Campus Comedies
Seasons 1-5, Episodes “The Art of Discourse”, “Economics of Marine Biology”, “App Development and Condiments”
For a show set in a College, the amount of take-downs of the conventional college campus pranks and goofs, like Bluto in Animal House or any National Lampoon film from the early 00s, is minimal, but often perfectly pitched.
In season one, Abed has a list of college social experiences that he wants to have happen, like a toga party, a food fight and stealing a rival college’s mascot. In the fourth season episode Economoics of Marine Biology Abed, in the background of the episode, starts his own fraternity and his initiation techniques get in the way of everything, eventually his fraternity pranks the entire college, Abed can cross that off his list twice.
Perhaps the best take-off of the college campus comedy comes in season 5, where Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz guests as ‘The Koogler’ a hip, cool, fun-loving 40-something who really should be embarrassed at his lackadaisical lifestyle and attitudes, but acts like he’s the hot shot in college.
Think Van Wilder but with a decade on the man. Pitch-perfect work makes him one of the funniest characters in the season, and a sublime look at the older casting of the hip guy in teen comedies.
