I realize that this is not Speculative Fiction Saturday, but I would like to discuss a terrific show that does address a lot of technological issues. The show Community has had its ups and downs through the years, but when it works, it really works.

The show was cancelled after five seasons on NBC, but it was recently given new life on Yahoo TV. A more recent episode known as “Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care”, has addressed an issue that I have discussed before with products like the Oculus Rift. In the episode, the Dean of the Community College buys a virtual reality systems.

The end result is a system that immerses him and makes him feel like a god, but the interface is slow and looks like early nineties technology. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Ready Player One review that I did last week, but without the advanced technology.

Personally, I think we are headed toward an era where virtual reality is going to be the Internet, but it is going to be a while before it gets as cool as science fiction told it would be.

I highly recommend watching Community with episodes that really address who we are as a technological society. In season 5, episode 8, there was an episode with MeowMeowBeenz, which really focuses on how social media has changed our landscape.

Then there is an episode in Season 1 entitled “Modern Warfare”, which I consider one of the most funniest episodes of television ever made. Community often focuses on how one thing can turn the world into a dystopia, and this is one of the few times that it has worked.