okay to go ask other disabled people for their private medical history. It’s a common misconception that people pretend to be disabled for benefits or monetary gain, but it’s rare and doesn’t really make sense to do because benefits and fundraising add up to so little.

      I have been going to Seattle to look at possible places to live because it’s literally unavoidable, and I’ve been in severe pain because of it. That doesn’t mean I could do manual labor on a consistent basis. I don’t even drive, so I’ve had to cover gas and ask friends for help with rides.

      Have you ever tried working at a call center? I have. They’re severely strict and demanding, and incredibly demoralizing without paying much. They’re not an accessible alternative for people who can’t do more demanding manual labor. “Get a job like the rest of us” is ableist and is a fundamental misunderstanding of how accessible jobs are. It’s no better than yelling it at someone panhandling on the street. The supposedly “easy” or “low-skill” jobs are still difficult to do.

      I do use what resources I can, but it’s a total myth that there’s a robust social welfare system anywhere in the United States. If there was, we wouldn’t have so many hundreds of thousands of homeless people here, with millions more just a few missed paychecks away from joining them.

      The toxic mold was confirmed. My partner is literally terminally ill from it. If you read the actual updates, the name of the illness and the research surrounding it have been detailed. We have a letter from the pulmonologist that we sent to the landlord explaining that the environment my partner was in was causing the illness. Again, you’re demanding medical proof that you have no reason to ask about. Some things can’t just be washed out.

      I am as clear as I can possibly be about specific needs so that people know what they’re helping to support. I have said again and again that people shouldn’t give unless they can spare it and want to help. I even said that in the post linked to in this comment thread. My patreon is explicitly to support my writing.

      So why am I still fundraising and making money off telling my story? Because I literally have no other real options. I’ve been formally diagnosed with PTSD, it’s not “alleged trauma.” If it was working all that well, I wouldn’t have to keep detailing my needs.

      The real grifters in our society are billionaires, not poor disabled people. You sound like you just hate us for trying to exist."

      I remember reading this before. Well, they can take all their reasons and Stop. Grifting. Plenty of people with disabilities work and /or receive assistance (as I mentioned previously, my exPOS, who has disabilities so I'm familiar with a number of options and money). Some family, have / had disabilities. I've been an advocate for services and staff training (and provided training) for Years with previous positions - because it matters to me. So, yea, Artemis get. a. job. 

      57 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

      Art lists manual labour and call centres. And that's it. Not any jobs they could look at involving writing, from editing to writing student essays for money (yes it's dodgy but people do it). Not even playing video games for money (get character to a level where they have cool stuff for someone.)  Nothing about remote work, which there is more of now, and not even entry level white collar work.

      On the one hand I agree with them that the social support is inadequate, and that detailing your medical needs shouldn't have to happen - but they just grifted nearly $5000 to move and for a holiday, and with the amount of effort that took they probably could have held down employment of some description and to be honest would probably be better off.

      So many WFH/remote legit jobs now. Hell, you can play games on your phone and earn gift cards; donate blood and get gift cards. I knew a homeless couple that donated plasma for higher amount g.c.

      Absolutely! The amount of money; it's disgusting. And that amount of effort... At some point, even we don't want to or circumstances we don't want to deal with and adult, because... We're adults! Plenty of things I want to ignore or not deal with, just have go away but persevere because the alternative... not an option.

      2 hours ago, Bookworm1564 said:

      My all-time favourite Art post is the one where they say “Just for today, you can double the impact of your support with this opportunity” as if this was the moment we were all waiting for.

      Like a sale for limited-time-only 🤣

    • justpassingthru

      Posted (edited)

      So another page shared the Lott's story and this is a comment on that post. People believe "Fundy Snark" is a person. There are at least a couple other comments that refer to the sub as a person

      Screenshot_20240726_191210_Instagram.jpg

       

      Screenshot_20240726_191619_Instagram.jpg

      Edited by justpassingthru
      • Upvote 1


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