Community

[bright lights, big city]

I think it's just safe to assume this will be cancelled after these new episodes, right?

And maybe Megan Ganz can make Modern Family better?

[Dath]

Yeah, I can't see it going any further. Ganz did work on the show throughout season 4, so I wouldn't be surprised if she just figured it was done and left after filming. Between her and several of the other writers, and the actors being  pretty reliable, I'm not going to assume anything about the quality of the new episodes. I just hope they filmed a series finale like with season 3.

[chick de la lynch]

Was anyone else disappointed with last night's season premiere? There was something off about the episode, but I can't put my finger on it. It didn't feel like the Community I know and love. There were a couple of chuckles here and there, but I wasn't really amused. Maybe next week's episode will make up for the premiere.

Also, I wonder if the Abed TV was the show's way of saying fuck you to NBC for firing Harmon and the network wanting to make more broader comedies like every other shitty show on CBS.

[Dath]

Okay, 3 episodes in, and it feels off, no doubt. It's disappointing, but expectations for Community are sky high compared to pretty much any other sitcom. Looking at it objectively, seems to have gone from excellent to pretty good.

The writing staff and new show runners are really trying to make these feel like Harmon worked on them. That could be the problem, Harmonesque stuff that's been distilled enough to feel awkward.

[chick de la lynch]

Yeah, I get the same feeling. I can't believe I took Dan Harmon for granted all those years he was on Community. Will he ever forgive me? Will I ever forgive myself? A Dan Harmon quote that I think sums up why Community was the way it was:

"I'm not saying you can't make a good version of Community without me, but I am definitely saying that you can't make my version of it unless I have the option of saying "it has to be like this or I quit" roughly 8 times a day."

There was something off about the episode, but I can't put my finger on it.

I think I might have figured it out. No offense to the show runners now, but I think Harmon's sense of wit was a lot quicker and better. Dialogue ran at a quicker pace. I feel like the show is being dumbed down so a broader audience can feel apart of the show. But quite honestly, one of the great things about Community was Harmon assumed that everyone who watched his show was smart and nerdy and in tune with obscure pop culture references, and could make these elaborate plot lines that he knew his audience would understand and never miss a beat. Granted, it brings in a much smaller audience but for nerds like me it felt like I was apart of an awesome club and someone finally catered a show around my sense of humor.

Warming Glow mentioned how Community has become a hollow shell of what used to be. I don't think the show runners exactly understand the characterization of the show and are trying to recreate that this season. Truth of the matter is the only person who understood this and make it work got canned.

I think another reason why I am upset is because before Harmon got fired, he was talking with Neil Gaiman about writing an Inspector Spacetime episode for season 4, which would have been fucking amazeballs! Sadly, that will never happen and last night's episode reminded me all over again what could have been.

[bright lights, big city]

A Gaiman written episode would've been kind of legendary. Since you're a loyal Warming Glow reader like me, you probably already saw about NBC's ratings. But it bears repeating since it's so hilarious - NBC has been the 5th place network so far this year behind Univision. Amazing.

[chick de la lynch]

Didn't that happen a couple of years ago, too? I don't think this is the first time NBC has sucked so much ass. It's funny because when the fall season first began they were high in the ratings and now they're back in the gutter.

Besides Parks and Recreation, which has been putting out the non-stop awesome this season, NBC has little to nothing left. The Office is on its final season, but it stopped being good years ago. Supposedly Up All Night had some potential which was shot down rather quickly when they decided to make it Big Bang Theory esque (Fun fact I learned in my TV studies class, watching The Big Bang Theory live sucks and is not funny, which isn't a surprise to most television connoisseurs). Now everyone has pretty much left or planning on moving on and they only picked up one episode from the new batch. And the fact that Whitney is still on the air says A LOT about the network.

So Greenblatt, how's that broader comedy strategy working out for you?

[bright lights, big city]

haha yep. P&R is by far the best thing they've got going. They should just make that show an hour long every week. Don't think I can get enough of that entire cast, top to bottom.

[chick de la lynch]

All the awards in the world should just go to the wedding episode of Parks and Recreation. Perfection.

[chick de la lynch]

It seems like Dan Harmon is coming back, but I won't completely believe it until it is officially stated:

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/06/dan-harmon-is-just-trolling-community-fans-now/

[Jacob]

Oh man, that'd be terrific news. Didn't enjoy the last season nearly as much as the rest. I was afraid the series would just die out.

[bright lights, big city]

After all shit flinging between NBC and Harmon, I'm really shocked by this news. Hopeful, but shocked.

[chick de la lynch]

Yeah, I don't understand NBC's reasoning for hiring a guy back they fired in the first place. I'm assuming they realized that Community is one of the few shows that makes NBC a network worth watching and it wasn't better off without Dan? Either way it makes me really giddy and we'll get back the Community we know and love again. 

[Jacob]

To be honest though, I always thought the first two seasons were a lot better than the rest. Funny moments in those as well, but they wen't over the top a few times too many. On the one hand, I love the episodes where they do something completely weird and unexpected (the paintball, pillow fort, and video game episodes to name a few), but I also liked how laid back and kind of serious it could be in the beginning. They take some things way too far. It's been a long time since it was about actual human problems, instead of focusing solely on the characters little quirks and oddities.

[Dath]

Well, now that Season 4 has been over for a while and I'm not trying to delude myself:

It had 2 good episodes (The one written by Jim Rash and the one with the dance)

A bunch ranging from "eh" to "shit community what are you doing"

I wanted to kill myself during the puppet episode and the season finale, and my favorite thing about season 5 is going to be that that abortion is not going to be the series finale.

Harmon better do this one right, let the show end on a good note. I feel like a lot of S4 writers were just like "hey reddit sure does love inspector space-time lets throw him in as much as we can!" There was a painful amount of pandering to superficial things some sections of the fandom love, and they just completely missed the point. Those two I thought were good, they were down to earth/realistic, the characters were consistent, writing was above average/clever. I'm not about that transdimensional paintball doppelgänger bullshit, dream or not. Sorry, just had to vent some after saying whatever that was about season 4 looking promising earlier. That was some serious delusion.

[chick de la lynch]

Hey guys! Community is back and I don't mean just back on TV, but it's back.

[bright lights, big city]

Yea thank god. It's legit.

[Jacob]

Hey guys! Community is back and I don't mean just back on TV, but it's back.

Indeed it is. This season is so far sucb a step up from the last few.

I loved how they pointed out how the characters have changed in the first episode.

[bright lights, big city]

Yes definitely better. I think that Fincher spoof episode with the Ass Crack Bandit might be one of my favorite ever in the series. I was in tears when the bandit called the dean, and he's sitting there constantly his fingers to get the secretary's attention.

[chick de la lynch]

I giggled every time they said "Ass Crack Bandit" because I'm six years old and butts.