Another little hidden gem I haven’t seen mentioned before, maybe I missed it. A MacGuffin is “necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself”. All the little inside jokes in this show kill me. I’m finding new ones all the time.

To be honest, I really wanted to enjoy this show, but I barely had any laughs at any episode of any season I've watched, and it only got worst over the seasons with three of the main characters just leaving the show in a an abrupt manner.

The character that made me laugh the most is probably Pierce, but over the time his character became boring reusing the same jokes about him being racist and not in a witty way.

Like just right now when I think about it I can't remember a single scene that made me laugh out loud except that one scene where Troy meets the Star Trek actor for the first time. Which is really disapponting.

The humor of the show is supposed to revolve around absurdities, and it was absurd most of the time, just not in a witty or a humorous way, and that's while I love shows with that kind of humor like "What We Do in The Shadows" and "Arrested Development" where I'm laughing out loud for most of the episodes.

I don't know how it could've been better, maybe the "gleeful" type of shows are just not for me, where every episode there's some sort of conflict between the characters and they end with everyone forgiving each other and hugging it out.

I had mostly all my clean clothes stolen the night before my surgery and my sons teachers surprised me with this and some other needed things 💜

Had been a pretty rough last week and this literally made me cry 😭😭😭

There are some truly kind, awesome people in this world and it’s good to be reminded ☺️

"Are you trying to get formidable with me?" -Jeff Winger

"Introduction to Statistics" picks up with Annie (Alison Brie) announcing to the Spanish class that she is throwing a Día de los Muertos party that evening and anyone who goes will get extra credit, while Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) has to go and won't be getting paid. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is very excited for her first college party and has even removed her wedding ring. Jeff (Joel McHale) on the other hand wants to avoid the party and focus on seducing his statistics professor, Michelle Slater (Lauren Stamile).

When Jeff asks Professor Slater out, she admits he is her type, but she doesn't date students. Annie runs into Jeff and asks him to attend her party, since he's the cool guy and his presence will maker her party cool. Jeff is convinced when Annie starts to cry.

At the party, Pierce (Chevy Chase), who has become very insecure about his age and the amount of pills he needs to take, runs into Star-Burns (Dino Stamatopoulos) in the bathroom, who convinces Pierce to trade some pills with him. Pierce soon finds himself on a bad trip.

When Chang decides to leave Annie's party for the Greendale staff party, Jeff convinces Chang to let him tag along so Jeff has another chance at Professor Slater. When Annie attempts to start the Dance of the Dead, it becomes apparent that Jeff isn't there and some people talk about leaving the party early to go home and watch the news.

Jeff's attempts to flirt with Professor Slater fail as she doesn't want gossip to spread about her and Jeff. Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Abed (Danny Pudi), and Troy (Donald Glover) arrive to get Jeff to come back to Annie's party to make her feel better and deal with the tripping Pierce. Everyone at the party sees Shirley vandalize Professor Slater's car and then Pierce crashes the party. Jeff sends all of them away.

Britta finds Shirley putting a hose into Slater's office. Shirley tries to paint Slater as a man-stealer who took Jeff away from Britta, but she explains that she didn't decide to take off her wedding ring. Her ex-husband asked for it back to give to his new girlfriend and she was taking her hurt out on Slater. As they leave Slater's office, Britta breaks one of her trophies.

Chang gives Jeff some advice to try on Slater. Jeff goes to her and straight up asks her and even begs her to sleep with him while complimenting how beautiful she is. Slater agrees as long as he promises not to tell anybody. Jeff agrees, but as they pass the library, Troy stops them and tells them Pierce is trying to kill himself. Jeff reluctantly says goodnight to Slater and goes to help Pierce, who has built a collapsible structure of desks and chairs to crush himself with. Jeff goes inside and talks to Pierce about aging and how much zest and passion Pierce has for life. This makes Pierce feel better, but he accidentally trigger the start of his structure's collapse. Abed, dressed as Batman, saves them both. The rest of the group manages to enjoy the party, while Abed keeps watch from a rooftop.

The episode ends with Troy and Abed hanging out after the party. Troy practices his Batman voice and tells Abed that if he woke up as a donut, he would immediately eat himself.

What Works:

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so when movies and shows have a Halloween flair to them, it's an easy way to win me over. I love all of the different costumes the group wears, with Britta's squirrel costume being my favorite. Plus Annie's party has some really cool decorations.

Pierce's trip is pretty hysterical. We get come great physical acting from Chevy Chase. I love when he freaks out when he sees the hawk on his arm. Plus Annie dancing alongside the skeletons is absolutely hilarious.

Professor Slater is a good addition to the show. She actually feels like a real person throughout her run on Community as opposed to the rest of the cast, who are very cartoonish, which isn't a bad thing. Slater is just a refreshing and different addition to the ensemble. Her reactions to Jeff are very funny, especially when she agrees to sleep with him.

Yvette Nicole Brown really gets to show off her range here. She gets to act unhinged in a few scenes when she rants about Slater and attacks her car and office, but then she gets to tell Britta about how hurt she was by her ex-husband asking for the ring back. It's some really great shading for Shirley and why she's at Greendale.

Finally, we get Abed as Batman for the first time. Danny Pudi's performance is perfect and he has some of the best dialogue of the episode.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for you except that this episode doesn't really hold a candle to the next two Halloween episodes.

Funniest Moment:

For me, the funniest moment of the episode is when Annie breaks down crying to get Jeff to come to her party. Specifically when she says that she was so unpopular in high school that the crossing guard used to try and lure her into traffic.

Heavenly Human Being:

The Heavenly Human Being Award goes to the MVP of the episode. For "Introduction to Statistics," this Award goes to Abed Nadir for saving Jeff and Pierce from the collapsing structure. This is his 3rd time winning this Award, which extends his lead.

Verdict:

"Introduction to Statistics" is a great early episode of Community. It has some fun Halloween silliness, great performances from Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, and Chevy Chase in particular, and I like the addition of Professor Slater. It's not as good as the next two Halloween episodes, but it still has absolutely got it going on.

9/10: Great

In 'Mixology Certification' Jeff tells Troy you should never have ice with scotch- only a drop of mineral water to activate the flavour. Yet throughout S6 he's constantly drinking scotch on the rocks! Jeff's a phony...

I mean copra literally means feces, it's just begging for some critic to use it tear him down. His name being Cackowski doesn't help either.

I love Community, I can't help but rewatch it every couple weeks. Community is insanely inventive. it's filled with well-written episodes that bring fresh humor and genre-defying twists to television. From paintball wars to documentary-style parodies, the show constantly reinvents itself, creating episodes that feel like mini-movies. The creativity in these episodes made me fall in love with it and I've been loving it since then.

However, when it comes to character development, the show sometimes falls short. Characters like Britta, Chang, and Shirley start with promising foundations but end up with uneven arcs. Britta, introduced as a sharp, socially aware individual, is gradually portrayed as naive and ineffective—a running gag that undermines her initial depth. Rather than evolve, she becomes the butt of the group’s jokes, often written as "the worst" despite her potential. And it always bums me out how a very interesting character with relatable flaws was sort of abandoned by the writing room.

Chang, too, begins as a quirky Spanish teacher but is quickly transformed into a chaotic caricature. His character loses consistency, going from unstable authority figure to a full-on wildcard, making it hard to root for or understand him in the same way as the rest of the cast. I'm ok with Chang as a wholw tho, all versions of him are pretty funny and entertaining. It's just weird how he changes so much throughout the show.

Then there's Shirley Bennett, who starts as a complex character balancing her Christian values with a fierce personality. While Shirley’s role as the “mom” of the group offers unique perspectives, her character often gets sidelined or reduced to stereotypes about faith and motherhood. Her ambitions and complexities, especially her interest in business and independence, are sometimes touched upon but rarely given the same weight or follow-through as other characters' arcs. By the end, Shirley feels more like a background presence rather than a fully developed member of the ensemble. She's not interesting anymore, and often placed in scenarios that her only remaining traits make her insufferable.

I was just wondering if anyone else agrees with my views on how character progression is super lackluster on Community sometimes, and if there's a reason for it. I've heard that Britta was supposed to be the love interest of the protagonist, and when that was abandoned, Dan Harmon wasn't sure what to do with her anymore. It makes sense when you watch how her character turned into a walking joke. but I was wondering what happened to Shirley, or if Chang was supposed to be this from the beginning or not.

thoughts?

I remember a scene around the study table where they are all apologizing for something(?) and it ends with them all in sync saying “I’m sorry. i’m sorry. i’m sorry”

Today, I realized season 4 ep2, they had a conversation about the door code at the beginning of the episode.

I love finding new bits of my favorite show years later. Troy locking his blanketfort is still my favorite.

I also feel like I've been too critical of season 4 in the past.

Don't get me wrong, I love essentially all of the show. However, and I don't know why, but I keep on getting drawn towards season 1. I feel like it has the most consistent amount of bangers. I think that seasons 2 and 3 have higher quality episodes, but, something about season 1 just feels strangely perfect to me. Maybe I crave a simpler sitcom and season 1 was when the show was at its simplest, but, I honestly think that season 1 is the most consistently good season. I would give the title to season 3, but the middle has some weak spots and the fact that season 3 WASN'T the last season does hurt it a little in retrospect. Am I tripping? Does anybody else share this opinion?

In the Season 6 paintball episode cold open Todd is fighting Starburns and is generally being a badass. I've always thought it was cool bit to have but it never made sense to me. I just realised He's a veteran from active duty. Which makes that entire scene so much better, considering this wasn't some one off random thing. Todd has always been this awesome!!!

Drank for the first time in a long while…woke up to $40+ spent on Amazon…apparently drunk me is trying to leave Peacock 🤣🤣🤣

So Britta moves in with Abed and Annie during Season 5 when they have the Rachel vs Anthony episode, instead of the "craigslist is better than Britta" gag. Later, during the S5 finale Chang doesn't steal the money, instead it goes to Greendale. And then as a new season finale, an adventure mystery bottle episode focused on the infighting between Abed, Annie and Britta, this is also a great incentive for Britta to feel like she should marry Jeff as (imo) that felt a little too out of nowhere. Throughout the episode we may get hints, but no real indication, that it'll end with Troy coming back!! In turn solving the housing problems between Abed, Annie and Britta.

Queue Season 6, Troy finds it boring to just live off his great wealth so he comes back to Greendale in order to 1 Find a path in life and 2 understand the world so he doesn't fall behind and become poor. He would probably also study law in order to learn about how the world works, so Troy would become Jeff's student as Jeff said he'd prefer over Annie in S5

Glad he invited Kevin over.

Dean Pelton’s office doesn’t have a window. It’s not as big as vice dean Laybourne’s (3 panel window) and it’s a decade after Borchert made the modifications under the school. It’s possible Laybourne took up residence before Pelton got there and made modifications with A/C money???

The brief “meow” after Jeff and Shirley scream during their showdown caught me so off guard—it was my first time watching this episode and got what I can only describe as an incredulous giggle out of me. Thanks for the dopamine hit, Community Anime Foosball Battle Cat

Jeff is there because it’s cheap, Troy is/was a dumb jock and Annie was a junkie so I assume that was the only college that accepted them, and Pierce is there presumably because it’s cheap and accepts anyone. Shirley has kids so she may not be able to afford it, and Britta presumably has a criminal record and a generally contrarian personality so it would make sense that she wouldn’t be accepted by better schools, but what about Abed?

Besides either 'I hate S5/6!' 'I love S5/6!' or the classic 'S4 was actually not bad!'

Mine is that Abed was suffering from some serious mental illnesses and needed proper psychological intervention- his friends didn't do him any favours by playing along with his delusions and Britta actively harmed him by pretending to be a therapist.

I also think Shirley leaving had little to no impact on the show- it felt like the writers completely ran out of material for her after S2.

community is one of my all time comfort shows, i’ve rewatched it SO many times. britta has become one of my favorite characters, and she is also absolutely the character i resonate with the most. at the beginning, i thought she was SO annoying but as time went on, i started loving her. she’s an activist (though often a misinformed or mislead one lol) she hates cops, she’s always picked on by her friends, all things that i completely relate to. at the beginning i also wanted jeff and annie together so bad, but by the end i was completely against that and thought jeff and britta should be endgame. anybody else experience this?

Okay follow me here - the reason the study group is spanish is bc its another joke about how they dont have any hispanic actors in their group 🤯

How does this track??