When the 1st season of Community came I did not watch it but as I’m sure is the case with many of us, I kept hearing about this small show on NBC and how it was unlike any other comedy around. Even then it was compared to Arrested Development, a comparison that I might add had no effect on since at that time I hadn’t seen Arrested Development yet. Anyway, as someone who’s always on the lookout for new shows to watch I decided to download the 1st episodes of Community. First thought after 10 episodes was okay this is a funny, clever and nice show but nothing extraordinary. Then came the Contemporary American Poultry and Modern Warfare episode and I fell in love. I became a instant fan and so far I’ve watched the first two seasons at least 5 times each. With each episode I laugh and rejoice in the fresh brilliance that is Community.

Like many fans I was also shocked by the season 2 finale. As much as I loved to hate Pierce Hawthorne, he was essential to the dynamic of the group and I really liked the show’s bold move. So when the 3rd season started I was anxiously awaiting to see how this would be resolved. It was resolved too quickly for my liking but I let it slide since everything else worked so well, especially with all the Stanley Kubrick references. But it is that type of action, of letting things slide that I’ve found myself repeating over and over again throughout season 3. I’ll say this though, the first half of the 3rd season was was extremely strong with episode after episode being both absolutely hilarious and creatively marvellous. But things changed with the hiatus.

For a while it seemed my beloved show would be cancelled, but as die-hard fans do time and time again we rallied to be heard and for NBC to stop being such dicks and give us back our baby. The hiatus felt like forever but Community returned with a second half that for me in particular felt different. Community became a “let’s parody something different each night” kind of show and that’s where my love started to decrease. It’s not that these later episodes were bad, but a lot of what made show special for me was missing from them. I used to laugh a lot with each episode but now all I do is say “oh that’s cool”. It’s not funny anymore, it’s just clever and different. Sometimes I find that I’m forcing myself to laugh, to find the funny aspect but it all just feels forced much like the show’s overwhelming desire to be different. The show was already different but not it seems like it’s being different just for the sake of being different, which to me feels both fake and lame. All Community does now is parody other stuff and while I’ll admit that it parodies things in a very clever way, it just feels like another show. But biggest offence was how they Britta’d Britta in the second half of season 3. Britta became my favorite character in season 2 and I’m disappointed by how her character has been used in this season. She is now a walking joke relegated to one-liners and all the authenticity she possessed before is gone. I don’t like this new Britta, she is not the flawed but awesome character I became so fond of.

I suppose you could say that the show is evolving and that all these meta-parody episodes are part of that continuing progression. In which case I’ll keep saying what I’ve been saying so far: oh that’s cool. But the truth is, the unnatural amount of love I had for this show is not there anymore. That love that almost brought me to tears when the hiatus was announced is long gone. Community season 3 feels like a foreign show to me, a show with the same characters but handled differently like an odd remake. It is because of this sentiment that I am not mad about Dan Harmon being taken off the show. It sucks what they did to him and he is responsible for a lot of the show’s freshness, but he took the Community on a weird tangent this 3rd season that seriously damaged things. NBC should’ve told him to tame the show a bit and go back to some of the non-parody stuff he did so well in the 1st two seasons, instead of straight-up firing him. NBC is full of assholes but I can’t say I’m surprised by their harsh decision, especially when you take in consideration the fact that if the show continued like this they would never get new fans. Like someone said, Community is a total inside joke that more and more caters solemnly to its die-hard fans. Fuck the rest.

Perhaps the new show runners for the 4th season will ground things, or perhaps they’ll fuck it up all together. All I know is that the Community I loved died during the hiatus and all I have left is 2 and half seasons of pure comedy genius. It’s a sad and difficult thing to admit for such a big fan of the show, but I can’t keep forcing myself to love something that so obviously does not love me back.

Like a lot of fans of the show, I was exceedingly annoyed by the first half of the second season. What started with two great first episodes led to a frustrating, lacklustre and at times pointless first half. The search of Sophia, while understandable, was ill-advised especially when you consider that we barely got to know that character. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone, outside the show, who actually cared about her. But the search did reach its culmination in one of the most memorable moments in the whole series.

I was also a bit annoyed by the group’s overlong stay in the farm. I understand however that in the comics they stayed in the farm for even longer and when you think about it, it makes sense to stay in a place you can call home when there’s nowhere else to go to. Having said that, I was not on board with a lot of the character interactions that occurred there. Rick took his idealistic persona to new uncompromising heights that I found both annoying and detrimental for the group’s safety. Lori became a back-stabbing bitch whose odd reactions to things were very contradictory. One moment she wants Shane dead, but the next she wants him a live. And we had some other problems that I won’t bore you with.

But the great thing about The Walking Dead, or at least the thing that always makes me come back, is the fact that the show always redeems itself. Yes, it will frustrate and annoy the fuck out of you sometimes but in the end it delivers so much. The closing episodes of this season brought forth much needed character deaths and change in characters that were a long time coming. We all rejoiced when Dale died, Shane’s death had to happen in order for the show to move forward and Rick has finally realized what he needs to do in order to survive. That speech he gives at the end of the finale was fucking awesome and literally made me jump and cheer. Finally Rick! You’ve acknowledged that this isn’t a fucking democracy and made the others realized how fucking much you’ve sacrificed and done in order to make them happy. This is the badass/dictator Rick I’ve been waiting to see for a such a long time. Thank you for finally calling on everyone bullshit. Now you’re a leader.

All in all, season 2 of The Walking Dead was pretty good. Some odd plot holes and irritating character interactions aside, the show evolved in various ways. The camera work and cinematography in particular reached a new level of greatness. My favourite was the opening shot of the episode of the aftermath of Lori’s car crash. And that moment with the samurai dude was fucking awesome. For those who haven’t seen the show, I think it’s time to start especially now that season 3 looks to be even more amazing by bringing some beloved character from the comics.