Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock

Recommended reading

Anson Mount as Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Streaming Services The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Jesse Plemons in Game Night
Movies The 32 most underrated movie comedies of all time
Alicia Silverstone
Movies The 32 Greatest '90s Comedies Ever Made
Severance
Apple TV Plus The 25 best shows on Apple TV Plus to watch right now (June 2025)
Best Hulu shows: a close-up of Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga during the series Shogun.
Hulu The 10 best shows on Hulu to watch right now
Squid Game Season 2 on Netflix
Netflix The 25 best shows on Netflix to watch right now
Andor, one of the best shows on Disney Plus.
Superhero Shows The 30 best shows on Disney Plus to watch right now
  1. Games

The 10 best Community episodes

Features
By GamesRadar published 2 June 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Cool cool cool

Cool cool cool

Community just wrapped up its sixth season. And, as is now traditional with that show, we don't know if it's going to return. From where we're standing, though, Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television looked like a last hurrah. It encapsulated everything that was great about this sometimes baffling, more often wonderful show and the characters we have come to love.

It's the ideal time then to look back over the show's history and pluck out the 10 best episodes. That's no mean feat. In its season two/season three prime, Community unleashed hit-after-hit. It's from here that most of our favourites are plucked. But even after its famously messy fourth season (produced without creator and key driving force, Dan Harmon) the show was never less than funny and we've plucked a couple of episodes from the excellent seasons five and six too. Now, how do we make the and a movie part of that hashtag come true?

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Virtual System's Analysis (3.16)

Virtual System's Analysis (3.16)

The one where: Almost everything takes place in Abed's Dreamatorium.

Why it's great: Depending on who you talk to, Virtual Systems Analysis is either Community at its most heartfelt and most character-led, or the moment the show fully disappeared up its own arse. We favour the former. It delves deep into what makes Abed tick, while also admitting that he can be a difficult sometimes even manipulative person. Plus the Inspector Spacetime stuff was still funny at this point.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Cooperative Calligraphy (2.8)

Cooperative Calligraphy (2.8)

The one where: Annie loses her pen and her mind.

Why it's great: Community has always been fond of its bottle episodes. Put this cast in the same room together and sparks are bound to fly. There's no paintball or high concept here just an insanely charismatic cast bouncing off each other over a lost Biro. It's sweet, it's funny and ends on a note of warmth and sincerity that reminds you that while these people occasionally drive each other nuts, they genuinely like and care about each other. Even Pierce. Probably.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Geothermal Escapism (5.5)

Geothermal Escapism (5.5)

The one where: Abed announces a school-wide game of Hot Lava...

Why it's great: It's the last hurrah for the old Community gang. Pierce is gone, and now it's time for Troy to depart on a round-the-world trip with LeVar Burton (hey, it could happen). Abed is not handling this well and concocts a typically shabby Mad Max style setting for one last adventure. It's poignant and silly, but along with "Cooperative Polygraphy" the previous week, showed that season five had set Community back on the right track. Plus Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks) is wonderful.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Conspiracy Theories And Interior Design (2.9)

Conspiracy Theories And Interior Design (2.9)

The one where: Jeff invents a fake class in conspiracy theories and becomes entangled in a web of deceit. Meanwhile Troy and Abed make the world's biggest blanket fort.

Why it's great: It's a tangle of twists and turns that starts with a simple hook (Jeff's fake class turns out to be real) before ramping it up to an absurd degree. Professor Garrity is an inspired addition to the show's cast of secondary characters and what other show would feature a chase sequence in a blanket fort? A classic from the show's best season.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Epidemiology (2.6)

Epidemiology (2.6)

The one where: The Dean orders a consignment of food from the military and inadvertently turns everyone on campus into zombies.

Why it's great: Community does zombie movies. That's a genre that nobody needs to spoof ever again, frankly, and yet the show makes it work beautifully.

This is an episode full of wonderful moments, from George Takei's voicemail message for the Kevins of the world to Chang and Shirley unexpectedly hooking up, Jeff hating Richard less as a zombie and Troy's failed Power Loader attack. The Abba-heavy soundtrack only adds to the sense of lunacy. And yes, it is better than Spaced's zombie episode (though perhaps not Shaun Of The Dead). In your face!

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Modern Warfare (1.23)

Modern Warfare (1.23)

The one where: Paintball carnage erupts around Greendale and Britta and Jeff finally hook up.

Why it's great: Season one had a slowish start. Around the mid-point it got good, but by the home stretch it was unmissable. This is the episode that's traditionally used to woo new viewers and it's easy to see why. There's a palpable sense of the show growing in confidence, of the production team realising that with Community they can do anything. And as a stew of action-movie homages (not parodies, remember) go, it's pretty hard to beat, with Rambo, Predator and many more thrown into the mix and some fantastic direction from Justin Lin.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Critical Film Studies (3.19)

Critical Film Studies (3.19)

The one where: Jeff tries to convince Abed to come to a Pulp Fiction-themed party, but he claims to have given up on pop culture forever...

Why it's great: Lots of shows contain movie references. Most include them just to raise a few second-hand chuckles. Community is smarter than that, more often using them to develop the characters. Here, we see Jeff open up to Abed in a way he rarely has, but the mood is soured when it turns out that Abed is simply enacting an elaborate homage to semi-obscure '80s flick My Dinner With Andre. It's an episode that hones in precisely on the show's two lynchpin characters and it's both painful and funny. Plus it was directed by Richard Ayoade and features a wonderful extended monologue about Cougar Town.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television

Emotional Consequences Of Broadcast Television

The one where: School's out, bitches! The gang part ways but only for summer, right? Maybe. Probably. Maybe.

Why it's great: Last episodes can be tough to get right, but Community's had more practice than most. Unlike other season finales which have carried the hope of renewal, this really does feel like the end. And you know what? That's fine. Season six was mostly very good, and this is its best episode. As the characters pitch their futures as a hypothetical seventh season, Community reaches new levels of meta. Hell, Abed literally breaks down the formula for writing scenes at one point. But more importantly, it restores the sense of these guys as, well, a community. They may be moving into different parts of their lives, but Greendale has made them better people. It also has one of the darkest, weirdest jokes in the show's history in its very final scene.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Introduction To Finality (3.22)

Introduction To Finality (3.22)

The one where: Troy is becoming an air-conditioning repairman, Evil Abed is back and things are looking bleak but triumph is just around the corner.

Why it's great: The first of the show's many goodbye episodes, it was produced with the suspicion that Dan Harmon would not be returning for season four and a lingering doubt that there would be a season four at all. Despite all that, it's a gloriously funny, energised episode that moves all the characters on in their lives, lets Abed grow up (at least a bit) and undoes the death of Star Burns. The show may have been in trouble at the time, but all involved made sure that if it was going to end here, it would go out on a major high. That it returned for a further three seasons was the cherry on top.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Remedial Chaos Theory (3.3)

Remedial Chaos Theory (3.3)

The one where: The study group gather for a party which, in any other sitcom would be the set up for lots of comical misunderstanding and possibly character hook-ups. In Community it becomes a tangle of parallel timelines caused by an argument over who should get the pizza.

Why it's great: It's the show at its most dazzlingly inventive and ambitious. The character work is nuanced, and its darkest timeline with a bearded evil Abed is a brilliant spoof of Star Trek's mirror universe. But above all, it's properly funny. Community would go high-concept again, many times, but arguably never as perfectly as this.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
GamesRadar
See more Games Features
Read more
Anson Mount as Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Jesse Plemons in Game Night
The 32 most underrated movie comedies of all time
Alicia Silverstone
The 32 Greatest '90s Comedies Ever Made
Severance
The 25 best shows on Apple TV Plus to watch right now (June 2025)
Best Hulu shows: a close-up of Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga during the series Shogun.
The 10 best shows on Hulu to watch right now
Squid Game Season 2 on Netflix
The 25 best shows on Netflix to watch right now
Latest in Games
Hytale
Stardew Valley's ConcernedApe reportedly says he could "possibly" step in to save cancelled Minecraft-like Hytale, but he'd need to know "why it failed" first
The Witcher 3
Cyberpunk 2 director says "mature games" used to mainly be about killing and sex, but The Witcher 3 was part of a "broader process" to change that as devs grew older
Dave the Diver Godzilla screenshot
Dave the Diver celebrates 2nd birthday by sharing messages from Baldur's Gate 3 actor Neil Newbon and the Subnautica studio CEO, bringing back Godzilla DLC, and dang, delaying its next DLC
Diablo 4
Blizzard jumps out of bed, rushes to the desk, and slams the nerf button after Diablo 4 players find a way to use Season 9 powers to "teleport effectively infinitely" and speed farm with every class
Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes, and Rivals #1
As if the usual Marvel Rivals leaks weren't enough, Twitch has accidentally confirmed that Phoenix and Blade are your new Season 3 heroes alongside new "sizzling summer events"
Malys images
Ex Dragon Age writer's new studio shrugs off a failed Kickstarter, chucks its exorcist take on Slay the Spire right onto Steam – and it's a cool roguelike with a mana system I don't think I've ever seen
Latest in Features
One-Punch Man season 3: Saitama punching while in mid-air during the anime One-Punch Man.
Anime Expo 2025: dates, announcements, and why One-Punch Man fans should be excited
The Shrouds
It may feature corpses, missing limbs, and AI, but with The Shrouds, legendary director David Cronenberg has made the ultimate meditation on grief: "To me, there is no afterlife"
A full setup for Fate of the Fellowship with cards, tokens, and pieces all laid out
Legendary board game designer says his upcoming Lord of the Rings project is "definitely the most thematically and mechanically rich game I’ve worked on"
Promotional artwork for the Steam Summer Sale 2025 which runs from June 26th - July 10th at 10am PT
I've spent six hours exploring the Steam Summer Sale with our Games Editor, and these are the 10 best games on discount I'd recommend so far
The Outer Worlds 2 screenshot of Aza, a cultist companion with short pink hair who holds a dagger
The Outer Worlds 2 is "going deeper and more complex" with its companions, and I'm already making grabby hands at this RPG
Ruffy runs across the ocean on wooden crates in Ruffy and the Riverside, with the GamesRadar+ Indie Spotlight logo
Banjo-Kazooie and Paper Mario mix together in this delightful puzzle platformer that has me swapping textures to solve puzzles by changing the world
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. M3GAN doll in M3GAN 2.0
    1
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  2. 2
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  3. 3
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  4. 4
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  5. 5
    Karate Kid: Legends review: "Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...