author_by_night (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
author_by_night) wrote2012-05-20 11:10 am
author_by_night) wrote2012-05-20 11:10 am
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Dan Harmon fired from Community
(This is true, unlike the last thing I posted, which was from a BS website. Sorry again.)
There's a lot of outrage/concern over Dan Harmon being fired from Community. Interestingly, upon further thought, my concern is less over DH leaving and more over a new showrunner.
On one hand, Dan Harmon comes across as a bit of a jerk. There, I said it. I don't think he's God. And I even think that the show has its flaws - while I like how meta it is now, it threw me off at first, and really, some of the humor is actually pretty unfunny, like the Balkans subplot. The guy probably raped people. Or Troy faking having been molested, especially now that it's established Britta really was - and their relationship is canon, or close. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Troy and Britta, but to love them I basically pretend that episode never happened.
But it was different, and that's refreshing in a TV world where comedy hasn't changed. Seriously. I don't think that shows have copied each other - they just use the same formula and update it with each era, and sometimes the variations are more kid friendly or less kid friendly. Modern Family is, well, a modern family comedy, but more mature than Full House and The Brady Bunch. (Cam is a gay Joey. Seriously, think about it for a minute. And Lily is Cindy/Michelle, though hopefully it won't become The Lily Show. Then there'sMarsha Marsha Marsha Hailey. The comparisons are of course not literal, but... still.) Again, Modern Family is less innocent than those shows, and far less cheesy, but it's there. And Happy Endings... I don't get the constant Friends comparisons because I don't see it, but the formula is the same. The only other show I can think of that doesn't seem to use a formula is Parks and Recreation, and I'm sure I'm wrong there.
I'm not saying those things make the shows bad - while I don't watch Modern Family constantly, I'll tune in here and there, and the same with Happy Endings.Actually, there's a lot of things I love about both shows. However....
Nothing is like Community. While Community may occasionally have humor that's hard to swallow and may be hard to follow sometimes, it's pretty damn original, and I love it just for that. I worry that without Dan Harmon, something could be lost. Because I think when the person with the original vision leaves, along with some writers, things change. And maybe it will be okay, maybe the show will actually be better and strike that balance between borderline sketch comedy and a generic show... but I worry that the new people will want it to be mainstream. If I wanted mainstream, I'd watch whatever people watch these days. I have no idea what those would be.
But I don't think you have to love a showrunner, or think he's perfect, to love a show. You know what? People love Joss Whedon and think every wrong a studio has done to him is because studios are bullies and he's faultless. Do I believe studios care more about the $$$ than the creative, original ideas Joss Whedon dares to have? Of course. I also think he's probably a pain to work with, and that will not do you any favors. Besides, I think his shows have their setbacks, even the ones I love, but that's another subject.
I really hope that Community doesn't lose what makes it great. It's not Dan I'm worried about - he'll do just fine, and so will we. I'm worried that the show will become another formulaic comedy I could easily compare to a million other things, even if it's still quite different.
There's a lot of outrage/concern over Dan Harmon being fired from Community. Interestingly, upon further thought, my concern is less over DH leaving and more over a new showrunner.
On one hand, Dan Harmon comes across as a bit of a jerk. There, I said it. I don't think he's God. And I even think that the show has its flaws - while I like how meta it is now, it threw me off at first, and really, some of the humor is actually pretty unfunny, like the Balkans subplot. The guy probably raped people. Or Troy faking having been molested, especially now that it's established Britta really was - and their relationship is canon, or close. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Troy and Britta, but to love them I basically pretend that episode never happened.
But it was different, and that's refreshing in a TV world where comedy hasn't changed. Seriously. I don't think that shows have copied each other - they just use the same formula and update it with each era, and sometimes the variations are more kid friendly or less kid friendly. Modern Family is, well, a modern family comedy, but more mature than Full House and The Brady Bunch. (Cam is a gay Joey. Seriously, think about it for a minute. And Lily is Cindy/Michelle, though hopefully it won't become The Lily Show. Then there's
I'm not saying those things make the shows bad - while I don't watch Modern Family constantly, I'll tune in here and there, and the same with Happy Endings.Actually, there's a lot of things I love about both shows. However....
Nothing is like Community. While Community may occasionally have humor that's hard to swallow and may be hard to follow sometimes, it's pretty damn original, and I love it just for that. I worry that without Dan Harmon, something could be lost. Because I think when the person with the original vision leaves, along with some writers, things change. And maybe it will be okay, maybe the show will actually be better and strike that balance between borderline sketch comedy and a generic show... but I worry that the new people will want it to be mainstream. If I wanted mainstream, I'd watch whatever people watch these days. I have no idea what those would be.
But I don't think you have to love a showrunner, or think he's perfect, to love a show. You know what? People love Joss Whedon and think every wrong a studio has done to him is because studios are bullies and he's faultless. Do I believe studios care more about the $$$ than the creative, original ideas Joss Whedon dares to have? Of course. I also think he's probably a pain to work with, and that will not do you any favors. Besides, I think his shows have their setbacks, even the ones I love, but that's another subject.
I really hope that Community doesn't lose what makes it great. It's not Dan I'm worried about - he'll do just fine, and so will we. I'm worried that the show will become another formulaic comedy I could easily compare to a million other things, even if it's still quite different.