Community

[Civet]

Has anyone watched this show? I recently started watching it. There's a character on it that is suggested to have Asperger's though he does not seem to know what Asperger's is, himself. The initial way they bring it up is kind of insulting but the way they've dealt with it since then has been really good and as realistic as you can get with a sitcom type show. The character is called Abed and he seems to be obsessed with film and tv, and is often referencing film and tv characters and comparing real life situations to actor or movie interactions and classing situations as different genre stereotypes. He is socially awkward and a bit "odd" but he seems to get on pretty well himself. There are a few episodes where other characters "rally" to try to help him with different situations only to find he has his own way of dealing with things that helps him get by just as well as anyone else.

[ruth]

What is the name of the show, Civet? Oh, nevermind. I see that it is the thread's title, Community.

Yes, I do remember seeing this show one time and liking it because it was so strange. I like Chevy Chase. I don't remember what the episode was about but I didn't get any impressions about Abed being on the spectrum from that one episode. I may have seen it when we were on vacation and we only get a few channels and they are different than the channels we get here. If I knew what night it shows, the time and the channel I wouldn't mind watching it again and even getting into the show and its characters because I do remember being drawn to it and not switching it off, as I've said, because it was so different. And also because, there wasn't much else on.

[goddessoflubbock]

I've been meaning to catch this show - I think it is on too early in the evening, we're still doing homework, baths, etc. Rob Lowe left Brothers and Sisters to be on it so I was intrigued.

[Sophist]

Never heard of it. I'm SOOOO out of the television loop, it's not even funny.

[Civet]

Yes, I do remember seeing this show one time and liking it because it was so strange. I like Chevy Chase. I don't remember what the episode was about but I didn't get any impressions about Abed being on the spectrum from that one episode. I may have seen it when we were on vacation and we only get a few channels and they are different than the channels we get here. If I knew what night it shows, the time and the channel I wouldn't mind watching it again and even getting into the show and its characters because I do remember being drawn to it and not switching it off, as I've said, because it was so different.

It's on NBC on Thursdays at 8pm est. The premiere for season 2 is this week.

Abed is more subtle than a lot of aspie/autie characters on TV/movies which is probably why I appreciate the depiction. He is not diagnosed so it's just been suggested he has Asperger's (which was sort of done in an insulting manner in the first episode, though now they seem to reference back to it without actually saying it.) He has little facial expression and talks quickly and quotes and references movies a lot. He's said in one episode that he uses movies to connect to people because he does not know how else to do so.


The show itself is pretty good, I there were a couple of really good episodes in Season 1 (such as "Modern Warfare" which was about paintball and is sort of parodying a lot of cheesy action and sci fi movies, and "Contemporary American Poultry," which was a more Abed heavy story about how the group gains control over the college by controlling the distribution of the much coveted cafeteria chicken fingers, and is likened to a mafia movie). Not all of the episodes parody movies but there are a lot of pop culture and film references in them. I think the show started off kind of shaky especially in the first two episodes, but it's slowly gaining momentum and seems to have found its footing toward the end of Season 1.

I hadn't watched it until a couple of weeks ago, myself, Sophist, though a friend of mine kept telling me to check it out. I wouldn't say it's always "laugh out loud" entertaining but it does have its moments.

[CookingWithScience]

I've never personally watched "Community", but heard it was a good show. Obviously, with that said, I wasn't aware that there was an autistic (or autistic-like) character on the show. While the first episode may have seemed insulting, I will give them credit for not outwardly describing his condition. If they did, millions of people would go about judging or labeling the wrong people as autistic. People WITH autism have different types of autism, so it would be unfair to label a character as such. Many doctors extensively observe children (and adults) in order to come the conclusion that one has autism or something else.