News: COMMUNITY's "Modern Warfare" Sequel

Since I was sick on Friday, I missed out on some of the bigger TV news stories, and one that slipped through the cracks broke the story that NBC's Community will be giving the audience a sequel to last year's super popular "Modern Warfare".

While, I loved "Modern Warfare" and it officially won me over, I'm afraid that the show will start using the action-movie homage as a crutch. I'm not expecting the sequel to be a carbon copy of last season's episode, but it will probably hit the same notes that made the former so popular. If "Modern Warfare" II rates well, and Community is picked up for a third season, these episodes will probably become a yearly thing.

The prospects of future "Modern Warfares" does sound tempting, but Community could run the risk of the novelty wearing off sooner than later. I'm not saying a gimmicky episode that the show has every season is a bad idea, but an annual spectacle like "MW" could have diminishing returns.

That being said, this season does need a shot of adrenaline because it's definitely been in a sophomore slump. Community is still one of the funnier comedies on TV today, but Season 2 hasn't had the same wit and charm like last season. Instead the show has focused too much time and effort and "wink, wink, nod, nod" moments that shine a spotlight on how clever it is. It's hard to remember that these characters are a band of damaged misfits when they're too busy patting themselves on the back.

"Modern Warfare", Part 2 does make sense, but Community cannot allow itself to spend so much of its attention on these pop-culture referencing episodes that it starts to sacrifice characterization and story. Yes, it's fun to watch these people shoot paintballs at one another, but if we don't care about who is doing the shooting or why they're shooting, then what's the point