Community: 10 Episodes That Deserve Endless Rewatches!
Why Community is the Gift That Keeps on Giving (and Rewatching!)
Dan Harmon's Community is unlike any other sitcom. It's smart, funny, and totally bonkers! Set in the wonderfully weird world of Greendale Community College, this show follows a misfit study group who find themselves in the craziest movie-inspired scenarios. The characters are amazing; incredibly unique personalities, evolving and growing alongside a fanbase who had been deeply touched by these narratives!
Each episode spoofs different movie genres and tropes, making every viewing experience incredibly unique. Its popularity means fans will often rewatch and re-explore that rich world and this popularity never quite disappeared and continues through other avenues; yet for longtime viewers like myself, these amazing episodes stand out more after years have passed. Its continued expansion into a film shows just how deep its popularity continues, and its initial success only made it an icon, and for many people, this show is utterly unforgettable! While this article highlights my ten favorite episodes, many more could be cited which truly encapsulates this creative potential and brilliant humor.
Top 10 Community Episodes for Endless Rewatching Fun
10. Cooperative Calligraphy: A Bottle Episode of Paranoia and Hidden Truths
This “bottle episode” (entirely set in the study room) has that study group trying to find a missing pen and exploring how easily group paranoia unravels friendships. It’s intensely nuanced! Every character’s reaction is amazing. Even better – the actual thief is totally visible from the very first moment! There's tons of tiny details to pick up; especially when rewatching this classic and iconic episode. The clever writing continues throughout!
9. A Fistful of Paintballs: Epic Paintball Battles Through Cinematic History
The paintball episodes? This series is famed for them! They become epic showdowns spoofing movies! And “A Fistful of Paintballs” is a classic; the first part of that season 2 finale, adding a spaghetti western theme (like Clint Eastwood) plus a Star Wars-inspired twist. Even better; that Joe Russo, director (later a big player in Marvel!), actually got his gig because of it! This further establishes just how unique the show was, not only in that brilliant humor and use of genres but for that special mix that created so many memorable scenes.
8. Regional Holiday Music: A Glee-Inspired Christmas Sing-Along!
Community's Glee parody. A very good holiday special and totally awesome holiday episode with original songs by our cast members; it includes a little bit of everything! Each character gets this creative spin around the Christmas experience; songs use different genres–highlighting those amazing performances, particularly Donald Glover's rapping skills (later Childish Gambino)! This has Taran Killam (former SNL star) making fun of Glee's bossy club director, the very references involved and the specific use of terminology from the original show really helped elevate this show's creative originality to those audiences and the episode maintains that uniquely Community charm that truly shines through and made many a fan revisit many, many times afterward.
7. Contemporary American Poultry: A Mafia Movie (with Chicken Tenders!)
Narrated by Abed, this episode is pure gangster brilliance (and pure hilarious) with an incredibly absurd take: chicken tenders! That whole gang gains control of tender sales at Greendale. But Abed’s culinary takeover and that resulting dominance soon gives rise to hilarious consequences that require intervention from Jeff. Seeing how that entire group operates through Abed's viewpoints is a fantastic addition, that kind of meta approach that focuses on the character helps viewers to have a stronger sense of exactly how that individual and his actions impact everything. Those insightful little touches make each rewatch exciting; this one should always get revisits and attention!
6. Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas: Claymation Christmas Magic!
This Christmas special does something crazy. It's a complete Rankin/Bass claymation tribute (think Rudolph!). It connects Abed's psychological struggles with this surreal claymation storytelling. Those symbolic claymation figures show characters with very little musical interludes to help summarize those intense plot aspects, it creates a very special blend of amazing emotions; those raw personal insights into Abed create deeply meaningful points within this incredibly creative episode. Its intense creative work really delivers in multiple ways, showcasing many artistic perspectives! I rewatch this yearly, around the holiday seasons!
5. Intro to Felt Surrogacy: Puppet Therapy and Unpacking Shame
The study group becomes puppets. That’s intense. It's a puppet show designed to express that trauma from their disastrous weekend trip. The episode uses these intensely profound elements which shows some of the more deeply regrettable elements involving every member from this group! This emphasizes an important message which was only recently introduced through its felt puppets, which perfectly mimic their human counterparts, creating those unique connections and amazing emotional effects that those memorable puppets provided.
4. Digital Estate Planning: 8-Bit Adventures for an 8-Bit Inheritance!
This episode goes pixelated! Everything’s an 8-bit video game; focusing on Pierce's father's will— the inheritance goes to the game winner! That video game world becomes a crucial storytelling element, perfectly executed! That storyline itself becomes important as Abed’s involvement becomes more relevant throughout; his relationship with Hilda, that amazing video-game love interest is intensely meaningful. The very unexpected addition makes this a total classic; and the incredible appearance of Giancarlo Esposito as Gilbert (Pierce's sneaky half-brother) also adds some amazing character dynamics and those related struggles and betrayals between individuals.
3. Pillows and Blankets: A Ken Burns-Style Civil War (Over a Fort!)
The ultimate Ken Burns spoof (with an added Civil War vibe!) It tells Troy and Abed's epic blanket fort war— Pillowtown versus Blanketsburg. That serious Ken Burns narration, paired with those illustrations, really highlights the unique storytelling capabilities! This shows that a completely insane idea such as a civil war about blankets and pillows is truly capable of exploring deeply meaningful concepts; exploring their unique friendship in a silly yet profoundly profound manner!
2. Basic Human Anatomy: A Freaky Friday Swap With Serious Consequences
This is Freaky Friday done Community style! Troy and Abed swap bodies because Troy’s panicking about his relationship! The body-swapped hijinks bring some unexpected insights and meaningful interactions between those other individuals. The emotional impact makes for another very relatable episode: Their incredibly nuanced performances, not quite making it feel real (it's Community!) helps emphasize many of those nuanced plot aspects around that central friendship, making many fans feel more emotionally invested.
1. Remedial Chaos Theory: A Dice Roll That Changes Everything
My absolute fave! It explores seven alternate timelines caused by a dice roll involving pizza delivery! The show has various possible realities caused by changes to seemingly random things; This adds another incredible twist to what already made a brilliant show! Those incredibly creative and varied events completely explore all those various possibilities in each storyline; Those creative plot twists surrounding the various attempts to capture pizza delivery shows just how important a seemingly insignificant decision can influence the future. That clever writing creates iconic Community humor and creates lasting charm. The amazing and creative use of "Roxanne" as the musical element completely rounds things out, solidifying this as one of the very best!
Conclusion: Community's Enduring Legacy and its Popularity Continues Through Time!
Community is incredibly special. Its unique mix of creative genius and completely relatable characters; coupled with those pop culture references makes it so wildly rewatchable; it proves that a long-running show such as this truly had amazing development and those special story arcs will never lose their magic! While those earlier seasons really brought forth most of those important characters; those amazing developments only brought in even stronger character moments in that later season finale. This makes each rewatch a hilarious and heartwarming adventure which makes its unique narrative elements unforgettable. Those elements; the use of many cinematic references and different styles and formats truly solidifies its position as a show without equal.
