In the midst of March Madness, “Community” reaching its 100th episode may be the greatest Cinderella run of all.
The show survived bad ratings, a season three hiatus, the removal of the show’s creator, the resurrection of the show’s creator, three departures from the main cast and a move to a web service few have heard of. This durability is a sign of what a small but loyal fan base can do in the modern age.
But the more a show survives, the harder consistency becomes. In “Basic Crisis Room Decorum,” the irregularity is apparent.
The episode contains a premise as crazed and quirky as any other in the show’s history: rival City College is running a negative ad claiming Greendale once gave a degree to a dog, forcing the study group to find evidence to disprove the claim.
It’s a premise creator Dan Harmon would devour during the first three seasons, blending the chemistry of his original characters with the talent of the original cast. Twenty minutes would almost be too short, even for a show reliant on constant hijinks.
But nearly half of that original cast has left, either to expand a brand (Donald Glover), take over late-night television (John Oliver) or just grow old (Chevy Chase). The show has made replacements, but this is still a work in progress.
The episode is still funny, but I would be lying to say I enjoyed it as much as a season two episode or even the first two from this season. Elroy Patashnik must establish a wider identity as a new character, and everyone must make up for holes left by Glover or Yvette Nicole Brown.
Meanwhile, Paige Brewster and her character Frankie Dart continue to impress. Dart’s characteristic of refusing to characterized captures the show’s Meta tendencies and the character’s imposing essence. Signs of Britta finally becoming (relatively) normal again and Dean Pelton’s text conversations with a Japanese teenager impersonated Jeff were also notable high points.
The main dilemma centers on ethics, as the group makes its final decision on how to counter City College’s ad. Jeff harps back to his lawyer days and looks for loopholes or a smear campaign against the dog who received the degree (with dead squirrels and impersonating a lobster as the main offenses).
Annie, the moral voice of reason, preaches honesty. Greendale is no better than City College if it resorts to dirty tricks, no matter how high the stakes. The school decides on an ad equally uplifting, honest and self-deprecating — coincidently the perfect adjectives to describe the show.
While chemistry and flow issues existed, the writing is still as bold as ever. Proving a dog may have attended the school but never legally graduated is an endeavor Jeff Winger and Greendale were born to tackle.
More than that, it tells me Harmon and his writing team have the same mindset they have possessed since the show’s inception: never settle for singles and doubles, always go for grand slams. It doesn’t matter to Harmon how many cast changes occur. He always trusts his cast can deliver better than anyone else.
“Community” has always been a show dripping with confidence. One hundred episodes in, I doubt that changes.
You can reach Tommy Romanach on Twitter at @troman_TDR.