watching Community again

[sciatrix]

...and all over again, I'm struck by just how unusually good Abed was/is, as autistic characters go. I think he is still the only character I have ever seen who would tone up the robot impersonation when it was useful, or who was cheerfully capable of stepping into an acting role and putting on a totally different persona when it was fun, or who was insecure not about who he was, but about whether people would stick around and find who he was interesting.

I ought to go back to watching The Good Doctor, come to think of it. But--Abed's special, and part of why Abed is special is that Abed's not particularly special, but his perspective is so clearly formed by someone writing out rather than someone looking in. And I still haven't seen anything remotely like that in the--hell, it's been almost ten years since Community kicked off. People didn't know what emoji were yet. It was revolutionary then and it still is, for all it's a flawed show (but then, what isn't?).

Comments

[notasupervillain]

I was reminded last night of the scene where he calls out detective shows (Sherlock) for their portrayal of autism. Damn community was good.

[viacom]

Yes! I hated so much else about Community but I stuck around because Abed was such a comfort to watch.

"I need help reacting to something" is still in pretty regular rotation at my house.