New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup is an esteemed chunk of prime time real estate for being the (mostly) consistent source of funny that it is. And in just a couple of weeks, it’ll play host to three consecutive hours of single-camera comedy, certainly the only place for it on broadcast – and maybe all of TV.

There are, of course, way too many frickin’ channels these days. One can never be too sure.

Besides that single-camera aspect, the programs – at least those I’m familiar with – share a pretty significant quirk that, I think, has largely gone unnoticed by the public. Community’s got it, and may not even know it. The Office has been doing battle with it for a good two seasons now. 30 Rock, I think, doesn’t have the heart to ditch its peculiarity. And Parks and Recreation… well… Parks and Rec may have actually broken the curse. Huzzah!

I’m referring to, of course, the rare thing that every popular NBC comedy shares: They’ve all got one pesky, ill-conceived character who you’d rather wish wasn’t mousin’ around with your other favorites on Thursday nights.

I’ll begin with Community, since that show kicks the night off, too. For the underprivileged, the show is an oftentimes brilliant comedy about an eclectic group of people moving through community college together. As much as viewers may want to compartmentalize it as a parody of institutionalized life or, hey, romantic comedy, its second season certainly begs to differ. We hardly ever see the chitlins in class anymore. Instead, we get Goodfellas spoof one week, stop-motion episode the next. It’s wonderful.

Anyway, its freshman season depended a ton on a Spanish class taught by Senor Chang. It’s there that the main characters came to meet, embark on study group together and so on. In May, though, we came to find out that Senor Chang (Ken Jeong) didn’t have any actual teaching qualifications to speak of, and would need to, come fall, re-matriculate into Greendale Community College as a student. It was a creative way to wrap up Chang’s arc as the show’s zany Spanish professor while introducing a new storyline for him to chew on as Senor Chang, the student.

This season, though, Senor Chang really couldn’t be more out of place. He’s the friend nobody likes (Karen, to you Dane Cook fiends). Or, he’s a symbol for what the U.S. must be – to the world at large – at a climate control summit. Why is Ken Jeong still on Community?

At the time it premiered, he was really the only name, save for Chevy Chase. Joel McHale wasn’t a big deal, Alison Brie was (if you could recognize her!) that chick from Mad Men and Donald Glover wasn’t Donald Glover. I get why he was hired for that reason.

Yet his character serves no true purpose anymore, and maybe it’s taken the Community writers a half a season to recognize that. He’s working real hard to become a part of the study group, and it’s not working out for him. I do find it funny that the writers are toying with the idea of him fathering Shirley’s possible bun in the oven, but I don’t know whether a) that’ll sustain and b) it justifies his on-screen presence every few episodes.

Continued:       1       2