Dan Harmon Returning to Community

photo by Gage Skidmore

Cool cool cool.

I was at a game night recently when myself and another admirer of the show Community were trying to explain its merits.  But apparently our zeal and affection for this show was so intense, that the person with whom we were speaking said we sounded as if we were in a cult.

I find it hard to imagine anyone watching the first three season and not falling in love with Jeff, Annie, Troy, Abed, Britta, and Shirley (though I'll give a pass to Pierce, Chang, and the Dean).  Those first three seasons are gold.

This past fourth season has been panned by critics and fans alike for its lackluster execution (although a good friend of mine who had not like the show before enjoyed it).  The key ingredient missing from this past season was show creator and showrunner Dan Harmon.

Harmon was unceremoniously fired after a very public dust up with cast member Chevy Chase.  But with Chevy gone and apparently at star Joel McHale's insistence, Dan has returned.

Season 4 of Community was funnier than most stuff on tv, but it couldn't touch the first three seasons.  With Harmon back, I hope the magic will return.

And while you have some standard Hollywood morals, the show has one of the most well-rounded Christian lead characters (Shirley) and it has a fairly strong moral center.  They close the circle very well on Jeff's character who, in the pilot, espouses moral relativism only to reject it at the end of season 3 because he encountered truth and love and friendship.

Check Season 1-3 out on DVD.