A possible concise summary is:
This is a video essay that analyzes the rise and fall of the TV show Community, created by Dan Harmon. The essay uses Harmon's story circle method to compare different episodes and seasons, and examines how the show was affected by cast departures, network interference, and behind-the-scenes drama. The essay argues that Community never really died, but ended on its own terms with a satisfying finale. The essay also promotes the author's channel and short film project.
1. "Community" premiered on NBC on September 17, 2009, aiming to reclaim network dominance over Thursday night television, coveted by advertisers due to its viewership by affluent viewers in the desirable 18 to 34 age demographic.
2. NBC had a stronghold on Thursday night TV, starting in the 80s with "The Cosby Show", "Family Ties", "Cheers", "Night Court", and "Hill Street Blues". This helped solidify the pattern of having four sitcoms leading to a grittier drama, a pattern still utilized today.
3. In the 90s, NBC had the block programming of "Mad About You", "Wings", "Seinfeld", "Frazier", and "Homicide". The ratings juggernauts "Friends" and "Frasier" both went off the air in 2004, and it wasn't until 2009 that NBC finally had a block of quality programming with "The Office", "30 Rock", "Parks and Recreation", and "Community".
4. "Community" had a stellar and diverse cast, comprised of relatively unknown actors at the time of the show's premier. The cast included Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, and Chevy Chase.
5. "Community" also had a stable of talented directors working on the show, such as Justin Lin from the "Faster Furious" franchise and the Russo brothers. The high-quality direction on the show really helped differentiate and sell the insane concepts that the writing staff came up with.
6. The writing staff, led by creator Dan Harmon, had the perfect balance of pop culture meta humor and heart, sifted through precise story structure. This emerged from Dan Harmon's process, which has been broken down in depth a number of times already, both in written form and video essays.
7. Dan Harmon took Joseph Campbell's hero's journey and distilled it down to eight steps, what he calls his story circle. The story circle includes elements like a character being in a zone of comfort, entering an unfamiliar situation or adapting to it, getting what they wanted, paying a heavy price for it, returning to their familiar situation, and having change.
8. "Community" struggled to find a larger audience throughout their respective runs, but the small audience it did have was extremely passionate and loyal. NBC repeatedly wavered with cancelling or not cancelling "Community", due to the show's loyal and vocal fan base.
9. The drama behind the scenes of "Community" was a large part of the reason why NBC kept ordering more seasons of the show. There was also a feud between Chevy Chase and the rest of the cast, and Dan Harmon was well publicized for his issues with hours and writing on the show.
10. Harmon's bouts of depression and alcoholism throughout "Community" earned him the reputation of being difficult to work with. Without the strong ratings to back up his self-destructive behavior, Harmon was fired from his own show following season 3.
11. "Community" season 4 was widely considered to be the show's low point, with episodes like "Conventions of Space and Time" and "Intro to Felt Surrogacy" that failed to meet the quality of previous seasons.
12. "Community" was saved by the final episode, "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television in Classic Community Fashion", which served as a meta conversation on change and growth not only for the characters within the story but for the cast, crew, and audience.
13. The final episode was so emotionally satisfying that it resulted in Dan Harmon and the rest of the creative staff going out on their own terms, which was a more emotionally satisfying conclusion than the show could have hoped for given its tumultuous history.
14. Despite the rough patches along the way, "Community" managed to survive all the way to the end, with the final season and the entire series as a whole being saved because of the final episode.