Community Season 6
Community has always been a show that felt like it belonged on the Internet. It shouldn’t be a surprise, given show creator Dan Harmon’s history with Web productions. He got his start working with Channel 101, an Web-based TV network that launched all sorts of weird, absurdist videos. Community stood out on NBC as an oddball comedy full of talented people, and packed with gags that network TV viewers just didn’t get.
Now the show is hosted where it may have belonged all along: on the Web. Yahoo bought up the franchise after NBC decided not to continue airing it, and a whole new season of the cult classic is being released through Yahoo’s Screen video service. The cast has gone through some dramatic changes and familiar faces have departed, but new faces including Paget Brewster, fill in perfectly and make sure the ensemble doesn’t miss a beat. Community has never been afraid to experiment with format, but now that it’s online, the Harmon and the cast can really go all out.
Dummy
Dummy is a little forgotten film from 2002 that slipped by just about everyone’s radar, even though it stars actors like Adrien Brody and Milla Jovovich. It grossed under $80,000 in the box office, but give it a watch, and you’ll wonder how it could have been so ignored. It’s a charming family comedy about a socially awkward guy who finds comfort in expressing himself through a ventriloquist dummy. His friend and punk rock chick finds a chance to perform in an unlikely place, and the two struggle to find their niches in life together.
The Zero Theorem
From the mind of Terry Gilliam comes The Zero Theorem, a sci-fi story about a reclusive computer genius searching for the meaning of life. Christoph Waltz stars as the computer programmer who sets out to deal with his existential angst. The director and former Monty Python member unofficially puts the cap on his Brazil trilogy, which started with the 1985 film Brazil and includes 12 Monkeys. Though it’s not officially related to those films, The Zero Theorem maintains many of the same themes and carries the Orwellian worry, paired up with Gilliam’s biting satire.
Garfunkel and Oates Season 1
Comedy musical duo Garfunkel and Oates got their own TV show from IFC last year, as part of the latest addition to the network’s growing collection of podcasters and comedians turned stars of their own TV vehicles. Based loosely on the lives of band members Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, the show follows the two as they try to make it big in Hollywood. It has the joyous buzz of Glee, but mixes in the music and sketch of Flight of the Conchords. The two stars are too hilarious and charming to not fall in love with.
Marvel & ESPN Films Present: 1 of 1: Genesis
1 of 1: Genesis seems like the perfect bit of corporate synergy come together. Marvel, the billion dollar company churning out super hero hits, and ESPN, the biggest sports network in the world, are both owned by Disney. The company found a way to match Marvel’s expertise of super heroes with ESPN’s superhuman athletes to create an odd, but interesting intersection between the real world and the fictional one. It doesn’t hit on too many tough issues (chemically enhanced super heroes and steroid-injecting players, for example), but it’s a fun watch with plenty of interesting figures.
