5 Worst Community Characters

It's hard to find many flaws with Community, which happens to be my favorite comedy on television right now.  However, there are a handful of characters I can do without (and one I hate with a passion).  So here it is, the 5 worst characters from Community

#5  Bill/Student #1/Dude #1/Young Guy/Condom Water Balloon Man/Football Player (Bill Parks)

(pictures on the left)

 One of the many reoccurring characters on the show, but perhaps the one with the least personality that has been in six episodes.  He seems to be just some random person with minimal personality that they inserted into 6 episodes because it was easier to just keep him around than to find someone else who could provide the show with another humorous or interesting character.  He isn’t even credited with an actual name until his 6^th episode, and even then they just take his real first name.  And in that episode, he isn’t even referred to as “Bill”, but is instead called “Red Haired Guy” by Abed.

The reason why I have so much hatred for Bill is that he is never developed into a funny side character.  There are plenty of instances where a character was given a little quirk that made them funny, and the show ran with it.  Garrett went from a randomly appearing face to the nerdy, intense, funny-voiced character we all love.  Leonard became a reoccurring character with his humorous jabs at Jeff.  Starburns (played by comedic genius and show consultant Dino Stamatopoulos) provides constant humor in the too-few instances he showed up (and now may be gone forever because Harmon got fired).  Bill never becomes a character than people enjoy seeing, and is a disappointment.

#4  Kelly Cortlandt (Jillian Rose Reed)

(The unfunny, untalented one in the middle)

Appearing in the episode where Jeff and Britta are constantly being mocked by three high school students named Mark, Scott, and Kelly, Kelly proves to be the unfortunate weak link of the group.  Led by Mark, the trio mocks any actions Jeff or Britta do, whether that is being in community college or using a Walkman, screaming their annoying yet funny catchphrases “Schmitty” and “uh, doy!”.

The problem with Kelly is that she is clearly overshadowed by Mark and Scott.  The two boys actually made me laugh, and seemed to have a little bit of character because of charismatic and confident acting.  Kelly seemed to just follow them around, and I guess that the show only included her because they needed a girl in the trio, and didn’t mind if she had no personality.  She blends into the background, and looks awful compared to the two other highschoolers.

#3  Troy Barnes from the first episode (Donald Glover)

I will safely say that the two most popular characters on Community are Troy and Abed (maybe Annie, but for reasons that have little to do with her character).  But, when people think about Troy, they think of the simpleminded, ridiculous, overemotional Troy, and not the cool, arrogant, ex-football player idiot with thinly veiled insecurities.  Troy’s character was originally much different, shown by how he wore his football letterman’s jacket in the first few episodes, confidently insulted the rest of the group, and participated in much fewer shenanigans.  His character still had funny lines which were delivered well by Donald Glover, but he wasn’t nearly as likable as he eventually became.

The reason why Troy eventually emerges as a great character is partly because the show seemed to let Donald Glover be himself and let his natural charisma and hilarity shine through Troy, and also because of the friendship formed by Troy and Abed.  It seemed at first that Pierce and Troy would become the more closely associated pair (because they seemed to bond over their immature senses of humor).  Fortunately, Troy and Abed soon became inseparable, partaking in all sorts of shenanigans from their pretend morning show, to dreamatorium adventures, and trying to achieve every stereotypical college moment together.  Rewatch the first episode, and you won’t even recognize Troy.

 

#2  Stoner Friend/Coffee Delivery Guy (Matt Jones)

(On the right, in the undersized tshirt)

 Likely more well known as Jesse’s stoner friend Badger from Breaking Bad, Matt Jones plays a wheezy-voiced background character in three Community episodes.  His characters don’t do much, surely not enough to complain about, but I just hate his voice.  It seems annoying, and just makes me dislike him.  No other complaints, just hate his voice.  If he were to not have any lines, I wouldn’t mind him, but he just becomes so unlikable when he opens his mouth.

#1  Buddy Austin (Jack Black)

I don’t see Jack Black’s inclusion in the show as anything other than a publicity attempt, since he might be their biggest guest star to date(Betty White might be bigger, but that’s up in the air).  He doesn’t fit into the style of the show at all, sticking out like a sore thumb.  The episode seems to be making fun of this, since the episode is about how they don’t want Jack Black’s character in their study group.

The worst part about Buddy is that you are constantly thinking “Hey, that’s Jack Black”.  You never forget that, and that prevents him from actually becoming a character rather than just a celebrity making an appearance.  Jack Black achieved that in School of Rock, where time was actually spent making him into a character with a back story.  But in his episode of Community, he provides such a painful performance that I will usually skip over his episode when re-watching the first season.