Funny, touching, and incredibly meta, Dan Harmon’s Communitymight not be the first show that comes to mind when viewers think “Halloween specials.” And yet, Community had some of the best Halloween episodes out there. Focused on Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), ex-lawyer turned community college student, the show often brought up some terrifyingly funny concepts, like the Darkest Timeline. It also frequently featured costumes (mostly from the Dean) and was just generally a sweet treat to watch. Plus, Abed Nadir’s (Danny Pudi) knowledge of movie genres often lent to great horror parodies and homages.When you consider all of the above, maybe it’s not so strange that Community’s Halloween specials were frighteningly good. Sure, they usually left viewers laughing instead of screaming, but they also delivered some unexpectedly poignant moments and memorable quotes while embracing the creativity and fantasy of spooky season.While we recommend watching all of the episodes on this list, we’ve gone ahead and ranked them based on how well they merged the spirit of Community with the spirit (or spirits) of the holiday.
4
“Paranormal Parentage”
Season 4, Episode 2
Known as the “Gas Leak Year,” Season 4 had some of the strangest episodes of the entire Community series. However, it also had some highs, such as “Paranormal Parentage.” In this Halloween episode, the study group, minus Pierce (Chevy Chase), was getting ready for a party when Pierce called asking for help. Claiming that he had seen his father’s ghost, Pierce locked himself in his panic room and needed the group to find the code to get him out. But during their Scooby-Doo-esque search, Jeff’s own relationship with his father would prove to be just as complicated and central to the story as Pierce’s own.
Heartwarming and Hilarious
From small moments, such as Annie (Alison Brie) misunderstanding what her ring-girl costume should look like to Abed reflecting, “I remember when this show was about community college,” this episode was hilarious. The moments involving Pierce being watched while sleeping were also genuinely creepy. Add to that the references to House on Haunted Hill and Nightmare on Elm Street, and a guest appearance by Pierce’s half-brother Gilbert, played by Giancarlo Esposito, and it almost hurts us to put this episode in last place. But while there isn’t anything wrong with “Paranormal Parentage,” the other episodes on this list just happen to be even better.
3
“Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps”
Season 3, Episode 5
After Britta (Gillian Jacobs) gave the group anonymous personality tests, she was horrified to learn that one of them was a psychopath. Trying to figure out who, she told a scary story and tried to gauge the group’s reactions, but they were mostly just unimpressed with her storytelling. So, they began to tell their own scary tales featuring vampires, bizarre science experiments, and even the Rapture. In the end, it was revealed that Britta had scored the tests wrong, but the group’s true results (sans Abed’s) were even scarier.
They Didn’t Britta It
“Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” was notable for featuring Betelgeuse (aka Beetlejuice), thus finalizing a background gag that had been building up over several episodes. It also had some pretty funny moments, especially during Shirley’s story and Britta’s reaction to the repeated use of “Britta’d.” However, other stories, such as Abed’s and Annie’s, were a little one note. That’s not to say that they were bad, only that the jokes could have been even more effective. Still, “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” ranks above “Paranormal Parentage” for its creativity and willingness to “go there.”
2
“Introduction to Statistics”
Season 1, Episode 7
Annie’s Día de los Muertos-themed Halloween party needed one thing to be a success: Jeff’s attendance. Already reluctant to attend, he eventually left the event with Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) after learning that his statistics instructor, Professor Slater (Lauren Stamile), was at a faculty party. But his efforts to woo her would be undermined by a drugged-up Pierce, a mournful Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), and a secretly jealous Britta, all culminating in Jeff turning down a chance to hook up with his teacher so that he could be there when his friends needed him instead.
Acing Halloween Episodes
This is one of those episodes where everything just came together perfectly. From the reveal about Shirley’s ex-husband to Jeff (finally) doing the right thing, it felt as if the show had really found its footing. In that sense, it’s not just a great Halloween episode, but one of the most pivotal of the first season. Like with the other specials on this list, “Introduction to Statistics” wasn’t particularly scary, but it did a lot in terms of character growth and relationship building, which made it quite the treat to watch. It ranks above the other two for showing the group’s positive influence on Jeff and for firmly establishing the community feel of Community.
1
“Epidemiology”
Season 2, Episode 6
An homage to zombie movies, “Epidemiology” quickly took a turn for the spooky when Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) fed the students a contaminated meat-like substance. Pierce and several other students soon grew ill, and the Dean was told by an army special operations officer that he had to quarantine them until special forces arrived. Unfortunately, this put all the other students at risk of being bitten; worse, if they couldn’t cool down the school, the infected students were facing potential brain damage, or even death. So, the study group sprang into action to try to save the school, which predictably led to most of them being turned into zombies as Abed urged Troy to “Make me proud. Be the first black man to make it to the end.”
Scarily Good
This was one of the zanier episodes of the series, as it essentially established zombies and mind-erasing as parts of the Community universe. Although the show was often self-aware, it rarely veered off into themes or events that were supernatural. And yet, this episode managed to make the supernatural feel normal while simultaneously growing Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed’s friendship, introducing a shocking dynamic in Shirley and Chang’s relationship, and more generally playing with horror tropes in unique, unexpected ways. Plus, who could forget the ABBA soundtrack, George Takei’s narration, or Troy’s epic hero’s journey?
For now, “Epidemiology” leads our list, as it combines an actually scary premise with the warmth and hilarious antics that make Community so good. It’s a great watch, not just during Halloween, but all-year round. Plus, it’s the type of funny-scary that’s easy to enjoy, unlike some of the just plain frightening updates that have recently come out about the movie…
Release Date
2009 – 2015-00-00
Network
NBC, Yahoo! Screen
Directors
Tristram Shapeero, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Rob Schrab, Jay Chandrasekhar, Adam Davidson, Justin Lin, Steven K. Tsuchida, Kyle Newacheck, Victor Nelli Jr., Nat Faxon, Michael Patrick Jann, Anthony Hemingway, Ken Whittingham, Steven Sprung, Tricia Brock, Jeff Melman, Gail Mancuso, Duke Johnson, Fred Goss, Bobcat Goldthwait, Richard Ayoade, Seth Gordon, Beth McCarthy-Miller
Writers
Chris McKenna, Hilary Winston, Andrew Guest, Tim Hobert, Karey Dornetto, Stephen Basilone, Emily Cutler, Annie Mebane, Alex Rubens, Tim Saccardo, Paul Isakson, David Seger, Maggie Bandur, Monica Padrick, Matt Murray, Liz Cackowski, Lauren Pomerantz, Dan Guterman, Matt Roller, Ryan Ridley, Carol Kolb, Jon Pollack, Dino Stamatopoulos, Donald Diego
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