This is a story about two television comedies that started out nearly the same, nabbed the same audience, and then drifted into totally different directions.
One survives, the other does not.
They are two comedies that went against the usual sitcom route, offering comedy of a higher degree of creativity and intelligence that you just don’t get enough of on television. But one of these two will remain the same, while the other will totally take a 180 spin.
The Big Bang Theory started out in 2007 to compliment Two and a Half Men, the 2000s version of Married…With Children---full of one-liners, beautiful women, forgettable storylines, and a massive guilty pleasure complex. Even though it was from the same creator Chuck Lorre, it was drastically different in content as it featured four highly-intelligent individuals with a complex vocabulary and engaged in work/social situations that the average public is not accustomed to. Usually comedies feature the one highly smart person that usually gets chastised for such behavior (Fresh Prince, The Simpsons, Family Matters, Modern Family). But in this case, all the main characters carried these traits. In hindsight, at the time it was unique, and the underground culture loved it.
Unlike The Simpsons parodying everything and dating itself for all eternity, Big Bang Theory used the nerdom culture the characters engaged it and interwove it deeply with their conversations, their decisions, their habits, and their views on life. They don’t just reference Lord of the Rings, they discuss it. They don’t just bring up Daredevil, they chastise it. No major television comedy had ever truly been the voice of the internet culture, so Big Bang Theory took off with high ratings thanks to an audience hungry for such content on tv.
Community (Oh, Community....this article is biased. Shut up and get used to it) started out in 2009 and used the Aqua Teen Hunger Force technique to get picked up by the absolutely-desperate NBC (Do remember 2009 was the year of the Tonight Show with Conan disaster). The Aqua Teen (cult classic Adult Swim cartoon that amazingly went horrifically downhill after the 100th episode) technique is that you present the network with a pilot episode that caters to the buyer, and when it gets picked up totally flip the switch and go in the direction you actually desired. I assure you, the pilot is drastically different from everything else in the show.
Community is sharp comedy, pulls no punches, and delivers an endless arsenal of visual/verbal/meta/physical jokes that ranges from lowbrow to absolute genius. The cast is quick, the content is faster, and the overall pace of the show is pure insanity. Like Big Bang it also was embedded in the nerd/underground culture and wasn’t afraid to “culticize” itself if it means to be relevant in the convention fandom. No two episodes are the same, as Community one moment can engage in a deep philosophical episode, and then follow it up with an amazingly exaggerated episode dedicated to an epic paintball battle. It never had high ratings, but the people that did follow it were immensely satisfied.
*raises hand*
Now, things started getting different for both shows simply because of its status in terms of ratings. Big Bang Theory had a great start but was quite far off the territory of Two and a Half Men. So somewhere along the lines of Season 3-4, the writing staff changed it went through changes in showrunners, and the focus shifted drastically. Community was always on the verge of cancellation because NBC never had faith in it. It kept receiving its season renewal, but had to go through dozens of hurdles to finally air. Did Community change? Nope, just got better; although its refusal to cooperate under the usual sitcom rules infuriated NBC---which would lead to some crazy changes later on.
Big Bang Theory’s downward spiral and separation from its initial audience occurred around season 3 when the lead cast started becoming more involved in relationships, started seeking out advancements in said relationships, and we were beginning to see less of the complicated vocabulary and dorkiness we had been accustomed to. The main characters were evolving into more relatable people and the audience drastically increased. The ratings literally doubled between season 1 and season 4. The reruns definitely helped but the minute we saw more of Amy, Bernadette, and Penny, we saw more people actively engaged in the show.
Community Season 3 did not skip a single beat, but behind-the-scenes things were getting a bit hairy. Chevy Chase started clashing a bit with the writing staff, Dan Harmon secretly started battling more with NBC, and the end result was a season full of episodes that were continuously bending the rules, going out-of-bounds with their craziness, and we even got to see an episode that mostly took place inside a video game. The love triangle was a bit forced but that was the only setback as the show remained just as relevant in the underground cult community as it did when Modern Warfare entered the internet stratosphere. It became the official geeky show on television----and the rather low ratings but heavy fanbase was proving it.
Big Bang Theory became the #1 show on television. As Big Bang hit Season 6 as high as a kite, Community entered Season 4 with Chevy Chase leaving, and Sony and NBC inexplicably firing the man that created the entire show. What looked like an incredible case of self-sabotage to kill the show but deliver enough episodes for syndication, Community’s Season 4 was definitely the lowest and weakest point in the history of the series. Everyone saw the difference, from the fans to the critics. Our beloved show was being demolished because it had become too cool and too unique for NBC. But the fans rode out the wave and the ratings remained consistent---consistently 19 million below the average audience for Big Bang Theory.
However, around the internet and the Twitterscope, Community was reigning supreme and the backlash was hitting Big Bang Theory absolutely hard.
Look how far Big Bang had changed. The now-infamous train kiss scene alone displays the evolution of Sheldon’s character. Some can and shall argue that this change is necessary as our main cast started out as smart anti-social outcasts and have emerged into more confident and mature adults seeking that special someone to join their lives. Sheldon’s character has arguably changed the most as now he is more affectionate, more caring, more understanding, and less of a jerk---in other words, more accessible to the public. But on the other hand, Sheldon reaching this stage would be the equivalent of Johnny Bravo suddenly becoming a father of three or Bart Simpson running for public office--the change is possible, but it would strip away from what made the character memorable in the first place.
The humor and content got dumbed down considerably and even certain characters were losing screentime because of it---including Leonard’s mother, Leslie, and poor Stuart. Big Bang Theory used to pack a heavy punch of nerdism. Now, the nerdism in Big Bang has become a mainstream fad. And if I see one more post about how someone believes they are a nerd because of their love for Big Bang Theory I swear to all things Holy…………
...............*flips over table*.........
Community’s Season 5 was a mercy decision by NBC. They inexplicably brought the showrunner and the original writing staff back, and before you know Community went back to its old ways---throwing in a G.I. Joe-influenced episode, another one about the floor in the entire school being lava, and of course an episode that was centered mainly around a big Dungeons and Dragons adventure. The ratings improved, and it was back in the limelight, but the damage was done. Community was syndicated, and NBC had no reason to continue running the show knowing it could never reach the heights of Big Bang, Modern Family, and even Parks and Recreation. It got cancelled after 5 seasons, with the previous 3 being in danger of cancellation at any point. Going 5 seasons was a miracle in itself.
But here is where Community will earn its place in television history: it’s one of the gutsiest shows with one of the most dedicated fanbases from any program in the history of the medium. It never complied with its network, it never tried to make itself more popular, and the fans knew this and loved them dearly for it. Community could have never worked as a major network show at any given point (Its perfect for Netflix, Comedy Central, FX, FXX, and to an extent even Disney Family or Disney XD if the House of Mouse ever dared to become more adult and edgy), but it didn’t care. It reached out for the geeks, nerds, and fans of gaming, comics, movies, and everything under-the-radar and never let go. The fans did everything short of offering live sacrifices to keep the show from getting the inevitable ax. And to this day there’s still hope that it can live on in another network.
Big Bang Theory on the other hand became one of the few shows in history to lose its cult status and become mainstream fare (Family Guy is another good example—albeit nowhere near as big a hit) as it developed its characters from enjoyable archetypes into borderline-clichéd male leads with their women and their relationship/marital issues, with a slight twist of geek. Instead of going down the same road as Community as a show that isn’t afraid to embrace its quirky dorky side, it condensed itself into a program that families and the oldies can watch without issue. On an economic and ratings standpoint, it’s a success story and one that will be imitated for years to come. It is the new generation of Friends, minus the New York vibe and the slight lack of reliability (Seriously though, can you relate to Rachel in those final seasons as she took on a Sex and the City worklife?) But on the other hand, Big Bang Theory turned its back on the first cluster of fans that allowed it to take off in the first place.
Community and Big Bang started out in very similar fashion. Both bent and twisted the normal rules of a network comedy. However one would change to appease the masses, and the other acted like a rock star and continued its ways no matter how small the audience was. Big Bang would survive and Community would eventually fall. However, although Community is gone it may never be forgotten. Big Bang on the other hand isn’t gone, but give it time and it will be forgotten as the fad fades away. Community will age like Link to the Past, while Big Bang will age like Atari.
It may not have hit six seasons and a movie, but Community earned a spot in the world of geek culture. You will be missed.
And Big Bang Theory Season 1 and 2, I miss you as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment