Community- Episodes 5.01/5.02 "Repilot/Introduction to Teaching" Review - Successful reboot or trying too hard?

5.01 - Repilot
Awww!!! Poor Jeff, we didn’t even get to see him being a hotshot lawyer before he was being thrown out of his apartment. Of course his jerk ex-cohort would suggest suing Greendale. The reason why Jeff would go about that is not immediately explained. The case is that an architect who graduated from Greendale is blaming them for his recent architectural failure. An undetermined amount of time and not much has changed at Greendale other than the study group graduating.

Abed’s first line of dialogue seems to have reverted him back to pilot level awkwardness, which as he lampshades, was the point. Comparing this upcoming season to season nine of Scrubs is far from reassuring, but it is a nice nod to the network that originated both shows.

When Jeff ultimately decides not to sue Greendale with the case, he tells his old partner he can create five new clients out of the old study group. Since we don’t know exactly why Jeff’s law practice failed, I wouldn’t exactly be trusting him to come up with a class action.

He pitches it to the group as they tell him what they’re doing with their lives. No one is doing what they were expecting to do after they graduated and much like the pilot, the group has a big fight. Unlike the pilot, Shirley ends the commotion when she interrupts with the story of how Andre has left her again. Jeff tells them this is the sort of thing they would need to make a case against Greendale. Jeff leaves them to stew while he goes to talk to his former partner. (Another call back to the pilot is Jeff claiming he has to go to the bathroom when he’s doing dubious dealings.)

Of course according to Jeff, his partner was responsible for his last four years. The introduction of this knowledge is not really new, more filler.

Reentering the group, they tell him that their lives are worse than they were expecting them to be, but instead of suing, they decide to reenroll. And Chang decides to make his appearance. After listing everything that Chang did to end up at this point (minus the recent revelation that he was arrested for his crimes, is now under house arrest, and teaches math at the institution he was fired from teaching Spanish at,) Shirley comes to the conclusion that “this place ruins lives.”

Jeff’s legal partner comes in and tells them that Jeff was looking to get them to sue the school. Jeff tells them how they all changed into cartoon versions of themselves and after the realization that Jeff staged the robot fight in the ad for his firm, the study group signs the papers to start suing the school putting the future of Greendale in his hands.

Jeff goes back into the Dean’s office telling him that he nearly got the only five people who care about the school to sue the school. The Dean offers him the change to stay and help him save the school. He doesn’t have any money for school safer, but he does have enough money to hire Jeff as a teacher. Abed is the first one to guess.

With new goals in sight, the group resolves to go back to Greendale.

Other nice touches:
○ Abed suggests they burn the table because no one else would be worthy.
○ Jeff steps outside and sees a hologram of Pierce directing him to a museum on the quad.

So far, off to a much better start than Scrubs season nine, but not very funny so far playing more like a light drama. The tag was cute though.

5.02 - Introduction to Teaching

The second episode for me, broke down into likes and dislikes easier than the first. As such, there’s less of a recap and more statement of the ups and downs.

Jeff’s un-enthusiasm for teaching is very in character, but the questions that his class has are valid questions to have (where’s the syllabus, what’s the grading scale….) Also, unless he came to the Dean before the spring semester, he’d never be able to teach for the fall semester unless he was picking up someone else’s class.

Abed’s table we saw him making last episode turned out beautifully.

Jeff claiming to not know the law is problematic. To be able to practice law in any state, he would have had to have passed the bar exam. Ignoring the fact his degree is in education and most law firms require a degree in, oh I don’t know, law, he still would have had to have passed the bar exam and it would have been the first thing they checked. Plus how do you not pick up the law after having it thrown in your face by opposing counsel for however many years?

I like the idea of presenting Abed with a question that cannot be answered in reference to pop culture. His insistence that Cage has to be on the spectrum is interesting; his impression of Cage, less so.

Annie’s insistence that she is going to make Jeff a teacher is very obviously not. going. to. happen. When it doesn’t, it’s an inevitability.

I liked that Jeff actually teaches the class something as erroneous as it may be.

The professor’s indulgence of Abed’s theories is perfect. (I liked that they brought back the drama teacher from the conspiracy theory episode for the class.)

Do people really get that worked up over minuses as to destroy the library and stage a protest in the cafeteria? At a community college?

I did like that the Dean’s thoughts are rhyming French. Very pretty.

All in all: would not rate the second episode very high.

The season so far: Not very funny and further from reality than even the paintball plots.