10 Most Underrated Community Episodes

Community, a cult classic sitcom which follows the adventures of a study group at Greendale Community College, ran for six seasons, and in that time produced some episodes that are truly streets ahead. (If you have to ask, you're streets behind.)

To this day, fans still praise episodes like Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, where the study group plays D and D for the first time; Geothermal Escapism, where Abed says goodbye to Troy; and Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television, the series finale. Of course, any episode where the study group plays paintball becomes an instant classic. And most viewers consider Remedial Chaos Theory, aka the one with the dice and the alternate timelines, the single greatest episode in the show.

However, Community is more than just these episodes. Some of Community's best half hours fly completely under the radar, and aren't appreciated by fans anywhere near as much as they should be. These episodes have just as much heart, humour, and hating on Britta as the episodes from the previous paragraph, but somehow aren't fan favourites.

Economics of Marine Biology isn't a perfect episode of Community. Coming from the heart of Season 4, aka the Methane Gas Leak Year, the A-plot follows Dean Pelton working to recruit Archie, a wealthy underachiever, to Greendale. Because Archie doesn't care about his school work, he'd keep paying for classes for years, making him a "whale." The plotline isn't that funny, and doesn't work well enough to anchor the episode.

However, both of the episode's subplots work really well. The first follows Jeff, trying to distract Pierce, another whale. Though Jeff initially dreads it, he and Pierce end up forming a heartwarming bond. The second subplot follows Shirley and Troy taking a physical education education class, where they learn to be gym teachers. The usually athletic Troy struggles in this almost familiar situation, and one hilarious scene sees Shirley picking Troy last in a mock captains scenario.

The real reason Economics of Marine Biology makes this list is that, at 6.7/10, it's the lowest ranked Community episode on IMDb. Though its main plotline isn't great, both subplots, the sweet and the silly, more than redeem it. Plus, this is the episode where Magnitude loses his signature catchphrase of "Pop pop!" and has to come up with something new, making for one of the funniest gags in the fourth season.