There is skill to it. More importantly, it has to be joyful, effortless, fun. TV defeats its own purpose when it’s pushing an agenda or trying to defeat other TV, or being proud or ashamed of itself for existing. It’s TV. It’s comfort. It’s a friend you’ve known so well and for so long. You just let it be with you. And it needs to be okay for it to have a bad day, or phone in a day. And it needs to be okay for it to get on a boat with Levar Burton and never come back…because eventually, it all will.
[sobbing] I know… It’s not just that… It’s just such a classic mistake, but…I got really attached to my pitch. I had a soundtrack in my head and everything…
I got it! The whole show is happening inside this game!
SSon
Then explain this! [holds up a small booklet]
DDaughter
What is it?
DDad
It's a script... of a fake commercial at the end of season six starring this family...
SSon
Sorry, Dad; guess I win.
DDad
You stupid child. Nobody's winning anything. Don’t you see? This means we don't exist. We're not created by God; we're created by a joke. We were never born, and we will never actually live.
[The family falls into silence mixed with confusion and astonishment and stare at the table as the camera zooms out to the box of Community: The Game board game.]
Dice not included. Some assembly required. Lines between perception, desire, and reality may become blurred, redundant, or interchangeable. Characters may hook up with no regard for your emotional investment. Some episodes too conceptual to be funny. Some too funny to be immersive, and some so immersive they still aren't funny. Consistency between seasons may vary. Viewers may be measured by a secretive obsolete system based on selected participants keeping handwritten journals of what they watch. Show may be cancelled and moved to the internet where it turns out tens of millions were watching the whole time. May not matter. Fake commercial may end with disclaimer gag which may descend into vain Chuck Lorre-esque rant by narcissistic creator. Creator may be unstable. Therapist may have told creator this is not how you make yourself a good person. Life may pass by while we ignore and mistreat those close to us. Those close to us may be those watching. Those people may want to know I love them but I may be incapable of saying it. ...Contains pieces the size of a child's esophagus.
