gillian jacobs

Gillian Jacobs has spent a season seeing her character on 'Community,' Britta Perry, go from an idealistic, put-together woman to one that has a ton of baggage. And, according to her, that was all part of creator Dan Harmon's "master plan" for the character.

"I think she's really being challenged in a lot of ways by being in this study group," Jacobs told me the other day. "And I didn't know that when I read the pilot, you know? And it became clear to me, I think along with the audiences, as the season went along where she became the butt of a lot of the jokes."

Jacobs was in New York to attend the NBC upfronts and couldn't have been happier that 'Community' is back for a second season. After the jump, we talk about the first season, including the hilarious 'Modern Warfare' action episode that brought the rocky sexual tension between Britta and Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) to a head. We also talked about the season finale, which airs tonight, and what might be in store for the second season.

There can only be one. One winner of a paintball game, that is. On 'Community' (Thu., 8PM ET on NBC), a college-wide game of paintball turns the campus into a war zone. The stakes couldn't be higher. Well, they couldn't be higher for college students, at least. The winner of the paintball contest gets to register early for next semester's classes. It's enough to turn all the students against one another.

Britta (Gillian Jacobs) uses her feminine charms on Jeff (Joel McHale), and is about to take him out of the competition. Her plan seems to be working -- until their teacher Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) shows up. He's armed to the hilt with multiple paintball guns, and also paintball bombs. And he's playing to win.

(S01E022) I don't even go to college anymore (because I went at the right age ... DUH!), and those damned three teenagers were driving me crazy, too. Not crazy enough to do what the above scene is depicting, perhaps, but it makes me wonder how we let our teenagers survive into adulthood. They're almost too annoying.

It's nice to see, though, that as adults we are able to stay above their juvenile antics. We'd certainly never reciprocate in kind. We have our own pranks to pull. After all, that's what college is all about. It's on Abed's list.

(S01E21) Tonight, on a "very special episode" of 'Community,' Abed learns that there is a right way to being accepted and embraced by your fellow students, and then there's the quick way.

Have you been waiting impatiently for 'Community' to come back? Well, the wait is over, my friends, because tonight at 8PM ET on NBC, there's a brand new episode with the titillating title, 'Contemporary American Poultry.'

It's a devastating tragedy when a chicken finger shortage grips Greendale Community College, but Jeff and Troy are on the job, which causes Britta to think about the causes she currently supports.

But, wait! If you just can't bear the thought of waiting until tonight to get your 'Community' fix, a couple of webisodes are currently online that are pretty freakin' funny.

(S01E20) One of the criticisms about 'Community' throughout this season has been with the characterization of Britta, as portrayed by Gillian Jacobs. While the rest of the ensemble has received praise for their goofy character quirks and the humor they bring to the series, Jacobs has been considered a bit of a buzzkill in the fan community.

Big props to the producers and writers of the series for tackling this criticism head on by making Britta's lack of "fun" the central plot of the episode. In doing so, they even did a respectable job of explaining to us how they see her role in the study group, and I guess I can buy it.

On the other side, because of April Fool's Day, Annie and Shirley are temporarily hired as campus security guards, just in time for a real crime to solve. Did I mention Pierce in a wizard's robe waving around a cookie on a stick?

The sitcom 'Community' (Thu., 8PM ET on NBC) has only been around for one season, but it already has a fairly complex love triangle brewing. Jeff (Joel McHale) is secretly in love with Britta (Gillian Jacobs). But meanwhile, Annie (Alison Brie) is nursing a secret crush on Jeff. Got all that? We hope so.

On the latest episode, Annie gets a new job as a campus security agent and chases Jeff down. Is it all a hidden metaphor for their love? Watch the clip and decide for yourself.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S01E16) Suddenly I want to spend at least 40 more minutes in the world of 'Community' after tonight's episode. I wonder if those 40 minutes will come back to haunt our dear friend later?

Jeff and Abed tore it up with one of the most bizarre drunk montages I've ever seen, culminating with Abed in the absolute best "aftermath" position I've ever seen. And Jeff did it all to try and make things right with Britta again. Try as they might, those two just can't seem to get their awkward feelings for one another to stop interfering with their relationship as "just-friends."

With the Valentine's Day dance looming, Troy and Pierce tried to regain some of their own dignity early in the episode, only to lose it completely by the end of it. Surprisingly, despite his "skills" on the dance floor, Chang either has no dignity to lose, or has so much that it's impervious to anything he does.

Let's face it. Sometimes to even the score, you have to drunk-dial someone. Don't try to understand it. That's just the way it is.

We're glad Jeff is finally starting to come to terms with that, and decides to get drunk with Abed to fix his relationship with Britta on 'Community' (Thurs., 8PM ET on NBC).

Moral of the story? If your relationship is in trouble, maybe it's time to look at drunk-dialing as a possible solution.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S01E15) This episode would have been great for the scene where the study group looked around the room thinking of one another sexually. Without a single word, there was so much spoken with facial expressions and eyes and turns of the head.

I am glad we got more, though. Abed's 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' inspired movie nights reminded me of my own college experience. We used to do the exact same thing; it made 'Waterworld' and 'Battlefield Earth' instant classics. Unfortunately, we got into such bad habits that to this day I find myself mocking and ridiculing even good movies and TV shows.

Luckily, I'm a little quicker on the draw than Pierce. Kudos to him, though, for taking it the extra step and preparing for the next night. That's doing it 'MST3K' style, for real!

The only studying taking place in the study group on 'Community' (Thurs., 8PM ET on NBC) involves kissing, sniping and tattle-taling. How old are these people again? Because they seem like they're about 15.

Some of our favorite lines: "I took that kiss for the team!" "Yeah, that kiss wasn't for pleasure. It was strategic and joyless."

How about everyone just gathers 'round for one big giant group kiss and gets it over with? Just an idea.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S01E14) This one actually hits a little close to home. Through most of my childhood, and into my teen years, I took dance classes. I even got pretty good, performing with the St. Louis Ballet Company for a brief time. But, like Troy, there was that element of shame and embarrassment in being a male dancer, primarily based on the negative response most people still seem to have to it.

However, while I've been to plenty of recitals in my day, I've never seen adults perform routines anything like the weird teapot-flower dance Britta found herself in. It was so goofy and hilarious, that I felt almost as horrified and mortified for her as Pierce did. Actually, I think Pierce was having a blast.

(S01E13) I'd like to give thanks to the Executive Producer Associate Supervisor Supervising Executive for being the man, or woman, behind the new semester at Community. When the gang returned from the break they discovered a new member in their group -- he snuck in during the group hug.

Jack Black basically plays one type of character, and that's who we got this week. There were some genuinely funny moments, but this definitely wasn't one of the stronger episodes of the series to date. With the community college setting, it's pretty easy to slip in a guest star here or there and even, as in this case, pretend they've been there the whole time. I just don't think it's necessary right now for Community.

(S01E11) Annie's a unicorn! Well, sorta. Actually, it's more complicated than that. And after Annie explained things, I was even more confused.

Another solid episode; this show is really in its groove right now. The new relationship Jeff has established with Britta; the one without him trying to get into her pants every week, or her accusing him of it every week; is really working for me. I like this group more as a bunch of friends than a group of potential hook-ups. At least for awhile.

Pierce took center stage in one of the three stories juggled this week, revealing to Jeff that he can score a hot chick. Even better, challenging Jeff to do the same. Annie got involved in helping Greendale throw its STD Ball, which went as well as you'd expect. And Troy and Abed -- this may be the best comedy duo on TV since J.D. and Turk.

(S01E10) Hey, Jeff was kind of a selfish douche and then at the end he became a good person and did the right thing. Quick game: which episode am I describing?

I know I've complained about the predictability of this plot procedure in every episode, but for some reason it worked this week. Probably because even in the execution of it, you could see that Jeff had at least gained a sense of loyalty to his study group. In other words, he felt bad about what he was doing from the beginning. He still did it, but somehow that made all the difference.

I think the more shocking development was that Pierce offered to help Shirley with an upcoming speech she had to give, and she actually accepted. He also learned the "secret" to Jeff's power over the group, though I still think it's just confidence.