A situation oddly similar to the current Community debacle.

After this weekend, with show creator Dan Harmon fired from Community by Sony Television and with much of writing staff exiting, one wonders why NBC bothered to renew the show at all.  The abbreviated 13-episode renewal was clearly meant to be a sort of 'we'll give you time to wrap up' olive branch extended towards 30 Rock and Fringe, but the last episode of this season served as such a fitting series finale that the show as we know it could arguably be done.  And that's a good thing in light of this news.  Come what may, the things that made Community special generally came from the mind of Mr. Harmon and at least some of the departing writers, of course aided by what appears to be a fully-returning cast.  So if the fourth and presumably final season of Community, without the behind-the-scenes people who made it worthwhile, ends up being lackluster and/or a shell of its former self, then we should be grateful that the Greendale gang saw fit to so explicitly tie up the show several days ago.  Point being, if the fourth season of Community is terrible, we can just pretend it never happened, or at least that it existed in some alternate timeline ("darkest timeline" perhaps?).  If this all seems familiar, it's because the pattern followed by Community was also set forth in the late 1990s by, of all things, an afternoon animated action drama.  Whatever Dan Harmon is feeling right now, I'm sure Greg Weisman is quite sympathetic.

Press Release: Disney announces release date for Captain America 2.

The Walt Disney Studios has announced a release date for Marvel Studios’ sequel to the blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger on April 4, 2014.  The second installment will pick-up where the highly anticipated Marvel’s The Avengers (May 4, 2012) leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world.

So now it appears that the studios are attempting to begin the unofficial summer season as early as April, thanks to the huge late-March business generated by The Hunger Games, along with the last two Fast/Furious entries, which pulled in blockbuster numbers in early-April 2009 and late-April 2011 respectively.  The last sentence seems to dispel any hope that a sequel would somehow primarily take place in the 1940s/World War II-era, although I wouldn't be surprised to see a story that blended flashbacks to Rogers's war efforts with a present-day story (it might be too soon to play the 'Winter Soldier' card, but I imagine that will pop up eventually).  Anyway, nothing more to report here.  I suppose the next step is to find a director, as Joe Johnston will apparently not be returning (which is a damn shame, but I digress).  Among those 'on the list' are F. Gary Gray (yay!), The Adjustment Bureau's George Nolfi (boo!), and Community directors Anthony and Joseph Russo (Sure, why not?).

Scott Mendelson

Community, TV's best show, returns next week. If you trust me, you'll watch it...

If you don't watch this show, you're an idiot.  Really, there is no excuse not to check this out... It's as laugh-out-loud funny as The Simpsons in its prime (seasons 5-9, although the last two seasons have been pretty terrific too), and often almost as moving as Scrubs in its prime (seasons 1-4, plus 8).  Yes geeks will obsess over the various pop-culture satire, but what makes the show work is how it works all of its genre deconstruction into real stories that constantly develop their core characters and always make sure every single moment has consequences for the long story.  Creator Dan Harmon has done something tricky here... he has taken the sitcom format and built a show that plays like an operatic drama, with season-long arcs, heroes and villains, and actors who play the serious moments every bit as raw and real as if they were on Mad Men (which of course, Alison Brie also co-stars in).  Community returns next Thursday.  If you value my opinion at all when it comes to art (and if you don't why the heck are you reading my site?), then you'll tune in on March 15th.

Scott Mendelson