“But the shifting ground between internet, mainstream and geek cultures has other ramifications beyond the cultural meaning of Dungeons and Dragons and Star Trek. There’s an interesting parallel between the two shows’ best characters, Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper and Community’s Abed Nadir, played excellently by Jim Parsons and Danny Pudi, respectively. Both men are geniuses, in different ways; both difficult to read; and both unwilling or unable to empathize with their friends. This affect — which Parsons and Pudi have both connected to Asperger’s syndrome — is played for laughs on both shows, but only in Community does it meaningfully affect the other characters, and only in Community does it lead to actual growth and change, not just on the part of Abed but on the part of his friends.â€
— Over at Gawker, Max Read examines why the internet loves Community so damn much while giving a relatively cold shoulder to the geek-centric (and waaaaay more popular) Big Bang Theory.