Esposito cited yogic breathing techniques as a possible reason why he's able to go completely dead in the eyes when playing guys like Gus.

Much of female self-presentation has nothing to do with attracting the male gaze.

Agreed. That was the episode that made me a fan of the podcast. It was The Nerdist at its best: deeply nerdy (duh), intelligent, funny, and cheery without being saccharine. And West was a strong enough presence that Hardwick's own intensity didn't crowd him out.

I don't know what I'd do without podcasts. I listen to them when I'm doing boring chores like cleaning or laundry. They're also great for working out (if you're doing something that doesn't require much concentration like running or sit-ups). I also like saving the longer ones (like RISK!) for train rides. I get…

Sometimes you can learn a lot by what isn't said explicitly. I think Marc did a very effective thing by leaving all that crap in. It gives us an idea not only of what kind of person Carrot Top is, but why he might be the way he is. The contrast between the weirdly sycophantic assistant and description of Carrot Top's…

A lighter film than the LOTR trilogy does not necessarily mean making The Hobbit a children's movie.  And children's movies don't necessarily have to be light. I was imagining The Hobbit to be a twisted fairytale more than anything else. There's a dark sense of humor in it that Guillermo del Toro would have been…

I agree the costumes were silly, but to be fair, pretty much all the people I know who were into Wicca and paganism growing up dressed up like goth Renn Faire rejects.

I actually think the dwarf song sounded pretty good here. Maybe it's because I'm not musical, but I could never imagine a way for any of the songs Tolkien wrote to not sound goofy as shit. They always sounded like Wizard of Oz songs in my head.

After seeing the trailer, that's my concern too. I guess Jackson is intending this to be more of a direct prequel to LOTR movies rather than a mostly standalone story that is loosely connected to the rings trilogy. Which means The Hobbit has to match the earlier movies in tone and scope.

I think it's hard to rank them. S1's paintball episode was so unexpected, felt so fresh, had a charmingly low-budget feel, and pushed Community to a new level of awesome. S2's episodes were (relatively) slicker, more cinematic, and more expansive in terms of the story and character relationships. Comparing them is…

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1. Remedial Chaos Theory
2. Paradigms of Human Memory
3. Critical Film Studies
4. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
5. Documentary Filmmaking: Redux
6. Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking
7. Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps
8. A Fistful of Paintballs
9. For A Few Paintballs More
10. Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism

@avclub-fcef722c15ec0cd77565749edf6d1240:disqus : I can't believe I forgot about that episode—you're right, "The Zeppo" is the model for this kind of story. I think Community's secondary characters are interesting enough for this to work.

This is pretty much my exact reaction to the show, episode-by-episode, season-by-season.

Agreed. Which is why I loved the callback in a later episode where Fat Neil and the twinkie-loving dance major/Leeroy Jenkins reference from "A Fistful of Paintballs/For A Few Paintballs More" reminisce about that one week when the study group were away on their St. Patrick's Day trip.

No AVC review is complete without a needlessly furious diatribe directed against the reviewer. I can almost feel the flecks of nerd spittle on my face.

Or maybe you're the weird one, McFuckenstein.

I enjoyed the Donald Glover interview on WTF very much. It's a nice change of pace when Marc interviews someone he doesn't have a history with.

If only they'd shown a cat wearing a tiny monocle knocking Chang off the tree.

What Lack of Name said. The houses are so big and fancy and custom-fitted to each family that, given their surrounding neighborhoods, that they're actually less desirable than a standard house. (Not to mention the high cost of heating and cooling these monsters.)