Come hell or high water, Community is going to get its sixth season and a movie. The show has had a tumultuous run already—losing and regaining Dan Harmon, losing Chevy Chase and Donald Glover, and getting cancelled by NBC. Now, it’s getting revived as a web series on Yahoo!, and who knows what will happen from there?
Community is one of the bigger cult sensations in modern television, so most fans probably have their own well-honed, top 10 lists. What follows is one such list—and, Dan Harmon diehards—you can relax. There are no Season Four episodes on it.
10. “Beginner Pottery”
While “Beginner Pottery” does riff on pop culture to some degree, it isn’t one of Community’s classic genre parodies. Instead, it’s just the tale of Jeff and a couple of others in a pottery class, while the members of the group who are not in the pottery class do some stuff on a boat in the parking lot. It’s still a very funny episode, largely due to guest star Tony Hale’s role as the pottery class teacher. Do not, under any circumstances, participate in any ghosting in his classroom.
9. “App Development and Condiments”
The only episode on this list that aired after Season Three, it primarily makes the list because of Mitch Hurwitz’s appearance as Koogler, the ultimate party dude. Yes, Britta with mustard on her face is funny, and there is some amusing social media stuff in the story as well. Still—Koogler. Get with it, people.
8. “Paradigms of Human Memory”
“Paradigms of Human Memory” isn’t the first episode of television to play like a fake clip show, but Community pulls it off better than anyone else. Sure, we never got to see the gang’s wacky St. Patrick’s Day adventures, but that shouldn’t detract from the cleverness of the episode. Also, and perhaps most importantly, this is where we first heard the epic phrase “six seasons and a movie.”
7. “Intro to Political Science”
This one may represent the best use of the show’s tertiary characters, or at least the best use of Magnitude. It doesn’t have anything particularly Earth-shattering to say about politics, but that’s fine, because it is hilarious. Eliza Coupe’s appearance as a Secret Service agent—who strikes up a relationship with Abed—is welcome addition as well.
6. “Introduction to Statistics”
The earliest episode on this list, and the first Halloween episode, this was a nice example of Community really finding its voice as a show. Most notably, Abed and Troy’s friendship, a rock for the show until Glover left, truly begins to blossom here. Plus, Pierce’s drug freak-out is fantastic. On the other hand, it has to be said that any appearance from Professor Slater feels like a jarring blast from the past. They can’t all be perfect, but “Introduction to Statistics” comes close.
5. “Remedial Chaos Theory”
This is probably the most ambitious episode Community ever produced. We get to see the same simple situation—one of the group heading to go get their pizza—play out many times over, and each time something unique, smart and—most importantly—funny happens. Some moments appear in every story segment, showing off an impressive attention to detail. Boldness like this should be rewarded, especially in sitcoms. This episode also brought us the concept of “the darkest timeline,” for better or worse.
4. “Regional Holiday Music”
Community took plenty of shots at Glee over the years (and rightly so), but it all came to a head in Community’s one musical episode. They get away with the silliness in part because it is clearly a parody of musicals, but there is also some really sharp satire in here. There’s also Abed and Troy’s rap and Britta singing—all pieces to a fantastic puzzle.
3. “Contemporary American Poultry”
“Contemporary American Poultry” is one of the quintessential Community episodes. This is when the show really started to distinguish itself from the average sitcom. The episode is a smart, funny parody of Goodfellas and other mob movies, marking a moment where pop culture and Community really became synonymous. With tremendous storytelling—and without the pop culture riffs getting in the way of the plot—along with some excellent jokes makes this episode one of the series’ most memorable.
2. “Modern Warfare”
This one is a crowd favorite, and is arguably the most famous Community episode to date. An episode that spanned multiple sequels, “Modern Warfare” is not just a funny take on a bunch of action movies, it’s an excellent half-hour action comedy. The directing (provided by Justin Lin) is fantastic, and adds to the humor of the piece, making this an iconic bit of television.
1. “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”
Do you have to have seen Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse to really appreciate this episode? Maybe, but probably not. This episode is fairly unique even within the wild world of Community. All Dean Pelton wants to do is create a new commercial for Greendale, and everything falls apart, but it falls apart hilariously. It is all so pitch-perfect and well-crafted, but it might be a difficult episode to watch, isolated from the others. Still, that’s part of its charm—that’s part of what limits the show to cult status. If you know Community, it’s easy to love this episode. It is great television, and it fits perfectly into the show’s wonderful universe.
Chris Morgan is an Internet gadabout who writes on a variety of topics and in a variety of mediums. If he had to select one thing to promote, however, it would be his ’90s blog/podcast, Existential Parachute Pants can also follow him on Twitter.)