Community returns for season 6 soon, but which 10 episodes are streets ahead?
Being a Community fan has never been easy. ‘Human beings’ have lived through the firing (and re-hiring) of creator Dan Harmon, the departures of Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), and Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), as well as the actual cancellation of the show.
But fear not! An asteroid didn’t hit earth and wipe out all of humanity, and Community will be back on our screens next month. Sure, it will be our laptop screens rather than our television screens, but who cares? We’re one step closer to fulfilling the promised #sixseasonsandamovie.
To celebrate, we’ve picked a list of our 10 favorite Community episodes so far. We can’t DEAN-NY it’s been difficult, and we’re sure there are a few entries that you’d Chang. Be sure to let us know which of your favorites didn’t make the cut. So, where shall we start? The question isn’t where, but when.
And the answer is now.
10. ‘Cooperative Calligraphy’ season 2, episode 8
Lots of people love Community because it’s so meta and self-aware. Season 2’s “Cooperative Calligraphy” is one of the best examples of just how self-aware the show can be, with Abed making his disdain for “bottle episodes” known as the group lock themselves in the study room in order to find Annie’s pen. As always with Community, things escalate quickly and it isn’t long before they’ve all been stripped to their underwear and searched. There’s plenty of wit and zany humor, but also a lot of heart to this episode. Plus, Annie’s Boobs (the monkey).
9. ‘Contemporary American Poultry’ season 1, episode 21
One of the first high concept episodes of the show (an approach that later became the template for subsequent seasons) sees the study group take off The Godfather and Goodfellas when they gain control over Greendale’s massively popular chicken finger stock. Featuring all of the classic tropes you expect from a gangster film, “Contemporary American Poultry” sees the group blackmailing and bribing their way to the top of the literal food chain, before in-fighting tears them right back down to the bottom.
8. ‘Modern Warfare’ season 1, episode 23
An undisputed classic, “Modern Warfare” spawned a two-part sequel in season 2 and solidified Community‘s place in the pop culture psyche. When Dean Pelton decides to give priority registration to the winner of a paint ball contest, Greendale breaks out into pandemonium as the study group has to take on the Glee Club, post-modern disco skaters, and even each other to secure a streamlined timetable.
7. ‘Digital Estate Planning’ season 3, episode 20
Set almost entirely in a retro, pixel-tastic video game, “Digital Estate Planning” sees Pierce and the gang face off against half-brother Gilbert in order to inherit the Hawthorne estate. With murderous hippies, hilarious social satire, and Hilda’s (who lives in the village) beautiful romance with Abed, this unique adventure has plenty of feel-good fare. It may not necessarily be the most popular episode on this list, but it features a little bit of everything that makes Community so great.
6. ‘Studies in Modern Movement’ season 3, episode 7
It’s the social media event the world has been waiting for — #AnniesMove! Troy and Abed live tweet proceedings as the study group help Annie move into their dorm room. Things don’t go as smoothly as everyone hopes though; as Annie’s relocation opens a rift in her friendship with Troy and Abed, Pierce gets high on paint fumes, and Jeff and the Dean perform one of the most beautiful duets television has ever seen.
On page 2: The top 5 ‘Community’ episodes (so far!)
Page 2: Top 10 ‘Community’ episodes (so far!)
5. ‘Epidemiology’ season 2, episode 6
Zombies are one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons in recent times, and it was never going to take very long for Community to put their own unique spin on the genre. Set to an ABBA soundtrack (with the occasional dictated shopping list), “Epidemiology” sees Greendale’s Halloween dance turn into a nightmare when the Dean’s discount party food turns everyone into a zombie. With a lot of pop culture references even by the show’s standards, this Halloween special brings all the campy fun you could wish for.
4. ‘Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design’ season 2, episode 9
“Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design” is the sort of episode that only a show like Community could get away with. When the Dean suspects that Jeff is faking a conspiracy class to get an easy credit, the duo and Annie go out in pursuit of Professor Professorson to solve the mystery. After the characters cross, double cross, triple cross and even quadruple cross each other, we’re left with a bit of a stress headache. But we like it.
3. ‘Advanced Dungeons and Dragons’ season 2, episode 14
Like “Modern Warfare,” “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” tells the touching story of “Fat Neil.” When the study group discover Neil is considering suicide, they organize a game of Dungeons and Dragons to cheer him up. However, when they don’t invite Pierce, he makes it his mission to spoil their plans and ruin the game. Every character hits the right notes here, from Chang’s ridiculous costume to Britta’s over-sympathising with fictional characters. This episode is a testament to Community’s limitless storytelling capabilities.
2. ‘Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas’ season 2, episode 7
As the show goes on, Abed’s sanity is questioned multiple times in Community — but back in season 2, the notion of exploring his psychology was still a novel one. And what better way to show how delusional he can sometimes be than by having him create a claymation Christmas land? With memorable music (Sad Quick Christmas song), cutting character break downs (“Brittabot, programmed badly…”), spectacular animation and clever storytelling, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” is easily the best Christmas special yet.
1. ‘Remedial Chaos Theory’ season 3, episode 3
“Remedial Chaos Theory” isn’t just the most clever episode of Community, it’s one of the most clever episodes of any comedy show. Ever. At Troy and Abed’s house warming party, the study group decide to roll a die to decide who should collect the pizza. As Abed tells us (seven times), this creates many different timelines of the evening. The episode is written, directed, and performed with such confidence and wit that a format which could have easily been boring and repetitive just got better as it went on. The way each of the character’s storylines interacted and clashed in the various timelines is genius — and any episode that spawns a darkest timeline consisting of felt goatees deserves the top spot on just about any list. Except in the darkest timeline, where it’s bottom.