I thought the finale was pretty weak, I liked some of the meta references but it wasn't well done nor was the episode funny, at all. The ending was pretty spectacular, though, and Ants playing on the background was a bonus, I think it being used in silly occasions in previous eps and now it being used as a serious ending was also nicely done.
As for the season, I'm very pleased with it, Harmon being back obviously saved this show imo, and there were plenty of strong episodes this season. I also agree that less episodes hurts the show a lot, it did seem like every ep was a concept ep and the story, specially the ending, did not seem as natural and smooth as it shudve been. And most notably, Chang was so much better this season than in 2 and 3, I was back to laughing in the verge of tears whenever he was on instead of being annoyed by him. Definitely disagree with him being cringe-worthy. took me just a single line in the G.I. Joe episode to make me laugh uncontrollably ("It shredded my meniscus!"). He finished this season v strong imo. Miss pierce and troy.
#sixseasonsandamovie!
PS: Don't care for Hickey (he doesn't make me laugh, I don't care if he was on Breaking Bad, I don't see why everybody praises him he feels like a male shirley to me).
Cast members are making a strong push for #sixseasonsandamovie right now. I wouldn't be surprised if NBC keeps the actors happy and do a sixth season to retain them in the nbc family
Would rather have Hickey as Male Shirley instead of Shirley as Shirley every single time.
Subtle/background/filler Chang is typically the best. Definitely appreciate those moments, especially at this point in the series. There's still been times where his lines felt forced just for the sake of having him around, which are the weak moments.
Kind of miss Pierce, although he was already trending downward for a while, plus plenty of talk and references and callbacks about him, so a mixed feeling I guess. Rachel needs to take Troy's spot full-time asap. Great character.
But see what makes this especially tougher, as long as a couple months ago I'd largely resigned myself to the fact that it almost certainly wouldn't get renewed, but then I felt like I started reading multiple places that it was actually looking very encouraging to make it. That, considering it was a virtual lock, it'd be the last season anyway, and that despite low ratings, they had been fairly consistent and this and P&R were mainly the only two things that NBC could count on, so that it probably had a better chance than things looked for each of the last 3 years.
and now just as they gave me the tiniest amount of hope, I get a punch in the nuts. fuck. It would be so wicked if Netflix stepped up here.
at least there's the good news that Hannibal made the cut for s3.
__________________ Kevin
"Ohh, why do my actions have consequences?!?!" - Homer J. Simpson
NBC is stupid. I get you got a bottom line but it seems like there is such a dedicated following that it'd be worth something. Oh well, I feel fairly confident Hulu or Netflix will pick this up. Could see it being more on Hulu.
actually I ain't holding my breath on the concept much of netflix or hulu, etc either. I remember seeing some people talking about a couple days ago how Chris McKenna was tweeting out, not only did he not have a good feeling about NBC, but for whatever reason he didn't seem super encouraged about an alternate venue.
__________________ Kevin
"Ohh, why do my actions have consequences?!?!" - Homer J. Simpson
Hell at this point I'd even be content with just a 10 episode run, letting them finish out what accidentally became this framing of 6 seasons along the way. I mean seriously, who doubts at this point that Harmon & Co. wouldn't conceive of a pretty damn clever way to tie up the overall ending around that idea. Especially if they even knew ahead of time that they'd be able to pull off some small budgeted movie after the fact.
__________________ Kevin
"Ohh, why do my actions have consequences?!?!" - Homer J. Simpson
NBC is stupid. I get you got a bottom line but it seems like there is such a dedicated following that it'd be worth something. Oh well, I feel fairly confident Hulu or Netflix will pick this up. Could see it being more on Hulu.
I have always tried to be as transparent with you guys as possible, letting you in on the process of making (and not making) Community. So maybe my silence on the issue of a hypothetical sixth season seems frustrating. I was thinking I could stay quiet because there’s too much to say and anything can become a headline because of the timing, and I am so very sick of clicking on my dumb fat name and seeing my dumb fat face in that dumb photo where I’m pointing at the camera and my hands are inexplicably tiny despite being closer to the camera.
But, I’m getting tweets from some anxious sounding fans, tweets that make me anxious because I feel like I’ve made THEM anxious with my silence, etc.
The general feel of my twitter feed is “well, what should we do, do you want us to petition/riot/negotiate/scream or do you want us to say goodbye and let it be done?” There’s also references to an article in an industry gossip blog, which I won’t click, indicating that everyone in the world BUT me wants to shop Community around. And probably featuring that fucking weird tiny hand photo. Or the one where I’m snarling and my teeth are like corn kernels.
Let’s start with that, the idea that I don’t want this to continue. I don’t think I’m the guy that gets to say what happens at the more effective levels - my career would have a different shape if I were that guy. I’d fire everyone that fired me, give all of you a raise, let the audience pick which pilots go to series and keep shows running as long as their subscription revenue was a dollar over their budget. I am not Mister Shot Caller Guy. That guy went to a better school, didn’t drop out and has lizard blood.
I will confess, however, that when Sony called me on Friday with the news, there was brief discussion at the end of the call about the concept of the show living elsewhere, and I was definitely in the “eh” column. For a million reasons, some selfish, some creative, one logistic, five sexual, three racist (in a good way) and, oddly, nine isometric. I won’t bore you with them. I mean, of course I will bore you with them. Boring you is my job, my hobby and my passion. But it doesn’t matter right now WHY I’d be lukewarm or if my reasons would be valid, what matters is, I won’t be lukewarm. I’ll heat up. I said “eh” on a Friday afternoon, I will change it to a “sure, let’s talk” on Monday morning and Sony can do their thing. I’m not going to be the guy that recancels cancelled Community.
I’m scared to tell you how little a difference I think my enthusiasm will make. I know fandom, when it gets this deep for this long, becomes almost religious, including the urge to stone the less than faithful. But there are lots of reasons a Community resurrection could be difficult. So be prepared for that. Which brings us to the other thing, the first thing, that most of the anxious tweets are about:
What do we, the fans, do? How can we help? Whose dog can we kidnap? Should we eat at Subway? Does Obama know? Should I have this tattoo removed? Was that Abed in Captain America 2?
I honestly think you can totally sit back and relax for this chapter. I know you don’t feel relaxed but I mean you don’t have to worry that someone on this planet isn’t aware of this show’s value to its audience. There are actually astronauts on a space station right now saying “we get it, you love Community” in Chinese. You have done your thing.
If you want to know the God’s honest truth, part of my “eh” was coming from the unsettling thought of your passion for campaigns being once again exploited by this rather unfair, somewhat backward system, one that now treats you like it’s your responsibility to keep a show alive, like a corporation is doing you a favor by feeding you low grade opiate through a regulated tube. Like you owe them an apology when they can’t measure or monetize you to their satisfaction. You deserve better. I love you guys, and at its best, Community is me saying that over and over again, saying let’s get less mad at ourselves and each other and more mad at the inhuman systems that keep us down and divided. “Maybe it should have said less of that and more jokes.” Shut up, voice of my grade school principal that also coached and umpired softball because shrieking “steeeeeeerike” at children was his sole recourse to virility.
Anyway, I will not be standing in the way. I’m sorry to anyone that’s really taking this cancellation hard. I know how I felt when these fuckers killed Max Headroom. But you sit back and treat yourself to some New Girl and Parks and Mindy and Brooklyn 99 and Eagleheart and Portlandia and have you seen Matt Berry’s Toast of London? It’s awesome. Also not to be selfish but maybe check out Rick and Morty. And let TV be the needy clown that it’s still very overpaid to be, and let the suits deal with the suits and see what possibilities exist. That’s the best we can do for now. Ninety seven episodes. Over eighty pretty good ones. Mission accomplished.
By the way, remember when you complained about that one episode? Bet it’s not looking so bad now, huh ass face? Just kidding, I know it sucked. I was going for something cooler and - whatever, I don’t need to explain myself to you. Marry softball if you love it so much. I’m gonna be special when I grow up!
Your Lover
Daniel Anastasia Harmon
Click the "Show Spoiler" Button to reveal hidden text.
I've seen a number of people, especially over on IMDB, who apparently think that season 4 was better than season 5. I'll grant you that even with Harmon's return, as a whole s5 didn't necessarily totally match up to 1-3, but this 4>5 belief I find just completely mind boggling. I can't comprehend how someone who claims they're a Community fan can honestly think 5 was worse than 4.
__________________ Kevin
"Ohh, why do my actions have consequences?!?!" - Homer J. Simpson
I figured Hulu would pick it up (even though it's preliminary). Hoping it's good and looking forward to it. Maybe not being on a network they can be a little more free in the language and crudeness.
I!
I BELIEVE!
I BELIEVE THAT!
I BELlEVE THAT WE!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
holy shit that is the best fucking news in the world. I really had so little expectation at this point that it would actually happen. And great to hear there will even be a full 13, not like a dinky little 8 or 10.
and here's hoping they can convince Glover to return for at least the finale.
__________________ Kevin
"Ohh, why do my actions have consequences?!?!" - Homer J. Simpson
This show just absolutely blows my fucking mind. I was just watching episode 2x03, which I've seen in full at least 4-5 times. The main threads are that Pierce's mom dies, Annie & Britta have the oil spill donation fight (Shirley feels left out), and Jeff gets pissed when he's got high cholesterol. Abed doesn't really have anything to do at all.
But, right in the middle of Annie and Britta's fight outside on the campus, in a close up shot of Shirley sitting on a bench looking disapprovingly, WAY out of focus in the background in the parking lot, a woman is delivering a baby in the back of a pick up truck. I'd never noticed this before, THEN when I play it back, I realize Abed's the one delivering the baby Mind you, his back is mostly turned to the camera. A few minutes later he's talking with Shirley, and again out of focus in the background, the parents are standing happily holding their baby. He takes the quickest, most subtle look over her shoulder, and says he hasn't really been up to much this week. I can't believe this show's even greater than I already thought it was.
__________________ Kevin
"Ohh, why do my actions have consequences?!?!" - Homer J. Simpson
This show just absolutely blows my fucking mind. I was just watching episode 2x03, which I've seen in full at least 4-5 times. The main threads are that Pierce's mom dies, Annie & Britta have the oil spill donation fight (Shirley feels left out), and Jeff gets pissed when he's got high cholesterol. Abed doesn't really have anything to do at all.
But, right in the middle of Annie and Britta's fight outside on the campus, in a close up shot of Shirley sitting on a bench looking disapprovingly, WAY out of focus in the background in the parking lot, a woman is delivering a baby in the back of a pick up truck. I'd never noticed this before, THEN when I play it back, I realize Abed's the one delivering the baby Mind you, his back is mostly turned to the camera. A few minutes later he's talking with Shirley, and again out of focus in the background, the parents are standing happily holding their baby. He takes the quickest, most subtle look over her shoulder, and says he hasn't really been up to much this week. I can't believe this show's even greater than I already thought it was.
I'm rewatching the episode just because you pointed that out. Right at the beginning when Jeff is talking about even a Ferrari needs a tune-up you can see Abed putting his hands on the prego lady's stomach.