The Terminator
Episode: Season 1, Episode 23: Modern Warfare ; Season 2, Episode 7: Aerodynamics of Gender
Reference: Always the people person, Abed develops a Terminator style ability to discover women’s weaknesses in order to deliver the ultimate withering put-down.
This isn’t the only Terminator reference in the show, as Abed delivers the ultimate action hero line in Modern Warfare: “Come with me if you don’t want paint on your clothes.”
The Godfather
Episode: Season 1, Episode 10: Environmental Science
Reference: In a moment that mirrors Michael Corleone’s shooting of Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey in The Godfather , the tenth episode of the first season sees Pierce shoot Troy and Abed with a water pistol before dropping the gun to the ground and walking away.
Fortunately there’s less blood this time around.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Episode: Season 3, Episode 10: Regional Holiday Music
References: As with most of Community 's best movie nods, its Invasion of the Body Snatchers moment is so brief and unannounced, it's easy for non-movie nerds to miss it.
In an episode where an evil Glee -like musical group is converting each of the gang into a happy-clappy broadway belter, Britta is one of the last to retain her individuality.
She runs up to Jeff for help, but unbeknown to her, he's already been turned - something he makes perfectly clear when he silently turns around, arms outstretched and sing-screams in her face.
If Donald Sutherland had brought camp caterwauling to Invaders of the Body Snatchers, it'd look a whole lot like that.
The Polar Express
Episode: Season 2, Episode 11: Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas
Reference: Nothing beats a stop-motion Christmas episode, and the train sequence in “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” is a nostalgic nod to Robert Zemeckis’ 2004 animation.
Star Wars
Episodes: Season 2, Episode 23: A Fistful of Paintballs; Season 3, Episode 6: Advanced Gay; Season 4, Episode 4:Alternative History of the German Invasion
References: Where to begin? You don't need to have a degree in pop culture 101 to understand that Star Wars is the immediate go-to nerd nod of choice.
As such, Community revels in it, specifically in one liners ("Don't get cocky, kid!", "I just felt a strange disturbance", "Red leader, standing by") that are littered across all the series to date.
It's only a matter of time before they fashion a whole episode revolving around lightsabers, somehow.
(Image via Vulture )
The Amazing Spider-Man
Episode: Season 2, Episode 1: Anthropology 101
Reference: There was a time, before Epsom lad Andrew Garfield took the Spider-Man role, that the internet was working itself into a frenzy trying to persuade the studio to hire Community ’s Donald Glover as the sticky-webbed hero.
In a nod to the overwhelming online campaign, the Season 2 opener showed Troy leave bed wearing his Spider-Man pyjamas.
Batman Begins
Episode: Season 1, Episode 7: Introduction to Statistics
Reference: Abed is the hero Greendale deserves, and dressed as Batman he goes after the person responsible for treading on, and breaking, his Dark Knight collection (Annie).
Suspecting the landlord Rick (it was definitely Annie) he goes on a vigilante mission as the caped crusader: "men like Rick operate above the law. But there's something else above the law: Bats… and me."
Goodfellas
Episode: Season 1, Episode 21: Contemporary American Poultry
Reference: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be in a Mafia movie” says Abed in “Contemporary American Poultry”, an episode in which he rises to power as the supplier of fried chicken to Greendale college.
Complete with freeze-frame voiceovers and emotive montages, Community does Goodfellas in style.
Pulp Fiction
Episode: Season 2, Episode 19: Critical Film Studies
Reference: As Abed wines and dines Jeff, secretly re-enacting My Dinner With Andre , the rest of the study group are waiting to celebrate the pop-culture fan’s birthday in Tarantino style.
As well as the Pulp Fiction -themed party (gimp costumes and burger gags agogo), Troy becomes obsessed with the contents of the briefcase Jeff has bought Abed for his birthday - another nod to the 1994 film.
Beetlejuice
Episodes: Season 1, Episode 16: Communication Studies; Season 2, Episode 8: Cooperative Calligraphy; Season 3, Episode 5: Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps
References: Community’s Beetlejuice gag was three years in the making, with a pay-off so subtle that only the most eagle-eyed viewers even spotted it.
Having worked the word “Beetlejuice” into two previous scripts, the third utterance brought the ghost to the Greendale College, as a punchline to one of the longest setups in sitcom history.
Community: Seasons 1-4 are out on DVD now.
