I recently worked on the fourth season of Community (before Chevy's exit) in a small walk-on role, and by all accounts the production was running more smoothly than it had in a while, though I doubt this season will take the same sort of narrative risks that it reached for under Harmon's run. I laughed a lot on set and many of the elements that always made the show great were on full display (like the same freakishly talented cast members, the same dedicated crew, several writers, even the same directors of many of my favorite episodes from the run of the series) --it's just that these elements now exist without the original guiding hand that pushed them to the daring highs and lows that shaped way we as viewers see the show.
I do think that the fourth season will be quite enjoyable and quite funny simply because those elements are still in place, even though it can't be like it was when Harmon ran the nuthouse. Dan Harmon is what made Community work in the fiercely original way it worked, and though the show can still work now that the world has already been built and given a life of its own, it certainly won't work the same way. I'm happy that I'll still get to spend more time with these characters as a viewer and I'm glad that the show continuing means that these people I respect and care about are still employed, but I'm still spending these last few months before it comes back mourning the loss of the dynamic that brought it into being and would have protected its essence to whatever end. :unsure
Anyway, I'm concerned about some of the expressed excitement I've seen regarding Chevy's recent departure from the series. Regardless of opinions on the actor's conduct and whether he was necessary for the show to function, THE CHARACTER he played certainly was integral to the piece. Pierce was an important narrative tool, as he was a charged entity that fostered dramatic momentum and conflict of character motivations even without external prompting. Without Pierce, the dynamic of the study group would simply be of people who all like each other pretty well and occasionally hook up. There's nothing wrong with that, but
Community isn't
How I Met Your Mother. Pierce was one of the elements that allowed Community to be a faster moving and higher stakes and flat out fascinating creature of a show.
I suppose it just seems too easy to say "I don't like the kind of person that character is; I'd rather just watch the show with all the fun adventures and situations and all other the clever characters, good riddance" without realizing that the unlikeable character is what often makes the other great stuff possible. Pierce may not be likeable as a human, but he's likeable and handy as a narrative tool. Not to mention responsible for some of the funniest moments in the show.
I'm worried to see Pierce go. Chevy's made clear how he feels about working the show, so I wish him well and hope he finds what he desires somewhere else. But did Pierce have to vanish with him? I sort of dream of someone like Martin Sheen coming in and continuing the role, perhaps with Abed commenting on his change of appearance. Meh.
Anyway to connect this back to props and something I'm currently excited about, if that's permissable in the subforum, here's a crosspost about a prop from the end of season 2:
I haven't got it yet, but I hope to be able to pick up a
WinGun 702 Airsoft revolver for Christmas, as seen in the "A Fist Full of Paintballs" episode of Community.
Annie and the other women primarily use
the 4 inch model during the episode, while Jeff, the Black Rider, and the other men primarily use the 6 inch model, though the continuity of which gun is used by who and when is not terribly consistent throughout.
This is one of my favorite episodes of one of my favorite TV shows, so I was ecstatic to learn that the guns were real and commercially available. Throw in some
Hellfire Mini Paintballs and it's possible to reenact some of the coolest moments in Greendale History.