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@Jos The thing about Harmon is in negotiation, the rumor isn't that he's not already part of the show, but that he MAY leave it or become a simple consultant. I literally am praying he stays as showrunner.

But it's being aired on friday nights and there's talk that Dan Harmon isn't the main guy running the show anymore. So it'll definitely lose a part of its audience and it might end up being awful.

@Bonermaster
Hahahaha :D

@CHR1S AWE-friggin-SOME

@Bonermaster NBC has recently renewed Community for a fourth season (of 13 episodes)!

Please NBC, give this show at least 1 more season! I beg u!

@TimothyVdp It was a rumour. Everything proved to be correct about Community, but it's not the final season. As of today for sure:)

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/entertainment/nbc-makes-drastic-call-veteran -comedies-30-rock-community-and-parks-recreation

(continued) Right now we still have 8 episodes to go and I'm thinking that season 3 will make way more sense when it's ended. They're heading somewhere.. very slowly, but there are stories developing and I'm liking it so far (also I'm really hoping it turns out good).

...

Now, there were some more things I wanted to say, but I can't find the right words and it's getting late, so I'm going to end this comment rather abruptly. Why not finish it tomorrow? Because I don't know if everything I said so far will still make sense after 'Origins of Vampire Mythology' has aired :p I will just say that like pfr77, I recommend rewatching episodes. And also that I don't consider Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps and Regional Holiday Music as 'pointless' as you seem to do, Jos. Well, I guess the latter mostly is quirky for the sake of being quirky, but in the Halloween episode it was quite brilliantly shown through the characters' storytelling, how they all think of each other. Both were amazing episodes in my opinion :)

Hm, the last comment relevant to this discussion was posted on March 30, so I apologize for my very, very late response. Let's just say that I'm going through some stuff right now..

@az25 "I don't know man, if you don't like where they're going, don't buy the Season 3 boxset. You're getting it for 'free', just enjoy that it's back." That's a bit of a lame thing to say, you know. There's nothing wrong with being a little critical ;) And I know that with a lot of folks it just comes from being passionate about the show. I agree though, that nowadays, with our unlimited access to anything, we must mind not to be too hard on all the movies and series we watch, games we play, and music we listen to.

@Jos "Hell, just off the top of my head a continuation of the evolution that makes perfect sense would be the same S2 style, but with an overreaching seasonal arc being a big focus." If you ask me, that's what they're doing this season, or at least it's what they're trying to do. Like you said, there's been some Flanderization, especially with Britta, but I'm guessing they simplified the characters so it's easier to tell the stories they want to tell this season. For instance, Abed sees and understands the world through TV and movies, but his obsession with Inspector Spacetime has made it more obvious that he's not living in reality, but in fantasy. Much of this season is about coming to accept reality. Why this ongoing, functional, and imo funny Doctor Who reference has to go hand in hand with less other pop culture references by Abed, I don't know. It's something I miss nowadays, just as I miss those funny fast-paced dialogues. Yeah, some characters have (unintentionally?) changed a bit too much. Though I still really like Britta, they made her so stupid that she's almost a different character now :\ But I think it's great how she's been given more to do this season, compared to last year when she was mostly on the sidelines. Her storylines often end with the episode though, and I wouldn't really call her doing a psych major an arc, so I hope that she too will have some troubles to overcome.

holy sh... Comedy Central rules!: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/03/14/comedy-central-acquires-off-net -rights-to-community/124483/

@Jos. If you've heard Gillian Jacobs speak, you'll know that she is basically Britta, minus some of the stupid stuff. As for the show, I don't know man, if you don't like where they're going, don't buy the Season 3 boxset. You're getting it for 'free', just enjoy that it's back. It's so tough these days because we're all watching more tv shows than generations before us, so it seems like we're extra critical... just enjoy it while it lasts, because I have a feeling NBC is not renewing it...

(1/2) I get that the show is changing. But the problem is that, well...

Take season 2: you said so yourself, @HansPB: it was pretty much a rather logical Community 2.0. It's bigger and more ambitious, but the core was essentially still the same. You've got pretty much the same characters, playing with tropes and references like there's no tomorrow, thrown into a pretty typical situation that'd allow for characters conflicting. It's really only the situation that changed when compared to the first season.

Now season 3, though being different, doesn't seem like a normal "next step". I wouldn't have liked them going even further over the top, but it'd make sense for them to do so. They could've dialed it down and go back to the way S1 was, would've been cool, but confusing. Hell, just off the top of my head a continuation of the evolution that makes perfect sense would be the same S2 style, but with an overreaching seasonal arc being a big focus.

What doesn't make sense to me though is them highlighting the sitcom-element and savagely downplaying the intelligent play on tropes, which is what made Community unique in the first place.

(2/2) As far as I can remember, S3 had Remedial Chaos Theory (which I felt was a bit too gimmicky but whatever), and Documentary Filmmaking: Redux (best of the season): those were classic Community. It works on multiple levels: it's a funny sitcom, it's very referential, it's character-focussed and it's a parody (I always loved how subtle they're able to bring this, while going with in-your-face references at the same time). The rest of S3 is particularly lacking in that last part, which to me is basically the defining Community-factor. The Halloween and Glee episodes are obvious examples: what were they trying to do there, except just "do the thing"? Even an episode as Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas had an alterior motive (though a pretty shallow one), but conceptually it works very well. I really don't know why they went with these concept episodes, except for being quirky.

I've also been noticing the characters becoming really really dumb versions of their former self. Most obvious one is Britta who I just want to punch in the face half the time she opens her mouth nowadays. Pretty much every sentence she says is either "LIBERAL FEMINISMISMISM" or that terribly unfunny failing improvised joking/rapping/singing/... thing she does ("pizza pizza me so hungy", go fuck yourself). There's Shirley being the religious nut (though she's always been, I guess. Easily worst character on the show), Pierce going all daddy-issues, and Abed. Poor poor Abed. He's barely doing his cultural reference schtick anymore (last episode a bit of an exception), now he's just doing "HEY IT'S LIKE INSPECTOR SPACETIME PIEUWPIEUW". I really don't get the impression these characters are going anywhere, eventhough there are probably more character-arcs than ever, which I find really weird.

If anything, it's got nothing to do with being dark. More of becoming bland. Maybe they're deliberately dumbing it down to try and get a bigger audience? I don't know.

The first semester of season 3 did feel a bit off but it got a lot better on repeat viewings. The two newest episodes, though... they just feel really weird and have me a bit worried about the future of the series. Some bits are starting to feel contrived and, eh, crutch-y?

I know it's supposed to be "dark" but... that isn't what I'm feeling.

I have somewhat started to see Community seasons as albums in certain bands' discographies. After making a pretty straightforward rock and roll record, a band can decide to make an epic concept album about the cycle of life and death and incorporate many different genres like electronic music and jazz into their sound. So, their second and third album may differ a lot from each other, yet it's still obviously the same band you're talking about. Likewise, Community has always been and, hopefully, will always be, recognizable as Community. Even though it has changed a lot: they started out pretty normal in their first season, got way more ambitious with concept episodes in the second season, and are now trying to combine what came before, with grand story arcs that are very much new for this show. (For instance, I find Troy and Abed's conflicts between fantasy and reality (growing up) very interesting to say the least.)

Will Dan Harmon and Co. pull it all off? Well, I hope so. Let's say they do and the third season turns out to be as 'objectively' good as the previous two. Then it'll still be a lot different from the 'old' Community and people may therefore like it less. Or like it more. Or like it just as much but in a different way. I think I prefer the first season of this show to the others. Just as I may prefer the straightforward rock album to the equally good epic follow-up. But in both situations I accept that the old days are over and I look forward to what new and different things the future may bring. I'm okay with different, it's just decline in quality I worry about. But I think Community has (mostly) maintained its quality and is still Community. The latest two episodes left me unimpressed though, I do see room for improvement. Although the show has always had some weaker moments.

"But maybe I just want to believe all that stuff so much that I'm just excusing the problems the show may truly face." ;)

(First of all, sorry for the double post.)

@Jos It does feel different, yes. But it's still fun and it's still Community. Sometimes things get a little too crazy if you ask me (although actually I'm quite ok with those thought bubbles, as long as it's a one-time thing), but other than that, I don't really mind the change. There are tv shows where everything more or less stays the same during the entire run, such as Futurama, and, I assume, That '70s Show and Spin City (you know those series better than I do), where you can watch a random episode and you wouldn't know what season it's from unless you like.. know these things. With Community it's different and I believe the creators have set out to make each season a whole new experience. A separate work of art, if you will.

@Jos I'm not entirely sure what you mean, as regards characters and story the latest episodes didn't feel off to me, though 2x11 and 2x12 were both directed by the same guy, who may have contributed to the different visual gags and mildly different humor, etc.

Also the creator has stated multiple times that the third season was supposed to be the darkest and the fourth one (if it ever happens) should be about "rising from ashes" and it should be the "Spring" season after the dark "Winter" one ("If years were seasons, this December would be the December of our December" -3x10).

So all the character meltdowns, fighting, Chang's power hunger and other seemingly depressing elements are all parts of a bigger picture.

But maybe I just want to believe all that stuff so much that I'm just excusing the problems the show may truly face.

Does anyone else think the show feels a lot different from what it used to be? At the start of season 3 I was mildly let down by the series, but it was still subpar Community I was watching. Now it feels like I'm watching an entirely different show alltogether.