Community was a fast-paced show, jam-packed with humor that you often had to be sharp to catch. From the perfectly executed running jokes on Community to the in your face humor to a subtle joke that took three years to deliver the punch line, there’s plenty that may’ve gone right over your head the first time around. Remember the weirdness this NBC comedy brought the world and bask in the glory of these Community jokes that you probably missed on first viewing.
Community Jokes You May Have Missed the First Time,
Abed Delivers a Baby in the Background
In Season 2’s “The Psychology of Letting Go” there’s noticeably less Abed in the story. However, you can see him in the background having his own separate storyline. First he meets a pregnant woman, then that pregnant woman’s man hostilely confronts Abed as if he suspects cheating, then later we see Abed helping deliver the pregnant woman’s baby.
The detail here is remarkable because the first time the couple was shown in Season 1, the guy is carelessly tossing a condom aside. Many months later, in Season 2, the woman is pregnant.
Abed Goes on Cougar Town
Abed tells a story about how he was supposed to be an extra on an episode of Cougar Town, but he accidentally went number two in his pants while filming it. They really went through with this, because there’s an episode of Cougar Town in which Abed can be seen running off, as if he’s hurrying to a bathroom.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Talk about dedication – this joke played out over a span of three seasons. Once every season, someone would say the name Beetlejuice. Of course, saying his name three times is the way to summon him, so after being mentioned on Season 1’s “Communication Studies” and Season 2’s “Cooperative Calligraphy” we finally see Beetlejuice appear in the background when Annie says his name in Season 3’s “Horror Fiction.”
Vending Machine Troy
In Season 1’s eighteenth episode, “Basic Genealogy,” Troy and Abed get stuck inside of a vending machine. Two seasons later, there’s an episode in which a fridge is visible, covered in various stickers, one of which is Troy’s face, positioned precisely where it was when he and Abed were stuck in the machine.
Twitter User @Gwynnifer
In Season 2’s eighth episode, “Cooperative Calligraphy,” Jeff is on the phone with Gwynnifer, and tells her disappointment to suck it. This is a reference to a real person - @Gwynnifer, with whom Dan Harmon had feuded on Twitter.
Troy Might Be in the Bermuda Triangle
When Donald Glover left the show, his character Troy was written to have left on a sailing trip, and the chalkboard in the background suggests that Troy is in the Bermuda Triangle.
Jeff and the Dean Have Matching Underwear
In Season 1’s seventeenth episode, “Physical Education,” we see Jeff strip during a game of pool, exposing his underwear. Two years later, in Season 3, we see that the dean has a pair of undies with the exact same design.
Annie's Stolen Pen
In season two’s eighth episode, “Cooperative Calligraphy,” Annie’s pen goes missing and the group searches for it. If you pay close attention though, you’ll see that Annie’s Boobs, the kleptomaniac monkey steals her pen, which is later found in his stash of belongings.
Tiny, Lurking Chang
We see the group working on a diorama and if you look closely, you can see a little Chang standing outside the window, peering in.
The QR Code
In Season 2’s sixth episode, “Epidemiology,” we see Dean Pelton on the phone, holding a package with a barcode on it. When scanned with a QR reader, it says “Greetings from Greendale Community College.”