TMC
02-24-2015, 07:29 PM
http://splitsider.com/2015/02/inside-communitys-meta-knockout-of-a-bottle-episode/
“I hate bottle episodes. They're wall-to-wall facial expressions and emotional nuance. I might as well sit in a corner with a bucket on my head.”
Dan Harmon’s seemingly immortal sitcom, Community, is without a doubt the most meta comedy on television (and now the internet). They’ve subverted and indulged in classic tropes like clip shows, Claymation, and musicals, while also perfectly lampooning unexpected pop culture totems like My Dinner With Andre, Hearts of Darkness, and GI Joe. The show has played around with structural insanity so frequently that the term “concept episodes” has been worked into the show’s vernacular. They’ve become as fundamental to the series as The X-Files’ “mythology episodes” were to that show. The long-standing tradition of a bottle episode was an obvious choice for the show to turn to eventually.
Written by Megan Ganz, in what was not only her first script for the series, but her first piece of sitcom writing. It’s easy to see how she would go on to become arguably Community’s strongest writer behind Harmon before ultimately leaving the show. What’s so impressive about “Cooperative Calligraphy” is that it’s a bottle episode about bottle episodes. Which is particularly exciting for a show that is already so preoccupied with the dissection of how sitcoms work and getting deep into their DNA.
“I hate bottle episodes. They're wall-to-wall facial expressions and emotional nuance. I might as well sit in a corner with a bucket on my head.”
Dan Harmon’s seemingly immortal sitcom, Community, is without a doubt the most meta comedy on television (and now the internet). They’ve subverted and indulged in classic tropes like clip shows, Claymation, and musicals, while also perfectly lampooning unexpected pop culture totems like My Dinner With Andre, Hearts of Darkness, and GI Joe. The show has played around with structural insanity so frequently that the term “concept episodes” has been worked into the show’s vernacular. They’ve become as fundamental to the series as The X-Files’ “mythology episodes” were to that show. The long-standing tradition of a bottle episode was an obvious choice for the show to turn to eventually.
Written by Megan Ganz, in what was not only her first script for the series, but her first piece of sitcom writing. It’s easy to see how she would go on to become arguably Community’s strongest writer behind Harmon before ultimately leaving the show. What’s so impressive about “Cooperative Calligraphy” is that it’s a bottle episode about bottle episodes. Which is particularly exciting for a show that is already so preoccupied with the dissection of how sitcoms work and getting deep into their DNA.