I rarely talk about TV shows here, but I do want to talk about my favorite TV show ever which is Community. For those of you who don’t know what Community is, it’s a show about a community college and the hijinks the main characters get into. I first watched this show when I was in high school with the episode Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. That episode got me intrigued with the show and, not long after, I watched all five available seasons and the sixth as soon as it was available. After rewatching the entirety of the series again since the show is on Netflix now, I got to revisit some of my favorite episodes.
Today I’m going to countdown my top 10 favorite episodes and why. This is actually going to be a bit difficult considering I enjoy a lot of the episodes, but let’s get counting.
Quick Honorable Mention – Basic Intergluteal Numismatics; Season 5 Episode 3
Barely not making within the top 10 is this episode all about the Ass Crack Bandit. A person who slips a quarter down someone’s pants, specifically down their ass crack. The episode has this constant gray and darkened tone to it that’s similar to noir, mystery, and horror films. It’s an overall entertaining episode with an interesting twist. The episode is treated as an investigative detective episode which I always enjoy. This is also the episode that added on Pierce’s death, effectively writing out Chevy Chase. Though, when this occurs it’s a bit abrupt and does kind of stop the episode in its track.
10. App Development and Condiments; Season 5 Episode 8
A lot of the episodes I enjoy in Community are the ones that transform the campus into something new or different. These concepts make the show unique and just really fun to watch. The episode starts off relatively normal. Greendale is introduced to a social media app called Meowmeowbeenz. Things were all fun and games at first until the popularity contest really started to amp as the highest rated people, 5’s and 4’s, were able to take over the school as the higher rated you are the more power you have over other peoples’ ratings and even supplies at school. People are willing to do whatever it takes to get more positive ratings on the app, even the serious Hickey who fakes having his birthday be happening all the time just for a higher rating.
Within days Greendale becomes a dystopian society with the 5’s reigning over everyone else. There’s even a rebellion in the form of Jeff and Britta as Jeff worms his way into becoming a 5. This episode takes the tropes commonly seen in dystopian stories and makes it into something a lot more comedic and different.
I enjoy that this episode explores the manipulation that both Jeff and Shirley have shown throughout the entire series. Both of them like control, but have different manipulation tactics. Shirley is our usual passive-aggressive, feigning some of her niceness for some pity, to get her manipulative control as Jeff can be either the blunt manipulator or the scheming kind. They clash a lot this episode, but eventually reconcile.
I do have a slight criticism for this episode though. In episodes of the past, we see Jeff and Shirley get along due to their similarities and they even hang out with each other. The fact that Jeff and Shirley are at such conflicts that deviate away from their growth together as friends is really strange to me. Hell, they even went to the carnival together so the fact that they’d still be so conflicted with each other is really strange to me.
9. Basic Lupine Urology; Season 3 Episode 17
This Law & Order inspired episode was a huge surprise for me when I first watched it as I actually did enjoy Law & Order. The study group is trying to discover who killed their yam, their science project. The focus is on Abed and Troy as they go around the campus trying to interrogate and investigate. The other members of the study group play slightly minor roles to help aid in the investigation; especially Britta learning how to change the color of a photo. The investigative and mystery feel of this episode really adds onto my enjoyment of it as it genuinely felt like a Law & Order episode that correctly fit into the theme of Community. The episode shifts focal points to Jeff and Annie as they’re the ones that represent the court part of Law & Order. The fact that the courtroom is the biology classroom is hilarious to me. The study group suspected Star Burns, then transitioned their focus to Todd. Poor Todd. There is a twist ending like there typically is in Law & Order which really adds the cherry on top of this episode.
8. Wedding Videography; Season 6 Episode 12
Season 6 was a strange finale season for the series, but there are several good episodes from it. Wedding Videography is a great episode as it hilariously calls out the main cast for being focal points and center of attention. Most of the episode plays out like a documentary crossed with a typical wedding video. The Save Greendale Committee arrives super late to Garret’s wedding which is the initial reason why the group was berated for being the center of attention. The episode highlights the group getting along with the minor characters and gathering information. When the entirety of the wedding finds out that Garret and his soon-to-be wife, Stacy, are actually first cousins it throws the wedding off.
What I really enjoy about this episode is just how kind of chill it was. There wasn’t a huge overarching conflict until finding out about the incestuous relationship. We get the first half of the episode with the group just hanging out and having fun.
7. Remedial Chaos Theory; Season 3 Episode 4
This is an episode that many people enjoy and consider to be the best episode. Though it’s not my top pick, it is definitely an episode that I love to watch. As someone who enjoys the split timeline debate and just enjoys thinking about parallel universes and different timelines, this episode really speaks out to me. The Darkest Timeline thing originated here and plays out throughout the entirety of the series.
The timeline in which Jeff rolls a 1 becomes a recurring thing throughout the entirety of the series, often cited as the Darkest Timeline. I honestly love the clip at the end of the episode in which they show what happened in the aftermath of Jeff rolling a 1. Something I would’ve liked is to see a bit more of the other timelines as well and what happens afterward. Like the timeline in which Jeff rolls a 6, what happens with the study group? Since they’re all upset with each other except for Abed, I would love to know what happens to them.
Overall, this episode is just a lot of fun with the possibility of different timelines and what happens in each of them. I also enjoy that Abed caught onto what Jeff was doing and basically created the canon and true timeline that we all love and know.
6. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons; Season 2 Episode 14
The very first episode of Community I ever watched is one that I thoroughly still enjoy watching now, especially now that I’m more into D&D than I was back then. This episode features Fat Neil that the study group is worried about and wants to cheer him up. So the study group plus Chang devises a plan to play D&D with Neil and make him feel like a hero and a winner. This plan, of course, gets thwarted by a jealous Pierce and the study group’s goals become one of stopping Pierce who stole Neil’s sword and has tamed the original BBEG Draconis.
This episode is incredible because of how it’s presented. The very beginning is like the start of a D&D campaign or some fantasy novel. It’s very fun to listen to and you definitely get a good idea of who each character of the show is like even if you haven’t watched the show before. The soundscape and the camera work of the episode is so good because even though the setting takes place at the usual Study Room F’s table, they really played up the fantasy music to make it really seem like a fantasy show. The narrator also helps out with the fantasy feel as well.
There’s also so many great moments in this episode such as Annie playing Hector, the Well-Endowed, narrating her sex scene with the elf maiden to get a flock of pegasi with every one else’s reaction to the scene being absolutely priceless. Britta talking to the gnome is also another great moment as well. I love that you can tell that everyone in the group is getting really into the game with how invested they become.
A wonderful thing about this episode is how it actually presents D&D as a safe space and a way for people to bond and find enjoyment. The fact that the group is willing to learn and play D&D for a background character who is depressed is so wonderful and something that I wish to do in real life. This shows, although a bit glorified, that D&D can be used therapeutically. Neil, by the end, is happier and is excited to play more D&D with Pierce, specifically.
5. Geothermal Escapism; Season 5 Episode 5
This is the send off episode of Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino and this is a really fun episode with a lot of great and heartfelt moments. Troy was gifted all of Pierce’s inheritance, but must travel the world on a boat in order to get it. Troy agrees to do it which puts Abed into a spiraling case of sadness. However, Abed’s send off becomes a school-wide game of Hot Lava with the incentive of a comic book worth $50,000.
Greendale becomes a seemingly post-apocalyptic battlezone for the comic book as societies and alliances have been forged and created. The episode focuses more on Britta, Abed, and Troy as Britta is trying to get Abed to confront his fears while Troy and Abed are mostly having a fun time. However, Abed is harboring the sadness of his best friend leaving which sets up the final moments of the episode to be really heartfelt and great. This episode actually showcases an amazing Abed moment as he acknowledges his sadness and conveys his emotions which is something that Abed doesn’t typically do.
I enjoy a lot of the episodes when the entirety of the campus with the background characters are involved. This episode’s post-apocalyptic feel is just so great that it’s hard to not get invested. I also have to give this episode a lot of credit to Britta as she is interestingly the most grounded character throughout this episode. She’s baffled by the fact that there are made up terminology and Gods and it’s so fun to see just how much of a hellscape Greendale became.
4. A Fist Full of Paintballs; Season 2 Episode 23
Community and paintball episodes are almost synonymous with the fans now. The series has a plethora of paintball episodes, typically towards the end of a season. I had to have one of the paintball episodes as a favorite, so what makes this one stand out to me? Part of it is the western theme. The first season had a rambo-ish, war kind of theme. Season 6 has a spy theme. The gas-leak year had a sci-fi theme going on. The western theme, in my opinion, fits the best and evolves into a Star Wars theme in the following episode.
I enjoy the characters a lot in this episode, especially Annie. Something I haven’t mentioned at all during the entirety of this list is that Annie is my favorite character of the show. This episode introduces a more critical and grown up Annie especially in the way she talks to Pierce. If anything, this episode highlights Annie more than any other character considering she is part of the intro. She has a lot of fantastic moments and interactions.
The overall episode is great and presents this game of paintball in a way that’s way bigger than it actually is. There is a twist, or a couple actually, that makes this episode incredibly fun to watch and you just want to watch the following episode.
3. Pillows and Blankets; Season 3 Episode 14
As a child in elementary school, one of the best things that could happen is when the teacher comes in wheeling a TV because everyone knows that means we’re watching a video. Sure, most of these videos were educational videos, but they were good. For history, we would watch some documentaries about the Civil War and that nostalgia is why I love this episode. Pillows and Blankets is a war documentary of a campus-wide pillow fight. This episode was built up by the one preceding it as Troy and Abed were creating a giant pillow fort. However, the Dean got word that the Guinness World Record people want to come to see if the best friend pair can build the biggest fort. Troy wants to go for the record, but Abed doesn’t want to sacrifice quality for quantity and so a rift was created.
The majority of the episode is narrated in the war documentary format with random photos and quotes spread throughout. There’s even a scene of “healing” the injured that Annie is primarily in charge of and it’s really good. The fact that they were able to translate a war into a pillow fight is amazing. There’s even the tactical view of maps that shows war zones and the arrows of how the forces are fighting against each other.
This episode primarily is about Abed and Troy’s friendship and how shaky it can be due to their different ideals. Though we get even more serious ones later on in the series, this is the beginning of it that spurs the character growth the two go through.
2. Digital Estate Planning; Season 3 Episode 20
This episode is so fun. As a fan of video games, this episode really speaks out to me. This episode predominantly is about Pierce as he and the study group play through a video game so Pierce can get his inheritance. At first, there really isn’t any sort of conflict other than playing the game itself. It’s not until Gilbert, the pretty much butler of the Hawthorne estate, enters the playing field because it’s revealed he is actually Pierce’s half-brother.
Most of the episode takes place in the game and we’re treated with adorable sprites of the 8-bit era. The fact that the majority of the episode is with these video game sprites and aesthetics is amazing. The amount of work and detail in this episode is greatly appreciated. What’s super fun about this episode, aside from the obvious video game aesthetic is how the characters interact with each other within this world. Jeff says to Britta at one point, “Stop playing like a woman.” To which Britta “plays like a woman” and straightens a painting that unlocks a secret door. Early on in the episode, Troy’s character sprite is constantly jumping just because why not? Annie and Shirley have an amazing moment in the blacksmith’s shop. It’s these scenes and little nuances that make this episode really fun to listen to and watch.
This episode does offer Pierce a bit of character growth. Instead of acting like he typically would, he lets Gilbert inherit the Hawthorne estate as Gilbert knows more about the company and is a massively better fit. I’m not a huge fan of Pierce’s character in general, but this was a good episode for him that I acknowledge.
1. Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons; Season 5 Episode 10
What tops this D&D episode over the older one? For me, a lot. While this D&D episode doesn’t have the flair of the narration like the previous D&D episode, it’s the actual adventure and what happens throughout the episode that really makes this episode stand out to me. The Save Greendale Committee devises a plan to play D&D so Hickey can get closer to his estranged son, Hank. There’s a lot of reluctance in Hickey at first, but you can tell he definitely gets invested later on. The D&D group is so hilariously dynamic and just so incredibly fun to watch. Dean Pelton is a great addition in this episode for how dedicated he is to the roleplay.
The episode has Hank essentially being “that player” at the beginning as he doesn’t really want to cooperate as he knows that the group only devised this campaign to get him to connect with his father. This causes a divide within the group immediately as Hank not only damages Annie’s character, Hector, but dividing the group down the raging river which ultimately has the group physically divide into different rooms. We have Hank, Chang, Britta, and Dean Pelton in one group and Jeff, Annie, Hickey, and Shirley for the other. The campaign becomes a race to see who can kill the evil necromancer first. From here the episode jumps between the two groups. This is when Hickey starts to really get into the game as at first he doesn’t take the game seriously until Shirley’s character, Crouton, dies saving Hickey’s character. After this, Hickey takes the game way more seriously even diving into the roleplay of interrogating goblins. Hickey’s group is actually a lot more aggressive and fight enemies way more than Hank’s group.
Jumping to the other group, everyone is starting to understand Hank’s position and opposition of his father more and are unifying under him. There’s a more passive nature to how Hank’s group is going about the campaign, as they’re communicating to enemies more than Hickey’s. Again, Dean Pelton is the highlight of the group as there’s a whole monologue he goes on in attempts to reunite with his character’s father that’s being played by Jeff, of course. While Hank’s group doesn’t have as many moments or fights as Hickey’s it does show how differently dynamic the groups are. Hickey’s group takes a more direct and aggressive approach with intimidation to get what they want. Hank’s group is passive and using the communicative abilities to get what they want. It’s an interesting comparison.
The climax of the episode is when both groups arrive at the necromancer’s towers at the same time. The groups fight each other in a bloodbath of a duel with so many things happening at once, making me jealous of Abed’s ability as a DM. Again, the Dean is hilarious and amazing as he really wants to hug Jeff, but gets impaled by Jeff’s sword. There is one strange moment during the collage of a conflict that still throws me off to this day and it cuts to Hank for a moment who sounds a bit confused when he says, “Plus three, Demonic…Eye Look.” Another reason why this throws me off is that Hank is the person, other than Abed, that knows D&D better than everyone else and yet everyone else is just so much more confident in presenting their action. This is just a me thing, but with everyone else saying what they want to do in such quick succession without any sort of hesitation in their voices, having Hank sound hesitant throws off the scene a little bit. Everyone, but Hank and Hickey’s characters die by the end of this bloodbath that was beautifully cut together in a montage-like fashion.
The episode ends with Hickey and Hank’s characters teaming up trying to find the necromancer that they were supposed to kill. Due to the father and son arguing and fighting with each other, the necromancer was able to get away so they stay to find the necromancer’s whereabouts. Meanwhile the group, except Abed, sneak out and leave the father and son to the remainder of the adventure. This adds onto the previous D&D episode in how D&D can be used to bond people together against a common evil.
I dived more into this episode because I enjoy it so much. The divisive conflict is interesting and I just really enjoy seeing how the PvP worked out in this episode. Of course, something like this wouldn’t happen in actual D&D, unless carefully devised and gone over with the group, but it’s just cool to see it play out this way. This episode hits a lot of highs for me and I just really enjoy watching this episode. The simplicity of the setting, being in Abed’s and Annie’s apartment and is similar to the previous D&D episode.
There you have it, my top 10 favorite Community episodes. Please let me know what your favorite episodes are because I’m sure I probably enjoy them also. Please, feel free to enjoy these pictures of Annie Edison, or you know just Alison Brie.
Your Fellow Geek 