There are various ways to make a television show a sure thing in the success stakes.
There is the addition of a big Hollywood name to the casting list, the attachment of the word "reality" to the title, full-frontal nudity, or, in the case of Community, a long list of well-known acting types to lure the unsuspecting viewer.
Community has quite a long list, and quite a good one.
At the top, and especially alluring, is Joel McHale, the presenter of the very good The Soup on the E Channel.
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of watching The Soup, it provides a sarcastic, biting and very funny commentary on the world of cheap and appalling United States television fare.
Also in Community is John Oliver, the British comedian who stars as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a show that provides a sarcastic, biting and very funny commentary on world of cheap and appalling United States politics.
But wait, there's more.
There's Alison Brie from Madmen, Donald Glover from 30 Rock, and Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who worked on Arrested Development, which was a sarcastic, biting and very funny commentary on something or other, I'm sure.
To underline such a breathtaking line-up is Chevy Chase, who can only be described as a comedy legend.
He acts the part of Pierce, a slightly sleazy businessman.
Community starts on FOUR, the new name for the rebranded C4, on February 7.
McHale stars as Jeff Winger, a fast-talking lawyer whose degree has been revoked.
"I thought you had a bachelor's from Columbia?" Oliver, as Prof Duncan, asks him.
"Now I have to get one from America," McHale, as Winger, tells him.
You get the idea.
Winger is required to return to Greendale Community College to get a new degree, where he joins a class of amusing misfits, and forms a study group that becomes the centre of the show.
In the pilot, Winger continues what is apparently his usual lawyerly, and highly dodgy, way of dealing with life.
He blackmails Prof Duncan to get all the answers to the test questions for the four-year course, and attempts to lie his way into the affections of Britta (Gillian Jacobs).
But things don't go to plan, and he gains neither girl nor answers, and as the pilot closes, faces having to act honestly to get his life back on track.
Whether that outcome is worth taking 30 minutes from your viewing week is, sadly, not resolved after the first episode.
But, to be fair, and considering the talent on show, I'm going to hang in for another show or two.
The dialogue is quick-witted, the acting good enough, and I like both The Soup and The Daily Show.
That's enough to give it another chance.
