BEST OF 2011

Go Community and The Middle!

I think PSYCH is the most underrated show and should have won that.

I love The Middle, Raising Hope, Decoded[History], Ancient Aliens, most of Syfy'S shows until moved to Monday and killed Eureka. Dirty Jobs is still great.

How can you compare Alphas to Community, they are different types of shows.

In what world is Community underrated??? Overrated is more like it. Did you all not *SEE* how many Emmy's it won?? I mean, really???

For the people out there who keep saying Community isn't "underrated", I'd like to take a deeper look as to why it's perfectly deserving of this category.

To give some insight as to what kind of tastes in shows I have, I am a big fan of The Office (U.K. and U.S., even with Carrell's departure), Flight of the Conchords, Parks & Rec (Since it has a lot of tones of the Office with the mockumentary style, it's not my favorite, but it is still hilarious), House, Mad Men, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Love it, but to be honest, I got bored once it hit season 5), and 30 Rock. Also, I hate almost everything about the show 'Glee', which is the epitome of "overrated". I dislike it simply because I am a singer, actor, and performer, and though initially there was some creativity, it doesn't raise the bar as a comedy or a show in my opinion. I lost interest after the second episode of season 1. Community has been and continues to be my favorite show of all time, and I'm open to trying new shows all the time, so please don't try and tell me I'm fixated with Community or beyond the point of persuasion. I'll gladly try to find more show out there that will entertain me.

Now, back to the topic of Community being underrated. And to clarify for you "forum / thread-haters" that enjoy picking apart every aspect of what people say and downgrading it, I will tell you now that almost EVERYTHING in this post will be my opinion. I am entitled to my opinion, and I'd love to share it with you all so you can get into the mind of a "Human Being". You can certainly disagree with me, that's your opinion. I respect everyone's opinion.

The word "underrate" literally means "to rate or evaluate too low; underestimate."

Since season 1, Community's public "ratings" have been consistently low (that's pretty factual, now back to opinion). Lower than it deserves.

Community is the most original and most groundbreaking comedy I've seen on television in a long time, which is why I love it. You will not find a more well-rounded, humble, eager, and talented cast on Television.
-Joel McHale is an up-and-coming God of comedy. He's been blessed with great wit, charm, comedic inflection and timing, and he's only getting better as he matures as an actor, giving him versatility. Jeff Winger was meant to be played by Joel.
-Gillian Jacobs is beautiful, and plays her role as Britta so believably. Not many people can play awkward that well. Everyone loves to hate her because she's "the worst", yet at the end of the day you still love her.
-Danny Pudi is so underrated as an actor. His character Abed Nadir has gone from the most socially awkward yet lovable, to the bedrock and foundation of the show.
-Yvette Nicole Brown is probably the most humble and kind person in the business today. She is hilarious and can go from Angel to Queen of Sass in less than a second with ease, and still keeps the character of Shirley completely believable.
-Alison Brie is the sexiest woman on the planet. Not even for her unbelievable looks, but for her wit, charm, and talent. She has perfected the art of unstable yet driven Annie Edison, which is not an easy task.
-Donald Glover is the reason first I started watching Community. Ever since I first saw a Derrick Comedy video over 5 years ago, I've been hooked on this man's talent. From acting, writing, singing, composing, and performing, there is no greater talent on television today.
-Chevy Chase obviously has the most experience out of anyone on the show, but that should tell you how good this show is. He could be retired and living a life of relaxation or finding bigger and better things to be doing, but Chevy is committed to the creativity of this show and the people surrounding it. Let's be real, if he didn't think it was worth doing still even with the low ratings and being put on hiatus, he would've left already. Pierce Hawthorne is a piece of crap, but Chevy perfects that piece of crap, gives it depth, and makes it the most adorable piece of crap you've ever laid eyes on. Who else could do that? Maybe John Lithgow, but he can't create the darkness of Pierce like Chevy.
-Ken Jeong. What else can I say? The man was a doctor, in real life, but gave it up to pursue a career of acting. Then he goes from getting great roles in blockbuster hits, to doing this show? Why? By choice. Ben Chang is the wildcard on the show in every sense of the word, and Ken has mastered the art of Chang.

I also have to give a shoutout to Ludwig Goransson, the man behind the music of Community (and also co-collaborator with Donald Glover on most of Childish Gambino's music). As a musician, I cannot overlook the importance of music in a television show. That's one thing that quite a few shows on television these days don't have. Ludwig is a music mastermind that can set the tone for any/every scene seen on Community. He'll also take the normal music from the more "down-to-earth" episodes, and not throw them out, but change the orchestration, tempo, etc. to make it fit whatever theme it may be that week (what he did with the theme song in the Dungeons & Dragons is a good example). He's also capable of creating a score that is better than most action movies for the Paintball Episodes, or creepy/mysterious music for the Conspiracy Theories episode. I could go on for hours, but Ludwig has one of the most creative musical minds I've ever seen.

Last, but not least, I have to talk about the most underrated man in the world of television. The creator and executive producer of Community, Mr. Dan Harmon. This guy is an evil genius (And I mean that in the best way possible). If you look at Dan Harmon, you may see a sloppy guy who doesn't give a damn about what he wears in public. Guess what? I'm 99% sure he doesn't. I can absolutely positively GUARANTEE to you, there is not a man in this country who cares about his show more than Dan Harmon. The closest rival I can think of would be someone like Ricky Gervais, but I still think Harmon wins. Dan Harmon will go to the ends of time to make sure that Community lives up to its full potential. When NBC tells him he can't get the budget to pull a particular stunt or gag, he finds a way, even if it's out of his own pocket (at least from what I've heard). Dan goes outside the box on so many levels to make room for/allow Community continue to break barriers and keep raising the bar. And I'm not just talking about raising the excitement level, I mean raise the bar creatively. Naturally when pictures/news leaked about a Pulp Fiction episode, we were all expecting a high-action high-intensity episode, and what did we get? We got more of a "My Dinner With Andre" episode, which wasn't disappointing, but actually that much more exciting because it wasn't expected. Dan also is not the person who's aiming for fame/stardom. At least I doubt it. Seems to me that Dan is committed to making his project his own, not something that'll play to higher volume audiences and get "the ratings" NBC may be looking for. All in all, Dan Harmon will constantly keep you guessing, and there's no show out there that's more clever than Community. Sure, if you want consistency, go watch Glee, where almost every episode is exactly the same flavor (Vanilla, and maybe occasionally you'll get a chocolate chip in there). You want to try for flavor? Watch Dan Harmon's Community. You may not always like the flavor you get, but you'll never get the same flavor twice, and you'll always come back for more.

Now, you may say I just overdid everything in this post by stating it out, especially if you know all this information already, but does stating the obvious make my point clearer? Community has NEVER been even NOMINATED for an Emmy Award. Does that irk anyone else as it does me? I mean sure, shows get left out of catergories for Emmys they deserve to be on all the time, but not ONCE? Every regular actor on this show has the capacity and capability to STAR in their own show that fits the "regular standards" to get Emmy nominated, yet as a cohesive group that works so well with and off of one another, they can't get one nomination? The episode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" won a 2011 Creative Arts Emmy Award for Individual Achievement in Animation, which was certainly well deserved, but the premise of getting to a point in a show where you can have a Claymation special that makes sense certainly warrants an Emmy nomination even more.

For those of you complaining about Community leading the polls in this (virtually pointless) TV.com award thing, just let it be. I can almost guarantee to you that winning these'll mean more to the cast & crew of Community more than any other show out there. If you haven't yet, watch an interview with the Cast of Community. Watch the video of the cast's reaction when they won the TV Guide Magazine's 2011 Fan Favorites Award. There is no denying in my mind that there isn't a group of individuals on television (or in film) today that is more passionate about their show and their jobs as the folks from Community.

Go Greendale!moreless

It makes me so happy that The League is even an option here.

But I know Community fans are eager to show their support and hopefully keep the show alive, so good for them.

Okay this one pissed me the hell off.. Sons of Anarchy can't even get on the underrated list??? Meanwhile, Community is also up for best comedy show.... how the hell is it underrated? I need to speak to a supervisor ASAP TV.com

Okay, Supernatural should DEFINITELY be on this list!!! Nothing is more underrated than that show!

Community shouldn't be in here, it's getting tons of votes in the other category.

This was really hard again. Parenthood has been so increadible this season and has really been up there as one of my fav. dramas so I had to vote for it. It is an awesome show with superb cast and great realistic stories.

Alphas has been awesome too. one of the best comedic duo is Bill and Gary, they crack me up so much and the whole cast is awesome. Can't wait for its return since the season finale was stellar.

Finally Awkward is seriously amazing, I watched it all in one day and I laughed so much that day. Awesome show and more should wathc.

Community, Awkward, and Alphas are all great shows... but I went with Community.

I chose it because it is such a smart comedy, and it is on a major network, but for some strange reason it is not getting as much love as you'd think it would (from critics and others).

Awkward wouldn't be so underrated if it was on any other network besides MTV, and the same could be said of Alphas (both MTV and SyFy have somewhat of a stigma, I guess, but those two shows are pretty darn good).

what a rip... Community is not underrated.... thought you were better then that TV.com...

How is Community underrated when it's been voted up (by idiots) to be one of the best of 2011 in the other poll?

obviously since Sons of Anarchy isnt on the best show of the season it has to be the most underrated can we get some love for SOA

There are a LOT of underrated shows....

I voted Community because I am in love with that show, but if I were voting honestly, I'd probably say The League. It is a fantastic comedy that doesn't get much attention, i've actually seen Community get more. Last season I'd even say it was better than Always Sunny (it was a down year for Sunny)

Hands down, "The Middle" is the most under-rated, under-appreciated series on TV right now. Hilarious episodes week after week! The closest depiction of a real family on TV today!

How sad is it that "Sons of Anarchy" can't even make this frakking list?

None of the above even interest me. The Event was the best new show but that got canned:(
Until they take into account downloads in the tv rating sthen more shows won't last past season 1. Lie to me was another great show that got canned along with Stargate Universe.

keep voting. with every percentage community wins by, NBC exec's recognize their stupidity,

NBC, while shelving the smart, sophisticated and consistently funny Community, is producing a pilot for a remake of the Munsters. Morons...

Something tells me that Community has got this in the bag.. but don't stop voting for it.

Most of my favorite shows are on CBS, but I think they made a stupid move in getting rid of Flashpoint. Well written with very good acting and 17 Gemini Award nominations this season (for those that don't know, the Geminis are Canada's equivalent to the Emmys) all add up to one very underrated show.

The middle is funny and kind of creepy, I kinda liked Alphas will ck out next season. rest of the shows i watched and stopped parenthood needs a different time Dancing W/Stars rules my Mon and Tues so I miss a lot of episodes hard to get back into it

why isn't fringe on here? fringe would get my vote for sure.

here's an idea for a #savecommunity twitter campaign: http://savecommunity101.tumblr.com/post/14265914833/community101

Community's cancellelation is the next big disaster of our generation. It's probably what the Mayans had in mind when they predicted the end of the world next year.

I don't know how Fringe was missed off the list.

Hawaii 5-0 and Terra Nova were not listed, but should have been. They are both great shows. I didn't vote, because don't watch any of the shows listed.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is so underrated it probably wasn't even thought of when this poll was made. It beats out any comedy series I've seen and doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

The only show of these that I watch is Community. I didn't know it was underrated.

NO SOA??? underrated as heck