Top Five Homage Episodes: Community

Community is one of the more ambitious sitcoms I’ve ever seen; it’s constantly moving its characters in unexpected places and trying new things.  One aspect that really makes it stand out is, of course, its penchant for meticulously-detailed homages to other movies, TV shows, and genres.  After a lot of deliberating, these are my top five.  (Note:  it’s not that season 5 doesn’t have any good homages – it’s just that I could only pick five, and you can’t beat the first three seasons!)

 

 

“Modern Warfare” (Season 1, Episode 23)

 

The first paintball episode is easily the best.  At the time, we weren’t used to Greendale descending into anarchy at the drop of a hat, so it’s novel to see the school become a war zone over the course of a paintball game.  The episode is crammed with great war-movie tropes:  heroic sacrifices, double and triple bluffs, Mexican standoffs, and wistful conversations about what they’ll do if they ever make it home.

 

 

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

 

Using a (terrible) spaceflight simulator to riff on Apollo 13 was a great idea.  I like watching the study group pull together to “pilot” the simulator, and I love Abed as the rueful “It should be me up there” man-on-the-ground talking them through the program.  It’s a fun race against the clock, and I never get tired of the running gag that it’s a KFC-sponsored simulator.

 

 

“Documentary Filmmaking:  Redux” (Season 3, Episode 8)

 

I haven’t even seen Hearts of Darkness, but that doesn’t stop me from adoring this episode.  Abed’s film documenting the making of the Dean’s commercial for Greendale is just a riot.  As the commercial gets ever grander and more out of control, the Dean slides further and further off the rails, culminating in one of the funniest climaxes the show has ever had.  So much insanity, and how great is it that they send up something like Hearts of Darkness in the first place?

 

 

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

 

Another documentary homage, this time Ken Burns’s Civil War miniseries.  As in all of these examples, the strongest humor comes from pairing the lofty tropes (somber Civil War documentary) with silly subject matter (heated feud between Troy’s blanket fort supporters and Abed’s pillow fort followers.)  The narration, maps, and photography are perfect, and I love the dramatic readings of text messages – fantastic device.

 

 

“Basic Lupin Urology” (Season 3, Episode 17)

 

This Law & Order parody is stunning in its specificity.  The study group’s mission to discover the culprit who destroyed their biology project is hilarious, and the episode hits every beat of a classic Law & Order story.  And come on, who doesn’t love Abed and Troy’s good cop/bad cop routine (especially when they trade places halfway through?)