"Community" Catch-Up: The 12 Episodes Newcomers Must Watch

By Julia Bianco on July 3, 2014

The Internet is an amazing thing. The home of Facebook, Google, Reddit, this adorable video of a Shih Tzu that screams like a human, and so much more has given us yet another gift: the unlikely season six renewal of cult comedy “Community.”

After NBC unceremoniously cancelled the Dan Harmon show about a study group at a wacky community college last month, fans were devastated. Rumors that Hulu would pick up the series for another season were dispelled last week, leaving fans with little hope that a deal could be reached before the July 1st expiration date on the casts’ contracts.

In a beautiful turn of events, though, Yahoo came out of nowhere to pick up the low-rated series for another 13 episodes, which will air this fall. It’s going to be important for the series to gain some new fans, but with five seasons to catch up on, it might be hard for newcomers to find the time to truly get into the series.

Here are the twelve episodes that newcomers to the series should watch in order to get caught up before the show returns (although I recommend watching the whole thing if you have time, because it is glorious).

Photo by Sidetracks on Flickr.com

“Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

Although the pilot is not necessarily the best or most creative episode of “Community,” it’s definitely important to understand the set-up of the show and to get a feel for the characters, which include fast-talking former lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), hot activist Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), overachiever Annie Edison (Allison Brie), bumbling old guy Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), religious mom Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), former jock Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) and the pop-culture referencing Abed (Danny Pudi).

“Physical Education” (Season 1, Episode 17)

This episode is one of the best early episodes of the show, with great performances from Jeff and guest star Blake Clark (“50 First Dates”) as his gym teacher for a very intense billiards class. The conflict starts when Jeff refuses to wear shorts, and eventually somehow escalates to a completely naked game of pool in front of most of the school. Needless to say, this was one hilarious episode.

“Modern Warfare” (Season 1, Episode 23) 

“Community” has done three paintball episodes throughout its run, and they were all great. But “Modern Warfare” was hands down the best. This intense, campus-wide game of paintball will keep you laughing for the entire episode, and you won’t ever want the contest to end.

“Basic Rocket Science” (Season 2, Episode 4)

This episode takes the study group into space via an RV decorated like a space capsule. Outdated KFC references and a hysteric episode from Pierce take this episode up, up and away.*

*I apologize for that horrible pun.

“Epidemiology” (Season 2, Episode 6)

Of course “Community” had to take on the zombie apocalypse, and it did it in an oh-so-delicious way. Tainted meat at Greendale’s Halloween party leads to a zombie outbreak that can only be cured by the intrepid duo of Troy and Abed. Complete with ridiculous Halloween costumes and a great reaffirmation of Troy and Abed’s friendship, this episode will definitely go down in history as one of the show’s best.

“Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” (Season 2, Episode 14)

This episode shone a light on one of the series’ supporting characters, Fat Neal (Charley Koontz). Using the backdrop of the very intense role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, this episode was both side-splittingly hilarious and deeply touching.

“Paradigms of Human Memory” (Season 2, Episode 21)

A clip show with clips that we haven’t seen before? It’s a surprise that series don’t do this more often, because it definitely works. Seeing the gang go on all-new adventures, complete with crazy Jeff Winger inspirational speeches (of course) and references to the short-lived TV series “The Cape,” was great.

“Remedial Chaos Theory” (Season 3, Episode 3)

One of the series’ weirdest episodes, “Remedial Chaos Theory” introduced the darkest timeline into the show’s mythology, a recurring theme throughout the series. It was not only an important episode, but also a great one.

“Regional Holiday Music” (Season 3, Episode 10)

“Community” was bound to do a “Glee” parody eventually, and “Regional Holiday Music” was one for the history books. With a great guest starring stint from “Saturday Night Live’s” Taran Killam, this musical episode was darkly funny in an absolutely great way.

“Pillows and Blankets” (Season 3, Episode 14) 

A parody of a Ken Burns Civil War documentary using pillow and blanket forts? Sign me up! “Pillows and Blankets” has it all: IV’s full of Gatorade, a pillow monster, magical friendship hats. It’s definitely worth a watch, or two, or five.

“Digital Estate Planning” (Season 3, Episode 20)

Pierce has always been one of the show’s more problematic characters, so getting to see his softer side was a nice touch. This episode’s eight-bit video game animation was great. Watch for some of the smaller gags, because they really make the episode.

“Geothermal Escapism” (Season 5, Episode 5)

Let’s not talk about the gas-leak year (season 4, which was bogged down by problems behind the scenes and a change in show runner). Season five returned in grand “Community” form, and the show managed to handle the departure of two key members of the study group with a lot of humor and a whole lot of heart. “Geothermal Escapism” marked Troy’s last episode on the show, and it was everything that fans ever hoped it would be.

Honorable Mentions: “Cooperative Calligraphy” (Season 2, Episode 9); “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” (Season 2, Episode 11); “A Fistfull of Paintballs” and “For a Few Paintballs More” (Season 2, Episodes 23 and 24); “Curriculum Unavailable” (Season 3, Episode 19); “Heroic Origins” (Season 4, Episode 12); “Cooperative Polygraphy” (Season 5, Episode 4); “App Development and Condiments” (Season 5, Episode 8)

#sixseasonsandamovie everyone!

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