Thursday, December 19, 2013

Best Episode Ever # 27: A Second Opinion About 'Community'

The last time I guest hosted Best Episode Ever, it was because I strongly disagreed with Fred Topel's choice for "Lost's" greatest episode. But this time, I don't disagree with Fred at all.

This is not simply a tie. "Digital Estate Planning" and my choice for this week's column are equally perfect and two of the rare occasions that I've given a "10" to anything. The Dan Harmon years of "Community" were so strong that I can think of several episodes that could arguably deserve this distinction as well.

But I'm going with " Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," the "Community" Season 2 Christmas episode that was almost entirely comprised of stop motion animation. The cast only appears in live action once during the course of the episode. But it's such a great moment that I'll get to that at the end.

The cynics among you may think that this episode was chosen because of its gimmick. Admittedly, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" is a homage to the Rankin/Bass airplane christmas cards Christmas specials that are still on TV every year. However, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" was picked for the same reason that it is so much better than anything Rankin/Bass ever worked on.

It's heart. That's really what it's all about. "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" had the benefit of 35 previous episodes to fall back on, but it has characters that resonate. I don't often get emotionally moved by films or TV shows, but there are moments in "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" that crushed me. You'd have to be made of stone to make it through this episode and not feel anything for these characters.

Animation veteran Dino Stamatopoulos co-wrote this episode with "Community" creator Dan Harmon, with animation provided by the team at 23D Films, as overseen by James Fino, Joe Russo and director Duke Johnson. The premise is remarkably simple. Abed (Danny Pudi) has some kind of mental breakdown that causes him to see everything in stop motion animation. And he "commits to the format" of the classic Rankin/Bass specials by breaking out into a song that brilliantly co-ops the "Community" theme song.

The conceit here is that Abed acted out his Christmas fantasy in the real world, we just never see that side of the story. Since the entire episode takes place from Abed's point of view, we see the world as he sees it. Greendale Community College lets a lot insanity fly by without comment, but Abed's latest breakdown has the school concerned about his sanity.

Fearful that Abed will be expelled, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) convinces him to take part in a therapy session with "Christmas Wizard" Professor Ian Duncan (John Oliver). Duncan serves as the villain of this episode because he's more interested in writing a paper about Abed's bizarre disorder than in actually helping Abed heal himself.

The entire Greendale 7 study group joins Abed in his "Christmas-nosis" voyage to Planet Abed, where Britta becomes Britta-Bot, Jeff (Joel McHale) is Jeff in the Box, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) transforms into Baby Doll Shirley, Annie (Alison Brie) is re-envisioned as Baller-Annie, Troy (Donald Glover) enlists as a "Troy Soldier" and Pierce (Chevy Chase) regains the use of his legs as Teddy Pierce.

Obviously, Abed's chosen personas for his friends were determined by the writers of this episode. However, within the world of the show, Abed proves to be a very good judge of character and an astute observer. Slowly at first, Abed's friends are ejected from his Christmas fantasy. Shirley is the first to go, followed by Jeff and Duncan, who self-ejects when Abed makes him examine his own Christmas traumas.

Abed's dismissal of Britta is particularly biting and sad. The emotion that comes out of that scene is surprisingly genuine. Abed's words cut through Britta like a knife and reduce her to tears. Yet everything that Abed said is true and I don't think that Britta has ever taken that to heart in the two subsequent seasons.

Eventually, only Pierce is by Abed's side when he discovers the meaning of Christmas: a copy of "Lost" Season 1 that Abed interprets as "a lack of payoff." Despite Troy and Annie's efforts, Duncan intrudes upon Abed's fantasy world with the cause of his mental break. Abed's mother canceled her yearly visit, which happened to be Abed's most beloved Christmas tradition. And she didn't even do it in person or over the phone. She left a note. I ask you now, is this not the most f***ed up thing for a mother to say to a son?

"Abed, I can't make it this year. I have a new family now. You'll meet them one day. You're a man now. Take care of dad. Wash your dupa."

The point is not that Abed's mom broke her tradition, it's that she deemed her new family to be more important than her old one. She makes no invitation for Abed to come visit her other than a vague promise that he'll meet her new family "one day." One day? ONE DAY?! You know, Christmas is traditionally that day. It's certainly as good a day as any other. But this note reads like it was written by someone who didn't love her son. She doesn't even say that she loves him in his Christmas card!

It's an amazing accomplishment when a story can generate that kind of empathy with the audience. But as fans of the show, we care about these people. I care about them. And this was the episode that made me realize that.

Forced to face the thoughtless cruelty of his mother, Abed freezes up. Fortunately, all of his study group friends return to his fantasy world and forcibly kick Duncan out with an exploding Christmas Pterodactyl. Seriously!

Abed comes to realize that Christmas means whatever he wants it to mean. And he recognizes that the study group has become his new family. They decide to spend the day together watching old Christmas specials just like Abed used to do with his mom. For one brief moment, you can see the cast in live action as their reflections appear on the TV screen. It was really very moving to see them all together like that.

Of course, I know it's just a story that was designed to have that effect. These aren't real people and they exist only within the world of the show. There is no Abed, no Jeff, no Britta, no Annie, no Troy, no Shirley and no Pierce. Once upon a time, they only existed in Dan Harmon's imagination. Now they seem like fully realized people thanks to the performances of their respective actors and actresses as well as the strong writing from the Harmon era of the show.

For that reason, "Community" holds a special place in the collective hearts of its fans. Not every show is passionately embraced in the way that "Community" has been. Yet "Community" deserves the fans that it has and it also deserves a bigger audience to discover it when it returns next year. After a season away, Dan Harmon is coming back to the show. Hopefully he can bring the magic back with him.

Six Seasons and a Movie!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Fraud trial recap: Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi's personal assistant told to buy ''anything I wanted'' on credit card, court hears

<airplane christmas cardsp>Asked by Ms Arden to describe her relationship with her former employers, Francesca said: "How do you describe a relationship with a family?

"It's a natural feeling - you love someone, they love you back.

"You go beyond loyalty."

She said she did everything she possibly could to please Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson, who divorced earlier this year.

Referring to the trial, Francesca told the jury: "When something like this is happening, you don't stop loving them.

"You're disappointed, but you don't stopped loving them. I never stopped loving Charles or Nigella or the children."

She said she was "extremely fond" of them all, adding: "They loved me back. I had a great relationship with all of them, Charles included.

"Many of you heard he had a very scatty type of temperament but I always had an incredible relationship with him until the day this happened."

Asked how they were as employers, Francesca said: "I never see them like that, I saw them as a family."

She and Ms Lawson had a very close bond, akin to a mother-daughter relationship, the court heard.

"She embraces you, she wants you to lean on her and her to lean on you," she said. "It's a very open relationship. It goes from personal things to working things. You could talk to her about anything."

They would discuss the children, Ms Lawson's relatives and her relationship with Mr Saatchi, the court heard.

The pair's closeness led to Francesca once remarking: "I don't know how, you understand me better than my own family."

Francesca said she appreciated everything the TV cook had done for her.

She was asked by Ms Arden about booking taxis on the family's account with a cab firm, and said she was allowed to order one whenever she needed to, whether for work or personal reasons.

Francesca denied that booking cabs was ever a secret and both Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson always knew when she had done so.

The defendants, of Italian descent, are on trial at Isleworth Crown Court, west London, accused of spending £685,000 on credit cards belonging to the celebrity couple to buy designer goods and luxury holidays.

They each deny a single count of committing fraud by using a company credit card for personal gain between January 1 2008 and December 31 last year.