Shenmue Dojo

part of that dislike you are feeling is likely due to executive meddling, and this new season is being run by some other guys that isn't Dan Harmon. It's a bad sign when you need two guys to replace one. NBC really wants to ruin this show, I guess. The most joy I can get out of season four is to watch it out of spite for NBC.

I think it's still worth watching (although I haven't been) because even when you think it can't get any worse they surprise you with the best episode ever, aka the one where they create six alternate universes. :P

it started getting shit in season 3, and dan harmon was still knocking around then so I'm not sure you can blame the drop in quality on his absence.

EDIT: oh, OL just said that. haha. To be honest I have a completely unsubstantiated theory as to why it got so bad. It involves a certain vocal group of hardcore fans who demanded more gimmicks and recurring gags whilst simultaneously inflating harmon's ego.

Yeah, it went downhill during Season 3. Up and down, sure, but you can't say Harmon leaving caused a decline when he was there for shite like the whole Emperor Chang thing. The gimmicks did get a bit to much too, I agree. The D&D episode is one of my favourite episodes of anything ever so I don't mind them to much when they could hit high points like that, and I don't think any of them were near as bad as the puppet one. Oh that was dreadful. It was a good thing you turned it off before it reached the end where they shared their worst secrets.

That said I haven't liked season 4 much at all even when it's being normal. It's gone overboard with lazy exposition, explaining their own jokes and throwing in references for the sake of it. Where Abed once was a character who used tv tropes as a way to cope with reality, he's now just used for lazy exposition under the guise of being meta. I don't mind his freak outs though. Autistic people sometimes react like that. They've done nothing with Troy all season except a few lines about him being dumb which is a real waste of a talent like Donald Glover. Annie seems waaay off too, with that secret of hers and the way she was pretending to be Jeff's wife. They've undone all her development and made her more childlike and naive than she was at the start of the show. There's still a few decent jokes, and the cast is good enough to elevate subpar writing to something watchable but it's a long way from the first 2 seasons me thinks.

I just saw the season finale.

I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away.

no don't watch the finale, for the love of god

I like this show a lot, I never had a problem with the gimmick episodes since they were for the most part so well done. My favorite episode is either Modern Warfare (the first paintball episode) or Anthropology 101 (season 2 premiere). Each one has a slight flaw though. The paintball episode has too much Shirley at her maudlin worst. Anthro 101 has that tag with Betty White rapping which was just smug and awful. I might skip season 4 on repeat viewings though. I liked the episode where Annie was in a hotel pretending to be Jeff's wife but the puppet episode and the finale were so, so terrible. I am looking forward to season 5 though, especially since I hear John Oliver will be back and Mike from Breaking Bad will be playing a professor too.

New trailer for season 5 just dropped.


Even with Dan Harmon back at the reins, there still looks like there's going to be way too many gimmicks.

Calshot wrote: New trailer for season 5 just dropped.

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Even with Dan Harmon back at the reins, there still looks like there's going to be way too many gimmicks.

Cool cool cool!