Community Episode Removed From Netflix

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Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community and the thirty-ninth episode overall. It was originally broadcast on February 3, 2011, on NBC. It was written by Andrew Guest and directed by Joe Russo. In the episode, the study group plays a game of Dungeons & Dragons to cheer up a fellow student Neil (Charley Koontz) after he becomes depressed. However, when Pierce (Chevy Chase) learns he was not invited, he begins working against the rest of the group.

The episode draws inspiration from the Dungeons & Dragons games played by creator Dan Harmon when growing up. Harmon came up with the basic premise but allowed the other writers to build a story around it. Having never played Dungeons & Dragons, Guest studied the game with fellow writers and relied on Harmon's experience when writing the script. Filming was relatively easy and inexpensive, with few sets and minimal effects required. However, network and studio executives were not very supportive of the episode, to Harmon's frustration.

"Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" was seen by 4.37 million viewers in its original broadcast. It received positive reviews from critics for its humor and use of its ensemble, though some criticized its portrayal of Pierce. The episode has frequently been listed among the show's best episodes and led to a sequel, "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons". In June 2020, the episode was removed from Netflix and Hulu due to scenes with Chang (Ken Jeong) in makeup resembling blackface.

Neil (Charley Koontz) is depressed after being bullied; most of his peers derisively call him "Fat Neil". Since Neil enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, Jeff (Joel McHale) feigns interest in it and organizes a game with the study group. Pierce (Chevy Chase) is not invited, as the others worry he would offend Neil. Abed (Danny Pudi) serves as dungeon master and explains that the goal is to defeat Draconis, a dragon. He provides pre-made characters for the study group while Neil plays as his own character, Duquesne. The group is inexperienced and struggles initially, but Duquesne easily defeats several goblins with his sword, impressing the others.

Pierce arrives, angry he was not invited. He demands to join, so Abed creates a new character, "Pierce Hawthorne". While the others ignore "Pierce Hawthorne" in the game, Neil has Duquesne provide "Pierce Hawthorne" a cloak. Pierce responds by stealing Duquesne's sword, killing Chang's (Ken Jeong) character, and fleeing. Jeff takes Pierce outside to explain the situation, but Pierce refuses to listen. Since they are now working against each other, Abed takes Pierce to a supply closet to play separated from the group. From there, Pierce obtains a copy of the adventure the group is playing and discovers an amulet to control Draconis.

The group, now intent on chasing "Pierce Hawthorne" despite Neil's reluctance, travels to a nearby town to acquire pegasi. Abed returns with Pierce. As the adventurers fly over a forest clearing, they are able to retrieve Duquesne's sword, but "Pierce Hawthorne" arrives and uses Draconis's powers to freeze time. Pierce has his character transform Duquesne's appearance to resemble Neil. When Jeff protests, Pierce reveals that Jeff coined the name "Fat Neil" in the first place. The group admonishes Jeff while Pierce savors his triumph.

Despite being frozen, Neil uses his turn to show pity for Pierce. The rest of the group follows suit. Infuriated by the inactivity, Pierce unfreezes time. This gives Neil an action, which he uses to destroy "Pierce Hawthorne's" amulet with Duquesne's sword. Without the controlling amulet, Draconis eats "Pierce Hawthorne" and thanks the adventurers by giving them his hoard of treasure. As the rest of the group celebrates and departs, a happier Neil tells Pierce that he enjoyed the game and hopes they can play again. Pierce is left alone in the study room, having learned nothing from the game.

I always wanted to do a Dungeons & Dragons episode. I knew that we had predecessors there. I knew that The IT Crowd did one. I knew that Freaks and Geeks did one. [...] I wanted to just fade into the group playing the game, and how do you tell a story that way?

Following these discussions with the other writers, Guest wrote the first draft of the script.[3] He had no experience playing the game before writing the episode and relied heavily on Harmon's experience; he and several other writers also watched documentaries and read through manuals to better understand the game.[5] He later remarked that his lack of experience helped to ensure the game was accessible to everyone.[3] Harmon, Guest, and Chris McKenna then spent two days at Harmon's and Guest's homes finalizing the script. During this time, Harmon came up with the idea for Pierce cheating by obtaining the adventure the group was playing.[2]

The table read for the episode received a positive reception, including from episode director Joe Russo, who had also played the game before, according to Guest.[2][3] Despite this, studio and network executives responded poorly to the episode, deeply frustrating Harmon.[2] In a 2019 Community reunion, Harmon described one Sony executive's response as "We wish you had handed this in on time so we could have thrown it in the garbage."[4] The crew also had some difficulty getting permission from Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, to use the game in the episode. However, Guest noted that a contact at the company was a fan of the show, and Harmon's familiarity with the game helped to relieve any concerns from the company.[5]

The episode was inexpensive to produce and could be shot in about four days using few sets, which was one of the reasons for its creation.[5] The episode's opening is modeled after the opening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, including the female narrator and the use of strong percussion.[6][7] Throughout the episode, many scenes featured musical cues written by Ludwig Gransson and inspired by The Lord of the Rings films; sound effects were also added in a few key moments, but no other major effects were used.[6][8] Some Dungeons & Dragons rules, such as rolling initiative, were ignored or amended.[9] Guest explained that the focus of the episode was on telling the story, not the details of the game. He remarked that the writers joked they could have spent the entire episode setting up the game, but they "wisely moved away from that".[3]

During its fifth season, the series created another episode, "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", that also centered around a game of Dungeons & Dragons and served as a sequel to this episode.[10][11]

The episode received highly positive reviews from critics. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a grade of "A", stating that despite some cheap jokes and reduction of certain characters such as Pierce to stock types, the episode was "endlessly inventive", conveyed a sense of fun, and used the show's ensemble well.[8] James Poniewozik of Time also enjoyed the episode, saying that "Community has become a strong enough and well-enough defined show that the best and funniest things its characters can do is simply talk to one another", and approving of the fact that the episode involved very little "visual pyrotechnics". Like St. James, though, he criticized the flat depiction of Pierce as a pure villain.[15]

HitFix's Alan Sepinwall considered it the inverse of the earlier episode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas", depicting what was actually happening instead of what the group was imagining and focusing on jokes over heart. He felt uncertain about how the emotional aspects would work going forward but deemed it one of the show's funniest episodes and "a brilliant comic set piece".[16] Sean Gandert of Paste gave the episode a 9.7 rating, calling it "one of [his] favorite episodes of television, period." He praised the execution of the episode's parody and noted that keeping the show's characters together allowed almost everyone to have great moments.[7] Joshua Kurp of Vulture remarked that every character "brought their A game" and noted that the show's commitment to its premises overshadowed any flaws.[17]

The episode has frequently been ranked among Community's best. In a March 2015 list, Matt Fowler of IGN placed it third and called it "one of the show's greatest, geekiest episodes".[18] Dustin Rowles of Uproxx ranked it seventh and complimented its use of its ensemble.[19] Screen Rant's Lena Wakayama placed it tenth, noting that it worked well even for those unfamiliar with the game.[20] The episode has also been included in lists of Community's top episodes from Variety,[21] Entertainment Weekly,[22] and Den of Geek.[23] Russo and cast member Alison Brie have both cited it as one of their favorite episodes.[4][24]

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.

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