The montage that closed last night’s three-part Community season finale, which basically showed the newly christened Greendale Seven becoming better people for having known each other, elicited an audible “awwww” from all assembled in this writer’s living room. But I still wasn’t prepared for the moment when everything faded to white and “#sixseasonsandamovie” appeared on the screen, which I’ll confessed choked me up for a second.
A simple call out on the part of creator Dan Harmon and the team behind Community to its small but obsessive legion of fans, who have adopted the phrase as a rallying cry against its cancellation, this end title card clarified for me why I love this show so much. Although, on the surface, it’s a pop culture-obsessed sitcom with an unprecedentedly wacky and experimental style, it’s also more than that. Along with the strong and sensitive development of Abed’s character that we’ve seen throughout the last several episodes, this season’s finale — which Harmon clearly feared might be the series finale — reaffirmed that Community is first and foremost about the power of friendship to bring people with hugely different backgrounds, interests, and worldviews together, even if some of them are unrepentant assholes. (And if Chevy Chase can’t understand that, he probably should leave the show.)
But now that I’ve got that mushy stuff out of the way, let’s talk about the funniest cultural references on all thee of last night’s episodes. Our top 10 are after the jump.
10. “Why is Harry Belafonte in here?” — Pierce re: Giancarlo Esposito’s Gilbert, “Digital Estate Planning”
9. “Oh no, have you been watching Dance Moms?” — Annie to Britta, re: her depressing outlook, “The First Chang Dynasty”
8. “You guys, I have one decision I need you to help me make. Judging Amy or Judge Judy?” — Dean Pelton, “Introduction to Finality”
7. Chang plays the Beverly Hills Cop theme on keytar, “The First Chang Dynasty”
6. Jeff and Chang’s aborted, Star Wars-style light sabre fight, “The First Chang Dynasty”
5. “It’s mostly hard house, some dubstep” — Dean Pelton describes the “Academania” raves he rents the school out for, “The First Chang Dynasty”
4. Jeff and Britta entertain Chang as a Criss Angel-style goth magician and his assistant, “The First Chang Dynasty”
3. “You drove me there. Miss Daisy’s in the house. Thanks for the ride. Sorry ’bout slavery.” — Alan on his amoral tactics, “Introduction to Finality”
2. “This is 20 cat turds and a Pixies poster away from being your apartment.” — Jeff to Britta, re: the video game witch’s den she’s made herself at home in, “Digital Estate Planning”
1. “You’re VH1, Robocop 2, Back to the Future 3. You’re the center slice of a square cheese pizza. Actually, that sounds delicious. I’m the center slice of a square cheese pizza. You’re Jim Belushi.” — Evil Abed tells Britta she’s mediocre, “Introduction to Finality”