Community vs. Rick and Morty | Why Wasn’t Community As Popular?

[@Mobolosnacks]

Ironically, the girl wearing the rick and morty t-shirt was probably far less insufferable than any person passive aggressively calling them out for it

[@alexmuller6752]

sorry, but i think you misspelled "passionately aggressive" ^^

[@Mobolosnacks]

@@alexmuller6752 nope

[@alexmuller6752]

@@Mobolosnacks it is ok, i take it back.

[@domhuckle]

I don't know - you have to have a pretty high IQ to understand Rick and Morty...

[@SXJAYSX]

Honestly I dislike people who go oh you're wearing that you must be such a big fan. Eh, I bought a shirt with a design I liked on it. Leave me alone lol

[@Canadamonkeyman]

Remedial Chaos theory, while rightly being highly regarded was even more prescient than intended, as the person who left to get the pizza for the Darkest Timeline, was Troy. When he ended up leaving the show later, that was the real life Darkest Timeline.

[@ana-isabel]

Duuuude this is creepily accurate haha. Man ,the show wasn't quite the same without Troy. 😔

[@boythee4193]

nice

[@ScottBorder]

But Frankie though, she was great.

[@SengokuTheGouda]

I honestly thought him leaving the show allowed them to try new things, especially in regards to Abed, who got to grow up a lot in season 6, which is tied with season 2 as my favorite season.

[@I_was_a_Bullfrog]

I loved the last season, Elroy and Frankie were brilliant, but I'd love it more if Troy was still there

[@gilbej91]

I found Community on Netflix and I swear if I had one wish, it would be to watch Community for the first time again

[@wenting2457]

Honestly, I liked Rick and Morty, but I LOVED Community. Such a funny show, and it was so kind to (most of) its characters, Pierce being the obvious and easily explainable exception. Really developed all of them over the course of its 3 good and 1 pretty good season.

[@ana-isabel]

I'm assuming the "pretty good" season was the fifth? 😛 Haha but couldn't agree more, it had some of the most hilariously-written, memorable characters (and arcs) I've seen on TV to date!

[@BigMacsm245]

KZbin recommended finally gets something right.

[@last808]

You totally got me for a second, I just found your channel and for s brief moment thought you were serious about Big Bang Theory fandom. Anyway, I like both Community and Rick and Morty. Thought your analysis was good too. The only thing about R&M for me is that I think Roiland is almost obsessed with toilet humor (though the amount in it is fine). But after watching a shit load of his early work, I see that he's holding back from going full toiket a lot with R&M. So I guess that's a positive.

[@FutureNoize]

I know, right?

[@jdb7578]

I think Community was ahead of it's time. Looking at how popular it is on Netflix now, it shows that it can have mainstream appeal, even if you don't get all the pop cultural references.

[@TheMallachiv]

You mean it was streets ahead

[@jdb7578]

@@TheMallachiv How did I miss that one? 😅

[@user-oq6ol5fi2w]

right? I am not a movies (or honestly tv too) person *at all* and miss about 80% of the references...i didnt even realize some genre episodes were genre episodes until rewatching. but its still my all time favorite show, and I'm sure its even better if you're a pop culture savvy as abed

[@TheSunshineHigh]

The thing to remember is that the conversation that dude posted on reddit 100% did not happen. It would never happen. People dont talk like that except for in incel hate fantasies. It's so absurd that reading it was like being in an episode of community.

[@Spamhard]

Honestly it might not be far from the truth though. Back when I was in my teens and early 20s and wore branded t-shirts, I'd occasionally get smug neckbeards try the "oh you like x? try naming 500 side characters in the show" type shit. The worst thing is people *do* talk like that. The re-telling probably just failed to mention the chick uncomfortably looking for an escape route.

[@TheSunshineHigh]

@@Spamhard yes lol that is exactly what I mean. I've totally had dudes be like OH YOU LIKE THAT BAND WHATS THEIR FIRST ALBUM or even oh you like that team who's their quarterback etc. They do it for anything. Its the girl part that's so obviously fake

[@Spamhard]

@@TheSunshineHigh Hah, yeah you're right about that.

[@danieljensen2626]

Idk man, have you met 13 year olds? TBH I was kinda like that at that age.

[@Xeoena4207]

@@Spamhard Came here to say the same, literally have to fight for every goddamn fandom I'm in as a grill gamer. Literally. Everything. I can't catch a break.

[@OnlyRoke]

One issue for Community was, I think, that the writing was simply..too clever for its time. Like, watch ANY Community scene and you will find yourself laughing your head outright off, or going like "wait what? Oh my God that's a callback to a previous joke!". That works really well for a binge-able show you can rewind, rewatch, go through it bit by bit, but for a once-and-done televised show that you cannot stop, can't rewind and will most likely take a long time to rewatch again, it's super difficult. You'd laugh your head off and miss four other jokes while doing so. Nowadays that's awesome, but when it first came out it was probably too much for a lot of folks.

[@illusionlb]

great for binging though that's probably why it was such a success on Netflix.

[@amnaataha]

I also think arrested development had that same issue

[@ChemySh]

ehhh, wouldnt The West Wing have the same issues then, being set in the white house, juggling international issues and personal dramas? Yet it's still pretty popular, especiall among people 30+years old.

[@rra7490]

Yeah disagree with the Netflix thing, only being popular there. X-Files, I watched that as a kid and had to watch reruns of the show to truly get the whole show and sometimes I wouldn’t see a episode again for years to come.

[@user-uy1rg8td1v]

I don't know about that. You have clever comedic shows in Its Always Sunny, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 30 Rock (with its many references). Community just has bad luck.

[@DwRockett]

Feel like Community’s second wind is one of the few bright spots for 2020

So what you're saying is Community demands an even higher IQ than Rick and Morty does.

[@Spamhard]

Community fans are the real intellectuals. /adjusts glasses.

[@azuanatoya]

@@Spamhard Shut up leonard!

[@Spamhard]

@@azuanatoya Leonard likes this comment!

[@Spamhard]

@Chris Crowell Whoosh.

[@insertclevernamehere2506]

@Chris Crowell it's 'per se', meaning ''of itself', lol ;). This is an interesting video, I actually had no idea that Rick & Morty was especially popular, though it was just another cult cartoon for millennials . I'm a huge Community fan but I really don't care for Rick & Morty. I don't hate it or anything, I just can't be bothered with it. I might have to force myself to watch a couple more episodes to see if it takes this time.

[@Rbills02]

The scene where the dean is rubbing soot over his naked body is from Apocalypse Now. As the whole episode is a parody of Heart of Darkness, a documentary that covered the disastrous filming of Apocalypses Now. That’s why Abed and Guzman say, “Have you ever seen Heart of Darkness? Much better than Apocalypse Now.”

[@Rpodnee]

Apocalypse Now was a boring letdown.

[@Blakeamania]

I came here to say this 👍🏻

[@Blakeamania]

@@Rpodnee but Hearts of Darkness was amazing

[@JoePants]

Wow, that intro conversation really obviously only happened in that guy's head.

[@elizabethashby2232]

SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE!! I need more community

[@Fitnam_]

I would prefer having season 7 rather than the movie.

[@ragtagstacking4119]

great video. Rick and Morty, to me, is just like LeBron. I thought for a brief second I hated them, then I realized it's their fans that I hate.

[@ana-isabel]

Hahaha yes, the fanbase can get quite... questionable; but the show on it's own is quite brilliant!

[@MrStrigori]

I got the same problem with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The fans just made that whole show so unappealing to me

[@waltonsmith7210]

I still dont understand how its different than any other fanbase of anything.

[@dorianleakey]

@@waltonsmith7210 The examples were shown in the video, a pretentious bunch of arrgoant bros who can barely tie their own shoelaces yet think theya re the only people clever enough to understand a show thats quite funny even when youi dont realise what its getting at.

[@Dogtles]

Man I'd love for Dan Harmon to somehow get the community cast to play characters in Rick and Morty. Or some crossover. Rick and Morty go to the Community dimension.

[@LowestofheDead]

Remember that Hive Mind episode? "Now make them all laugh at the blonde one"

[@Dogtles]

@@LowestofheDead Oh shit yeah, forgot about that

[@kelly2632]

Some characters in rick and morty have been voiced by community stars. Jim rash, John Oliver, Joel McHale and Gillian Jacobs have all voiced characters in the show.

[@KronnangDunn]

The reason Rick and Morty is more successful is just because is animated. Period. No behind the scenes drama. No long acting hours. That’s why The Simpsons has lasted the long it has....

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

You think a cartoon is made by one person alone?

[@KronnangDunn]

@@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898 Of course not.... your point?

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

@@KronnangDunn You said R&M is more successful because it's a cartoon, and a cartoon can't possibly have behind the scenes drama or long acing hours. But there's a lot of people behind the scene working long hours to produce each episode, so that can't be the reason.

[@KronnangDunn]

@@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898 making a cartoon is not acting. You can make pretty sick stuff in a cartoon while with actors is very problematic. Is not the same thing. I never EVER mentioned the creative part of a cartoon. Is difficult, but it allows more liberties. Actors are people/humans and there is a limit to what an actor can do.

[@KronnangDunn]

@@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898 I meant actors drama. There are things most actors won't do. And the whole Superstar thing is pretty troublesome. Cartoons do not have those problems. And the Main characters in a cartoon cam be abused more. There is a limit to what a human actor can do.

[@rogueparagon9952]

Is that... is that good editing on a small KZbin channel... lowkey amazed ngl, great video 👍🏻 (obviously for more than just the editing but yk)

[@ana-isabel]

Awwww omg thank you so much!!! 😊 Means a ton, glad to know the sleepless nights and frequent program crashes were worth it all hahaha 😅

[@rogueparagon9952]

@@ana-isabel lol, yeah well at least it worked out in the end 😂

[@nanabonsu2349]

Idk if it's because your talking about Community, but you really sound like Alison Brie.

[@ana-isabel]

Hahaa I love her so I'll take that as a compliment! 😄

[@ObjectorSnark]

@@ana-isabel she's young...we try not to sexualize her

[@STIR-FRIED-SUBWAY-RAT]

@@ana-isabel You should check out 'Glow', on Netflix. She's incredible in that

[@jdb7578]

@@STIR-FRIED-SUBWAY-RAT shame it got canceled though...

[@Cherri_Stars]

Wait she totally does!!! Especially after watching BoJack Horseman, I can't unhear the similarities

[@emmanuelfernandes5610]

Really awesome to see someone that sounds A LOT like Annie Edison commenting on Harmon's work!

[@kurisutofusan]

Wow, now that you say it, I feel like Annie is talking!

[@rochachido]

So glad to find this channel before it becomes crazy famous. Great content. Keep up the good work.

[@ana-isabel]

This comment made my night - thank you so much! 🙏🔥

[@rochachido]

@@ana-isabel thank you. Your video made my day. I repeat, it's great I found your content.

[@williamwatson4354]

For most of its life, Community was against Big Bang Theory. Both shows drew on the same audience. Perhaps if NBC has moved it, they would have seen better results.

[@aymijo8235]

KZbin recommended came through. I love your chapter breakdowns, gives a really good tutorial format for those who want to get into video essays

[@ana-isabel]

Aw, so glad to hear! I'm honestly still experimenting with the best ways to structure my video essays but I'm glad my current style has worked so far :)

[@theothertonydutch]

There is a slight difference between target audience for community and rick and morty, I feel. About a 10 year gap I would say.

[@HKMcRooney]

I am the target audience for both shows. It's definitely not a ten year gap. Any ten years would be fringe at best. Close, sure, but it's not so much about age and more about personality juxtaposition. All you have to do is look at the specific breakout characters in each: for Rick and Morty, it's Rick whereas for Community, it's Abed. There's many clear opposing personalities in Rick and Morty, plus the animated medium you can emphasize emotions and character traits so much more. There's not really an opposing character for Abed. He's just kind of on the outside looking in. If Rick and Morty didn't have Morty or Jerry, it wouldn't do as well. If Community had the balance Rick and Morty has, they would have done better. It's a shame Roiland wasn't around for the beginning stages of Community. He has been the perfect creative balance to Harmon. There's more personalities out there that resonate with Rick and Morty than there are with Community. She has it right when she says "niche audience".

[@sampotham9528]

It's just about distribution by making something region locked you already dismiss a potential audience so when it finally came to netflix in the UK the show boomed

[@HKMcRooney]

@@sampotham9528 A good portion of us have been ignoring "region locks" for the better part of the last decade and a half, if not more. What is your point here?

[@tiarezavaleta8850]

@@sampotham9528 I think that's the issue. In Netflix R&M is able to reach viewers from many parts of the world. However Community was very restrictive about that. I'm not from US and I knew the hype, but didn't know what the show was about, until now. Honestly it seems like an awesome show.

[@dudekid19]

awesome vid, community was capturing lighting in a bottle. I always loved how all 9 characters/actors were so diverse in age and ethnicity but managed to have such a strong comedic and emotional chemistry. As a person who had friends of different generations and ethnicities this was refreshing to see and felt accurate to life. I don't know of a sitcom that managed to do this before community and I don't think any sitcom has done that since.

[@Mokkari77]

Rick and Morty is what Dan Harmon originally wanted Pierce and Troy to be on COMMUNITY.

[@PaladinGuy]

Fun fact: The reason The Expanse was dropped by syfy was because the network only cared about the US (and ONLY the US) Neilson ratings, ignoring international and online viewership.

[@maxe159]

I think one thing that just can't be ignored is how Rick and Morty came a bit after Community was done. The world had changed a bit and been influenced by Community, so when Rick and Morty comes around, People are much more open to this style of show and comedy than when Community was on air.

[@henrymach]

The last season of Community was really dark

[@monkeygamingify]

They were referencing the making of apocalypse now documentary

[@thebrutusmars]

Hearts of Darkness

[@josephfarrell6978]

Just started community. Amazing underrated show.

[@Abshir1it1is]

Four minutes in - and Imma keep watching, obvs - and I already find the premise so very jarring. I _absolutely loved_ Community, but I've only ever seen... maybe one? two? episodes of Rick & Morty. Edit: Okay, I guess I get it. But evidently, even Harmon himself loves Community more. He's a real one.

[@ponderosabones7803]

As a long time Harmon fan, I LOVE this video. You put a lot of my long winded nonsense rants to my friends and coworkers into a concise 20 minute video 😅 Btw, to answer 10:07 , the whole episode is an homage to Heart of Darkness, a documentary film about the making of Apocalypse Now, and this scene was referencing a scene in that movie.

[@ana-isabel]

Aw haha, so glad to hear that! 😄 I honestly don't know enough Harmon/Community fans in real life, so I'm glad my 20-minute ramble's been able to reach the others out there 😛 AND OMG THANK YOU - all this time I thought the ep was a mere parody of shows like The Office. Had no idea they were doing a complete tribute to Heart of Darkness (I've heard much about the film, but have never actually seen it yet). Mindblown.

[@ponderosabones7803]

@@ana-isabel Where I live, there's a lot of Rick and Morty fans and like zero Community fans, so I go to the internet for camaraderie :P

[@FlyingSchweenies]

The intro reminds me of my friend, who is a fan of queen. She always rants about people wearing queen shirts without listening to the band. Come mufti day however and she’s wearing an AC/DC shirt, and when I asked if she listened to them she said “no I just liked the shirt”.

[@SpecialEdvard]

I really like both, but if I had to Sophie's Choice them, Community would be the one every time.

[@LenSchiff]

Great vid. As a bunch of people have said, the Dean reference is to Apocalypse Now; more specifically, it's the montage in the beginning where Martin Sheen is having a slow breakdown in his room. Infamously, Sheen punched his fist through a mirror, cut himself badly and insisted on keeping the cameras rolling as he smeared the blood on his face and body.

[@DratItsMatt]

I always called Community the antithesis of Big Bang Theory. Big Bang Theory was a show about "Nerds" for normal people, Community was a show about "Normal People" for nerds.

[@sylvia5400]

I recently binged all 6 seasons of community for the first time and I've already managed to get two other people to watch it too lol. I bet it'll really blow up once we finally get that movie.

[@ana-isabel]

Nice! The show could always use some new fans 😊 I feel like movie (if we ever get it) may only be a hit among its already loyal viewers, but let's see.

[@SzalonyKucharz]

Combining intelligent jokes with toilet humor sounds like the worst match on paper? I see what you did there.

[@senawasgehtsiedasan6127]

cant believe this video has under a 1000 views... its so good!!

[@DoctorDex]

I love the Community renaissance we've had this year. One of the few good things to come out of 2020! This show got me through some dark times and I'm glad that it's finally getting the recognition it deserves.

[@TrismegistusMx]

Since you're a Community fan and do media analysis, I think you'd like to know that there was a layer of symbolism in the show that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. Thinly veiled in the story, you'll find clues that Greendale is Hell, and the students are damned souls. The faculty are all modeled after demons from the Ars Goetia, City College is Heaven, legalistic but at perpetual war with Greendale. One of the most blatant references is the Foozball Game between Shirley and Jeff. All of the study group exhibit the seven deadly sins as well. This metaphor is seamlessly woven into every episode. I urge you to watch with these ideas in mind.

[@heytwesse]

10:08 I can't believe I actually know this off the top of my head, but that's from the second documentary episode, it's one of my favorites. That is referencing Hearts of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, like the whole episode with the dean becoming a crazy director. This was a very well done deep dive into the history of community. Having been a fan of Community since it came out, I personally have to give the edge out to that, in the Dan Harmon tv classics. Although it's a much bumpier show overall, I think some of the "creating a niche show under a large network" adversity gave it a fun outsider take. They had to change and innovate out of necessity, and everyone gave it their all because they never knew how long it would last. Whereas Rick and Morty has become so memetic, and culturally subsuming, that it's free to do whatever it wants, and that leads to cool sci-fi concepts, but to me at least, less investment in changing its characters, at least so far, I will keep watching Rick and Morty and seeing where it goes. They both go into high concept, goofy, and emotionally interesting places.

[@GoodBerriesOfficial]

all these "only high IQ individuals can understand rick and morty" probably think rick is someone you should look up to, completely ignoring the point of his character.

[@ana-isabel]

Lol wouldn't doubt it, probably the same people who consider Tyler Durden a role model.

[@hiroparadise8152]

i think it's kind of a joke, but as most jokes, some take it too serious, and it's mostly room temperature IQ tards

[@tiagosousa6091]

This is by far the best video about Community that I've seen here on KZbin. Great work!

[@ana-isabel]

Damn that means a lot - thank you! 🙏

[@Helltown66]

"No! Everyone knows that Futurama is the true show that uses scientific concepts with clever humor and that Rick and Morty is just overrated trash!.." - Futurama fanboys

[@Stinkoman87]

Futurama : Rick & Morty :: Simpsons : Family Guy

[@I_was_a_Bullfrog]

While I haven't seen a lot of Rick and Morty, don't be dissing Futurama, it's a masterpiece

[@parasitoalienigena]

I like both shows but as far as I know Futurama literally invented a math theorem. Also Futurama had a lot of writers with math degrees. Not so sure if Rick and Morty does. I would say Rick and Morty is more creative than scientific. Again, still both cool.

[@Lee-rg1ez]

Season 5 and 6 are way better than I gave them credit for the first time around.

[@Stinkoman87]

I would place the grifitng episode alongside the best of seasons 2 and 3.

[@mikegarza8648]

It should be noted one reason shows like this with hardcore nerdy or niche fans, don't tend to do well on Networks because we don't watch shows on broadcast days/times. I'm usually binging something else or playing games and catch episodes online later or binge it when I'm done with the others. That looks terrible on Network Ratings.

[@disposablepal]

i'm glad people are finally giving Community the love it always deserved. i tried like crazy to get people to watch it in those first few seasons, but i couldn't seem to put into words what it was and at the time no one besides Chevy Chase was really a household name i could use to entice people to watch. Now it seems the opposite when people refer to it as Donald Glover's OTHER show. Rick and Morty is great and i think Harmon needs someone like Roiland to balance his perfectionism. if you haven't already, i'd recommend checking out some of his early Channel 101 stuff including young Justin Roiland and frequent Harmon collaborator Rob Schrab. love the channel, keep up the good work!

[@wagononfire3874]

I know I'm over 5 months late, but if you love Rick and Morty I'd say you should watch BoJack Horseman on Netflix. The show really gets into its own after the first 6 episodes

[@ana-isabel]

Ooh yes, this show's been on my watchlist forever. I've actually managed to catch the first three eps before getting distracted by other series; probs time to start giving it a serious binge 🐴

[@KyleFields]

And remember, the first half of the 1st season isn't the best, the show kept approaching perfection the further the show went on. Don't give up after 6 episodes! You'll be well rewarded 😁

[@jjkthebest]

Hmm. Perhaps I should give it another shot then. I watched the first episode, and I didn't care for it at all. But if it gets better after the first bit, I might end up liking it after that. Normally I don't like the "it gets better eventually" attitude, but I've heard so much good about the show and 6 episodes isn't that much. Or could I just skip those episodes? Would I be completely out of the loop if I did that?

[@KyleFields]

@@jjkthebest it's not that the first 6 are bad, it's that what the show is so well known for doesn't start being used until the second half. It's the balance of humor and serious dark themes the show strikes that makes it special. But the first half of the 1st season is mostly light-hearted humor.

[@elisanoro]

As a person that RARELY gets references (mostly because I don’t really watch any films or shows for that matter) I still loved and enjoyed Community. A lot of times I had no idea what Abed was talking about or what the episode was joking about, nonetheless I would still enjoy them and laugh at its many jokes. I like Rick and Marty too but Community has this certain charm (except season 4) that I can’t get passed and something I feel R&M doesn’t. Both are great shows with flaws here and there of course

[@nayt3440]

i mean season 4 was the gasleak year

[@MOTARACTUAL]

I loved community! I also didn't realize Rick and Morty was made by the same guy. I learned something today.

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

I love Community, and I'll admit the R&M fanbase has turned me off of it (also not a fan of toilet humor in general, even balanced out with smarter humor). What we should talk about is something Harmon realized in his apology. He stated not only does he realize he was being a sexist ass, but that was reflected in his writing too. Britta, introduced as an intelligent activist, reduced to a stoner punchline. Annie, smarter than everyone in the room, but with no social skills and needing to learn self control, instead often turned the butt of the joke. Shirley getting over her judgemental nature, only to disappear, rather than showing a character who has grown. It makes rewatches a little difficult, but I still love it mostly because Harmon has owned up to it (contrast with the IT Crowd, with the creator doubling down on all the awful sexist and transphobic themes) Also, great video, good analysis, and I enjoyed it!

[@ana-isabel]

Thank you! 😊 And yes, I do appreciate how Harmon held himself accountable for views/actions. I also never noticed how they influenced his writing too - good catch. Britta was especially given intense Flanderization treatment; her character in seasons 2 and 3 were a faaar cry from her relatively reasonable self in the first episode. That said, I still do love the show (sans season four) and Harmon's honesty. Glad you enjoyed my analysis, and happy to meet another Community fan :)

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

@@ana-isabel The Gas Leak Year absolutely deserves all that it gets (mostly by the the show itself in S5 and 6). That said, there are things I like about it, so I usually don't skip it. But I also watch the first season of Buffy on rewatches, so it's possible I am not the best guide to go by.

[@ta.barbaro1952]

Ana Isabel: *praising the smart writing of Community* Me, with my best Homer's voice: If he's so smart, how come he's dead?

[@ta.barbaro1952]

Love the vid, but I needed to make that joke.

[@JayDee-jq5ow]

Enjoyed ur vid Ana. My only grating moments were the arguments that community "failed" or "went wrong". Sure, against the trajectory of R&M it looks that way and you present compelling behind the scenes arguments to back the statements. However to an average viewer willfully oblivious of the mechanations of the sausage factory that is that industry; it was a great show that produced six seasons. However, now informed with all you've provided here, it will most likely digest into the grey matter, be there when I next do a rewatch and yes, I'll probably now perceive the show as wanting. Lol, so thanks for wrecking it for me XD

[@JJTheSubwayGuy]

Good God this video needs more views, the editing and presentation's some top notch shit dude, keep up the good work

[@ana-isabel]

Omg, thank you! Glad to know the hours of nitpicky editing were worth it ahahaha

[@summerchild_]

I really don't like Rick and Morty. But Community is one of my favourite shows ever.

[@Konz2]

This is a really high quality video for such an undiscovered channel

[@ana-isabel]

Thank you so much! 🙏

[@renatoantonioenriquez9130]

To answer your question, I’m a fan of both - I’m of the opinion that even setting aside the external factors you’d mentioned, all of which played a huge part, Rick and Morty is just the more in tune with the zeitgeist of the two. For all of the cleverness of Community’s writing and the production quality of its pastiche elements, it always squarely felt like a sitcom. Most of the emotional beats that supplemented the laughs stemmed from the relationships between the characters, and as early as season 3 had the tendency to lean into hokeyness. I always point to the Abed breakdown as a major example for this - the Christmas claymation tribute approach was charming, but it was ultimately in service of a feel-good episode where this group of friends bands together to support a member in a time of personal crisis. Arguably works in the moment, sure, especially depending on how attached you are to the characters and how much you care about their well-being, but ultimately a formula we’ve seen time and again. Rick and Morty, on the other hand, more often than not uses its high-concept premises for more pointed social satire (as you’ve mentioned, a la South Park). Instead of asking you to root for its characters like Community does, it uses them to skewer aspects of the human experience - our vindictiveness, insecurity, need for validation, self-serving nature, etc. - and shows us the possible consequences of our behaviors when taken to their logical conclusion. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it cynical or nihilistic tonally, but I think there’s more an appetite for this more self-critical approach to storytelling. It’s also structurally more eclectic and diverse - the comedy is always present, but it’s less overtly a sitcom. I’d probably group it along more experimental, unconventional, and often auteur-ish shows like Bojack Horseman, Master of None, and (I’ve been told) Louie, where Community more comfortably gets grouped with things like 30 Rock and The Office.

[@ana-isabel]

Damn, I actually never thought of the two this way but I love this perspective. Very true; Rick and Morty does have a leg up on Community in that it's not afraid to dive into newer territories that are usually far beyond the traditional sitcom "framework". But I guess we can also attribute this to the fact that it's an animation... and it's easier for them to be more experimental as such. Although personally, while it may have been a bit "hokey" for Community to do so - I did like their feel-good dives into the complexities of their characters and the relationships between them. 😛 I know you didn't exactly like the ones with Abed, but they were actually some of my favourite moments from the show!

[@renatoantonioenriquez9130]

@@ana-isabel Yeah, I think the experimental nature AND the fact it's animated (with the latter enabling the former) both have a lot to do with R&M's more widespread success. It helps that visually, it's immediately apparent how quirky it is due to the art style and show design, whereas Community's freak flag isn't immediately apparent. Probably got dismissed by many as just another sitcom off the bat. But yeah, my personal feelings about those aspects aside, I think that the approach probably just wasn't as in tune with the public's appetite at the time, so to speak.

[@milkyman3021]

The formula of community isn’t what makes it creative. The fact that they use the standard sitcom formula and flip it on its head is what makes it creative. The actual premise of community is just like any other sitcom. But what they do with those premises is what makes it brilliant.

[@TheMurdoc6982]

Both Rick & Morty and Community are favorites of mine. I prefer Community more now just because there are more episodes. Both series have high rewatchability. I see something new it seems with each view. The fans would love to see a movie. Something to bring the series to a satisfactory conclusion. Although ending Community in any way isn't going to be satisfying.

[@mountaindew9]

so the dean scene is referencing Heart of Darkness, a cool documentary about the making of another movie. They even mention it at one point (:

[@alexmuller6752]

proud fan of both, thanks for bringing back a lot of memories from the best sitcom ever

[@ana-isabel]

"Best sitcom ever" - couldn't agree more! And yeah, unless this isn't the darkest timeline; and in that case I don't even wanna imagine what the worst is lol.

[@adrianseanheidmann4559]

So now there are even "proud" fans of series huh? Seems a bit weird to me, but okay. Do you lack in character?

[@alexmuller6752]

@@adrianseanheidmann4559 wat.jpg

[@adrianseanheidmann4559]

@@alexmuller6752 I can't see that jpg. Sorry mate. I just wanted check, if there's anyone else than cosplayers, furries weebos who define themselves through the media they consume. You sound like a postive person, why exactly are you "proud" of something you have neither created nor played in? Seems as foreign to me as patriotism.

[@alexmuller6752]

@@adrianseanheidmann4559 i do not define myself through the media i consume, but i am influenced (or redefined?) by everything i am exposed to. sometimes it is accidental (random encounters with people, for example). sometimes, i willingly succumb myself to something by choice and that experience also influences who i am, what i think and who i want to become(a relevant phrase would be: representation matters). this is the proud part. it is where i find parts of myself in media, reinforcing choices i made, learning from examples and all the while having fun. anyway. wat.jpg is referencing an old meme. it is a pic of a very confused person.

[@paulliniger418]

This was the quality content I needed to see today. Super late, but YT's algorithm occasionally gets me. I'm off to binge Community again!

[@TheDreamDetective888]

This was a great lil video essay. Thanks for sharing. Well done.

[@nayt3440]

If Community was released today, i think it would have surpassed Rick and Morty, for me Community gets me to laugh genuinely, while Rick and Morty is meta and references. Rick and Morty didn't have that balance Community had, Rick and Morty tried to be Community with its jokes and humor, but the relatabilty was kinda dumbed down for the audience. if you get a reference, callback in community its hilarious, while if you get a joke or reference in Rick and Morty it felt empty because its a cartoon comedy it has to have references. Rick and Morty's setting felt empty, which is ironic because it takes place in infinite universes, so the rules of earth wont be equal to ones in the show, while Community takes place in a community college, a place where anything could happen because its a community college its the lowest form of college and the most overlooked type of education, so if a paintball game that turns into a long lasting battle royale happens, it makes sense.

[@FnTrIPoD]

i read the title, i knew what you were gonna talk about and i still gasped when you said Big Bang Theory

[@lAljax]

It took me a long while to watch Community, but once I've picked it up, I watched in under a week, even the later seasons that were not that great. Rick and Morty is awesome, but as you mentioned, the fan base is so shitty it's embarrassing.

[@KarlKristofferJohnsson]

I like Rick & Morty, but I love Community.

[@pacielsadboycinefilo]

The episode of Greendale's comercial is based of Hearts of Darkness (mentioned many times in the episode), which was a documentary about how the filming crew of Apocalypse Now went insaine, and the Dean's Breakdown is a tribute to Apocalypse Now. I know everyone already knows this, but she asked if we got the reference. The point here is, Community is S-tier tv and I really love both Community and Apocalypse Now

[@thanhdohuu9473]

Another issue that community might have is that the high concept/ homage/ parody episodes were usually too expensive to make. Therefore, there are usually only a few of those type of episodes per season. Which make community episodes' quality inconsistent, even when Dan was on it. With Rich and Morty, the whole show is pretty much exclusively concept episodes, it's a lot cheaper to achieve Dan's visions with animation. I do wonder what Dan can do with large budget for a movie, however.

[@nonewmsgs]

It has been a...challenging mating season for bird person

[@silverc.8105]

I'm really glad your channel popped up in my youtube recommends. I could listen to you talk about tv and stuff all day yo

[@AviatrixDown]

Nailed it! Thanks for making this video, I totally agree with your conclusion and I highly recommend Venture Bros if you haven't seen it yet, it's like Community and R&M had a baby, but it's older than both and was unceremoniously canceled this year :(

[@TheRioghbhardan]

You totally nailed this. As a long time fan of both I've pondered this question a lot. And you've addressed every thought I've ever had on this and covered things I've never thought about. I doubt this actually means much, but you've earned yourself one more subscriber.

[@lotusmaglite]

Just found your channel, and Community is my all-time favorite sitcom, going back nearly 50 years. Thank you for exploring some reasons it didn't gain the success R&M has, and I'm glad people are discovering it on Netflix. Not to stir anything up, but when talking about Chevy Chase, you showed the clip of him as "The Swami," which reminded me of the cultural irony wherein Netflix pulled the first Dungeons & Dragons episode because Ken Jeong dressing up as a Drow elf was deemed too close to blackface, while they left in the episode where Chase is _literally in brownface._ So, networks aren't the only ones who sometimes make odd and contradictory decisions.

[@PiterLauchy]

Holy shit, I was certain this channel would have hundreds of thousands of subs when I finished watching this video. It certainly has the quality of much bigger channels. As for the topic on hand, I think Community's relative failure also has to do with it being ahead of its time (one might say it was streets ahead). Rick and Morty thrives because of internet culture and Community would too if it was released today. In 2009, internet culture wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now. I'm glad, however, that it now gets the love it always deserved. Anyway, interesting commentary and good presentation (although your contact lenses creeped me out a bit haha). You've earned yourself a sub. :)

[@ana-isabel]

First of all, thank you!!! 😊 Glad you enjoyed my little love letter/deep dive into two of the best sitcoms to date haha. And secondly, I completely agree with Community thriving far better in the "internet culture " we have today. But like you, I'm glad streaming services are finally giving it the online steam it deserves. It was definitely streets ahead of its time.

[@protoian9353]

I've always felt that R&M found more popularity because its format (cartoon + sci-fi) open it up to very much ANY topic. This allows it to make very high brow jokes followed by very low brow jokes because it doesn't have a specific reality to adhere to.

[@chickrepelant]

* chefs kiss * well said! cool, cool cool cool

[@scpdatabase69420]

Community came out a while before the internet would meme shows into stardom. There definitely is a strong series of Community memes (the Donald Glover walks into the multiple-dimension pizza room) but they are not nearly as spread as Rick and Morty ones, especially after people IRL starting REEEEing for the Sauce. Community is also held up as one of those "TV series everyone should watch". Basically the reason I ended up watching the series twice and the second watch was sooooo much more enjoyable. They set up so many jokes ahead of time and much of the character development can be easily overlooked for the jokes.

[@jjackson6082]

Just found this channel recently. Really enjoy your research and presentation on your topics

[@decacat]

i remember loving community so much, watching it as every season came out. until season 4 that is. it was so bad that i couldn’t stand it anymore even though i tried to give it a chance. and now i know why it felt like a completely different show! i had no idea they had removed the main creative force driving the series. great video!!

[@teradul2480]

This is some goddamn amazing content. Keep up the good work, because I'm subscribing, and it looks like I'm not the only one.

[@ana-isabel]

Thank you so much! Glad you've been enjoying the channel so far! 😄

[@K_Pyle]

I like rick and morty but i love community really disappointed in how the show got treated. While 2020 feels like its the darkest timeline at least we got community on netflix.

[@jdzspace33]

I loved Community, and half of the reason I like Rick and Morty is that I can see Community's DNA in that show. Even some of the same jokes and premises (as you showed). I'm just waiting for that movie so Community can finally realize its destiny.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

All of your favorite music and TV shows will some day be reduced to some idiot thinking it's a "cute" clothing label.

[@vovinlonshin3708]

I still want my Community movie!!

[@Airwr3ck]

Great deep dive into one of my fav if not the fav tv show ever. Thank you!!!

[@whootywhoo6274]

"pseudo intellectuals can pat themselves on the back for getting." *Smiles proudly as a pseudo intellectual.*

[@TimStotz1]

I dug the video. And was pleasantly surprised to see you used the template for Dan Harmon's Story Circle that I made. It's on an old Tumblr page I no longer use, with broken links, but that's the one I came up with. I'll try to make it availible again, with a working link. Maybe to dropbox or something.

[@TimStotz1]

Here is a link where you can my Dan Harmon Story Circle worksheet. drive.google.com/drive/folders/1csxFiUrb1drjgUlnU_N8CbNZps_pkyQy?usp=sharing

[@ShinGetterPoPo]

I appreciate your thoughtful and insightful analysis. Looking forward to hoping down the rabbit hole with more.

[@VAB0L0]

I've seen/been part of many fandoms, some of which have grown infamous for their... eccentricities ( _coughhomestuckcough_ ), but none of them have become an avatar of the Dunning-Kruger effect to the extent the Rick & Morty fanbase has. I'm thankful that the greatest impact the Community fandom has had on my life was putting a personality quiz in the hands of my friend group!

[@Spamhard]

I don't fully agree with that reddit post about community and the animated episode, if solely because I was unfamiliar with GI Joe cartoons too, they were a bit before my time (as was GI Joe in general), but you didn't need to know it to understand any of the jokes or references. The only thing you needed to be familiar with for the jokes was cheap animation (which still exists today, but more so the 80s, 90s and early 00s era), and also shitty kid commercials, which definitely still exist today. Saying you need direct references just to enjoy 'inside jokes' seems a little against what Community was doing. Yes, understanding the exact movie references of something added to the humour, but you didn't need to know exactly what something was to enjoy it. You didn't need to see Goodfellas or similar movies to understand what the chicken finger ep was referencing, and things like the stop motion christmas episode was referencing christmas movies that were never popular or existed in the UK when I was growing up, but I still knew what they were going for. I still knew stop motion christmas movies existed even if I'd not seen one personally. As much as I hate the saying, I do genuinely think Community was ahead of it's time. It was a show made for streaming audiences before such a thing existed. And poor s6 was put on yahoo TV which you couldn't even fucking access in most countries.

[@monkeygamingify]

The Szechuan sauce guy, was parodying the other half of that fan base in that video

[@AceHawk37]

Showing up super late to this party, but I really loved this review! Community was one of my favorites when it was new and it's been so great to see it get a bit of a second following! I think part of the problem for the show was ironically that it was sandwiched between the Office, 30 rock, AND Parks and Recreation (yes that's right, NBC managed to have all 4 of these amazing and still fairly relevant shows on the same night, and still suffered from chronic bouts of indecisiveness and potential canceling all of them because of "low ratings"). Community was the last of these 4 to be introduced, with The Office and 30 Rock starting in 2005 and 2006 respectively and with Parks and Rec starting in the spring of 2009 before Community finally joined the lineup in the fall of 2009. I think there was a certain amount of "comedy fatigue" that prevented viewers from investing in another comedy show. Especially when there seemed to be a formula: a strict setting (an office/gov office, or in this case a community college), a lovably flawed cohort as the main cast, with one character acting as the POV. I am not trying to say any of these shows were unoriginal (I actually love them all), just that to some extent the market for that type of comedy was particularly saturated. And that's very much how the show was marketed, "you like these other shows so basically here is more of the same, and on the same night!". It was really hard to convince people that Community was actually doing something really different and worth investing in! NBC in my opinion shares much of the blame. There are the obvious things where it: constantly threatened the show with cancelation, changed the funding season to season, changed when the show was on air, then it fired Harmon, then it rehired Harmon, etc. etc. But in the end, I think they also marketed the show as something safe in an oversaturated field even though it was something in my mind that was totally different. As far as the comparison with Rick and Morty, I think Dan benefits from working on less of a tight schedule and with animation where things can be tweaked and changed at 3am without the entire film crew needing to be present. Community was a network show that had to crank out 23-25 episodes a year every year. Rick and Morty usually only has 10-11 episodes per season, and they also tend to take 2-year breaks between those seasons. I think this added time benefits someone like Dan who 1, clearly is a bit of a perfectionist, and 2 likes to do shows that do something really different with each episode. Anyway, love both these shows, and thought it was a great and interesting topic.

[@EstelMcFields]

What an eloquent dive on two of my favorite shows! Great job!

[@FrancescoTakesItEasy]

I think you're right. I would also add that people used to consume media differently a decade ago, so that's probably why less people "discovered" Community. A couple of friends told me about it in the fall of 2013. I borrowed season 1 on DVD, got a taste, immediately bought all the available seasons and binged the shit out of it. I've never obsessed over a show that way before and it remains my favorite comedy show. But Rick & Morty? It's not for me. Most of my friends are into it so I've seen a bunch of episodes but it never clicked. I do see why it's good though and understand why people love it.

[@ipredictacatastrophe4370]

Community seems to have a more lasting fanbase and legacy. Pops in on Netflix and KZbin is flooded with video essays. While post season 3 Rick and Morty is already forgotten.

[@ana-isabel]

Hmmm true, and I'm glad for this! Sadly for it's high-quality writing/production, it didn't seem to gain as much media attention, marketing, and fan hype as R&M - which it absolutely deserved.

[@pericles9629]

R & M makes a much more visible effort to be "intellectual" and it also has a much flashier setting which drew people too it in a way Community never could. Community's problem was unless you actually sat down and watched it you'd never be able to realize how great it was since on the surface it looked like just another sitcom.

[@matcha9512]

I just realized halfway into this that the bong I’m using- it’s- it’s a pickle Rick bong💀

[@SXJAYSX]

Loved the video though not sure if the title is quite fitting. It was definitely more of a deep dive into Community's history than anything. By the time the video is about to end and you bring up Rick and Morty again I had almost forgotten it was a comparison video lol And that comparison boiled down to two short phrases.

[@RobertVsMars]

That conversation synopsis was hard to sit through. Ugh.