10 Worst Episodes Of Community

The "gas leak year" wasn't the only time Community lost its way!

Shirley Abed Britta Annie Community
NBC

If shows like Friends and Scrubs are the Disneyland of TV sitcoms, then Community is Legoland; still highly popular but not quite as successful. The series may have a considerable following, but it's often been considered one of the most underrated shows in TV history.

Across the six seasons of the show (and possibly a movie coming someday), we learned about the diverse members of the Study Group, as they attended Greendale Community College, bonded, had a great time and forged friendships to last a lifetime. However, the show's biggest appeal was its ability to explore different mediums and genres, ensuring that there was never a dull moment.

The series was an overwhelmingly wholesome and hilarious show, with very few problems - well, in the first few seasons at least. Sadly, nothing can be perfect, and although there is a lot of fun to be had with every episode of Community, some fall behind the others.

Whether it's because they took the characters in the wrong direction, had ill-achieved gimmicks or simply weren't funny, these following episodes are the outliers in the series that showed the cracks in the foundation.

10. Cooperative Escapism In Familial Relations

Shirley Abed Britta Annie Community
NBC

On paper, this episode could have had the Midas touch. There were plenty of threads with the potential to find gold, such as Jeff finally meeting/confronting his father and seeing Shirley's home life. But none of it came together, as it was filled with annoying characters and more of the same.

Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations followed two thanksgiving based narratives. The first was Britta and Jeff's visit to the latter's father, and the second followed Troy, Abed, Annie and Pierce as they went to Shirley's family thanksgiving dinner and hid in the garage plotting a Shawshank-like escape.

It made sense that Community would one day parody Shawshank, but they hardly capitalised on it here as most people wouldn't have even noticed the parallels. This felt like a missed opportunity, and their rejection of Shirley's cry for help made them seem unsentimental - which was very out of character for them all, except Pierce.

On the other side of the narrative, the confrontation between Jeff and his father was more like a wet firecracker than fireworks - excluding one genuinely emotional speech from Jeff at the end. Any good that did come from the conflict was ruined by the inclusion of Jeff's half-brother Willy, an annoying younger man whose pathetic personality was grating.

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Michael is my name, overanalysing comedy is my game! Anime, wrestling, TV, movies and video games all live in my head rent free!