The sitcom Community became an underdog hit show for NBC. It didn’t have the biggest fan base, but the supporters put all their love into the series. The show was on the verge of being canceled many times and returned from the dead at one point when Yahoo picked it up. Community received six seasons full of hilarious one-liners, stories about deep bonds of friendship and meta-jokes that viewers loved.
Future stars like Donald Glover, Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs would see Community as their first big break. The combination of a superb cast and genius writing by Dan Harmon led to many jokes that viewers didn’t even notice. Community loved delivering direct humor along with the subtle moments that you appreciate watching again. We will look back at some of the funnier moments to fly under the radar. These are the top ten jokes from Community that you likely missed.
Abed delivering a baby
One of the wildest background jokes in sitcom history featured Abed helping deliver a baby in the second season of Community. Abed is not involved in the major stories of the episode titled “The Psychology of Letting Go” by intent.
Various scenes in the background show Abed interacting with a pregnant woman. The scenes culminate with Abed helping to deliver the baby. Community made it even more amazing when you watch back and see the couple throw away a condom in Season 1 that led to the pregnancy paying off here.
Amy Poehler poster in the background
Background props are often the funniest and silliest ways to add inside jokes to a television show. Community decided to do this in the Season 2 episode titled “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking”, where Levar Burton shows up to surprise his biggest fan Troy.
The scene of Troy freaking out in a hospital cafeteria features a fun poster. Fellow NBC sitcom star Amy Poehler is shown as a candy striper in a poster advocating for volunteering. Unfortunately, we would never get to see Poehler appear for a Community/Parks & Recreation crossover.
Boat named after Childish Gambino
The end of Donald Glover’s time on Community would see the character Troy written off when getting to travel the world with Levar Burton on a massive boat. Pierce leaves it to Troy when he passes away to help him discover the world and find himself.
A single shot from the farewell shows that the name of the boat is the Childish Tycoon. One of the reasons Glover left Community was to dedicate more time to his music career under the name of Childish Gambino.
Starburns’ heart-shaped sideburns
The character known as Starburns had the nickname for the obvious reason of his sideburns being shaved into the shape of a star. Community would decide to get even more into a holiday theme by subtly changing his look for a Valentine's Day episode.
Starburns changes the shape of his sideburns into a heart to celebrate the day of love. Most fans didn’t catch it unless they paid close attention to his face. It was a fun little nod to the viewers that paid attention and added something to the holiday episode.
Troy and Abed's vending machine poster
One of the most amusing changes in Community came when Troy and Abed decided to get their own apartment together. A past moment at the school would see them get stuck in a vending machine together as a zany act.
The episode titled “Remedial Chaos Theory” references it in the episode where the gang attends a welcoming part for Troy and Abed’s new place. A look at the refrigerator in the background shows a giant poster of them inside of the vending machine still celebrating the moment.
Chang watching from afar in diorama
The story of Chang trying to fit into the study group is a story that lasts for quite a few seasons. Community makes fun of how often the group makes dioramas with the episode titled "20th Diorama of the 19th Diorama."
The group makes the diorama after making peace to end a tough day, but Chang is left is watching from the outside upon discovering they didn’t wait for him. As the shot goes out, the camera shows that the group did add Chang into the diorama with his figure watching from the outside as well.
Troy wearing Spider-Man pajamas
Donald Glover’s desire to play Peter Parker in a movie became part of the Community world for his character Troy. There was a fan movement for Glover to get the role of Peter Parker in the new Spider-Man franchise that did not become a reality.
Community, however, did find a way to reference it during a scene with everyone in the study group waking up to start the new school year. Troy is shown wearing Spider-Man pajamas as his ideal sleepwear before getting out of bed. Glover would later appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming even though he wasn’t Spidey.
Abed appearing in the background of Cougar Town
The cast of Community and Cougar Town were very friendly as they bonded over similarities. Both shows had passionate fan bases that kept each alive through various seasons of cancellation rumors and huge changes.
Abed references Cougar Town during his version of Dinner with Andre when eating dinner with Jeff. The claims of him being an extra in Cougar Town may be part of Abed’s bit, but actor Danny Pudi really did appear in the background of an episode as an extra. Fans of both shows nerded out big time while casual viewers likely missed the joke. Cougar Town cast members also show up in the background of Community.
Troy and Lavar Burton captured by pirates
The farewell of Troy and Levar Burton may have appeared as a happy ending, but a later joke may make their fate less certain. An Easter Egg in a scene featuring a news telecast features a tidbit on the ticker that could have given us a glimpse at their present.
The notice stated that Levar Burton and a “non-celebrity companion” were captured by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico. We’ll never know what happened to Troy unless Community returns with a movie, but one would hope Levar found a way to save them from the pirates.
Beetlejuice showing up in the background
One of the funniest subtle jokes on Community is played out over the course of three episodes. Various members of the study group reference Beetlejuice on three occasions. Anyone that watched the movie or read the story of Beetlejuice knows that he appears after his name is said three times.
Jeff confuses Britta’s name with Beetlejuice, Britta references Jeff wearing Beetlejuice themed underwear, and Annie references that the Beetlejuice soundtrack is on Britta’s phone. The third episode to reference it is "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" that takes place on Halloween. Someone in a Beetlejuice costume is shown in the background when Annie says it a third time. Minds. Blown.