The hash tag #SixSeasonsAndAMovie is one step closer to becoming reality for fans of cult comedy “Community.”
Just in case you are suffering from Changnesia, “Community” is officially back for season six on Yahoo! Screen. Its first episode debuted on March 17 and is already moving onto the season’s third installment.
Yahoo! will roll out a new episode every Tuesday with 11 more remaining in the season.
NBC never gave the show the attention and care that it deserved. Now on a new network and platform, a lot has changed inside of the show and beyond the fourth wall
So what does the show that is known from its meta-humor do in the first two episodes?
Lets see, the campus cafeteria roof collapses because of some Frisbees. The gang opens an underground speakeasy behind a sandwich shop. “Community” is definitely back
Discussion between characters in these episodes carry over as a meta-conversation with fans of the show, in regards to how much has changed.
Most of the cast is self-aware of the fact that they’re missing three of its original members.
Sure things will never be the same, but they are making the best of the situation. The alterations are not all bad. The show wants fans to accept the transformation, and eases fans into the change by sticking to the comedic roots that formed its fanbase.
In just these first two episodes alone, it’s obvious Yahoo! is letting “Community” go places where NBC never did.
The show opens up with early season shots of familiar locations that have not been visited since the series’ inception.
It’s so satisfying to see a university-based show filmed at an actual college, Los Angeles City College, rather than the awkward, staged setup that removed the audience from the story.
In a separate scene Britta (Gillian Jacobs) can bee seen driving a car, and even a tricycle—something that probably would have never happened with NBC’s picking up the tab.
These changes makes the series seem more grounded and real, even though essentially the series is wacky at heart. It makes one wonder of what is to come in future episodes.
Swapping platforms also lets “Community” extend its study hours. Each episode runs approximately 28 minutes compared to the typical 22 to 24 minutes that was allotted by network television.
Creator Dan Harmon mentioned many times on DVD commentary that jokes and material were frequently cut in order to make restrictions set by NBC, making the switch to online streets ahead.
The new episodes also serve as an introduction of two new characters. Frankie (Paget Brewster), a consultant, who was hired to get Greendale back on track, and Elroy (Keith David), an inventor, who enrolls in the school.
While they do not replace the characters fans have lost throughout the series, they fit right in because they have their own little quirks.
Frankie boldly states that Greendale is “weird, passionate and gross” to summarize why she intends to fix the campus, a loose parallel to the show itself.
Community is unstoppable, which is why NBC couldn’t kill it. It’s a great show about ordinary people, who just so happened to experience extraordinary things—like the community that brought “Community” back.