I haven’t weighed in on the news of Sony and NBC firing Dan Harmon as showrunner of Community (SHOCKING ANALYSIS: I think it sucks) because we already brought you the story and from there I wanted to give Community fans on the internet a day and some change to churn out their reactions and fan art and tribute GIFs like only Community fans on the internet can.
You see, not only did Dan Harmon create a masterpiece of show that pushes traditional boundaries and challenges the audience to be more creative in their consumption of television — something networks don’t love unless it makes them wheelbarrows of cash — he is also the first show creator to effectively blur the line between television and the internet. Sure, Tosh.0 covers the internet, but Community IS the internet. Or at least was the internet. On network television, no less. Which also happens to be the main reason Dan Harmon is no longer with the show.
Maybe it’s for the best. His legacy will almost certainly carry on stronger in a martyr capacity (stories about how great of a person he is are already popping up) as opposed to riding off in the sunset with the rest of the show after a shortened Friday night season. And if I’m wrong about that, at least we’ll always have the animated GIF, which I highly doubt would be the preferred image file of the internet in 2012 if hadn’t been for Harmon’s forward thinking when it came to Alison Brie GIF-able moments. Above via.
And finally, a new original from pop culture illustrator Sam Spratt…Source