User Reviews

I know it's a rite of passage amongst some in the Community community to trash season 4, and I get it, because Dan Harman sadly was pushed out. You have the claims of "reverse engineering" the Community spirit and so on. But still, I thought season 4 was underrated and any Community is better than none at all (The Great Indoors doesn't count please).

Giancarlo Esposito returns as Pierce's half-brother amidst paranormal activity in the mansion.

Yes. I know WHY this episode aired in February when it's a Halloween show. Due to delaying of production and airing. But holy crap, S4 is such a disaster they couldn't even do a Halloween show correctly. It actually hurts to watch a show like this struggle like this.

This episode IS a huge step up from the previous one, the season opener. But that DOESN'T mean this is a good episode of Community.

The plot revolves around the group going to Pierce's estate after he locks himself into his panic room, as the group has to wander the house looking for the code, and if THAT weren't a weak enough plot, there's also a bunch of hokey spooky stuff that ultimately becomes a stupid red herring.

I always love Halloween themed episodes of TV. Especially Community. I love seeing the weird, crazy costumes that the characters wear, and as a lover of the horror genre, I love when a sitcom can execute a good horror parody.

YES. This show does feature some legitimate character development. A little between Troy and Britta, but most of it from Jeff. Which is always great to see. I did actually get quite a few laughs out of this episode. But unfortunately those moments are far apart, because there's also a rarely flat performance from Abed, and ultimately ends with... Pierce just being Pierce. Which at this point I'm already sick of.

Like I said, big step above the painful season opener. But even just watching this season, I feel off. The show feels off. I don't feel the same comfort I get watching the previous 3 Harmon seasons. At this point the show loses its depth and just feels like a cheap fun way to spend 20 minutes, whereas most of Community has always been more than that to me as well as all the show's fans and supporters.

Ergo. 7/10. Because it could've been, and will get a lot worse.

I don't think Paranormal Parentage is a victory for the show in the order of Season 2's Epidemiology. But this season is all about growing the old and new audience of Community. You need episodes you can put in the "win" column to do that. I think Paranormal Parentage is one of those episodes. Never mind that it's a Halloween episode airing on Valentine's Day.

The episode begins with the gang gearing up to attend a Halloween party. They end up on a detour at Pierce's mansion. He's locked himself in his panic room while dusting. As one of the characters point out, of all the places to start cleaning, really, the panic room? Moving right along, the study group has to split up in Scooby Doo(esque) style to track down the unlock code for the Panic Room and save Pierce. That would be an easy task if not for the fact that Pierce's house is enormous and there may or not be the ghost of Pierce's dad roaming around! I didn't find myself falling out my chair with laughter at this episode. I think the funniest bit was Troy and Shirley's discovery of Pierce's fetish room. Donald Glover's comedic pitch and timing are world class. It's also nice to see Shirley be the one who's hip to it for a change and not the one on the outside that the rest of the group is treating like a baby or cracking jokes about. This episode was really about Jeff in my opinion. Community has been working toward his reckoning with his father for a while now. It's nice to see that plot line take a much needed step forward.

We're on to episode three of this truncated season. It's been available to critics for a while now, and I've heard some mixed opinions on it, but I remain optimistic. Paranormal Parentage earned that optimism for now.

A Halloween episode on Valentines day was not fault of the writers but of NBC who delayed the show's fourth season for nearly have a year. The show seems to have lost so much especially without Dan Harmon becoming now a bad copy of what once was. Chevy Chase playing Pierce just annoys me completely playing a character I do not care for and cannot wait until he leaves the show and the six remaining members of the group can just be together. The show was able to make me laugh but even though I can see the actors trying their best I feel sad I just do not care for the show as much as I did. Danny Pudi as Abed is an example of an attempt but I just do not care for him anymore. The writing is not terrible for most comedies but for what the show has done in the past the episode is average at best.

EPISODE GRADE: C+ (MVP: Danny Glover)