S06.E01: Ladders / S06.E02: Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care

[formerlyfreedom]

Dean Pelton hires an administrative consultant to put things in order at Greendale, pitting Abed against Jeff, Britta, and Annie.

 

As Jeff and Frankie look to extract Dean Pelton from his expensive virtual reality world, Britta uncovers an uncomfortable truth about her parents George and Deb and her friends' generosity.

 

March 17, 2015 - it's baaaackkkkkk!

 

Please note - the topic will be locked until the episodes have dropped on Yahoo Screen at 12:01 a.m. PT, 1:01 a.m. MT, 2:01 a.m. CT, and 3:01 a.m. ET. This topic is for episode discussion only please!

[godonlyknows]

It's back! And I really enjoyed it too. Still not 100% sold on Frankie but I did like her way of dealing with Abed and this episode was still way better than I was expecting. It's odd seeing Annie drink. Very happy Yvette came back for a scene, although I didn't find it to be particularly amusing.

[VCRTracking]

I just finished the first episode. Seeing Shirley at the end made me so happy. Loved just  the idea of her spinning off to be the chef of a wheelchair bound detective but actually seeing it and that they cast Steven Weber was great. As someone who loved the short lived "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" I like seeing Paget Brewster in a comedy again and playing a similar character. I like how they in their own meta way through Abed introduced what Frankie Dart's role in the show will be.

 

ETA: Just watched the second. I already like Keith David's Elroy and his interactions with Jeff. The virtual reality stuff with the Dean didn't really make me laugh until Elroy went in. As a Clue fan I liked the casting of Martin Mull(Colonel Mustard) and Leslie Ann Warren(Miss Scarlett) as Britta's parents. Finding out they've already had contact with the other members of the study group including Chang was funny. I also liked Frankie and Britta's talk in the car. Liked the Portugese Gremlins trailer at the end.

Edited March 17, 2015 by VCRTracking

[godonlyknows]

Didn't enjoy the second episode as much. Really didn't find anything to do with the Dean or virtual reality funny although I am glad Keith David is back on my screen. I think Frankie is starting to fit in and glad Britta's finally moving in with Annie and Abed (although how much could her rent really be for a two bed apartment split three ways?). 

 

They went outside and not just on campus! It felt weird. The show's been so claustrophobic this past couple of years it doesn't seem real.

 

Seems like people who emailed Diane from the promos is getting sent a frisbee.

[VCRTracking]

Also why was Garrett so mad at the end of the first episode? Was he angry he wasn't invited to be part of the group instead of Frankie.

 

Liked that Todd made an appearance.

 

I'm not sure if that was really Richard Erdman playing young Leonard in the flashback or an amazing lookalike.

[Splash]

With all of the cast changes, I was a little worried, but they has a similar spark to earlier season episodes to me.  I really loved seeing Garrett, Leonard, Vicki, and Todd again and hope that they will stick around.  I think was disappointed me the most with the past couple of seasons was that the group felt really isolated from the larger Greendale community and I missed the group interacting with people other than just the Dean.

 

I think that Frankie will fit in well with the group and I liked that she immediately went to Abeb for help fitting in.  She said she was the normal one in a family of crazy people and, according to the personality tests they all took in the season 3 Halloween episode, Abeb is also apparently the sane one in a group of crazy people.

 

I'm hoping that Elroy and Jeff will be partners in crime, like Troy and Abed were.  I liked their interaction and it would be interesting to see how the group would react to him becoming fast friends with a new member.

 

One thing I do think would be kind of funny would be to see people in the background losing frisbees every episode, since it would be such a Greendale thing fix the roof and promptly forget about what started the problem.

[BeatLA24]

Liked the Portugese Gremlins trailer at the end.

 

That was an amazing trailer. I think I about lost it with the rainbow making them even more evil.

[desertflower]

I enjoyed the new episodes; it was fun seeing some of those secondary characters again, especially Todd. Not sure why Garrett was so angry at the end but I'm assuming they will probably follow up on that. Or maybe not! Loved the gang trying to be old-timey in the speak easy, and Britta failing at it. I thought Chang was used pretty well; he wasn't overdone. I like the new characters, too.

Did anyone else have issues with the timing of the ads on Yahoo? It seemed like they cut to ads slightly before they were supposed to, and then when it came back there were a few times where the audio was out for just a second or two.

Anyway, glad to have the show back!

[formerlyfreedom]

YESSSS! That's what I've been missing!

 

First episode was really good, liked the idea of the frisbees and the Ladders class? The little look of doubt on Annie's face as the teacher started to go TOO high on the ladder? Yeah. It's back.

 

The second episode had a few weak spots, but Keith David makes EVERYTHING better. I'm really excited this is back, you guys!

[Guest]

I'm so glad this show is back! I enjoyed both episodes. Keith David is perfect. Not sold on Frankie yet but it's early days. I did like the way she was with Abed, and Abed's montage of changing clothes while emailing Diane was hilarious.

 

I'm really glad we got to see the outside again and even went to Britta's parents house. It just feels more well rounded somehow.

 

I'm sad that Troy and Shirley aren't in it anymore and they're definitely missed. But hopefully they'll do some more cameos, yes? Please!

 

I actually thought the Dean was pretty funny in 602. JESUS WEPT!

 

Oh, I think Garret was mad at the end because he was injured by all the frisbees? At least that's how I saw it.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Guest

[tennisgurl]

I watched the first episode, and I am so happy this show is back! I missed Greendale so dang much. I loved seeing Todd again, I think its been awhile. I really like Pagent Brewster, and I think Frankie will fit in pretty well once everyone is used to her. I already like her and Abed. I like how he has kind of grown up, but he`s still Abed. 

 

"Shut up Leonard! I mistook you for 6 people at the pharmacy!" 

 

I would watch the hell out of "The Butcher and the Baker". 

[gik910]

Just finished watching both episodes and I have to say I am really happy!  I genuinely laughed out loud a few times each episode.  Frankie's intro was handled well, being able to leave Greendale was exciting, it was awesome to see some of the other bit players again, & everyone really played to their strengths. 

 

I would totally watch The Butcher & the Baker (Yvette looks great!), Hard Drive & Wing Man, and Portugese Gremlins.  I hope we get little absurdist bumps like this every episode.

 

I feel pretty great about this season!

Edited March 18, 2015 by gik910

[DeepPoet117]

I really enjoyed both episodes, but I am not impressed with Yahoo Screens. It kept cutting to commercials mid-sentence and sometimes would start playing a different episode. And sometimes it would freeze for no reason and I'd have to refresh. I really enjoyed the show itself, though. I'm sad that Troy and Shirley are gone, but I think I'll like these new characters. I just hope Yahoo Screens fixes the issues or I may just wait for the DVD.

[Splash]

YESSSS! That's what I've been missing!

 

First episode was really good, liked the idea of the frisbees and the Ladders class? The little look of doubt on Annie's face as the teacher started to go TOO high on the ladder? Yeah. It's back.

 

The second episode had a few weak spots, but Keith David makes EVERYTHING better. I'm really excited this is back, you guys!

 

I wonder if she had flashbacks of the accounting "blow-off" class where everyone had to stand on their desks and they found out why you don't do that.

 

ETA:  Also I don't know if I just lucked out, but there weren't any commercials when I watched.  I was watching it through my xbox360 and not on my computer, so that might have made a difference.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Splash

[Guest]

I really enjoyed both episodes, but I am not impressed with Yahoo Screens. It kept cutting to commercials mid-sentence and sometimes would start playing a different episode. And sometimes it would freeze for no reason and I'd have to refresh. I really enjoyed the show itself, though. I'm sad that Troy and Shirley are gone, but I think I'll like these new characters. I just hope Yahoo Screens fixes the issues or I may just wait for the DVD.

 

I had the same issues with Yahoo Screen. The app on my iPad was playing up so I streamed it but it froze so many times and the audio cut out after commercials. I'm probably spoilt by Netflix.

[gik910]

 

I am not impressed with Yahoo Screens. It kept cutting to commercials mid-sentence and sometimes would start playing a different episode.

 

We watched on our Roku via the Yahoo Screen Channel and there were no commercials (my husband actually pointed out how awesome it was) and no freezing/cutting at all.  

[Lord Kira]

I watched on my computer at their website. No commercials.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Lord Kira

[VanillaBear85]

I watched through the app on my iPad and had no commercials and an enjoyable experience. I wanted to watch on my laptop (larger screen), but it is rather so slow and kept buffering.

 

I am so happy this show is back! I will follow this show anywhere. I know I missed quite a bit just from the disbelief that I was watching new episodes so watching again tomorrow. 

 

I love Frankie and think she is a great addition. Laughed way too hard at the guy in the carrot costume, because they ran out of old timey police uniforms. I enjoyed seeing so many of the secondary characters. Leonard is always a treat for me. Nathan Fillion back as the janitor was unexpected.

Edited March 18, 2015 by VanillaBear85

[scowl]

I had the same issues with Yahoo Screen. The app on my iPad was playing up so I streamed it but it froze so many times and the audio cut out after commercials. I'm probably spoilt by Netflix.

 

You did better than me! I tried on a computer, a tablet and a phone. The computer just spun and spun. The tablet and computer kindly displayed the Honda ad every time but told me to try again later for the episodes. I've been trying for two hours. I will not be buying a Honda. 

[CletusMusashi]

I eventually gave up on watching it on Yahoo. Just couldn't get it to work right. But by the time I came home there were pirate streams to watch, and the show itself is still very good. High points included, but were by no means limited to:

Frankie pointing out that you can't just build a bar in secret

The fake-mustached police raid (My audio wasn't great though. Why was that one guy dressed as a carrot?)

The "Who talks like that?" rejection at the job interview

Chang's "I can spell"

Everything about Chang's cat bite

Britta's green machine escape

and of course, young frisbee hippie Leonard

Only thing really bugging me is: where's Starburns?

[desertflower]

The one guy was dressed as a carrot because they ran out of cop uniforms. Another line I loved from that exchange was Frankie's "There was LUMBER involved!"

I listened a couple times but I couldn't understand what Leonard said right after the frisbee disintegrated in his hands?

The Yahoo issues seem random. I watched on the computer at their site in the middle of the day and while there were commercials and a couple seconds of dropped audio, there was no buffering or freezing up. But when my husband tried to watch last night it was freezing up a lot.

[stopeslite]

I had the same issues with the commercials coming in mid-sentence. 

 

I'm not sure yet. It's definitely Community, but the reliance on the "we're in a tv show!" meta comments are too much. I hope they dial that back several notches for future episodes. 

[Amarsir]

The show still feels like the good ol' Community, and that's a relief.  I also appreciate how Abed's quirkiness was used as a plot vehicle and not an end in itself, and how we got a nice Britta episode.  They were pushing on just a little too much Dean in the second episode, but for a B-plot catalyst it was fine. (And I liked the jokes about VR.)

 

Re: Player, watched in browser with no ads (might be ABP I didn't turn off) but slight hitching. Not a problem for me at all.

 It's definitely Community, but the reliance on the "we're in a tv show!" meta comments are too much. I hope they dial that back several notches for future episodes. 

I think it worked for the opener, letting them address the change in characters and other meta issues. But I agree that uses Abed up for a while and while I'm always on board for a good tribute episode I don't think they could get away with a Claymation-style hook now.

[Primetimer]

Community is back, and it's more Community-y than ever -- not really in a good way.

Read the story

[Shibori]

I had a silly little grin on my face through both episodes (no commercials for me either!  Yay!) because I just love this absurd little mess so much.  I knew Paget Brewster mostly from Drunk History, and I like her role here.  There was lumber involved!  I like the idea of the straight man pointing out all the Greendale things that are just ridiculous.  These episodes really seemed to have the feel of some of my favorite Community eps.  I give it 5 MeowMeowBeanz.

[LanceHunter]

I'm enjoying the madness, but it is definitely madness. It seems like Harmon is very explicitly attempting to deconstruct the show (and sitcoms in general) now, kind of trying to top himself in the "how post-modern can I make this" contest. Honestly, though, when you get to season 6 or almost any show, that's what you should be doing.

[Kanner]

I am so happy. I enjoyed both episodes but I probably would have liked them anyway because I am just so glad it is back. So much of the great stuff has been mention. I do need to say that the reason I love this show can be summed up in the awesomely ridiculous visual of Britta peddling away on the stolen big wheel.

[Latverian Diplomat]

I never cared much for the Dean and Chang, who seemed to start at "11" and dial it up from there. Chang was refreshingly chill in these two eps. The Dean is still very Deanish. 

 

I liked everything about the Frisbee roof collapse, including Annie's fallen star and the Leonard flashback. The speakeasy was fun, and Paget Brewster's Frankie is fine so far. Enjoyed Keith David's introduction, I guess he's a regular?

 

Not sure about the Britta stuff. Drug testing your 11 year old is pretty messed up, and her parents were less apologetic than just "for us that never happened" which is weird but not particularly funny. Also not sure making Britta even more helpless is a good way to go with her character. 

 

I enjoyed both episode ending spoofs. Portuguese Gremlins had rules that were even more arbitrary than the original, which is an achievement of sorts.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[amensisterfriend]

I'm too techno-challenged to have seen the episodes yet, but I just had to say that this...

 

 

 

I never cared much for the Dean and Chang, who seemed to start at "11" and dial it up from there

 

...is probably the best description of the Dean and Chang I've ever read! They're the type of characters I far prefer in small doses. REALLY small doses. 

 

I've missed this show and am excited to see Paget Brewster, who I've always adored. (I'm a little disappointed to read here that she seems to be a 'straightwoman', though---I hope they let her be funny in her own right rather than just reacting to the weirdness around her!) 

 

I really liked season 1 a lot, still think of S2 as one of my all-time favorite seasons of any TV show ever, felt S3 had a few really high highs but a lot of really low lows, already forgot most of S4 and would rank S5 as my least favorite. So I'm thinking that the chances of my liking this new season better than the last two, and hopefully at least as much as s3, are fairly high :)  

Edited March 18, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[marieYOTZ]

I listened a couple times but I couldn't understand what Leonard said right after the frisbee disintegrated in his hands?

I believe he said "Like tears... in rain" -- part of Rutger Hauer's character's dying speech in Bladerunner.

[VCRTracking]

"I'm going to name my sandwiches after her. My sandwiches suck."

 

With the reduced cast both Britta and Gillian Jacobs have now become the funniest person on the show for me, which I never thought would happen when the series began, but I actually think is cool. I still like Abed, but I do like him better with Troy.

 

Also her retching when Annie said her parents were really nice is still funny on rewatch.

[marieYOTZ]

My favorite line, from Britta: "Don't make it more dramatic than it is. It's a blood oath to defy evil. You're either in or you're out"

[desertflower]

I believe he said "Like tears... in rain" -- part of Rutger Hauer's character's dying speech in Bladerunner.

Thank you! I kept thinking he was saying "Like Cheers in rain" and I just wasn't getting it. Also I'm not very familiar with Bladerunner so I wouldn't have made that connection.

[Silly Angel]

Wow, that was just miserable. I like meta-commentary and have a high tolerance for self-reference, but this was lazy beyond belief, with Abed meta-construing the show as a reality that he thinks is a show. "Shirley spun off"; are you kidding me with this shite? Boring characters can be interesting in their boringness but PB's boringness was just boring. I'm so sad. I guess the devil plays tricks on you when you make a wish: I asked for the show back, but what I meant was I wanted MY show back, not another season of a pale imitation.

The fake-mustached police raid (My audio wasn't great though. Why was that one guy dressed as a carrot?)

 

Because they ran out of costumes, as Ms. Boring pointed out. More meta commentary.

[torontomeridith]

God help me, I lost it every time the Dean said, "Jesus Wept...for there were no more worlds to conquer."

Every. Damn. Time.

[xander874]

Yeah I didn't get why Garrett was mad. He was playing in the band at the speakeasy so I don't know what happened to piss him off. Still am looking forward to the plot because I like the character (and we share a name) and Leonard is an evil genius waiting to happen. Much prefer that to evil Chang.

[Kalliste]

I've watched both now. I think I liked the second better.. although I do agree with the little monologue's of Abed's about when the show used to be about a study group at a community college.

 

It feels like it's lost something now that none of them seem to go to class... other than Ladders.

 

I guess we'll see what happens.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This proved to me once again that Britta is THE WORST. How dare her parents try to help her so that she isn't homeless? I remember a friend of a friend had a similar relationship with his very rich and very nice parents. After he finished college, he was living in his car, sneaking into the gym to shower, and crashing on people's couches. His parents were worried that something would happen to him but he refused to move back home. Since he was living in his car, his parents offered to buy him a nicer car (he had an old hoopty at the time) and he was appalled, offended, and beyond pissed at their offer.

 

I get Britta being mad about being drug tested at 11 and for everyone sneaking around behind her back, but her indignation that her parents have the audacity to care and want to help? Gawd. There are other people who wish they had parents who could afford to help them or cared enough to want to help them.

 

The virtual reality stuff was so boring.

 

Frankie feels shoehorned in. They couldn't just leave the cast the way it is? Or maybe they think some new blood will reinvigorate the group? I don't dislike Frankie but I feel like she's there just for the sake of being there, like the writers/producers thought, "Hey, we don't have nearly enough secondary and tertiary characters now that Pierce, Troy, and Shirley are gone so let's just throw another one in!"

Edited March 20, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Samsnee]

I'm glad it's back. But it does feel like a shell of itself when there is no Shirley, Abed, and even Pierce. Still quite funny though and the two new members seem to fit in well.

[HyacinthBucket]

I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy the show's resurrection, but as soon as I heard the dean's voice over the PA system in the first scene, I started to smile.  I liked both episodes.  Let's hope we continue to have these lovely little surprises - like Nathan Fillion - pop up throughout the season.

 

Is it too much to ask for John Oliver to make an appearance?

[Azaelia]

For me, the problem with Britta's storyline was that it didn't have any real... backing. She's implied they were pretty terrible people before, and if the point was that she's exaggerated, that needed to be developed more; if they really were weird and had her drug tested (and possibly didn't believe that she'd been molested), her friends' willingness to forgive them and her own needed to be better developed. 

 

Also, I can't believe Jeff would be down with the arrangement, given that he has his own family issues. It didn't feel true to his character.

 

Was the Portuguese Gremlins commercial part of the episode? Or what? I really didn't get that, and it didn't help that (as others have pointed out) Yahoo ads played at some random points.

[desertflower]

Re: the Gremlins thing...at one point in the episode Abed and Annie mention watching it, and hold up the case, if I remember correctly. So the trailer at the end was just an extension of that joke. So yeah, it was part of the episode.

[Kalliste]

Yeah, the Gremlins thing was part of it, same as The Butcher and the Baker (was that what it was called) with Shirley was part of the show too.

[Irlandesa]

I finally got around to watching these today and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed them. 

 

I loved everything about the frisbee opening from Annie realizing there was one more crisis unsolved to Leonard's flashback where they just stuck a wig on him. 

 

I was nervous about Frankie and Keith David.  So far, I like Frankie and haven't seen enough of Keith David yet but suspect he will fit in. 

[VCRTracking]

I believe Britta when she says her parents were terrible but I also believe that they changed. I think her running away at 17 made them realize how bad they treated her and so they took the opposite There's that Beatles song "She's Leaving Home" where in the chorus John Lennon sings the parents POV: "We gave her everything money could buy" and Paul McCartney sings  "She's leaving home after living alone for so many years."

[arc]

I really liked that Frankie gave her spiel again to that other company and her interviewer immediately called out how insane she sounded.  (Also, yay, Will Hines! He's hilarious.)

[Milaxx]

Glad to see the gang back. Frankie actually didn't annoy me. Odd seeing Steven Weber there. Is it me or is he popping up in everything lately? Sleepy Hollow, Helix, House of Lies, How to Get Away with Murder, and now here. I swear he's becoming the go to bad guy.

[dusang]

Did Frankie refer to Britta's parents as "the Jimmy Fallon syndrome"?

[JayKay]

I didn't know it was back! Watching on Xbox360, no ads, no problems. Except that I'm losing sleep catching up. Loving the direction and the cast additions so far. And it already seems more balanced than last season.

The "hole in the head" joke killed me.

[ichbin]

ETA:  Also I don't know if I just lucked out, but there weren't any commercials when I watched.  I was watching it through my xbox360 and not on my computer, so that might have made a difference.

 

I watched it on Roku and didn't have any ads either.