I know not many people still frequent here, but I figured I'd ask anyway. I'm working on a project (well, more like considering working on a project) about how often the sort of history and behavior of ships and shipping communities often end up being rewritten after a show is over, with Jeff and Annie being one of the main focuses. One thing I often see being referenced that Dan Harmon talked a lot in the DVD commentaries for the show about how much he disliked Jeff/Annie and it's shippers. So part of the plan is to listen to the DVD commentaries to see how accurate it is, to see exactly what he did say in those commentaries (especially since in my memory he was relatively positive for the most part about the ship).
But obviously I'd like to avoid listening to every single episode commentary, or even every single commentary where something might be said that applies to the ship. So I was just wondering if there was anyone with a better memory of the commentaries or even who might be aware of some posts here that discuss the commentaries that might be able to point me in the right direction. I'd also be interested in commentaries that discuss their feelings on ships and shipping in general.
I don't know how many people still check this place, but here's some art. It's getting lots of downvotes over at reddit, so I figured I'd post it here where people might appreciate it a bit more.
So I asked the AI chatbot ChatGPT to write some poetry about our favorite fictional pairing. And I must say, I think we've got a fan.
A Haiku: Jeff and Annie, friends Eyes meet, heartbeats quicken fast Could it be romance
A Limerick: There once was a guy named Jeff Whose love life was in quite a mess Then came Annie, so sweet His heart skipped a beat Their romance, a delightful success!
A Sonnet: In Greendale's halls, two hearts did intertwine, Jeff's suave ways had caught young Annie's eye, Though age and logic kept them far apart, Their chemistry was hard to deny.
With time, their friendship deepened, yet they yearned For something more, a chance to take a chance, But fear and circumstance left them concerned, Would love bring joy, or only heartache's lance?
The answer came in moments unforeseen, A dance, a kiss, a perfect serenade, Their love declared, they basked in joy serene, A bond that not even time could degrade.
So here's to Jeff and Annie's love so true, A shining star in Greendale's kooky crew.
Hi there! I've been trying to find a fic but I cannot for the life of me remember the title of it, or when it was written. I do know it was a multi-chapter fic (I think 3 or 4 chapters but I could be wrong). In the story Jeff misinterprets Annie and Abed's friendship (I think because of something Pierce or Chang says, but again, I could be wrong), and is devastated because he thinks they're together. The climax confrontation between Jeff and Annie takes place in the parking lot or a parking garage, and the group witnesses it.
At this point I'm really just hoping to find the fic to prove to myself it's real and that I haven't lost my mind and imagined it.
Looks like the Community movie is finally happening! Glad to see Donald included in this, though I suppose it wouldn't happen without him. No idea how they're going to set it up so that everyone is back at Greendale again or what this will/could mean for J/A, but I guess we'll find out. Buckle up!
I don't know if anyone still checks this group, but I finally finished some Jeff/Annie art I started 6 years ago. Figured I should post it here.
I also posted this on twitter. If any of you are on twitter, it would really help if you liked and shared it over there. https://twitter.com/KitKathArtStuf…
I don't know how active this community is these days, but I figured I'd post this here and give it a try. If I don't get much of a response I suppose I'll try the tag on Tumblr, too.
I'm going to be starting up a youtube channel soon where I do video essays, and after a couple of started essays I have plans to do a series of videos on Community. While I don't have every single video idea worked out yet, I do have several, and a few include Jeff/Annie (or are just plain about Jeff/Annie), so I thought getting some thoughts and even comments from other fans could be helpful. If I use a comment or someone adds a thought I hadn't had before and I use it, I will credit it in the video.
The first episode involving Jeff/Annie is about how Community subtly uses entirely visual storytelling over the course of several episodes to express where the story is intended to go. To do this I'm going to be focusing on season three and what I think was the intention of Harmon and his writers to officially and unambiguously demonstrate a sort of final passing over of the show's romantic pairings, putting a definitive end to Jeff/Britta (and I suppose Annie/Troy, though that had been pretty definitively over since the middle of season one) and solidifying Annie/Jeff and Britta/Troy. Because Harmon was fired for season 4 this got badly derailed. But throughout season three (the particular episodes are Remedial Chaos Theory, Vampire Mythology, and Course Listing Unavailable) there are scenes that take place in Troy and Abed's apartment where there are entirely visual and non-verbal moments and exchanges between Annie, Jeff, Britta, and Troy that mirror each other in particular ways and are structured in a way that I think really clearly shows this passing on of pairings.
So for that video I'm curious if anyone else has noticed that, maybe if you haven't if you go back after reading this post you do see it, if you think my theory is legit or if I'm just reading into things, if you think season 4 really did badly derail these assumed intentions and whether you think things would have gone differently for this pairings if Harmon hadn't been replaced for season 4.
This video in particular isn't really a Jeff/Annie video per se, or rather it's not a pro-J/A, anti-JB video. I know there will probably be some people who watch it who are JB fans who see it that way (and probable some JA fans who see it that way too), but it's really just about exploring the way Community often does tell its stories or broadcast its intentions in these quieter, subtle ways that keep certain aspects of the show, like the relationships and character development, very present in the storytelling while still being able to maintain the traditional sitcom, self contained week to week episode structure.
The second video, since it's wholly focused on J/A as a pairing, is truly "about" the ship, and I suppose it's a "pro JA" video, but it's once again more about exploring different ways Community tells stories, particularly long-term arcs. While the prior video idea is about exploring the way the show tells lots of different kinds of far-reaching stories while using that season three "pairing hand-off" as an example, this one is specifically about the arcs of the romantics pairings and how the writers keep it very, very much a presence without it being quite so present the way it is in a lot of other shows. To do this I want to look at Jeff and Annie's relationship arc, which I think was very, very intentional and deliberate on the part of Harmon and the writers, starting with the very, very intentional and deliberate moment of Jeff smiling in reminiscence at the framed article of him and Annie winning the debate - where they won by her kissing him - in season one. That was a very clear and intentional decision. If they just wanted Jeff to be fondly remembering his first year or earliest days at Greendale, they could have pulled anything from season one or the early seasons and found a way for him to be looking at it. They could have pulled multiple things. But they specifically went with the debate. And then the season concluded with Jeff being able to power Rachel because he's in love with Annie. There's an intentional arc to their relationship that season, but it's not an overwhelming presence where the majority of the episodes are specifically about or heavily involve at some point hammering in the idea of "they're in love" into viewers' heads.
So I'd also be curious to see what JA fans think about the arc this season, how you feel, as shippers, about shipping on a show that approaches romantic pairings in this way, if the show approaching arcs in this way is satisfying to you, if you think, even with the understanding that the show writes its romantic arcs in this way, they were successful in convincingly selling the arc. I'd be curious to know, if you watched the show when it originally aired and have rewatched it (or at least season 5) since, if there was a difference in how you perceived what was happening with this storytelling (for example, if you didn't notice it was happening when it originally aired, but when binging it you found it easier to pick up on).
I've been considering doing other videos that involve Jeff/Annie. I briefly considered doing a video about why Jeff/Annie works where Jeff/Britta doesn't, but I feel like doing what really does boil down to a "my ship is better than your ship" video, even if it is thorough analysis of the narrative and writing that examines general ideas of why certain things work and why certain other things don't. One idea that I think could be more viable is about how the show capitalized on the chemistry between its actors and how Harmon was smart enough to lean into the pairings and relationships (both platonically and romantically) that weren't initially intended to be centerpieces of the show and wasn't afraid to move away from the pairing he'd originally planned because something worked better. The only reason I'm a little iffy on this one is because I'm doing an entire video about how shows change throughout their first season and how the shows that end up being the best are usually the ones where the writers are willing to throw the things (pairing, character traits, etc) out the window because they aren't working and/or things that weren't a part of the original plan worked better, and obviously using Community to do it. Both because it's a Community series, and because I think Community is one of the best examples of a show undergoing a lot of change during its first season and the writers being brave enough to explore things that weren't a part of the original plan a leave by the wayside things that didn't work. So I don't know if doing a video focusing entirely on the relationships and how they changed based on the writers abandoning the original plan and exploring things that worked better would just be redundant or not.
So, anyway, after all that rambling, I'd love to read any thoughts anyone has. Whether in response to the specific questions I asked, or broader thoughts about the topics in general, or even ideas for video topics. As I said, if I do end up using comments in the videos, or someone brings up a thought or idea that I've never had myself and I decide to include it, I will credit, and I'll do my best to get in touch with you to ask exactly how you'd life to be credited (if I can't get in touch with you, I'll just use your LJ handle).
As you might guess by my presence here, I am a fan of Jeff and Annie's relationship. And going into the finale, I was hoping they would turn it into just that, a real relationship. Ever since the Season 5 finale, which shut the door on JeffxBritta, had Abed tell Annie to fight for what she wants (Jeff), and Jeff literally save the group thanks to his feelings for Annie, it seemed like it was heading in that direction. But then it didn't.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still happy they kissed, and what we did get was better than a "nope, never gonna happen", but ultimately it felt ambiguous, which lends to a lack of closure. It seemed like finale’s answer to the Jeff-Annie question was “Maybe in the future”. But does that mean maybe in the future in a few months when Annie’s internship is over, or does it mean maybe in the future in a few years once she's grown up more? Hell, to me it seems there’s even a coherent way to interpret the events of the finale to suggest that Jeff and Annie actually *did* start a relationship off screen in the days between their kiss and her departure from the airport. But it doesn’t seem like most people think this is the case so it’s probably just wishful thinking. In case anyone is curious, that latter interpretation (that a relationship started off screen) is based on the following observations:
I don't know how many people still check this group, but I'm really hoping for some help looking for a fic. I've been looking for it for a long time now but I can't even remember the title, so I can't be sure if maybe it's been deleted/the writer's livejournal was disabled, or if I'm just not looking in the right places.
It was an Annie-centric story with a Jeff/Annie slant about Annie relapsing. I know there are a few stories like that, and while I can't remember a lot of specific details, one I do remember is that Annie had a box she kept under her bed with reminders of her addiction in there, including a partially full bottle of pills. I'm pretty sure it was a oneshot (but a long one). I can't remember exactly when it was written, but I know it was written some time during the first three seasons.
If anyone remembers this fic and can point me in the right direction with a link, or even just the title or the author (or a "it's not online anymore" so I can stop trying to find it if that is the case), I would be super, super appreciative.
