Community Review: Season 5 Episode 1 “Repilot”

When Community creator Dan Harmon left the show, and new peeps took over for season 4 — things looked bleak. The show, while still entertaining, took on an entirely different tone; suddenly the gang was heading off campus almost every damned episode for some reason. Thankfully, Harmon has returned, and the gang is back together. Let’s find out how his first episode back, “Repilot,” is.

This episode is directed by Tristram Shapeero, and written by… what the fluck, eight goddamn people?! Well, okay, let’s just say written by Dan Harmon and friends. We find Jeff (Joel McHale) as a failed lawyer who works out of a mall. Jeff, ordered by his once rival, now partner Alan Connor (Rob Corddry) is ordered to find records from Greendale Community College (where, for new fans, the show takes place; hence “Community”) to prove an engineer who made a faulty bridge that collapsed who got his degree from Greendale should not have graduated.

Basically, it’s all a set up to get Jeff back to Greendale, and then the rest of the group shows up, called by Abed (Danny Pudi)…although, does it really matter how they found out? They just need an excuse to be back in that study room we know and love. The gang’s all here save for Pierce (Chevy Chase): Annie (Alison please-jump-up-and-down-again Brie), Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), and Troy (Donald Glover). Pierce does make an appearance at the end via hologram.

It warmed my heart to see everyone back and one-lining off each other, but it felt like we’d seen this same thing before. But, played out or not, damn it feels good to have Community back. It’s like your favorite food; you might eat too much and get sick of it, but once you take a break and come back, you still love that precious sustenance.

8.0

• Harmon, the original creator, back in the saddle!
• They make fun of the fact they’re restarting the show
• Some really funny moments

• Mainly an episode to establish why the gang is now back together, after they all graduated.
• Feels somewhat forced, at times.

Is It Good?

It’s one of those, “hey look everyone’s back together again!” episodes, and it works since this is the return of Harmon. As an episode it has its funny moments, but in general it seems to just be an exercise in reintroducing everyone. Think of it as the first Hobbit movie. Necessary and with some good parts, but you are kind of just looking forward to the next part where everything is established and back in the regular format.

I give it a B.