Troy and Abed in the morning! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the very best episodes from Dan Harmon’s “Community.”
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the very best episodes from Dan Harmon's Community.
00:11You put one wash-away blue streak in your hair, and I lost an arm.
00:15Exactly! Life got dark!
00:19Number 20. Cooperative Calligraphy.
00:21Community does large-scale adventures better than most sitcoms,
00:25but sometimes all that's needed is the study group, a locked door, and a mystery.
00:28The most self-aware bottle episode ever, Cooperative Calligraphy asks a simple question,
00:33Who took the pen?
00:34Whoever the pen thief is just stood there and watched me get Guantanamo'd,
00:38and I'd like to know who it is, so I can let them know that they have lost my trust forever.
00:42It's a bottle episode.
00:43From there, Community dives into the psyches of its characters,
00:46be it Annie's manipulative tendencies, British hypocrisy, or Abed's struggle to understand emotions.
00:51The episode pays off storylines, sets up others, and allows Troy to kind of save the day through the power of imagination.
00:57Why not? Why not just, a ghost took the pen?
01:01Okay, I've been saying that for hours.
01:04And we should have been listening to Troy from the beginning.
01:06As likable as the characters are, they are also deeply flawed,
01:09and this episode showcases both of these factors expertly.
01:12Number 19. Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking.
01:15Season 2 pushes Pierce down a dark path, as he battles irrelevance and substance use disorder,
01:20most of which culminates in this episode.
01:22Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking represents Pierce as his most overtly villainous,
01:26as he fakes his impending demise and tries to manipulate the group through a series of bequeathments.
01:30I'm not really dying.
01:32Over the last few weeks, it's become apparent how little respect this group has for me.
01:38So, I summon them here to exact my revenge.
01:42Filmed as a mockumentary, this episode covers a wide spectrum of emotions and tones,
01:46from the lightheartedness of Annie overthinking a tiara,
01:49to Jeff tackling some deep-seated personal issues.
01:51While community gets pretty heavy at times during this episode,
01:54the humor is still on point, especially from Troy.
01:57Take a look, it's in a book, reading Rainbow.
02:02Number 18. App Development and Condiments.
02:05In a series filled with high-concept episodes,
02:08this Season 5 Behemoth stands out as being especially absurd.
02:11Hey guys, Bixel and I would like to introduce you to a little app called Meow Meow Beans.
02:16A rating app sends Greendale into chaos as someone's score comes to define their social rank.
02:22Before long, Greendale descends into pure dystopian ideals
02:26as the fivers step on those less fortunately rated.
02:28App Development and Condiments moves at a blistering pace
02:31as community sets up a social class system,
02:34a corrupt ruling party,
02:35and a revolution in approximately 20 minutes.
02:38This episode is funny, outlandish, and inventive.
02:41It even gives Shirley something to do, which is nice.
02:43She's nice to people, Jeff. You know Shirley.
02:46Oh, Vicky, thank you. Did you just give me four Meow Meow Beans?
02:51Um, I love my four from Vicky.
02:54Number 17. Documentary Filmmaking Redux.
02:58The Dean gets to film a commercial starring Luis Guzman
03:00and goes slightly insane in the process.
03:03Unapologetically based on Hearts of Darkness,
03:05the movie about the making of Apocalypse Now,
03:07Documentary Filmmaking Redux,
03:09explores the Dean's psyche
03:10and relationship with Greendale more thoroughly than any other episode.
03:14Dean, we've spent 12 hours on the scene.
03:17Maybe it's time to move on to something else.
03:19I'm in Psych 101 and even I don't know what's happening.
03:22Although it marks a narrative low point for the character,
03:25this episode is the Dean's masterpiece
03:26and a splendid showcase of Jim Rash's talent.
03:29As brilliant as Dean's Descend to Madness is,
03:31Jeff's complicated relationship with a bald cap might be even funnier.
03:34You're not.
03:37Oh, yes, I am.
03:40Well then, you're wrong for the part!
03:43Number 16. Mixology Certification.
03:45For every amazing high-concept episode,
03:48Community has at least one great, down-to-earth character-driven piece.
03:51I was born in 89.
03:52Then you were born 21 years ago.
03:55Which would make me 20 because everyone is 10 for two years?
03:59Because 5th grade is really hard for everyone.
04:03Mom, how many lives have I been living?!
04:05After Troy learns that he is about to turn 21 in the most Troy way possible,
04:09the study group heads out to a bar to celebrate and drink.
04:12Community depicts the process of becoming a legal adult in a refreshingly realistic way.
04:16Troy is largely confused, somewhat uncomfortable,
04:19and there's no big moment when everything clicks.
04:21Be it Annie adopting a new persona,
04:23Shirley trying to hide her past,
04:24or Abed talking about Farscape,
04:26each character is handed something substantial to work with.
04:29Wormholes and teleportation are two different things.
04:31That's what I've been talking about this whole time.
04:32I noticed!
04:34Cheers.
04:35Number 15. Aerodynamics of Gender.
04:37Beyond the Hedge lies a magical garden that offers peace,
04:40tranquility, and a trampoline.
04:42Aerodynamics of Gender splits up the crew into two standalone storylines,
04:45with a large chunk of the episode dedicated to Britta, Annie,
04:49Shirley, and Abed taking down a group of mean girls.
04:51Yeah, do you mind not looking at me?
04:53I don't know. Do you mind that your face makeup doesn't match your neck?
04:56When I squint, you look like a circus clown.
04:58This plot is some memorable moments courtesy of Abed going full RoboCop,
05:02but the episode's true highlight involves Troy, Jeff, and Pierce.
05:06Troy and Jeff leave behind their competitive natures,
05:08and discover bliss through time-warping bounces.
05:10The direction and acting are fantastic in the storyline,
05:13and it contains surprisingly dark implications.
05:16Troy, get up here and double-bounce me!
05:18That's not how we do things here.
05:19You get up here and double-bounce me,
05:21or I'll tell everybody about this place!
05:23Cut!
05:24Number 14, Geothermal Escapism.
05:28A fittingly fantastical farewell to one of community's greatest characters.
05:32I don't want it to be there either, I swear.
05:33I want you to be able to leave, but I don't think the lava goes away until you stop leaving.
05:37So the only way I can help you is by giving up my chance to be one person?
05:42With Troy setting sail for a year, Abed convinces the Dean to initiate a school-wide game of The Floor is Lava.
05:47As a concept episode, Geothermal Escapism doesn't explore too much new ground for the show,
05:52but its emotional core is incredibly strong.
05:55Greendale encouraged Troy to embrace his imagination and childlike wonder,
05:58and this episode celebrates that while also highlighting the importance of facing reality.
06:02I'm really scared to go on my trip.
06:05Well, you don't have to go.
06:06Your clone can.
06:10Right.
06:10The episode's final few minutes hit especially hard,
06:13and highlight Community's gift for heartfelt sincerity.
06:16Number 13, Basic Lupin Urology.
06:19Community does, on occasion, practice subtlety with its references,
06:22but this ain't one of those episodes.
06:24Looks like it's gonna be a late night.
06:26How have we managed to pull the short straw?
06:27It's not a short straw.
06:29It's a hot potato.
06:31From the opening title to the twist ending,
06:33Basic Lupin Urology is a full-blown Law & Order episode,
06:36and Community's commitment to the bit is the main reason this parody hits it out of the park.
06:40Whether portraying detectives, lawyers, or a judge,
06:43the characters slip into these roles absurdly well.
06:45The pacing is on point,
06:47delivering the right amount of surprises to make the episode genuinely feel like a police procedural.
06:51Michael K. Williams also says that thing from that HBO show.
06:55It's not a favor, Mr. Winger.
06:56A man's gotta have a cold.
06:59Awesome.
07:00Number 12, Contemporary American Poultry.
07:03Community was great from the start,
07:04but season one took a while to fully reveal the extent of the show's awesomeness.
07:08Contemporary American Poultry can be seen as the moment when Community really comes into its own,
07:12dedicating a full episode to a movie genre parody.
07:15It's like a mafia movie.
07:16As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be in a mafia movie.
07:20Cool.
07:20That's exactly what it's like, Abed.
07:22And you get the most important job.
07:24You're gonna be fry cook.
07:25We may be watching different mafia movies.
07:27Fueled by a shortage of chicken fingers,
07:29the study group installs Abed as Greendale's new fry father,
07:32a position that spars a significant shakeup in the show's power dynamic.
07:35Filled with nods to Goodfellas,
07:37Contemporary American Poultry depicts Community's ability to blend the bizarre with the real.
07:41The storyline might be silly,
07:42but the insights provided into Abed and Jeff are not.
07:45Let's make a deal.
07:47I'll help you connect with people,
07:49and you help me do a better job with them.
07:51Like Knight Rider.
07:52Exactly.
07:53Like Knight Rider.
07:54Number 11.
07:55Conspiracy theories and interior design.
07:57There's a conspiracy brewing in Greendale,
07:59and it involves a lot of backstabbing.
08:01When the Dean calls out Jeff for fabricating a class for an easy credit,
08:05the ruse spirals out of control when Winger's fake professor miraculously comes to life.
08:09As Jeff, Annie, and Dean go to great lengths to teach each other a hundred different lessons,
08:13Troy and Abed create the world's greatest blanket fort
08:16that comes with a civil rights museum and permits.
08:19You made the front page!
08:25With two awesome plot threads that interact in clever ways,
08:28conspiracy theories and interior design is simply a good time.
08:31Plus, Jeff's glee following Professor Professorson's surprise appearance is weirdly hilarious.
08:36Wait.
08:37Then...
08:38Who was that?
08:40I don't know!
08:43Wait.
08:44I don't know!
08:46Number 10.
08:47Paradigms of Human Memory.
08:48Who knew the trick to making a clip show that doesn't suck is to use entirely new clips?
08:53While shows use this format to save time and money by stitching together scenes from past stories,
08:57Community went the complete opposite direction,
09:00creating one of its most ambitious and unique episodes.
09:03Never wanted anything so much
09:06The study group ends up reminiscing about the year's events,
09:16many of which did not occur on screen.
09:17Not only is this a fun twist on the clip show format,
09:20but it also makes the characters feel more real.
09:22These people have lives beyond community.
09:24The episode even gave fans a hashtag that would become a rallying cry
09:27and self-fulfilling prophecy.
09:35The show's gonna last three weeks!
09:37Six seasons and a movie!
09:39Number 9.
09:40Digital Estate Planning.
09:41To get his inheritance,
09:42Pierce has to beat an 8-bit game made by his Colonel Sanders-looking father.
09:46While the study group offers Pierce a helping hand,
09:48they're mostly outmatched by Gilbert,
09:50who's also after the inheritance.
09:52Digital Estate Planning is one of those episodes
09:54that goes a long way in explaining Pierce's personality,
09:56as his father is the absolute worst.
09:59No!
10:01I'm your son!
10:03I'm son, Gilbert.
10:05I always knew you'd disappoint me.
10:07The animation style is charming,
10:09and this episode authentically replicates the style of early console games,
10:12right down to the infamous Nintendo hard difficulty.
10:15The ending is also really sweet.
10:16We're forfeiting.
10:18Warning.
10:19Player forfeit in 30 seconds.
10:21Gilbert, you're right.
10:22You are more his son than me.
10:23Number 8.
10:24Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas.
10:26Certain stories simply call for stop-motion animation.
10:29Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas dives deep into the meaning of the holiday,
10:32and it comes up with a pretty moving answer.
10:34For me, it used to mean being with my mom.
10:37Now it means being with you guys.
10:40Thanks, Lost.
10:44Abed starts seeing the world in a whole new light,
10:46so Greendale's resident psychologist steps in to try and get to the bottom of things,
10:50and maybe sign a book deal in the process.
10:52Paying homage to classic Rankin-Bass specials,
10:54Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas injects the gang's animated trip to planet Abed plenty of heart and sensitivity,
11:01producing one of the most comfortable but challenging episodes of the series.
11:04I feel so much better now.
11:06I guess we don't need to be stop-motion anymore.
11:08Well, why not just keep it going for the rest of Christmas?
11:11It just feels so right.
11:14Number 7.
11:15Modern Warfare.
11:16As usual, the dean's good intentions backfire in spectacular fashion.
11:20With priority registration on the line, Greendale's students engage in a paint-soaked war for survival,
11:25where friendships are tested, heroes are born, and Britta and Jeff finally work some things out.
11:29You know, it would totally serve them right if we did it here in the study room.
11:33Oh my god, could you imagine?
11:34I can't stop imagining.
11:35Neither can I.
11:36No!
11:36The beauty of Community is its willingness to go all-in with each of its ideas.
11:42Modern Warfare pays homage to action movies by matching the genre's penchant for excess,
11:47theatrics, and slow-motion explosions.
11:49Community was a great comedy from its pilot episode,
11:52but Modern Warfare showed that this series was more than a traditional sitcom.
11:56Community could be anything it wanted to be.
11:57So no one feels it?
11:59No one senses anything's different?
12:01Nope.
12:02Not at all?
12:03Number 6.
12:04Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television.
12:06This is it, Community's Finale.
12:08Going full meta, emotional consequences of broadcast television consist of the gang plotting their own Season 7s,
12:14from Britta being Britta to Jeff imagining the worst possible scenario.
12:18It's your job to work.
12:19It is our job to party.
12:21And hatch harebrained schemes.
12:23And get laid.
12:24And get laid.
12:25And eventually leave you here as well.
12:28Although the whole episode feels like one giant wink to the audience,
12:31the meta humor genuinely compliments the characters,
12:33highlighting their insecurities as they try to convince themselves that everything will be fine.
12:38And that goes beyond just the study group.
12:40This episode is all about the importance of letting go and moving on,
12:43a message community delivers to everyone watching at home.
12:46Also, the post-credits scene is something else.
12:48We're not created by God.
12:50Created by a joke.
12:52We were never born, and we will never actually live.
12:58Number 5.
12:59Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
13:00Funny, thoughtful, and vital for the story arcs of several characters, especially Pierce.
13:05Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is an example of community at its very best.
13:08And so it was that the group began to describe themselves walking.
13:14And as they described themselves walking, so did Obed confirm they walked.
13:19I walk with them.
13:20Realizing that Neil is struggling with depression,
13:22the study group puts together a Dungeons & Dragons party to try and lift his spirits.
13:26Unfortunately, leaving out Pierce ends up being a big mistake.
13:30Packed with funny lines, sharp wit, and even a memorable visual gag or two,
13:34Advanced Dungeons & Dragons blends comedy with a ton of heart,
13:37as community intelligently examines Neil's struggles from a place of understanding.
13:40That was the best game I ever played in my life.
13:43Don't mention it.
13:44Wanna play again next week?
13:48Maybe.
13:48Okay.
13:50I'll be around.
13:51Number 4.
13:52Pillows & Blankets.
13:53When Obed and Troy have a tip, Greendale becomes a war zone.
13:57There was a point where all I saw were feathers.
13:59And I started swinging.
14:01And then I hit something and heard someone fall.
14:04Unable to see eye to eye, Obed's Pillow Town and Troy's Blanketsburg divide the campus,
14:09each army trying to seize ground over the other.
14:12Inspired by Ken Burns' documentaries,
14:13Pillows & Blankets hauntingly depicts the brutality of war as monsters are created,
14:18soldiers are wounded, and feelings are hurt.
14:20As usual, Community twists a tried and tested formula into an episode
14:24that amounts to more than just a genre parody.
14:26Pillows & Blankets tells an effective story with character growth, emotion,
14:30and even a touch of magic.
14:31Here you go.
14:33Lucky no one grabbed him, huh?
14:39Number 3.
14:41Epidemiology.
14:42It's Halloween, Greendale is hosting a party,
14:44and the Dean cheaped out on the catering.
14:46Naturally, this means zombies.
14:48Soundtracked by ABBA and featuring all the horror movie references in the world,
14:51Epidemiology is a magnificent love letter to the likes of George A. Romero.
14:55From Pierce naturally breaking out as Patient Zero,
15:05to Troy embracing his inner nerd,
15:07this episode is stuffed with awesome moments that manage to be both funny and intense.
15:11Community does poke fun at some genre conventions,
15:14but Epidemiology works so well because it understands what makes zombie films so entertaining to watch.
15:19Also, cat.
15:20Did you hear that?
15:21Number 2.
15:28A fistful of paintballs and, for a few paintballs more,
15:31take Modern Warfare, add a touch of Sergio Leone and Star Wars,
15:35and you've got yourself a two-part masterpiece.
15:37I don't think you're immature.
15:40I think you're great.
15:42For a no-good, laser-faced, Jabba scoundrel.
15:47Once again, Greendale erupts into chaos over a paintball game,
15:50but this time, the madness comes with a black rider and a mastermind with an evil scheme.
15:55Community is more than a sitcom,
15:56as the show transitions from comedy to action so seamlessly that it defies logic.
16:01While it doesn't have the shock factor of Modern Warfare,
16:03this two-parter does justice by practically every character,
16:06including giving Pierce a much-needed redemptive moment.
16:09You owe me 100 Gs.
16:12And you can make the check out to Greendale.
16:16These episodes also helped put the Russo brothers on Marvel's radar.
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16:33Number one, Remedial Chaos Theory.
16:38This episode is a work of art in every possible timeline.
16:42Starting on my left with one, your number comes up, you go.
16:45Just so you know, Jeff, you are now creating six different timelines.
16:47Of course I am, Abed.
16:49During a housewarming party, the study group has to send one person to fetch the pizza,
16:53creating seven unique timelines in the process.
16:55And Remedial Chaos Theory explores all of them.
16:57A high-concept episode filled with hilarious scenes,
17:00Remedial Chaos Theory plays around masterfully with his premise
17:03to grant glimpses at the best and worst traits of the characters.
17:06Community can be laugh-out-loud funny, sincerely heartwarming, and outlandishly creative.
17:11And Remedial Chaos Theory is all of these things put together.
17:14You gotta see what happens when I leave you alone, huh?
17:22What episode of Community is underrated?
17:25Let us know in the comments.
17:26Wow.
17:27I've got goosebumps.
17:28Me too.
17:29Such a great story.
17:30I was on the edge of my seat, and I was in it.
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