10. Basic Lupine Urology (Season 3, Episode 17)
The Story: When someone sabotages a yam that the study group was growing for a class experiment, the study group goes into Law & Order mode in an attempt to discover the culprit. Troy and Abed become bantering detectives, Shirley serves as their no-nonsense boss, Jeff and Annie team up as prosecuting attorneys, Pierce becomes an informant and Britta takes on the role of lab tech.
Why It’s Earned Its Place: A highly satisfying tribute to/parody of Dick Wolf’s enduring Law & Order TV franchise, “Basic Lupine Urology” gets so, so much right. From the opening title sequence to the way the episode is shot to the final plot twist, this is homage at its finest. The laughs come frequently, and the episode’s brilliant script leaves no stone unturned without ever coming across as mean or vicious. Watching the study group take on Law & Order roles is very funny, and Community‘s commitment to the bit is applaudable.
Best Quote: “Greendale Community College is represented by two separate yet equally important types of people: the goofballs who run around stirring up trouble, and the eggheads that make a big deal out of it. These are their stories.” – From the episode intro.
9. Epidemiology (Season 2, Episode 6)
The Story: The Dean’s Halloween party goes off the rail when tainted meat that he serves students sparks a rabies outbreak that turns people in zombies. The study group attempts to evade flesh-hungry fellow students when the Dean locks them in with the infected populace.
Why It’s Earned Its Place: Community‘s ability to spin episodes off classic movies and inject them with a distinctly Community style of comedy is on full display in this terrific Halloween episode. The writing is sharp, the visuals are hilarious (some of the costumes, from the Dean’s Lady Gaga get-up to Troy’s minimalistic Sexy Dracula, made me laugh whenever they showed up on screen) and the jokes flow with almost unbelievable ease. Add in some legitimate stakes (it falls to Troy to distribute an antidote before the rabies virus irreversibly damages the brains of infected students), and you’ve got a great episode of Community.
Best Quote: “Make me proud: be the first black man to make it to the end.” – Abed, before sacrificing himself to Troy can continue on a mission to save their fellow students.
8. Paradigms of Human Memory (Season 2, Episode 21)
The Story: The study group gathers to reminisce about their nutty experiences over the past year at Greendale, including a white-water rafting trip, an outing to a Western ghost town and the time they filled in for Glee club. As they reflect, Troy’s monkey runs wild through the ventilation system at Greendale.
Why It’s Earned Its Place: Taking a tried-and-true television trope (the flashback episode) and turning it on its head, “Paradigms of Human Memory” created a mini-Community tradition with madcap (and totally unfamiliar) stories, revelations about the nature of their relationships and a light tone. By keeping the focus on the study group, the episode reminded fans why they tune in week after week – the crazy relationships that constitute the soul of Community, relationships that never fail to surprise, excite and entertain.
Best Quote: “We’ve known each other for almost two years now. And yeah, in that time I’ve given a lot of speeches, but they all have one thing in common: they’re all different. These drug runners aren’t going to execute Pierce because he’s racist. It’s a locomotive that runs on US, and the only sharks in that water are the emotional ghosts that I like to call fear, anchovies, fear, and the dangers of ingesting mercury. Because the real bugs aren’t the ones in those beds. And there’s no such thing as a free Caesar salad and even if there were, The Cape might still find a second life on cable, and I’ll tell you why: el corazon del agua es verdad. That water is a lie! Harrison Ford is irradiating our testicles with microwave satelite transmissions. So maybe we ARE caught in and endless cycle of screw ups and hurt feelings, but I choose to believe that this is just the universe’s way of molding us into some kind of super group.” – Jeff, during an intercut series of ridiculous inspirational speeches given to the study group during the episode’s adventures
