10 Genius Ways TV Shows Fixed Their Own Mistakes

7. Season 4's Inconsistencies Were Caused By A "Gas Leak" - Community

Beloved Community showrunner Dan Harmon was fired by NBC at the end of the show's third season, resulting in David Guarascio and Moses Port being drafted in to write what would become an incredibly divisive fourth season.

Season four received heavily mixed responses from critics and fans alike, noting character changes that seemed inconsistent with their established personalities, and a more conventional sitcom-like narrative with increasingly outlandish plotlines that were often left unresolved.

Harmon himself said of the season, "It's very much like an impression. And an unflattering one. [NBC] replaced us with two guys who didn't know what they were getting into [...] and then I think they tried their best."

But thankfully, NBC saw sense and re-hired Harmon for the fifth season. Rather than simply try to pick up the tattered pieces of season four, he decided to reset the table by hilariously having the characters comment on a gas leak that occured on the campus and caused all the off-base events of the prior season.

It obviously didn't erase what happened, but was at least a smart way to acknowledge the divisive events while providing an in-universe explanation for all the dodgy writing.

Thankfully, Community returned to form for its final two seasons with Harmon, and now fans typically regard season four as just a curious blip.