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[Lorri Dent]

Community is one of the most inventive and witty television shows of recent decades, with innovative humor that makes each episode feel like a distinct experience. The series was created by Dan Harmon and features an ensemble cast that includes big names like Joel McHale and future mega-stars like Mr. & Mrs. Smith's Donald Glover. The show ran for six seasons and currently has a film in production. The movie is vindication for fans who have long rallied around the cry of "Six Seasons and a Movie!", which started as an inside joke but evolved into the ultimate dream for its viewers.

The series always eagerly plugged itself into pop culture, making sure that there were abundant references to other media that made the show feel like a smorgasbord of entertainment. They have referenced everything from Star Wars to cop procedurals to stop-motion Christmas specials, with entire episodes committed to changing genres to match the shows and movies they pay homage to. There's plenty of Community to watch while waiting for the movie, but astute fans of the show might notice something missing from most streaming services. "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is a Season 2 episode that is one of the most recognizable and talked-about of the show, though that wasn't enough to save it from being pulled from multiple streaming services.

While the episode features some of Community's greatest narrative techniques, a controversial joke involving a character in inappropriate cosplay led to the studios removing the episode. What's interesting is that despite being removed from most streaming services, fans and even cast members have continued to give the episode praise. So what happened in "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" that caused it to be pulled from streaming, but has also led some people to share their desire for it to be restored?

"Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is the 14th episode of Season 2 of Community, and follows the study group as they participate in a game of Dungeons & Dragons in order to cheer up a depressed classmate. Neil (Charlie Koontz) is another student at Greendale Community College who is bullied for his weight, as he is almost universally referred to as "Fat Neil" by the general populace. After he ominously donates all his D&D books to Jeff (McHale), the study group is alarmed and makes a plan to host a game of D&D to lift Neil's spirits. They all get together in the study room and, with Abed (Danny Pudi) as the Dungeon Master, jump into some good old-fashioned tabletop role-playing. However, the remaining and most problematic member of the study group, Pierce (Chevy Chase), rudely interrupts their game and proceeds to harass and bully Neil further. Fortunately for Neil, Pierce's villainous efforts actually make him an incredibly effective, well, villain. The study group doesn't just end up fighting a magical dragon, but they also encourage Neil, who learns how to stand up for himself against bullying.

The episode is a masterclass in storytelling, highlighting just how daring Community is willing to be. The game of Dungeons & Dragons is played the way that an actual game among friends would be played. It's as silly as it is serious, as the study group inevitably ends up committing to shenanigans while they try to figure out how to play the game. Even the names of the characters for each player are as ridiculous as the ones people come up with on their own, featuring standouts like Bing Bong the Archer (played by Troy) and Hector the Well-Endowed (played by Annie).

Instead of cutting away to action sequences that show fantasy warriors fighting against goblins, the gameplay is entirely "theater of the mind," which is the term used to describe how D&D is played without the use of battle maps or figurines. Abed describes the scene, the players describe what their characters do, and the narration is perfectly effective for inspiring a viewer's imagination. Before Critical Role made D&D cool and before Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves became a smash hit, "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" was arguably the best mainstream representation of the popular game.

So if the episode was such a great example of DnD, why was it removed from most streaming services? The controversy around the episode came from a joke involving Ben Chang (Ken Jeong), who arrived at the D&D game in full cosplay as a dark elf, which meant he wore black makeup on his face and arms. The makeup immediately drew comparisons to blackface, something called out by Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) in the episode, who asks the group if they're just going to ignore that "hate crime." Chang is resolute in the fact that he's dressed as a dark elf, also known as a drow, and is committing to the role-play more than everyone else. However, his character, Brutalitops the Magician, is very quickly killed and removed from the game.

In June 2020, Netflix and Hulu both removed the episode from their streaming services, which was met with support from Sony Pictures Television, the studio that produced Community. This episode's removal happened within a few weeks of episodes of Scrubs and 30 Rock being pulled for featuring characters in blackface.

Though the episode continues to be unavailable on most streaming services, there have been people in the Black community who have spoken about whether they believe the removal was appropriate. Yvette Nicole Brown spoke about the controversial episode in an interview with io9. She expressed sadness that the episode was pulled, seeing it as an over-correction because Chang was explicitly dressed as a drow, not in blackface. People more familiar with D&D would understand the appearance of dark elves, but as Brown noted, none of the characters in the show were familiar with the game. She also affirms that Shirley, one of the two Black people in that episode, actively calls Chang out for his appearance, giving the punchline to the joke before Chang's character is swiftly killed and absent from the rest of the episode. Brown ultimately sees the episode as "a great story about bullying and showing up for your friends," which is why she hopes that streaming services reconsider returning the episode.

Khadija Mbowe, a YouTube creator and commentator, also discussed the episode and the controversy, presenting further points in the conversation about Chang's "blackface." Like Brown, Mbowe didn't see the removal of the episode as entirely necessary. She spoke about how the history of blackface involved the "caricaturization" of the Black community's mannerisms and way of speaking, not just darkened makeup. She concedes that she has nostalgia for the show and, thus, likely has a more forgiving outlook on the joke, but gives the power to the viewers.

Other cast and crew have also shared their thoughts on the episode. Alison Brie, who played Annie (and played Hector the Well-Endowed), called the episode one of her favorites in the entire series. Creator Dan Harmon shared his thoughts in a New York Times interview, ultimately agreeing with the reasoning for the episode's removal, seeing it as justifiable because of the joke, but still seeing the episode as one of the series' best.

If you ultimately decide you want to watch "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons," the episode has become available to stream on Peacock in the U.S. or can be purchased on Prime Video. However, if you understandably choose to skip this episode, there are plenty of other great Community episodes to enjoy, and lots of Dungeons & Dragons-themed content to consume, with media like Vox Machina, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and even an upcoming live-action series on Paramount+.

As protests supporting Black Lives Matter continue, Hollywood finds itself in the sometimes uncomfortable position of playing defense when it comes to race relations in the United States. That's resulted in people like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel apologizing for using blackface in the past, and shows like 30 Rock, Scrubs, and the Netflix comedy sketch series With Bob and David wiping episodes featuring blackface from streaming platforms and syndication.

Now two more former NBC comedies, The Office and Community, have found themselves in the crosshairs regarding blackface concerns, and you can read about how the two different methods by which those concerns have been addressed below.

Let's start with The Office, which is regularly one of the most-streamed TV shows on Netflix. The Office creator Greg Daniels has already edited out a shot of a character wearing blackface in the ninth episode of the ninth season, entitled "Dwight Christmas." In the episode, Dwight Schrute dresses up as Belsnickle, a fur-clad Santa Claus-type character from Germanic folklore who is still celebrated in several places around the world, including the Pennsylvania Dutch community where Dwight grew up. In the folklore, Belsnickle has an elf-like assistant named "Black Peter." In the episode, Dwight explains the history of Belsnickle and Black Peter, and Stanley (one of the only Black employees at Dunder-Mifflin) reacts negatively to the idea that Dwight would have one of his friends dress up to portray Black Peter; Dwight claims he wouldn't do that, but then quietly calls his white friend dressed in blackface and tells him not to show up at the office. Daniels has edited out the section where Dwight makes the call and we see the friend in blackface.

"The Office is about a group of people trying to work together with mutual respect despite the inappropriate actions of their boss and assistant manager," Daniels said in a statement. "The show employed satire to expose unacceptable behavior and deliver a message of inclusion. Today we cut a shot of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticize a specific racist European practice. Blackface is unacceptable and making the point so graphically is hurtful and wrong. I am sorry for the pain that caused."

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