Five Shows That Struggled Without Their Creators

Meet the new boss. Unfortunately, they really weren't the same as the old boss, which caused nothing but problems for these five classic shows.

Five Shows That Switched Networks

When Lucifer, The Expanse, and Brooklyn Nine Nine all return next year they'll find themselves with new homes thanks to all those nasty cancellations back in the spring. This of course has made a lot of people happy because Yay! More episodes! But at the same time it has a lot of people worried. When shows have changed networks in the past the results have not always been great. Let's take a look back and see how some of our favourite shows handled it when they underwent a sudden change of address.

Community: Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television

“Our mission is finally accomplished, once and for all.”

…in which Community makes up for a lackluster season with an episode that shines just brightly enough.

Community: Wedding Videography

“Okay, let’s endure this.”

Before sitting down to watch this episode, I heated up a “chicken burger” in the microwave. As I pressed play and bit into the chickenized rubber, I realized that my misbegotten Whole Foods purchase and this last season of Community have a lot in common: they both want to be better than they are, and they both leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Community: Modern Espionage

“Colloquialism aside, the thing to hate this year is the game.”

When a secret paintball game overtakes Greendale, the Save Greendale Committee—briefly rechristened “Dean Force One” (by you-guess-who)—must unearth the Silver Ghost whose alliance to City College is as well-known as his identity is shrouded in mystery.

Community: Basic RV Repair and Palmistry

"Are you going to eat me first?"

The Dean's latest spontaneous purchase - a giant fibreglass hand - proves to be quite difficult to get rid of.

Community: Grifting 101

“Should we all learn how to be grifters together?”

Annie defines this episode for us: “Oh, this is one of those things where Jeff gets jealous of something dumb.” In this case, Jeff is jealous of Roger De Salvo, professor of grifting. The result? A clash between an “artless thug” and “God’s paintbrush” that pits our study group against De Salvo.

Community: Intro to Recycled Cinema

"He's serious. Let's face it, it's pretty obvious when he's acting."

Community: Advanced Safety Features

“Stop the Honda, Rick.”

This is an episode of deceptive simplicity. There are three plots—Britta/Rick, Jeff/Elroy, Frankie/Group—but each of them emphasizes the inherent sadness of adulthood, and the way that we can only connect, sometimes, by changing who we are in order to please another person.

Community: Basic E-mail Security

"He says he respects our moral position, but not our execution. Also, he says he's never talking to us again."

When our heroes make a stand for free speech and allow a racist stand-up performance on campus, all their e-mails are leaked on the internet.

Community: Laws of Robotics and Party Rights

“Mr. Winger, when did you stop being funny?”

Back in Season One, Community attempted to put a spin on the “it’s unfunny to a degree that it comes back around and is funny again” idea, and failed. “The Art of Discourse”—the one with the students who say “Duh!”—was about the way humor works, but that sort of meta-analysis is really the only good thing we can say about the episode. I would argue that the A-plot of “Laws of Robotics and Party Rights” is the same joke. With the same problems.

Community: Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing

"I am at a total loss about what lesson to learn from any of this."
"Maybe that's the lesson."

The Dean is given a place on the School Board, Annie and Chang do some amdram, and Abed and Elroy take a moral stand not to fix the wifi for at least a week.

Community: Basic Crisis Room Decorum

Case: Rival City College is about to run an attack ad against Greendale claiming they’d given a degree to a dog.

Destination: Crisis Room. In the library. Really, just the regular study room with more maps.

Community: Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care

"I'll never get out of here, will I?"
"I haven't met many that do."

This episode doesn't really have an A plot and a B plot, but two stories sharing more or less equal space. While Jeff tracks down the creator of a virtual reality filing system to get him to pull the Dean out of it, Britta discovers that all of her friends, not having enough money to support her themselves, have been secretly seeing her parents behind her back.

Community: Ladders

“Weird, passionate, and gross.”

Another school year, another season. Well, more or less: after showrunner mistakes, network cancellations, the graduation of most of the characters, and a Shirley “spin-off,” Community is both very different and very much the same as its earliest incarnation. Good shows change, after all.

Community: Six Seasons and a Discussion

The sixth season of the much-beloved (except for Season Four) Community premieres today on Yahoo Screen. Here's a link to Yahoo Screen, in case--by some wild chance--you've never visited that site before, or possibly have had a difficult time remembering its name. The new season includes a few changes: Shirley is gone. Troy is still gone. Paget Brewster is a new cast member. And...

Doux News: July 20, 2014

This Week: James Garner -- Women in Film -- Romance -- Doctor Who -- Arrow Casting -- Yahoo Saves the Day -- Smile of the Day

Community: Six Seasons and a Website

Joel McHale: “The reports of our cancelation have been greatly exaggerated.”

Yahoo Screen—a streaming service none of us knew existed—has rescued Community from an early grave and promised to give us a 13-episode sixth season. And maybe a movie.

Community: Basic Sandwich

"We'll definitely be back next year. If not, it'll be because an asteroid has destroyed all human civilization. And that's canon."

Here we go again. Another Community season finale that may have to double as a series finale.

Community: Basic Story

“So be it. Let the lack of story.”

At first pass, the episode seemed to be just a lot of set up for the season finale. At a second look, it’s clear that the episode is largely focused on the Greendale Five’s utter inability to deal with normalcy.