Community Outreach

Yesterday was quite the roller coaster for my geeky soul. First I was treated to the incredible high of the first full-length trailer for The Hunger Games. Have you seen it yet? 'Cause it's awesome. Go back and watch it if you haven't yet. I'll wait.

Are we all back? So you can understand why I was excited. But then I read the news that NBC (henceforth known as the Evil Empire) has made a decision on their upcoming mid-season schedule. Quickly, I want to say that I'm glad 30 Rock is making a comeback. But even the awesomeness that comes with Liz Lemon and her wacky crew is not enough to make up for the travesty that has occurred.

The Evil Empire has put Community on hiatus indefinitely.

Let that sink in... Indefinitely.

Now, according to the reports that announced this mid-season change, this does not mean the show has been canceled. It just means that the rest of the season has been put on hold while they give other shows a chance to shine. A part of me gets that, or at least wants to understand it. But when one of those other shows is Whitney (in my opinion one of the worst half hours of TV on the air this year), you're making a huge mistake.

Community is, in the words of my good friend Brandon, the smartest comedy on TV. Sure, he's not a television critic, but he's right. And it isn't just because the show takes place within the walls of a community college. The writers of that show find a way to spoof just about everything, and they're able to do it in such a way that it isn't completely ridiculous or outside the realm of possibility. Just look at the stop-motion animation Christmas special they did last year. Sure, the claymation thing was a gimmick for one episode, but they explained the reason behind it in a way that made sense in the real world. And the cast is a brilliant combination of people who bring the characters to life and make you want to be a part of their study group.

Community doesn't have the highest ratings in the world. Nothing on the network of the Evil Empire can make that claim. But it does have some pretty rabid fans. You've seen us at Comic Con. You know what we're capable of. We're the same people who took arms against you when you threatened to cancel Chuck. We managed to get a couple more seasons out of that one, didn't we? And if we have to, we'll do it again!

There's a petition floating around the internet asking people to help save Community. I'm confident that we will see the rest of Community's third season. But I'm a little afraid that season four will never come. I would argue that a fourth season would be vital to the life of this show. The Evil Empire can't end the show when our study group has one year left before graduation. It would be cruel beyond words. It would be like ending Smallville without seeing Clark Kent become Superman. It would be like ending Buffy without seeing the Slayer destroy the Hellmouth. It would be like ending Quantum Leap without seeing Dr. Beckett make it back home... oh, wait, NBC actually did that!

To the cast and crew of Community, maybe it's time to shop for a new network. If the Evil Empire drops you, maybe the CW will pick you up. I promise you that we will follow you wherever you go.

How can I make it without seeing this face week after week?