Arzgarth wrote:
So we muddled through the rest of the season. Weird, because it wasn't compelling to watch the show - it was a B-/C+ of a season (although it did get stronger as it progressed and I didn't think the finale was as bad as Sepinall and the AV Club raged) - but I didn't want to abandon the characters. And now, inexplicably, a fifth season has been ordered. I'm still on board, but it's a Hulu Plus two to three nights after the fact show now.
Agreed on all points. I thought the finale felt the closest to having the Harmon touch, but I agreed with the AVC review's point about tightening up and maybe doing with another draft or something. I think that's true of the whole season though. The writers were left in a lurch with season 4 with Harmon's departure and then the whole Chevy thing and it felt like they were catching up the whole time. Hopefully they'll be better prepared this time around.
I'm looking forward to season 5 more than I was 4. With Pierce and Jeff graduated, there's a real chance for the writers to change up and play with the dynamic of the show and make it their own thing. Maybe bring Jeff in as a law professor and show us more from the professors' point of view, dissolve the study group and integrate them into the school as a whole, bring the almost nonexistant secondary characters like Leonard and the like back. I dunno, something different at least beause emulating Harmon or whatever it was they were doing this season doesn't really work for this group of writers as they are now.
Crutch wrote:
Yeah. It has become sort of a chore to watch. I can't believe they got a fifth season.
Trying to replace something as big as The Office would be a massive chore for anyone, let alone a network with as wretched a track record as NBC's is lately. Community's TV-viewing is small but dedicated, and will almost definitely be back next season. So it makes a little bit of sense to keep Community around and placate that audience until The Office's replacement gains some legs instead of having two timeslots to fill with something new. If they're smart, they'll use Community as a lead-in for the new series and try to get that dedicated fanbase invested and let them do a lot of the heavy lifting of bringing in viewers.
Or, having just seen everything that NBC cancelled, they could try to replace everything that isn't Parks and Rec and Community (and The Voice, for some fucking reason). So wtf do I know?