School's Out...Forever?

I just realized that while it's been a good four weeks since I watched and enjoyed the final episode in what will likely be the final season of what was once pretty much my favorite show, and I neglected to write a post about it. It's weird, but it's also oddly fitting for Season 6 of Community, which (probably) marked the end of its run in June, though I'm sure they'll live up to their tagline with a movie at some point.

Season 6 was an odd little bird from the beginning. Surprisingly Unceremoniously dumped by NBC after a perfectly good fifth season, the show was rescued by Yahoo, of all places. It's not exactly the first name to spring to mind when thinking about quality content. Adding to that change was the loss of yet another cast member, as Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) left for family reasons.

New cast members Frankie (Paget Brewster) and Elroy (Keith David) showed up, and while I like both of them, it was even money on whether or not they'd be a good fit for the show. Let's hope you placed some hefty bets on them, because they knocked it out of the park; I was gobsmacked by how seamlessly they integrated themselves into being part of the core group.

That said, I liked several of the episodes, and there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but for some reason, there always felt like there was some key, intangible thing missing. Maybe the show's history had built my expectations up too high (especially since everyone knew this was probably going to be the final season, and were expecting something epic). Maybe I wanted them to push a little farther in the stories they told; I always liked the "concept" episodes, and there were very few of them in Season 6.

I will say that "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television", the series finale, was a terrific episode and a fitting sendoff to one of my favorite shows of all time. Even given the disappointment of Season 4, any Community is better than no Community, and I'm really sorry to see it go. I only wish that this final batch of episodes had been as daring and legendary as I'd hoped they'd be.

Community - Season 6: B