New TV Show: Community

The 1985 film "Fletch" starring Chevy Chase is one of my all-time favorite movies. And the long-running television show on E! called "Talk Soup" (which is now just "The Soup" and is currently hosted by Joel McHale) has been one of my favorite shows dating back almost 20 years now, when it was originally hosted by Greg Kinnear (who later went on to win a best supporting actor Oscar for "As Good As It Gets"). So maybe it's no surprise, then, that I really like the new sitcom "Community," at least the first two episodes that have aired so far. But I haven't liked many TV sitcoms over the last 20 years or so now, so that has surprised me.

The show stars Joel McHale as a wise-cracking, deeply cynical lawyer who is forced to go to back to community college, and co-stars, among others, Chevy Chase as another student. Chevy Chase's role is written to be like the "Fletch"-era Chevy Chase, too, which is great. And like "Fletch," the script for "Community" is packed with pop cultural references and witty retorts that come fast and furious. Here's a link to the first half hour episode that originally aired a couple of weeks ago: