I feel like I'm one of the few people who liked the GI Joe episode, but that may be because I grew up watching GI Joe, playing with the toys, etc. I say "And knowing is half the battle!" more often than I'd like to admit. Lol It may also be the gateway episode to finally get my husband to watch. He still has his old action figures, which my kids have played with.
Was the story great? Nah. Was it full of nostalgia for those of us who grew up with GI Joe? Yes, it was. They even used some of the original voices and the animation was spot on. So I have a soft spot for it.
I like it and I didn't grow up on GI Joe.
But like I know Saturday morning cartoons and I got most of the jokes anyway, just like other community episodes where I didn't know the original work.
I have to disagree, the only episode that you listed thats *kind of* bad is GI Jeff but I think you underestimate the ego of good looking men who get old. Look at Joel irl and his desperate attempt to fix his hair, a midlife crisis isnt just a TV trope some people hold themselves to impossible standards. Having said that, meow meow beanz, advanced d&d, and basic story were all hilarious
Honestly I kind of liked GI Jeff. The jokes satirising/homaging old cartoons I thought were pretty funny, and Jeff having a midlife crisis felt extremely on-brand for him.
Definitely learned recently that this sub doesn't like GI Jeff but for me it's one of the strongest in the stretch. Educational Publishing feels a bit weak to me but if it has peanut rap then it's excused for any flaws
Fair enough. I’m sure there are men who go through what Jeff did and I totally don’t mean to invalidate that. As an episode though, I just didn’t think it was that funny.
I don’t hate these episodes, I’m just not as big a fan of them as others are. There’s hilarious bits here and there but I felt a lot of what they were trying to do worked better in previous episodes, I.e. Shirley and Jeff playing foosball instead of delving into Logan’s Run, D&D 2 being topped by D&D 1, etc.
I don’t agree with you for several reasons, the chief of which is that the “I HUG MY FATHER” impaling scene in Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons might be the best Jeff/Dean scene in the series.
Totally disagree. The Meow Meow Beenz episode is one of my all time favorites. I also really love the 2nd D&D episode. No, it's not as good as the first, but it's still a great episode. And the Piles of Bullets episode is great too. The two part finale isn't the finest of episodes but still entertaining and funny. The only one I don't really connect with is GI Jeff and I think that is solely because I never watched GI Joe.
The back half of S5 is great and S5 as a whole is my 2nd favorite season.
Fully agree on the second D&D episode. Not as amazing as the first one but it’s still great. The dean having to rub his sword for Jeff takes me out every time.
I agree, there are more flashes of greatness than great episodes.
The absence of Troy was not immediately dealt with (in the meta sense, not the plot). He's a good pair with everyone, and that aspect was missing. Thus, Frankie, who is also a good pair with everyone.
Also, Donald Glover is just fucking FUNNY. They would literally write "Troy \[or maybe Donald\] does something funny" in the script a lot. And his chemistry with Danny was insane. It left Abed at loose ends somewhat.
The first three seasons are lightning in a bottle. No one expected it to be what it was (except for maybe Dan Harmon) and it was impossible to recapture it when pieces were removed. They did a pretty good job with the first half of the season, but it's not the same as those first magical 3 seasons. Still good though!
I get what you mean. losing Troy was a big loss. Season 4, 5, and 6 are noticably worse at large, season long story arcs and character development. when I go through each of those episodes that you listed I'm of the mind that most of them are pretty good one offs. Are any of them in my top 10 favorite episodes? No. Does the show start to rely on homages and school wide transformations for a bit too much? Maybe.
5x8: I honestly really liked it. Definitely leans hard into the references, but it works for me.
5x9: Not peak but I got several good laughs out of it.
5x10: It's weaker than the first one, but I still enjoyed it.
5x11: Took me a couple watch through but it's a pretty good riff on GI Joe. Also introduces a pretty interesting theory.
5x12, 13: Yeah, these are weak. They just can't top paintball.
Hot take, the worst theme episode of the season is Geothermal Escapism.
I think only basic story and basic sandwich are not very good. Didnt really like either of them, the only good part was when the schoolboard guy does the mind reading and the fuck NBC tag. I dont like the fat dog stuff either, but the annie-hickey plot is incredible. I am also a meowmeowbeanz-head, so cant agree with you there.
Really, season 5’s second half feels so much worse because those first 6 episodes might be potentially the best 6 in a row in all of community, i am hard pressed to determine another stretch of episodes as good as those.
Season 4 for sure has some stinkers, but it’s to be expected given Harmon’s absence. Season 5 on the other hand, although enjoyable, I was surprised by how much I didn’t really love the latter half of that season
I can see many of your points and one thing I hadn't realised before is that I like parts of these episodes, but generally only that. Case in point: I totally agree with you that the roommate subplot (aside from the actual game, which I find funny) is kinda bad and boring. Also, Annie's brother is just a weird character. I know he is supposed to, but, like, he doesn't fit the vibe in my opinion.
But I do really like the book-subplot in that same episode. Not, like, one of my favourites, but I always felt it had a classic Greendale charme.
And that is the same for multiple episodes in the chunk you mentioned: The dean handling swords in multiple \*interesting\* ways in DnD? GREAT! Everything else in that episode? Well...ya...well...
That being said, the MeowMeowBeanz episode is fantastic and one of the best episodes to watch as a single episode, imo. It's very much its own story (and Community is very episodic in nature) and it has some really funny and interesting moments.
I agree with you about the last 3 episodes. I'm always shocked that I don't see people complaining about Basic Story and Basic Sandwich more, I remember watching them when they first aired and thinking what the fuck is happening. They haven't gotten better on rewatch for me either, the whole thing just stinks of Harmon giving the middle finger to NBC. Which is valid but doesn't really make for good TV.
I’d go with 4B is by far the worst.
Back end of season 5 is weaker than the first half but still a great season and would have been a decent series finale. Much better than season 4.
Im a fan of app dev and aad&d, but i kind of agree on the rest. App dev isnt perfect but its fun, and i agree hickeys d&d is worse, but only because Niel has one of the best episodes in the series
I agree, but honestly, I feel that way about most of season 5. They just went too far with the over the top storylines where everyone at Greendale collectively loses their sanity and the school descends into anarchy. Episodes like that are great in small doses, but there were just too many in S5, it's exhausting to watch.
I am one of those who things season five is not clearly superior to season four. There was a lot to like but definitely a feeling of floundering with Troy gone trying to find good comedic matches. I did really enjoy advanced advanced D&D but the original is never gonna be matched!
Analysis of Cork-Based Networking is one of my favorite episodes. Troy is a big void to fill. It makes sense the episodes after might be uneven.
I feel like I'm one of the few people who liked the GI Joe episode, but that may be because I grew up watching GI Joe, playing with the toys, etc. I say "And knowing is half the battle!" more often than I'd like to admit. Lol It may also be the gateway episode to finally get my husband to watch. He still has his old action figures, which my kids have played with. Was the story great? Nah. Was it full of nostalgia for those of us who grew up with GI Joe? Yes, it was. They even used some of the original voices and the animation was spot on. So I have a soft spot for it.
There’s dozens of us! *DOZENS*!
What is this a crossover diminishing rebluhbluhbluh
There's probably more of us than you think.
Destro eulogy was hilarious!
I skipped it for years, but watched it last time round and loved it. More community - what's not to love?
I love how the ads have a Tammy Craps vibe, and how they also foreshadow the finale
I like it and I didn't grow up on GI Joe. But like I know Saturday morning cartoons and I got most of the jokes anyway, just like other community episodes where I didn't know the original work.
I love the GI Joe episode! One of my favorites. There are so many good jokes in it.
I have to disagree, the only episode that you listed thats *kind of* bad is GI Jeff but I think you underestimate the ego of good looking men who get old. Look at Joel irl and his desperate attempt to fix his hair, a midlife crisis isnt just a TV trope some people hold themselves to impossible standards. Having said that, meow meow beanz, advanced d&d, and basic story were all hilarious
Honestly I kind of liked GI Jeff. The jokes satirising/homaging old cartoons I thought were pretty funny, and Jeff having a midlife crisis felt extremely on-brand for him.
Definitely learned recently that this sub doesn't like GI Jeff but for me it's one of the strongest in the stretch. Educational Publishing feels a bit weak to me but if it has peanut rap then it's excused for any flaws
Fair enough. I’m sure there are men who go through what Jeff did and I totally don’t mean to invalidate that. As an episode though, I just didn’t think it was that funny. I don’t hate these episodes, I’m just not as big a fan of them as others are. There’s hilarious bits here and there but I felt a lot of what they were trying to do worked better in previous episodes, I.e. Shirley and Jeff playing foosball instead of delving into Logan’s Run, D&D 2 being topped by D&D 1, etc.
I like your flair!
I don’t agree with you for several reasons, the chief of which is that the “I HUG MY FATHER” impaling scene in Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons might be the best Jeff/Dean scene in the series.
Without two of those episodes we’d never have ghost Chang or “I robbed your brain. I ROBBED IT!”
*season 4 has entered the chat*
Basic human anatomy has left the chat. Its got the worst episodes but its also got a few bops
Nooooooooo x1000000
Totally disagree. The Meow Meow Beenz episode is one of my all time favorites. I also really love the 2nd D&D episode. No, it's not as good as the first, but it's still a great episode. And the Piles of Bullets episode is great too. The two part finale isn't the finest of episodes but still entertaining and funny. The only one I don't really connect with is GI Jeff and I think that is solely because I never watched GI Joe. The back half of S5 is great and S5 as a whole is my 2nd favorite season.
Fully agree on the second D&D episode. Not as amazing as the first one but it’s still great. The dean having to rub his sword for Jeff takes me out every time.
I agree, there are more flashes of greatness than great episodes. The absence of Troy was not immediately dealt with (in the meta sense, not the plot). He's a good pair with everyone, and that aspect was missing. Thus, Frankie, who is also a good pair with everyone. Also, Donald Glover is just fucking FUNNY. They would literally write "Troy \[or maybe Donald\] does something funny" in the script a lot. And his chemistry with Danny was insane. It left Abed at loose ends somewhat. The first three seasons are lightning in a bottle. No one expected it to be what it was (except for maybe Dan Harmon) and it was impossible to recapture it when pieces were removed. They did a pretty good job with the first half of the season, but it's not the same as those first magical 3 seasons. Still good though!
I get what you mean. losing Troy was a big loss. Season 4, 5, and 6 are noticably worse at large, season long story arcs and character development. when I go through each of those episodes that you listed I'm of the mind that most of them are pretty good one offs. Are any of them in my top 10 favorite episodes? No. Does the show start to rely on homages and school wide transformations for a bit too much? Maybe. 5x8: I honestly really liked it. Definitely leans hard into the references, but it works for me. 5x9: Not peak but I got several good laughs out of it. 5x10: It's weaker than the first one, but I still enjoyed it. 5x11: Took me a couple watch through but it's a pretty good riff on GI Joe. Also introduces a pretty interesting theory. 5x12, 13: Yeah, these are weak. They just can't top paintball. Hot take, the worst theme episode of the season is Geothermal Escapism.
I think only basic story and basic sandwich are not very good. Didnt really like either of them, the only good part was when the schoolboard guy does the mind reading and the fuck NBC tag. I dont like the fat dog stuff either, but the annie-hickey plot is incredible. I am also a meowmeowbeanz-head, so cant agree with you there. Really, season 5’s second half feels so much worse because those first 6 episodes might be potentially the best 6 in a row in all of community, i am hard pressed to determine another stretch of episodes as good as those.
It’s an unpopular opinion, but I definitely agree, I’m never able to finish season 5 during my rewatches.
IMHO, there are a number of consecutive weak episodes in S3 and S4. :)
Season 4 for sure has some stinkers, but it’s to be expected given Harmon’s absence. Season 5 on the other hand, although enjoyable, I was surprised by how much I didn’t really love the latter half of that season
Lol the DnD episode and Meow Meow Beans are great! Season 4 is right there, friend.
I can see many of your points and one thing I hadn't realised before is that I like parts of these episodes, but generally only that. Case in point: I totally agree with you that the roommate subplot (aside from the actual game, which I find funny) is kinda bad and boring. Also, Annie's brother is just a weird character. I know he is supposed to, but, like, he doesn't fit the vibe in my opinion. But I do really like the book-subplot in that same episode. Not, like, one of my favourites, but I always felt it had a classic Greendale charme. And that is the same for multiple episodes in the chunk you mentioned: The dean handling swords in multiple \*interesting\* ways in DnD? GREAT! Everything else in that episode? Well...ya...well... That being said, the MeowMeowBeanz episode is fantastic and one of the best episodes to watch as a single episode, imo. It's very much its own story (and Community is very episodic in nature) and it has some really funny and interesting moments.
I agree with you about the last 3 episodes. I'm always shocked that I don't see people complaining about Basic Story and Basic Sandwich more, I remember watching them when they first aired and thinking what the fuck is happening. They haven't gotten better on rewatch for me either, the whole thing just stinks of Harmon giving the middle finger to NBC. Which is valid but doesn't really make for good TV.
I’d go with 4B is by far the worst. Back end of season 5 is weaker than the first half but still a great season and would have been a decent series finale. Much better than season 4.
Im a fan of app dev and aad&d, but i kind of agree on the rest. App dev isnt perfect but its fun, and i agree hickeys d&d is worse, but only because Niel has one of the best episodes in the series
I agree with this. I only just recently watched s6 because it was just depressing after troy left. Glad i stuck out to see s6 finally
I agree, but honestly, I feel that way about most of season 5. They just went too far with the over the top storylines where everyone at Greendale collectively loses their sanity and the school descends into anarchy. Episodes like that are great in small doses, but there were just too many in S5, it's exhausting to watch.
I am one of those who things season five is not clearly superior to season four. There was a lot to like but definitely a feeling of floundering with Troy gone trying to find good comedic matches. I did really enjoy advanced advanced D&D but the original is never gonna be matched!
True about GI Jeff episode but others were good. Imo Troy leaving took out the soul from the later episodes.
Yeah I grew up with GI JOE and GI Jeff sucked, but it's the only one in that list I agree with.