Necrotongue

This episode was part of the ongoing misery, but against my usual rating in Season 4, I threw in an extra star because Abed's vibrant musical stint managed to entertain me a tad. I leaned on Abed a bit to break the streak of bad ratings. There were already way too many lone stars there :-) / Lesson learned: So many moral lessons; makes me think Dan Harmon might be related to Adam Sandler.

I can't figure out if the episodes of the fourth season are genuinely this bad or if I'm just so done with the series that I can't find joy in it anymore. The seventh episode certainly didn't win me over; the concept of hunting a whale had potential, but its execution fell flat. There might have been some decent humor, but once again, the creators smothered it all with a pile of moral lessons. It's a real letdown. / Are you hunting a whale? Become Ahab.

Yay, another documentary! It's frustrating; it seems like the creators have run out of original ideas, resorting to recycling their own material. Instead of the usual fun and humor, I'm served with boredom and frustration. To top it off, the entire sixth episode was centered around Chang, a character I found dull from the first season. / Lesson learned: If you haven't experienced déjà vu yet, try watching Community.

Another holiday, another missed opportunity for successful jokes. The creators somehow managed to mess up Thanksgiving, and it's clear that the fourth season is taking a downward turn. While I enjoyed the references to Shawshank, that was the only amusing aspect for me. Otherwise, it was a tiresome and annoying affair full of family and moral values that left me bored. / Lesson learned: I've never been a fan of family get-togethers.

When creators run out of ideas, they resort to recycling their own material, sacrificing quality along the way. The fourth episode lacked the humor of previous seasons, replaced by awkward jokes and heavy moralizing, so I wasn't particularly enthusiastic in my evaluation.

This started off as a three-star flight but, instead of smoothly gaining altitude, it gradually lost it, eventually just copying the terrain. Despite my concerns, the flight captain/director managed to bring it to the nearest airport, landing at least decently. However, it wasn't a pleasant experience for passengers, and the use of airsickness bags was certainly excessive. The movie had two fundamental flaws: the predictable and thus boring screenplay, and the casting of the main role. I've got an issue with Ben Affleck; I think he's a terrible actor (his best performance was as a corpse in Smokin' Aces (2006)), and his testimony in court painfully reminded me of that. Watching his attempt to portray a suffering human being, I turned into just that — a suffering human being — and it had nothing to do with Mr. Affleck's convincing acting. The screenwriter/director tried to play on the audience's emotions here, which fell flat in my case. On the one hand, he did it poorly, and on top of that, he fueled the heartless bastard in me that his superficial incompetence couldn't sway. I seriously wondered why I keep revisiting films that I once marked with a low rating and realized it's my own form of adrenaline rush. Some people set out to conquer mountains, whereas I (lacking the ability for similarly physically demanding activities) consciously risk my mental well-being. Yes, with all due modesty, I must admit that I am a hero. / Lesson learned: No matter how excellent a horror movie may be, it will not prepare you for a meeting with Ben Affleck, attempting to project some emotions onto his face.

For the first time in the fourth season, I had a feeling that I was quite enjoying myself. I don't want to say that the third episode was exceptionally funny, but compared to the previous two episodes, it was definitely a significant improvement. Plus, I was pleased that the creators did not incorporate Chang into the plot and instead invited Andy Pip... sorry, Matt Lucas. / Lesson learned: Watch out for Blorgons!

I'm used to Christmas episodes being meh, but the second episode in the fourth season ruined even Halloween, which was usually a guarantee for some good laughs. Sure, there were a couple of decent moments (like Annie's costume), but they couldn't make up for the weak overall plot and the major letdown I felt. / Lesson learned: A haunted house on Halloween? Well, suit yourself :-)

Hmm, this one didn't do it for me. The opening episode brought us another glimpse into Abed's inner world, and I'm getting the feeling that the show is turning into a series within a series with episodes like this. I'm still struggling to accept that the same team behind the fun episodes also made this one. / Lesson learned: Don't try to fix what can't be fixed; it saves you from unnecessary frustration.

Yeah, gotta say, Season 3 wasn't up to par for me. Surprisingly, though, some individual episodes were better than the last season, and I only found myself giving zero stars once. I really dug a few episodes, so it's a letdown that the creators didn't keep up the good work for a more extended stretch. / Lesson learned: Stand tall against tyranny! Just, you know, maybe don't stand completely alone.