Community (TV Series) History 101 (2013) User Reviews

There's gotta be a joke here

[athomed · 8/10 · 7 February 2013]

Reviewing this episode without taking a moment to discuss the circumstances around season 4 (the Dan Harmon((less)) season) of Community would be like ignoring the eight-hundred pound gorilla in the room. As anyone will point out, plenty of successful shows have transitioned between showrunners. After watching History 101, the premiere to season 4, I have mixed feelings on whether Community will survive. I want it to. I've been a Harmon fan for years and I wish him continued future success in film and on television. Community was his baby.

The episode opens with the study group beginning their senior year. Jeff is only one history credit from graduating. The only history class available is The History of Ice Cream. The class is overbooked so students who want a seat in the classroom have to go through the Hungers Deans for red balls with Dean Pelton's unique (and impossible to forge as he explains) bite marks. The group, disillusioned with Jeff's eagerness to graduate, disperse and leave him to fight for all seven balls.

Yes, this is the premise for the episode. But it's also the first chance Community has to win back and grow its audience. History 101 delivers on some goals and not so much on others. I'm a little worried after viewing the first episode that the mythology and relationships on the show are simplified now. I've replayed parts of it and don't find the jokes to have the same staying power of the first three seasons.

I do think that History 101 did a valuable thing. With Abed's TV and the dance with the Dean, it showed us the new showrunners are willing to take some risks. You can't take the weird out of Community. It's that quirkiness which sets the show apart. I'm not sure they can sustain it, but I hope we all won't feel by mid-season that they gave up and tried to turn it into it the next 30 Rock or The Office. Community has its identity already.

As I stated at the beginning of this review, Community was Harmon's baby. It's hard to envision anyone else successfully raising it. But I'm willing to have my mind changed. The cast is as strong as ever. The chemistry is there. I hope the writing and the work behind the scenes is able to take it over the top.

Not as bad on rewatch. (weighted grade)

[dailywatcher · 8/10 · 25 January 2023]

I'm currently doing a rewatch for all 6 seasons.

I was not a big fan of this episode the first time around, but I SORT OF came around to liking it. I might be in the minority, but I think this is one of the better episodes from S4, which is NOT a good sign for the rest of the season.

I thought the Abed/tv sitcom bit was pretty well done, but the rest of the episode seems a bit forced, especially the 'Hunger Deans' bit. I appreciate the effort the new showrunners and writers put in to the season opener to make it feel like Community. I just don't think it quite worked the way they wanted it to.

Something that I noticed - the likability of a season 4 episode varies greatly within the Community community (compared to other seasons) which shows how inconsistent this season was. You could never really tell what the heck they were aiming for in the end. No direction.

I'll admit.. knowing everything that happen behind the scenes (Infamously known as the 'gas leak year' after the network fired Dan Harmon), I'm conflicted on how I truly feel about these episodes. I can't tell how much of my Dan Harmon bias negatively affects the ratings I give S4 episodes, and how much of my weighted grade (cutting the season some slack) positively affects the rating.

That being said, trying to be as non-bias as possible, Season 4 is still my least favorite season BY FAR. It's not as bad as I once thought it was, but you can clearly FEEL something different with these episodes. The cast, however, is still incredible as always, making this season worth the watch. You can really tell how much fun they're still having.

For this episode.. 7.5/10.. rounding up to an 8.

Good Ideas, TERRIBLE Execution

[ollystevenson · 6/10 · 7 February 2013]

It's a real shame that this episode didn't turn out well. It had a load of great ideas, but it just didn't work, or at least it didn't feel right at all. I mean on paper I can see how some of the gags would seem perfect, for example the jab at TV shows with canned laughter, but really it came across as 'hokey' (in the Dean's own words), and it felt more like it was aping Community than actually being Community.

Not to mention the characters felt a million miles away. I think in hindsight a table episode where the characters had much more pure interaction would've been much better, simply because it felt all over the place and there was little character development in the expected areas. Combined with different music, weird camera angles, and generally using different locations in the school for shooting, it felt very off.

However, I'm aware that this is almost a new show, nearly all of the writers got replaced along with the creator, and so I would only expect the new writers to have different styles, etc. With that in mind, this episode could've been much worse. Britta and Troy getting together was amusing and didn't feel too forced, and brought out interactions between them we've never been able to see before. Here's hoping that this new season will improve as it goes on though, especially with the onset of Changnesia that is approaching.

Conflicted...

[Red_Identity · 8 February 2013]

I've made it no secret that in many ways, Community ended last season. Call me a pessimist, but Dan Harmon's voice is what made Community blossom to what it was. It wasn't just some showrunner leaving, it was basically the person who gave birth to it, and because Community has had that off-the-walls approach for most of its run, it's no secret that I expected the worst.

Well here's the thing. The show could have always gone two different ways after Harmon left. The first being to going back to being a "regular" sitcom, sort of the way it was during most of its run in Season 1. Sure, for I and many other fans the show didn't become what it was until those last several episodes of S1, but there's still a lot of people out there who liked the show equally, some even more, during it's first section in Season 1. And there's nothing wrong with that. It was fantastic. So this could be the first way that the S4 writers and showrunners could go. Tone it down.

The second option would be for them to just try to keep Community how it was, knowing how risky that could be. Changing it would alienate fans, keeping it the same and it just feeling like a parody of what the show was would alienate people even more. But they went with the second option. Really, one can't hate them for doing this. Perhaps this episode (and the whole season) would ultimately be better off having gone the first option (although this early we still don't know if they do) but they respect the show and they want to hold on to what it's about.

Interestingly enough, I could very well see Dan Harmon having done an episode like this, focusing on Abed and finishing the way it did. I don't think he would have done a Hunger Games parody (and if he did, one not as obvious or pointless just for the sake of being a parody) but the rest of the episode is totally up his alley. But again, it comes down to the execution, and the episode really just feels off. You see the actors trying, and they do elevate it, but right now the show just feels sort of awkward. As a whole it feels really messy, but I did enjoy many singular, specific things in it (the animated babies and the last few minutes all worked extremely well).

Still, it's not like Community never failed when Harmon was on. Quite often a lot of things, many times even in one episode, conflicted with one another because so much worked and so much didn't. That has always been the beauty of the show, its approach to throw things at the wall and see what sticks (only Louie from other comedies has the same ambition). And again, it's hard to dislike this S4 opener because it does exactly that. It's trying hard, and a lot of the emotion comes through (again, the ending worked so well) but the journey there has quite a few missteps.

What worries me is this. Whenever Community seemed to fail, it still always felt like Dan Harmon failing. You still had the excitement to keep seeing how the show would continue and what else it would do. Whether the show succeeded from week to week or not, it always felt like it came from the same DNA. So yes, there have been several weak episodes in Community that are either in this episode's level or perhaps slightly weaker, but unlike those episodes, this does, sadly, feel out of place with the three seasons that came before it. Heck, if this same episode had come out exactly the way it did, still feeling off and awkward, but it was still stamped by Dan Harmon, I wouldn't have liked it any better and perhaps I would probably be dissing it more. But I still would expect Harmon to bounce back. Knowing that Harmon isn't here is a much bigger worry.

So folks, I hope the rest of the season finds a tone that feels right, that even if it DOES feel different, it feels good. Because, frankly, this S4 opener felt very clumsy, even if a lot of things worked in it. My head tells me to give it a C+, but my heart wants to say a B-. Take your pick

Oh, but that Britta/Troy pairing? Yeah, I doubt Harmon would have even let anyone consider seeing them together this early in the season, and introduce us to them in this way (which just felt, again, rushed and clumsy). But hey, maybe I'm wrong. I'm also getting tired of Abed being the show's baby and having to be dealt with in the most delicate manner. This started in S3, so it's not something new. It's just turning him into an insufferable "character/plot device".

One positive thing out of all of this is that there will always be an excuse people can give for why Community "jumped the shark" so to speak (if indeed it does, too early to tell) after it's 3rd season, and that's because the always-prominent creator, showrunner and many of the original writers and producers left. Many shows just start sucking even with their original creative team, and this way we can always say Harmon's Community never actually jumped the shark (unless you're one of the several people who already think it did in either its 2nd or 3rd season)

Hmm

[chinbagdeluxe · 6/10 · 30 August 2021]

It wasn't as awful as I'm told some of the later season 4 episodes are, but it just felt off. Hollow, like it's wearing the skin of the show but isn't acting like it. Most of the wacky stuff is for the sake of it and doesn't drive the plot, characters or themes forward. Also the audio was slightly off. I felt uneasy watching this episode, but am hopeful that some of the later episodes will live up to the names of writers on them.

Why all the neg

[peterjamescannon · 9/10 · 27 October 2021]

This was a pretty good episode. I don't get why people rate it so poorly other than the departure of Harmon. It had the same tone as previous seasons and the humor was similar. We'll see how the rest of the season shakes out.

Community season 4 opener

[safenoe · 8/10 · 19 February 2022]

I started watching Community pretty much after it wrapped up in 2015, and I went into season 4 with all the Community community internet vitriol against a Harmon-less season 4. I don't think season 4 is as bad in any way, in fact it comes across as being underrated. The whole cast is intact for season 4 (can't say the same for seasons 5 and 6) and most of the writers are there. Sure, the Changnesia subplot was a bit off-kilter even by Harmon standards, but still in a way it was the unexpected prelude to Chang having a more serious role in season 6.

Anyway, History 101 tries hard to be the Harmon episode Community community fans craved, and it's not a bad effort, with Abed's daydreaming hilarious.

Seven years ago to the day...

[pledgerock · 5/10 · 7 February 2020]

I had the flu so bad I was delirious. I was living in an apartment by myself next to my college and had to miss classes for over a week while I was in bed with a fever of 104° one night. Everything sucked. I had a TV and I had a DVR and recorded Community to watch the morning after. I remember feeling strange about it as I knew Dan Harmon had left and it would be different. I remember watching this episode and being sick and feeling like it wasn't the same show and how it felt so unfamiliar like a best friend who just became a complete stranger.

Watching it now, it feels the same but I'm more aware and not dying of the flu. The Abed show thing just doesn't work. It's not clever, it's not funny, it doesn't feel like something Abed would think. There are just so many ideas and they're thrown around everywhere, the episode is a mess. The show feels off right from the start.

Starting with this season things get weird and not good weird, not Abed weird. Dan Harmon is gone and then he comes back but then Donald leaves and Chevy leaves and we get new characters. But quality definitely comes back and there is quite a lot of good to look forward to. If you're new to the show, keep watching.

A poor watered down down version of a beloved show

[jamster234 · 4/10 · 12 February 2013]

As an avid follower of Community who has followed the gang through all of their capers from The Mystery of the Broken Yam to The Pop & Lock Contest.

The wait is over. The 4th season is out at long last. So are we blown away by a brilliant parody of the Hunger Games like those we've been treated to before, like Law and Order and Pulp Fiction.

This unfortunately is not what we receive. The Hunger Games is ripe for parody and entertaining links. Instead the plot of the Dean pitting the students against one another to win the prize of a place in "The History Of Ice Cream" in a Battle Royale situation.

Instead of an action-packed "paintball episodes" we see a rushed parody where Jeff somehow wins the contest within 5 uneventful minutes. Meanwhile Abed retreats from the world into his mind due to his fear of change. This was not done in a 6 different timelines or Christmas Claymation, aka the classic Community we know and love, way.

Instead it seems to make us worry and feel concern for Abed's mental wellbeing.

Long story short, Community has none of it's irresistible charm that all the previous episodes contained. Dean Pelton's excessive homosexuality, Troy and Britta rushed together into a relationship with no chemistry and Annie and Shirley pulling a prank.

These plots and changes dilute and tarnish the characters Harmon and others have spent 3 series building up.

I pray that the series doesn't continue down this road.

What happened?

[James0987 · 3/10 · 8 September 2020]

Just stared watching community for the first time and I've loved every bit of it, but something just feels off about this episode. I didn't laugh once, normally I laugh several times in one episode. I hope the rest of the season isn't like this.

The unfortunate inevitability of rewatching Community.

[kxprailer · 5/10 · 17 May 2020]

OBVIOUSLY I have to start this off my addressing the major issue with the maligned 4th season of Community. The issue being that Dan Harmon (the creator and writer of 90% of the series) was absent from the show entirely. It had different writers, and was like watching someone less talented trying to capture the magic of something they clearly don't understand.

The ending of S3 certainly had issues for me, that being the cringeworthy and ultimately super irritating expansion of Ken Jeong's character. But the show still had its signature charm and magic to it.

IMMEDIATELY right off the bat, S4 feels off. Starting with a cheap laugh track, rushing into the "Hunger Games" style competition with breakneck speed. Trying to balance Troy and Britta's relationship, with the madness on campus, new classes, and Abed's anxiety of change. With these terrible writers trying to take on complicated topics, they fail entirely.

Dan Harmon has such respect and love for this show which shows so clearly in the seasons he's responsible for. But THIS? Half of this episode is crappy animated cartoon that, while Abed's breakdowns are often fascinating, deep and strangely beautiful. This one is just... a cringe fest.

You know right off the hop that this is NOT going to be a fun season. Which is a real shame, because Community is a phenomenal TV show, that due to a sloppy season. The show was never the same again.

Unfortunately, rewatching this show NOW... Somehow S4 is even worse a second time.

Community History 101

[dalydj-918-255175 · 10 February 2013]

Finally Community returns minus Dan Harmon which seems quite interesting. The study group all return from Summer with a studio audience laughing at all the jokes they are making, this is actually Abed TV, as he is nervous to return to his first day of his last year in community college. They are all seniors and wanting to take history together. Dean comes in telling them all to fight for their places they must fight in a hunger games style for red balls. Jeff took more classes over summer and if he took this history class he would graduate early, the group are not happy with this and he must fight for them all to get into the class. Abed and Pierce watch Jeff but Abed is in his happy place where they are asked to start the three years over again. In reality Shirley and Annie want to make prank by putting popcorn in the dean's car. Troy and Britta's relationship has developed quite quickly and the two can change rules Troy once had with Abed. Jeff must dance with Dean and we fin out Dean is trying to keep Jeff in the school. Abed is still in his happy place but has gone to another happy place. Everyone try's to help cure Abed with Jeff being the one to finally bring Abed back giving up the last history credit he needs. Dean now is neighbours with Jeff promising another history class he needs. The return of the show is cool but something felt very off to me, with Harmon this show is not good. It felt like a cheap copy version of what the show once was that I would have been happy if it was cancelled after three seasons of Harmon.

EPISODE GRADE: B- (MVP: Joel McHale)

Just as good as past episodes/seasons

[ambergale · 1/10 · 21 July 2022]

I saw nothing different with this episode versus any of the others. Everything felt the same with respect to dialogue, delivery, comedic timing, and character development. I didn't even know there was a difference in writers until seeing other reviews. Couldn't care less. What bothers me in this or any other TV show is the men cross dressing and the male dean wearing a dress dancing with a man. So it fit the same narrative and comedy style that the original creator and writers produced in past episodes. That cheap, useless, unoriginal "comedy" will always rate poorly with me, regardless of any other genius writing or performance that comes.