10 Best Community Episodes That Pay Homage To Other Shows And Movies

Community picked up some bizarre plotlines over the years as the study group fractured over Dungeons & Dragons, jumped inside a video game, and tore apart Greendale on a semi-regular basis.

Those adventures almost always came stuffed with references to other shows and movies and sometimes even whole episodes were built as homages to classic movies and genres. Here are the ten best examples of Dan Harmon and co. taking the Greendale Human Beings on a tour of cinema history.

10 Contemporary American Poultry (Mafia Movies)

This season 1 episode was streets ahead. Community eventual became known for its commitment to genre exploration but none of that would be possible without the success of “Contemporary American Poultry” where the study group leans hard into mafia tropes as Abed seizes the means of chicken nugget production in the cafeteria.

The episode goes out of its way to mimic the cinematography and narration of gangster classics like Goodfellas and even recreates the iconic final scene from The Godfather. It also makes time for some Sixteen Candles love. Pick one movie reference, Abed.

9 Pillows and Blankets (Ken Burns Docs)

“If I’ve learned anything about this place it’s that a film crew means disaster.”

“Pillows and Blankets” serves as an elaborate parody of Ken Burns documentaries as Troy and Abed become split over a chance at a world-record-sized pillow fort and go to war in the names of Pillowtown and Blanketsburg.

The episode features Ken Burns regular, and future Community mainstay, Keith David as the narrator, a very PBS inspired donation drive, and a Dan Harmon cameo as a painting of an explorer who searched for a fountain that cured syphilis.

8 Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design (Conspiracy Movies)

“Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design” is about as meta as a show can possibly get. The plot follows Jeff being called out for inventing a fake class on conspiracy theories for a free credit only to be drawn into an actual bizarre and twisting conspiracy that pays homage to classic conspiracy movies like The Manchurian Candidate.

It’s an episode full of classic Community moments like the adventures of Dean Dangerous and his time desk (the worst book you’ll ever read cover-to-cover), the introduction of Professor Professorson aka Sean Garrity, and a convoluted prop-gun-heavy finale that takes major jabs at the overcomplicated genre it’s lovingly toying with.

7 The Science of Illusion (Buddy Cop Movies)

When an April Fool’s Day prank goes wrong, Annie and Shirley break out the windbreakers and set out to prove which of them is the real badass in their makeshift crime-solving duo.

The episode is one of the show’s most direct homages with Abed taking an active role in turning the investigation into a classic buddy cop drama a la Lethal Weapon in order to entertain himself since his cable’s out. It’s also notable for Jeff’s attempt to turn Pierce into the Cookie Crips wizard and the very first appearance of Troy and Abed in the Morning.

6 Epidemiology (Zombie Movies/Aliens)

While the show was never shy about going all out for wacky concepts, “Epidemiology” is one of the few times it employs genuine science fiction. The episode follows a zombie outbreak at the campus Halloween party and uses the setup to take aim at the zombie genre at large.

It hits classic tropes like characters thinking they’re special enough to be immune to the virus and even has Abed put the whole horror genre on blast with his line to Troy, “Be the first black man to make it to the end.” The episode takes a turn at the end though when Troy embraces his nerdy costume to go full Aliens on the zombies’ faces and save the day.

5 Basic Lupine Urology (Law & Order)

Where most homage episodes look at genres at large, “Basic Lupine Urology” is wall-to-wall Law & Order. Even its title is a reference to the creator/producer of the series, Dick Wolf.

It has Troy and Abed competing for who gets to do the scene-ending zinger and who gets to be the unhinged detective, some classic good cop/bad cop shenanigans, and of course, a shocker ending Dick Wolf himself would be proud of.

4 Documentary Filmmaking Redux (Hearts of Darkness)

“Ever seen Hearts of Darkness? Way better than Apocalypse Now.”

Just like Eleanor Coppola documented her husband’s labored journey toward completing Apocalypse Now, Abed turns the camera onto first-time commercial director, Dean Pelton as he attempts to create the greatest community college ad ever.

The episode mimics both the documentary and the movie it follows and continues the time-honored tradition of camera crews spelling doom for the school. It also features an appearance from Greendale’s most famous alum, Luis Guzman.

3 Basic Intergluteal Numismatics (Zodiac)

Though it most strongly follows the plot of Zodiac along with its cinematography and coloring, the episode noted as the school’s greatest crisis since “protesting the wrong Korea” makes room to poke fun at slasher movies like Scream and other serial killer movies like Se7en and Red Dragon.

The tale of the Ass Crack Bandit is even less resolved than any of the movies that inspired it though as the ending montage presents suspect after suspect for fans to obsess over. But, for the record, the Ass Crack Bandit was definitely Britta.

2 A Fistful of Paintballs (Spaghetti Westerns)

Of course, the most famous homages in the Community canon are its dedicated paintball episodes and one of the very best was season 2’s “A Fistful of Paintballs.” The episode most obviously references Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with its cinematography, Ennio Morricone inspired score and climactic shootout, but it also makes time for a few other references along the way.

In addition to Abed’s Man With No Name inspired costume, Troy takes inspiration from Blazing Saddles and Jeff goes for a Magnificent Seven look.

1 For a Few Paintballs More (Star Wars)

“I’ve been in real wars and this is a lot more terrifying.”

But “A Fistful of Paintballs” is only part one of the story and could only be topped by its successor. “For A Few Paintballs More” keeps the Dollars Trilogy naming convention but drops the western theme in favor of a direct Star Wars homage. It’s got the classic opening crawl, a rebel alliance, and some stormtrooper inspired baddies that even mimic the Darth Vader intro from A New Hope.

The episode also serves as Pierce’s redemption after a season of villainy where he proves himself to be the episode’s real Han Solo as he both disguises himself as a stormtrooper and returns to the fight just in the nick of time in order to win the battle and save the day.

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