Six Seasons and a Movie

[Char]

I don't know if there are any Community fans here, or if anyone here besides me has even seen it, but I myself am a huuuuge fan of the show. It's the best thing I've ever seen on TV and a lot of people agree with me, but for some silly reason NBC has seen fit to remove it from their mid-season schedule.

Community is just about the smartest, funniest and most innovative sitcom on TV right now. There's nothing like it and it's being pushed aside for the likes of Whitney, a show that in this day and age still uses a flipping laugh track and is also being overshadowed by the juggernaut that is The Big Bang Theory, which I believe currently airs at the same time on another channel.

The official line is that the show will return at some point next year to complete the third season, but then there is a strong possibility that NBC will not pick it up for a fourth (the show is formatted for four seasons, being set at a community college).

I'm not trying to convert anyone into fans, although if you want to give it a watch, then great, I hope you love it! Really, all I'm asking is that you take a few seconds to sign this petition to save a show much loved by its fans who want nothing more than to see it run its four season course to a fitting end: http://www.save-community.com/

If you do, there's a silly picture of me wearing a fake goatee in it for you...

Cheers.

 

[Willem]

I love Community. Best comedy on tv right now. Hadn't heard about the season split but it seems to spell doom for the show's fourth season.

I'll vote and get people on the bandwagon!

 

[Char]

I love Community. Best comedy on tv right now. Hadn't heard about the season split but it seems to spell doom for the show's fourth season.

I'll vote and get people on the bandwagon!

Thank you!!! I'm so glad someone else here is concerned about this amazing show.

Yes, it's not sounding good for Community right now, but other shows have been saved by their fans in the past so it's not completely hopeless just yet.

There's a lot of things going on in the Save Community campaign. If you want to know more, just search for 'save community' or 'six seasons and a movie' on facebook, twitter, tumblr etc. If you're on facebook you can leave a comment on NBC's page about your disappointment that they're benching the show mid-season.

There's also talk of sending them purple pens, dice etc and people are taking pictures of themselves wearing this goatee and then using it as their icon/avatar or whatever:

This is truly the darkest timeline.

 

[MongoGutman]

Never heard of it, probably not shown in blighty

 

[Char]

Never heard of it, probably not shown in blighty

I have seen it shown here on one channel or another, I'm afraid I'm not sure which. If I lived in the US and had NBC I would obviously support it by watching it on TV. As it happens, if I want to watch it live I have to find a livestream link to NBC and watch it online at 1am GMT on Friday mornings, which I do, every week (yes, that's how obsessed I am and that's how good it is ).

Season 1 just came out on DVD here. My copy came in the post the day before the new schedule was announced. This show has a large base of extremely loyal fans worldwide who are very disappointed by NBC's decision to bench the show.

But, like I said, the point of this thread is to drum up support for the show in any little way I can, so if anyone can spare a few seconds, please please please sign the petition I linked to in the first post of this thread.

(If anyone is interested in watching an episode or two I may be able to tell you where you can find them).

 

[MongoGutman]

I just dl'd and watched the first episode and it was... mildly amusing, and vaguely familiar

undecided

 

[MongoGutman]

OK, second episode is better

 

[Char]

OK, second episode is better

Yea, I always thought the second episode is much stronger than the pilot. It's great that you're giving it a shot though, I hope you're enjoying it!

 

[raisindot]

I've kind of meh on the show.

For me it's kind of a second-tier Scrubs, trying to throw all sorts of deconstructive riffs on the sitcom format to make up for a set of characters that long ago ossified into mannerisms. I watch it only because it's the first show in the Thursday night NBC lineup.

But I wouldn't worry about it getting cancelled. NBC doesn't have a single entertainment show in the Top 20. The Thursday night comedy lineup is more of a counterprogramming idea than anything else, and the network has traditionally had a soft spot for keeping low-rated quirky comedies (like 30 Rock) around and hammocking them with higher-rated shows on either side.

My guess is that Community will come back at some point as a late-season or summer replacement. The only worrisome point is that NBC is moving (but not cancelling) the execrable Whitney and replacing it with the almost equally execrable Up all Night.

 

[Char]

I've kind of meh on the show.

For me it's kind of a second-tier Scrubs, trying to throw all sorts of deconstructive riffs on the sitcom format to make up for a set of characters that long ago ossified into mannerisms. I watch it only because it's the first show in the Thursday night NBC lineup.

But I wouldn't worry about it getting cancelled. NBC doesn't have a single entertainment show in the Top 20. The Thursday night comedy lineup is more of a counterprogramming idea than anything else, and the network has traditionally had a soft spot for keeping low-rated quirky comedies (like 30 Rock) around and hammocking them with higher-rated shows on either side.

My guess is that Community will come back at some point as a late-season or summer replacement. The only worrisome point is that NBC is moving (but not cancelling) the execrable Whitney and replacing it with the almost equally execrable Up all Night.

That's really sort of odd because I am not a fan of Scrubs at all, but I could go on about how fantastic I think this show is all day.

With regards to the characters and development or perhaps lack thereof, I think this is worked into the show quite well. Change and development are pretty big themes in the show, I think. Spoliers-a-coming: In the first episode of this season Jeff tries to convince the group that they've evolved beyond having to take the same classes so they can be together all the time, but of course, we know he's saying that because the others want to take a different class so that Pierce can rejoin the study group and he hates Pierce and wants him gone. Basically, they haven't evolved much at all, not in that way at least. Jeff even addresses this in his speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XevozhyCr8

The whole of Biology 101 was about how several characters (mainly Jeff and the Dean) had decided things were going to change and then those changes not happening as they thought they would.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=x3esZdVmhS8

In Advanced Gay, Troy is asked to choose whether he wants to use his talents to become a plumber or join the sinister secret society-esque air conditioner repair school and he chooses neither because right now he just wants to "watch TV with his friend", which is what we expect from him and Abed. They goof around playing Inspector Spacetime, building blanket forts and gnerally being what we know to be 'Troy and Abed'.

Having said that, I would argue that there are ways, small as they might seem, that the characters are growing and changing, especially prominent in Jeff's character this season. In Biology 101 and Remedial Chaos Theory, the audience comes to learn that the group who used to depend on Jeff so much don't need him quite as much as they used to. In fact when he's not around, they actually seem to be able to have more fun. I remember reading somewhere that Dan Harmon said this would be a tough year for Jeff as the group and relationships within it change around him.

Anyways... I won't pretend to know anything about how TV works in the US, or how probable a fourth season being made is. All I know is that the fans are worried about the show, which means I'm worried about the show. But most of all, thank you so much for watching it every Thursday. I hope you do the same tonight.

(Whoops this sort of turned into an essay, sorry!)

 

[MongoGutman]

Well im a few episodes in now and I'm feeling a little uncomfortable in the way the 2 lead characters are both tall good looking fair haired white people who play it mostly straight and are obviously more intelligent than the rest who seem mostly shorter, ethnically diverse and supply most of the humour. Look at the funny foreigners.

 

[Char]

Well im a few episodes in now and I'm feeling a little uncomfortable in the way the 2 lead characters are both tall good looking fair haired white people who play it mostly straight and are obviously more intelligent than the rest who seem mostly shorter, ethnically diverse and supply most of the humour. Look at the funny foreigners.

Britta: intelligent? Ok maybe you need to watch a little more, but that's definitely not the first word I would use to describe her (this season the term 'Britta' has become a word that means making a huge balls up of a very simple task). Also, Britta and Jeff become less like the two leads as the show moves on, later episodes focus on the other characters much more.

The reason Jeff and Britta are sort of paired up from the beginning is because Jeff is the main character and a bit of a cad. The only other two female characters in the main group are Annie who is seen as being too young and innocent at the time and Shirley who is a single mother of two boys separated from her husband and knowing Jeff's character, he probably would not want to get involved in a situation like that (plus he doesn't seem to be attracted to her). There has to be a believable way to bring all these people together, so Jeff starts to pursue Britta and then as you know other things happen which leads to the formation of the Spanish study group.

It's just very strange seeing someone bring up the issue of race in this way when it comes to Community. It's a show that doesn't hide from racism (one of the main characters is pretty racist) but I would never say in a million years that Community wants us to 'look at the funny foreigners' while 'good looking fair haired white people' go around being normal and intelligent. That's not what this show is at all. Personally, I think Britta is one of the funniest and most dysfunctional characters on the show, but I'm not going to lie, it took me a while to come to that conclusion.

I'm hoping its just because you're only a few episodes in and that you carry on watching to find out that Jeff and Britta are just as flawed and funny as all the other characters in the ensemble.

 

[Bouncy Castle]

Never heard of it, probably not shown in blighty

Either ITV4 or E4, or possibly ITV2.

 

[DaveC]

Never heard of it, probably not shown in blighty

Either ITV4 or E4, or possibly ITV2.

Pretty sure it's Sky only, I want to watch it, though.

 

[Char]

Can't recall it ever being shown on any ITV or C4 channels. It's been shown on Viva before, but I don't think they're showing any episode right now.

Episodes can be found online if you fancy watching them and don't have any objections to streaming/downloading.

There was a big Twitter campaign during last night's episode and people seem to be getting beind the show which is great. Save Community!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9_M0aIxiss

Actually, that video ^ is a pretty good indication of what you can expect if you decide to watch the show. Community is very silly, but clever at the same time. It's definitely got heart too(and not in a way that makes me want to throw up).

 

[DaveC]

Can't recall it ever being shown on any ITV or C4 channels. It's been shown on Viva before, but I don't think they're showing any episode right now.

Episodes can be found online if you fancy watching them and don't have any objections to streaming/downloading.

I remember that now, I didn't know how good it was meant to be at the time and forgot to watch.

 

[Bouncy Castle]

Never heard of it, probably not shown in blighty

Either ITV4 or E4, or possibly ITV2.

Pretty sure it's Sky only, I want to watch it, though.

Nah, it's deffo on a Freeview channel, as I recorded the series, saw the first one, and didn't "get" it, so deleted the series record.

 

[Char]

Can't recall it ever being shown on any ITV or C4 channels. It's been shown on Viva before, but I don't think they're showing any episode right now.

Episodes can be found online if you fancy watching them and don't have any objections to streaming/downloading.

I remember that now, I didn't know how good it was meant to be at the time and forgot to watch.

Haha, don't worry about it. I never would have started watching it had my work friends not insisted to me over and over again that I really should give it a shot and I'm so glad I finally did. I've since turned a few other people into fans myself using the same strategy. :twisted:

But like I said, episodes are pretty easy to find, so go ahead and watch a few if you fancy it.

 

[Char]

Never heard of it, probably not shown in blighty

Either ITV4 or E4, or possibly ITV2.

Pretty sure it's Sky only, I want to watch it, though.

Nah, it's deffo on a Freeview channel, as I recorded the series, saw the first one, and didn't "get" it, so deleted the series record.

That's a shame . I don't know what it is about the pilot episode. When I watched it, it got me just interested enough to give the second a go, which is what got me hooked on the show.

 

[Bouncy Castle]

Tell a lie. It's on Viva - Freeview 21.

http://uk.viva.tv/shows/community-0