Review Roundup for 5x09, "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing"
Good morning, Communies! I've got a pile of hot textbooks to unload, so let's get down to business.
Matt Carter, cartermatt.com:
It wasn’t the show’s strongest episode ever, nor was it the weakest. It was instead a small, funny story that brought in a few guest stars, and really showed us where the NBC series is now. (B+)
Todd VanDerWerff, A.V. Club
I have a handful of issues with the episode’s treatment of the character of Rachel, but I liked the way that the episode revealed itself to be almost entirely about how Abed feels in the wake of Troy’s departure in this moment. When Abed ventured a tiny, tiny emotional response by telling Rachel that people have been leaving him his whole life, a lot of what the episode was trying to do snapped into place for me, and I felt all the more worried about what will happen when Rachel leaves for her movie career. (B+)
Alan Sepinwall, HitFix:
The rest of "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing" was more of a mixed bag. After the dystopian apocalypse caused by MeowMeowBeanz, I appreciated the show dialing things back to a smaller scale but it was an episode that was for the most part neither fish nor fowl: not a ton of laughs but also not emotional stakes on the level of the Jeff/Duncan/Britta outing from a few weeks ago.
Brian Collins, Badass Digest:
I should be annoyed that a show that's often too crammed to provide good material for all eight of its principal characters will devote another 30 seconds or so to a guy that they never met (and introduce another character in the process), but there's something wonderfully insane about offering up a bit of this nothing character's backstory.
Gabrielle Moss, TV Fanatic:
Not to say that it was weak by any means. It was just a bit quiet in a season that's been mostly about loud, thunderous statements - but we do need those quiet episodes, so all those thunderous episodes in a row don't totally pop our ear drums (you know, the ear drums of our minds? You know what I mean). (4.6/5)
Polar Bears Watch TV:
As for the Hickey-Jeff-Shirley storyline, it’s definitely a step down; it’s entertaining and fitting, given Gilligan’s involvement in the episode, but it seems a bit limited, repeating character beats we’ve already seen before. Nevertheless, I do enjoy what the episode does with Shirley, and Kevin Chang’s become a really fun presence. (B+)
Joe Matar, Den of Geek:
Just because this is a Dan Harmon-run season doesn’t mean it does everything with flawless aplomb. Again, the buildup is minimal and this textbook outlaws plot is constantly skirting the line between being believable and not. But there is still the matter of consistency in tone and that’s the other thing Community episodes, including this one, typically get right.
Damon Houx, ScreenCrush:
One of the themes of ‘Community’ that’s been a consistent throughout it’s [sic] five seasons is that these people can be terrible, but often realize it and try to make it up to each other. This comes up again in tonight’s episode and though it was amusing, it felt a little formulaic and could be the weakest of the year.
Jared Russo, GeekBinge:
I thought it was too short. It just felt like there needed to be a bit more to each of the main two storylines. And both of them are very strong, and they had the potential to be their own A plots in another episode. (9.5/10)
Tim Morse, Morse Code:
But I couldn’t help but feel like this episode was muddled a bit. Maybe if they focused on one of the two stories and involved everyone, it would have worked better. I don’t think either story got the necessary amount of screen time for me to call either a success. (7.7/10)
Mark Harrison, Den of Geek:
The fact that the stand-out moments come close to the beginning and the end of the episode respectively, makes for a slightly puffy centre, limited by the uneven distribution of the regulars between sub-plots, and the slightly rushed conclusion.
Untempered Television:
I was strangely enthralled with the Annie/Anthony dynamic; her with her constant infectious optimism and his general demeanor as one who seems to have just returned home after years of living in the woods while serial killing on the side (even Abed could tell he was weird).
Sarah Shachat, ScreenCrave:
Although the storylines were slightly uneven, “VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing,” got the sentiment right in the end. The episode addresses the Troy Barnes-shaped hole in Abed and Annie’s life seriously, without losing a whit of silliness. Five tornado howdy! (8/10)
Nick Hogan, TV Overmind:
This was a hilarious episode. Community is getting better and better every week, and there’s no slowing it down. I mean, if Donald Glover’s departure won’t slow it down, what will?
Nick O'Malley, masslive.com:
The first official "Deal entering the study room in a ridiculous costume and saying something weird" moment of the season might have been the best one in the run of the show. The moment would have been a wonderful complement were it featured in a good episode. Instead, it stood out as the brief highlight in a mediocre one.
Jennifer Marie, Just About Write:
A show like Community cannot pretend that Troy’s absence or Pierce’s absence doesn’t affect its dynamic and structure and I think that for the most part, the writers and Harmon have tried to distract us with guest stars and homages and pop culture references in hopes that we would simply forget that the Greendale Seven are now the Greendale Five. And though this episode was flawed, I am glad that the writers and Harmon finally addressed the off-balanced nature of the study group in Troy's absence.
Eric Goldman, IGN:
Dan Harmon is not one to brush something under a rug or to think one big episode is all you need to deal with a character’s absence, and the lingering emotions centered around Troy leaving have been very well handled. (9.0)
Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next week for the return of Dungeons and Dragons.
Matt Carter, cartermatt.com:
It wasn’t the show’s strongest episode ever, nor was it the weakest. It was instead a small, funny story that brought in a few guest stars, and really showed us where the NBC series is now. (B+)
Todd VanDerWerff, A.V. Club
I have a handful of issues with the episode’s treatment of the character of Rachel, but I liked the way that the episode revealed itself to be almost entirely about how Abed feels in the wake of Troy’s departure in this moment. When Abed ventured a tiny, tiny emotional response by telling Rachel that people have been leaving him his whole life, a lot of what the episode was trying to do snapped into place for me, and I felt all the more worried about what will happen when Rachel leaves for her movie career. (B+)
Alan Sepinwall, HitFix:
The rest of "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing" was more of a mixed bag. After the dystopian apocalypse caused by MeowMeowBeanz, I appreciated the show dialing things back to a smaller scale but it was an episode that was for the most part neither fish nor fowl: not a ton of laughs but also not emotional stakes on the level of the Jeff/Duncan/Britta outing from a few weeks ago.
Brian Collins, Badass Digest:
I should be annoyed that a show that's often too crammed to provide good material for all eight of its principal characters will devote another 30 seconds or so to a guy that they never met (and introduce another character in the process), but there's something wonderfully insane about offering up a bit of this nothing character's backstory.
Gabrielle Moss, TV Fanatic:
Not to say that it was weak by any means. It was just a bit quiet in a season that's been mostly about loud, thunderous statements - but we do need those quiet episodes, so all those thunderous episodes in a row don't totally pop our ear drums (you know, the ear drums of our minds? You know what I mean). (4.6/5)
Polar Bears Watch TV:
As for the Hickey-Jeff-Shirley storyline, it’s definitely a step down; it’s entertaining and fitting, given Gilligan’s involvement in the episode, but it seems a bit limited, repeating character beats we’ve already seen before. Nevertheless, I do enjoy what the episode does with Shirley, and Kevin Chang’s become a really fun presence. (B+)
Joe Matar, Den of Geek:
Just because this is a Dan Harmon-run season doesn’t mean it does everything with flawless aplomb. Again, the buildup is minimal and this textbook outlaws plot is constantly skirting the line between being believable and not. But there is still the matter of consistency in tone and that’s the other thing Community episodes, including this one, typically get right.
Damon Houx, ScreenCrush:
One of the themes of ‘Community’ that’s been a consistent throughout it’s [sic] five seasons is that these people can be terrible, but often realize it and try to make it up to each other. This comes up again in tonight’s episode and though it was amusing, it felt a little formulaic and could be the weakest of the year.
Jared Russo, GeekBinge:
I thought it was too short. It just felt like there needed to be a bit more to each of the main two storylines. And both of them are very strong, and they had the potential to be their own A plots in another episode. (9.5/10)
Tim Morse, Morse Code:
But I couldn’t help but feel like this episode was muddled a bit. Maybe if they focused on one of the two stories and involved everyone, it would have worked better. I don’t think either story got the necessary amount of screen time for me to call either a success. (7.7/10)
Mark Harrison, Den of Geek:
The fact that the stand-out moments come close to the beginning and the end of the episode respectively, makes for a slightly puffy centre, limited by the uneven distribution of the regulars between sub-plots, and the slightly rushed conclusion.
Untempered Television:
I was strangely enthralled with the Annie/Anthony dynamic; her with her constant infectious optimism and his general demeanor as one who seems to have just returned home after years of living in the woods while serial killing on the side (even Abed could tell he was weird).
Sarah Shachat, ScreenCrave:
Although the storylines were slightly uneven, “VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing,” got the sentiment right in the end. The episode addresses the Troy Barnes-shaped hole in Abed and Annie’s life seriously, without losing a whit of silliness. Five tornado howdy! (8/10)
Nick Hogan, TV Overmind:
This was a hilarious episode. Community is getting better and better every week, and there’s no slowing it down. I mean, if Donald Glover’s departure won’t slow it down, what will?
Nick O'Malley, masslive.com:
The first official "Deal entering the study room in a ridiculous costume and saying something weird" moment of the season might have been the best one in the run of the show. The moment would have been a wonderful complement were it featured in a good episode. Instead, it stood out as the brief highlight in a mediocre one.
Jennifer Marie, Just About Write:
A show like Community cannot pretend that Troy’s absence or Pierce’s absence doesn’t affect its dynamic and structure and I think that for the most part, the writers and Harmon have tried to distract us with guest stars and homages and pop culture references in hopes that we would simply forget that the Greendale Seven are now the Greendale Five. And though this episode was flawed, I am glad that the writers and Harmon finally addressed the off-balanced nature of the study group in Troy's absence.
Eric Goldman, IGN:
Dan Harmon is not one to brush something under a rug or to think one big episode is all you need to deal with a character’s absence, and the lingering emotions centered around Troy leaving have been very well handled. (9.0)
Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next week for the return of Dungeons and Dragons.