"Community" on NBC HD - Page 42

I'll take credit for that! :-p

As for the rest of your post, I agree. Anyone who thinks that Chevy is important needs to watch the foosball episode. It's certainly not the "best episode ever", but it's clever and funny - and Chevy is in the episode for no more than 60 seconds. His presence is not missed.

It may not be one of the best episodes ever, but it's definitely one of my favorites. Troy, Abed, and Annie's storyline to be accurate. "You moving in here was supposed to tone us down!"

First Ahbed and his buddy fight and make up at the marriage, and now they fight again.

Cmon

After hearing the leaked voicemail, I'm leaning towards your opinion of it being a gag, but knowing how Chase can be....I'm not 100% sold.

The following was a response to VisionOn's similar post in the HOTP thread:

It (the Chase/Harmon feud) did make the Huffingtington Post's Entertainment front page, which is where I first saw it over the weekend. Google "Chevy Chase" today & there are news reports everywhere.

The various reports state that the primary argument (there have reportedly been several), Chase's storming off the set on the last day of shooting & Harmon's "roast" of Chevy @ the wrap party went down some time ago, as the show already has wrapped for the year.

I do agree that the timing of it going public is a little fishy. But Chase does have a reputation for being difficult (or a douchebag, depending on your POV). OTOH, it could also be a massive gag being perpetrated by Chase, Harmon & Co as a form of "viral promotion". Would not out it past them, nor would I put Chase's behavior as actually being legit, either. Agree with VisionOn, though - I will believe it when I see it.

If true - and NBC does in fact grant the show a 4th season....I say bring Starburns into the study group....or reopen the door for Chang.

Explain to satisfy my curiousity....as my "wish" for Starburns was simply my weak attempt @ humor. I'd imagine Chang would be who fills the slot, as I'm sure his need to be part of the group would outweigh his apparent enjoyment at being campus security.

I don't want Chang in the group. The time he gets now is already too much. He's best in really really really small doses.

But you HAVE seen it...and heard it. From Chase and from Harmon. Not sure how much more proof you need. April 1st has come and gone. Its not a prank (and I'm not sure what would make it clever and/or funny if it was)

Not sure why people have trouble accepting that a notoriously difficult actor is being difficult.

I feel the same way. He's already getting more story than Pierce. Chang seems to be almost TOO over-the-top...and that's saying a lot considering the show takes place in a cartoonisg-anything-goes universe.

I have no trouble with it. Coming from Chase, I am not that surprised. He certainly has a history of being a self-centered dick with zero humor about himself. Just ask Howard Stern or Bill Maher.

Chase & the late Johnny Carson were reportedly friends & regular poker players. Johnny had a reputation of also being a bit of an a-hole off-camera. Maybe thats why he & Chevy reportedly got along so well. THe point is....I'm not in denial here. It may very well be true.

OTOH, I also would not put it past Harmon to be punking everyone...perhaps even having the entire cast in on the gag. Chase's reputation surely makes the gag all the more believable, if it is in fact a gag. The timing of the news may very well just be a coincidence....or not. The 1st reports look to have surfaced on 3/31, but most poured forth on 4/1.

I tell you what...when the offical press release is issued that Chase has left the show, I'll make sure to come back & gladly take your "I told you so" like a man.

I've watched all the blooper reels from seasons 1 and 2 and there's a stark difference between the footage of Ken and everyone else. Kens bloopers all revolve around him trying to find the right level of crazy, whereas everyone else's bloopers come naturally. He's too much of a cartoon 99 percent of the time for me. I think him joining the group would result in something similar to what happened when Buddy joined the group in season 1. Instead of being funny, it was uncomfortable, which was the point of the Buddy episode. I think it was, anyway. I hope Chevy doesn't leave, because some of the best moments of the show are his reactions to the group and the reactions of others to him.

Who else could come up with the scary Halloween story in which he knocks out Troy with his floor-lengthed penis?

as was my horrible attempt at a humorous reply, because

Ahh...and hence the spoiler tags.

Copy/pasted from dad1153's post over @ HOTP - I also read this earlier today:

Critic's Notes
Chevy Chase Vs. 'Community': A Brief History of Chevy Chase Being A Jerk
By Mike Ryan, HuffingtonPost.com - Apr. 1, 2012

This weekend, reports surfaced of a feud between Community creator Dan Harmon and one of the show's ensemble stars, Chevy Chase. As Chase told The Huffington Post about his Community role, "I probably won't be around that much longer."

I want to like Chevy Chase. I find myself very nostalgic toward his movies -- from the original National Lampoon's Vacation to even less successful films like Seems Like Old Times -- but, boy, does he make it hard. The problem is, Chevy Chase is known to be "difficult." Would it have been nice if Chase approached his role on Community with some contrition about past behavior and a little self-realization? Yes, of course. Alas, that wasn't meant to be.

The word "difficult" has been thrown around so often in the last couple of days as a way to describe Chase, that it may be time for a refresher course on what exactly that means. Now, this isn't to say that Harmon doesn't get his fair share of the blame -- scolding Chase in public, with Chase's family present, seems like a low blow -- but, well, Chase does have a history. Especially when it comes to another NBC series, Saturday Night Live.

Live From New York, the still excellent oral history of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Miller, paints an ugly picture of the beleaguered star over the course of 37 years. Using that book as a source, here's a brief history of Chevy Chase being a jerk on SNL.

· Chevy Chase was the breakout star of the first season of Saturday Night Live. After Chase's first full season, he left and was replaced by Bill Murray. When Chase returned to host in the show's third season, it wasn't exactly what one would call a welcomed return. John Belushi goaded Murray into confronting Chase before the show started, resulting in what may or may not have been a full-blown fistfight (depending who's recounting the story).

· Director John Landis, who was there that night, recalled one of the greatest putdowns ever spoken , "I don't know Bill Murray, but he's screaming, you know, foaming at the mouth, 'f***ing Chevy,' and in anger he says, 'Medium talent!'"

· Jane Curtin had taken over "Weekend Update" after Chase left the show. When Chase returned to host, he also felt like he should have his role on "Update" back. Curtin recalled, "Chevy proceeded to say that he should be doing 'Update' that week, and I said okay, and then he went through this whole thing about how his fans wanted to see him." Chase also told Curtin that he found women unfunny.

· Chase was at his worst when he hosted the show on November 16, 1985 -- which happened to only be Lorne Michaels' second back as producer after a five year hiatus.

Terry Sweeney, who was the first openly gay cast member in the show's history, called Chase a "monster."

According to Sweeney, Chase pitched a sketch where Sweeney would have AIDS and get weighed every week. (Yeesh!) Later, Chase apologized, but Sweeney remembered, "He was really furious that he had to apologize to me. He was just beside himself. And it was just awful. He acted horribly to me. He acted horribly to everyone."

· Jon Lovitz backed up Sweeney's claim, "So Chevy looks at Terry Sweeney and goes, 'You're gay, right?' Terry goes, 'Yes, what would you like me to do for you?' Chevy goes, 'Well, you can start by licking my balls.'" Chase was on such bad behavior that week, the cast resorted to hiding from him.

· Chase hosted again on October 7, 1995. Tim Meadows, a level-headed and long-time cast member, recalled that Chase was a "smart ass" and his interactions with people were akin to witnessing a "car accident"

"He didn't care about what he said," Meadows said. "He had no qualm about telling you you're an idiot."

· Chase hosted one last time on February 15, 1997. He did not impress a young cast member on the show at the time by the name of Will Ferrell. "The worst host was Chevy Chase," Ferrell admitted in Live From New York. "I don't know if he was on something, but he was just kind of going around the room and systematically riffing. First it was on the guys, playfully making fun, until, when he got to one of our female writers, he made some reference like, 'Maybe you can give me a hand job later.' In hindsight, I wish we'd all gotten up and walked out of the room."

Concluded Ferrell: "I think you'll find a consensus on the Chevy Chase thing."

Mike Ryan is senior entertainment writer for The Huffington Post. He has written for Wired Magazine, VanityFair.com and GQ.com. He likes Star Wars a lot.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-r...l?ref=tv&ir=TV

Another random thought on the Chevy Chase business...

While the odds of Earth being struck by an asteroid tomorrow evening are probably a tad higher...bear with me..

Let's say the show gets a 4th season pickup. Chase exits - and a safe assumption would be that Pierce has died. The group learns of his demise from a sibling/cousin or other Hawthorne family member/associate...portrayed in a one-off cameo by Bill Murray.

And make sure his character refers to Pierce as "medium talent" at some point in the episode.

Yeah - I know....not gonna happen. Fun to consider though. While getting Murray onto the set of a sitcom would be damn near impossible, maybe he'd be willing simply as a parting "f**k you" to the d-bag he replaced on SNL. It also makes for a bit of a comedic nod to the Charlie Sheen/Chuck Lorre trainwreck from last year, such meta-gags being part of the COMMUNITY wheelhouse.

Somebody get Dan Harmon on the phone....and give him the number to that voice mail Murray supposedly checks 3-4 times a year to mull over offers.

TV Notes
Why the Chevy Chase-Dan Harmon Feud Won't Determine Community's Future
By Josef Adalian, New York Magazine's 'Vulture' Blog - Apr. 2, 2012

Back in February, Vulture was on the set of Community during its final day of production for its third season. At one point, as cast members gathered to rehearse a scene, series star Joel McHale started making duck noises and began playfully frisking Chevy Chase. Chase pretended to act annoyed at McHale's antics, but then flashed a broad smile, and rehearsal proceeded. All appeared well in Greendale. But according to a report this weekend on Deadline, the mood on the set turned sour not long after we left: Chase stormed off before shooting his last scene of the season finale; Harmon taunted Chase at the show's wrap party with a "F*** you, Chevy!" in front of his wife and daughter; and an angry Chase left a nasty voice mail on Harmon's phone, which the writer played for a group of snickering people, the audio track of which was then leaked online. Also over the weekend, the Huffington Post's Maggie Furlong posted an interview with Chase, conducted two days before this writer was on set, in which the actor disparaged Community's writing, saying that he's "always [had] creative issues with this show" and that he "probably won't be around that much longer, frankly."

While Chase and Harmon's differences have been well known by insiders for a while, it surprised some loyal fans who were already developing a nervous condition over the tenuous future of their favorite sitcom. They then panicked on Reddit, urging people not to call attention to the feud as it might somehow be a tipping point for NBC to cancel the show. One might refer them to the Charlie Sheen and Two and a Half Men situation for reassurance on just how much tension has to build before it affects a network's programming decision, but let's take a deep breath and look at the history of the Chase-Harmon feud, television business practices, and Community's pre-scandal renewal odds to see just what if anything might come of this.

First off, there's plenty of circumstantial evidence to suggest this is nothing new, that Chase and Harmon have tussled before and without dire consequences. Last summer, Vulture heard from reliable sources that Chase might not return for season three (a possibility left open by the season-two episode in which Chase's Pierce Hawthorne exits the study group). One source suggested Chase's behavior was behind the possible exit; another said financial considerations were at play, with Sony Pictures Television the show's production company trying to lower the show's production budget. Obviously, the rumor proved to be unfounded; Chase has been a full cast member throughout this season. But at no point during Vulture's vetting of the rumor did any sources take issue with the notion that Harmon and Chase were not the best of friends.

Another indication that Chase has never really fit into the Greendale universe as neatly as the other actors on the show came during a 2010 Paleyfest panel. Harmon, sitting on the same stage as Chase, told attendees, "The cast minus Chevy is so nice." The scribe played it as a joke, and Chase played right along. But Harmon then went on to recount the time Chase said of Harmon behind his back, "I wonder what it's like to be fat and gay," and later called him a prick. Harmon made light of the incident by noting how honored he was to be harassed by a comedy icon such a Chase so much so that he texted his girlfriend about it but for those of us in the audience, it was pretty clear Chase was an outsider, and not just because of his age and longtime celeb status. Almost as awkward was when series star Joel McHale cited Chase's comedy chops but noted that he'd be even funnier "if he read the scripts" (just ... kidding?); when searching for something else nice to say about Chase, McHale couldn't seem to make eye contact with the audience. (Ironically, the most sincere praise that McHale was able to muster was about how nice Chase's family is.) In fact, the only unqualified compliments that anyone other than an exuberant Ken Jeong could muster about Chevy himself was in praise of his past work.

The uneasiness of the relationship has almost become something of a subtextual companion series for diehard fans and critics: How much of Pierce's arrogant, loathed behavior is really Harmon commenting on Chase, whose reputation as being "difficult" extends back to his days on Saturday Night Live? The tension has even supplied Harmon and others with fodder for Twitter. Last month, Harmon tweeted to inform fans of his shock that his "dad took my side at the wrap party in an argument with a gaffer about whether Chevy is a dick!" And writer Chris McKenna last week jokingly offered to give away a Community DVD to anyone who would "fart the words 'comedy legend' into a ziploc and send to Landshark Industries, L.A., 900[French gibberish]." Earlier, he offered a contest to win "a Chevy un-read script, win any copy of this week's show."

Let's assume for the moment that the Chase-Harmon relationship has become permanently broken. (And that's all we can do now: A rep for Sony said Harmon had no comment.) Consider how Chase told HuffPo that he expected not to be back next season anyway. This could be either owing to: his own wishes (he wants out because he doesn't like the show); his recognition that relations had gotten untenable between him and Harmon, and so felt that he should move on; or the fact that he saw it likely that he was going to be fired and wanted to preemptively save face. But any of these scenarios set the scene to make it easy for him to leave, by his own decision or otherwise. And the show would likely not suffer. In fact, it could in some ways help Community's prospects.

For one thing, despite the fact that he was easily the most famous person in the cast when the show began back in 2009, his character has never been central to the show. Oftentimes, he's seemed more of a fringe character than non-study-group members such as Chang and Dean Pelton. (One sure sign the folks at Sony and Community have little love for Chase: The Deadline post about the current chaos included the random factoid that casting the actor was all Ben Silverman's idea. Assuming some of Deadline's intel came from set or production company sources, that's a telling thing for them to have mentioned. In TV land these days, the names of Silverman and former boss Jeff Zucker are pretty much synonymous with epic fail or bad idea. See also: the supersize Jay Leno Show.) It's unclear if the current NBC regime has any feelings one way or other about Chase, but it seems hard to believe the network's decision to renew or cancel Community will be affected one iota should Harmon and producer Sony Pictures Television tell the Peacock that Chase won't be returning.

Indeed, it's possible a Chase exit could be beneficial to the show's odds of survival: Losing the actor from the cast would trim at least a million off of the show's annual budget, assuming the actor makes between $60,000 and $100,000 per episode. While that's not huge savings in TV, the typical network sitcom costs around $2 million or more per episode, and with Sony looking to make Community as cost effective as possible, eliminating the former SNL star line item from the show's budget can only be seen as a plus. And let's face it: Community needs every weapon it can find as it fights for renewal. Thankfully, things have been looking just a little bit better in recent weeks.

A just concluded syndication deal with Comedy Central ensures NBC (a co-producer of Community) a healthy chunk of change for the show's repeats; canceling it now would literally mean throwing away millions of dollars in back-end revenue, since every episode means more money. It also helps that the show returned to very strong ratings on March 15 and since then has held up nicely, even against an original episode of The Big Bang Theory last week. Community has also benefited from being something of a giant among pygmies: It's scoring better ratings for anything on NBC Thursday not named The Office. Its spring average is also better than Wednesday comedies such as Whitney and the recently debuted Bent. At this point, the biggest thing standing between Community and a fourth season is NBC's crop of comedy pilots. With comedies now doing better than dramas in prime time, there's something of a gold rush vibe among network execs. That's why the Peacock made twice the usual number of comedy prototypes this spring: It's desperately hoping to replace its cult Thursday sitcoms with a newer generation of star-powered chuckle machines powered by the likes of Roseanne, Sarah Silverman, and Dane Cook. If NBC falls in love with an unusually large number of these newbies, it could put Community even more at risk. However, given how many promising new NBC half-hours bombed this year, Peacock brass will likely decide to keep Community around as an insurance policy, perhaps ordering around thirteen episodes of it and 30 Rock to make sure it has backups if nobody laughs at the new offerings.

Bottom line: The odds of the Greendale gang graduating to a fourth season look decent. Whether Chevy Chase will stay on campus is another question altogether, but one that won't have much to do with whether Community passes or fails.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/04/chevy...d-renewal.html

IN today's local newspaper (Fresno Bee), entertainment columnist/critic Rick Bentley's column spoke of a recent interview he had w/ Joel McHale. Bentley & McHale apparently go way back, as Bentley was one of the first TV critics to comment on/praise McHale & the actor has not forgotten it (in the column, Bentley states that every time McHale sees him, he gives the journalist a big hug - not something one might expect from either the real McHale or his sitcom character)

In light of the Chase news, I emailed Bentley earlier today. He soon responded & stated that for one, the interview bits from his column today occurred a few weeks back, just before the show returned to the air. Bentley states that he plans on seeing McHale in a couple of weeks & should be able to dig up more info then. He also stated that info from others he knows in the industry that are in the loop are saying that the situation is certainly NOT a case of fans getting "punked", but that during this last interview and/or any others involving the Community cast/crew, word of clashes with Chase are nothing new on the set. McHale has apparently said to Bentley in the past that "Chevy is always just 'being Chevy'" Take that however you like.

I don't see the point of punking the fans anyway. I hope it all works out for the good of the show.

Chevy's character is so under/mis-used that I frankly wouldn't miss Piers much if he's written out... unfortunately. Dick or not - Chevy's funny and still LOVE Caddyshack and the Vacation movies.

True - while the guy has probably been in more BAD films than good (and then there was the whole talk show host debacle), certainly his early work was mostly funny. I can still watch the 1st FLETCH for the 5,000th time & laugh. And he & Murray managed to get along enough during their brief screen time together in Caddyshack, not to mention the couple of films he did w/ Ackroyd in the 80s.

The punking/pranking thing never made much sense anyhow. Community is ridiculously clever and I can't think of anything less clever than pretending that a notoriously difficult actor was being difficult. It's just inviting media outlets to jump on the band wagon and dredge up old business (like the Huffington Post piece above) or, God forbid, invite recent criticism. Why draw attention to the fact that one of the cast members is a jerk?

Cries of "any publicity is good publicity" in 3...2...

This reminds me of a Larry Sanders episode where he's talking to Catherine O'Hara.

Caty: Beau, my husband. The guy I keep having to introduce you to.
Larry: Right.
C: The last time you met him for the first time was at Chevy Chase's party.
L: That's right. Do you get along with him?
C: Beau?
L: No, Chevy.
C: No.
L: Neither do I. I don't know I'm comfortable. Comfortable.
C: That's why I married Beau.
L: Can you picture him hosting a talk show?
C: Beau?
L: No, Chevy.
C: No.

I think Richard Erdman's Leonard could fill in for Chevy quite nicely. This is merely speculation, but I suspect he is someone everyone on set likes.

+1. The dynamic of hate/disdain for Leonard would fit the empty Pierce slot nicely. Something tells me he could toss off a few inappropriate comments just as easily.

TV Notes
Dan Harmon Apologizes to Chevy Chase and Community Fans
By Kyle Buchanan, New York Magazine's 'Vulture' Blog - Apr. 3, 2012

After a blow-up between Chevy Chase and Community showrunner Dan Harmon blew up online this week, the normally talkative Harmon clammed up, save for the occasional vague tweet at his fans and detractors. Today, though, Harmon wrote a long blog entry about the matter, even though he acknowledged that "I’m really not supposed to be commenting on the situation, which I think is great advice, because anything I say will extend the story’s life and cause more fans discomfort ... If you’re reading this and you work in PR, I know, I know, I’m sorry." In the blog post, Harmon basically apologized to Chase for playing his angry voicemail in front of a crowded room of fans (a recording of which then wound its way to the internet) but the bulk of his mea culpa was about addressing his own bad behavior and the effect it might have on the future of the show.

Wrote Harmon:

The people that I really want to apologize to are the fans of the show. If you want to know what’s on my mind that I consider worth the attention of five million people, that’s the place to look, Thursdays at 8 on TV. Those are the stories and the jokes and observations about life and personal confessions that I intend for that large a venue. There is also a monthly show I do in the back of a comic book store in Los Angeles in which I say things that I intend for 150 people to hear. I tell stories about what an unlovable ass**** I am and the trouble it causes for me. I rant and rave about the world’s failure to meet my standards, I talk about being drunk and stupid and heartbroken and childish and crazy and self-obsessed and self loathing and how much I love myself for it. The people that show up are paying ten dollars to listen to it, if you can believe that, and they made the drive out and put that cash on the barrel because they love or hate me but are fascinated by how much I fascinate myself - or their boyfriend made them go.

It was in that venue, months ago, that I made the horrible, childish, self-obsessed, unaware, naive and unprofessional decision to play someone’s voicemail to me. He didn’t intend for 150 people to listen and giggle at it, and I didn’t intend for millions of people to read angry reports about it. I was doing what I always do, and always get in trouble for doing, and always pay a steep price for doing. I was thinking about myself and I was thinking about making people laugh. I was airing my dirty laundry for a chuckle. I ask people at those shows repeatedly to please think twice about youtubing clips of it because it doesn’t play well outside the back of a comic book store. I always accept the risk that a well-intending fan will upload clips and something scandalous will break wide, but the giant mistake I made was involving someone else in that game of russian roulette, someone that didn’t have an opportunity to say “yeah, hilarious, let’s do this.” That was a dumb, unclassy, inconsiderate move on my part. I’m very sorry it’s reflecting poorly on the show.

Added the showrunner, "Now I’ve got [to] finish editing episode 319, and get politely scolded for commenting on the situation."

http://www.vulture.com/2012/04/dan-h...nity-fans.html

Eh? They can kill off the Chase character and no one would really miss him.

Changlorious Basterds! Love it.

I loved Changlorious Basterds and Jeff asking Keith David if he was part of The Cape, but it's not an episode I think I'll ever want to watch again. It was just too slow and not in a format I enjoyed, although I loved Keith David's narration, especially every time he mocked Britta. Namely, "Oohhhhhh yeah, that's a good one." I'll probably watch it again when iTunes puts it in my account tomorrow to see if my opinion changes. Mostly I'm just happy that Troy and Abed are back together. The ending was my favorite part of the entire episode. Specifically Troy stating he'd rather be home with his wife, and the fake specials also airing on Greendale TV.

That's Enter-Chang-Ment!

The more I think about it, the more things I remember loving. Gatorade IVs. This might actually be a classic. Gonna watch it on iPad tomorrow morning.

From Labs to Riches: The Annie's Boobs Story (soon to be a major novelization!)

The concept episodes are usually the best and this one was no exception! The narration and Ken Burn's documentary style was just perfect. I loved all the confusion with the battle map...English Memorial the explorer, LOL!