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Tonight's cuppa: organic free-trade coffee (pipe down, it was on sale)

As fans of NBC's "Community" know, last night's (Thursday) episode, "Critical Film Studies," began with Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), wearing a suit straight out of "Reservoir Dogs" (OK, it was actually out of "Pulp Fiction," but it's the same suit), walking to to a dinner engagement.

In voiceover, he says, "It was my friend Abed's birthday. I had met Abed at community college almost two years earlier. His obsession with pop culture had always alienated him. He'd quote movies, pretend his life was a TV show. He watched 'Cougar Town.' It was as if he didn't want people to like him."

At dinner, Abed (Danny Pudi) tells Jeff of his love of the ABC sitcom "Cougar Town," co-created by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel, and tells an elaborate story that ends with him having an accident in his pants (in the story he's telling, not at dinner).

It's a complex plot -- click here for a comprehensive recap, and here if you want to take the time to watch the episode -- but a good-sized part of it was devoted to Abed's love of "Cougar Town," not the first time "Community" has referenced the other show.

So, I hopped on Twitter and asked Lawrence (a k a @VDOOZER ) about it, and he Tweeted, "Incredibly flattering. We were in on it."

I wanted to know more, but Lawrence had busied himself talking to TVLine about the issue and taking meetings instead. So I moved on to the less-heralded but equally hilarious better half of "Cougar Town" (no, not Bill's wife, actress Christa Miller, nor star Courteney Cox), but Biegel (at right) himself.

Here follow my Qs and Biegel's As. Enjoy ...

Q: According to Bill Lawrence when he talked to TVLine, you had heard about the "Cougar Town" references in last night's "Community" when Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan  -- two writers from Lawrence's "Scrubs" that now are executive producers on "Community" -- sent over a photo of script pages. What was the reaction around the office and the set?

A: Well, I got sent two of the pages by Neil Goldman via text... I hope that's not some breach of NBC protocol or anything. Anyhow, he had said there was an episode of "Community" coming up where Abed talks about being on "Cougar Town," and we were like, 'Okay, that sounds pretty cool.' Then we saw those two pages -- mind you, it was only two pages of a much longer scene -- but even only seeing that, we couldn't believe they were going to do it to that extent.

I think people saw them and thought, 'Yeah, well, that'll probably get cut way down, and they won't say the name of the show that much (or at all), and Abed's story will be very quick.''

Still insanely flattering, but I had no idea it'd be as big as it was in its final version. We're all giant fans of "Community" at the show, so it was an honor to read the pages and then when I saw it on TV, it put a smile on my face that may be there forever.

Q: Will you reciprocate on your show beyond the line Travis got about forcing his girlfriend to watch the Season One of "Community" on DVD?

A: Unfortunately, we've already finished shooting for the season. We had laid in a few Easter-eggy kind of things regarding "Community" that you might catch if you pay attention (i.e. pay attention to the movie marquee in the plaza shots), but I kinda wish we could go back and do even more.

Q: Do you watch ""Community," and if so, what do you think of it?

A: I love it; I think it's the best show on TV (aside from ours). I see their show, and it's like our show is my little kid, and I'm very proud of my kid, he's a good kid, but then I see this other kid on the playground and I'm like, 'Shoot, I wish my kid were cool like that sometimes.' Metaphors are one of my strong suits, obviously.

Q: Although their formats are very different, do the shows have things in common?

A: I don't know if the formats are that different... they're both about people who aren't related, who on their own would probably be very lonely people, but they've come together as a group to form a family... a "Community", even... a "Cougar Town", even. Sh*t, that doesn't work when you use the title of our show.

I do love their ability to use pop-culture stuff not as mere reference points (like you get a point if you recognize that they're doing a "Last Starfighter'"joke), but to actually tell stories. You don't need to know the references to love their show, because their storytelling is so good, and I actually really care about their characters.

I know they were worried a little about this past episode because a lot of it is just two guys talking. Well, I could watch their two guys talking for hours.

Q: How did ABC feel about a shout-out on an NBC show?

A: ABC could not have been cooler and more supportive. They recognize that this isn't the type of thing shows usually do; I think it's unprecedented to have two shows on different networks referencing each other back and forth.

But, again, I don't entirely think this is us high-fiving across the 10 Freeway; if we're talking about these characters living in a world where our pop culture exists, Abed would love "Cougar Town" and Travis would love "Community." It's not just a mutual show-creator wank. Okay, it is a little but...

Q: "Community" producer Dan Harmon ( @danharmon ) interacts quite a bit with other showrunners and actors on Twitter, and "Cougar Town" has been praised for its lively Twitter presence (indeed, this Q&A was arranged through Twitter). What impact, if any, has social media had on the show (or is it just fun for you guys)?

A: I think that Twitter has made my job about ten times as fun. It's become the world's best feedback system. I don't know if I could take another year of trolling through comments on boards to see how people react to whatever show I'm working on. Not that I don't like doing it, I do, but I just don't have the time now.

With Twitter, it's 140-word bursts. You can get a lot through in 140 words. "You suck" is only two words, but someone saying why they think this story line is working or not? I find that interesting.

At the end of the day Bill and I go with our guts, but all fans should know -- with the dawn of the Internet, almost every show creator reads what is said about their show online. If they say they don't, they're lying.

Plus, after spending probably 100+ hours putting together an episode from inception to final edit, it's nice to hear that someone enjoyed your work. It helps give you the confidence to let "you suck donkey balls, thanx for ruining TV" roll off your back.

Another thing it has done -- it has let me start a sorta relationship with people whose work I enjoy. I've never met Dan Harmon, but I think it's great we can talk on Twitter. Same with other show runners/writers/etc.

For now, at least, the playing field seems even. Five years ago, I would never have been talking with some of these people and vice versa. It has made things easy.

And I barely get to see Neil Goldman anymore because we're both so busy, but I can talk to him (as should everyone, his twitter is @neilskee and for that matter Garrett Donovan's is ... shoot, what's Garret's?)

Q: Is there ever a chance of a Twitter war - such as the one between @ShawnRyanTV of "The Chicago Code," and "White Collar's" @JeffEastin, a competition to get followers for charity, interspersed with elaborate practical jokes - with any other shows?

A: Shawn Ryan is a lying, dirty, cheating son of a bitch. I've never met Shawn Ryan, I'm just trying to start a Twitter war with him. Honestly, though, I'd do something like that if it was a) fun, or more importantly, b) could benefit some charity. They really did something that benefitted a charity? Through Twitter? That's amazing. That makes me realize that Shawn Ryan is the most kind, caring, loving, honest man in Hollywood. 

The only drawback of your question? It sounds like more work! But I do love practical jokes. Where does Shawn Ryan live? I'm going to have 600 pounds of Chicago hot dogs dumped in his pool.

(HCTV: BTW, we hear the next salvo in the Ryan/Eastin Twar is at hand. Click here for the last volley; watch this space for future news.)

Q: Any surprises in store before the end of the season?

A: A lot, yes.  What can I say ...? An issue comes up between Jules and Grayson that forces them to question whether they really should be together. That sounds like the DirectTV info-guide episode description ... that sucks. There's a lot more Lou Diamond Phillips, that's one. And we do the best "Children of the Corn" (set in suburbia) homage that's ever been on TV. See, I told you we had stuff in common with "Community."

Tonight's cuppa: English breakfast tea

'Tis the season for Top 10 lists, but we here at Hot Cuppa TV (which consists of me and my trusty companion, the battery-operated hamster Badger, who, frankly, is not much of a typist but is extremely good at getting stuck under the couch) are not really that organized. We're all about the comfy chair and the soothing cuppa, not getting all archival on you.

(Yes, Badger is an "Ice Road Truckers" fan. And he'd better stay that way, unless he wants to get stuck under the couch permanently.)

So, instead, I'm just going to muse about a concept that keeps bubbling up in my mind -- that moment it becomes apparent just which character a show is really about. Sometimes that's not obvious until the end, but other times it's evident right from the beginning -- and I suspect that, more than once, if the producers are seeing what I'm seeing, that it's come as a surprise to them.

And honestly, often it's a very personal thing, which means your results may vary.

For me, it's a question of which character takes the longest personal journey, feels the events of the show most deeply (in that way, they often reflect the feelings of the folks at home), or represents that unpredictable synergy of character and actor that makes for unforgettable TV moments.

Going back in TV history, I think "Hill Street Blues" was about Belker; "Homicide: Life on the Street" was about Tim Bayliss; "The X-Files" was about Scully; "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was about Willow; "Lost" was about Hurley; "The Shield" was about the police-detective partnership of Dutch Wagenbach and Claudette Wyms; and, on the unscripted side, "Ice Road Truckers" was about Lisa Kelly, and "Deadliest Catch" was about the late Capt. Phil Harris (which makes the upcoming season without him a big challenge).

I'm a regular watcher of both NBC's Thursday comedy "Community" and The CW's Friday fantasy-drama "Supernatural," and when I think about this phenomenon, they're the current shows that leap to mind.

(BTW, if you haven't watched either show, click on the links and read up. I'm not going to give a ton of backstory to catch up non-viewers.)

For "Community," it's Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi, at right), the pop-culture-obsessed Muslim community-college film student. It's an ensemble show, and episodes that focus on other characters are fine, but "Community" has become -- at least for me -- about Abed's emotional journey. He's quickly evolved into the show's Greek chorus and conscience, as well as the source of most of its numerous pop-culture meta references.

Now, this is not to take away anything from the rest of the cast or characters -- and an abrupt shift in storytelling could change this completely -- but there's just something about the combination of the Abed character, the writing, and Pudi's performance that's so compelling that Abed has become the show's gravitational center.

This was never more evident than in the most recent episode, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," in which Abed's search for meaning resulted in stop-motion-animation (and a Christmas pterodactyl).

"Supernatural' is set up as a show about two demon-hunting brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester, but I've concluded that, in essence, it's the story of Dean.

He's the show's emotional anchor, the good son and loyal brother who's followed in his father's footsteps all his life and protected his brother, even when it broke his heart or sent him to Hell.

Now, all the Sam fans may scream and yell, but again, this takes nothing away from Padalecki's performance, which has been especially impressive this season, in the episodes where Sam was without a soul.

But I'm consistently drawn to Ackles, who plays Dean simultaneously with insouciance and wounded dignity, which is a hard mix to pull off.

He's like the ragged but cocky dog you know will pee on the carpet and eat your shoes, but which you also know will guard you with his life, so you give him a bone and let him sleep near the fire anyway.

While we're at it, Castiel the Angel on "Supernatural" has earned special mention as a character who has an entire life that we never see on the show, which is at least as interesting, if not more so, than the one we do see. He pops in and out to help the Winchester boys out of a fix, then returns to his day job -- fighting a war in Heaven.

Yeah, I'd like to see that spin-off.

Also kudos to the actor who plays Castiel, Misha Collins (right), who has worn the same rumpled suit and "Columbo" raincoat during his whole run on the show and has never been anything less than fascinating to watch.

Among the fall's new shows, I find the dynamic on CBS' Monday hit "Hawaii Five-0" intriguing. Obviously, as Steve McGarrett and Danny "Danno" Williams, respectively, Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan are the stars of the show, and doing a bang-up job of it.

But I'm starting to think, just starting to feel in my gut, that the show may wind up being about Chin Ho Kelly, played by former "Lost" star Daniel Dae Kim (left).

A disgraced Honolulu cop with a troubled past, Kelly always draws my eye, most recently in the Christmas episode "Hana 'a'a Makehewa," in which evildoers put a motion-sensitive explosive collar around his neck.

Even though he was forced to stay in a kneeling position for most of the hour, Kim managed to convey all of Kelly's fear and courage.

The first actor cast for the show, Kim has great subtlety and emotional depth, and I'm always rooting for him. We'll see what happens.

Today's cuppa: peppermint-raspberry iced tea

Yesterday, I worked my way through some of the season premieres for the coming week, and I thought I'd share a few random thoughts.

"Chuck" (NBC, Monday, Sept. 20): "This is not the opening of a TV show. This is real life." Chuck (Zachary Levi) to Morgan (Joshua Gomez), "Chuck Vs. the Anniversary"

(Photo: from left, guest-star Olivia Munn, Gomez, Levi)

While this season premiere is only one-tenth as meta as its NBC stablemate "Community" (more on that below), it's fearless about continuing to have fun with the spy genre -- and the key word in that sentence is "fun."

While there are real emotional stakes for all the characters, "Chuck" never takes itself too seriously, even when the fate of the free world is at stake. That's been the key to success with many shows from its cable sibling, USA Network -- from "White Collar" to "Covert Affairs" to "Psych" to "Burn Notice" -- and something the Peacock Net could do well to emulate a bit more.

This season's storyline is the search for Chuck's mom -- played by guest star Linda Hamilton, who looks terrific and has lost none of her gun-wielding and butt-kicking skills -- and there are also big changes in store for the Buy More, which also looks terrific and has acquired all sorts of gun-wielding and butt-kicking skills.

But I won't ruin the surprises for you.

What I liked most -- Harry Dean Stanton with a gun; Dolph Lundgren doing what Dolph Lundgren does best; Zachary Levi in a lean black suit (I do think he's turning into this generation's Jimmy Stewart, with added kung fu moves); and "Tangiers."

In the words of a familiar face, "Welcome back, Chuck."

"Bones" (Fox, Thursday, Sept. 23): Regarding "The Mastodon in the Room," first up, big fan of Brennan's (Emily Deschanel) new hairdo, which looks a bit shorter, a bit darker and has bangs. It's very flattering. Not too sure about Sweets' (John Francis Daley) face fuzz, but maybe that will change.

But I'm happy with pretty much any opportunity to see Booth (David Boreanaz) in combat fatigues.

It's essentially a limited reboot of the series, taking place one year after the last season finale, in which the characters scattered to far-flung corners of the globe in search of various personal and professional pursuits.

In the ensuing 12 months, nobody has gotten a sex change or gone to prison or anything like that, but it has allowed for a subtle realignment of the characters' relationships and lives, just enough to keep the show fresh but not so much that it upends the apple cart.

It was entertaining and charming, with some clever plot twists. In essence, it was "Bones."

But I really want to know how they got the mastodon in the room.

"Fringe" (Fox, Thursdays, Sept. 23 and 30): Fox sent two episodes, "Olivia" and "The Box," so I'll do them together. It does get a little confusing, what with strawberry-blonde Olivia in the alternate universe and golden-blonde Olivia (both Anna Torv) in our universe (hint: each looks like the other universe's Olivia), but again, the bangs are a definite improvement for both.

We're back to universe-hopping, with a little conspiracy theory thrown in and a very welcome guest shot from Andre Royo (at left in photo, with Torv), who played informant and struggling addict Bubbles on HBO's "The Wire." I don't know if he's planned to be in any episodes after the premiere, but I sure hope he comes back. He's a warm presence in the cold, technological world of "Fringe," giving me someone to root for along with our-universe Walter (John Noble).

(Frankly, alternate-universe Walter is reminding me of the wacky Denethor that Noble played in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and I keep expecting him to call out, "Bring wood and oil!")

Anyway, Torv does a bang-up job once again, managing to be tough, feminine, strong and vulnerable all at once, and that's really not easy, especially since she's playing two characters at the same time in the same show, a challenge for any actor (especially since they're essentially the same person, but kinda not).

I didn't see the cow, though, and that was very disappointing.

"Community" (NBC, Thursday, Sept. 23): The season premiere so nice I watched it twice (actually thrice, since I popped it in again today). Any half-hour comedy with this many self-conscious TV and pop-culture references, one-liners, sight gags AND Betty White should have sunk under its own pretensions, but it does not, because it has none.

If the words the characters say came out of the mouths of people who were cooler, more successful, less bumbling or less inherently good, it would be intolerable, as such things are on many other sitcoms. In the words of Betty White (OK, and Yoda), "That is why you fail."

Besides, anything that makes the show's one semi-cool (at least in his own mind) character, ex-lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), clutch his books to his chest like a 14-year-old girl can't be bad.

Also, unlike just about every other time White has made an appearance lately, there isn't even one sex joke involving her (but don't take that to mean there are no shocking moments).

Watch it for your funnybone; watch it for your soul; watch it for the National Review shout-out.

Mostly, just watch it for the next episode in which Joel McHale takes his shirt off (no, it isn't the season premiere, but a girl can dream).

BTW, I just visited the set last Friday during production for the Halloween episode -- which just may outdo last year's, which is saying something -- and while I was sitting on a semi-broken chair between two generators and two drink coolers (yes, the life of an entertainment journalist is just THAT glamorous), I saw Dino Stamatopolous, who plays Star Burns, coming in to work.

As I didn't immediately see his character's star-shaped sideburns, I commented that it was nice that Stamatopolous didn't have to wear them all the time. He replied that he did, but they are colored in darker for filming, and that his job "is to keep them properly trimmed."

Just a little tidbit for you.

UPDATE: "Community" is planning a "Twittersode" to lead into this year's premiere. Click here for details. And, for those of you on Twitter, follow @oldwhitemansays . Trust me.

Once upon a time, summer TV was all reruns, busted pilots and short-run replacement shows (I liked that Ben Vereen one, though ...), but now, it's just as stuffed with scripted and reality shows as the rest of the year -- and a bunch of them are just awesome.

So, in no particular order, here's my list of Summer Shows I Can't Live Without (feel free to play along at home; your results may vary):

"Wipeout": Anytime I need a boost to my spirits, ABC's reality-competition show, which sends contestants through wild and wacky obstacle courses, is just the ticket. In some ways, it's a living "Road Runner & Coyote" cartoon, only with no Road Runner (unless you count that $50,000 ultimate payoff that everyone's chasing). All the colorful contestants are Wile E. Coyote, forced to suffer repeated splats, falls, flips and indignities in search of an elusive prize. Yes, it's silly and mindless fun, but I love it because ... it's silly and mindless fun.

"America's Got Talent": You can keep your "American Idol," I prefer NBC's often emotional, sometimes downright loopy talent-competition series, which pits dog acts against magicians against singers against a harmonica player against a guy who flossed his neck. What all of the acts have in common is that they have nothing in common except a willingness to endure possible public humiliation to realize a long-held dream. Sometimes it makes me cry, and sometimes it makes me want to take a shower.

"Ice Road Truckers": In the midst of a sultry summertime, there's nothing like tuning in to History Channel and watching truckers on the frozen Dalton Highway in Alaska battle snow, ice and below-zero temperatures to get their rigs and their loads from one tiny tundra hamlet to another. If I still lived in the Northeast and was facing similar conditions in a few months, I might not be so sanguine, but as I don't, it's a visually stunning reminder of what I'm missing.

"Burn Notice": USA Network now has a second spy drama, called "Covert Affairs," but the original remains the gold standard for espionage thrills, chills and fun. The summer finale airs tonight (Aug. 26), so you better get hopping if you haven't yet fallen in love with burned spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) and his motley crew in Miami. Oh, and any chance to watch Sharon Gless puff a cigarette and have her say as Westen's savvy mom is worth the price of admission.

"The Choir": I fell in love with the first season of this BBC America reality show, in which elfin choirmaster Gareth Malone built a choir out of the rough-hewn raw materials at a British high school that didn't even have a music program, eventually taking it all the way to a worldwide competition in China. In the most recent season, he took on adolescent masculinity to create a choir at a sports-focused all-boys school. In the next season, he heads to a blue-collar area to not only revitalize the school but the whole town. Gareth is tough but loving and has an unshakable faith in the transformative power of singing -- and he's made a believer out of me.

"Warehouse 13" and "Eureka": Syfy has just found the right mix of science-fiction, fantasy, character humor, drama and good old entertainment in this pair of hit shows, which had crossover episodes early in the month. Both shows manage to be true to their genres without resorting to silliness or self-parody (excellent casts and writers go a long way to making that happen). They're light in tone, but not lightweight -- and that's harder than it sounds.

"Psych": A perfect froth of slapstick, one-liners, homages galore and even a dead body or two, this USA Network comedy-drama about a pretend police psychic (James Roday) and his long-suffering best buddy and partner (Dule Hill) is an absolute delight. The whole cast is strong, the writing is clever but never twee, the theme song rocks, and there's just enough heart to anchor it to Earth and keep the whole thing from floating away.

These are only the tip of the iceberg, and I could easily give Honorable Mentions to: Discovery's "The Colony"; Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva": USA's "Royal Pains" and "White Collar"; BBC America's "James May's Toy Stories": and Syfy's new "Haven" (like the chemistry between the leads a lot). And of course, there's Discovery's "Pitchmen," which just returned for a new season. And while it's as old-fashioned as it could be, I'm liking ABC Family's sitcom "Melissa & Joey" (as I only watch one other sitcom, NBC's "Community," that's something).

I'm sure there are more I just can't think of right now. Ain't summer grand?

Today's cuppa: breakfast-blend coffee (I'm out of tea! Help!)

Here's part two of my conversation with Dan Harmon, the creator of NBC's Thursday-night comedy "Community," returning Sept. 23, which focuses on the motley members of a study group at fictional Greendale Community College.

Click here for part one.

For its first season, "Community's" time-slot companion in the 8-9 p.m. ET/PT hour was the comedy "Parks and Recreation." This coming season, "Parks and Rec" moves to midseason, with the established comedy "30 Rock" moving in. That's too bad, in a way, since Harmon was a fan of the show that originally came after his.

On "Parks and Rec" and Rob Lowe (a guest star at the end of last year who will be a regular on the show this year):

Harmon: "I like 'Parks and Rec.' Rob Lowe was great. That was a great move (adding him). That makes me really excited. No matter how busy we got, I would try to go home on Thursday night and watch the show live and watch everything that night. I just felt it was a healthy thing to do, to keep reminding myself.

"I became a huge fan of 'Parks and Rec,' because it was right on after us, and I felt a kinship with them."

On whether there would be an action figure based on Kickpuncher, the action-movie character created by student and amateur filmmaker Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) and his best pal Troy Barnes (Donald Glover). Click here for a clip:

Harmon: "Yeah, that's a good idea. I don't know. I'll put that on the list. I want to do a lot of that stuff as soon as possible."

On the future of the character Starburns (Dino Stamatopoulos), a student whose sideburns are shaped like stars:

Harmon: Yeah, he's worth a look into. We reboot him slightly in season two."

On whether Anthony Michael Hall, who guest-starred in last year's Christmas episode, "Comparative Religion," as Mike the bully, might make a return appearance:

Harmon: "I'd like to. I want to bring him back, because we broke a 'Community' rule with that character. He's a villain. He doesn't make any sense except in the capacity of a villain. Why is he being so mean? i want to know the answer. I don't believe in actual villains, someone who lives to twist their mustache in the morning."

On what's up in this season's holiday episodes:

Harmon: "Halloween last year was not in the category that you would put 'Modern Warfare' in. This year, it will be, and so will Christmas. At least every six episodes, I want the reaction that I got from 'Modern Warfare.' I don't care if I fail, but that's my goal. We can sustain that. That's not overdoing it. That's just going, 'Oh, you like those croutons? OK, here's a bowl of them.' I'll pull back if people squawk, but I don't think they will.

"Five episodes of grounded stuff about people's relationships is good, and I don't mean romantic relationships, just people dynamics. If  your relationships among your characters follow a human-emotional physics that we are all familiar with, as long as you don't violate those ... if you betray me, and I don't get mad about it, that's weirder than if a pie fight breaks out."

On whether he's still having issues with the character of Britta (Gillian Jacobs):

Harmon: "Because she was more real than I was giving her credit for, those Britta issues are over. She's becoming one of my favorite characters, if not the, because she's as complicated as a real person, and yet she's in a sitcom. That's a real accomplishment to me.

"We get tangled a lot. The youngest and hippest and sexiest among us in this culture get the most clumsy, and that's pretty interesting to watch."

On why everybody in "Community," and just everybody, are the heroes of their own lives:

Harmon: "Everybody wants to be a damn hero, but sometimes the most heroic thing is staring yourself in the face. You have to admit that you're a selfish pig, and that would be pretty heroic at this point.

"(Humanity) is a very heroic species, plucked from extinction by its own hand in the face of all adversity. Greendale is a hero, and all these characters are heroes. You don't have to necessarily save the Gulf in order to feel good about yourself."

On whether moving the hit geek comedy "The Big Bang Theory" to Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT means CBS considers the show a "Community" killer:

Harmon: "What a flattering concept that would be. I would love to think that they're sending a Terminator out because they knew that, in the future, I was going to be awesome, but I think we were an afterthought. They're probably more focused on 'Bones,' I would say. They have a big poster of 'Bones' on their wall, and they're studying it.

"They're definitely, by their own admission, CBS, making Thursday night about comedy again. Thursday at 8 was me vs. detective shows and vampires. Thursday nights will lighten up with the chuckles again. Is it going to be weird? Are we doing to find new viewers, or are we going to divide the six million people watching at that time?"

On whether star Joel McHale's shirt will come off again, as it did most memorably in "Physical Education":

Harmon: "I'm just going to keep torturing Joel, because I like watching his dinners get smaller and smaller. He eats hard-boiled eggs without the yolk. We'll see how little he can eat. It's a little revenge from high school. He played football, so I keep writing into the show, 'Oh, his shirt comes off.' Guess no pudding for you!"

Today's cuppa: coffee at home ...

Sorry to be away so long, but I was wall-to-wall at the recently concluded biannual Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour (which you'd know if you followed me on Twitter!), but it did give me an opportunity to talk to lots of folks, including "Community" executive producer Dan Harmon (you can also follow him on Twitter).

Season one of the NBC Thursday-night comedy included  "Modern Warfare," in which the fictional Greendale Community College became the setting for a rollicking paintball war that turned into a trip through most of the hit action movies of the past couple of decades.

The action sequences culminated in an encounter that resolved the long-simmering sexual tension between study-group mates Jeff (Joel McHale) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs).

But a later episode put Jeff in a liplock with fellow study-group member Annie (Alison Brie), setting a fresh romantic pot on the boil. More on that here.

With the show returning for its second season on Sept. 23, there's lots more "Community" to talk about, so here's the first installment of my chat with Harmon, a fellow community-college student and one of my favorite showrunners.

Click here for part two.

On topping "Modern Warfare":

Harmon: "It's a specific thing, the action-movie genre, but I think that the way you top it is by stretching the taffy in two directions at once. You make the characters more real, and you subject them to weirder and weirder stuff. I haven't even begun to squeeze that sponge yet. That's just dripping out before you even put pressure on it.

"The great news is that 'Modern Warfare,' if it had failed in some capacity, if the critics had hated it, if the viewers had hated it, then 'Community' would ... be coasting to whatever shoulder of whatever highway sitcoms slip off to.

"'Modern Warfare' was me asking permission to really become a fan of the show alongside the other fans, and permission feels granted."

On having red-hot silver vixen Betty White in the Sept. 23 season-two premiere, playing respected but somewhat nutty anthropology professor June Bauer:

Harmon: "She was awesome. She was amazing. She's a sweetheart. She was down for anything, even a little humble about her ability to pull it off. I don't want to spoil one of the things we had her do, but it's a ridiculous thing to ask.

"All she kept saying was, 'Are you sure you don't want to get somebody else to do this for me?' And I kept saying, 'Are you saying that because you don't want to do this? Because if you don't want to do anything, I will call in a jet pack and have you lifted out of here. I will not be the man who ever made you do something you don't want to do. But if you're saying that because you think you're bad at it, then you're ridiculous, so sit down and do this.'

"It's amazing. You'll see the thing I'm talking about. You'll know that that's what I'm talking about, what she did with us."

On whether White will return:

Harmon: "Uh, I decided on the set that, regardless of what she wants ... I have been saying that it's up to her. Now it's not up to her. I'm trying to figure out ways to -- I'm going to sneak her in here and there, so people understand that if I have my way, she'll be back. Because I don't want to get emails from people going, 'Where is she? What's going on?'

"I want the answer, that she is over there. So I kind of made that decision on the set, watching her interact with Joel McHale and stuff.

"She riffed, not only a joke that we'll keep in the show, and not only a joke that we'll blow a scene on, she riffed a joke that we'll end the first act with. That's something that the writers didn't have to labor over for six hours. She was on the set, just watching the scene."

On his rivalry with Fox's school show "Glee," including a "Modern Warfare" scene in which Jeff paintballs a Greendale glee-club member, quipping that the group should perform some original songs:

Harmon: "I heard from their TCA panel, I saw on Twitter, that, partway into the season, they're doing an episode of original songs."

(As a matter of fact, in front of the assembled Press Tour reporters, "Glee" executive producer Ryan Murphy said, "We are going to have an original-music episode which is going to be, I think, in the second part of the season, which the assignment will be for the kids to write their own music. And we're talking to some great songwriters, and of course, we'll be working with Adam (Anders, music producer) on who those people will be. But I think -- I hope that we'll have, like, five original songs.")

Harmon (cont'd): "It made me think of our challenge to them in 'Modern Warfare.' I believe we hit home. I think I will next challenge them to go multi-camera, strategically sabotage them -- add a dog!"

On why he has a very personal reason to chide the folks at "Glee":

Harmon: "I watch 'Glee,' and it wipes (my cynicism) right out. It fills my heart with love. I can't watch 'Glee,' because they're in the stage next to us (at Paramount Studios), and I have to hear them. They're like the neighbors who won't keep it down.

"I have to go over in my bathrobe. I know they hate me for it, but I rap in their door with my cane, and I go, 'Stop it! Stop having fun!'"

Next: Harmon on "Parks & Recreation," action figures, Starburns, Anthony Michael Hall, holidays, Britta and being heroes. 

Tonight's cuppa: decaf hazelnut coffee, with newlywed neighbors over pieces of the cake I decorated today

I typed some questions to Dan Harmon, creator of NBC's Thursday comedy hit "Community" -- and mad Twitterer -- and he typed answers back. That's just what writers do. And typists (are there still typists?).

But anyway, here we go ...

Has the show turned out like you conceived at the beginning, or have elements emerged that you didn't expect?

 

Narratively speaking, almost nothing but unexpected elements have emerged, because I didn't want to know where we were going, and I'm finding out everything the audience finds out a few weeks ahead of them throughout the season.

 

I found out every character's religion. Britta lived in New York but pronounces "bagel" the way I do. Go figure. Annie lost her virginity to a gay boyfriend on the floor of a walk-in closet. Awesome.

 

Tonally, the show has turned out to occupy a larger area than I thought would be possible. We have consistently had episodes in which a fast-paced round of crisp dialogue can build to a broad, base gag that explodes into fragments of absurdity, finally coalescing as a nice pool of heartwarming goo.

 

I really thought, before doing this show, that you had to choose between farts, snark and sonnets, and yet I love them all, and my happiest surprise about this show is that I might not have to choose, and might not be alone.

 

How important have the off-screen elements - the minisodes and other videos, the Twitter accounts - become to increasing awareness of the show?

 

I wish the answer was "massively," but I have no idea. This is an easy position for me to have, because I currently have the luxury of having a network show, but I look at digital content as an opportunity to feed the TV fans, to drive traffic from the living room to the office the next day.

 

I know that's probably stupid, because, if you look at the "Abed's Community College Chronicles" episodes they let us do, obviously those have zero promotional value, they're not going to get anybody that doesn't watch the show to tune into the show. But I don't care, because, as a fan of the show, I find it so amazing, the idea that one of the characters is a filmmaker whose films you can watch online, some of which are a show he makes, that, because he's IN THE SHOW, share plot elements with the real show, but, because he's a weird guy, are written differently and go different places.

 

Going back to your first question, my "expectation" was that by now, there'd have been 15 episodes of that show-within-a-show online, and at least three instances in the real show in which we're reminded it exists. What happened? We made two of them, and they don't make people watch the TV show, so, they sit there like monuments to the danger of listening to me. Wait, no, they're monuments to the danger of ignoring me, aren't they?

 

Well, how about monuments to the danger of doing the "look, it's strangers playing our favorite characters" bit before they're anybody's favorite characters?

 

Which characters are most clearly defined in your mind, and which ones are still evolving?

 

Although, biographically, I know very little about her, I think I might know Britta the best in terms of knowing what she would do in a given situation. In her inception, she was an amalgam of a few ex-girlfriends. She's an archetype that's been a social fixture in my life, the intimidatingly quiet and eclectic girl that, as she becomes less quiet, reveals that being eclectic is another way of saying over-filtered to the point of self-imposed blandness and crippling insecurity.

 

We all pooped our pants in kindergarten, and we take different escape routes from that memory, but I feel like I've met -- and loved -- and regretted loving -- but was thankful to have loved -- so many women that took similar routes to Britta's, that she'll always be the most familiar, therefore most abused, and therefore most pitied, therefore all the more familiar, to me.

 

Among the guest stars - Anthony Michael Hall (on the right below, with star Joel McHale), Owen Wilson, Jack Black, etc. - who might come back, and are there still guest stars on your wish list?

 

I would love to revisit AMH's character, because I still lose sleep about the fact that we broke a "Community" commandment with that character, as we have with a few of our archer villains: thou shalt write up to the character. In other words, what thing, however small, does the character share with the writer? We have to revisit Anthony Michael Hall's character, and I need to prove he was secretly human that Christmas.

 

As for Jack and Owen, they can come back anytime they want, but come on, it's "Community."

 

When will Joel McHale strip next?

 

My God, the poor guy, he's become Christina Applegate on "Married with Children." I will answer that question sincerely out of gratitude to our female and gay audience: Joel's shirt and pants will be off again in a few weeks.

 

I'm sorry I can't give you an airdate; you'll just have to suffer, weekly, through my thought-provoking stories, on the edge of your seat, wondering if this is the moment, but I can tell you it happens again.

 

I'm guessing it's the third-from-last episode this season. The shirt and pants come off.  At least the shirt, I know that.

 

Early in the episode, he removes his sweater like a male bimbo, revealing a tightly stretched wife-beater T-shirt straining against his heaving, rock-hard pecs. Later in that episode...that wife-beater's out of there. Discarded.

 

So, make sure when you're watching it with your husband that you laugh extra hard at some joke in the episode, that way you'll have a fake answer for "why are we saving this?"

Today's cuppa; PG Tips tea (but I just bought Good Earth Sweet & Spicy on the recommendation of Emily Procter of "CSI: Miami," so watch this space ...)

Time to resurrect something I used to do for a now-defunct print column, a collection of random but entertaining quotes I collected on my travels. Enjoy!

"I had a big fight scene yesterday. I'm a bit sore. Oh, it was just five bad guys. I just killed a few people." Yvonne Strahovski, "Chuck," NBC

"With my love of the Muppets, and Jason Segel's knowledge of the Muppets, we should probably just do a 150th-episode puppet show." Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother," CBS

'The inner little kid in me, little boy in me, loves all the running and gunning, because that's what every boy grows up dreaming of doing." Zachary Levi, "Chuck," NBC

"Mostly, I read nonfiction. I really like books about politics, but fortunately for me, I'm smart enough to not talk about politics, I just read a lot of books about politics." Chi McBride, "Human Target," Fox

"I have two tattoos, and I wish I didn't have either of them. I have a tramp stamp. No, this is the worst. It's horrible. It's something that really appealed to me at 19, OK? It's a little girl/angel/butterfly sitting on a branch, looking very pensive. Then I have the Japanese symbols for love and faith on the back of my neck." Danielle Fishel, "The Dish," Style

"Poland is such an interesting country. You go there, it's a very artistic, intellectual culture, but they've been so oppressed and surrounded by all these other cultures, where they were forced to create and also stay true to their roots and very strong. They're a very strong and stoic people." Danny Pudi (who's half Polish), "Community," NBC

"(Both Nathan Fillion and Zach Levi) can be smarmy and sarcastic when they want to be. The wonderful thing that I found out about those two men is their hearts are lovable, and they love people. Their hearts are open and embracing and welcoming. They don't have an ounce of self-consciousness that I've seen. I've seen them both in very compromising positions, and they are good-natured about." Adam Baldwin, "Chuck," NBC (and formerly of "Firefly," which starred Fillion, on Fox)

"My son is 15 years old, and my daughter is 21 months old, so when Alex was two, two-and-a-half, is when I started on 'Star Trek.' I feel like I missed so much of his childhood, because I was working all the time. Now, I realize it's very different having a baby at 40 than having a baby at 26, 27, whatever it is. You appreciate a lot more now, and you realize how fast it goes, and you realize they're this small for about five minutes. You literally blink your eye, and they're in high school." Jeri Ryan, "Leverage" TNT (and a recent episode of USA's "Psych")

"I was approached in one bookstore. They said, 'We only have three copies (of the Richard Castle book) left, could you sign them?' 'Sure.' I always sign as Nathan Fillion, because that's the autograph I practiced since high school. If I were to sign Richard Castle, it just wouldn't look right. I can sign my autograph 2,000 times, not looking at it, and it's perfect. That's learning." Nathan Fillion (right), "Castle," ABC

"Did you see the first episode? I think it opens with me bashing on my keyboard with my fist, which you know I love playing. It just gives Chloe an opportunity to hate on everybody." Mary-Lynn Rajskub, "24," Fox

Upon being greeted with, "It's Pudi time!", Danny Pudi of NBC's Thursday comedy "Community" says, "That's the name of my company. It's my corporation here for production, with which I do videos.

"And also, it's just to make sure I'm on the government's watch list, because they want to know where I am at all times."

 

He does a deadpan blink, then, "Kidding."

 

A Chicago native, Pudi can also sing in Polish, as he demonstrates while shooting promos on set at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.

 

"I sang a lot as a little kid," says Pudi, the son of an Indian father and a Polish mother. "My mom would be very happy."

(BTW, he can also dance while singing in Polish, as demonstrated here.)

On "Community," set at a junior college in Colorado, Pudi plays Abed, a socially awkward Muslim student fascinated with pop culture and movies. His best pal is fellow student and former high-school football star Troy (Donald Glover).

 

Both Pudi and Glover come from a comedy background - Glover was a writer on "30 Rock" - and the two have become known for the short, sometimes musical, (sometimes dancing) vignettes at the end of each episode.

 

"It's a really funny way," Pudi says, "to do something quick and fun that is not necessarily tied to the show but takes you into the world of Greendale and these characters, Abed and Troy, and allows us to play off each other. We've been shooting those on the fly. There's not a lot of prep time."

 

Playing a film buff also means that Pudi sometimes has  homework.

 

"It's kind of cool," he says, "when my homework is to literally go home and watch 'Meatballs,' with Bill Murray. I'm like, 'This is my homework. Sorry, guys. I can't go out tonight.

 

I've got to study.' They're like, 'Oh, man, you can't come out and play?' I'm like, 'No, man. I've got to watch 'Meatballs.' "

 

Birthplace: Chicago

School cred: Attended Marquette University in Milwaukee (and remains a big fan of Marquette basketball).

 

Chicago sports cred: "We have a split family. My wife's a Cubs fan, and I'm a White Sox fan. It's fine. She's also a Packers fan, and I'm a Bears fan." Also, "I'm playing fantasy football with (co-star) Joel McHale right now, and our team is kicking butt."

 

Movie cred: "Cop Show" (2007), "Nilam Auntie: An International Treasure" (2009)

 

TV cred: "The West Wing," "ER," "Gilmore Girls," "Greek," "The Bill Engvall Show"

 

TV commercial cred: McDonald's snack wraps; best known for Blackberry's "butt dialing" commercial

Tonight's cuppa: Irish breakfast decaf tea

Here are a few more moments from my visit to the well-chilled set of NBC's "Community" in late October, during filming of the holiday episode, "Comparative Religion" (click here for a preview), airing Thursday, Dec. 10.

(Click here for the previous post.)

Donald Glover (in the center to the left, between Alison Brie and Yvette Nicole Brown) on the inspiration for his character Troy, a former high-school football star: "I based a lot of the character off Smash. You watch 'Friday Night Lights.' He's a wide receiver, but I do like his style, the way he talks. 'Smash wouldn't do that. Smash has got this down, baby.' I love Smash."

(right, Gaius Charles as Smash Williams)

Glover on why community college (the setting for the show) is cool: "It's the heart of the show, which makes it such a great show and also makes people who come out of community college great. It forces you to deal with a variety of people. ... Community college is a place where people are forced to be together, which is the world."

Yvette Nicole Brown, who plays recent divorcee Shirley, and Alison Brie, who plays Troy's former high-school classmate, Annie Edison, on that other misfits-in-school show, Fox's musical high-school dramedy "Glee" ...

Brie: "I consider it the nemesis of our show."

Brown: "We joke about 'Glee.' We love 'Glee,' but we joke about it."

Brie: "We do love 'Glee.'"

Brown: "It's almost like 'Community' with music. That's the way we look at it. We can each find our counterpart on the show. (It's on another network, but) I think we should do a crossover anyway."

Brie: "A mash-up."

Brown: "Our community college against their high school."

Brie: "We've been pushing for a musical episode, but I think it won't come for a while. The writers are, like, 'Dream on.' But they try to incorporate it. They've incorporated your singing."

Brown: "I sing in the Christmas episode."

And lastly, Glover on trying to talk while co-star and pal Danny Pudi (right) is recording Christmas and Diwali greetings in English and Polish (and singing) nearby: "Remember this, what is going on. It's Abed, it's Danny Pudi, singing in Polish. The Indian-looking dude is singing in Polish. He's half-Polish, half-Indian. That's pretty cool. It's pretty funny. Sing again! Having this in the background is awesome."

(The two also do short vignettes at the end of the episodes. Click here and here for a couple of examples.)

Finally, just because it's an awesome shot, below find actor Jim Rash, playing Dean Pelton, dressed as, well, whatever he's dressed as ...