By [ad_1]
Dan Harmon’s Community is an American sitcom that has thrived over the years with its ambitious and outlandish ideas that have mostly gone down well with fans and viewers in general. The show loves to draw inspiration from all corners of film, television, and popular culture, with it subsequently helping to mold its characters and narrative direction.
While Dan Harmon wasn’t at the helm for the show’s largely disappointing fourth season, he returned for the fifth season, and the results improved vastly, a testament to his talents as a producer and showrunner. On the whole, Community‘s episodes have been well received, with plenty of memorable characters, interactions, and episodes.
10 Geothermal Escapism Is An Action-Packed & Emotional Farewell To Troy Barnes (9.4)
The fifth episode of the fifth season saw Troy Barnes say an emotional goodbye to the show. Still, the episode was fun and chaotic in a way that has become synonymous with Community and Greendale College over the years, a campus-wide game with a tempting and valuable prize.
The episode is one long dramatic game of “Floor Is Lava,” rich with movie references but with the underlying tone of sadness over the impending departure of Troy, especially regarding Abed’s apparent denial. With its dystopian and fantasy themes and general aesthetic, not forgetting the appearance of actor LeVar Burton, it is no wonder that the episode is still one of the best-rated Community episodes to this day.
9 Conspiracy Theories & Interior Design Is Simply Classic Community Fun & Chaotic Nonsense (9.4)
Community was in full stride during its second season, churning out numerous fun and memorable episodes, and Conspiracy Theories & Interior Design was no exception. While Troy and Abed have fun constructing a colossal blanket fort, Jeff is out to prove to the Dean that a class he made up for extra credit, “Conspiracy Theories in US History” taught by Professor Professorson, is actually real.
What ensues is a hilarious series of events that imply multiple conspiracies, from Professor Professorson actually being drama professor Sean Garrity to multiple uses of prop guns to teach different people various lessons. After a chaotic exchange, Officer Cackowski storms in and shoots Garrity, with the last lesson being for the Dean, Annie, and Jeff, that guns are not toys to be played with.
8 Digital Estate Planning Sees The Study Group & Giancarlo Esposito As Video Game Characters (9.5)
Despite being a topic as serious as discussing the will of Pierce Hawthorne’s recently deceased father, Cornelius, Digital Estate Planning sees Pierce, the rest of the study group, and Cornelius’s “assistant” Gilbert, play a 2D video game to compete for the old man’s inheritance.
The majority of the episode follows the characters in the game as their 2D avatars, with several video game references, from cheat codes and respawns to various inspirations taken from classic 8-bit games. Not only is it fun to see the study group in the world of a video game, with the struggling with and learning about various mechanics, but the show managed to cast the esteemed actor Giancarlo Esposito as Gilbert.
7 Basic Lupine Urology Is An Entertaining Homage To Law & Order (9.5)
Basic Lupin Urology is a perfect homage to hit television show Law & Order as a crime and police drama, but with the undeniable Community touch of pure chaos and over-the-top energy. It centers around a Biology project of growing yams resulting in disaster as someone tampers with and kills the study group’s project.
An inquest ensues with Troy and Abed assuming the roles of detectives and questioning suspects while Jeff and Annie prepare a case for their makeshift court. The episode is a fun and overly dramatic twist of Law & Order, with even the episode’s title being an homage to Law & Order creator Dick Wolf.
6 Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television Is The Perfect Send-Off For The Show (9.5)
Even the most passionate of Community fans would have to admit that the show deteriorated following the departure of Donald Glover’s Troy Barnes. Still, the final three episodes of the last season certainly registered well with fans.
The finale especially is considered a perfect farewell to the show as everyone waits for the famous quote “six seasons and a movie” to come true. The Save Greendale Committee has its final meeting and gradually says goodbye to its characters, but not before they each “pitch” ideas for what a seventh season of the show would look like. The episode is a return to classic Community hilarity while dealing with the inevitable sadness that comes with the end of a show.
5 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Is Hilarious & Captivating Despite Its Controversy (9.5)
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is still regarded as one of the show’s best-ever episodes. However, it is sadly tainted by controversy that saw it removed from streaming on Netflix.
The episode plays into the fantasy themes surrounding the game Dungeons & Dragons in an over-the-top and typically Community way, with hilariously dramatic music and acting. It centers around the study group trying to save Fat Neil, who is severely depressed and known to be a fan of the game. Pierce takes up the role of bad guy perfectly, and the dynamics of the group clash and flow together in a way that creates unexpected tension, making the episode even more compelling.
4 For A Few Paintballs More Is A Terrific Star Wars Themed Episode (9.6)
Community loves its parodies, with some being more blatant than others, but For A Few Paintballs More is one of those more obvious influences and themes. As the season two finale, it follows on from A Fistful Of Paintballs and shifts the theme from western to Star Wars, with the infiltrating City College “players” donning Stormtrooper-like gear and Abed outwardly claiming that he is taking on a Han Solo persona.
While it doesn’t quite live up to the heights of the previous episode, it is still a fun and exciting journey, with the Greendale and City College rivalry hitting its dramatic peak with the extortionate amount of money still up for grabs as the prize.
3 A Fistful of Paintballs Sees A Western Theme Added To The Classic Greendale Paintball Chaos (9.7)
The first of the two paintball episodes at the end of the second season, A Fistful Of Paintballs brings a western theme, rife with cowboy-like music, designs, and general aesthetic, from Annie and Pierce’s cowboy duel face-off to the introduction of Josh Holloway’s character of the Black Rider.
Abed, Troy, and Jeff wear outfits representing The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, The Magnificent Seven, and Blazing Saddles, respectively — a tribute to the most iconic western movie influences on the episode. The western aesthetic is a perfect setting to build tension, both with Pierce and the rest of the study group, but also for the truth about the prize money and who is behind it.
2 Modern Warfare Paved The Way For Future Paintball Episodes In Spectacular Fashion (9.8)
Modern Warfare introduced the concept of paintball at a community college to the show, which not only made it one of the most entertaining Community episodes of all time, but it allowed for more chaotic action episodes and sequences to follow in later seasons.
The episode draws inspiration from popular action movies Die Hard, Rambo, and many more, in order to make a captivating experience for the audience, making them briefly forget that this is all taking place in a community college. The episode addresses Britta and Jeff’s tension and Senor Chang’s enrolment as a student so that he can join the game, two concepts that are addressed later in the series.
1 Remedial Chaos Theory Is A Prime Example Of The Writers Flexing Their Creative Muscles (9.8)
Remedial Chaos Theory will always be known as Community‘s most creative episode with its concept of multiple timelines. In each timeline, a different person goes to collect the pizza, which sees different combinations of characters, interactions, locales, and ultimately consequences.
The concept explores each character’s dynamic and influence within the group, with Troy’s absence resulting in “The Darkest Timeline” and Jeff avoiding the process entirely by suggesting a six-sided-dice roll with a group of seven. It is a prime example of writing genius and character development, even if that growth doesn’t get shown in every timeline.
About The Author
[ad_2]
