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I noticed, unless I didn't search right, that Community doesn't have its own thread beyond the DnD episode.
It's been mentioned in other threads, and I just thought it deserves its own. What a weird, wacky, enjoyable show. The first episode had me hopeful, and it just kept getting better from there.
It's like Firefly or Legend of the Seeker in that there's a loyal fanbase, but it just doesn't have the draw some cheaper shows seem to get. A 4th season is underway, so maybe we will get 6 seasons and a movie.
Who doesn't love Inspector Spacetime? This show is built on spoofs, and it hasn't gotten stale, for me. Long live the Greendale 7!
Community is, or at least was, a fantastic show that I've enjoyed greatly. Sadly, Dan Harmon was canned, so I'm not having great hopes for season 4. We'll see.
You can read Dan's own comments about the events here
I keep hearing from multiple sources (although there is likely a lot of cross-pollination of recursive citation) that Dan Harmon was dropped because he was a gigantic ass and an unbearable chore to work with.
I love it still, but it hasn't been as good that last season or so.
I heard that Chevy Chase and Dan Harmon got into it so badly that Chevy walked off the set during the filming of the last episode of last season. Then later Dan Harmon made a snide comment while collecting an award in front of Chevy and his family making the situation worse.
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There is a season 4. Due to start in October.
Unfortunately, NBC in its supreme wisdom moved Community to Friday night for season 4.
The move to Friday night, coupled with the removal of Dan Harmon (who, pain to work with or not, was the creative genius behind the show) does not bode well for Community.
I still love the show and hope for the best though ... :/
E Pluribus Anus!
Season 4. Tonight at 8:00.
Chillin' the beer. ;)
I love Community but not got the highest of hopes for this last season without Harmon.
I know there are a lot of "I heard this and he said that, etc..." but the fact of the matter is I don't know any of the people on that show and really don't care what they are like in person. I care if they make an entertaining show.
In the interviews, podcasts and blog posts about and from Harmon, I get the impression he's pretty chill in general but a very passionate advocate for his show, as he should be.
It's one of those rare comedies, like Arrested Development that rewards it's audience for watching by layering self referential "in-jokes" and actual character arcs and development. I think shows like this never catch on and enjoy higher levels of success because the general American viewing audience doesn't think OH BOY! A comedy time for me to pay attention and get engaged, they think OH BOY! A comedy, time to tune out and laugh at some stuff.
I wish it well but if it's disappointing I'll just pretend last season finale was the end of the show...
As an aside, here's Dan Harmon's keynote speech on the death of television.
The dean got his car filled with popcorn.
Jeff: You smell like the floor of a movie theater.
Dean: Yeah, but not for the usual reasons.
Loved it.
I don't have high hopes, but I gotta at least watch it to see how it measures up.
Wish they had kept Harmon and canned Chevy instead ...
Abed re-cast Pierce! o.O It's Fred Willard!
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I wish they would have cast Fred Willard as Pierce in the first place. My dream casting would have been Bill Murray. Which is kind of funny, since he replaced Chevy Chase on SNL in the 70's.
Even if it's not the same without Harmon, it's still Community, and that's still pretty good. And it's still much better than the Big Bang Theory.
The Inspector Spacetime convention was a good goof. Tonight, Chang returns!
That oughta be good...
The Inspector Spacetime convention was a good goof. Tonight, Chang returns!
Both the Convention episode, as well as the episode at Pierce's mansion seemed oddly paced. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something felt a little off. I don't know.
It was good fun though.
The puppet show was good. Missed some of it. Have to catch it on Hulu now...
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Yeah, I love this show ... or loved it, I should probably say. This first episode without Harmon's writing genius and intelligent, creative control at the helm did not fill me with much hope for the rest of the season.
Wish they had kept Harmon and canned Chevy instead ...
Especially given that (I believe) Chevy is also leaving the show. That's why in last night's episode he wasn't in the study room - he was only available for the puppet voiceover work.
Community is the best. I got hooked after the D&D episode caught my attention.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I'd like to say they aren't noticably different, but that would be a damn lie even within my lawyerly definition of lying (aka, don't get caught and it's not a like). It's still a good sitcom, but not quite the same level of magic and awesome as in prior seasons.
It would be wonderful if they brought Harmon back, but it's probably more likely that this season will be the last. Unless some form of comsic justice gives us 4 seasons and a movie, with Harmon helming the movie.
Kickstarter, where are you when we need you!?
They've already finished filming the season. It was supposed to begin airing in October. Chevy did walk off set, quitting, and won't be in the last couple episodes. It's interesting to note that during the out takes at the end of the episode there was a group photo of all the cast with their puppets. Chevy wasn't in it.
He's supposed to be notoriously hard to work with.
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I'd like to say they aren't noticably different, but that would be a damn lie even within my lawyerly definition of lying (aka, don't get caught and it's not a like). It's still a good sitcom, but not quite the same level of magic and awesome as in prior seasons.
It would be wonderful if they brought Harmon back, but it's probably more likely that this season will be the last. Unless some form of comsic justice gives us 4 seasons and a movie, with Harmon helming the movie.
Kickstarter, where are you when we need you!?
If you've never seen a single episode and began watching now, from episode 1 on, and no one told you anything had changed with the 2012/13 season, would you notice?
I wouldn't, and still don't.
The only thing I've taken away is that Harmon had a great idea for a show, that idea got executed well, it got a great cast, and as of the snippy blow-up between Harmon and Chase? Well, good riddance to bad rubbish.
Season 4 is great, and it's a testament to the cast and the writers that they can functional just as well (if not better) than the creator of the show.
Another thing is that not every episode is a total gut buster. They all have their moments, but they're not all equally funny.
I liked it from the start, but the first few eps weren't as crazy funny as the later ones.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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If you've never seen a single episode and began watching now, from episode 1 on, and no one told you anything had changed with the 2012/13 season, would you notice?I'd like to say they aren't noticably different, but that would be a damn lie even within my lawyerly definition of lying (aka, don't get caught and it's not a like). It's still a good sitcom, but not quite the same level of magic and awesome as in prior seasons.
It would be wonderful if they brought Harmon back, but it's probably more likely that this season will be the last. Unless some form of comsic justice gives us 4 seasons and a movie, with Harmon helming the movie.
Kickstarter, where are you when we need you!?
Hmmm...that's a good question. If you were completely unaware of the outside drama or weren't a hipster sitcom snob, you probably wouldn't notice anything at all. Community and Parks and Rec are the only sitcoms I watch, and I have a pretty low tolerance for the generic lowest-common-denominator-laugh-track sitcoms (yes, Big Bang Theory, I am looking at you). Post-Harmon Community (so far) is a broader show, but it has the same character/setting/ballpark of jokes, and that's enough that most people wouldn't notice any difference. Of course, with the loss of Chase, who knows what the rest of the season will be like.
Season 4 has yet to produce a laugh till I cry episode like the pillow fight war, the law and order spoof, the D&D episode, the paintball episodes, the 16-bit video game episode (I love that one), etc. Plus, the meta-humor jokes from Abed that used to bust me up aren't quite landing for me, and I'm not sure why.
I'd maybe compare it to Iron Man 1 and 2. Robert Downey Jr. does the heavy-lifting in both movies, but the change in the behind the camera talent makes a pretty big difference. It's not as bad as, say, the difference the change in director made between Batman Returns and Batman and Neon Part 1 or between the first two X-men movies and X-men 3: The Phoenix Saga as Told by Halle Berry's Agent and Your Drunk Cousin Who Loves Wolverine.
If you've never seen a single episode and began watching now, from episode 1 on, and no one told you anything had changed with the 2012/13 season, would you notice?
Depends on who you are and what you're looking for, obviously. I think it's a fairly noticeable change, but it's also fairly subtle so it may or may not be something you'd notice or care about.
Like the puppet episode. There's no reason for that episode to have puppets other than "hey, it'd be fun to do this one with puppets" or "Chevy Chase left, what do we do?" Of previous seasons, these kinds of tricks were actually important to the story or to underlay a specific point. This one is just because "puppets are fun", and could just as easily have been done with the actual actors without losing anything.
As opposed to, say, the clay animation Christmas special.
But hey, they are really cool puppets.
Overall, I think the show is less clever, which is what set it apart from other current sitcoms, to me. It's still pretty funny, and the characters are mostly themselves so it's not like the show suddenly turned to 100% suck. But it's definitely not the same as it was.
I'd like Dan Harmon back for episode 5. Baring that, Community is steadily turning into the kind of show where I'll catch an episode if I happen to zap past while it's on, and enjoy myself for those 15 minutes, but it's not something I will rabidly pursue.
There's a lot of shows like that though, and I'd almost (almost!) rather see Community cancelled than see it join the army of mediocrity.
Ther's a good chance there is a season 5 of Community
Good article in general and goes well with my earlier post about Dan Harmon's "Death of Television " speech.
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The "Christmas" show was great! Malcolm McDowell was brilliant. What a great spoof!
You'll notice I'm not as critical of TV, because it's TV. I want some laughs, and this show still delivers.
Speaking of holiday epsiodes, I can't get over how hung up American viewers, apparently, are on holidays in-show matching up with real-life holidays. Must be really painful to own anything on DVD. :)
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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The episode last night is a good example of how things are different. When it started with that long take, I thought maybe the whole epsiode was going to be done like that (plus or minus commercial breaks). The first cut didn't just break that assumption, it was jarring after such a long shot. Given that this episode is riffing on a Hitchcock movie that is shot to look like one take (plus or minus the disguised cuts because cameras back then couldn't hold enough film), it really should have been done in a single long shot (and I suspect it would've been done in a single long shot if Harmon had still been running the show).
Oh well.
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Seasons 1 - 3 were genius. Each season (and sometimes each episode!) reinvented the show with an original twist. The show really kept daring to go to places no other show ever went before.
Season 4? it's just trying to mimic the previous seasons. Abad is reduced to nothin but a reference churning robot with no social understanding (as opposed to his character before, who actualy had the capability of assuming any social role by analyzing it in depth through TV - notice how easily he became Han Solo or a mean insult machine or a messiah like film maker in earlier seasons - in this one, he really is just a toned down version of Sheldon Cooper). The Dean is still dressing up all crazy and being attracted to Jeff. There were some *actual* references to earlier episodes of earlier seasons ("Gohsts can't pass through walls, Winger, they are not fire!").
But all of those things feel shallow. When there was a stop motion episode in season 2( christmas special), it did a great job of integrating parody on the genre, while also allowing the characters to react in beliveable, hilarious ways to unusual situations, and wrapping all of this with explaining the stop enimation as a self awere mental crush by Abad. Togather, all these elements created a cohesive whole that made that episode a stroke of brilliant original story telling the like of which Iv'e never seen before in any sitcome on TV.
Then there is the puppet episode in season 4. I like the framework of group therapy using puppets, which is a good start. But nothing is really done with the genre, and the use of puppets is just there to attract attention. It tells an shallow, unbeliveable story where the characters don't react in a way that makes sense. It makes no use whatsoever of the format of the story.
I laughed maybe 3 times so far in season 4 - the actors are still great, but I don't like the new style. I feel like in most episode, nobody is even *trying* to make me laugh. Nothing feels new, nothing suprises me at all. While references are still abound, they are just that. References. Not parodies, not clever ways of creating a situation reminiscent of a pop culture movie or concept. There is a gap between the thing being referenced and what's actualy going on in the episode, and that makes the reference a lazy way to make a "joke".
Very disappointed in the current season of community, but only because the previous 3 were so insanely good.
Last 2 eps were great.
Well we cant forget that actors and writers are human beings first. How well would you perform if you felt that there was a storm in your living room. With all the drama going on with Harmon and Chase and the Network, you have to expect the product to suffer. Given those conditions I have to say that they are performing admirably.
Against all expectations, Community has been renewed for a fifth season for another 13 episodes.
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Yeah, apparently you and me are the only ones who liked last night's episode. But I'm a sucker for alternate timelines. I'll watch almost anything with a time travel or alternate dimension plotline.
I thought it was the strongest episode of the season. Of course maybe that's just because I sympathize with Jeff turning away from the high end big firm machine for a small private practice. /pointedjoke
I've been roundly disappointed this season. I think the actors have been doing their darndest, but the writing and creative vision has been lacking. Season 4 just felt like any other garden-variety sitcom. It was still funnier than Big Bang Theory and most of the other lazy humor & writing on broadcast TV, but it definitely wasn't the Community I grew to love.
But it sounds like there may be hope: Dan Harmon will be back for Season 5, and apparently we can thank Joel McHale for helping/making it happen.
That's great!
"Following Harmon's announcement, Community star Gillian Jacobs cheered on his return, tweeting, Welcome back, @danharmon! E Pluribus Anus!"
E Pluribus Anus, indeed, my friends. E Pluribus Anus, indeed.
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Am I a bad person for enjoying Season 4?
I mean, I am glad Dan Harmon is coming back, but save for a few episodes (and there's always a few episodes in any show I watch I don't like), I liked season 4 as well as I've liked prior seasons.
But the Internet has been very intent on telling me that I am a terrible person for enjoying Harmon-less Community, and probably should go off and shoot myself at once.
I am sorry, universe, for having continued to enjoy myself. I'll try harder to be miserable next time.
I'm with you, DQ. I thought ep.1 was awesome. Some were better than others, but that's been true of every season. EVERY ep. had some good laughs in there, somewhere.
Hopefully now, people will stop crying and just enjoy it for what it is.
My biggest complaint was the pointlessness and stupidity of Chang, which has also been my complaint about seasons 2 and 3 (he was fine in season 1).
We haven't got the latest season here yet, so I cant judge you yet DQ :-)
You are going to have rank as mostly (nobody gets 100%) Awesome in my rating system, until I see the new season.
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Am I a bad person for enjoying Season 4?
Nah. For me anyway, the Community with Harmon was something not just funny but different... and that's saying something, considering I have been sitting in front of HappyTalkyPicturesBox since I was old enough to sit up on my own. Also, I am getting noticeably crankier since I was dragged kicking and screaming over the 3-0 hump. If you enjoy Community -- with or without Harmon -- that's great. Don't let me or the other jaded, cynical know-it-alls get you down.
Edit: Yeah, they (including Harmon) really don't seem to know with Chang. And I'm not sure they often know what to do with Brita and Shirley too.
But it sounds like there may be hope: Dan Harmon will be back for Season 5, and apparently we can thank Joel McHale for helping/making it happen.
This is great news! Let's hope it will be any good. :)
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Am I a bad person for enjoying Season 4?
I mean, I am glad Dan Harmon is coming back, but save for a few episodes (and there's always a few episodes in any show I watch I don't like), I liked season 4 as well as I've liked prior seasons.
But the Internet has been very intent on telling me that I am a terrible person for enjoying Harmon-less Community, and probably should go off and shoot myself at once.
I am sorry, universe, for having continued to enjoy myself. I'll try harder to be miserable next time.
Season 4 was not bad... but it wasn't really community, either.
Season 5 having Harmon back makes me feel giddy. I am eagerly anticipating to see what new and devious ideas he comes up with. I want to be amazed again.
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Awesome, funny, nice and long and really interesting Community ComicCon panel footage:
Most of the cast plus Dan Harmon talk a LOT about the new season, what it's like to have Dan back etc.
Very worth watching!
Also, one cool thing - Dan mentions the AD&D episode more than once and say it was a big highlight ... so much so that on the white board in the writers room which lists episode ideas for the new season, it very clearly "D&D 2"!
Great stuff!