What's the deal with Season 4?

I didn't dislike any of the seasons, but season four was my least favorite. But personally I really just don't understand the hate for season six. Well that's not completely true, I get that losing the cast members changes the show, and I understand why people may not like losing characters like Troy, but beyond that one issue I was laughing my ass off throughout seasons five and six (which are both essentially tied to me). The seasons, from worst to best, for me would be:

Season Four: At the bottom simply because it was the least funny for me. I didn't hate watching it, but I almost never laughed either. There were one or two bad episodes, one or two that I enjoyed a bit, but overall it was the least funny and memorable by far.

Season One: I know, I'm going to lose all credibility with this. But at least keep in mind that other than season 4, every other season is really close with each other in terms of how much I like them. 1-3 and 5-6 were all fantastic to me. The reason season 1 is lower than 5/6 is mostly because I personally really like the more crazy direction the show went in post season 1. Also, most of season 1 felt much more like a traditional and standard sitcom, and it was funny but it took a while to feel as creative as I now know that Community can be. There are definitely some all time episodes, and the season really starts to pick up near the end, but it is probably one of the most plain seasons to me. It's still at least way funnier and more interesting than season 4.

Season Six: Keep in mind, this season is pretty much tied with season five so I think they are very close in quality. In fact, if they just kept Troy and combined seasons 5+6 into a single season, it would be on the same level as seasons 2 and 3 for me. I thought this season was incredibly funny, and it has some of my favorite episodes. The biggest thing holding it back at this point is the lack of Troy, Pierce, and Shirley, and a kind of sad vibe as a result. But if I'm being honest, though I enjoyed Shirley and Pierce greatly, Troy was the only one that really stung for me.

Season Five: Though it's basically on the same level as 6 to me, there are two reasons why I'm giving it the nudge and putting it ahead of S6. First of all, it has Troy in half the episodes still. Secondly, the episodes Cooperative Polygraphy, Geothermic Escapism, and App Development and Condiments are so high up in my favorite episodes that I don't think I could put this season below 6. On the flip side, the last couple episodes of season 5 weren't my favorite, and season 6 ended on a much higher note I feel.

Season Two: Definitely a fantastic season of Community. It was incredibly consistent, and it had reached the creative peak of the show. Not much else to say, it's just a really great season and it seems to be most people's favorite. I can understand why.

Season Three: Not quite as consistent as season 2, but to me most of it is still pure gold. And I'd put it ahead of season 2 because the highs are higher than any other season to me. This is when the show got really wacky and crazy, and while I know some people didn't really like that but I thought it was fantastic. To me this was the most creative and funny that the show got.

You are entitled to your opinions but Frankie is amazing!!!

Season 4 was messed up for me. They dismantled all the characters and left them as mentally vapid husks of their former selves. It was meant as a cliche ending of the series and it was done so horribly. I am glad for S5 and ending of S6, if nothing else. The dialogues were much better, the characters felt human and not just puppets for the writer.

I still liked Frankie, and she seemed like foreboding of end of Community. Bringing it back to reality and thus ending the series.

IMO season 4 was good, but it just missed the "heart" of the other seasons. Season 4 felt like a really good generic sitcom.

I didn't mind season four too much my first time watching either, and would have had very similar rankings. After watching through a second time I would 100% put four last and five and six would have maybe both been in top three. In season four the characters don't really seem themselves and even the plots seem out of place. I didn't pick up on it after the first watch through, if you watch it again your opinion may change. I also hated five and six for the first time because of how dark they were, but I learned to appreciate that second time through!

You're gonna get downvoted by all the "OG" fans of the show but I generally agree with you. I would place S5 ahead of S4 overall, though. But S6 is a disaster. Frankie is awful, they bail on Jeff as a character, Britta is just flat out a verbal punching bag and yeah they almost completely ignore Jeff and Annie's relationship until the last moments of the finale.

To end Season 5 the way they did, with what was a huge personal revelation for Jeff...and then to not even bring it up, have the character struggle with or address it in any way...it was so incredibly frustrating to watch. I've commented ad-nauseum on this sub about how frustratingly bad the resolution to Jeff and Annie's story arc is. Dan has said he felt overwhelming pressure from critics in regards to writing the two and I think he tried to avoid it in S6 for this reason. He genuinely didn't know how to go about it so he just didn't.

I've tried to give S6 multiple chances and it just gets worse with re-watching. There are so many episodes that feel like a complete waste of 22 minutes, and almost all the episodes are largely forgettable. It really soured me on the series for a while, I was bummed for a week after I finished it.

I love the show overall but there were so many moments where they shit on character development and progression just to make a mediocre joke, and it was frustrating because I saw the peak of what it could be, simultaneously.

You binged it, that's why you feel that way about season 5 and 6. After season 4, we're subconsciously still lamenting the departure of Pierce (and Troy soon after). In Season 6, we're still adjusting to the longer runtime and different lighting, and the departure of Shirley. When you binge it, you still heavily compare the episodes to the benchmark seasons 1-3, and of course they don't fare well. I felt the same way.

Give it some time, say a month or two, and when you re-watch, space out the seasons. This way you'll have a more open mind, without the recent memory of half of the cast leaving. I PROMISE you that your impression of seasons 5 and 6 will improve greatly, and you'll see just how better the writing was than season 4. Overall I still rate seasons 1-3 over 5 and 6, but solely in terms of writing, it's the other way round for me. That's why during re-watches when you catch the cleverly hidden jokes and references in the dialogue and the visual itself, you'll enjoy it much more than season 4 re-watches, maybe even better than season 3.

Agree 99%.

The 1% I disagree with is about Hickey, I really liked his character.

I don’t understand how some people can like seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5 but not season 6. It’s the same show.

Overall it is very much the weakest season in terms of storytelling, acting, and overall effort.

But that doesn't make it bad. It's still tremendous television compared to most things in existence. It just gets thrown away by most fans because it isn't the same level of greatness the rest of the series has. Which is exceptionally weird to me that people do that.

I totally agree. I recently binged the show for the first time. It quickly be became one of my favourites because each character was so interesting and funny in their own way. Even someone like Pierce was funny to watch.

I was extremely bummed going into season 6 because I wasn't ready for the show to end just yet. It was too good to end. But after starting the final episode, it almost felt like a chore to get through. I just wanted to get through it to see if Jeff and Annie would get together.

This seems to be an unpopular opinion and it is a surprise to me. Frankie seems to be a well liked character by the fanbase but she just did not fit in IMO. She was like the mature adult/mom of the group and I just felt like it wasn't needed. I understand that the original actors had to leave and they needed to find replacements so I was pretty open minded about the new additions. Frankie had her funny moments but they were nowhere close to the previous characters. Elroy, on the other hand, became one of my favourites. He was hilarious, especially at Garrett's wedding.

Personally, I like S4 more than S6, with the exception of the final 3 episodes. There are things sprinkled throughout that makes S6 watchable, but there are more things that I don't like. Jeff's yo-yo act with Abed being one of them.

Season 4 was when Dan Harmon was fired. They completely changed the tone and direction of the show, and the episodes suffered greatly as a result.

Season 5 was a bit of a return to form, minus Pierce and then Troy.

Season 6 was pretty weak also, but it had half the funding and lost half the characters.

I understand the criticism of season 4, but there actually were some really good episodes. It would have been better if they had more episodes and the climax brought some resolution to Changnesia while building on the Heroic Origins storyline.

I wasn't a fan of season 4, 5, and 6 as seasons but they all had some great episodes.

I think 1 and 2 were peak. Maybe its just me, but after that it started slowing down. "I wanted bigger, fast-paced, self-contained escapades"

They fired Dan Harmon for S4, replaced him with two guys who’d never worked on the show before, and then delayed the season by like half a year. Most of fans’ dislike for the season comes from the studio meddling, which Harmon was known for fighting against.

I agree it gets anemic with 5 and 6, but I think a lot of fans were glad to have Harmon back, so people overlooked the fact that they kept losing cast and crew members. I agree with others in the thread that spacing out your rewatch will help significantly!

People hate season 4 because they are fans of Dan Harmon. He was fired after season 3 and brought back at the beginning of season 5

Season 4 wasn’t particularly terrible but it’s big let down by the show’s standard.

My problem with it is how storyline get brought up and then dropped.

The whole changnesia thing didn’t really go anywhere, and neither did the subplot with city college

Troy/Britta. There was pretty good buildup in S3, and the actors had good chemistry IMO, but the relationship came, got ignored, then broken up. I was lowkey bitter with how the couple got treated because there’s so much character development that could have been had. What was the point of them being in a relationship when even the show forgot about them sometimes?

The characters all felt a little OOC too. Also the lack of Pierce. I guess that one can’t be helped with all of the behind the scenes drama that was going on

I disliked season 4 quite a bit thinking that the show was having a dry spell but after learning about the several departures, I’m less hard on it. There are really no episodes that stand out as great for me (maybe basic human anatomy.) It’s alright separated from the other seasons but the waste of character screen time and character inconsistencies piss me off. I feel no character got enough screen time because it was wasted.

Agree 100%

I myself liked 4 the least the first time I watched, which was when it was on tv. I still liked it though. But after all my rewatches through the years I just can't stand it anymore.

Basic Human Anatomy, Intro to Knots and Herstory of Dance are the ones I like from season 4, there is still a lot wrong with them when you look at the context of where they are in their arcs and how jokes are made but as standalone episodes they are quite good.

Season 4 has some funny/not bad episodes yes. It would be a good season (not great) if it was a stand alone series instead of a season of pre-established Community.

But as a Community season, homages happen randomly instead of organically (and feel a lot more like parodies), all main characters regress to their season 1 selfs like they didn't have arcs or mature through the last three years (or are even more one-note), jokes per scene are reduced, full of continuity issues (one which includes creating conflictibg backstories for characters you didn't create), writing is all over the place, most jokes are normal sitcom jokes which is not the way Community does comedy and even more.

While season 6 is one of my favourites, feels more grounded like season 1. Has one of the best pairings in Abed and Annie. Loved Frankie especially her dynamic with Jeff and the Dean. Britta gets some backstory which I liked. And the finale was very good. Shirley, Pierce and Troy were great but they didn't make the show for me and story wise it felt reasonable that they shouldn't be there anymore. (One dead, one in international waters and one in another state.) Shirley gone was to out of nowhere yes, but that's only because it was as unexpected in real life.