Episode Rankings: Community

Community is my favorite comedy of all time. It's witty, creative, and willing to take push the TV formula into super unique directions. Even with Season 4 being the absolute disgrace that it is, Community at its best is a force to be reckoned with. Here's my ranking of its episodes:

1. Remedial Chaos Theory (S3.04) - As long as this episode exists, it'll never be the darkest timeline.
2. Modern Warfare (S1.23) - Honestly one of the best action movies ever made.
3. Basic Lupine Urology (S3.17) - The start of the finest streak of episodes in any show ever.
4. Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television (S6.13)
5. A Fistful Of Paintballs (S2.23)
6. Digital Estate Planning (S3.20)
7. Paradigms Of Human Memory (S2.21) - They did it, this show solved the clip show problem: Just make the clips original.
8. Geothermal Escapism (S5.05)
9. Epidemiology (S2.06) - I don't know who came up with the idea to score this episode with ABBA, but they are a genius.
10. For A Few Paintballs More (S2.24)
11. Documentary Filmmaking: Redux (S3.08)
12. Contemporary American Poultry (S1.21)
13. Modern Espionage (S6.11)
14. Curriculum Unavailable (S3.19)
15. Conspiracy Theories And Interior Design (S2.09)
16. The First Chang Dynasty (S3.21)
17. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (S2.14)
18. Pillows And Blankets (S3.14)
19. Critical Film Studies (S2.19) - Despite being two completely different films, Pulp Fiction and My Dinner With Andre fit oddly well together
20. Cooperative Polygraphy (S5.04)
21. Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps (S3.05)
22. Pascal's Triangle Revisited (S1.25)
23. Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking (S2.16)
24. Cooperative Caligraphy (S2.08)
25. App Development And Condiments (S5.08)
26. Wedding Videography (S6.12)
27. Regional Holiday Music (S3.10)
28. Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas (S2.11)
29. Basic Intergluteal Numismatics (S5.03)
30. Introduction To Finality (S3.22)
31. Debate 109 (S1.09)
32. Basic Sandwich (S5.13)
33. Basic Crisis Room Decorum (S6.03)
34. Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (S6.10)
35. The Science Of Illusion (S1.20)
36. Basic Rocket Science (S2.04)
37. Comparative Religion (S1.12)
38. Foosball And Nocturnal Vigilantism (S3.09)
39. Intro To Recycled Cinema (S6.08)
40. Intro To Political Studies (S2.17)
41. Physical Education (S1.17)
42. Anthropology 101 (S2.01)
43. Introduction To Statistics (S1.07)
44. Studies In Modern Movement (S3.07)
45. Mixology Certification (S2.10)
46. English As A Second Language (S1.24)
47. Basic Story (S5.12)
48. Course Listing Unavailable (S3.18)
49. Beginner Pottery (S1.19)
50. Urban Matrimony And Sandwich Arts (S3.11)
51. Investigative Journalism (S1.13)
52. Introduction To Teaching (S5.02)
53. Applied Anthropology And Culinary Arts (S2.22)
54. VCR Maintanance And Educational Publishing (S5.09)
55. Origins Of Vampire Mythology (S3.15)
56. Spanish 101 (S1.02)
57. Competitive Ecology (S3.03)
58. The Psychology Of Letting Go (S2.03)
59. Romantic Expressionism (S1.15)
60. Digital Exploration Of Interior Design (S3.13)
61. Environmental Science (S1.10)
62. Biology 101 (S3.01)
63. Lawnmower Maintenance & Postnatal Care (S6.02)
64. Advanced Documentary Filmmaking (S4.06)
65. Analysis Of Cork-Based Networking (S5.06)
66. Asian Population Studies (S2.12)
67. Social Psychology (S1.04)
68. Advanced Gay (S3.06)
69. Basic Genealogy (S1.18)
70. Repilot (S5.01)
71. Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing (S6.04)
72. Early 21st Century Romanticism (S2.15)
73. Pilot (S1.01)
74. Accounting For Lawyers (S2.02)
75. Communication Studies (S1.16)
76. Introduction To Film (S1.03)
77. Herstory Of Dance (S4.08)
78. Home Economics (S1.08)
79. Basic RV Repair & Palmistry (S6.10)
80. Geography Of Global Conflict (S3.02)
81. Messianic Myths And Ancient Peoples (S2.05)
82. Ladders (S6.01)
83. Contemporary Impressionists (S3.12)
84. Virtual Systems Analysis (S3.16) - This episode is simultaneously really really good and really really bad, and I'm not quite sure how to feel about it.
85. Heroic Origins (S4.07)
86. Basic Email Security (S6.06)
87. Politics Of Human Sexuality (S1.11)
88. Celebrity Pharmacology 212 (S2.13)
89. Competitive Wine Tasting (S2.20)
90. History 101 (S4.01)
91. GI Jeff (S5.11)
92. Grifting 101 (S6.09) - The fact that I didn't realize this was Matt Berry means his talents were wasted.
93. Interpretive Dance (S1.14)
94. Aerodynamics Of Gender (S2.07)
95. Conventions Of Space And Time (S4.03)
96. Advanced Criminal Law (S1.05)
97. Alternative History Of The German Invasion (S4.04)
98. Bondage And Beta Male-Sexuality (S5.07)
99. Paranormal Parentage (S4.02)
100. Custody Law And Eastern European Diplomacy (S2.18)
101. Advanced Safety Features (S6.07)
102. Football, Feminism, And You (S1.06)
103. Law Of Robotics & Party Rights (S6.05)
104. Economics Of Marine Biology (S4.07)
105. The Art Of Discourse (S1.22)
106. Intro To Knots (S4.10)
107. Cooperative Escapism In Familial Relations (S4.05)
108. Basic Human Anatomy (S4.11)
109. Advanced Introduction To Finality (S4.13) - Honestly, I'm glad most of this episode was non-canon. If only that applied to the entire season.
110. Intro To Felt Surrogacy (S4.09)

Community (Season 6)

Community's final season is a lot different from the first five, as it didn't actually air on NBC. Rather, the season aired on Yahoo, resulting in longer episodes and a slightly different feel to it. Season 6 was a pretty solid place to end the series, even if it wasn't really one of the better seasons.

Similarly to the fifth season, Season 6 of Community is about the Save Greendale Committee trying to improve the school, but this time, they're actually taking it seriously. The season introduces Frankie, a consultant who joins the team, and a lot of the conflict is derived from the fact that she is much more professional compared to the rest of the study group. Personally, I really like Frankie. She bounces off of characters like Jeff and Abed incredibly well, and manages to garner a bunch of really funny moments of her own. However, the rest of the season's changes aren't as great. Shirley is gone, and while she may not have been my favorite character, it definitely feels like something is missing knowing that there's only four of the seven cast members left. In addition, the season introduces the eccentric Elroy, who I do not like all that much. He's funny, sure, but I don't think he adds anything to the cast or the story like Frankie does. He has no character development, no interesting personality, he's just there. Generally, I think Season 6 is at its best when it focuses on either the Save Greendale Committee or the fact that the show is ending. The last three episodes in particular feel like a love letter to the series and is easily the season's highlight.

As mentioned above, the shift to Yahoo means that the episodes have gotten a lot longer. Unlike the first five seasons, most of these episodes are around 30-ish minutes long due to the lack of commercials, and that's a change I don't quite enjoy. I feel like a bunch of this season's episodes just went on a bit too long as a result of this shift, and concepts like a parody of The Sting and Greendale being hacked just can't be sustained that long. Even more, some episodes feel like they've hit their climax but there's still eight-to-ten minutes left. The longer episodes definitely screws with the pacing of a bunch of these episodes and it drags down the season at times. Thankfully, the writing on its own is still incredibly good and I did find myself laughing quite often throughout the season. I also think this season does an amazing job at blending gimmick episodes with actual grounded storylines, as the sheer ridiculousness of Seasons 2-5 is definitely a lot less prevalent here. Don't get me wrong, there are some really cartoonish episodes here (Modern Espionage), but most episodes have at least one additional low-key character-driven subplot. Believe or not, I feel like this season is the closest the show has gotten to replicating the tone of Season 1, so if you're a fan of that season, Season 6 is right up your alley.

Befitting the final season of Community, there are some top-notch episodes to end the series on a high note:

Basic Crisis Room Decorum: This 100th episode of Community doesn't get nearly as much recognition as it deserves and that's a damn shame. It's a hilarious bottle episode packed with funny subplots, from the reveal that Greendale gave a degree to a dog, to Dean texting a wrong number thinking he's Jeff, to the hilarious attack ads throughout the episodes. It's fast-paced, well-written, and incredibly funny.

Intro To Recycled Cinema: As I mentioned before, I love episodes about filmmaking and seeing the study group try to shoot a sci fi film is insanely fun. The references to Star Trek and Star Wars are awesome, and I absolutely love how the episode switches between the filmmaking process and the actual movie rather than wait until the end of the episode to show off the film in its entirety.

Modern Espionage: After three seasons of no (good) paintball episodes, the ante-penultimate episode of Community brings back the formula one last time. The action in this one is on another level entirely, even compared to the other paintball episodes, from the opening shootout in the garage, to the fight in the kitchen, to that hilarious reference to Winter Solider. I like how it deconstructs the paintball episodes by focusing on how the janitors feel about all of the mess, though I also think the final confrontation is a bit disappointing which prevents it from being as good as Modern Warfare

Wedding Videography: The documentary episodes were always great and while this wasn't my favorite of the bunch, I really like the way it explores how self-centered the study group can be. It works really well as a penultimate episode to the series, and its plot twist about Garrett's wedding is definitely something.

Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television: Community has had a bunch of potential series finales, but this was easily the best. The concept of each character thinking of an idea for a potential seventh season is really funny and executed perfectly, with some of the best and most meta jokes in the series. But despite the near constant hilarity, we also get a lot of heartwarming goodbyes and scenes, as the characters face big changes in their lives. It's an encapsulation of what I love about this show, the nearly perfect blend of cartoonish, witty meta humor and genuine sincerity and heart.

Overall, Season 6 is a bit of a mixed bag with overlong episodes and some weak characters, but its main storyline is incredibly solid, the emotional impact is great, and the final three episodes are a nearly perfect end to the series.

3/5 Stars

My ranking of the Community seasons is:

1. Season 3: Season 3 is my favorite TV season of all time. It has the best episode of the show, an incredible level of quality, and a perfect balance of creative experiments and a genuinely gripping story.
2. Season 2: Season 2 probably has the most iconic episodes in the series, pretty much every other episode is experimental or meta and they pretty much all pay off.
3. Season 5: Pierce and Troy leaving may suck, but they got fantastic farewells at the start of the season, and the rest of Season 5 is still filled with plenty of creative episodes regardless.
4. Season 1: While it's uncharacteristically slice of life compared to the rest of the show, Season 1's writing is sharp from the get-go, and the first few experimental episodes at the end are legendary.
5. Season 6: Most of the episodes are too long and I don't love a lot of the new characters, but there are still plenty of fun experiments and the finale is probably the best one Community could've gotten.
6. Season 4: This should be obvious. It's not just that Dan Harmon is gone, it's that he wasn't able to pay off all of the plotlines he had been setting up, and instead they were all wasted.

My ranking of the Community finales is:

1. Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television: The premise is super creative for a series finale, but ECOBT also manages to be a perfect satisfying and heartwarming farewell for the series.
2. For A Few Paintballs More: While not quite as good as the western-themed first half, this is a tense and fun paintball episode, a great love letter to Star Wars, and a strong finale with an impactful cliffhanger.
3. Pascal's Triangle Revisited: Like 30 Rock's I Do Do, this episode is a fun spoof of season finales that also happens to be a damn good season finale. Jeff and Annie are both out-of-left-field and perfect.
4. Introduction To Finality: While not every character is utilized, this is a heartwarming and understated ending to Season 3 that would've worked just fine as a full-on series finale.
5. Basic Sandwich: While the main treasure hunt plotline is fun and the jabs at NBC are glorious, nothing actually really changes here. Everything just gets reset by the end of the episode.
6. Advanced Introduction To Finality: A rushed graduation, awful departure for Pierce, and almost the entire episode being a dream sequence? Yeah, great way to end off Season 4.

Favorite Episode: Remedial Chaos Theory

Community (Season 5)

Wanna know the secret to happiness? Watch the final episode of Community's fourth season, then watch the first episode of Community's fifth season. Right from the first few seconds, you can sense something different. The writing is sharper, the show regained its energy and its heart. Dan Harmon returns for the show's fifth season and not only blows Season 4 out of the water, but he manages to recaptured what makes the show great, resulting in one of its strongest seasons.

Community's fifth season gets off to a surprisingly dark start, with most of the cast having to return to Greendale after their lives fall apart once again. It's a pretty grim season premiere, but I think the writers executed it incredibly well. Not only does the episode still manage to be funny, but I actually feel like I care about these characters again. Soon after the premiere, Pierce dies and Troy leaves, and the story shifts to being about the remaining members of the study group forming a "Save Greendale Committee" to improve the school. These departures were executed pretty much perfectly, especially Troy's. The show spends time to mourn the fact that we're not going to see these characters before, but once again, it still remains funny and entertaining. It's the blend of drama and comedic writing that makes the first few episodes of Community's fifth season an absolute powerhouse, and coming off the heels of Season 4, that felt amazing. Despite Troy and Pierce leaving, however, we do get a new character in the form of Buzz Hickey, as played by Jonathan Banks. I quite like Hickey, he's basically what you'd get if you put a Breaking Bad character in a sitcom and he plays off the other characters incredibly well.

However, once Troy leaves, I will say that the quality of the season does dip a little bit. It's not that these episodes are bad, but given how phenomenal that first third was, it's incredibly difficult to maintain such a high level of quality (There's a reason Season 3 is my only 6/5). Thankfully, there is a lot to love after Troy and Pierce leave the show. The writing is still pretty phenomenal, constantly throwing out jokes that manage to land every single time. And as you'd come to expect from the series, Community's episode premises are incredibly inventive and unique, especially now that this season focuses on parodying some less well-known movies like Zodiac, Logan's Run, and Waterworld. There's even an animated episode parodying 80s cartoons like GI Joe, and its commentary on their cheesiness is absolutely on-point. I do feel like this season is a bit mean-spirited at times (the final scene is just a Take That! towards NBC), but given that it results in some of the funniest jokes in the show, it's hard for me to truly get mad. It's also a genuine shame that the season had to be shorter, since that means less episodes, though that's once again not entirely a bad thing.

Most of the episodes are solid at the very least, but these are the highlights:

Basic Intergluteal Numismatics: It would be hard to follow up an episode as amazing as Basic Lupine Urology, but this one did a pretty good job at it. The premise of the Ass Crack Bandit is funny on its own, but I love the fact that it's played so seriously. And just like Starburns' death, Pierce's death was a shocking end to the episode, albeit a bit more predictable if you knew Chevy Chase was leaving ahead of time.

Cooperative Polygraphy: Easily my favorite bottle episode of the series, I love that Pierce's final episode has him causing fights within the group one last time, and the polygraph test was a perfect way for him to do that. I also think this episode's slow devolving into chaos was done far better than in Cooperative Calligraphy, and the final scene where Troy decides that he wants to leave is yet another big punch in the gut.

Geothermal Escapism: While this season didn't have a paintball episode, Troy's final outing gave us a Waterworld parody that was way more fun than it had any right to be. "Don't Touch The Lava" is a fun game on its own, but watching Greendale take it to its absolute limit with crazy action setpieces, massive battles, and emotional finales made it so much more entertaining. And Troy's goodbye is easily one of the show's best moments.

App Development And Condiments: This is easily one of the most creative episodes of television I've ever seen (and I know I've said that a lot in these reviews). In a single thirty-minute episode, the writers behind Community managed to create a compelling and easy to understand dystopian society with MeowMeowBeenz, and watching it slowly evolve over time is fascinating. This isn't one of the funnier episodes, but it manages to be genuinely compelling from start to finish.

Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: While not as good as the first D&D episode, I still really liked this one. It has a stronger emotional hook as Hickey tries to reconnect with his son, and the concept of splitting up the group by putting them in separate rooms of the house is both clever and hilarious.

Basic Sandwich: Given how Community was in danger of being canceled here, I love the constant jabs at NBC's expense. However, it also means that, for a finale, there wasn't nearly as much heart as there should have been. Still, this was an incredibly entertaining and fun treasure hunt to cap off the season. 

Overall, Season 5 is an incredibly comeback for Community, with an emotional beginning and some of the funniest parodies in the show. It's not a perfect season and it does feel like the magic of the first three is lost a bit, but it's still an incredible time.

4.5/5 Stars

Community (Season 4)

Coming after my favorite season of all time, is probably my least favorite of all time, and that absolutely pains me to say. Community's first three seasons were perfect, and Seasons 5 & 6 are great too, which is why it absolutely pains me that such an amazing show was sullied by a season as bad as its fourth. Ladies, gentleman, and enbies, it's time for a rant.

The issue with Community's fourth season is simple. Dan Harmon was fired so the season was written and directed by other people. However, they couldn't capture Dan Harmon's signature blend of hilarious meta humor and sharp dialogue with genuinely fleshed-out characters and a ton of heart and sincerity that made the show as amazing as it is. The fact is that not every show is like Buffy, which had a writer's room so big that literally anyone could leave and the show would still be in great hands. Just like you can't have the West Wing without Sorkin, or Breaking Bad without Gilligan, you can't have Community without Dan Harmon. He helped make the show what it is, and most of the episodes in Season 4 just felt like a cheap parody.

You can tell throughout Season 4 that the writers seem to think that Community is just about movie references and experimentation, so the episodes are jam-packed with empty movie references, and pretty much every episode tries to be creative. However, what makes Community so great is that all of the meta humor is in service of the characters. Critical Film Studies is great not because it's based off of Pulp Fiction and My Dinner With Andre, but because of how it uses those movies to build a story on Jeff and Abed's friendship. In Season 4, we get a superhero origin story for all of the characters, not to say anything about their relationship, but just because it's fun. The worst instance of this problem is in the Muppet episode, which doesn't do anything with its concept aside from saying "Hey, everyone! The characters are Muppets now! Isn't that funny?". I get that they were trying to mimic something like Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas, but that episode had one of the most insightful commentaries on the meaning of Christmas ever. What did this episode have? Nothing.

All of the characters end up turned into one-note caricatures, meaning that they lose the subtle respect they have for each other in all of the other seasons. Even when they bicker, fight, and face conflicts, you know that this Greendale study group cares about each other. However, you don't get that sense in Season 4. It feels like the characters don't like spending time together, especially Pierce, who's eagerness to leave Greendale ruins all of his subtle character growth in the last three seasons. And then there's Chang whose fake-amnesia storyline is not only unfunny, but it isn't even resolved by the end of the season. Maybe simplifying the characters could be fine if it allowed for some great comedy, but as mentioned before, none of the humor is sharp or witty. It never goes further than just pointing out that it's referencing a movie, genre, or trend.

The worst part about Season 4 for me is about how it pretty much ruins all of the plot threads that had been slowly built up throughout the first three seasons. Jeff's father issues finally get resolved here, but it's disappointing because the writing just isn't up to par. Britta and Troy finally get together, but they anticlimactically break up later on in the season because they just didn't work. I wonder if the writers knew that they were the reason why Troy and Britta didn't work. There's even a storyline about City College, who was a looming villain throughout the series, but they don't get a resolution either. The season even has some interesting premises, like the characters going to an Inspector Spacetime convention or a war over who gets the study table, but none of it is executed well at all. Worst of all, this season gives us the graduation from Greendale College, which should have been a big heartwarming finale. However, it was mean-spirited and anticlimactic, with most of the episode being an imaginary paintball battle with the darkest timeline. They couldn't even get the paintball right, as the choreography wasn't nearly as fun and intricate as in the rest of the show. It's so painful because with good writing, this season could have been one of the best, but none of it was executed well at all.

I try to find redeeming qualities for everything I watch. Even when I'm disappointed in what I'm watching, I try to find things to enjoy. Even when I was mad with the Mr Robot finale, I still voiced how much I loved the first two-thirds of the season. But I just can't seem to do that here, it's just that bad. There's no highlights, no diamonds in the rough (except maybe Abed's girlfriend), there was no way I could have even done this review without it devolving into an angry rant like this.

Overall, Community's fourth season is just plain awful. It lacks any sort of heart whatsoever. The comedy falls flat, the storylines are dumb, the characters have become one-dimensional caricatures of themselves, and the good ideas that were set up in previous seasons were wasted with bad execution. It's a fate I wouldn't wish on any TV show, let alone one I love as much as Community. So let's just pretend this season never happened, shall we?

0/5 Stars

Community (Season 3)

Community's third season is my favorite television season ever created. Bold statement, I know, but it just gets everything right. It's packed with amazing episodes, a fun storyline, and a consistency that feels like a goddamn miracle. 

Season 3 doesn't seem to have as much of a story the first time around. The study group has to deal with Biology this time around, but it doesn't seem to have as much of an importance as Spanish or Archeology. There are subplots about Annie moving, Shirley pitching a sandwich shop, Troy's skill at air conditioner repair, and Chang becoming a security guard, but they don't seem all that important... at least not until the final third of the season. At that point, all of the storylines converge into this massive final arc that's easily the best stretch of episodes in the show. Starburns dies (or so we think), Chang takes over the school, replaces the dean, and expels the study group, kickstarting a storyline about taking Greendale back. It's such a phenomenal story arc, it's high stakes, it's hilarious, and the show manages to keep introducing fun parody episodes in the middle of the storyline without it feeling like it's stretching the arc out. And even more, the arc ends an episode before the finale, which makes sure to tie up all of the character storylines in a neat bow, as this season was originally intended to end the series. If Community did end with Season 3, this would be a pretty damn amazing way to end things off.

As for the comedy, well it's just as amazing as Season 2, if not moreso. The writing from Dan Harmon and his team is still top-notch, balancing wit and sincerity perfectly. While it doesn't ape individual movies as much as the second season, Season 3 is packed with incredibly creative concepts that result in some of the most unique episodes ever made, from an episode exploring alternate timelines, to a psychoanalysis of Abed, to a civil war documentary about a pillow fight. We also get followups to some of Season 2's episodes, like the documentary and clip show episodes, and they're just as good if not better in some cases. And just like Season 2, the show manages sure to toss in a solid amount of fairly standard episodes to prevent things from getting too chaotic, with the highlights being the charmingly character-driven Studies In Modern Movement, and the incredibly low-key and satisfying Introduction To Finality. The most impressive thing about Season 3, however, is just how consistent it is. Looking back through the season, I don't think there's a single episode I don't like. It's incredibly tough to maintain such a high level of quality throughout a twenty-two episode season without at least one dip, but Community manages it pretty flawlessly.

I know this is nearly half the season, but there are so many episodes I love to shorten it down:

Remedial Chaos Theory: This is easily one of the greatest episodes in television history. The concept of an alternate timeline is already creative in itself, but it feels so perfectly calibrated and thought-out, like a Rube Goldberg machine of sorts. The opening scene lays out all of the character motivations and important aspects of Troy and Abed's house, so each timeline leads to said plot elements colliding in completely different ways. And when chaos ensues in the Darkest Timeline, it's easily one of the funniest television moments ever. But despite its high concept, the emotion and thematic resonance is there. Many of the characters are dealing with their own problems and situations, like Pierce's jealousy and Annie's home issues, and the way in which the timelines differ showcase each of the characters' importance to the group. For example, the group would descend into chaos with Troy, and they'd likely be more happy without Jeff. It's just such a funny and well thought-out episode on so many levels, I love it!

Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps: It would be hard to follow-up Remedial Chaos Theory, but this episode did a pretty good job. I love all of the characters' different Halloween stories, especially Abed's which shows excellent why you don't write a story where everyone makes logical decisions. I also really like the punchline where the group learns that there's only one person who passed Britta's psych test, that being Abed.

Documentary Filmmaking: Redux: This is the second documentary episode in the series, and probably the best as well. This time around, it's based off Hearts Of Darkness, focusing on the Dean as he descends into madness trying to make a new commercial for Greendale. If you seen my past reviews, I love episodes about the filmmaking process, and from Jeff acting as the Dean to Pierce's prima donna antics, everyone gets some hilarious moments of their own as the production becomes more and more of an absolute disaster. 

Regional Holiday Music: One of my favorite running gags in Community is about the Glee Club, which is literally just the TV show Glee, and it reaches its climax in this episode, which has the members of study group slowly get "infected" by the Glee Club into singing. Not only are the songs absolutely hilarious a lot of the time, but the sheer brutality of the jokes made at Glee's expense are just glorious.

Pillows And Blankets: This episode is just plain brilliant, making a civil war documentary based on a pillow fight. The sheer insanity of Greendale's pillow fight (especially Pierce's ridiculously pillow suit) is played entirely with a serious tone with narration and witness testimonies, and it's just great. I also like the sweet ending where Troy and Abed make up (because seeing them fight is just too damn hard), and Jeff goes through some pretty solid character development.

Basic Lupine Urology: Kickstarting the big final arc is this hilarious Law & Order parody about finding out who destroyed a biology project. The highlight of the episode for me is the "Order" portion, with Shirley, Troy and Abed heading the investigation, but even the "Law" portion with its big confrontation in biology class is great. This would've already been one of my favorite episodes of the series, but the shocking ending that reveals Starburns' death makes it even better!

Curriculum Unavailable: After the study group has been expelled, we get our second clip show episode that manages to be just as good as the first. I love how meta this one is, focusing around a therapy session that has the characters questioning if Greendale was even real to begin with. Even if the therapist was just a mole, it's funny to see Community poke holes at its own premise. Once again, the flashbacks are entirely original (and hilarious), and the ending actually manages to progress the plot a solid amount.

Digital Estate Planning: An episode about video games that actually manages to get them right?! I obviously love this episode and all of its references, but it's also just hilarious to watch the study group (especially Pierce) struggle with the game at first. I also think it's a great episode for Pierce, ending his story arc for the season and showing how much he developed as a character.

The First Chang Dynasty: A heist episode! The final episode of the arc is a fast-paced and entertaining ride as the study group tries to break into the school and stop Chang's plans. It's thrilling, funny, and even has an emotional moment where Troy sacrifices himself to the air conditioner repair school (it makes more sense in context) to save Greendale.

Introduction To Finality: While not one of the show's best finales, I think it's an incredibly satisfying one. Almost every character (sans Annie) gets a satisfying resolution to their arcs, the reveal of Starburns being alive is great, and the ending montage is incredibly sweet. I generally prefer the series finale we actually got, but this still would have been an excellent ending if the series did end here (and given what we get next, sometimes I wish it did...).

Overall, I know this review was a lot of gushing, but I just love this season so much. It's packed with amazing and creative episodes, great character arcs, and ends on one of the best final arcs I've ever seen. Community's third season is the golden standard I hold most television seasons towards, and I don't know if anything will be able to top it.

6/5 Stars

Community (Season 2)

At the end of its first season, Community would begin leaning into the meta humor that the show is well-known for. In Season 2, Community goes full meta, packing in tons of references to other forms of media, and it's absolutely glorious.

Season 2 has a bit more of a story this time around compared to the first. Just like last time, there's that one difficult class that everyone has to make it through (Anthropology this time), but there are also subplots about Jeff's feelings for Annie, Shirley accidentally having a kid with Chang, and biggest of all, Pierce feeling he's starting to get kicked off the group. Pierce's storyline is a bit odd, as it feels like the writers purposefully made him more of a jerk at some points in the season, but it also definitely manages to be the most emotional part of the season as well. However, while Season 2 is generally more story-driven, many of its episodes are far more standalone and driven by meta humor. Remember "Modern Warfare" from Season 1? Well, this season is packed to the gills with episodes like that, and so many of them are great. And just like the parody episodes in Season 1, many of these episodes in Season 2 manage to maintain an emotional throughline to stay grounded even when things go wrong, whether it's Abed's family issues, Jeff realizing he hasn't spent much time with his best friend lately, or of course, Pierce feeling alienated from the group. The series also doesn't hesitate to get surprisingly serious, such as in Mixology Certification which deals with alcoholism. It's this expert juggling of tone and creative episode premises that make this season of Community so special.

But of course, this show wouldn't be nearly as good if it wasn't funny, and Season 2 of Community is incredibly funny. The parody episodes are consistently excellent, with tons of clever references and fun gags. But sometimes the sheer bizarreness of these premises can be hilarious in itself, whether it's a zombie movie caused by Dean accidentally giving out military rations as food, a tense chase scene in a tent fort, or a crossover between Pulp Fiction and My Dinner With Andre. And even if you don't get all of these movie references (because let's face it, there's a lot of them), there are still a ton of well-written jokes and funny character interactions to keep you entertained. I also think this season strikes a good balance between these more chaotic parody episodes and standard episodes like the ones from Season 1, with about a 50/50 ratio between the two. As you can see from my highlights list lower in the review, I much prefer the gimmicky parody episodes, but there's also some great episodes that are more on the low-key side like Anthropology 101, Intro To Political Studies, and the aforementioned Mixology Certification.

There are so many amazing episodes this season, but I managed to narrow down my favorites to these:

Epidemiology: The first excellent episode of the season, Epidemiology manages to work as both a great zombie movie and a great parody of zombie movies. Despite the surprisingly tense and creepy zombie chaos, there are still a ton of fun character interactions near the start of the episode, and the episode kickstarts the Shirley's kid storyline. Oh, and the fact that it's all set to music from ABBA just makes the episode like 20 times funnier.

Cooperative Calligraphy: I'm gonna be honest here, this isn't my favorite bottle episode of the series. However, I absolutely love how the group slowly descends into madness as Annie refuses to let everyone out until she finds her pen. The latter half of this episode is so ridiculously chaotic and overwhelming you can't help but laugh, and the reveal of what happened to it actually gets revisited later on in the season.

Conspiracy Theories And Interior Design: This episode is just so good in so many ways. I love the concept of these weird night school classes, I love the hilariously intense pillow fort chase, I love the fact that there's a pillow fort in the first place, and I especially love the chaotic and hysterical double-crossing scene near the end of the episode that just keeps going on and on, and gets funnier and funnier the longer it goes.

Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas: This is a fun episode to watch around Christmas time. It does a good job of parodying the Rankin-Bass stop-motion Christmas films, while delivering an emotional story about Abed. I also think this episode does the best job of exploring the concept of "the meaning of Christmas", better than any Christmas episode I've ever seen. It's not the funniest episode, and if you're not a fan of the premise, you might not jive with this one, but I can't say that this isn't one of the most unique episodes ever put to television.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: So many Dungeons & Dragons episodes try to recreate the adventure through visuals or base the comedy around poking fun at the people who play the game itself, but this episode turns the group's D&D game into an epic, Lord Of The Rings-esque adventure and plays it all seriously. There are no visuals, only the narration and the sound effects, but you feel engrossed in the game anyway. Aside from just being a genuinely funny episode, it made me realize just why so many people love D&D to begin with.

Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking: The documentary episodes of Community have always been some of the show's best, with this one taking most of its inspiration from mockumentaries like The Office. Once you realize that all of Pierce's "presents" are meant to poke at his friends' sore spots, it's hilarious to see the ridiculous things that cause the other characters to completely break down. Troy meeting LeVar Burton is easily one of the funniest moments in the series.

Critical Film Studies: This episode was so creative in so many ways. I never thought I'd see a crossover between My Dinner With Andre and Pulp Fiction, but they pulled it off so well! All of the references are hilarious, and I like the emotional ending where Abed reveals he and Jeff hadn't spent much time together lately. Also, Abed appearing on Cougar Town is even funnier knowing that Danny Pudi as Abed actually did make a background appearance in one of its episodes.

Paradigms Of Human Memory: There's this problem with clip show episodes. On one hand, it's a lot of fun to see a highlight reel of your favorite show's best moments, and even better when it's edited in comedic ways. However, if you're in the middle of watching a show, you don't really need that reminder, so it just feels like filler. So how did Community make its clip show episode one of the best in the whole show? By making all of the clips entirely original and never-before-seen, of course! Not to mention the way it follows up on Cooperative Caligraphy is brilliant, I just adore this episode so much.

A Fistful Of Paintballs/For A Few Paintballs More: While not as "Modern Warfare", the show's second paintball episode gets pretty damn close! By basing itself off of westerns and Star Wars respectively, we get even more creative action, with a surprisingly large-scale and massive war in the final act that's surprisingly similar to Rogue One (this came out in 2011!). It also works pretty well as a season finale, with incredibly high stakes and a cliffhanger that brings Pierce's storyline to a pretty dramatic close. (Fun fact: This episode was so good, it caused Marvel to ask the Russo Brothers to direct Winter Soldier, and the rest is history).

Overall, I loved Community's second season. It's packed with creative parody episodes, excellent comedy, and some of the most inventive episodes of television, I've ever seen. It's a nearly perfect season and yet it's still not my favorite of the series, that honor goes to my next review... 

5/5 Stars

Community (Season 1)

Community is one of my favorite shows of all time. Its willingness to experiment is unlike any show I've ever seen, and the meta humor is absolutely godly. Personally, I think the first three seasons are nearly perfect, even if Season 1 is a bit different compared to the rest of the show.

Given how Community is so well known for its pop culture references and experimental nature, you might find it surprised just how low-key and standard its first season is. Not that there aren't any hints of the show it would later become, the entire pilot is basically one long homage to The Breakfast Club after all, but for the most part, Community's first season is a really solid comedy about a community college. The main storyline is that a group of seven students who have to attend community college form a "study group" for their Spanish class, only to become great friends. The characters are all incredibly likable and fun, each with their own dreams, motivations, and moments of character development, but the highlights are easily Danny Pudi's self-aware Abed and Donald Glover's hilarious Troy. Most of this first season revolves around the characters going through their classes, with the only major running storyline being about Jeff's feelings for fellow classmate Britta. Despite the general lack of plot, however, I do like how a lot of this comedy about school actually focuses on schoolwork. It's something that I rarely ever see in a television show and it helps this first season of Community stand out in its own way.

Right from the very first episode, Community is already incredibly funny. Dan Harmon's writing in this series is just perfect, blending incredibly sharp and witty comedy with a surprise amount of heart. The performances are great as well, pretty much everyone involved pulls off the comedic moments really well. However, while I do think the more low-key nature of Community's first season has a lot of merit, you can kind of tell that the writers are just aching to get to the more experimental stuff. Many of the earlier episodes this season seem to lean to the show's iconic meta humor, but never fully commits until the last few episodes of the season. As a result, while there aren't really any bad episodes this season, I also feel like it's not until said last few episodes where we start to get some really great stuff. On the other hand, I also think that the slow build makes the show's eventual descent into chaos all the more hilarious and effective, so while I don't love most of this first season, I'm glad it's there to easy viewers into the show.

Still, there are a bunch of episodes I did really like, even if most of them are near the end of the season:

Spanish 101: Don't get me wrong, this episode wasn't amazing or anything, I'm just putting it here because it had the Spanish Rap, which is not only one of the funniest and most iconic moments of the series, but a great introduction to just how hilarious this show's post-credits scenes can be.

Debate 109: As far as the first batch of episodes go, Debate 109 is easily the highlight of the bunch. It sets up Jeff and Annie's relationship for most of the series, it has some great meta humor with Abed's films, and the ending is incredibly heartwarming. It's not one of Community's best episodes, but it's the first true sign of greatness from the show.

Contemporary American Poultry: This episode feels like the point at which Dan Harmon said "Screw it" and really started leaning into the meta humor, laying the groundwork for some of the show's best episodes. Sure the gangster film parodies and Godfather/Goodfellas references are hilarious and well-executed, I love how the show uses its inspiration to say something about its character. That's what makes Community so great, even with how crazy it gets, it makes sure to have an important emotional hook or instance of character development to ground its plot, and Abed's storyline about struggling to connect with people is a strong example of that.

Modern Warfare: While CAP laid down the structure, Modern Warfare not only showed that these more experimental episodes were here to stay, but demonstrated just how good they can be. As a fan of action movies, the paintball episodes are some of my absolute favorites, but this one is still the finest. They brought in Justin Lin, director of multiple Fast & Furious films, to direct the action and it shows. The set pieces here are a ton of fun. Even more, the references are hilarious, and the character moments scattered throughout do a great job of, once again, grounding the episode. Modern Warfare is easily one of my favorite episodes of all time, and the point at which I realized that Community had the potential to be absolutely amazing.

Pascal's Triangle Revisited: I adore how this episode seems to parody the concept of a super dramatic season finale. Characters leaving, dramatic arguments, shocking love confessions, and a big damn kiss at the end of the episode, it's all here! Even aside from the hilariously heightened melodrama, this is just a genuinely great end to the season. Most of the story threads are tied up, every character gets something to do, and even a bunch of running gags (like Dean's dalmatian gag) are all paid off.

Overall, Community's first season is a funny and solid comedy with some great characters and strong writing, but it doesn't truly become its best self until the final few episodes.

4/5 Stars