Community: An actual decent show on NBC!

Yep, after a handful of episodes, it's safe to say "Community" is a double rarity: a new sitcom that's really funny and a new NBC series that's really good. It impressed me by improving on its pilot, and I believe this series shows real potential if it can stick around.

The premise is simple: Take a bunch of quirky characters and make them into a sitcommy de facto family, this time as a study group at a community college. NBC seemed to be pushing Joel McHale as the clear star, and while his cocky ex-lawyer is the center of the show, it's much more of an ensemble than the marketing indicated. This is a good thing because McHale, apparently trying to walk the line and do a smarmy Bill Murray kind of rebel character likable enough to anchor a weekly show, isn't quite there yet. But I'm willing to see him develop in the role.

The supporting cast features an attractive blonde McHale wants as more than a friend, if ya know what I mean, Chevy Chase as a socially clueless entrepreneur, and some who seem like stock character types at first but get more fleshed out each week. The writing is self-aware enough to poke fun at the fact that some of those characters look stock at first, but sometimes that self-awareness is annoying. For example, one of the characters actually told McHale's character he thought he was going for a Bill Murray vibe.

Yet this all works because the writing is consistent, and most importantly, rather than rely solely on McHale, "Community" is making a strong effort each episode to expand the character relationships so that they interact in different combinations. This approach is making each individual more interesting and opening up even more possibilities. No character is overexposed, either--an especially salient concern when your cast features Chevy Chase.

I like the community college setting. There's a lot of comic potential here, and it feels like a relatively fresh territory. You might wonder how long the premise of a group of Spanish classmates studying together--at a presumably transitory community college, no less---can sustain itself. I say, don't worry about it. In this day and age, shows can't afford to worry about what they'll do 5 years down the road (and many clearly don't).

After all, this IS NBC we're talking about, and it's no big stretch to think the Peacock could pull this solid newcomer any week in favor of "Weekend Update: Health Care Debate Edition" or "Best of Jaywalking." I know critics are gaga for "30 Rock" and to a lesser extent "The Office," but it would be a shame to see this funny, engaging comedy lost in the shuffle.