Community Insight Introduction.

Community to me, has become something that I talk about in every day life. Not only because it's not your average sitcom but because it's always interesting to try and explain to people who have no idea how it works. You watch a Halloween episode for example, it's not going to be an ordinary Halloween storyline, it's going to have you sitting there the entire time thinking one thing, "What is this?". It doesn't matter whether or not you're looking at it from a positive or negative outlook, it's making you question the show and why they decided to do something more flamboyant than other shows like Two and a Half Men or The Office. While The Office is one of my all time favourite shows, it's a good comparison to show a "normal" show against Community, from the start known for its not-so-normal traditions.

I'm covering the pilot episode in this post to talk about how the writing aspects of not just the episode but the characters and the stories that are about to start. However, Community is known for a number of its episodes that are mindblowing when it comes to television itself. For example, Season One had the shows first paint ball episode called "Modern Warfare". Directed by Justin Lin, who has also directed a number of the Fast and Furious franchise, he put an explosive twist on the episode that made the world of television look twice. Community, known for its subtle comedy, was turned into an action movie with essentially a pastiche of well known movies including "28 Days Later", "The Matrix", "Die Hard" and "Battle Royale". 

Community is a single camera situation comedy that follows seven students at Greendale Community College who all become part of a study group. The group is very mixed; gender, race and personality wise; and this is one of the many twists that gives the show a slight edge above the rest. As well as an eccentric Dean, a less than informative Spanish teacher and an posh English councillor; there's not one dull character within the cast.

In my personal experience having written the first few pages of pilots, writing the first episode of any type of show is challenging. You don't want to give too much away about the characters and have the audience feel like it's overwhelming but you don't want to alienate your audience either, by telling them absolutely nothing about any of the characters. That could lead them to think, "Why should I continue to watch this? Are they going to drag this out for as long as possible?" It's a hard balance to strike but when you get it right, the flow with the storyline and everything else come together so much more quickly, not at rocket speed, just a slow gradual smooth pace.