Well. Although I planned to keep up the tradition of posting every Tuesday for as long as I can remember to, I am bringing you a post intended my post a few weeks late, but I will be treating you to one post a day for the rest of the week. This is my third post about a sitcom. On today’s agenda: the best sitcom I think I have ever lived completely through – Community. I loved Community and I still do love it to this day. I am going to rank my version of the best episodes. Bare in mind, I really am a different person, and I would like to say to those Community fans reading this that there may be some eyebrow-raising answers to this list. But, it is my personal preference, and I was quite young when I watched this show, so episodes that made an impact to me at the age are the ones I remember and love.
Also, ranking these episodes have to have been the hardest thing I have ever done at the blog, so I think it is fair to imagine, there are just the tiniest amount of difference between each rank. I am not kidding when I say, I changed the pretty much every episode about five times – expect for the top three. That I was certain of. It was so hard, that there were so many episodes that I remembered I had to increase the amount of listed from five to eighteen. So, without further ado; lets begin.
17] ‘APP DEVELOPMENT AND CONDIMENTS’ – (SEASON 5, EPISODE 8)
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When a new beta app enters Greendale that rates each pupil on a scale from 1 to 5, and soon enough the campus becomes a dystopian wasteland. Jeff – refusing to take part alongside Britta; find themselves as outcasts, Jeff takes the initiative and battles his way back to be at the top of the food chain and restore Greendale to some sanity by downloading the “MeowMeowBeenz”. He rises through the ranks quickly but cannot break into a 5, so he must convince the “5’s” to promote him he can finally shut this app down. As he does so. true feelings between the group are exposed and it leads to a messy ending.
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The inclusion of this may seem odd to some, after all this is supposed to be a best of the best Community list, but the reason it is on the list is because of the impact it had when it came. Season 5 changed a lot for Community, Donald Glover (Troy) left. Pierce quit (?), and this was the first episode that really hit the nail on the head after the changes the show had made and gave me some hope of where this show could go moving forward and how they would still be themselves. Plus, I would say this is when I really came to love Jonathan Banks (Hickey). The actual episode itself was fantastic too, the way Jeff rose through all the ranks, and the great showdown between Shirley and Jeff that (although the entire app premise felt as if it wouldn’t be remembered the next episode) repaired a seemingly broken relationship.
16] ‘DIGITAL ESTATE PLANNING’ – (SEASON 3, EPISODE 20).
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Pierce Hawthrone’s invites his seven closet friends (as well as Troy’s idol – LeVar Burton) to play a video game for his deceased father’s will. Pierce’s father (Cornelius) has created a game over the last thirty years due to Pierce asking for it as a child. It is left to Cornelius’s assistant to deliver the news that Pierce will be playing for his father’s will. The game is an 8-bit video game and the entire episodes features many references to other games. Pierce must win in order to get the inheritance but little do they know that there is someone there that wants them to lose.
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I don’t think that this episode is particularly great. But, it is probably the most creative and inventive. It is a love letter to the game genre and it gives many, many references that you can pick up on. Furthermore, it gives character development to Pierce – someone who never really got any and as we see him bond with his newly-found brother it adds so much depth to his character similar to pretty much any serious scene between Pierce and Jeff adds character development to Jeff. Furthermore, it isn’t only Pierce who gets character development but Troy also manages to have a good arc with his idol. Ultimately, this episode is fun and different. What other show; hell – sitcom do you know that could pull of an episode like this?
15] ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND INTERIOR DESIGN’ – (SEASON 2, EPISODE 9).
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The Dean and Annie are both very sceptical of Jeff after he takes an independent study course on “Conspiracy Theories” with a certain professor named “Professor Profferssorson”. After, they confront Jeff with their suspicions, Jeff takes them to a supply closet to prove the professor exists, and sure enough; as they arrive someone claiming to be “Professor Profferssorson” appears. Only, Jeff did make it up, leading to countless plot twists and conspiracies that end up with four shootings and the end of Troy and Abed’s fort operation.
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The genre mimic that follow so many other genres Community has established so well in doing. This time, they take a political thriller and a conspiracy genre and absolutely smash it out of the park. With the writing keeping each of the three characters intriguing and the Blanket situation allowing these three characters to steal the show as they run around campus trying to trick each other. All of which leads to three individual plot twists that are at the hands of four gunshots. Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design manages to keep you on the edge of your seat and do comedy differently by having a different genre as the main focus of the episode.
14] ‘CURRICULUM UNAVAILABLE’ – (SEASON 3, EPISODE 19)
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Two months after being expelled from Greendale, the group take Abed to therapy after he hasn’t exactly seemed himself; or maybe because he has seemed too much like himself. Once in therapy, Abed keeps saying that the Dean has been replaced by a doppelganger and there was a larger ploy at hand, and getting rid of the study group was the first step of it. After a meeting with the psychiatrist Dr. Heidi, he says he has heard enough to say that Abed should be institutionalised and in order for the group to move forward they should forget all about Greendale.
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Whilst this episode is great, it really is hindered by the larger plot it has to fufill., because it is part of a larger arc, it isn’t really able to be self-contained, something pretty much every other great Community episode on this list is able to do. This episode has to be remembered as one of the greatest because of it was able to have all the group in one room and hit us with some great new scenes with the group that we haven’t seen in a long time. However, this episode is very similar to another episode that is coming up later in this list, and whilst I definitely wanted to put this episode in this list, I don’t think I can put it any higher than fourteenth. Whilst I am on it, what you are going to realise; as this list goes on, is that for most of these episodes I believe the original episode or the first episode that had the same idea is better and as a result I tend to put the copies lower in the list.
13] ‘INTERMEDIATE DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING’ (SEASON 2, EPISODE 16) / ‘DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING: REDUX’ (SEASON 3, EPISODE 8)
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Two very similar episodes, that both revolve around Abed deciding to shoot a documentary. In the first episode, sick of being disrespected by the group, Pierce pretends to be dying so that he can teach the group a lesson, and Abed shoots a documentary to “tell a more complex story” of Pierce’s life. Pierce gives a series of cryptic gifts to the group to teach them all lessons. And, in the second episode, Abed shoots a documentary after the Dean has to make an updated Greendale advert to capture all the craziness he knew it would create.
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I know it is very ironic that I literally mentioned in the description for the episode before that I always prefer the original and then I go onto put two very similar episodes together. But, I just felt that I had to put these two together, just because they were literally so similar and I don’t think the story makes the episode but instead it is the documentary aspect that make both these episodes great.. Only, Troy meeting LeVar. But, the reason I have put this episodes in the list is because I loved how they made them and I loved the documentary idea. Community executes it perfectly and Joe Russo directs well. The first is incredible, especially the scene that cuts away and Pierce tells the camera he is faking it all. And the second episode really does do it justice with Jeff playing the Dean and seeing the craziness un-ravel.
12] ‘A FISTFUL OF PAINTBALLS’ – (SEASON 2, EPISODE 23) & ‘MODERN ESPIONAGE’ – (SEASON 6, EPISODE 11) & MANY, MANY MORE PAINTBALLING EPISODES.
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I have rolled all of the paint-balling episodes (bar the first one) into twelve place so that I didn’t have to make a list that ended up being in the 20’s. So, in short – the synopsis of these episodes is basically it has something to do with paintball.
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There are many, many paint balling episodes so I have pretty much put them all into this space apart from the first episode. And, yes – whilst some are amazing like the final paint-balling episode in season 6 and the season 2 finales. They just never really replicated the magic the first season had. The season 2 finale is arguably the best of the bunch because it allows us to see the group as individuals as they fight over Pierce. And, just like the argument before hand, it is one of the few episodes that does Pierce justice and allows us to see more of his character and into his mindset. I also think it would go amiss if I didn’t mention the great job that Modern Espionage did, because they were in season 6 and you could tell the show has changed. They didn’t attempt to replicate the magic of earlier seasons but instead took a different approach that everyone has to grow up and grow out of it and that really struck a chord with me.
11] ‘ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS’ (SEASON 2, EPISODE 14)
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In order to raise the spirits of Fat Neil, after Jeff had noticed how depressed he was over the last couple of days, Jeff takes an interest in Neil’s favourite game ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ to cheer him up. But, things go from bad to worse and Jeff fears Neil is contemplating suicide after he gives all his gaming material away, this leads to Jeff convincing the whole group to play Dungeons & Dragons to show Neil they are there. Whilst, Chang manages to squeeze his way into the game, Jeff stops Pierce playing because he knows he is too insensitive, Pierce being Pierce takes this as an excuse that they are going to start a new study group without him.
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I just want to say by starting, yes – I know this episode feels like it should be higher, but I was hundred percent being bias (as I will explain in the next one), and putting a couple of episodes that meant more to me above it, but ‘AD&D’ is definitely one of the best episodes the show has made, but not necessarily one of my favourites. This episode for me, felt like the first pure love letter to its fans, they put so much love into the episode and it completely pays off, and it manages to approach a very serious issue of suicide in the right way. Being relatively young, I had no idea what Dungeons and Dragons was and Community was perfect in introducing it to me. As I said, this episode is perfect because it is the first that is full of emotion and manages to show us a different side of Jeff and the group through their attempt to help Fat Neil, giving not only the main group some great character development but also giving a supporting character some love as well. I also think it would be a tragedy if I didn’t mention how amazing Abed is in this episode.
10] ‘COOPERATIVE CALLIGRAPHY’ (SEASON 2, EPISODE 8)
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All hell breaks loose after Annie’s pen goes missing forcing the entire study group to cancel their plans for the night and spend it – instead they end up searching for the pen in the study area, something Abed claims is similar to a bottle episode. As the search for the pen is dragged on, the group ending up discovering secrets about each of their friends.
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Whilst I know I said the same thing about the episode before, I think this is one of the best episodes in this entire show and am just being incredibly bias by putting four episodes I really loved and meant more to me before it. But, from a creative point of view, I think this is definitely one of the best episodes in the entire show. So, what is so good about it. Literally, everything – the fact that it is a great call back to one of my favourite episodes because ‘Annie’s Boobs’ took it, the way Abed calls it for being a ‘bottle episode’, the fact secrets are exposed liked Shirley’s unexpected pregnancy, the conclusion which solidifies the bonds between the group as Jeff points out it is more likely a ghost took it than one of them. I really did love it, and the only reason it is so low, is because a couple other episodes stood out more to me.
9] ‘EPIDEMIOLOGY’ – (SEASON 2, EPISODE 8)
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Greendale do Halloween the only way Greendale know how to. The Dean throws a Halloween party for all of Greendale, and the entire group go. Each group member comes in costume, notably Jeff comes as David Beckham whilst Troy & Abed go as Aliens vs Predator. Troy, then swaps his costume for a “sexy Dracula”, confessing to Abed that dressing as a Predator isn’t mature enough. At the same time, people at the party begin to get sick and it spirals out of control from there becoming a real-life horror story.
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The beginning of each of these explanations are pretty much going to be around the same lines. Epidemiology is an amazing episode that I really did want to put higher because it is one of my favourite episodes, and that’s probably why I put it above some episodes I think may be better. I loved Epidemiology, it has everything for me, it put one of the best things about the show at the forefront of the episode – Abed and Troy, it is also another example of Community successfully mimicking another genre. This was a great transition period for the show, where it didn’t have Jeff as the main character so much but instead had all character pulling their weight, like Troy and Abed do in this episode. Another reason I absolutely love this episode is because of the story it created, usually Community tends to forget all about its events within the next episode, case and the paint-balling episode[s]. Hell, even this episode is forgotten about after all they did all turn into zombies. But, that really weird Shirley and Chang romance was carried out really well in future episodes and the episode was finished off perfectly with a very weird voicemail Troy found had been sent to him by Shirley.
8] ‘PILLOWS AND BLANKETS’ (SEASON 3, EPISODE 14).
![Image result for 8] âPillows and Blanketsâ (season 3, episode 14)](https://www.dailydot.com/wp-content/uploads/471/e0/7f59800b767b032ea6e4b167aef03e1e.jpg)
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Tensions boil over as Greendale faces a civil war between Troy’s “Blanketsburg” and Abed’s “Pillowtown” at stake is territory, pride, a Guinness World Record and a very important relationship. Jeff finds himself being a mediator in the war as he very quickly discovers this made up war is a very serious fight between two best friends which culminates in harsh realities facing both the men.It is down to Jeff to stop this war, to save his friends and to save his study group and the rest of Greendale.
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This is my absolute favourite episode, but it is in eighth place because I don’t think it is the best episode. I stated earlier that I loved the documentary episodes, and the way they incorporated that into this episode was fantastic. Even more fantastic is how this episode was almost teased for a while, and when it finally came it delivered every question I had. Then, in the limelight of the episode is one of my favourite elements of the show: Abed & Troy’s relationship. It isn’t as though the rest of the cast is given a day off, each character, main or recurring or even guest has a part to play (be it Annie, Pierce or even Chang) – and we finally get to see how much Jeff has changed in the last few seasons. This episode for me, made me a die-hard fan of Community, whilst the first season is good and season 2 is fantastic, this episode sticks in my head alongside another that is coming up for season 3. I definitely wanted to place this higher on my list, but could only find space for it at number eight. I also wanted to say that this episode has one of my favourite scenes from the entire show in, the one with Jeff picking up the cap; it just re-affirmed something we never really got to see enough off: the true Jeff. We got to see it with conversations with Pierce, and this is another great example.
7] ‘EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF BROADCAST TELEVISION’ (SEASON 6, EPISODE 13)
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After the end of the study group’s sixth year, and with the discovery Ellroy will not be returning to Greendale next year, the group ask Abed to imagine next year as a seventh season in a TV show. He then asks for ideas for a potential seventh year if they were to return, clearly mimicking the predicament the actual show found itself in. As the group begins to predict what next year will be, each member of the group reveal what they are planning, leaving Jeff in a panicked state, as he may be stuck in a place he only stayed in because of his friends.
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As you will see with many to come, I have gone for an emotional impact over subtlety or originality. Honestly speaking, season 6 never really did it for me. But, this finale was great, whilst I was hoping some old faces would pop up, the finale was just incredible. I’ve gone for the emotional factor for a lot of these top five. And I loved, the admittance that this is the end, from Abed to Jeff. It was honestly tear-jerking. And, even after all the changes the show had gone through, it still felt like the first episode, I didn’t miss anybody that had gone, but rather liked the way they new-comers also said goodbye. It really was a fantastic end to the show, and it felt (even though it could be argued the quality of seasons declined as the show progressed) like the right way and time to do it (six seasons was always the goal). Having it posed as a question, and the admittance that characters and the main group are rapidly leaving just summed up everything I loved about the show. And, then going full circle and having Jeff panic that he will be left in Greendale as Abed admits its time to leave… I still tear up now if I’m being honest.
6] ‘COOPERATIVE POLYGRAPHY’ (SEASON 5, EPISODE 4)
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After Chevy Chase quits Pierce dies unexpectedly, the group hardly have anytime to grieve before Chang enters and calls each of the members for faking their grieve, after all they never really liked Pierce. Just as Chang claims this, a mysterious figure named ‘Mr. Stone’ enters and tells each member of the study group they must take a lie detector test to ensure they played no part in his death, if they didn’t play a part they will get what Pierce left them in his will. The polygraph takes a turn for the worst, revealing some more secrets and showing the group they are everything they didn’t like about Pierce.
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I’m not quite sure why I put this above the last two, I think it is because it is once again another episode based on Pierce, and really shows off the character dynamics between them all in this so-called ‘bottle episode’. I think the reason I put it above the other two is because everyone wanted to know exactly how they were going to deal with this elephant in the room, plus Troy would be leaving soon as well, the show’s future seemed dim. But, the show pulled it off, giving Troy a real reason to leave, a fantastic final goodbye to Pierce, watching his last words to each member was fantastic – and the call-backs to past episodes (like the tiara or Pierce’s insistence of Jeff’s sexuality) really made this episode special. Originally I didn’t like the way he didn’t give heart-felt messages to the likes of Abed and Jeff, but his final words sum up the relationship they had and I think it made it even better. Furthermore, it also felt like a goodbye to the show we had watched for the last five years, and almost as if the show had moved in a new direction.
5] ‘GEOTHERMAL ESCAPISM’ (SEASON 5, EPISODE 5).
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The inevitable comes for Abed, and as a way to get around it Abed announces one final game for Greendale to play to honour Troy: “The Floor Is Lava”. As the game continues, Britta believes all isn’t what it seems and it ends up putting a dent in what should be a special last day for Troy as true feelings are unmasked, leaving the group in pieces with Abed the most fragile. All of which, results in an epic conclusion that involves a death no-one saw coming as it becomes clear the game is rigged to never end as somebody does not want anybody to ever win the game.
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Everything. Just to let you know, I will be saving I love all these episodes but I loved this episode. It was my favourite and I will never forget it. Definitely the best episode from the entire last three seasons of the show. I put it in fifth place because it is from the fifth season and it is the fifth episode so I thought it was reasonable. As for the episode itself, oh my God! I’ve said it many times already but not many other sitcoms can pull of the emotional impact that Community can, and to put the best friendship I had seen in a sitcom at the forefront of that with two of the best characters was always going to be great (I need a better word), epic. Plus, it was a fantastic send off for Troy, we got to see the re-surface of the relationship between him and Annie, him and Britta and him and Jeff, someone he has looked up to for some time now. But, ultimately I am the biggest sucker for some Troy and Abed, be it in the morning or whether they are in mourning. Plus, the episode wasn’t only a goodbye to Troy but also a game of “The Floor Is Lava”, giving us more of Community at its peak and another episode as good as those paint-balling ones.
4] ‘PARADIGMS OF HUMAN MEMORY’ (SEASON 2, EPISODE 21).
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After Annie’s Boob’s resurfaces and steals a paintbrush before hiding in the air conditioning vent, Chang oils up and follows him in. In there, he retrieves all of the groups lost items, including Annie’s pen, which leads to the group reminiscing about the year they just had. They decide it wasn’t the best and all get into a heated argument revealing the deepest secrets and that hurts everyone in the group. The only thing that could pull them all together is a very powerful speech…. and luckily they all know that man.
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I’ve put ‘Paradigms of Human Memory’ at number four, because of the way I felt it wrapped everything up nicely. And it gave the show a new lease of life, by having a ‘bottle episode’ it once again re-energised itself but this time they didn’t have rely on a concept or a re-hashment of a concept and instead could just have the cast playing off each other. The story itself was great because things have been building for quite a while, like the secret love affair between Jeff and Britta and it all finally blew up in one great episode that resulted in great dynamics between each other and more secrets being revealed. Jeff’s speech also reminded us of the stature Jeff still had in the group and in the story, after all it had been quite a while since an important episode was released focusing on the characters and the overall story. This is probably the only one in the top ten that I have put there due to the story, and not the plot of the episode or the emotional impact of its characters but instead because of how it managed to move the actual story of the show along.
3] ‘REMEDIAL CHAOS THEORY’ (SEASON 3, EPISODE 3)
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At Troy and Abed’s housewarming party for their new apartment, Jeff decides to roll dice to see who will go and collect the pizza from downstairs after each member of the group are busy and refuse to go and get it. Abed, understanding the what Jeff will create, warns Jeff this will have disastrous consequences, as it will result in six different timelines. Jeff ignoring him, still rolls the dice and we go on a journey seeing what will happen if it lands on a number representing a different member of the group, going through all six timelines.
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” ’nuff said. “. It’s become a cult classic whilst everyone will remember this (above) when it comes to Community. But, I am a sucker for originals as I will come to explain.
2] ‘CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POULTRY’ (SEASON 1, EPISODE 21)
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After they consistently miss out on the chicken fingers being served from the school cafeteria. Jeff hatches a plan to ensure they control the frycook, which in return controls the chicken. After Britta successfully completes her jobs, Abed is given the job of the frycook and the episode quickly becomes a ‘mafia movie’. What starts of as Jeff calling the shots, quickly changes into Abed having more power as he starts to make deals; most notably with Chang – who agreed to give the group a 10% bump for chicken. It soon dawns on Jeff he has lost his power and it dawns on Abed he isn’t cut out to be the mafia in this group.
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Too high? Maybe. But, it is probably the first episode in the entire show that I genuinely loved. The whole “mafia movie”, was one of my favourite scenes growing up and I still have this episode on my phone. So, it has stuck with me even eight years later. Something you may realise is each of the top three are all down very concept-heavy and each have a concept integrated in its story. This episode successfully mimicked a ‘mafia movie’ whilst giving actual character development to Abed and Jeff. Abed had just been the ‘weird one’ but, as we got more concept based episodes and could see how he viewed the world we got a better understanding of his character. The same can be said for Jeff, going from someone who wants to leave as quick as possible, to being outraged he has lost his social status among his group. But, the real reason this episode and the next stand out it because this was so important and would define the risks Community took in the future. I believe Community re-defined what a sitcom was and what we expected from it with these successful types of episodes in its first season. And., the reason this is in second place, which some may say is still too high, is because if this hadn’t have been so great or so well received I doubt they would have been able to take as many risks as they did moving forward, especially with the problems Community faced.
1] ‘MODERN WARFARE’ (SEASON 1, EPISODE 23)
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The Dean announces a game of paintballing, Jeff being Jeff, doesn’t think its important and sleeps in his car. Upon waking up he sees Greendale in an apocalyptic state and finds Garrett covered in paint. Garrett explains all about ‘the prize’ and how the game is now a war. As Jeff tries to survive, he encounters Troy and Abed, and after a while the whole group. But, there can only be one winner of that ‘prize’, and Jeff is determined to get the prize one way or another and has to beat the best at the game; Chang.
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Just in case you haven’t realised it yet, I really am such a sucker for originals. I had to put this first, I just had to. ‘Modern Warfare’ is the best episode of Community, not only because of the countless re-hashments the show would successfully attempt in the years that followed but because of well (once again) the show incorporated the concept in its show and made it work. Meaning that moving forward the creators could literally be given the keys and were able to do whatever they liked. The episode is amazing, Abed and Troy finding Jeff and acting like it was World War 3, the glee club moment and Pierce’s death, Shirley’s death, Chang’s induction in the game, Chang destroying the entire study room, Britta and Jeff’s moment (finally). And, that is what I mean, and what Community did so well over its six seasons, it not only had a fun concept and made it work in a twenty-minute episode but it also managed to make them worthwhile by having actual stake, and real character development that wouldn’t be forgotten the next episode even though the memory of the concept would be. This was a fitting close to season finale, and it caused actual stakes for the rest of the show. And it has to be regarded as one of the best episode of Community if not the best.
AthemovieZ 