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FOUR SEASONS AND A WEB SERIES MAYBE? NEWS

... After a great respectable start to its long-delayed fourth season, Community got dumped on Valentine's Day when it showed up for Episode 2. Ratings crashed 42 percent to a 1.1 in the adult demo, a series low. Obviously the "holiday" didn't help (ratings were down all across the board, but none were as steep as Community), but is the drop it a sign of something more? The saga continues next week. [Deadline Hollywood]

BUSINESS TIME

... ABC's new show Zero Hour (hee hee, this show) also had a bad night. The series debut embarrassed ABC with the network's worst in-season scripted premiere ever, grabbing a 1.3 rating in the adult demo (even Work It premiered to a 2.0 rating). You mean a conspiracy thriller about frozen Nazis and clocks and monster babies didn't click with people on Valentine's Day? [Deadline Hollywood]

... TV Land has ordered Giant Baby to series. The sitcom stars Kirstie Alley as a woman who reconnects with the son she gave up for adoption after his adoptive mother passes away. Rhea Perlman and Michael Richards also star, making TV Land the most star-studded network around for people who just woke up from 20-year comas. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Lifetime is developing a miniseries based on the life of Cleopatra, that Egyptian hussy who put a fire in the loins of so many men back in the old days. The plan is to make it a four-hour extravaganza, most likely with incredibly cheesy dialogue, terrible acting, and the worst green-screen effects since the network's last project. Absolutely I'm watching! [Deadline Hollywood]

... Good news for Cleopatra is bad news for Renee Zellweger. Lifetime has passed on her pitch for the TV pilot Cinnamon Girl, about four ladies coming of age in late-'60s Los Angeles. [THR]

CASTING NEWS

... Coach Taylor will now be Cardinal Taylor! Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler has grabbed the lead in the Showtime drama pilot Vatican. He'll play Cardinal Thomas Duffy, the Archbishop of New York in the thriller set against the politics of the Catholic Church. You should be very excited about this. [Deadline Hollywood]

... The B---- is back. Krysten Ritter is following her role on Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 with a role in the NBC comedy pilot Assistance. She'll play the lead, a woman caught between her "work husband" coworker, her real-life fiance, and her insane boss. <3 U Kristen will U B mine? [Deadline Hollywood]

... Torchwood's Burn Gorman (he played Owen) has joined AMC's pilot Turn. The period drama is set in 1778 and follows a small group of spies known as the Culper Ring who helped sway the tide in the War of Independence. [THR]

... iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove has joined NBC's pilot Girlfriend in a Coma. The comedy stars Christina Ricci as a woman who wakes up from a coma to find she has a 17-year-old daughter. I'm really hoping that she was pregnant when she went into the coma, otherwise some horny doctors have a lot of explaining to do. Cosgrove will play Ricci's daughter, which I suppose works for me. [Deadline Hollywood]

... The versatile CCH Pounder (The Shield) has hopped on board CBS's pilot The Advocates. The legal drama follows a pair of lawyers fighting for the little guys, and Pounder will play their boss. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Desperate Housewives vet Felicity Huffman has grabbed the badass lead in Fox's pilot Boomerang. She'll play the matriarch of a family of trained assassins who work for the U.S. government. [EW]

Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter if you want to: @TimAtTVDotCom

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If you follow the Greendale Community College Calendar, October 19 is just around the corner and classes resume later this week. If you follow a boring "regular" calendar, Thursday, February 7 is the day you should be circling, as that's when one of television's most creative sitcoms, Community, returns for Season 4.

Look, I don't want to be a harbinger of gloom, but there's a Fat Neil-sized chance that we may have seen Community's best days, what with all the firings and quittings and behind-the-scenes drama. So before we look toward the future, we've decided to relive the past by asking our resident Community fans to name their favorite five episodes. The most common response? "ONLY FIVE?!?!?" Sorry guys, I wanted to include "Introduction to Statistics," too.

You'll find our personal picks below, but we also want to know which Community episodes are YOUR list of five—so get to clicking on the poll at the bottom of the page and share your rankings the comments!

Cory Barker | Favorite Character: Britta Perry

5. "Paradigms of Human Memory" (S2E21)
4. "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" (S02E16)
3. "Cooperative Calligraphy" (S2E08)
2. "Mixology Certification" (S2E10)
1. "Remedial Chaos Theory" (S3E04)

Community is known for its high-concept "theme" episodes, but when the show truly thrives is when it merges big conceptual ideas with grounded emotional beats. No episode has achieved that combo more than Season 3's "Remedial Chaos Theory," the one that used Yahtzee and seven different timelines to tell a wonderful story about each character's role within the group. The episode brought us seminal Community gags and touchstones like the darkest timeline, felt goatees, and the Norwegian troll, but it also reminded us that Troy is sneakily the glue holding the group together and that Jeff, despite his affection for these misfits, still can't fully let go of being Winger-cool. —Cory

Nick Campbell | Favorite Character: Abed Nadir

5. "The Psychology of Letting Go" (S2E03)
4. "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" (S2E14)
3. "Basic Lupine Urology" (S3E17)
2. "Aerodynamics of Gender" (S2E07)
1. "Remedial Chaos Theory" (S3E04)

So often the perks of being a wallflower are undermined by a culture that exalts the might of the extrovert (except, I would imagine, in that book The Perks of Being a Wallflower). That's complicated even more by a world that doesn't necessarily understand the symptoms (if not the official diagnosis) of someone who's far closer to Rain Man on the autistic spectrum. In media, they're either treated like fragile mutants of society (like Max Braverman on Parenthood) or punchlines in absurdity as folks that don't play by the rules of civility (Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory). What's great about "Aerodynamics of Gender" is that Abed has magical powers in his stockpiles of observed minutiae, just begging to take form in snaps until he learns his wizardry is more evil than good. Abed is a human being who learns a lesson and not just some quirky sidekick character that never changes. Also, every cutdown Abed has is GOLD. Also also: boys on trampolines! —Nick

Andy Daglas | Favorite Character: Leonard

5. "Accounting for Lawyers" (S2E03)
4. "Introduction to Finality" (S3E22)
3. "Critical Film Studies" (S2E19)
2. "Contemporary American Poultry" (S1E21)
1. "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" (S2E09)

From the title to the almost-plaintive echo of the fan-adopted hashtag #sixseasonsandamovie at the very end of the episode, everything about "Introduction to Finality" seems resigned to its destiny as an unintentional series finale. The Season 3 capper did at least spell the end of the era for creator/showrunner Dan Harmon, and the spirit of both closure and promise animating its events makes it one of the series' most emotionally gratifying installments. Community (in particular Season 3) occasionally went to some dark places, exploring the recesses of insecurity and selfishness that underly our need for companionship. But "Introduction to Finality" ultimately decides that our better angels can win out over the cold, frightful versions of ourselves from the darkest timeline. It's warped, chipper, cynical, and humanist, and it will serve as a fitting coda to the show we've loved, should Season 4 fall short. —Andy

Noel Kirkpatrick | Favorite Character: Britta Perry

5. "Modern Warfare" (S1E23)
4. "Introduction to Statistics" (S1E07)
3. "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" (S2E14)
2. "Basic Lupine Urology" (S3E17)
1. "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" (S2E09)

The reason "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" works so well is that it blends elements of college life—racking up enough credits to graduate; dorm living—with a parody of the conspiracy suspense thriller genre and Community's particular sense of whimsy. The sendup is right on, between Professor Professorson's painfully bad cryptic dialog ("From the lips of a ghost to the shadow of a unicorn's dream."), the chase through the pillow fort as a crowded street (A Latvian independence day parade!), and the confrontation shootout in the study room. Even Annie's off-script confession works, as every conspiracy thriller needs a confession of secrets. All in all, it's a pitch-perfect Community episode.

Tim Surette | Favorite Character: Britta Perry

5. "Contemporary American Poultry" (S1E21)
4. "Cooperative Calligraphy" (S2E08)
3. "Paradigms of Human Memory" (S2E21)
2. "Remedial Chaos Theory" (S3E04)
1. "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" (S2E14)

Neither a straight parody nor a big stunt, the tale of Fat Neil and the study group playing Dungeons & Dragons is Community at its creative best. The show's standard sets were stretched out with narration from the cleaning lady, sound effects, and pans of hand-drawn maps, proving that Community can go high-concept on a low budget. The laughs were plentiful—Chang's character dying, Annie's seduction of the elf maiden, Abed's dungeon mastering, and Britta trying to raise awareness of the oppression of gnomes—but the episode also had heart and a heavy message in saving the life of a suicidal Fat Neil. —Tim

Jen Trolio | Favorite Character: Troy Barnes

5. "Modern Warfare" (S1E23)
4. "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" (S3E09)
3. "Mixology Certification" (S2E10)
2. "Paradigms of Human Memory" (S2E21)
1. "Regional Holiday Music" (S3E10)

Aside from the fact that Troy and I share a birthday, what I like about this episode is that it centers on the study group leaving campus and just hanging out. No spoofs, no Dean Pelton-sponsored shenanigans, just everybody going out and getting drunk together on a night when the happy-hour special is apparently 2-for-1 shots of character development. There are so many great moments—Annie (kind of) letting loose as Caroline Decker from Corpus Christi, Texas; Paul F. Tompkins throwing a drink in Abed's face; Jeff and Britta's realization that they've been talking about the same bar all night; the reveal that Shirley used to party hard. The overall atmosphere is one of hanging out at the bar with your own friends, and the episode ends on a sweet note with a nice moment for Troy, who finally gets to step up and be the leader for once. —Jen

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BUSINESS TIME

... NBC has confirmed to TV.com that it's delaying the premiere of Community in order to give the show "proper marketing support." The comedy was supposed to return for Season 4 on October 19, but it looks like the network has finally come to its senses and doesn't want to exile it to Fridays. If I'm reading into this correctly, this is a strategic scheduling move and the plan would be to move Community to a different night once NBC decides some of its new comedies stink and cancels them, which would give Community a better chance at survival. Also, my dream of an hour-long Crystal the Monkey comedy block could come true if Community ended up paired with Animal Practice! To be clear, NBC has NOT set a new premiere date or confirmed that Community will no longer air on Fridays—all we know is that it won't return on October 19. And I guess I should also tell you that this news applies to Whitney as well. [NBC, Hitfix]

... Syfy has ordered a fourth season of its strangely compelling reality series Face Off, which pits aspiring movie makeup artists against each other with impressive and terrible results. At this point, the series' biggest task is going to be finding contestants in this niche profession to compete on the show. [Syfy via press release]

... Animal Planet has ordered a second season of Off the Hook, its hiply titled reality series about pro wrestler and fishing aficionado Eric Young. Look for 18 episodes next summer. [Animal Planet via press release]

... NBC is going to throw a bunch of people into the wilderness and call it a show. Get Out Alive will be hosted by Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls and feature two teams of regular people who must survive in the outdoors and drink each other's urine. Eight episodes have been ordered for next summer. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Syfy is adapting the Chilean reality series Opposite Worlds for America. The competition program features 20 people who obviously compete in challenges, with the winners living in a futuristic utopia where all their needs are met and the losers scraping by in a prehistoric struggle. The 12-episode series, which does not have a premiere date, will air twice a week. There's a decent chance people will drink each other's urine in this one, too. Cross your fingers! [Syfy via press release]

... ABC has ordered three more scripts of its new comedy The Neighbors, a sign that the network is considering a full-season pickup. The series, about aliens disguised as humans that live in a gated community, performed well in its opening week after Modern Family, but crashed back to Earth (haha!) in its second week when it settled into its real timeslot after The Middle. Maybe ABC ordered three more scripts because it just can't get over Dick Butkus jokes. [The Wrap]

... The CW is helping out its target audience that's too lazy to read books for English class by starting development on an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. The series, titled Expectations (not so great this time around?), follows a small-town girl who moves to San Francisco with great expectations only to find that making it in the big city is like totally hard. Luckily, she gets by thanks to an anonymous rich person who makes things happen for her. America's darling Reese Witherspoon will produce. [Deadline Hollywood]

... For those of you looking for Cliffs Notes on video games instead of books, Fox has your six. The network is developing an action/comedy series based on the EA game Battlefield: Bad Company, about four soldiers who leave the military and complete missions for private organizations. Hopefully the network will stay true to the atmosphere of the game by occasionally playing audio of 12-year olds calling you homosexual slurs. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Comedy Central has ordered a pilot for Broad City, based on the web series of the same name that follows two women in New York who... basically just do normal things. It looks kinda funny though, and Amy Poehler will produce. [Comedy Central via press release]

CASTING NEWS

... FX's drama pilot The Bridge has found its male lead in Demian Bichir. The Oscar nominee will play a Mexican detective who is hunting a serial killer who's killing people on both sides of the border. Diane Kruger was previously cast as the female lead, an American detective who's working with Bichir's character. [FX via press release]

... Morris Chestnut is joining Showtime's Nurse Jackie next season. He'll play a new doctor who served in Iraq an Afghanistan in a season-long arc. [Deadline Hollywood]

Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom

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