There are so many pairs of TV best friends which real friends often look up to, thinking maybe, “We could be those two guys!” I’m thinking classic duos such as Monica and Rachel from Friends, Jake and Finn from Adventure Time, or even Lucy and Ethel from I Love Lucy. However, as someone who grew up on the Dan Harmon show Community, in my eyes, no friendship quite beats Troy and Abed’s, as portrayed by the lovely Donald Glover and Danny Pudi.
The Rick and Morty creator is known for creating some loony characters, but no one quite fits the bill like Troy and Abed on Community. They had some amazing moments together, and honestly, sometimes there are so many that it’s hard to rank. However, we are going to try and attempt to do that today.
10. Troy And Abed Trash Talk Everyone Who Walks Past Them (Season 1, Episode 4)
One of the best moments that really started to solidify their friendship on Community was this singular moment in the beginning of the series. It starts out simple, with them sitting on a couch in the study room, mocking everyone who walks past the window. They call these poor unfortunate souls everything from “desperate housewife” all the way to “Saddam Hussein,” each insult flying out quickly.
However, that moment is interrupted when Jeff stops in front of the window and says that everyone can hear them. Their solution? To pretend like they are sleeping. It’s a hysterical moment that really begins to show their friendship.
9. Troy And Abed And Their Adventures With Inspector Spacetime (Various Episodes)
There are so many parodies in Community from the real world – even some like Subway which step into this fictional community college. But, one of my favorites is Abed’s obsession with Inspector Spacetime, a clear parody of the hit TV show, Doctor Who, a series which has been around for almost 60 years.
The fictional show was first mentioned in Season 3 when Britta introduced it to Abed after a void was left in his heart by the ending of his former favorite show, Cougarton Abbey. Troy and Abed eventually began to adopt the roles of Inspector Spacetime and his sidekick, Constable Reggie, traveling through time and space in a red telephone box – much like the blue telephone box of Doctor Who. It’s a great running gag that’s an awesome parody.
8. Troy And Abed Dress Up As Bert and Ernie (Season 1, Episode 17)
It’s so random and out there, but it fits the two characters so well in Community. In this early episode of the show, Troy and Abed decide to dress up as Bert and Ernie, acting out a small sketch where Troy has to return a book (which is pageless, for some reason) to Abed. However, Troy remembers through the sketch that it’s his cousin’s funeral that day and has to cut their puppet parody short.
As I said, this sketch is ridiculously WTF, but it still makes you snort in laughter due to how laughable it is. The idea of a family’s funeral interrupting their little playtime is so serious and handled with such care – only these two could pull off a skit like that.
7. Troy And Abed Raise A Baby (Season 3, Episode 20)
Hands down one of my favorite moments between these two, and one of my favorite episodes in Community overall. In this episode, Troy and Abed head into the study room, only to find what appears to be a baby abandoned on the table. The two of them instantly decide to adopt it and then proceed to bicker like an old married couple – that is, until the mother of the baby does appear after having bent down to pick up one of the toys.
I mean, it lowkey does kind of make sense that if they were to take care of a baby, these two would do it together. And, who can’t laugh at the ridiculousness of what they are arguing about? Talking about raising the kid alone, the two of them making time for the child – it’s so funny.
6. Troy And Abed Play Good Cop Bad Cop (Season 3, Episode 17)
I don’t know what it is about Troy and Abed in Community, but I could have never seen them doing this until it finally happened. In this Season 3 episode, we see Troy and Abed take on the role of “bad cop, good cop,” with Troy taking over as bad cop and Abed as the good cop, to interrogate Starburns.
The combination of Troy being overtly angry while also saying silly things like “that doesn’t make sense, you don’t order Ketchup, it’s a condiment!” mixed in with Abed’s calm nature, makes me hold my side from laughter every time I rewatch the show. They’re perfect together in this scenario.
5. Troy And Abed’s Christmas Rap (Season 3, Episode 10)
Okay…admittingly I was a Glee fan before Community basically turned the whole genre on its head and made fun of it during this entire episode, making me realize how silly the premise could be. But, one song in this crazy episode that made the cut was Troy and Abed’s unforgettable Christmas rap.
In this Glee parody, Abed is trying to convince Troy to join them in the Christmas pageant, but because Troy is a Jehovah’s Witness, he’s unable to take part. However, Abed suggests that Troy only pretends to like Christmas, so he could destroy it from within. From there, the two launch into this song-filled rap detailing their whole fictional plot, and man, I love it. It’s so campy, silly, and entertaining that it’s become one of my favorite Christmas episodes of the show, hands down. Besides, this is Childish Gambino we’re talking about – of course he’s going to make a sick rap.
4. Troy And Abed Chloroform The Janitor (Season 2, Episode 2)
While Annie is also included in this gag, the main duo make it all the better. During this episode, Troy and Abed are trying to steal an email from the computer of one of Jeff’s former colleagues in an office, but are caught by a janitor. While Troy struggles to give him an answer as to why they are there, Annie sneaks up and chloroforms the janitor, knocking him out.
The three of them panic and decide to lay down on the floor, pretending that they had been chloroformed as well, but when the janitor wakes up and finally realizes the situation, Annie is forced to chloroform him again. The panic in Troy’s eyes mixed with the constant struggle that they were facing to try and get exactly what they needed provided a great comical scene that truly stands out as one of the funniest moments in Community, not just with Abed and Troy.
3. When Troy And Abed Discussed Troy Becoming A Donut (Season 1, Episode 7)
‘Introduction to Statistics’ is a whole bag of laughter from beginning to end, but one of the best moments in this Community episode occurs at the very end as the credits roll, as is a pretty regular tradition with Troy and Abed. In this scene, we see the pair in their Batman and Eddie Murphy Halloween costumes, talking about waking up as food and eating themselves, and how Troy wouldn’t question eating himself if he was a donut.
What makes this kooky scene even more ridiculous is that they do this all in their best impersonations of Christian Bale’s Batman, making this conversation sound a whole lot more serious than it is. It’s the perfect example of what these two talk about – and creates a wonderful gag to laugh about years later.
2. Troy And Abed In The Morning (Various Episodes)
I literally have a mug with this saying on it. In Community, there have been few running gags which have quite stood the test of time more than Troy and Abed in the Morning, the pair's fake morning talk show that they host in the library, bringing in their friends or even random people for interviews, despite no one ever actually seeing the show.
This little skit had many interpretations on the show, such as one of the episodes being taken over by Evil Troy and Abed from the timelines episode, or where there was a late-night spinoff called Troy and Abed in the Morning: Nights. You can’t make this stuff up, guys. And because it was so popular, it really did become one of the best recurring gags on this show, and was sorely missed when Donald Glover left in Season 5.
1. Troy And Abed’s Spanish Rap Extended (Various Episodes)
Here it is, the top moment in Community between Troy and Abed – and it doesn’t even make a lick of damn sense if you translate it into English. Troy and Abed’s Spanish rap is my absolute favorite moment between them. Why? Not only is it hysterical to me, as someone who is Spanish, to see these two completely mix words together that definitely don’t fit as cohesive thoughts which actually has an awesome beat, but they’re also just so into it.
The rap made its first appearance in Season 1 Episode 2, resulting in this freestyle rap which showed off their skills and Spanish words that don’t make sense but somehow rhyme perfectly, making it wonderfully zany and beautiful. It’s the perfect example of their friendship.
Their rap skills even make a reappearance when Betty White guest starred, this time taking away the Spanish part and turning it into a rap about Anthropology – which again, makes no sense, but who can deny their perfect chemistry and wonderful beats?
Which one of these is your favorite moment? It makes me wonder what the Community cast has been up to since the show ended. We still need that “six seasons and a movie” to come true – hopefully we can hear some news on that soon and get our favorite pairing back once more. Until then, all I can do is rewatch – and maybe learn their Spanish rap.
