Community: New writers, new insight, and not the same

“Wait a minute, something’s changed,” Troy says at the start of the latest season of “Community”. And indeed it has, both the abrupt firing of the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, and the back-and-forth status of the show have caused a clear disruption.

It might just be placebo effect, and only two episodes in it is a bit early to say, but a certain energy seems to be missing without Harmon in the driver’s seat.

This is most evident not in the quippy, referential humor—which is mostly in tact —but the emotional beats.

Creating characters, like those in our favorite study group, takes a sharp and intentional vision.

Here at Auraria we know the joy of a student body as diverse as Greendale’s. While watching season four’s it’s clear that
something doesn’t quite
resonate anymore.

The new people in charge, Moses Port and David Guarascio, face a dilemma: Give the show their own spirit at risk of offending the Community community, or attempt to continue a mode that was so clearly Harmon’s deliberate concept.

In interviews, Port and Guarascio have noted the differences between seasons one through three, and wisely consider their season another step in that evolution.

So is Community still good? Yes, but only on the goodwill of its first two seasons, which gave us such rich and endearing characters it would be hard for the show to fail immediately as long as they keep showing up—which Chevy Chase, who has left the show, will not be doing.

For every truly funny quip there’s a repeated catchphrase or bit of meta-humor that feels like going through the motions. The show’s constant parodies and references can only cover so much ground before, without a solid emotional platform, feeling trite and annoying.

Six seasons and a movie doesn’t really seem likely anymore, and if the downtrend continues, that might not be the end of the world.