When "Community" began its third season about eighteen months ago, it unleashed a new internet meme upon the world, known as "Inspector Spacetime". A parody of the legendary British sci-fi series "Doctor Who", the tales of the time-traveling Inspector and his faithful sidekick Constable Reggie took a life of their own on the internet. Simply Google the name of the fake show, and you will get a massive assortment of fan fiction, posters, short films, and even a TV Tropes page made by fans of both "Community" and "Who".  It's become so popular that Karen Gillan, who just finished a two-year run as the beloved TARDIS companion Amy Pond on
"Doctor Who", said that she would love to appear on an Inspector-themed episode of "Community".

Well, such an episode has finally come, and there was no Gillan to be found. Instead, we got one of the weakest episodes "Community" has ever produced, with a boring plot that goes nowhere and almost no real laughs to be found.  

In this episode, "Conventions Of Space And Time," Troy and Abed head to their first ever "Inspector Spacetime" fan convention, known as InspectiCon, and they take Britta, Jeff, and Annie along with them. When they get there, Troy discovers that while he has been pursuing a more intimate relationship with Britta, Abed has made friends with a British fanboy named Toby, played by Matt Lucas. When Toby tries to pull Abed away, Troy finds himself conflicted between spending the day at the convention with Britta or trying to get back his best friend.

Donald Glover is the sole positive in this episode. He does a wonderful job showing the emotional turmoil Troy is experiencing, particularly when he goes into "freaky girlfriend" mode in the middle of a panel ("Toby and Abed in the Morning?!?") and when he yells at Britta to stop talking about Abed even when she didn't bring him up. Troy has come a long way from being the jerk jock in the show's pilot, and we get to see just how much damage would be done if the greatest friend he has ever had were taken away.

But aside from this, everything else is a mess. The convention itself has very few references to the Inspector OR the Doctor. Toby wears a sweater vest and Panama hat similar to that worn by Sylvester McCoy during his run as the Doctor, and Abed's speech about the Inspector's logical nature being complemented by his companions' emotional focus is a nod to the many times the Doctor's relationships with his companions have followed such a template. But everything else is just a collection of nerd cliches that lack the feel of an actual fan convention. They don't even explore the sci-fi genre the way fans would expect a "Community" episode would.  

In addition, the relationships that the episode is supposed to build on don't really go anywhere. Britta seems to jump from supporting Troy in his quest to get Abed back to being frustrated that Troy is letting Abed get in the way of their romance. Meanwhile, Jeff shows no desire in hanging out at the convention and wants to leave, but Annie wants to stay and enjoy having a real vacation for once. When Jeff shines her on, she creates a fantasy at the convention's hotel that she is Jeff's wife and orders room service for both of them. Allison Brie does  a good job with what she's given, but the writers don't seem to know how to address Annie's feelings towards Jeff. Is she still just in love with being in love, or does she have true feelings for Jeff? And does Jeff also have feelings for Annie or is he still keeping the relationship platonic at best? The romance subplots don't seem to have any sense of direction, which makes scenes centered around them bland and confusing.

There's even more problems in the supporting roles. This week, Pierce and Shirley are the ones left out of the plot. Jeff even says at the start of the episode that they weren't invited because the episode's premise involves a TV show out of their age range. So the two eldest members of the study group get herded into a focus session where they are asked for feedback on an Americanized version of "Inspector Spacetime". This entire C-Plot is designed for a punchline during the credits, when we see a ridiculous American version of the show that makes Abed whisper "I hate you" to Pierce. A funny punchline, but one that takes way too long to happen. The cameos from Matt Lucas and "Battlestar Galactica" alum Tricia Hefler are so forgettable they aren't worth dwelling on, and watching them just made me wish that Karen Gillan would arrive to save the day.

Between Troy and Britta's ridiculous scramble to hide their sex life from Abed at the start of the episode and the Americanized Inspector at the end, there are only a handful of truly funny moments in "Conventions Of Space And Time". It's a dull episode that wastes its premise and every one of its characters except Troy. This episode was supposed to be fan service, but just ended up being unsatisfying lip service.  

Next week will be an episode that will truly show if "Community" is just going through another dry spell like it did early on in previous seasons or if the magic is truly gone. The study group will return to Greendale to begin their final class together: a European history class taught by Malcolm McDowell. In addition, Chang will make his dreaded return to the school, and the group will have to decide if they believe his claims of "Changnesia". This is an important episode that will set the status quo for senior year, and if the writers can't get it right without Dan Harmon, then there's not a lot of reasons left for hope. 

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