Product Details

• Actors: Joel McHale
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony
• DVD Release Date: August 14, 2012
• Run Time: 468 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (192 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0053O8A8M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,551 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Community: The Complete Third Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The third season of Community opens with a musical number promising to be "less weird than the first two years combined"--a promise that, thankfully, goes right out the window as the episode culminates in the eternally glib Jeff (Joel McHale) attacking the study group's table with a fire ax. From there, Community is a freewheeling, ridiculous, and surprisingly complex dissection of sitcoms, friendship, and pop culture in general. The parodies of Law & Order, Glee, and Ken Burns documentaries are only the tip of the iceberg. In the Halloween episode, the characters take turns telling horror stories, each reflecting both pop takes on horror and the character's own psyche. Another episode takes place mostly inside of a video game (with the characters converted into delightful digital avatars), others slip into anime graphics or heist-movie plot mechanics or follow out multiple possible timelines, another mimics Hearts of Darkness, the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now--this is the stuff of which postmodern doctoral theses and obsessive cult fandom are made. Woven through the season are the efforts of Vice Dean Laybourne (guest star John Goodman, Roseanne) to woo Troy (Donald Glover) into the arms of the Air Conditioning Repair School Annex and the gradual rise of Chang (Ken Jeong) from homelessness to brutal dictatorship, thanks to a hit squad of ruthless 12-year-olds.

Community demands that viewers pay attention and think about American culture at large to catch all the comedy, which is not what most people expect from a sitcom. But this scope and ambition is exactly what makes Community so rare and rewarding--and so funny, for anyone willing to engage. The writing is consistently smart and inventive, the cast (McHale, Glover, Jeong, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Chevy Chase, and Jim Rash as the "pansexual imp" Dean Pelton) is charming and wholly committed to their roles, and the multiple directors maintain a consistency of tone even when adopting radically different visual styles. Community, like the great Arrested Development, pursues its distinctive humor to the fullest. Watch it from the beginning. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Greendale Community College's most learning-challenged study group returns for the most brilliantly hilarious year yet! What with campus-wide pillow fights, spooky Halloween pizza parties, holiday Glee Club smackdowns, foosball showdowns, cafeteria sandwich throwdowns, crime show send-ups, underage security patrols, a beloved classmate's demise that sets off a riot, plus a new Vice Dean (Emmyr winner John Goodman) with a strange air conditioning fixation... It's clear these people need each other, never more than now.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 98 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Show STILL Delivers! October 16, 2011

By F. E. Danna

Format:DVD

Everything about the first two seasons was top notch. The acting, writing, and directing just continued to get better and better as the story unfolded. It's safe to say that this is STILL the case with the third season of this critically acclaimed comedy!

The writers are taking the excellence of this show very seriously, and it has already paid off in spades for fans. This season, they've truly gone all in, and its easy to see why: This is re-writing all the rules about what a TV comedy can accomplish within 22 minutes. It's smart, hilarious, edgy (and even a little weird - but in a good way). I hope that by the end of this season it'll no longer be the most underrated comedy on TV today, and will begin to gain the popularity that it's deserved for the past three seasons.

51 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T CANCEL THIS SHOW, NBC!!! January 24, 2012

By J. Kilpatrick

Format:DVD

This is the funniest show on TV. The only others that come close are "Parks and Rec." and "30 Rock." Please, NBC, do not cancel this awesome show. I will buy the DVD sets to support it. Thanks.

60 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the secret love child of Arrested Development and Friends. Best show on tv now January 3, 2012

By Arkan

Format:DVD

This show is seriously one of the best shows on tv now. It is the comedic successor of arrested development; it contains all the wit, play on words, intelligent and observational humour that arrested development had. Unfortunantly because this show doesn't have a laugh track and requires some thought to enjoy it isn't getting the attention it deserves.

It takes numerous views to get most of the jokes and after watching the first two seasons at least 4-5 times I still catch things I've missed. It's hilarious, the acting is superb, the attention to detail is astounding, and the writing is at another level. Preorder this and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Here's hoping for 6 seasons and a movie.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If a better TV series has been created, I politely demand you to tell me what it is July 18, 2012

By J.L. TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

If a better TV series has been created, I politely demand you to tell me what it is.

I have never been so riveted by a TV series. I have never found a TV series so hilarious. And I have never found a TV series so moving.

I suspect that in order for Community to have a similar type of effect on you, you must meet at least two criteria: (1) be between 20 and 35 years old, and (2) give your full attention to every nano-second of the show.

Re: (2): There is so much substance packed into every nano-second of the show that it demands your full attention to notice the subtleties and to understand exactly what the show's writers are trying to get at. You'll probably need/want to watch some episodes several times.

Re: (1): The first time I saw the show was at my parents' house, and while I was literally - not figuratively - screaming like an injured lemur with laughter, my Boomer parents barely managed a polite smile. The generational divide was never so apparent.

The show speaks directly to my generation, and not just to amuse us, but to tell us things we urgently need to hear. E.g.:

* "Britta's attracted to men in emotional pain. It helps her think that she's emotionally healthy."
* "Jeff, you're a normal person. There's nothing very special about you at all. You're going to be great at a few things but really crappy at many more."
* "While claiming to have no religion, you're actually devoutly worshipping yourself."
* "We need more respect and less passion."
* "TV makes sense. It has structure, logic, rules, and likeable leading men. In life we have this. We have you."

And there's so much more that isn't easily pick-up-able from little lines of dialogue.... The general message of the show is (crudely) wake up, grow up, what's important is right in front of you.

God bless Dan Harmon. May he make many more TV shows.

---

Regarding Season 3 in particular, I think "Virtual Systems Analysis" might be the best show of the whole series. At least top 3. "Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts" and "Digital Exploration of Interior Design" are also favorites. Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Stumbles a bit, but still the best August 14, 2012

By Blinkout512

Format:DVD

It was bound to happen. Any show that has a great first season, and beats the odds with a perfect second season, always stumbles in its third outing (see also : 30 Rock, 24, Arrested Development) While this is still the best and most adventurous comedy on network television, Community is no exception.

Community's greatest strength is that even at its most absurd, its equally balanced by a genuine warmth. This season the show finally collapsed under the weight of its absurdity with Chang's arc, which takes up a large chunk of the season. The attempts at furthering character development with the group aren't as organic as previous seasons and are frequently introduced, forgotten, and shoehorned in at a later time.

As for the actual dvd set, this time the season comes on 3 discs with 8 episodes instead of 4 discs with 6 episodes. This isn't a special effects heavy show, but the drop in quality can be a bit distracting.

But these are the only gripes in an otherwise excellent season, with Remedial Chaos Theory, Pillows and Blankets, Basic Lupine Urology, and Curriculum Unavailable as standout episodes. Definitely a must-buy.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in Class July 10, 2012

By Hucklebarry

Format:DVD

There have been times where I have been concerned about how long Community can continue to create its high level of layered, meta-content. I've also taken the time to watch some videos of Writer Dan Harmon and this has greatly helped me to understand his vision for the show and how well thought out the entire show is (not just each individual episode). This is where these DVDs really start adding their value as Dan Harmon commentary, palyfest, comicon, etc. really help you understand the genius he brings to the show.

Season 3 is the dark season. Its how Harmon characterizes the growth of a relation and its the part that will test the friendship endured so far. It will either tear them apart, or drive them closer together. Once I understood this, each episode made much more sense. I was also concerned that there might not be much else to do outside of the study room. With 3 paintball episodes, and far too many dances, I was worried about where we would go to keep the show popping. My worry was in vein.

Season 3 contains the study group tackling a new Biology professor who has a special appreciation for life gleaned from years spent in prison. It dares to explore the group as they encounter separate timelines. We become privy to Brita's declared major and how she will work within the group with her new skills. We see Jeff play Foosball, the study group sings, Shirley makes sandwiches, we get a law and order spoof, someone dies, and we are presented with a fantastic 8 bit episode. In short... We don't need no stinking paintball.

The show continues to delve deep in multi-layered plot twists chocked full of cleverly written pop references and dynamically acted out by a superb cast.... The musical talent of the cast is once again brought to light, but so is the talent of the song-writers and directors on staff.

Three years in and this show still gets an A+ in every conceivable category. Sadly, this season marks the end of Dan's writing and leadership. It also marks the apparent end of a full season as season 4 has only been ordered with 13 episode across the board from NBC. Two more reasons to complete the Community trilogy with this season 3 DVD. While it doesn't look like this show will complete its "6 seasons and a movie", It did release 3 full seasons + in less than ideal circumstances, and remains one of the most intelligent and underrated comedies of its time.

I recommend Community to any sitcom fan for a fresh look at life, politics, pop culture, story telling, acting, music, and more. Community contains the entire academic experience ;) Read more ›