NBC's Community on hiatus

This sucks. We watch Big Bang Theory live and watch Community on DVR in the 8:30 time slot. Damn.

 

Sunny has been close to unwatchable this season, but last week's home invasion episode was fantastic.

 

I'd beat your ass in CharDee MacDennis.

 

I'm always hesitant to say a show is "too smart" as explanation for why it isn't popular. For example, I love Community -- it's probably my favorite show right now -- but I never liked Arrested Development, and I'm assuming the reason why isn't because I'm just smart enough to get Community but still too stupid to like Arrested Development.

I think it's just a tough niche that Community is trying to fill. Comedy in all its forms is pretty subjective, so you've already narrowed your audience just by being a comedy. Then to put on a show with kind of a twisted sense of humor limits your audience more, and having Chevy Chase in your cast -- I'm assuming -- narrows it still more. Then you add in jokes that often rely on events from previous episodes, and now you've narrowed your audience to a very small number.

I look at it like the dramas that rely on the audience tuning in every week to really understand what's going on. Those shows always draw smaller audiences because it's hard to convince people to set aside the same hour every week to sit down and watch your show, and then nobody wants to try and jump in in the middle. Community, to me, is one of those shows, except it's a comedy instead of a drama. I think it's a lot less funny if you aren't watching it every week, and most people simply won't do that. I don't know that that makes the show "smarter," just a niche product that I happen to enjoy.

 

I've always liked the show, but I know some who don't because they don't buy into the concept of the show and that prevents them from watching or enjoying it.

People can relate to The Office. While people might not be able to relate to Parks and Rec or 30 Rock, they buy into the concept.

As much as I like Community, it's not the easiest sell.

 

I tried to like Community. Some episodes were pretty clever but overall, too many of the characters were completely unlikeable. And too much dialogue along the lines of "You are only acting like X because you secretly feel Y."

 

It's interesting to look at comedies as a whole the past half century or so, from Lucy to All in the Family to Cosby to Seinfeld. Each decade seemed to have its comedy stalwarts that people tuned in to see, and most kept tuning in because the plots weren't all that confusing and people understood the premise. When people watched Three's Company, they said, "Oh, a guy pretends to be gay and lives with two relatively attractive women," and that was that.

I'm the biggest Seinfeld junkie there is or ever was, but even I realize that the show (in context) is not as cerebral as a show like Community in the sense that Seinfeld did not beat around the bush with its taboo topics; they just went out with them and said them, and it turned out to be funnier. Community uses a philosophical angle to tell jokes, so I find it refreshing but I figured many others just wouldn't really get into it over the long haul.

 

I'm a fan of Community, but I'm not shocked that it's nearing the end. I feel the show is straining this season. The "Remedial Chaos Theory" ep was great, and each episode has its great moments, but I feel like I'm seeing the writers and actors sweat more to reach their goal.

 

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/11/see-three-save-community-posters.html

 

Can anybody name a sitcom that went on hiatus and came back?

Drew Carey's show comes to mind, but that was one strange deal. Scrubs maybe?

 

In related news, Donald Glover's rap CD under his Childish Gambino name is out. You'll like it, unless you write for HipsterRunoff.com.

 

Hasn't "30 Rock" been on and off? Didn't "Parks and Recreation" come back at mid-season last year?