Killing Community Part II: The 'Conventions of Space and Time' Edition

I know this comes late. I'm still in shock. Well, shock may be a bit too melodramatic. The fact remains that I have given the Harmon-less Community a fair shake and have yet to be impressed.

In last week's episode, Conventions of Space and Time, we focused on the growing turbulence in Troy and Abed's friendship. While we've seen friction occur between the two in the past, it had never fallen into the realm of something you saw on Full House. Even though a pillow/blanket for war couldn't tear Troy and Abed apart, the Community writers are now trying to implant the possibility that Troy's relationship with Britta could destroy that innocent wholesome. While all that went on, we saw the Annie-Jeff love affair escalate to a level of mindless bickering that would be more appropriate on (insert any romance-based sitcom here).

Before I go into my criticism, I want to go on record that this is not a plea to bring back Dan Harmon.  The bridge between Harmon and NBC has been burned. He will never return, nor would he want to. I want to place Community's latest troubles on how I view the showrunners coming in as relief.

The one thing so many people felt endearing about Community was its unwillingness to commit to easy situational solutions and bunk all clichéd sitcom elements. The show, when helmed by Harmon, treated the audience with respect. He was not writing a collegiate version of Friends. No offense to that NBC stalwart.

Between the two big focuses of Conventions of Space and Time — Troy and Abed coming to terms with growing up and Annie and Jeff moving toward becoming a couple (sorry Briff/Jetta fans) — the showrunners are looking to tie up the loose ends. As mentioned in the first edition of Killing Community, Community needs to end with this season.

The problem with this episode, with all these feelings and emotions being displayed, is that I felt nothing. Even at the end of the show, with Abed addressing what transpired, it lacked that pseudo-happy ending (where there is an ending and it feels like you learned a lesson but you really didn't) that was a trademark of Harmon's tenure. Abed, being the ever-so-observant one, delivered a saccharine speech that had no effect on an awful episode. At this point, it's only fair I mention Shirley and Pierce were in that week's show. That is all I will say.

Are we seeing the Friends Effect happening? Is everyone going to get together? Shirley and Pierce? I thought they made fun of the whole Sam-Diane dynamic in Season 1. Why is Annie acting really stupid and not as the voice of reason? When was Britta not "the worst" anymore? She's now played the role of a psychologist for the past two episodes. Did you notice Shirley was in the show … at all?

This is definitely not the Community we grew up with. It should come as no surprise that this show is very much a reflection on what NBC would rather have in their comedies. Mind you, it's a show I could see them terminating on the basis that they don't produce it/don't care about to begin with. They're also pretty busy trying to find a replacement for Christina Applegate.