Arts: Cougar Town Shows Community How to Embrace Impending Doom

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Brow Beat Cougar Town Shows Community How to Embrace Impending Doom By Tara Ariano Posted Tuesday, Feb 14, 2012, at 04:29 PM ET When they premiered in the fall of 2009, ABC's Cougar Town and NBC's Community had a fair amount in common. Both revolved around attractive people who, when thrown together by chance (residence on the same cul-de-sac; registration in the same Spanish class), formed families of choice, complete with one reluctant member each (Grayson on Cougar Town; Jeff on Community). Both began with the idea that the protagonist was returning to carefree youth; both quickly abandoned said premise. Both keep adding more and more tertiary characters as their producers build out bigger and bigger worlds. Both have been celebrated by critics, and yet both struggle in the ratings, with the consequence that both were pulled from their networks' schedules. And both, like all shows worth watching, have evolved in their time on the air—but in opposite directions. Community's wild willingness to try on different genres depending on each high-concept episode's storyline—spaghetti western, horror, and so on—may suggest the playfulness of a show that's sunny, silly, and light. But the show has actually grown darker and more melancholy as time has worn on. Cougar Town, on the other hand, which returns to the air tonight, has grown looser, dopier, and more "about nothing" than Seinfeld ever was: It is now the TV equivalent of a friendly golden retriever. While Community's underdog status seems to have prompted its creator, Dan Harmon, to take the show even further into defensive and defiant insularity, Cougar Town ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Romney Thinks Saying, "I'm a Conservative" Makes Him a Conservative Pentagon Calls for More Big-War Weapons. What Happened to a Leaner, Meaner Military? Stop Complaining About Valentine's Day. I Love It, and I'm Not Afraid Say So.	Advertisement
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