Community

[Shrinweck]

Season three DVD should get delivered tomorrow. Hopefully it holds up to the quality of the last two since those were very much worth owning. Dan Harmon dropped a hint that he wasn't involved at all in this season's DVD production which kind of dashes my hopes. At the very least he isn't in another hilarious performance evaluation short :(

Edit: I was wrong, Harmon is at least on some commentary

[Julius Seeker]

I just started watching season 3 on Netflix last week. I am only 5 episodes in, but I haven't been enjoying this season as much as the previous 2. It seems they have gone for far sillier types of comedy in less appropriate scenarios.

[Shrinweck]

Really? Remedial Chaos Theory is one of the best episodes they've ever produced. Season three is overall pretty strong and probably has a similar amount of clunkers as season two.

[Lox]

Yeah, I have to agree. I thought Season 3 was really good.

[Julius Seeker]

Really? Remedial Chaos Theory is one of the best episodes they've ever produced. Season three is overall pretty strong and probably has a similar amount of clunkers as season two.

I looked up the synopsis for that one... Somehow I skipped over it because I haven't actually seen that episode yet. I'll watch it tonight.

I suppose the major thing is that the show is getting sillier and even more unrealistic, and doesn't even seem to be about community college anymore.

[Blotus]

I suppose the major thing is that the show is getting sillier and even more unrealistic, and doesn't even seem to be about community college anymore.

Embrace the silly or further disappointment is in store for you.

[Shrinweck]

That's a good point.. There was definitely a lot of silly in season three.

[Lox]

I think that's why I liked Season 3.

[Shrinweck]

It really sucks how NBC hasn't rescheduled the premiere since they cancelled the episode that was going to air like a month ago :(

If any of you still want a dose of Harmon there's more than enough in his Podcast Harmontown. I definitely recommend it.

[Lox]

Last I heard was Feburary 7th.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 4945.story

[SineSwiper]

I heard this has been getting the second highest ratings (after The Office) for comedies on NBC since it came back so there is a strong chance of a season four. There's some kind of stupid bullshit going on between Harmon and Chevy Chase right now, though, so that could definitely change the dynamic if they can't get over themselves. Chase angrily walked off the set because Harmon hadn't provided a script for the final scene before they wrapped. Harmon followed this by giving some kind of "Fuck you" speech to Chase at the wrap party.. in front of Chase's wife and daughter. Chase retaliates by leaving a profanity-laden voicemail to Harmon, which Harmon plays for people at the party and is subsequently leaked onto the Internet.

I don't watch the series, but what I've read from comments is that Chase is disappointed with the racist/bigot nature of his character. He was pretty pissed that they just pushed it even further in Season 2/3.

Also, that's pretty fucked up on Harmon's part. I gotta take Chevy Chase's side on this one.

[Julius Seeker]

I heard this has been getting the second highest ratings (after The Office) for comedies on NBC since it came back so there is a strong chance of a season four. There's some kind of stupid bullshit going on between Harmon and Chevy Chase right now, though, so that could definitely change the dynamic if they can't get over themselves. Chase angrily walked off the set because Harmon hadn't provided a script for the final scene before they wrapped. Harmon followed this by giving some kind of "Fuck you" speech to Chase at the wrap party.. in front of Chase's wife and daughter. Chase retaliates by leaving a profanity-laden voicemail to Harmon, which Harmon plays for people at the party and is subsequently leaked onto the Internet.

I don't watch the series, but what I've read from comments is that Chase is disappointed with the racist/bigot nature of his character. He was pretty pissed that they just pushed it even further in Season 2/3.

Also, that's pretty fucked up on Harmon's part. I gotta take Chevy Chase's side on this one.

I can sort of see how Chase and maybe some of the other actors would be annoyed at the direction of their characters. In season 1, they were very realistic seeming characters that you could related a friend/acquaintance/self to in relatable situations (even if in an exaggerated form), but by season 3 none of the characters or situations seemed relatable or even vaguely realistic. The show wasn't about community college in season 3.

Still, I liked the season quite a bit, even if to a lesser degree than the first season; which I absolutely loved.

[Shrinweck]

Well now he has left the show entirely and won't appear in some of the upcoming episodes in season four. If he's as difficult to work with as it seems then this is probably for the best.

[Shrinweck]

I've been going through the commentary and other things of this show for the past week or so and Chevy's antics really are unprofessional at times. He presumably told one of the writers how they shouldn't write comedy and shit like that. And Pierce is a great character even though he's cartoonish at times (they all are). Him complaining about the character being too racist would be like McHale complaining about his character being too self-centered and Glover complaining about being too childish. The show is about them being cartoonishly flawed and managing to come together as a group anyways.

Based off Harmon's podcast he enjoys discussing and dissecting racism and that would have to be a part of a show that had so much of him in it. You can't really get into anything like that without a racial antagonist. I just don't see siding with Chase on this issue. Every character is occasionally either the hero or the villain of the episode and you can't have a story without some kind of conflict. Race is as good a topic as narcissism or self-delusion.

[Shrinweck]

Something definitely seemed off with the new episode but I liked it enough to keep going.

[Lox]

I enjoyed it. I thought Abed's Community-sitcom in his head felt like "classic, weird Community" enough.

[Shrinweck]

At the very least any episodes focusing on

Spoiler: show

the dean living next to Jeff

promise to be god damned hilarious. The show still has more merit based on how well designed and acted the characters are at this point than most other shows airing. Also part of the promotional season four picture features a sinking ship... they at least still have a sense of humor about how the show basically can't live up to expectations no matter how good it ends up.

[kali o.]

I haven't really liked Community since everybody became 100% caricatures of what they were in earlier seasons. Character growth has trended simply to the absurd and I can't pretend I am a fan.

I'll give it another episode or two before I lose interest.

[Shrinweck]

Yeah.. the

Spoiler: show

Troy-Britta relationship

is really a boner killer for me this season since it makes the show grind to a halt with relationship cliches, even if they steppe it in weird. Everything just feels pretty artificial. The Halloween episode was decent and Gillian Jacobs said it was her favorite of the season, so if it's downhill from there.... Hoo boy. I'm in it until the end because Jim Rash and Gillian Jacobs are fun as hell to watch, but it's not the show that I most look forward to airing like I did in the past.

The show just seems a little soulless... I think it may have been Harmon working so hard that he was literally putting his soul into the show that infused it with likeability even during the episodes when quality waned.

[Shrinweck]

The German trio without Nick Kroll.. why even bother?

[Shrinweck]

Black face and yellow face hand puppets... you know maybe I was too quick to judge Chevy. At least Harmon made being old and racist funny.

[Shrinweck]

Renewed for season five even though this season was a pretty mediocre it's probably still better than every other comedy NBC currently has other than Parks and Recreation since 30 Rock left and they cancelled Go On like total nimrods.

[Lox]

Well, that's awesome news.

[Shrinweck]

They need to make season five less cartoonish. Kali was right about the show devolving into caricatures over time, but I was mostly okay with that. Season four was just completely ridiculous though. I'm not really even sure what could be done to make season five a more enjoyable one. If they really keep going on the path they're going I'm probably not going to be able to watch a sixth one, if that comes. The actors really carry the show now, which I'm fine with, but when I'm spending more of the episode cringing than laughing then I'm probably going to eventually stop watching.

[Shrinweck]

Looks like Harmon is coming back to Community in season five. They're even talking about a DVD commentary track of him watching season four for the first time. He admitted he still hadn't watched a single episode in one of his latest podcast episodes.

[Lox]

Looks like Harmon is coming back to Community in season five. They're even talking about a DVD commentary track of him watching season four for the first time. He admitted he still hadn't watched a single episode in one of his latest podcast episodes.

Oh, geez...that could be pure gold.

[Shrinweck]

These new episodes are every bit as good as seasons two and three if not better. Fantastic return for Harmon

[Blotus]

John Oliver can do no wrong by me.

[Shrinweck]

His podcast (The Bugle) is SO GOOD.

[Shrinweck]

Canceled. Unless a streaming service (Netflix has apparently already said no) or some such decides to pick it up it's dead. Would have liked to hit that six seasons and a movie goal, but it's amazing it went as long as it did.

[Lox]

Yeah, I'm bummed to see it canceled, but I've been expecting it to happen every season anyway. Now I'm down to a single reason to ever turn on NBC with Parks & Rec sticking around.

[Julius Seeker]

That's a shame.

I think the writing was on the wall once Chevy Chase and Don Glover were gone though.

[Shrinweck]

I had no issues with most of this season of community. I wasn't a big fan of where they ended up taking Troy and Pierce so losing them didn't both me.

I'm kind of hesitant to keep watching Parks and Recreation. If they didn't have Adam Scott and Amy Poehler I don't think I would have watched this season - honestly I want them to end the show so they can be freed up to work on better things. The characters are just too formulaic.

Losing Rashida Jones hurt them more than I think they realized. She's just such a good straight woman and when she does have a funny line her timing is usually fantastic. Without her the ensemble is almost entirely character actors who do the same thing every episode... and even they're kind of wasted on the show at this point. It sounds like they're shaking things up next season so I'll still check it out.

[Julius Seeker]

I do think that Troy and Pierce were on their way downhill starting in season 2, and I didn't like the whole Abed insanity thing in season 3. I have yet to watch season 4 and 5, but from what I have heard I probably shouldn't. I'll probably do a few select episodes though, if there's anything spectacular - kind of like what I have do with the Family Guy.

[Lox]

I'm not all of the way through this season, but it's been really good, imo, but only if you like the unusual storylines.

P&R is done after next season. NBC announced it within the last couple of days. I think that's a good thing, too. Jumping ahead 3 years and doing one last season sounds like a perfect way to end the series.

[Shrinweck]

So the first two episodes of season six got released on Yahoo today and I thought they were hilarious. Abed remained true to character while being far more grounded. Even Chang, who still does ridiculous shit, is a lot less out there. The writing was spot on and I laughed out loud multiple times. Keith David was a very good addition to the cast and the new woman has played her role well so far, too. The Shirley cameo in episode one was god damned genius and a great send off.

Looking forward to more. Hoping Yahoo Screen fixes their kinks. The first time I tried to watch the first episode it played a Honda Fit commercial and then hung for 3 minutes before I refreshed my browser. Lo and behold the same Fit commercial. This time the show started. About ten minutes in, oh, hey, it's that commercial again, but I want to support the show gosh darn it. A few minutes later I get a playback error and it tells me to refresh my browser. I watch the commercial again, and go back to a little before I got interrupted. I get interrupted again at the same point. At this point I re-enabled ad block, fast forwarded a little past the interruption, and enjoyed the rest of the episode and the next one ad and problem free.

I'll give them another chance with the ads next week. I don't really get how getting the same advertisement repeatedly is still a thing. First of all, nearly everyone would rather a block of commercials at the beginning then constant interruptions (it looked like Yahoo wanted 3 commercial breaks... fuck you Yahoo, I think you're missing the god damned point of online TV watching, even if it IS free). Secondly, the same ads over and over is unacceptable, at the very least during the same episode.

Also my Father owns a Honda Fit and I will never, ever buy the same car my dad has owned or does own. Nothing against him or his taste in cars... it's just not happening.

[Shrinweck]

New season still going well. Last week I got a whole second commercial and no playback issues and this week I didn't see a single commercial repeated and still no playback issues. The writing is still mostly on point even though this weeks episode felt more like Harmon was trying to make a point about how spelling something out that's been hinted at during the entire series ruins the magic rather than him trying to write a comedy show. The Karate Kid play adaptation B story was god damned genius, though.

[kali o.]

Hmmm...I think you are being way too kind.

But maybe I am bias -- Chevy was a big reason I liked the show (Troy was awesome too). Really, the Dean is the only character I like left on the show.