10 Greatest Ever Community "Concept" Episodes
We rank the best of the study groups' more unconventional escapades.
For five out six seasons, Community was one of the most consistently inventive, heart-warming, funny, and downright weird comedies on television. The gang at Greendale Community College have constantly dodged cancellation, handled huge cast change-ups with relative ease, and managed to deftly avoid the issue of why nobody has actually graduated from a Community College after six years.
We even saw creator Dan Harmon return to work on the show for the final two seasons after having been unceremoniously dumped by NBC... an unprecedented event in television.
So what exactly is it that makes Community fans so passionate about the show? Is it the wonderful cast? The snappy writing? The star shaped sideburns that adorn Starburn’s head? It may be all of these , and it may be none of them (but the first two probably factor in, let’s be honest).
To this writer’s mind, a large part of Community’s’ appeal is the effortlessness with which it can leap away from the show’s standard formula (or as standard a formula as Community has)and have the gang go off on a whimsical adventure that may pay homage to a classic film or genre. With any other show, having so many episodes that go off book may become irritating... with Community, you expect weird things to happen, because Greendale is a weird yet wonderful (but mostly weird) place.
But which is the best concept episode?
10. Intro To Felt Surrogacy
Otherwise known as the puppet episode. The Dean decides to make the study group use puppets to recount a series of traumatic events that happened to them on a mini break, which include a balloon trip ride going horribly wrong, and a deranged woodsman tricking them into taking drugs.
To be honest, it’s far from a perfect episode (it is from the Harmonless season 4 after all) but simply seeing little felt puppet versions of Jeff and the gang is a novelty that lasts the running time of the episode, especially for a writer with a severe Muppet addiction. Plus, the songs have a surprisingly infectious Hensonesque charm to them.
Throughout most of season 4, many agreed that it felt like we were watching a show that looked like Community, but that it just didn't feel like the comedy that we all knew and loved. Clearly there's a very specific mix of zany, heartwarming, and cynical that only Harmon and his team really understood, but Intro to Felt Surrogacy is the closest season 4 got to giving us that classic Community spirit... and for that, it gets a place on this list.
That, and the super adorable puppets, obviously.