There were so many hilarious comedies that came out during the first decade of the 21st century that it’s hard to keep track of them all. However, one that was almost universally loved by fans and critics alike was Community. Created by Dan Harmon, it was one of the most creative shows to come around in a long time.
The sitcom centering around a group of outcast students becoming friends at a community college in Colorado might have struggled in terms of viewership (and it’ll never be understood why) but nevertheless, the series produced hysterical content year after year, including during season three.
Studies in Modern Movement, Episode 7 (8.6)
Troy and Abed finally decided to move into an apartment together at the start of season 3, and by episode eight, they had already invited Annie to join them. However, during this episode when Annie is supposed to move in, Troy and Abed quickly begin to get on Annie’s nerves and make her second guess whether or not she should move in at all.
Things only get worse when it’s revealed that she doesn’t even have a room in the apartment – she gets a blanket-fort. She understandably freaks out and plans to move all of her things back… only to have Troy and Abed apologize by giving her the bedroom and taking the blanket-fort for themselves.
Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps, Episode 5 (8.8)
The show was always known for its Halloween specials and the third season was no different. Britta discovers (after making everybody in the group take an anonymous psych test for her major) that somebody in their lovable little gang is “incredibly mentally unstable.”
In response, she tricks the group into telling “scary stories” to see how messed-up and psychotic each person’s story is… only for her ruse to be found out and then debunked when Annie discovers that Britta graded the tests wrong. However, in another twist, Britta regrades the tests and it turns out that everybody in their group is mentally unstable except for Abed.
Introduction to Finality, Episode 22 (8.8)
Season three had quite a few twists and turns that all came to a head during the finale. Shirley and Pierce were ready to open a sandwich shop in the cafeteria, but ended up going to court over which one of them gets to sign the contract; Britta tries to help Abed deal with Troy leaving for A/C repair school by pretending to be a therapist, and Abed turns into evil-Abed and tries to cut off Jeff’s arm with a saw.
Ultimately, Troy comes back, Shirley and Pierce settle their differences, Britta helps Abed overcome his issues, and everybody passes their biology final.
Documentary Filmmaking: Redux, Episode 8 (9.1)
Greendale was never known for having much money, so it was no surprise when the Dean revealed that they hadn’t made a new commercial for the school since the early ’90s. In response, nearly the entire Greendale student-body comes together to film a new commercial (except for Abed, who films them for his own project as they film the commercial) with the Dean directing.
Sadly (but hilariously) the Dean immediately loses control, goes insanely over-budget, and creates the worst commercial possible. Luckily, Abed manages to come in and save the day by making a great commercial for the school at the last minute.
The First Chang Dynasty, Episode 21 (9.1)
One of the weirdest twists of season three was how Chang (who started the series as a Spanish teacher and the season as a security-guard) had managed to concoct a plan that allowed him to take over Greendale, kidnapping the Dean and getting the Greendale Seven kicked out of the school in the process.
In response, the study-group spends this episode breaking the Dean out of captivity and exposing Chang in front of the school board, resulting in Chang’s ultimate firing, the Greendale Seven being let back into the school, and Dean Pelton reclaiming his position as the head of Greendale.
Curriculum Unavailable, Episode 19 (9.2)
Another clip episode (and another hilarious one). Once the Greendale Seven had been kicked out of the school, Abed quickly became a little unstable. As a result, Abed was forced to be seen by a psychiatrist, and, naturally, the rest of the group joined him. During his session, Abed and the group recount their time at Greendale and do so with various clips from episodes the audience had never seen.
However, the therapist makes a revelation that Greendale never existed and that it was only ever a figment of their imagination… only for the group to quickly call his bluff, resulting in the therapist admitting that he was paid off by Chang to make Abed seem crazy.
Pillows and Blankets, Episode 14 (9.3)
Troy and Abed hardly ever fought during their time together at Greendale, but this was their biggest fight by far. When Troy and Abed get pitted against each other by the head of the A/C repair school, it results in the two starting a school-wide blankets-and-pillow-fort war.
The episode gets told in the style of a History channel war-documentary, with the feathery, comfy war lasting for days. Eventually, the fighting does come to an end, and Jeff helps Troy and Abed squash their differences and become friends again.
Basic Lupine Urology, Episode 17 (9.5)
Community never shied away from doing spoofs and this episode was one of their best. Done in the same style as an episode of Law & Order: SVU, the Greendale Seven try to solve the case of who murdered the yam for their biology project. With the gang all playing different roles in solving the case, the episode ends with their classmate Todd on trial for killing their yam… only for Neil to come clean and admit that he killed all of the yams in order to throw off the grading-curve.
In the end, the Greendale Seven solves their case… but, sadly, this is also the episode that Star-Burns dies in a meth-lab explosion.
Digital Estate Planning, Episode 20 (9.5)
Be honest – this was one of the coolest episodes of television ever. Pierce was known for having an estranged relationship with his deceased father, but it was revealed during this episode that his Dad created a video game just for Pierce and his closest friends to play. Of course, there’s a catch involved that states whoever wins the game will get Pierce’s inheritance.
The gang bands together to help Pierce win the inheritance himself… only for it to be revealed that Pierce has a half-brother, Gilbert, who worked as his father’s assistant for over 30 years and was treated horribly the entire time. In response, Pierce gives his inheritance to Gilbert to make up for his father’s poor treatment.
Remedial Chaos Theory, Episode 4 (9.8)
“Just so you know, Jeff, you are now creating six different timelines.” Every loyal fan knows this quote and they know that it comes from this episode. The study group gathers at Troy and Abed’s new apartment to play a game of Yahtzee, only to be interrupted by the pizza delivery guy.
Jeff throws a die into the air to see who will go downstairs to get the pizza… resulting in six alternate timelines, all stemming from which number the die lands on (1-6). In random order, all six scenarios play out (some normal, some incredibly horrific) until it’s revealed that Abed actually catches the die mid-air in order to prevent any of the scenarios from happening.
