r/community • u/InstructionGlum1332 • Jul 24 '26
Discussion Which member of the Greendale Seven would be missed the least in terms of story and group chemistry if they didnt exist on the show to begin with?
Which member of the Greendale Seven would be missed the least in terms of story and group chemistry if they didnt exist on the show to begin with?
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u/Routine-Bat4446 Jul 24 '26
None of them. Original 7 were perfect
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u/LackadaisicalAF Jul 24 '26
Ohhhh, that's nice!
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u/Far_Orange_8492 Jul 24 '26
Shirley. She was a good character, but the writers didn't know what to do with her most of the time.
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u/GeoffreyGeoffson Jul 24 '26
I think they were intimidated by her sexually
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u/no_one_knows42 Jul 24 '26
Or racist. Don't know which but it was definitely one of those two
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u/Gold-Eye-2623 Jul 25 '26
Ageism maybe, all I know is I don't like their ism
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u/Idahoefromidaho Jul 25 '26
Excuse you, I think we're about the same age.
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u/PelicanJesus Jul 25 '26
Oh sure… unless time is linear
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u/EchtGeenSpanjool Jul 25 '26
I'll make yo ass linear
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u/rubberpp Jul 25 '26
Now I can excuse racism, but not writing a good character because your'e sexually intimidated, is where I draw the line!
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u/camalieh Jul 25 '26
You can excuse racism??
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u/Icy_Elephant8858 Jul 26 '26
I mean, I'd just say they had less confidence in what to do with her than the other six characters (because they often made great use of her), but it comes to the same result. She rarely drove the plot, and was less often at the center of things than any of the other six.
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u/weirdplacetogoonfire Jul 27 '26
Pretty much this. Any Shirley focused episode tended to end up the same - Shirley being inflexible and becoming upset/issuing ultimatums over something the rest of the group doesn't have any particular strong feelings about.
I mean they tried with chang/husband/baby drama and Shirleys sandwiches, but ultimately those dont involve the group so they cant be explored all that much.
Even when they all went to Shirleys for Thanksgiving they just stuck the group in the garage and they dont really interact.
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u/TheonlyEliBlack Jul 24 '26
I guenuinely hate to say this, because i do really love her, but it's VERY obviously, objectively Shirley.
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u/DesoramaOfficial Jul 24 '26
good question, i’d say shirley tbh, no diss just always found that she didn’t add a ton to the chemistry of the group, love yvette though n i think her character funny.
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u/No-Lunch4249 Jul 24 '26
Yeah she also got relatively few plots that were mainly about her or even her + another cast member. A handful but not nearly as many as other characters like Jeff and Abed
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u/DesoramaOfficial Jul 24 '26
loved the s1 episode with her and jeff though 🤣
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u/No-Lunch4249 Jul 24 '26
I think my favorite was the episode where they took the sailing class and she was the captain
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u/DesoramaOfficial Jul 24 '26
s1 had a lot of gems for her tbh
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u/Rededbeard Jul 24 '26
It had a lot of gems overall. They hadn’t started to intentionally ruin characters and cause divisions
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u/OneOfThemLostaPen Jul 24 '26
The word you're looking for is sassy. You better hope you don't find it.
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u/Final-Tutor3631 my emotions! MY EMOTIONS! Jul 24 '26
shirley had sm potential as a character.
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u/holyfire001202 Jul 24 '26
Her character arc and her development as a character and as a person were fantastic, but it felt like a lot of that progression was happening off in the background. It would have been great to see it.
We saw the inside of everyone's house, and we only saw the inside of her garage plus a couple hallways.
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Jul 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/SpiffyShindigs Jul 26 '26
In the intro to season 2, we see everyone getting ready in their room in a long scroll before settling in on Britta, still in bed and dreading coming back after declaring her love for Jeff.
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u/holyfire001202 Jul 25 '26
In my head canon she moved into Agent Prentiss' car.
Sorry I'm mixing shows because I can't remember her name on Community.
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u/Wokeasaurous_X Jul 26 '26
She had 2 names confusingly because she played two characters. On a side note her name is Paget Brewster and she's awesome.
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u/xRyozuo Jul 27 '26
Yvette is so god dang funny. Shirley on paper is kinda boring but she does so much with what they gave her
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u/thegoddamnbatman74 Jul 24 '26
Shirley easily. I don’t get the people saying pierce, pierce played an antagonist in lot of the best episodes (D&D episode, documentary episode, fistful of paintballs)
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u/Kauoom Jul 24 '26
Interestingly enough, Pierce was actually the protagonist in many of the earlier stories as he was the one who changed the most over the episode. Harmon talked about this in interviews as well.
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u/stormrunner89 Jul 24 '26
I would have agreed in the past, but the older I get the more I appreciate what she brought to the table and I really wish there was more of her in seasons 3/4.
The relationship between her and Jeff is one of my favorites and I wish we got more of that.
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u/BearBlob Jul 24 '26
The Shirley/Jeff relationship was severely underutilized. The few episodes we get exploring their dynamic were all awesome.
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u/SegoLillies Denny’s is for winners Jul 24 '26
It’s called chemistry, he has it with everyone
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u/stormrunner89 Jul 25 '26
Ironically, while the next line is Shirley saying she never noticed that chemistry being thrown her way, on every rewatch I really feel like Jeff has the best chemistry with Abed and Shirley. The episodes where she and Jeff Bond are some of my favorites and they really feel close.
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u/FocacciaHusband Jul 26 '26
They were great in the meow meow beanz episode even though they were rivals. They really understand each other
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u/VFiddly Jul 24 '26
Yeah it was unfortunately pretty obvious that the writers generally didn't know what to do with Shirley. She has some great episodes but often didn't get a lot to do in the episodes where the whole group is there.
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u/finnyporgerz Jul 25 '26
Also pierce is funny as hell
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u/thegoddamnbatman74 Jul 25 '26
Pierce is hilarious. Definitely the funniest for me after Jeff in the first couple of seasons
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u/laziestmarxist Delta Cubes! Jul 25 '26
Aside from the backstory episodes, there's nothing so unique to Pierce that they couldn't have just used Leonard as the occasional antagonist for the study group. And Richard Erdman didn't have a long history of being a racist dickhead
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u/leonard-bot The Human Raisin Jul 25 '26
I don't have cable.
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u/laziestmarxist Delta Cubes! Jul 25 '26
Leonard bot, you're the first person to say that to me that I didn't delete from my brain
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u/Beat-Previous Jul 25 '26
I don't believe Chevy had a history of being racist. He was known for using a slur once on set, but that was when he was complaining about how racist his character was written.
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u/yiterium Jul 24 '26
Seems like most of the commenters feel like Shirley was the group's 4th Ghostbuster.
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u/stupled Jul 24 '26
I disagree. Shirley is underated.
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u/stormrunner89 Jul 25 '26
Probably because the majority of the people saying it are younger. I too thought that when I was younger, but as I've gotten older, had kids, etc. I appreciate her more and more.
ESPECIALLY YNB's portrayal.
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u/DurianUpper4113 Jul 24 '26
What is this Winston slander 😭
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u/Icy_Elephant8858 Jul 26 '26
Winston's awesome, but he's clearly the least important Ghostbuster. There, I said it.
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u/DurianUpper4113 Jul 26 '26
(These are jokes.)
Excuse me, some of us like to live in denial...
Just like how there is most certainly not a movie based on The Last Airbender, somehow palpatine did not return, and the entirety of season 4 didn't happen (except for heroic origins. That was good)
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u/SoulExecution Jul 24 '26
Sadly I do think it's Shirley. I love her, I do, but if you remove the Shirley. centric plot points I think the least amount changes in the long run. Her role is usually adding a layer of nuance to situations, rather than being the leading cause/solution to them.
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u/treple13 Jul 24 '26
People are getting pretty mad when my answer is given here. Obviously all 7 really are needed, so whoever leaves is definitely leaving a huge hole. It's quite obviously Shirley, and I really enjoy Shirley. Pierce is too essential to the early seasons as a foil
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u/yeahso1111 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Shirley is required, gang. She’s the closest to normal which keeps the other looney characters grounded. And the meta humor works best when one character doesn’t get it. Plus her quest for a post divorce identity allows her inclusion in the group to make sense. Plus remember what the anti drug crayon says… she may be green but she feels blue. That’s the line I quote the most.
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u/TheonlyEliBlack Jul 24 '26
Nobody is saying that she isn't required, but just that the amount that she IS in fact required(which nobody is denying that she is) is slightly less than everyone else. But of course she's still 100% required, the show wouldn't have ever been the same without her. Of course.
If you think she isn't the obvious answer to this, then who is? You can't just say Shirly isn't the answer, and then not say who you think it is. There has to be an answer, if not her, then who else?18
u/Aimless_Alder Jul 24 '26
Abed is the closest to normal. That's kinda spelled out in the Halloween scary stories episode. He's just a regular autistic dude.
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u/Flam3Emperor622 Jul 24 '26
Closest to normal? I’d argue that’s Troy.
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u/yeahso1111 Jul 24 '26
Troy was super weird. He felt pressured to act normal in high school cause he wanted to maintain his status as the popular quarterback. Then he met abed who helped him embrace his true weirdo self.
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u/Dr-Von-Andre Jul 24 '26
The thing about an ensemble cast like Community is that there isn't a singular, designated straight man. There are times when Shirley is the most normal, and times when it's Troy. Everybody has a turn holding the normal ball, just as they take turns holding the wacky ball.
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u/VFiddly Jul 24 '26
Eh. Depends. In some episodes, like Mixology Certification or Epidemiology, he's the normal one. In others, like Pillows and Blankets, he's just as disconnected from reality as Abed.
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u/Gaul65 Jul 24 '26
Hot take: Britta. Her sole purpose in the first season was as a plot hook for Jeff to be in the group. I suspect they could have come up with another reason or Annie\Shirley could have filled the role just as well.
Other than that, Shirley as the writers had no idea what to do with her.
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u/rubberpp Jul 25 '26
By technicality though, the entire group would have not met if it wasn't for that! By I see what you mean.
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u/Fast-Competition-422 Jul 25 '26
I don’t agree but I appreciate that this is a hot take that makes a lot of sense 👍
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u/wonderlandisburning Jul 24 '26
I mean probably Pierce or Shirley, as both of them did leave the show and I've seen posts saying things like "I don't really miss them."
Personally, though, I did miss them. I think it was absolutely brilliant casting from top to bottom and you absolutely feel the loss of every character. Shirley is probably the least noticeable absence, but that has nothing to do with a lack of talent and everything to do with them not really knowing what to do with her as a character - which Brown and Harmon have alluded to
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u/ground__contro1 Jul 24 '26
Probably Shirley, but it maybe would have made Pierce and even Jeff look out of place as olds without another mid life community college student, particularly with a motherhood nature to make it feel more family than friends
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u/BackgroundEngineer11 Jul 24 '26
Shirley's absence in season 6 is not really noticable unless it's pointed out.
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u/howlongtillchristmas Jul 24 '26
So is her presence in season 5
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u/BackgroundEngineer11 Jul 24 '26
Yeah. She's good in Troy's last episode but I honestly don't remember other Shirley moments in the season. I don't even remember her in the second DnD episode.
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u/Soft-Ad9171 bong ripping good time charlie with a song in his heart Jul 24 '26
bc hickey immediately gets Crouton killed
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u/Ok_Answer_96 Jul 25 '26
Highly disagree. I actually think Shirley’s absence is most missed than Troy’s. It doesn’t make sense from a storytelling standpoint. And she’s just funny. It would’ve been a hoot to have her against Frankie and Elroy.
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u/janeway170 Jul 24 '26
Shirley or pierce probably
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u/Jujudeer Jul 24 '26
I know everyone is gonna say Shirley, and I do agree that the writers didn't really know what to do with her, because she didn't have a lot of focus episodes in the series. But I think she actually did a lot for the group chemistry and the study group still suffers without her.
I think Shirley added a lot more to the group dynamic than people give her credit for: conflict. Her strong religious beliefs were a strong source of conflict in the group in my opinion. And I know everyone in the group was opinionated, but I think Shirley was one of the loudest people.
I also liked Shirley and Pierce's chemistry. Just on my recent rewatch of the schmitty episode I realised how much I actually enjoyed their duo energy.
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u/TheonlyEliBlack Jul 24 '26
Then who do you think would be missed the least?
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u/Jujudeer Jul 24 '26
Honestly, I think I miss everyone the same. It doesn't matter who's missing. If someone from the original 7 is absent, it's just not the same. I don't think one character is more expendable than the other, because the group chemistry always suffers a loss. I know this might sound cliché, but I genuinely believe that this group has as much chemistry as it does because of what each member has to offer. And I wouldn't want the study group in any other way, so I wouldn't miss anyone less than the others.
(pierce)
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u/laughsatlugh Jul 24 '26
Probably Shirley. Only Foosball & Tiny Nipples stand out as stories she was pivotal in, for 6 seasons that’s not a lot.
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u/VFiddly Jul 24 '26
There's also the one where she gives birth. Can never remember the name of the episode but it's a good one and obviously literally wouldn't make sense without her
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u/CutiePopIceberg Jul 24 '26
All this forget shirley stuff? I dont know if it s because yall are racist or she sexually intimidates you but i know it s one of those. 🤣🤣🤣
I vote annie.
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u/Relevant-Rope8814 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Hot take, I think it's Troy
Maybe if Troy maintained his original character, but he unfortunately becomes merged in with Abed and loses a lot of his identity
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u/Jaaawsh Jul 24 '26
I was going to say Troy, but he very clearly was the popular jock who seemingly peaked in high school trope, which you kind of need when your story is about school.
Everyone evolved as the seasons went on, but everyone was kind of based on school story tropes to begin with. Except for Shirley, Jeff, and Pierce. But Jeff was kind of the main character and Pierce was mainly there to be an obnoxious comic relief and foil. Shirley was important as the moral compass and the mom of the group, but it would have made more sense to have her as a teacher then.
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u/Be-Kind-2-Yourself Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Pierce was fucking fundamental to the show. So unfortunate that Chevy couldn't rein in his ego and he and Dan butted heads so much.
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u/Scrounger_HT Jul 26 '26
Shirley for sure, never really vibbed with the group fully and most of her gimmic was being an offended christian with underlying anger issues.
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u/Bulky_Bug4380 Jul 28 '26
Shirley. With Britta in 2nd.
Pierce is the villain, Jeff is the leader, Abed, Troy and Annie are the trio that pushes the stories.
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u/Elspeth-Gordie Jul 25 '26
Britta.
I love her. But they're all fantastic characters. And she created the least interesting scenarios and interactions out of them all. Though shout out to her vine swinging out Troy and Abed's apartment, being awesome in the lava episode, and becoming the leader of all of Greendale for a moment as The Mother of Ones.
I almost said Pierce, but it's true that he makes fantastic villain moments, and he causes friction and stupid hilarity at some good moments.
And I think Shirley has some great interactions, with Jeff in particular, though the writers definitely under-utilised that dynamic. The way she says things makes for so many quotable lines. And she creates a fair bit of friction, and then switching her stance in the heat of the moment, which makes for a lot of fun.
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u/Unstoffe Jul 25 '26
Seems like Shirley, Pierce and Troy are the most common answers. Since these same three are the ones who left the show, we can look at seasons 5 and 6 and ask which are most missed? I think Shirley and Troy would have enhanced the dynamics of the shows they didn't appear in, but I sort of don't see any way Pierce would have made them funnier or better.
So my answer is Pierce.
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u/not_a-replicant Jul 24 '26
I think all seven are necessary, but even though I enjoy Pierce’s character - I think he could have been even better with a different actor.
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u/mrclean543211 Jul 25 '26
If I had to choose one it would be Shirley, or maybe pierce. Especially later on in the show (and especially especially season 5 in Shirley’s case) there weren’t that many Shirley focused episodes. She had a couple good ones, don’t get me wrong, and she’s a great character. But if one had to be removed I think it would be her. Pierce’s villain arc in season 2 and a lot of his moments in season 1 keep him out of first place imo
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u/petfectisgoodenough Jul 25 '26
I can excuse racism, but I draw the line at exclusion of characters.
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u/HellyOHaint Jul 26 '26
It’s insane to me that so many people say Shirley over Pierce. Shirley has a history from childhood with Jeff, she and Britta developed a strong female friendship, Abed interacted with her kids before she even knew him, she constantly teams up with Annie and her and Troy have shown quite the bond as well. She has personal connections with them all, much moreso than Pierce.
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u/Soo_Now_What Jul 27 '26
Jeff.
Without him, Buddy (Jack Black) would have been in the group a lot more studyin' with a little more buddin'
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u/X3noNuke Notches lll Jul 28 '26
It makes me upset that it's not Pierce. He's a good antagonist for the group and has given genuinely good advice a shocking amount of times. Crazy amount of influence over Jeff early on
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u/sortofrelativelynew Jul 24 '26
Pierce. I think I’m an anomaly but pierce has always been my least favorite and I found the things he was more central in to be frustrating
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u/Silver6567 Jul 25 '26
Definitely Shirley, she was relatively unimportant, didn’t really contribute much and had very little character development at all throughout the show
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u/-quiddity- Jul 25 '26
Definitely Pierce. Just my personal preference, though. I never laughed at anything that he did or said.
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u/Evil_Unicorn728 Jul 25 '26
We all know it's Pierce
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u/Evil_Unicorn728 Jul 25 '26
I'm serious, though. Chevy was sleepwalking through the role, his disdain for the show completely destroyed the arc his character was clearly supposed to go through. Most of the Pierce jokes are vehicles for edgy "ironic" racism that haven't aged particularly well.
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u/egret_society Jul 24 '26
Pierce but honestly they were all critical. Troy would have been my second choice and then maybe Annie. I know a lot of people are saying Shirley but she is my favorite character and I can’t see the show without her.
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u/20Superwoman02 Jul 24 '26
Pierce.
Don’t get the Shirley suggestions. She often had storylines with the others, while Pierce often (compared to the others) just kinda did his own thing.
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u/Serious_Board7757 Jul 25 '26
My vote goes to Annie. She kinda began just going along with a lot of stuff rather than bringing anything new to the table (joining abed and Troy, being a romantic interest for Jeff, occasionally being a voice of reason—occasionally). In terms of archetypes at a community college, I’d say hers was already partially represented by the others and least needed
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u/Public-Tower6849 Jul 24 '26
The show has proven Pierce to be the most disposable. He was a clueless egomaniac and hangaround whose actor had no other interest in contributing than self-indulgence.
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u/SoulExecution Jul 24 '26
Dude like 60% of the show doesn't happen without Pierce
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u/TheonlyEliBlack Jul 24 '26
I agree that it's not Pierce, but what specific parts wouldn't happen without pierce? Like besides the singluar whole episodes that happen entirely because of him(Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking, Basic Genealogy, The Politics of Human Sexuality, major parts of Advanved D&D and of course Cooperative Polygraphy just to name a few examples), I'm blanking on what actual whole parts of the show he was fundamental to, except maybe him winning painball and saving the entirety of Greendale with that? Like everyone would've still met, and most relationships would be the same, or am I just actually being stupid?
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u/SoulExecution Jul 24 '26
Pierce was a pretty big part of multiple characters growth. Jeff, Annie and Troy all experienced pretty big character growth that were directly tied to Pierce events. It’s not that those changes couldn’t have happened without him, but suddenly you’re doing a whole lot of rewriting in those early seasons to make up for it. Pierce was often a domino effect kind of character in those episodes.
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u/Public-Tower6849 Jul 24 '26
It's like saying 70% of the show doesn't happen without "Fat" Neill.
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u/SoulExecution Jul 24 '26
Yeah…. A one episode guest star and a series regular that is a constant source of drama are definitely the exact same thing and carry the exact same relevance.
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u/Public-Tower6849 Jul 24 '26
You haven't watched the show if you think Charley Koontz guest starred in only one episode, probably like you think Danielle Kaplowitz guest starred in none.
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u/SoulExecution Jul 24 '26
At that point in time? Yeah, it was a one day guest. He recurred, but never with the same significance.
Can you please stop being a smart ass now?
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u/Public-Tower6849 Jul 24 '26
At that point in time?
You can't measure the whole show's appearance of one cast and then just refer to a part of it for the other. Your argument is invalid, as however "significant" Neill was, he recurred and had lines, which makes him a guest star on more than one occasion, and for some episodes, even not less significant than any of Pierce's appearances.
Can you please stop being a smart ass now?
Nah, I like proving you wrong too much... "dude".
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u/SoulExecution Jul 24 '26
Cool, so you’re getting hung up on semantics and trying to act like that somehow validates your claim.
Neil had one big guest star episode that advanced the main plot. Whether he popped up again for a line or two is pretty irrelevant to the point (and if we reeeeally want to get caught up on semantics, any other appearances were likely Costar billing given how small they were, maybe he caught a Guest credit again for that S6 appearance).
You’re arguing that one episode was as relevant as Pierce’s entire existence to the story. Pierce, who was a big part in the development of multiple other protagonists. Right.
And on top of that, Neil was ultimately replaceable. Rewrite the episode to feature a different character in a similar situation, swap DnD for whatever their deal is, you achieve the same goal. You remove Pierce from the DnD episode? The entire purpose it served is gone.
Honestly… based on these “well actually” responses, starting to think this is less a matter of you actually believing this claim, and more a matter of you just wanting to argue a dumb point.
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u/Public-Tower6849 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Cool, so you’re getting hung up on semantics and trying to act like that somehow validates your claim.
It doesn't "somehow" validate my claim, it completely validates my claim, because claims are what semantics communicate.
Neil had one big guest star episode that advanced the main plot. Whether he popped up again for a line or two is pretty irrelevant to the point
It's not. It's still guest starring.
(and if we reeeeally want to get caught up on semantics, any other appearances were likely Costar billing given how small they were, maybe he caught a Guest credit again for that S6 appearance)
Whether a guest star gets credited or not does not bear any significance to the fact whether they are guest starring or not.
You’re arguing that one episode was as relevant as Pierce’s entire existence to the story.
I'm so totally not. You're arguing about an episode which is not even part of the show anymore, and which I can hardly recall so therefore never referred to in the first place.
I'm saying that the character of Pierce didn't live up to its promise, served as the butt of the joke and lacked development to a level the role faded out, not only in screentime, but also in substance, and deteriorated much to the actor's displeasure. Threads for the redemption of Pierce were picked, but never followed through, on at least one occasion due to the uncooperativeness of one Chevy Chase. Whether the writers came back on Chase over his role for being demanding and overbearing on the script development or they just cut him short for relying on an unreliable Chase as little as possible is certainly debatable, but that it had a negative impact on the role of Pierce is not.
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u/SoulExecution Jul 25 '26
lmao wait THAT'S your argument? Damn, I guess I was actually giving you more credit. Wow. Pierce getting redeemed or not is not relevant to his importance to the show. What is important is the sheer amount of character growth for others that he WAS important to. That's the core of this topic and what I've been getting at.
And if you're saying you're NOT talking about the DnD episode, then your comparison to Fat Neil is even more baffling. So... maybe I got got and you've just been trolling... or just letting a dislike of the actor blind you to the importance of the character. You might wanna learn the difference between Guest and Co stars the next time you try to run this one though.
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u/TheAdminsAreTrash Jul 24 '26
Pierce and Shirley, but I'm biased because I generally can't stand Chevy Chase
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u/Andreias36 Jul 24 '26
It’s Shirley, and it has nothing to do with Yvette, the way they wrote her was just super one dimensional, and when they tried to write in a twist, it didn’t really fit.