As someone who’s familiar with Dan Harmon’s connection with fans and his beloved show (I think we can still say it’s “his” show, even though he’s no longer running it) would expect, he was very engaged with the questions and responses with fans in his Ask Me Anything post, giving some insight and answers to burning questions, as well as offering up advice and opinions for those looking for it.
I’ve picked out a few great highlights:
- The answer to how the show might have continued past graduation: “I knew that we had to generally get the audience used to the idea that Greendale, the campus itself, was NOT NECESSARILY INSTRUMENTAL to the long term viability of the show”
- The Dungeons & Dragons episode was his favorite.
- On the news/rumor of Chevy Chase leaving the set over a disagreement: “He refused to do the “tag” for the Digital Estate Planning episode (the 8 bit video game episode).”
- A follow-up to that one: “The answer I heard from the people on set was that he didn’t think it was funny. After he realized how upset I was about it, he said things in voicemails like “there was no script” (untrue) and “I have a weird relationship with the name Cornelius” (dumb, he had no dialogue in the tag). The real answer, I believe, is that he wanted to go home because he was tired.”
- Gillian Jacobs’ nickname amongst the other actors: “stink.”
- That it’s unlikely he’ll come back to the show to help in any capacity.
- On being “forced” to cast Chevy Chase: “Sony made us. I’m not saying it was the wrong decision ultimately, but the honest answer to the question is that Pierce was literally the only role for which nobody else was considered after the actor we cast put his hat in the ring. Even McHale had to “test” against two other great guys. The short list of people I wanted to see about playing Pierce: Fred Willard, John Cleese, Patrick Stewart. …”
- The season three finale was written as a series send-off.
- Heat Vision and Jack: the cartoon? “there’s a possibility that we’re going to try it as an animated series, baby.”
- The storyline he never got to do: “The one that immediately leaps to mind is that I wanted Richard Ayoade (director of the Dinner with Andre episode) to return, this time on camera, as an oversea friend of Abed’s that he met in an Inspector Spacetime forum (or subreddit).”
There’s a LOT more, so head on over to the original reddit thread to see what else he had to say … and might still be adding as you read this.
Photo Credit: San Diego Comic-Con
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I don’t pretend to understand the minutiae of the feud, but since Cornelius Chase has gone by the nickname Chevy since age 2, according to his IMDb page, the casual assumption that any problem the actor may have with his given name or that of the adoptive grandfather for whom he was named is “dumb” seems disingenuous at best.
And that’s assuming the initial choice of the name was not an intentional needling of the actor.
I’m not sure anyone can really understand exactly what went on during the feud (although their relationship has apparently always been rough), but if I recall Pierce’s father has been named Cornelius since the 2nd season. We also met his father earlier in the 3rd season and the ending he walked out on was also the episode that had Pierce’s dad featured in it and Chevy didn’t walk off the episode itself. It just seems strange to me that he’d walk off because of that NOW, especially since I’ve heard from multiple cast members that Chevy was always wanting more stories about him and that ending scene was ALL about his character in a really cool way.
I don’t know, maybe he was offended but the last day of shooting for the whole season seems like a really odd day to take a stand about something like this.