Last week's episode of Community, titled "Remedial Chao Theory" was the bright spot in an otherwise mediocre season. Utilizing the gags and gimmicks that put the show on the map, "Chaos" explored 6 different timelines in a night of fun in Troy & Abed's new apartment.
As this season unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that Community can be it’s own worst enemy. It’s like the weird kid in high school that mom and dad need to coach. “They might think that you are weird, but don’t ever live up to their standards! Be yourself”.
I think this is one of those things that Community fans can agree on. Community is at it’s best when it embraces it’s weirdness rather than trying to conform in order to feel like a “real” sitcom. Chaos is what has made the show thrive. That’s not to say that every episode must be completely experimental and meta, but rather, that each episode is written without an attempt to conform. The first 3 episodes of this season have felt like that so far. There have still been bits of weirdness, but the snippy dialogue and general ‘smartness” of the show was gone. It felt more like I was watching a sitcom, and less like I was watching Community. It's fair to say at this point that this strange little sitcom has developed it's own little corner on the genre spectrum, and in many ways is a study of the modern comedy just as much as it is a comedy itself. When it begins to treat into sitcom territory and leaves it's unique bubble, the show rapidly becomes less interesting. Still watchable and highly enjoyable, but not nearly to the same magnitude.
The thing with highly conceptual shows like Community is that the more they try to conform to regular sitcom standard, the lower quality they become. Community’s greatest successes have been in their conceptual episodes. The fact that this show is such a highly experimental one is the reason that it’s cult like following is so strong, and the reason why it is TV’s smartest and most well developed sitcom. Beyond this, It's unbelievable continuity has treated fans with more easter eggs that we've seen on TV since the cancellation of Arrested Development.
This pedestal can also be detrimental to the show as well; and the show's reputation as a creative giant has left it with a related problem. The more you up the ante, the harder it is to please the fans. As the show developed a loving and loyal following waiting to have their minds blown with another "Paradigms of Human Memory" or "Modern Warfare", it's smaller scale episodes pale in comparison (which may explain why this recent season has felt incredibly lackluster) What might be a strong episode compared to other shows out here feels weak for Community, and fans can often feel let down and overly critical for that reason. The lack of quality consistently throws viewers for a loop. When fans gauge the success of an episode, they are more likely to compare it to a previous one than the other shows they might be watching. As a result, watching a more "traditional" episode can feel like a real let down.
Community's challenge is to find a delicate balance between these episodes. To allow it's strong episodes to carry the weaker ones, so even if they can't always present us with a monster every week, they can at least curb our appetite and make "normal" feel more appealing. More importantly, when a lighter episode is written, the heart of the program shouldn't feel so lost. The zingers and general snark should still be there. These early season 3 episodes could have been much stronger had they still maintained that personality that is so well associated with the show.
The greatest chance this show has for success is to not be shy to take the risks it's famous for rather than becoming the mask of the sitcom series that it explores every other episode. It is however, important for fans to remember that even if every episode doesn't blow you out of the water, Community is still a bright spot on television, and it's success as a deconstruction of modern television shouldn't negate the fact that even it's worst episodes are strong contenders against the best episodes of many other on air shows.
