Time and time again this season, we’ve seen that the best way to bring the Greendale study group together is to pit them against each other. It’s essentially Sitcom Writing 101, but the ways the show would continue to generate conflict without alienating its characters or making them unlikeable is its secret weapon. This is at the heart of Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking, and it’s no coincidence that it’s a great episode of the show. Community’s legacy may be tied to its ability to deftly break from the traditional sitcom format – and it certainly deserves that distinction – but the magic trick of this episode is in how it breaks down its characters.

First, a note: one of these spots would go to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons but, because of a plot point involving blackface, Netflix and Hulu removed the episode in 2020, and I had no other way to view it.

Unlike previous entries in this series, I’m going to kick things off with the second chronological episode this time, Asian Population Studies. Not because I believe it’s superior to Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas, but more close to the contrary. Whereas Christmas is one of the show’s best episodes ever, Asian Population Studies doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression. It’s a perfectly fine (and funny!) episode that comes at the midpoint of the season; it just so happens to be amongst a sea of knockout episodes that would go on to be much more memorable.