Community’s 15 Best Ever Episodes

[TMC]

http://whatculture.com/tv/communitys...r-episodes.php

It’s hard to believe that Community only hit our screens in 2009. The cult phenomenon has taken over the lives of so many geeks across the internet due to its clever, meta and downright hilarious stories delivered through sharp witted scripts that leave us thinking well beyond the closing credits. With the final episode of series 4 out just last week we thought that it was about time for a proper retrospective of one of our favorite series.

Following the bizarre misadventures of a study group of Community College, Greendale – as well as many of their classmates and faculty members – Community combines sharp one liners with an array of surprisingly original characters. Jeff is a lawyer, only studying in Community College because it was discovered that he faked his bachelor’s degree. Britta, a failed political activist studying to finally create a life for herself. Aspegic Abed who sees life through the lens of a television camera, his best friend Troy, the adorably simple ex-athlete out to get himself a job where he does no work or that looks like he doesn’t do any work from far away. Young, naive and neurotic Annie and middle aged Shirley ready to start a business and get her life back on track. Also in the group is Pierce, the hopeless heir to a moist towelette empire. The gang have to contend with the psychotic Senior Chang and the blatantly pan-sexual Dean Pelton.

Here is a definitive, highly subjective list of fifteen episodes of Community that you’ll find impossible not to watch over and over again, each one of them displaying all of the things that make this series so unique and special.

Read more at http://whatculture.com/tv/communitys...3sYrJOWiFIa.99

[EmoJoe]

This list is pretty terrible. Their #1 pick is Celebrity Pharmacology 212? That's one of the show's weaker episodes...I can't even comphehend how anyone could rank it as the best. Also, did this person simply not watch the first season? Because there's no Season 1 episodes on this list, and Season 1 is wonderful.

But the biggest issue is the lack of Mixology Certification, aka the show's best episode and my favorite TV episode of all-time.

Needless to say, HERE IS MY TOP 15:

1. Mixology Certification (210)
I wrote a long thing about this episode in the comments section of the AV Club review of the Season 4 finale somewhere...I don't feel like going and finding it, but basically it's a simple yet powerful episode that takes each character and really gets to the root of who they are and why they are who they are. It's one of the show's least concept-y episodes - the concept is that they go to a bar for Troy's birthday, that's it. But the small concept allowed the show to really go to some deep, dark and fascinating places with its characters. This episode is pretty much the gold standard for good character work in a comedy (or a TV show in general, really).

2. Cooperative Calligraphy (208)
This is basically my go-to episode for introducing people to Community. It puts every one in one room for the entire episode and allows each character to really shine. Also, it's hilarious.

3. Remedial Chaos Theory (304)
One of the most daring, inventive sitcom episodes ever - and a really great character study, to boot.

4. Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas (211)
This could seriously stand with the best TV Christmas specials. Funny, heartwarming, really dark at times, and just a mesmerising experience overall.

5. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (214)
A really unique episode, and one that brought out the best in every character. Plus, it's really fun to watch, even if it's essentially just the study group sitting down and playing a game together.

6. Contemporary American Poultry (121)
Most point to Modern Warfare as the show's first "concept" episode...but it was really this episode, which uses a Goodfellas homage to tell a really interesting story about Abed's relationship with the rest of the group.

7. Paradigms of Human Memory (221)
Maybe the show's funniest episode, and a great spin on the clip show formula.

8. Virtual Systems Analysis (316)
A complex episode, almost to ridiculous measures, but it tells one of the show's most affecting emotional stories at the same time.

9. Debate 109 (109)
This is, plain and simple, just a really well-done episode. It's very much a typical sitcom episode - but it's an excellent one, and one that uses the sitcom storytelling format to push some really unique and creative ideas.

10. Modern Warfare (123)
A truly revolutionary episode - it took a sitcom episode and turned it into an action movie. It'll be remembered for years to come for how it really reworked what a sitcom episode could be.

11. Advanced Documentary Filmmaking (216)
Not only is it an interesting takedown of the documentary/mockumentary format, it's another one of those episodes that really let us delve deep into each character - especially Jeff and Pierce.

12. Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design (209)
Extraordinarily fun episode, and the blanket fort chase scene is maybe the show's best moment cinematically.

13. Documentary Filmmaking: Redux (308)
A dark but also extremely funny story, and the Dean's best episode by far.

14. Accounting for Lawyers (202)
An underappreciated classic. No one hates it or anything, but I think it's one of the show's best, funniest episodes and doesn't usually get mentioned in best-of lists. It underlines the show's central concept well and makes a lot of great jokes while doing so.

15. Romantic Expressionism (115)
I include this as basically a stand-in for all of Season 1, which didn't hit the weird, genre-defying highs of Seasons 2 and 3 (Modern Warfare notwithstanding) but turned in consistently great episodes every week that basically featured the study group just hanging out and getting to know each other. This was perhaps the best episode of that kind, but basically everything in Season 1 minus a few outliers fits this description, and it was those episodes that made the concept-y stuff in future seasons land so well.

Season 4 was a...season that happened. There were some good episodes, but none of them would come even close to making my top 15. Let's see what Season 5 has in store!