Modern Warfare

(This is the twenty-third part in an ongoing series, in which I am writing brief reviews of each and every episode of Dan Harmon's beloved cult- comedy "Community." Originally conceived as a response to NBC's cancellation of the series before it was revived for its final season on Yahoo.)

This is it. The big one. The episode to end all episodes.

This... Is... Paintball.

At this point, there's almost no introducing "Modern Warfare", the twenty-third episode in the first season of Dan Harmon's "Community." It's kind of transcended the series in a strange way. Having become sort-of a mythical symbol of not only the series as a whole, but all high-concept and themed episodes in television at large. It's famous. Beloved. Iconic. Every time someone talks about television and one- off episodes that stand alone, "Modern Warfare" is one of the first things to pop up. And it's definitely for good reason. This just might be not only one of the finest episodes of the season... it might be one of the best episodes of the entire series... And it also might just be one of the best half-hours of television to air in the past ten years.

A loving send-up to all things action and adventure, we follow Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) as he awakens from a nap in his car to discover that Greendale has degenerated in a sort-of post-apocalyptic wasteland. A result of a campus-wide game of paintball announced that afternoon by Dean Pelton. (Jim Rash) Jeff slowly begins tracking down other members of the study-group, who have become ruthless warriors in a struggle to attain the grand price of the tournament- Priority Registration that would allow whoever wins to pick and choose their classes for the following semester before anyone else. And they will be forced to fight against roving gangs of other students and corruption at the highest of levels in their attempts to win!

Part of the great appeal of "Modern Warefare" is that it is quintessential "Community" in virtually every sense... only dialed up to 11 on the insanity scale. The series is renowned and beloved for its wonderful postmodern meta sensibilities, and in every sense "Modern Warefare" is the most dramatic and hilarious example of this. It's one of the most dense and outlandishly hilarious episodes of the series, and virtually every scene... every line of dialog... every visual cue is a callback to something. Whether it be "Die Hard", "Warriors" or "Escape from New York", almost every single aspect in its 22 minute length is a loving homage.

It also doesn't hurt that the episode is helmed by famed action- movie director Justin Lin and written by the talented writer/producer Emily Cutler. Together, the two perfectly capture the essence of the action-adventure genre with ease and deliver laughs and thrills with great consistency. You'll be surprised by just how exciting the episode it, and how Cutler is able to raise the stakes while Lin thrills with dynamic camera-work and top-notch editing. The cast also shines wonderfully, and it's one of those great episodes that gives both Jeff and Gillian Jacob's Britta a lot of keen development and great moments. Which is always appreciated as they are my favorite characters in the series. There's also a few nice sequences with Yvette-Nicole Brown's Shirley, whom often is overlooked in the series.

There's really no other way around it. "Modern Warfare" is a triumphant and iconic episode in "Community" history. A benchmark for the series that came out of nowhere and thrilled audiences. And even to this day, it remains a favorite for fans the world over. "Modern Warfare" easily earns a perfect 10 out of 10.

This is the first episode of Community that will later define and characterize typical Community-episodes.

The first few minutes start as usual. But then after Jeff wakes up, he wakes up in a post-war scenery....

This episode is depicted as a kind of parody, but also kind of an homage to action movies. It is not that much exaggerated as parodies are most times. Parody episodes are just about making fun of the clichés....but in this episode of Community it fits all in. The whole story of the Season arc is developing, you get the know the cast better, more important: you get to know the atmosphere and state- of-mind at the Community college better, and all these nice developing scenes are surrounded with brilliant action scenes. The plot is very well and it looks like they made right choices everywhere (Chang as the psycho Headhunter, the slow-mo scenes).

And then sometimes, you briefly leave the action scenery for a quick moment of reality "in a TV series" and find yourself sucked in from the happenings only to realize "oh it's only blood..no paint!" :D

One of the best early episodes, outstanding from the other episodes so far...in a different way. Community has more of these nice half-parody, half-homage episodes and all of them are good.

10/10

Modern Warfare is the start of what might be Community's finest tradition - the paintball parody. Taking elements from The Walking Dead, Battle Royale (the movie), The Matrix and every 80s action movie ever Justin Lin gives us a hilarious, creative and ridiculously over-the-top episode that also manages to work in some character growth. Absolutely love it.

When I first started watching Community, I wasn't sure wheter or not I wanted to continue. I liked the humor, the characters and settings were interesting and I could see that it wasn't your typical sit com but I still thought that the show hadn't found its voice yet. I know that this is the case for lot of brilliant series, especially comedies where you have to get used to the humor (it was the same with the first season of The Office and I ended up loving it), so I kept watching. The second half of the season started to get better until this episode. THIS is where Community becomes Community (and by it I mean amazing) and finds its true identity, this is the game changer. If you are not 100% sure on wheter or not to keep watching then this episode will make up your mind.

Modern Warfare contains the classical meta-humor and it's a wonderfully realized parody of post apocalyctic and action movies. It starts with a normal cold open where it's announced that Greendale will have a paintball fight with some huge prize that is still unknow. As Jeff wakes up from a nap, he founds the school empty and wrecked a la 28 Days Later and then there are some interesting (and fun) twists and turns. I'm not giving this episode a 10 just because I know there will be some more good stuff coming up.

One of the greatest episodes of any sitcom in American television history.