“Some people say community college is like high school with ashtrays,” Joel McHale says in a promo for “Community.” “But that’s not true. We don’t have any ashtrays.”

McHale, best known for his biting narration of pop culture on E!’s “The Soup,” shines in all of his sarcastic glory on NBC’s new show. He stars as Jeff, a lawyer forced to go to community college after the state bar deems his degree invalid. (He obtained it from Colombia and not Columbia). Jeff is a masterful liar and manipulator who is highly resentful of community college and all who attend. And McHale’s trademark wit is put on full, hilarious display in the pilot.

He immediately sets his sights on Britta (Gillian Jacobs), a pretty girl who’s game to verbally spar with him and keep Jeff on his toes. She’s struggling with their Spanish class, so Jeff quickly convinces her that he is a board-certified Spanish tutor and has arranged a study group, and he plans on “studying” for a few minutes and then taking Britta to dinner.

Things go awry when Abed (Danny Pudi), a socially inept misfit who talks a mile a minute but has never received a text message, crashes the “study group” and brings a crowd with him. The characters rely a bit on stereotypes, but each actor employs superb comic timing that makes every one-liner fresh. There’s Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), a 60-something who has been married seven times and is, in his own words, a “highly sought-after dinner guest”; Troy (Donald Glover), the high-school football star still trying to ride the glory train; Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), a sassy, middle-aged housewife; and Annie (Alison Brie), a neurotic girl who dropped out of high school because of her Adderall addiction.

Jeff stirs up the group into a fight so he can make his escape, creating chaos that climaxes hilariously with Abed screaming, “You know what I got for Christmas?” and proceeding to quote Bender’s speech from “The Breakfast Club.” The show thrives on absurd moments like this, especially with John Oliver (of “The Daily Show”) as Duncan, a former client of Jeff’s who teaches at the college and manages to exchange (fake) test answers for Jeff’s Lexus. The group has a great dynamic, and the writing is smoothly funny. Fans of other NBC hits, such as “The Office” and “30 Rock,” will undoubtedly enjoy “Community” and the great potential it has to establish itself as a unique and worthy show. Catch “Community” on NBC, Thursdays at 8:30 p.m.

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Tags: community, nbc, tv

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cadenza, TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.