10 TV Shows With Weird Video Game Episodes
1. Community - Digital Estate Planning
Digital Estate Planning sees the Greendale Seven take part in a pixelated video game designed by Pierce’s father, a game they must complete in order for Pierce to inherit his father’s fortune.
The roadblock is that Gilbert, Pierce’s bastard half brother who knows the game inside out, is going up against them.
What’s great about this episode is it leans fully into the game, with pretty much the entire episode in the virtual world. It plays off their tropes so well too; Jeff frustrated he can’t break the rules, Abed thriving in a world of binary possibilities, Annie starting off sweet but flipping to deranged and competitive in an instant... it fully understands the cast.
Coming towards the end of Season 3, this happens at the perfect time too. The characters are established enough for the jokes to work, but Pierce has not been twisted into a villain so can have his sweet ending of allowing Gilbert to win and become his brother.
In fact, the delays to shooting and Chevy Chase’s refusal to stay after schedule to film one last scene (him watching a pixelated version of himself playing catch with his late father) was the catalyst for Chase & Harmon’s unceremonious feud.