The second season of Community keeps the same format, overall, as the first. It has a weekly theme such as a new class, a death of a family member, celebrating a birthday, etc., and then inserts the wacky characters into those scenarios/stories. So, in some ways, it is a show about nothing, much like Seinfeld was, but it always keeps the running gag of Jeff (played by Joel McHale) needing to get a real undergrad degree in order to be reinstated as a lawyer, which to any lawyer makes absolutely no sense. But, ultimately, it works. There is also another paintball episode (that is actually split into two parts this season) which ultimately became one of the hallmarks of the show. The show balanced the large ensemble cast well and expanded role for Ken Jeong, and really took the focus away from it being the Jeff and Britta show, and really focused on all of the characters.
For those who get the DVD set, the extras include commentary tracks on every episode which included the series creator Dan Harmon and members of the cast, directors, writers, etc. Then there were outtakes, deleted scenes, a featurette on the paintball episode, a couple of features on the Christmas episode, season two cast evaluations, and a musical remix of season one. So, a good amount of material for those who like the bonus features.
Overall, the show continues to be great. My only real complaint is that there was John Oliver's role in the show was still very small. He was a great recurring character that was used pretty sparingly (likely because of his Daily Show commitments). The main recurring characters this season were Jim Rash who played Dean Pelton, Malcolm Hamal Warner, Betty White, Andy Dick, and Kevin Corrigan. It also had a great spate of guest stars including LeVar Burton, Drew Carey, Rob Corddry, Hillary Duff, Anthony Michael Hall, Josh Holloway, Patton Oswalt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Paul F. Tompkins, and Matt Walsh. It was a great season for a show that, while it did carry on a lot of sitcom traditions, it was definitely not a carbon copy of anything else on TV, and rarely passed up an opportunity to make fun of itself. I definitely recommend it.
For those who get the DVD set, the extras include commentary tracks on every episode which included the series creator Dan Harmon and members of the cast, directors, writers, etc. Then there were outtakes, deleted scenes, a featurette on the paintball episode, a couple of features on the Christmas episode, season two cast evaluations, and a musical remix of season one. So, a good amount of material for those who like the bonus features.
Overall, the show continues to be great. My only real complaint is that there was John Oliver's role in the show was still very small. He was a great recurring character that was used pretty sparingly (likely because of his Daily Show commitments). The main recurring characters this season were Jim Rash who played Dean Pelton, Malcolm Hamal Warner, Betty White, Andy Dick, and Kevin Corrigan. It also had a great spate of guest stars including LeVar Burton, Drew Carey, Rob Corddry, Hillary Duff, Anthony Michael Hall, Josh Holloway, Patton Oswalt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Paul F. Tompkins, and Matt Walsh. It was a great season for a show that, while it did carry on a lot of sitcom traditions, it was definitely not a carbon copy of anything else on TV, and rarely passed up an opportunity to make fun of itself. I definitely recommend it.
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