NBC’s Community is one of the most innovative and clever shows of all time. Created by Dan Harmon, Community was one of the best TV shows to not only incorporate pop culture but also make fun of common TV and movie tropes.. The people attached with Community went on to receive fame in Hollywood, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo going on to direct various MCU movies, including the highest-grossing movie of all time, Avengers: Endgame.
The show’s subtle meta-humor was received well by a very niche audience only, which led to a fall in ratings. Hence, it was canceled by NBC after just five seasons and given just one more on Yahoo. So, here are 10 quotes from Community that prove it was “streets ahead” of all the other shows of its time.
“Oh, My Third Wife Was Bi-Racial!”
In Season 1, when Britta finds one of Professor Slater’s hairs on Jeff, she asks him who the lucky brunette was. Jeff responds with “Last name beeswax, first name noneya.” Pierce instantly quips"Oh, my third was bi-racial!", hilariously proving his inability to get the joke.
Pierce is, more often than not, the most offensive member of the study group. His failure to get that Jeff was jokingly asking Britta to mind her business, and his offensive insinuation that bi-racial names are often unconventional, is just one of the ways Community proves its hilarity.
“We’ll Definitely Be Back Next Year. If Not, It’ll Be Because An Asteroid Has Destroyed All Human Civilization. And That’s Canon.”
Due to low viewership, Community was always on the verge of being canceled. The show makes a clever nod to this fact in the Season 5 finale, “Basic Sandwich”. After the college is saved from being turned into a Subway School and the study group is celebrating, Abed says the above quote whilst directly looking at the camera.
The show had a cult following but failed to have a mass, general audience due to its unconventional and “weird” humor. Abed thus makes a meta, self-aware reference to the uncertainty of Community returning the next season in the quote.
“Oh, Don’t Take That Class, I Dropped It After The Lesson On Set-Ups. The Professor Is SO Old…”
Greendale Community College is known for offering weird courses such as Theoretical Phys. Ed. and Ladders. Another class is one on how to write jokes, which Shirley seems interested in taking. Annie, however, advises against it. She says the above quote, while the other members of the study group look at her expectantly as if waiting for the punchline to the joke, but Annie falls silent.
It’s an extremely hilarious and clever joke, as Annie wouldn’t know how to give a punchline to her joke since she dropped the class and thus doesn’t know the structure of a joke. She only set up the joke but cannot add a punchline.
“How ‘Bout I Pound You Like A Boy?! That Didn’t Come Out Right.”
In the season 1 episode, “Introduction to Film”, Troy is laughed at by everyone due to his “feminine” way of sneezing. Jeff, upon hearing his sneeze, makes fun of it and comments, “Hey! Troy sneezes like a girl!”
Troy angrily responds with the above quote, immediately correcting himself since “pounding you like a boy” has, well, another meaning. It’s a pretty funny moment, especially with Donald Glover’s perfect delivery of the line. Troy is often shown to be a little dumb, to comedic effect, and this moment doesn’t fail to bring out a laugh from the viewers.
“I Was Never One To Hold A Grudge, Jeffrey. My Father Held Grudges. I’ll Always Hate Him For That.”
In the Season 2 episode, “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking”, Pierce pretends to be dying to mess with the study group’s heads. When it’s Jeff’s turn to speak to Pierce, Jeff states that it seems Pierce is using the social leverage afforded to him by his alleged deathbed to carry out complicated acts of psychological vengeance on his fellow study group members.
Pierce laughingly denies this and then proceeds to say the above quote. It’s a hilarious, ironic moment as Pierce invalidates what he has just said by saying he doesn’t hold grudges, then basically says he holds a grudge against his father. Pierce and his father have always had a rocky history and it’s played off for a joke perfectly in the scene.
“If I Wanted The Government In My Uterus, I’d Fill It With Oil And Hispanic Voters.”
Another bit of comedy gold, Britta Perry says the above line in the season 5 episode, “Cooperative Polygraphy.” As Pierce’s final wish, the study group agrees to answer various questions under a polygraph machine, and when the study group finds out that Shirley is a platinum level donor to a Pro-Life organization, Britta gets angry. She says the above line, with Gillian Jacobs delivering it perfectly.
Britta has always been something of a rebel, protesting something or the other. She’s extremely anti-government, and this line perfectly portrays her character and her mindset. Besides being hilarious, the social commentary also adds a layer to the joke.
“GAAYYY MARRIAAGEE!!”
Perhaps one of the funniest scenes of Season 3, this quote was said by a fantasy Devil version of Dean Pelton. In “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps,” each member of the study group tries to come up with a scary story for Halloween. In devout Christian Shirley’s story, the world has been destroyed and all the good people (hint: Christians) have been sent to Heaven.
The Devil (Dean Pelton) visits a cabin in which some youngsters are doing drugs but he is banished by Shirley, in the form of an angel. However, he reappears, holding a chainsaw and screaming “GAY MARRIAGE!” It’s an extremely funny moment, seeing Dean Pelton dressed as a devil screaming an “anti-Christian” thing.
“Our Captain Was Killed On Duty Last Night. Leaves Behind Two Kids And A Pregnant Wife. So You’re Missing A Batman DVD?”
One of the funniest moments in the show comes from the recurring character Officer Cackowski. When Annie accidentally breaks Abed’s The Dark Knight Extended Extended Cut DVD in the season 3 episode “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism,” she stages a fake break-in to avoid suspicion. After Officer Cackowski apologizes for the delay in reaching there apartment, he says the above quote.
The dark, serious situation of a policeman being killed and leaving behind family in a crisis is immediately undercut by the whimsical situation of a missing DVD.
“Tell Me How To Get This Laid Back, Or I’ll Kill Your Families!”
In the season 2 episode “Aerodynamics of Gender,” Jeff and Troy discover the ultimate relaxation secret - jumping on an illegal trampoline behind the college. Pierce, true to his character, immediately wants to interfere and feel included. He asks Jeff and Troy for their secret to getting so relaxed on multiple occasions, but they refuse to tell him.
Pierce, thus, says the above quote, as he threatens to do something so extreme while asking how to relax. Community has many such funny ironic quotes, and this is one of the best instances in the whole show.
“Accidents Don’t Just Happen Over And Over And Over Again, Okay, This Isn’t Budget Daycare.”
Another funny, kind of dark, but mainly hilarious line is said by Annie in the season 2 episode, “Cooperative Calligraphy.” When her pen goes missing, Annie accuses everyone of stealing it and demands nobody leave the room to go to a puppy parade (leading to Abed declaring the situation as them doing a bottle episode).
When the study group says it could be an accident, Annie says the above quote. The dark insinuation that things can, uh, go wrong at a budget daycare is only made funnier by the spot-on delivery by Alison Brie.
