TV Series Review: Community

by Rogue

The Basics:

Community is not your typical geeky sitcom. It’s a show by the great Dan Harmon (cocreator

of the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty) and it stars an

ensemble cast. The premise of the show is a group of seven different personalities form

a study group for a Spanish class (taught by a Chinese professor) in Greendale

Community College. The comedy of the show is fresh and original and literally

indescribable. It’s aired on NBC for five seasons, while the sixth will air on Yahoo!

Screen.

The Cast and Characters:

1. Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) - a con artist at heart, he got caught at his law firm lying

about having a bachelor’s degree and enrolls at Greendale Community College for a

“quickie” degree.

2. Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs) - a high school drop out, former anarchist and social

activist.

3. Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) - a Palestinian-Polish film student suspected of having

Asperger’s syndrome but has an encyclopedic knowledge of TV shows and movies.

4. Shirley Bennett - a recently divorced single mother and vocal Christian.

5. Annie Edison (Allison Brie) - the youngest, people pleasing and over achieving

student who lost her scholarship to a prestigious university when she became

addicted to Adderall.

6. Troy Barnes (Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino) - a former high school star

quarterback who lost his scholarship due to injury, he instantly bonds with Abed and

embraces his geeky, goofy side

7. Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase) - an old, racist and sexist millionaire who enrolls at

Greendale out of boredom

8. Ben Chang (Ken Jeong) - the slightly deranged Chinese Spanish teacher. Together

they study for Ben Chang’s ridiculous Spanish class and have to put up with the

antics of the exuberant and lively Dean Craig Pelton.

9. Craig Pelton (Jim Rash) - the exuberant and lively Dean who desperately wants

Greendale to be taken as a university, instead of a community college.

My Top 5 Episodes:

1. “Modern Warfare” (S01E23) - after the Dean announces the prize for the winner of

the school paintball game, it breaks out into an out all war. The episode heavily

references and parodies action movies and post apocalyptic films such as Die Hard,

Terminator, Rambo etc.

2. “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” (S02E11) - a freaking STOP MOTION Christmasthemed

episode. STOP MOTION ANIMATION!

3. “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” (S02E14) - the study group notice a fellow student

nicknamed “Fat Neil” is lonely and suicidal so they play a game of Advanced

Dungeons and Dragons with him, but Pierce feels left out and does his best to ruin

the game.

4. “Digital Estate Planning” (S03E20) - Pierce’s father has died but in order to claim his

inheritance he and the study group have to play an 8 bit console game reminiscent of

Nintendo and Sega systems, with a bit of Minecraft thrown into the mix.

5. “G.I. Jeff” (S05E11) - A FULL animated episode stylized after the 1980’s show G.I.

Joe.

Other Fun Bits:

These are just MY top 5 episodes, but there’s TONS more. Zombie themed episodes, an Apollo 13 episode, a glee parody episode, conspiracy theory episode, a Law & Order episode, hidden jokes and easter eggs everywhere. This show is genius and EVERYBODY needs to go check it out now!

VIZ MEDIA RELEASES RANMA ½ ANIME SERIES VOLUME 2 LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET

Don’t Miss The Legendary Martial Arts Comedy In Stunning High Definition In A 3-Disc Set Filled With Special Bonus Features And Extras; Standard Edition DVD Set Also Available

San Francisco, CA, June 9, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, delivers the next installment of the celebrated return of the classic RANMA ½ anime series in new, digitally restored, High Definition Limited Edition Blu-ray and Standard Edition DVD Box Sets with the release of Volume 2 – covering Episodes 24-46 – on June 24^th.

VIZ Media is releasing the revered gender-bending martial arts action comedy, based on the popular manga series created by Rumiko Takahashi, in its original Japanese series order across seven Limited Edition Blu-ray and DVD Box Sets. Each contains a wealth of special bonus features and other extras that fans will not want to miss. RANMA ½ is rated TV-14.

The RANMA ½ Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set, Volume 2 carries an MSRP of $54.97 U.S. / $66.15 CAN. The set features 23 episodes on 3 discs, presented for the first time ever in full 1080p High Definition resolution with the series’ original, un-cropped 4:3 aspect ratio. The Standard Edition DVD set is available with an MSRP of $44.82 U.S. / $43.24 CAN.

Guaranteed to become a highlight of any anime fan’s media collection,  the Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set comes packaged in a premium chipboard box with gold foil stamping that is beautifully illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi and also includes a 32-page booklet, complete episode guide, and a collectable full-color RANMA ½ art card. Special bonus features available exclusively on the Blu-ray edition include, ’We love Ranma’ Part 2 – Favorite Scenes,’ the continuation of an ongoing series of insightful interviews tracing the legacy and impact of the groundbreaking anime show.

The RANMA ½ Standard Edition DVD set features 23 episodes presented in HD with the original, un-cropped 4:3 aspect ratio, and bonus features that include clean openings and endings and trailers.

Dialogue options for both DVD and Blu-ray formats include original Japanese with accurate English subtitles or dubbed English audio, along with a secondary subtitle track for signs and songs.

The latest RANMA ½ box set continues the zany adventures of Ranma Saotome, the boy who turns into a girl with a splash of water and always has his hands full fending off enthusiastic admirers! One of the most enthusiastic is Shampoo, the powerful Amazon from China who wants to kill the girl Ranma and marry the boy Ranma! And when she falls into a cursed spring and turns into a cat, the claws come out! But Shampoo has a suitor of her own, Mousse, who shows up one day and challenges Ranma to a battle over…Ranma’s fiancée, Akane? Then, Ranma’s dad, Genma, and Akane’s dad, Soun, studied under the same master, Happosai, who happens to be a bit of a perv. Surely there could be no connection between his sudden appearance and the disappearance of some neighborhood ladies’ undies!

RANMA ½ manga creator Rumiko Takahashi is one of Japan’s most prolific and respected manga artists and is the creator of several long running series including MAISON IKKOKU, RANMA ½, and INUYASHA – all published in North America by VIZ Media. The spotlight on her prolific career began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan's annual New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and also spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another— MAISON IKKOKU ran from 1980 to 1987, RANMA ½ from 1987 to 1996, and INUYASHA from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include MERMAID SAGA, RUMIC THEATER, ONE-POUND GOSPEL, and RIN-NE (all also published in North America by VIZ Media).

For more information on RANMA ½ and other Rumiko Takahashi titles published by VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.

Netflix Addiction: X-Men

By Dr.Sparta

 With “X-men: Days of Future Past” coming in very soon, I can’t help but think of all the different X-men shows I’ve seen. There has been, what my guts tell me to be, a thousand different versions, some way better than others. The one that always seems to storm my brain’s beaches is X-men Evolution. Truly I ask, why do a lot of people despise this show so much?

   My brothers and sisters, this show brought everything the X-men formula had to bring, yet again and again people did not approve of the story or the characters. Was it how the show was delivered? Was it because they were in a type of high school now? I don’t get it. The action was intense, the stories were BRUTAL at times. Granted it would get a bit on my manly nerves at times, but it couldn’t have been that since it only happened a few times.

   I am saddened whales and whalettes that this show didn’t get the recognition it deserved for being the entertaining beast that it truly was. Yet it stands up even now, almost a decade and a half later. Not remembering the horrible third installment to the film franchise “The Last Stand”, that movie was terrible and I cast it down to Hades where it UNGLORIOUSLY belongs. I remember this small, short-lived show that truly brought fun to everything there is to bring about people with special gifts and how people respond to them, before the public knew of their powers and after.

   This show gave a new perspective to the X-men while still getting the story lines and the relationships just right. I truly miss it and for it to be on Netflix gives me a very fond nostalgic breeze. I give this show 4 out of 5 shields, as it EPICALLY deserves. With that I take my leave whales, are you excited for the new “X-Men: Days of Future Past” film coming in? This is Dr. Sparta, giving a nice prescription FOR THE X-Men GLORY!

Netflix Addiction: Dirty Jobs

by Temper

   It’s a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. For eight seasons the Discovery Channel brought us the real life misadventures of host Mike Rowe, as he and his crew shed a light on the thousands of dirty jobs in the U.S. Jobs like Alpaca farmer, large animal veterinarian, marble maker, and many more.

    The show isn't just showcasing the job, it gets a lot of its charm and character from the people Rowe interacts with. Through Rowe's attempts at performing the job he is presenting and generally slowing down the process due to his inexperience, the program showcases the skills developed after years of performing these dirty jobs. Rowe is constantly impressed and taken aback by the speed, precision and efficiency with which many of these people carry out their jobs. The host is constantly reminding the viewer that even though the show is called Dirty Jobs and many of the jobs can boil down to just menial labor, the people performing them deserve no less respect than your average lawyer, doctor, or similar professional because without those people "civilized life wouldn't be possible for the rest of us." 

    Secondary to the people whose jobs Rowe and his crew are visiting, Dirty Jobs shines a light on the set up and general process that the Dirty Jobs team goes through. Crawling into tight holes with big cameras and putting themselves in the way of dangerous equipment and animals all to show us how Rowe and those he visits perform the jobs.  Through the series you get to know the crew and Rowe for being just a silly group of people willing to film the harshest, dirtiest, darkest, grimiest jobs for your entertainment, and a bit of education on the side.

  Dirty Jobs however does suffer from the missing episode ailment, where many of the televised episodes are not on Netflix (as far as I can remember) for some reason or another. Fortunately the episodes that are on Netflix are some of the more memorable ones from Dirty Jobs. Sadly Discovery did not renew Dirty Jobs after its eighth season. So next time you want to complain about your job, why not queue up an episode? And be glad you don't have to inspect the hundred year old San Francisco sewer system.