Ongoing Community Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Admiral_Young
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SUBWAAAAAYYYYY!
Stick with what you know.
Community was one of their best rated comedies. 5-6 people watched it.
Stick with what you know.
Community was one of their best rated comedies. 5-6 people watched it.
Meanwhile, self-indulgent crap like Hollywood Game Night gets renewed. Its whole premise is almost like an inversion of Community: "We let one average joe get a taste of hanging with the cool kids for one night," whereas Community was about a group of unique individuals trying to make the most of their confused lives and dreams by sticking with each other.
For all the obstacles, ratings and behind the scenes drama I feel fortunate that we got 5 seasons, albeit shorter ones near the end, of Community.
Had Community been on CBS it never would've seen a S2.
ABC might've given it a S2 not but a 3
Fox might not've even picked it up.
If Bleep My Dad Says had started on NBC it would still be on.
Luck of the draw.
Thanks for the memories Greendale!
Had Community been on CBS it never would've seen a S2.
ABC might've given it a S2 not but a 3
Fox might not've even picked it up.
If Bleep My Dad Says had started on NBC it would still be on.
Luck of the draw.
Thanks for the memories Greendale!
Why are you mad at NBC? (Ok, maybe not mad, but, still...) They kept on the air in spite of the ratings. When the new producers didn't work out, they brought Dan Harmon BACK.
Everywhere else it would've been cancelled long ago.
It never got good ratings. As funny as I thought it was, a LOT of people watched something else. At some point reality has to come into play....
One more season and I'd have been content. Pretty much everyone, would have been content.
As everyone is saying, this show was on death's door its entire life. Killing it right before its home run feels petty, regardless of any realities that are being faced. I can't see any difference between how the show was received from Season 4 to now (except critically it climbing waaay up again).
After 3 years of "six seasons and movie!", being yanked right before that sixth season is just depressing, at least to me.
As everyone is saying, this show was on death's door its entire life. Killing it right before its home run feels petty, regardless of any realities that are being faced. I can't see any difference between how the show was received from Season 4 to now (except critically it climbing waaay up again).
After 3 years of "six seasons and movie!", being yanked right before that sixth season is just depressing, at least to me.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Apples and oranges. It's hardly Hollywood Game Night's fault this happened or that it may get better ratings. And, not for nothing, but I'd hazard that it's probably light-years cheaper to produce than Community at this stage. Besides, nobody is forcing you to watch Hollywood Game Night, wo what's the problem?
Five seasons on one of the big networks is a huge accomplishment, particularly in this case. I wish we'd have known going in so Harmon and his staff could have scripted a proper finale, but I've also loved the show as it has been, so while I'm sorry it's ending, I'm also willing to let it go. Who knows? Maybe Netflix or Hulu will save the day and we'll get a season six after all. Either way, pissing on other shows and lamenting how unfair this is --when it really isn't, when you consider all the facts-- is silly.
I think we did get a decent series finale, albeit not one that neatly explains what happens to each character, though knowing Community, it would have been interesting to see what Harmon's take on a series finale would have been (especially after the widely viewed travesty of a finale How I Met Your Mother gave us.)
While I am upset about the cancellation and hopeful for a pick-up by another source, I am content with "Basic Sandwich," especially the in-jokes about the possibility of being cancelled. Spot-on parodies of NBC's line-up aside, I'm content with the show ending on Abed's last line:
So that's it. All human civilazation has been destroyed by an asteroid. Somehow, that's a very Community-esque thing to happen (though NBC, how about a spin-off featuring Dean Pelton, Starburns, and Chang being the only survivors of an asteroid strike? C'mon NBC, it would be the perfect show to round out Thought Jacker, Intensive Karen, Mr. Egypt,, as well as the reality shows Celebrity Beat-Off and Captain Cook!).
Also, while I haven't heard anything about how he would have handled it, I was worried that Better Call Saul would have taken Jonathan Banks, whose addition really made this past season so great, in my opinion, away for at least some episodes.
While I am upset about the cancellation and hopeful for a pick-up by another source, I am content with "Basic Sandwich," especially the in-jokes about the possibility of being cancelled. Spot-on parodies of NBC's line-up aside, I'm content with the show ending on Abed's last line:
So that's it. All human civilazation has been destroyed by an asteroid. Somehow, that's a very Community-esque thing to happen (though NBC, how about a spin-off featuring Dean Pelton, Starburns, and Chang being the only survivors of an asteroid strike? C'mon NBC, it would be the perfect show to round out Thought Jacker, Intensive Karen, Mr. Egypt,, as well as the reality shows Celebrity Beat-Off and Captain Cook!).
Also, while I haven't heard anything about how he would have handled it, I was worried that Better Call Saul would have taken Jonathan Banks, whose addition really made this past season so great, in my opinion, away for at least some episodes.
Community ratings were better than P&R and most of NBC's comedies the last few years.
You miss my point. I'm not blaming the show itself for Community's cancellation, I'm blaming NBC. They pick a quite vapid and shallow show over something of actual substance (and yes, I watched a couple of episodes and was done with it). So where's the harm in it? Well, for one thing, its timeslot takes up space that could be occupied by another show that's also trying to make it. Keep in mind, this is the exact same kind of reasoning that NBC used to split up its acclaimed Thursday lineup from only a couple years ago, as well as its reason for shoving TOS to the Friday night death slot. And anyone here could also list any of their preferred shows that were axed so that NBC could put in another game show or reality show (Biggest Loser, Deal or No Deal, or other shows that would have multiple episodes per week). And NBC's failure to consider its online and VOD audience (discussed below) means that shows that otherwise make money through ad revenue get cancelled nonetheless.
Simultaneously, with the rise of repeat, cheap reality and game shows, viewers have been flocking away from network television and onto cable for over a decade and recently to Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, etc., precisely because the options have become so limited on networks like NBC -- a network that's been fourth for a long time. No real investment into your own shows and productions mean viewers go elsewhere in droves. Consider other companies out there: AMC, HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, Netflix -- that not only host shows, but promote the heck out of them. NBC, however, put the show up against the Big Bang Theory, and didn't learn when their critical darling 30 Rock lost badly every night against the show. As Bigdaddy pointed out, Community's ratings were better than similar shows, including Parks & Rec (thank god they were renewed), so the logic of cancelling Community is odd no matter how you slice it.
The thing is though, is that NBC never seriously examined other alternative methods like its own website, Hulu, VODs, and similar services. Danny Pudi during a panel discussion mentioned that most of the show's audience doesn't watch it first-run, but rather through other means that aren't covered by surveys like Nielsen. And those other alternative means still run ads, it's just that the methods to measure the audience haven't kept up. Indeed, when he asked the panel audience who watched the show during its timeslot, a few dozen hands out of the 1000 or so went up, but when he asked about watching it through other means, the vast majority of the audience then responded.
But this isn't exactly a problem that's unique to Community, either, as other shows have had large online audiences but suffered the same fate. Rather, audience habits aren't what they used to be and should be taken into account (otherwise, shows on Netflix wouldn't be around).
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Unfortunately, crap like Game Night costs ZERO to produce and probably brings in decent ratings. Community was probably costing Sony at least a half million dollars per episode.
And the CableCo's like Comcast wonder why we are cutting the cord? Good luck with that.
Funny thing is I thought that was the series finale all along. I would've been quite surprised had it been picked up for renewal.
Between this and Believe (I know it wasn't the most popular show on at the moment, but I felt it was getting better) I'm running out of reasons to watch NBC at all. Parks and Rec will probably be the only show that I tune in for now, because there isn't anything else that interests me.
Would've been nice if they'd let the show crawl over the 100 episode mark but I can't really complain. We got a decent final seasons and enough closure that I don't feel cheated.
That being said, with Community gone and Parks winding down I don't think there's anything left I watch on NBC.
In fact, based on this article, in which the head of NBC all but admits they want "broad" shit-coms like CBS churns out, instead of quality "niche" comedies, I anticipate I won't be watching NBC for a long time.
Man, hard to believe that this is the same network that gave us Cosby, Cheers, Seinfeld, Night Court, the Office, Hill St Blues, LA Law...etc. I remember when NBC was the "quality" network.
That being said, with Community gone and Parks winding down I don't think there's anything left I watch on NBC.
In fact, based on this article, in which the head of NBC all but admits they want "broad" shit-coms like CBS churns out, instead of quality "niche" comedies, I anticipate I won't be watching NBC for a long time.
Man, hard to believe that this is the same network that gave us Cosby, Cheers, Seinfeld, Night Court, the Office, Hill St Blues, LA Law...etc. I remember when NBC was the "quality" network.
...and based on this article, next years' won't be any better. "Bad Judge" sounds like a parody of what a clueless TV executive would green light:
- Bad Judge centers on wild child Rebecca Wright (Walsh), who happens to be one of LA’s toughest and most respected criminal court judges. She’s far from ready to settle down … except when an 8-year-old boy — whose parents she put in jail — needs her help
How often do you think Judge Uncle Phil had to recuse himself because he couldn't preside over DJ Jazzy Jeff's latest misdemeanour?
I would have been content to end it after the fourth season, ending with Jeff graduating and somewhat completing the story. But when it got renewed for a fifth season, it felt like the show needed that long fabled sixth season (and a crappy DVD movie) to bring proper closure. All the talk in recent months suggested that renewal for one last season is likely, so seeing the news that it was cancelled felt like a slap in the face.
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