It's not often that a show comes around and manages to feel completely different from everything else on TV. For the longest time, that's just what Community was. While a series about a group of unlikely friends meeting at school wasn't anything new, the way that Dan Harmon and the talented cast put the story together was incredible.
There was a level of creativity to Community that was unmatched. As is the case with most series, it had some seasons that were better than others. A few were among the best in TV history but some lacked and were even run by different people. It's interesting to see which one the fans on IMDb consider to be at the top of the list.
Season 4 (7.4)
Dan Harmon and everyone behind the show have gone on to refer to season four as the "gas leak" year. It was the time when Harmon left the series due to some behind-the-scenes issues and new showrunners took over. While it's clear that this wasn't at all a bad season (7.4 is still a good average), it was certainly the low point. Some of the series' most disappointing episodes came during this run.
"Economics of Marine Biology" (6.7) and "Intro to Felt Surrogacy" (6.9) are two of the rare episodes to finish under a 7.0. The season had a few strong points like "Heroic Origins" (8.2) and the Freaky Friday style "Basic Human Anatomy" (8.0). A lot of fans didn't like the forced romantic pairing of Britta and Troy, it had a lackluster finale, and a few of the special episodes didn't work out.
Season 6 (8.0)
Season six, like the fourth iteration, felt a bit different from the rest of the show. Though this one had Harmon in control, it aired on Yahoo Screen instead of NBC. That meant the episodes could be a bit longer and they didn't have to worry as much about censors. There was also no Shirley other than in one cameo, while new characters like Elroy and Frankie ed in on the fun.
It had a few installments that didn't really work out like "Advanced Safety Features" (7.3). That being said, this did manage to wrap up the entire series in a satisfying way. "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television" (9.5) was a brilliant finale and this season even brought back paintball with "Modern Espionage" (9.0). It was quite a different season but it turned out to be very good.
Season 1 (8.3)
Like a lot of shows, you could say that Community took a short while to really get off of the ground. A lot of the early episodes scored in the range of 7.0-7.9 which while they are good, aren't up to the level that the show would go on to deliver in later years. Of course, there were stellar flashes like "Introduction to Statistics" (8.7), "Debate 109" (8.8), and "Physical Education" (9.0).
The show really hit its initial stride of greatness as the first season started to wrap up. It's hard to top installments like the mafia parody "Contemporary American Poultry" (9.3) and "Modern Warfare" (9.8). This season did a fantastic job at introducing these characters and their complex relationships. Plenty of romances were teased, friendships were forged, and there were a ton of laughs to go around.
Season 5 (8.4)
Following the aforementioned "gas leak" year, Dan Harmon returned for the fifth season but gone was Chevy Chase as Pierce. He still showed up for the premiere, "Repilot" (7.9). That episode found a clever way to bring everyone back to Greendale after graduation, forming the "Save Greendale Committee." This season also marked the return of the hilarious Ian Duncan while introducing Professor Hickey, and both choices were welcome.
The highs of season five were focus on other aspects of his career. His two-part exit was emotional and the core of two standout episodes in "Cooperative Polygraphy" (9.3) and "Geothermal Escapism" (9.4).
Season 2 (8.5)
As noted, the end of the first season was when Community seemed to truly get going. That set up perfectly for a second season that was filled with almost nothing but tremendous installments. It started with a bang as Betty White guest-starred in "Anthropology 101," (8.7). That wacky episode set the tone for a season that never let up. It told absurd stories about a KFC-inspired fake rocketship, a magical trampoline, and a stop-motion Christmas musical.
They even did a take on the sitcom trope of clip shows by detailing events that never actually aired in a classic episode, "Paradigms of Human Memory" (9.1). "Epidemiology" (9.3) had a zombie-style attack set to ABBA music, while the two-part paintball finale is among the best installments of the series. That's not even to mention "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" (9.4), "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" (9.5), and the Pulp Fiction fun of "Critical Film Studies" (9.0). It's truly an all-time great season of television.
Season 3 (8.6)
Slightly beating the second season is the third. This again continued the hot streak that the series was on, which was boosted by adding more special episodes like a video game one in "Digital Estate Planning" (9.5) and another fun clip show in "Curriculum Unavailable" (9.2). The season also allowed for a major overarching storyline involving Chang taking over the school, culminating in the wild "The First Chang Dynasty" (9.1).
There was also the epic battle between Troy and Abed in "Pillows and Blankets" (9.3), as well as episodes parodying Law & Order in "Basic Lupine Urology" (9.5) and Glee in "Regional Holiday Music" (8.6). There was also a deep dive on Dean Pelton in "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" (9.1). To top it all off, the highest-rated episode of the series (tied with Modern Warfare), comes in this season in "Remedial Chaos Theory" (9.8).