Streets Ahead! Every ‘Community’ Halloween Episode, Ranked

When it comes to producing innovative theme episodes, nobody did it better than Dan Harmon’s cult sitcom Community. Premiering in 2009, the NBC series about the disparate members of a study group at a wacky community college covered a lot of ground in six seasons (and hopefully a movie). From paintball to zombies to exploring alternate timelines, Community continuously subverted the traditional rules of television structure in order to craft something truly original.

I loved when Community dipped into the absurd — Season 2’s “Cooperative Calligraphy” bottle episode is a personal favorite — but the series was also adept at producing a number of classic holiday episodes. Decider previously covered the show’s best Christmas episodes, and now we’re setting our sights on spooky season. There’s no such thing as a bad Community Halloween episode, so we’re ranking these ghostly offerings from best to… slightly better than best.

What’s the cool, cool-cool-coolest Halloween episode of Community? Here’s our pick for the best of the best.

1. Season 3, Episode 5: “Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps”

   Community’s third Halloween episode centers on the group sharing spooky stories so that Britta can discover which member of the study group, per an anonymous personality test, has homicidal tendencies. The result? Turns out that everyone except Abed is insane, which… yeah… that tracks.

   The episode is also known for the show’s epic Beetlejuice joke, a bit that played out over three seasons.

   Bonus Fun: Britta is reading a book titled “Warren Piece” when describing a potential future murder spree.

   “I’m just a guy who doesn’t like taking tests, doing work, or gettin’ yelled at. So if you think about it, that makes me the sanest person here.” (Jeff)

3. Season 4, Episode 2: “Paranormal Parentage”

   The first two Community Halloween episodes (Seasons 1 and 2) are definitely the best, with the following two installments (from Seasons 3 and 4) in the next tier. I give “Paranormal Parentage” the slight edge over Season 3’s “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” because the costumes are better, the plot adds to the season-long stories, the episode has a fun, Scooby-Doo vibe, and the visuals of Pierce’s haunted mansion are truly stunning.

   The episode follows the study group as they attempt to rescue Pierce from the panic room inside his “haunted” mansion. “Paranormal Parentage” gets bonus points for Annie’s Ring-inspired costume (Jeff, dressed as a boxer, asked her to be his “ring girl”) and the special appearance by Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito.

   “I remember when this show was about a community college.” (Abed)

4. Season 1, Episode 7: “Introduction To Statistics”

   Personally, I loved Community’s Professor Slater (Lauren Stamile) era. The character was a believable romantic partner for Jeff, a perfect adversary for Britta, and Stamile is an underappreciated comedic tour de force. The early episodes of Community are more grounded in reality and follow a traditional sitcom template — Jeff initially scorns the study group before reluctantly succumbing to their offbeat charms and/or the cozy comforts of friendship — but they’re still endearingly weird.

   “Introduction To Statistics” doesn’t hit the highs of “Epidemiology” but it’s still a strong Halloween episode featuring some killer costumes (Batman, Delirious-era Eddie Murphy) a glimpse of the undeniable Troy and Abed chemistry, the early stages of the Jeff/Britta/Slater love triangle, and an entertaining Pierce subplot that helped serve the main story.

   Troy: Hey, can I ask you something I always wanted to ask the real Batman?
   Abed (as Batman): Yeah.
   Troy: Am I good looking?
   Abed (as Batman): You’re a very attractive young man.
   Troy: I knew it.

5. Season 2, Episode 6: “Epidemiology”

   “Epidemiology” is an all-time classic Halloween episode. The official Netflix synopsis is vintage Community: “Dean Pelton’s army surplus party food sparks an outbreak of zombie-ism at the Greendale Halloween party.”

   I can’t stress how wild it was to watch Community live on TV during its initial run. NBC rarely promoted the show, so each episode was a surprise. Would you get a “normal” installment or an episode centering on a zombie attack? We didn’t know!

   There are so many little tidbits that make “Epidemiology” a true TV gem: the whole episode being scored to ABBA (from Dean Pelton’s playlist), the Dean’s voice memos, Shirley’s costume once again being ambiguous, Jeff still being addicted to texting as a zombie, Troy saving the day, and the George Takei of it all.

   If you can only watch one Community Halloween episode, make it “Epidemiology.”

   Memorable Quotes:

   “Prepare to meet the power of imagination.” (Troy)
   “Troy, be honest: Are you a zombie? I will mace you.” (Dean Pelton)

   Community is currently streaming on Netflix and Hulu.