Splitsider

Diehard comedy fans surely know the origin story of Community creator Dan Harmon, but for the uninitiated, I present you with this overview of his early career and a detailed rundown of the shows he created for Channel 101, the live monthly short film festival he started up with friend and frequent collaborator Rob Schrab back in 2003.

Harmon and Schrab first began working together as members of ComedySportz Milwaukee, a short-form improv organization, in the late 80s. In the 90s, they formed the improv and sketch group the Dead Alewives with some friends, performing live shows in Milwaukee and recording a comedy album. More importantly, however, they started [...]

So you love Community, not just because it's funny but because it's impressively written. It seems each half-hour episode packs in a movie's worth of story: spending time on all 8 characters, taking them on a journey away from their study group and back, hitting a joke in each line and then along the way throwing in a parody of a deleted scene from The Terminator that you thought only you saw.

In addition to that, Community jumps genres from episode to episode — one week it's zombies, the next it's a note-perfect parody of The Right Stuff or the ridiculously intricate paintball/28 Days Later episode from season one. [...]