Few settings are as cherished in the annals of television comedy as the study room at Greendale Community College is on Community. There, myriad antics have unfolded from fantastical adventures to engaging bottle episodes. It's a special room because it helps make broken people special.
In classic Community fashion, though, the study room is way more than just four walls, two doors, and a table. It contains hidden details, background jokes, and the subtle density that Community has always been known for. With how layered every scene of Community is, there's no doubt that hidden details have been missed over the seasons by even the most devoted of fans.
Group Study Room
First of all, there is the hidden detail of what the study room is actually called. The study room is affectionately known as the study room on Community, but everything has a name at Greendale, even if it stems from Admiral William North.
The study room on Community is actually entitled (drumroll, please) Group Study Room F! This seems to imply that there are, at least, five other study rooms on campus, which would be undeniably impressive considering how downtrodden the college is.
Parks And Recreation
Back in the glory days of NBC, Thursday nights would occasionally air new episodes of The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and Community all in the same two-hour block! As such, there were occasional references between the series.
In Community's "Pilot," for example, there is the hidden detail of a Post-It notes on the bulletin board in the study room. It cleverly alludes to the Pawnee need to fill in the pit that drove the first season arc of Parks.
Where's Troy?
Over time, the production designers on Community wouldn't stop having fun with these board-based background jokes. After Donald Glover departed the show in season five, occasional Easter eggs would be left to allude to what happened to Troy on the Childish Tycoon with LeVar Burton.
At one point, the chalkboard asks, "Has anyone heard from Troy?" and then launches into a rant about the fate of their fellow Greendale student. It's a big paragraph, so it was never meant to be anything more than a hidden detail.
Occupy Greendale
The bulletin board has always been rife with subtle background allusions to the greater goings-on of the Greendale campus, especially as they don't apply specifically to the Greendale Seven.
One such flyer in the background advertises an "Occupy Greendale" protest at the height of that movement in the U.S. It's a surprise that Britta didn't immediately pounce on the opportunity to partake.
Vote Brody Leitz
Another flyer on the bulletin board alludes to the revolving door of student elections that are constantly being held at Greendale. It is a flyer that advocates for Brody Leitz for student president.
Among the policy promises from Leitz are a dance for Cinco de Mayo and actual water in the water fountains! Hey, that's not a bad platform to run on, especially considering the endorsements Brody received. In the web series, "The Straight A's of Greendale," Brody was even played by Randall Park!
Annie's Pen
One resident of the study room in Community who seems to be permanent is the monkey, Annie's Boobs. In the season two episodes, "Cooperative Calligraphy," Annie's Boobs can be seen grabbing one of Annie's purple pens from the study room table.
It's a small joke that is hard to notice, but it serves as the driving force for the installment. Plus, it's revealed that Annie's Boobs' stash of stolen objects is not solely limited to her pen. He has free range of that study room.
Chang In The Window
Another major arc of season two revolves around Chang and his endless endeavors to be granted admission into the study group of the Greendale Seven. As such, Chang is a perennial hidden detail of the study room, as he's often seen from the exterior.
In "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," Chang's snowman is excluded from Abed's "therapy" session, for example. When the group makes a diorama of themselves making a diorama, Chang is placed as a doll on the outside of the study room looking in.
Table Scars
In the season three premiere of Community, "Biology 101," Jeff is driven insane by the magical connection he feels to the study room and its table. As a result, he takes an ax to it and leaves a series of slash marks embedded in the table.
From this moment until the table burns in "Repilot," the ax wounds are seen in the study room table. The group certainly left their mark on that room, especially since Troy also carved notches into his corner of the table.
Six Seasons And A Movie
In "Advanced Introduction to Finality," during the gas leak year of season four, the chalkboard contains another subliminal message for the fans. In what could have been the series finale, the chalkboard bears five sentences.
However, the first word of each of these sentences is what's key. Reading just the lefthand column of the chalkboard reveals the iconic Community phrase, "Six seasons and a movie." Still waiting on that movie, though.
Production Codes
Lastly, Community has always had fun with hidden details that are exceedingly meta. In "Remedial Chaos Theory," for example, a joke is made about Troy and Abed's apartment being either 303 or 304, based on how the episode production codes switched. (It was filmed as the third episode of season three and swapped to the fourth.)
Branching off this, the study room frequently contains a production code of the episode being filmed, especially in season six. Take "Modern Espionage," for example. The whiteboard contains the code, "GC611." It's the eleventh episode of season six. The study room is full of hidden treasures.