If you ever end up in a conversation with me, there’s an extremely high chance that I will ask, “Have you seen ‘Community?’” followed by a defeated sigh when you ultimately say no. “That was a ‘Community’ reference,” I’ll mumble to myself, wishing that everyone could understand the comedic genius that I’m speaking of. There is not enough time, nor enough space in this article, for me to express all of the reasons why I love my favorite show, but I’m going to do my best to give you a taste of it while I have your ear, and perhaps influence you to embark on this glorious journey of a Spanish study group, alternate timelines and plenty of games of paintball assassin.
The study group in “Community,” if you couldn’t tell from the image above, looks like the multi-cultural, multi-generational friend group in any given community college brochure. From youngest to oldest, we begin with Annie Edison (Alison Brie). Annie is 18 years old when the show begins, an ambitious young woman who is fiercely dedicated to her studies and desperate to be loved by authority figures like Jeff (Joel McHale). Next is Troy Barnes, a 19-year-old played by my favorite rapper Childish Gambino (Donald Glover). Troy is a washed-up high school football star who yearns for his former glory before he eventually learns to let his guard down and embrace his whimsy and weirdness with his best friend, Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi). Abed is in his early 20s, and the heart and soul of the show. Abed’s ability to see the world through film and television shapes the way the entire show works, but his close observation of all of the people around him can both help and hurt him.
Then we have Jeff Winger, the leader of the group and the show’s technical protagonist. Jeff is a selfish ex-lawyer in his mid-30s who lost his job at a big-shot law firm when they found out he forged his bachelor’s degree. Though he starts as an egotistical ladies’ man, through his friends, Jeff learns to admit how much he really cares about the people he loves, often bringing the group back together with a classic Winger speech when things go awry. After Jeff, comes Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), a mother of two in her late 30s who will fight for her friends just as much as she will fight against them for her Christian values. Finally we have Pierce Hawthorn, a 12-year student of Greendale Community College in his mid-60s played by the infamously problematic Chevy Chase, who pretty much just plays himself. The racist old white man of the group, Pierce frequently causes problems, but he has some endearing moments that (sometimes) make up for it. Starting as a Spanish study group at Greendale Community College, the group bonds through adventures big and small to become quite a family in the end. Though it’s hard to believe that this group of misfits could find any common interests, the show constantly proves their unbreakable ties by exploring each unique pairing and group dynamic.
The concept of alternate timelines in “Community” is introduced in arguably the greatest, or at least most iconic episode of the series, season four episode three: “Remedial Chaos Theory.” In this episode, Troy and Abed are throwing a housewarming party with the study group, and when Jeff rolls a dice to determine who will go get the pizza from downstairs, chaos ensues. Abed warns Jeff that his system will result in six different timelines, and after Jeff brushes this off, we witness the same scenario seven times, each time different depending on which character leaves to get the pizza. Some of the scenarios were more mundane, like a tiff over burnt pies when Shirley leaves and an unexpected spark between Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and Troy when Pierce leaves. But chaos ensues when Abed leaves and everyone ends up in tense arguments, and much worse when Troy leaves and Pierce is shot in the leg while the apartment goes up in flames from Britta’s joint. This is the darkest timeline, which we get a glimpse of in the end credits, and we hear this referenced by Abed throughout the rest of the show.
“Community” would be nothing without its almost relentless film, television and celebrity references. In an almost “Gilmore Girls”-adjacent way, I’m sure I’m only catching about 30% of the references they’re throwing at me, but I appreciate them all the same. From a mafia movie about an underground chicken tender ring to a game of paintball assassin that starts as a Wild West movie and ends as a “Star Wars” tribute, the high-concept episodes are some of the best in the show’s catalog. Even something as simple as a case of a stolen pen can turn into an intense, self-aware bottle episode in the “Community” universe. Also, I can’t forget about the frequent use of celebrity name puns, like “Whaddya know, Henry David Thoreau,” and “Peachy keen, Avril Lavigne.”
Though I did my best to address some of the greatest parts of this masterpiece of a sitcom, I missed dozens of treasured elements, like the dean’s eclectic costumes, the surprisingly numerous musical and animated episodes, the enigma that is Benjamin Chang (Ken Jeong) and the drama of the gas leak year. I truly believe that “Community” is the greatest show of all time, and I hope the little preview I gave you has inspired you to give it a try. Welcome to Greendale, you’re already accepted.
