When it first aired on NBC in 2009, mainstream audiences didn’t know what to make of Dan Harmon’s meta-aware college comedy, Community. A genre-bending absurdist series oriented around the life of a less-than-glamorous community college, Community‘s ratings fluctuated throughout its six-season-long run, leading to its abrupt cancellation after five seasons before its miraculous resurrection as a Yahoo-exclusive streaming series.
While the series never achieved the widespread popularity of The Office or Parks and Recreation, Community has since obtained a favorable cult reputation among more contemporary audiences. A show well ahead of its time, the best Community episodes’ use of unique humor and inventive deconstruction of traditional film and television genres made for a TV series unlike any audiences had ever seen.
1. “Modern Warfare”
The most popular Community episodes involve their trademark paintball wars–a campus-wide contest that plunges the entire school into Battle Royale levels of chaos.
Though better paintball episodes might have come later, season one’s “Modern Warfare” set the standard for all paintball-themed Community misadventures, as well as serving as the show’s first significant foray into a pre-existing cinematic genre (something that became a recurring trope with future seasons of the show).
2. “Remedial Chaos Theory”
Perhaps the single most well-known Community episode, “Remedial Chaos Theory” offers the same fundamental story over and over again, framed around potential “what-if” branching realities.
With most scenarios spiraling into over-the-top nightmarish situations, “Remedial Chaos Theory” highlights the personal flaws of every main character–as well as their most obvious personality strengths.
3. “Paradigms of Human Memory”
An unfortunate trend of most sitcoms has to do with its formulaic “clip show”–an episode that relies on footage collected and assembled from prior episodes. In true Community fashion, “Paradigms of Human Memory” subverts this common television practice, weaving in a number of smaller segments from unseen Community adventures.
The only complaint a viewer can have about this episode involves the fact that they’ll never see other Community episodes featuring a haunted house, a shark hunt, a drug cartel, or free Caesar salads.
4. “A Fistful of Paintballs”/”For a Few Paintballs More”
The epic finale to season two delivered Community‘s most large-scale paintball war yet. Divided into two episodes, Harmon and team went from parodying the stereotypical Western genre to an out-and-out rip-off of Star Wars (right down to Abed channeling his inner Han Solo).
A fantastic two-part story, it also offers a stirring exploration of Pierce’s role in the study group, as well as his complicated relationship to each of his closest friends.
5. “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”
Though streaming platforms have since removed it from online libraries, “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” remains one of the best Community episodes of all time. As the name suggests, the episode acts almost as a bottle episode, detailing the study group’s first attempt at a game of Dungeons & Dragons.
Propelled by Chevy Chase’s fantastic performance and some evocative messages about bullying and depression, the episode stands tall as one of the funniest, most emotional Community episodes ever made.
6. “Cooperative Calligraphy”
Like the aforementioned “clip show” cliche, most well-known TV shows draw on the idea of a “bottle episode,” trapping their main characters in a limited set location.
As with “Paradigms of Human Memory,” “Cooperative Calligraphy” finds a way to mock this television convention–something Abed takes special delight in pointing out. Looking back at it today, most viewers will have a hard time finding a better early episode of Community than “Cooperative Calligraphy,” the entirety of which hinges on a single missing pen.
7. “Pillows and Blankets”
Only a show like Community can reinvigorate the documentary format. Evoking the narration and basic tone of a Ken Burns miniseries, “Pillows and Blankets” acts almost as the Community equivalent to Captain America: Civil War, dividing the study group in two factions and pitting them against one another.
Testing the limits of Troy and Abed’s friendship–all the while depicting an epic and fluffy pillow war–”Pillows and Blankets” ranks as one of Community‘s most original episodes.
8. “Epidemiology”
While each of Community‘s Halloween episodes remains worth seeing, few episodes involve as frightening a premise as “Epidemiology.” A taut blend between horror and comedy, the episode’s straightforward take on a George Romero-esque zombie flick heads towards some dark places.
Despite its close adherence to the horror genre, the episode also shines a light on Abed and Troy’s one-of-a-kind dynamic, emphasizing the unique traits that characterize their lasting friendship in Community.
9. “Cooperative Polygraphy”
The third entry in a loose-knit trilogy that began with “Cooperative Calligraphy” and “Paradigms of Human Memory,” “Cooperative Polygraphy” has the study group reveal their deepest, darkest secrets.
A fitting farewell to the unseen Pierce Hawthorne, the episode also sets up the imminent departure of Donald Glover from the show–laying the groundwork for the similarly fantastic “Geothermal Escapism.”
10. “Basic Intergluteal Numismatics”
One of the more niche Community episodes, “Basic Intergluteal Numismatics” channels the psychological thrillers of David Fincher, including endless nods to Seven and Zodiac.
Taking a clever murder mystery premise and stretching to its fullest, “Basic Intergluteal Numismatics” delivers a boundless parade of nonstop jokes from start to finish, each line of dialogue even more quotable than the last.
11. “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”
Like their themed episodes meant to coincide with Halloween, Community also has a number of worthwhile Christmas episodes, none more so than season two’s “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.”
Presenting its narrative events in the style of a Rankin/Bass stop-motion special, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” meditates on the warmth and love associated with close friendships around the holidays–a message most viewers will find endearing.
12. “Basic Lupine Urology”
Though Community had toyed with the police procedural genre before, “Basic Lupine Urology” saw the series embrace the genre to its absolute fullest.
Adopting the basic structure of a vintage Law & Order episode, “Basic Lupine Urology” serves as a wonderful illustration of Community‘s ability to take on the guise of any and every TV or cinematic archetype it attempted to recreate.
13. “Regional Holiday Music”
Dan Harmon has always made his disdain for Glee very clear in Community, with the most heated attack on the show coming with season three’s “Regional Holiday Music.”
Lampooning the nonsensical musical numbers of Fox’s popular series, “Regional Holiday Music” offers one of the funniest–and darkest–Christmas specials in the entirety of Community (something best personified by Taran Killam’s sinister music professor, Mr. Rad).
14. “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television”
The series finale for the show, “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” served as a bittersweet goodbye to Dan Harmon’s flagship show.
A heartfelt letter of thanks to every fan who stuck by their side since 2009, the series’ send-off for each of its lead characters provides plenty in the way of emotion, with everyone receiving some kind of pitch-perfect epilogue.
15. “Geothermal Escapism”
The closest season five ever got to a paintball episode, “Geothermal Escapism” drew on the campier presentation of the post-apocalyptic genre, looking to films like Mad Max and Waterworld for inspiration.
Though an impressive caricature of a specific genre, the episode’s crowning achievement involves Troy’s formal departure from Greendale, as well his emotional goodbyes to each of his best friends. (His final scene with Abed will leave viewers weeping.)
16. “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps”
While every Community Halloween episode has a tough time measuring up to season two’s “Epidemiology,” season three’s “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” comes very close to overshadowing the aforementioned episode. In customary Community fashion, “Horror Fiction” bounces between various succinct horror genres, ranging from slashers and urban folk stories to cliched vampire melodramas.
While it lacks the same cathartic conclusions as other Community episodes, at the very least, it also reveals which of the study groups has the most intact sanity–in a shocking twist, the answer might surprise most viewers.
17. “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking”
One of the best Pierce-oriented Community episodes, “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking” also finds the Hawthorne Toilettes entrepreneur at his absolute worst.
Manipulating his study group’s emotions out of revenge for their hostile treatment of him, the episode also relies on the numerous mockumentary conventions of Community‘s rival NBC series, such as The Office and Parks and Recreation.
18. “Mixology Certification”
A recurring theme prevalent throughout Community has to do with the inevitability of aging, a topic that forms the backbone of season two’s “Mixology Certification.” As the study group tries to celebrate Troy’s 21st birthday, their attempts to rein in the festivities end in predictable anarchy.
Though chock full of hilarious sequences, the episode excels at its non-glamorized look at birthdays and the general misconceptions surrounding maturity.
19. “App Development and Condiments”
As with a select number of Community episodes, “App Development and Condiments” takes aim at a very niche genre, satirizing ’70s-era dystopian thrillers like Logan’s Run or Soylent Green.
Yet, as expected, the finished episode never fails to elicit consistent laughter, the entire story hinging on a clever condemnation of superficial social media popularity.
20. “Critical Film Studies”
With “Critical Film Studies,” audiences have the benefit of seeing two Community parodies in one.
Offering satirical takes on the minimalist drama My Dinner with Andre and the dark crime comedy Pulp Fiction, “Critical Film Studies” catches viewers off-guard with its more poignant moments, as evidenced by Abed and Jeff’s candid dinner conversation.
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