From Paintballs to Pillow Forts: The Top 5 Greatest Episodes of Community Ranked!
By Brandon Bryce
For those who are streets behind Community is a comedy from the mind of creator Dan Harmon about a mismatched group of students at Greendale Community College who form a study group. It ran from 2009 to 2015 with six seasons becoming a cult classic due to its brilliant writing and high concept episodes which set them apart from every other sitcom. They would finally gain mainstream success when they would launch on Netflix in 2020 leading to a whole new fanbase that are now clamouring for the movie that has been announced.
Honourable mentions -
Remedial Chaos Theory
(Season 3, Episode 4)
Controversially left out of my top five is the incredibly bold and iconic Remedial Chaos Theory. This is the highest concept episode of the entire show and that is why it is regarded as one of the absolute best, but it just could not hit on such a deep level like the top five did.
Regional Holiday Music
(Season 3, episode 10)
Community's Glee parody delivers wall-to-wall bangers through an incredibly hilarious concept that leaves you clamouring for more. This would have made the top 5 if not for the undeniable strength of the episodes that edged it out.
Cooperative Polygraphy
(Season 5, Episode 4)
A perfect farewell to the Pierce Hawthorne character contained through a bottle episode filled with tension, stakes, and unforgettably hilarious lines.
5. Contemporary American Poultry
(Season 1, episode 21)
The moment Community truly came into their own and set themselves apart from every run of the mill sitcom. A brilliant mafia homage taking inspiration from films like Goodfellas and The Godfather as Abed narrates us through the highs and lows of their chicken fingers empire.
4. Modern Warfare
(Season 1, episode 23)
If Contemporary American Poultry was where they found their identity, this is where they cemented it. A full-blown action movie within an episode of a sitcom, taking tonal inspiration from films like Die Hard and The Matrix as the Community campus is turned into a paintball battlefield at the cause of the all-important prize.
3. Pillows & Blankets
(Season 3, Episode 14)
A campus wide civil war brought on by the rift between Troy and Abed styled as war documentary that completely understands their audience. This is an episode that will have you on the edge of your seat due to the true commitment that is put in to make this parody the incredibly witty piece it is.
2. A Fist Full of Paintballs
(Season 2, Episode 23)
The second paintball episode in Community’s run takes the concept and makes it grander, ups the stakes, and produces a thrilling homage to old spaghetti westerns like a Fist Full of Dollars. It takes the action movie chaos of the first and replaces it with standoffs, dramatic close ups, and a classic western score. This episode misses top spot due to it being tied to the next episode as the first of a two parter.
1. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
(Season 2, Episode 14)
Community’s number one greatest episode is the infamous Advanced Dungeons & Dragons because it highlights the strength of every character as they are thrown into a D&D game with the shared goal of helping Neil. The highlight is Pierce who acts as the antagonist of this episode and is at his most maniacal and hilarious throughout as he looks to destroy the study group. The real-world stakes brought by the condition of Neil allows the cast to go as crazy as possible playing through this fantastical world which leads to some of the most hilarious and memorable scenes in the whole show.