Community ComicCon panel
Sadly, that clip is unavailable. Is it the same as this one?
The 1hour season premiere is tonight!!! Now that Dan Harmon is back, I can't wait!!!
Hooray. Now to figure out how to see it without stealing it.
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Absolutely hilarious, especially the 2nd epsiode. I'd give it a strong A -.
Always Be Caging.
The first episode was slower, but had some amazing dark humor, beyond the darkest timeline indeed.
Um, huh?
I'm not sure I understand the question.
It is not, presumably, being shown on any available TV station, and I don't fancy waiting two years for the DVD release (season 3 was just released on DVD). I also prefer not to steal it if at all possible. So, weighing my options.
nbc.com has both new episodes available for viewing online.
Ah. Ok. I didn't know it restricted it by region. Just trying to help. :)
Um, huh?I'm not sure I understand the question.
It is not, presumably, being shown on any available TV station, and I don't fancy waiting two years for the DVD release (season 3 was just released on DVD). I also prefer not to steal it if at all possible. So, weighing my options.
US Proxy/VPN? I know people who use proxies to appear outside the US so they can avoid MLB blackout restrictions in the US.
US Proxy/VPN? I know people who use proxies to appear outside the US so they can avoid MLB blackout restrictions in the US.
I suppose. I'm not convinced that's any better than just torrenting it. We'll see how antsy I get. I shouldn't torture myself with reviews of the episodes. :p
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If it's any comfort, they weren't all that great.
Always Be Cageing
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If it's any comfort, they weren't all that great.
Gotta disagree. I thought they were quite good in fact. Let's keep in mind that Harmon had to undo some of the dopiness of last season and make these first episodes a reboot (or re-pilot) of sorts so people that never saw the show before, or stopped watching during last season, can get up to speed quickly. Quite frankly, that seems like a difficult challenge and I think they did a great job!
I'm thrilled Harmon is back and have every confidence thst this season will be as funny, intelligent and clever as the first few seasons. Can't wait for next Thursday!
Oh, and I don't miss Chevy at all!
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
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If it's any comfort, they weren't all that great.Gotta disagree. I thought they were quite good in fact. Let's keep in mind that Harmon had to undo some of the dopiness of last season and make these first episodes a reboot (or re-pilot) of sorts so people that never saw the show before, or stopped watching during last season, can get up to speed quickly. Quite frankly, that seems like a difficult challenge and I think they did a great job!
I'm thrilled Harmon is back and have every confidence thst this season will be as funny, intelligent and clever as the first few seasons. Can't wait for next Thursday!
Oh, and I don't miss Chevy at all!
I agree, I thought the new episodes were great!
US Proxy/VPN? I know people who use proxies to appear outside the US so they can avoid MLB blackout restrictions in the US.I suppose. I'm not convinced that's any better than just torrenting it. We'll see how antsy I get. I shouldn't torture myself with reviews of the episodes. :p
With a proxy/VPN Hulu or NBC.com still be getting the click for the purposes of their online advertisers.
I mean, if it's available via itunes or something similar in your country, then that's the most direct way to support the show, but otherwise watching on NBC.com or Hulu with the ads via proxy/VPN is probably the most support you can throw behind the show.
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If it's any comfort, they weren't all that great.Gotta disagree. I thought they were quite good in fact. Let's keep in mind that Harmon had to undo some of the dopiness of last season and make these first episodes a reboot (or re-pilot) of sorts so people that never saw the show before, or stopped watching during last season, can get up to speed quickly. Quite frankly, that seems like a difficult challenge and I think they did a great job!
I'm thrilled Harmon is back and have every confidence thst this season will be as funny, intelligent and clever as the first few seasons. Can't wait for next Thursday!
I loved how self aware the reboot was. There was literally a scene where Jeff looks at the group and asks each person what's up with their lives - "Britta used to be an activist - how exactly did she become the group's airhead?" and so on. He was literally devoting an entire scene to saying, "well, I see what you did there, season 4, but let's reverse that and get things back on track now".
The first episode was pretty good, but it was a bit to dark and depressing for me to truly enjoyed it - there were some very funny moments but the tone was depressing. Episode 2 was more like it, with some genuinely brilliant moments ("what? oh, that's just my witness intimidation project!"), and a smashing return to actual intelligent references with the Nicolas Cage plot.
Even though the episodes had in them the spark of brilliancy that made community my favorite show in seasons 1 - 3, I'm still feeling like the new episodes are just not very fun. However, second episode was a major improvement over the first in that department, so hopefully we'll shrug off the glumness of the first episodes and get back to enjoying Greendale as soon as possible.
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I think that there is a LOT of people in the show's fandom that are absoutely determined to like this season more simply because Dan Harmon is back. Never mind that every single problem the show had in season 4 was stuff that Dan Harmon had started.
Alternatively, there's a LOT of people in the show's fandom that like this season, so far, because they enjoy it. We don't know, but we can certainly make up stuff to discredit the people we disagree with.
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If the replacement showrunners and writers kept fumbling the character and plot hooks that were left by Harmon... it's somehow Harmon's fault?!
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I think that there is a LOT of people in the show's fandom that are absoutely determined to like this season more simply because Dan Harmon is back. Never mind that every single problem the show had in season 4 was stuff that Dan Harmon had started.
What if you mostly liked season 4, but still like the first few episodes of season 5 better?
I wasn't really going into this season with the expectation that it would be better for Harmon's involvement. I went into it with the expectation that it would be a lot of flailing and crap caused by dealing with the baggage of season 4, the loss of Chevy Chase and the upcoming loss of Donald Glover. I was expecting a fiasco at best.
One element I would note as being Harmon-esque is the quick back and forth banter that he's so good at (e.g., the Annie/Jeff argument about teaching styles). I came into the show as a result of the D&D episode, and the very next episode I watched was the first documentary episode featuring Jeff and Britta in a similar routine regarding their fathers. That exchange had me crying with laughter, and hooked me on the show for good.
All that said, I don't agree with the fandom consensus that the final episode of season 4, featuring the darkest timeline, was all that bad. It didn't seem that far off of the season 3 episode with Abed, Annie and the Imaginarium (or whatever the hell it's called). Season 4 was a season of decent, but largely mediocre episodes; season 5 is off to a good start, and I look forward to more.
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I think that there is a LOT of people in the show's fandom that are absoutely determined to like this season more simply because Dan Harmon is back. Never mind that every single problem the show had in season 4 was stuff that Dan Harmon had started.
The feeling is that Harmon was always treading a rather thin line, and the potential for problems with his scripts were indeed numerous.
Only thing is, it seems like the runners of season 4 didn't know how to handle those issues properly, and they were trying to emulate his style in what I felt was a very mechanic execution that managed to show the image of the same idea while completely missing it's core. So many episodes relied on tricks and "unconventional ideas" - like dressing the characters up as Germans, or going to an Inspector Spacetime convention, or having a huanted night at Pierce's house... but wherever Harmon's episodes pulled off the funky ideas with grace and style, the season 4 episodes were just shallow. Harmon disassembled pop culture elements and recomposed them in hilarious, unpredictable ways. Season 4 writers were reducing the show to references and colorful ideas. The difference is subtle but to me it was extremely palpable.
While the beginning of season 5 was not all that I was hoping it would be, it certainly has it, and it feels smarter, funnier and just all around more unique than season 4 was.
I've said it before, but all the seasons are a little up and down. It's not all paintball and pillow forts!
I thought the interesting thing about RePilot was that they didn't just chalk everything up to the "gas leak year" The rest of the group tried to play that card, and Jeff shot them down.
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Man, I loved this week's episode. It was like a slightly better than average episode from seasons 1 - 3. Some of the small, quick bandit jokes were hilarious - "I bring change" was probably the best of them.
The way I know community, there's probably a way to CRACK the case hidden somewhere in the episode - my best guess is that in the scene where the bandit makes a public attack while the Dean is giving his speech, there's a character conspicuously missing from the ASSembled students. Had I the will to find out who the bandit is, I'll start from there.
Hot lava! lol
I like all the adventures like that; the pillow fort, the space ship, etc.
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I liked Geothermal Escapism. However, I liked it better when it was called A Fistful of Paintballs.
Yes, this one felt a bit rushed, and was probably ushered in mid season to provide a reasonable last episode for Troy.
But, the fact that we can watch an episode like this in a a sit-com and say, "yeah, it was OK, but previous episodes were better" just shows how awesomely awesome Community is.
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I loved how self aware the reboot was. There was literally a scene where Jeff looks at the group and asks each person what's up with their lives - "Britta used to be an activist - how exactly did she become the group's airhead?" and so on. He was literally devoting an entire scene to saying, "well, I see what you did there, season 4, but let's reverse that and get things back on track now".
I'm sorry, but really? You're gonna blame Britta becoming an airhead on season 4? Don't you pretty much have to ignore every scene involving Britta in seasons 2 and 3 to do that?
This is what I was talking about earlier. Almost everything that was wrong with the show in the fourth season STARTED UNDER HARMON'S WATCH.
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Hey there Kthulhu, it's certainly clear you are not a fan, and that's cool :) I will proudly say I AM a big fan of the show ... when Harmon's fantastic writing and creativity is at the helm.
I never saw Brita as an airhead in the first three seasons at all. She was certainly a very gung ho activist / extremist who believed passionately in things, even if they were a bit out there. She was also free-spirited as well as fairly street-smart. Definitely not an air head though.
I will admit I didn't watch last season though, so I don't know what happened once they canned Harmon
Britta was the best thing in season 3.
Almost everything that was wrong with the show in the fourth season STARTED UNDER HARMON'S WATCH.
In the sense that Community started under Harmon's watch, I guess my only comment to that observation is: "Well, duh."
Idle curiosity: Were you really fond of season 4 and didn't care much for anything that came before or after?
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No, I'm a fan of the show, INCLUDING the 4th season. I find it to be just as good and consistent as seasons 1-3. (honestly, consistency has never been the shows strong suit)
What talking about is the criticisms that the Harmonites level at the 4th season...I've yet to find any of them that didn't have roots in the first three seasons. My biggest issue is the massive flanderization of practically all the characters, to include Britta becoming an airhead, which started in the 2nd season. Another example is how Abed has changed from a guy who mostly thinks in terms of movies ant tropes to a guy that's virtually incapable of dealing with the world outside of his own imagination.
I think the lava episode is the best of the 5th season to date. Which is kind of sad, since it's a fairly lazy copy-paste of "A Fistful of Paintballs".
I'm not sure what a "Harmonite" is, but I assume it's a disparaging term for "people who liked Dan Harmon's work better than whichever guys replaced him." How dare they.
Personally, I don't think there was any storyline in Season 4 that couldn't theoretically have happened under Dan Harmon's watch. And I assume anyone asked to take over the role for Season 4 would have leaned heavily on previous seasons. So yeah, Season 4 still had the same stories, and still had the same kind of zany adventures.
The difference, to me, was that Community has this subtle, intelligent humour to it which is what made me love the show to begin with, and which I didn't find any trace of in Season 4. Now, I haven't seen Season 5, so I can't say if this was entirely Harmon's doing, or just random happenstance, but to me Season 4 felt weird. It was the same characters. The same Inspector Spacetime references. It had all the right components, but it just... wasn't particular funny.
Maybe the show has just outgrown itself. Maybe Harmon really has been able to bring back 'the funny'. I'm hoping for the latter.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
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No, I'm a fan of the show, INCLUDING the 4th season. I find it to be just as good and consistent as seasons 1-3. (honestly, consistency has never been the shows strong suit)
What talking about is the criticisms that the Harmonites level at the 4th season...I've yet to find any of them that didn't have roots in the first three seasons. My biggest issue is the massive flanderization of practically all the characters, to include Britta becoming an airhead, which started in the 2nd season. Another example is how Abed has changed from a guy who mostly thinks in terms of movies ant tropes to a guy that's virtually incapable of dealing with the world outside of his own imagination.
I think the lava episode is the best of the 5th season to date. Which is kind of sad, since it's a fairly lazy copy-paste of "A Fistful of Paintballs".
Well, one of the big complaints I've seen about Season 4 is that it was trying too hard to ape Harmon. Harmon himself said it he thought it felt like an impression of his work, and an unflattering one at that.
It seems to me that some of the issues people complained about from Season 3 and 4 are being addressed in the new season. For instance, Britta has been a lot less ditzy so far. Maybe Harmon and the Harmonites saw his flaws reflected in season 4, and that's why they had such a negative reaction to it?
I personally didn't mind season 4, I thought it was fun, though it's probably my least favorite of the seasons.
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I loved how self aware the reboot was. There was literally a scene where Jeff looks at the group and asks each person what's up with their lives - "Britta used to be an activist - how exactly did she become the group's airhead?" and so on. He was literally devoting an entire scene to saying, "well, I see what you did there, season 4, but let's reverse that and get things back on track now".I'm sorry, but really? You're gonna blame Britta becoming an airhead on season 4? Don't you pretty much have to ignore every scene involving Britta in seasons 2 and 3 to do that?
This is what I was talking about earlier. Almost everything that was wrong with the show in the fourth season STARTED UNDER HARMON'S WATCH.
Yes, I'm blaming Britta becoming an airhead on season 4. Because as others said she wasn't before.
She certainly never was the smartest - a lot of what she tried to do tended to go horribly wrong (the term "you britta'd it" came from season 2... or was it 3? can't quite remember), and like all the other characters she was really struggling to get anything good going in her life. But it was only in season 4 that any pretense of Britta being capable of any thought that could express in a multi syllable word has vanished. Instead of having bad people skill and picking all the wrong struggles to fight, she was just... stupid.
Yes, every single problem in the 4th season has it's roots in previous seasons. Except (and that's a personal feeling) that Harmon nearly always managed to juggle those issues and compensate for them with truly intelligent stories, jokes and dialog. Season 4 lacked all that - I'm sorry, but just showing muppet versions of the characters is not enough - maybe enough for any other sitcom but not for Community.
To demonstrate my meaning I would refer you to the latest episode of season 5 - the lava one. Britta was certainly an idiot in that episode, and it wasn't too hard for her to become the crazed sidekick of the villain, and her verbal duel with Jeff wasn't exactly flattering for her... but she was also the only one who had the wits to understand Abad was going through some bad things. Even Troy didn't really get it.
And she was also more like herself in previous episodes of this season. Seriously, in almost every episode of season 1,2 and 3 Britta had SOME redeeming quality. And she did maintain her posture as a caring individual and an inactive activist. In season 4, she did not.
I honestly don't understand how you can claim there was NO difference AT ALL between season 4 and the rest of them. You can say that you like either style equally, and that's fine and nobody can argue against that, but claiming they were the same is simply not true.
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Another example is how Abed has changed from a guy who mostly thinks in terms of movies ant tropes to a guy that's virtually incapable of dealing with the world outside of his own imagination.
He did... except in seasons 1 - 3 he was more about always recognizing which kind of story any episode was emulating rather than just churning out references.
Case in point:
* In season 2 there's that awesome episode where they all get stuck in the study room looking for a pen. Abed immediately recognizes that it's a bottle episode, which leads to some hilarious jokes.
* In season 4, in the Thanksgiving episode, when they get stuck in Shirley's house, Abed paints himself like in "Prison Break" and talks like he is in "The Shawshank Redemption". But that's it - he's JUST referencing pop culture prison movies. Not analyzing the situation in light of the trope it's emulating and acting in a way that ridicules the trope even while perpetuating it (indeed, many times Abed was the one who pushed the other characters into behaving more like the trope of the episode dictates, because it made sense to him). Just... referencing pop culture. We have Family Guy for that, and they do it waaay better than season 4 of community does.