No, Chevy Chase didn’t quit until near the end of filming for season 4. The article I read said they only had to film the last four or so episodes without him. Since they have been giving him a smaller role on the show anyway, it shouldn’t really affect it too much.

Apparently he quit because he didn’t like how racist Pierce was as a character and he felt that his role on the show was too pigeonholed. I did hear that his tirade when he finally had enough was loaded with racism as Chevy tried to yell about what made him angry about the show. I don’t think he was actually being racist while saying that stuff.

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/21/chevy-chase-leaving-community_n_2173969.html)

I imagine scenes of Abed’s imaginary world with a different Pierce might seem like a bit of s slap in the face to an actor.

Season 1 felt a little sitcomy to me and was just OK. Season 2 was when they started not to care about ratings and delivered the best episodes in history. I think season 3, they started to get a little too self aware about the show and some of the episodes were mediocre. I mean, we know Abed is weird and Jeff and Anne might get together. Move on already!

I think season 4 is step in a new and fresh direction. The premiere reflected on the Community of old and proceeded forward with vigor. I’m excited to where this all takes us.

Personally I felt it was an enjoyable episode but at the end of the day I think like most people I was just happy to have a new Community episode to watch regardless of its quality when compared to the other seasons.

There were some excellent moments with the dean saving the episode in a lot of places where it could have failed and he was instrumental in making sure that the Hunger Games plot didn’t fall flat on it’s face. I look forward to how his new apartment works out for Jeff and I feel it could be a new avenue that leads to some real comedy gold.

Jim Rash is also writing an episode this season and I am holding out hope it could be one of the real Community classics that the show is remembered by fans like the episodes you mentioned in your post. Changnesia sounds like another potentially awesome plot line.

There were some notable changes in production and I am interested to see if they are carried over for the rest of the season. While the script was fairly typical Community fair and the actors all performed as per usual, The lighting was noticeably different and brighter, the biggest change seems to be the faster cuts which I feel did the episode no favours especially when they were cramming 4-5 plot lines this episode, it all felt like just a little too much for the season opener. I feel if the Hunger Games plot had been kept and significantly improved on and they maybe just choose run one other side plot it would have really helped the episode.

While I liked Abed’s meta-metaness as always, it was weird to see him have a freakout especially since after the last season finale and several of the episodes before that relied on or used this device and it seems like he was over the worst of it in the season 3 finale but all of a sudden it’s like, “Nope weird Abed is being unhealthy weird again!”

Annie’s personality was completely off, she was being a dick to Jeff for helping his friends get into the class because he was doing it for selfish reasons but really she should have been nicer and appreciated that he was working really hard to help everyone.

Greendale babies generated no laughs from me and was an overproduced waste of time that could have been better used on other things. Maybe I just didn’t appreciate it but I felt it was the shows worst once-off format change.

There were welcome appearances from background characters like Leonard, Fat Niell and Annie Kim but Magnitude was notably absent.

Fred Willard as happy place Pierce was pretty funny, with Chevy definitely gone it would be crazy Abed levels of meta if they permanently replaced him with Willard who would fill the void of Pierce’s old guy humour. Also it would go full circle on the Abed being a Indian magic 8-ball plot line.

Overall I did enjoy the episode despite these criticisms but I wouldn’t be ready to judge season 4 based on the quality of this one episode. After the all the laughter was over when I took the time to consider what I had just watched, I think Pierce who overall had very few lines to say of which none were particularly funny best managed to sum up the episode with the line “What the hell just happened!”

I think that’s where it shines the most, in those types of episodes. When it’s just a regular “show” it doesn’t do much for me most of the time. But no, not EVERY super meta gimmick episode is good either.