10 Greatest Ever Community "Concept" Episodes

Say what you will about Chevy Chase, his reported bad attitude on set, and his well documented bad blood with Dan Harmon... but this episode highlights what a genuinely interesting character Pierce Hawthorne was (and what a douche he could be).

After a surprisingly dark arc that sees Pierce get addicted to painkillers, he decides to pretend that he’s dying in order to play mind games with the rest of the study group by way of fake “gifts” that he knows will actually torture each of his friends. Abed decides to document the whole event, and thus the episode is imbued with a Modern Family/Parks and Rec vibe.

Naturally, there are plenty of gentle jabs to the mockumentary formula, and some brilliant talking head cutaways from the gang. Not to bang on about how wonderful Donald Glover is as Troy... but his reaction to meeting Levar Burton, followed by footage of several enraged, tearful outbursts that see him screaming about how he only ever wanted a signed picture of Burton (because you “can’t disappoint a picture”) are genuinely among some of greatest moments in the entire show.

And not only that, they're yet another stinging reminder of how much the show misses Glover.