Community: 10 Best Concept Episodes

Basic Lupine Urology is probably the biggest single parody Community ever did, riffing directly on Law & Order. Even the title is a play on Law & Order’s showrunner Dick Wolf. The inclusion of Law & Order veteran Leslie Hendrix on board as the botanist only made the parody even more layered.

Kenneth Michael Williams is a highlight as well, and while a star of The Wire and not Law & Order, he helps ground the episode. His Omar catchphrase of ‘a man’s got to have a code’ feels right at home here too.

The episode fully commits to the bit, building a genuine mystery and exploring every character within this new format. Abed and Troy as the good cop and bad cop who can’t make up their minds is easily the highlight.

It’s great to see Jeff in full lawyer mode too, but without the usual manipulation at play. Seeing a bit of a spotlight on Todd is always welcome too.

All in all, this is exactly what a concept episode needs to be. It nails the parody aspect, tells a story that fits in the world, takes some unexpected choices and uses every character perfectly. For Community though, it’s still only good enough for second best.