Summary
The Dean is a fan-favorite in Dan Harmon’s irreverent sitcomCommunity, which aired on NBC and Yahoo Screen between 2009 and 2015. Dean Craig Pelton captured the hearts of many viewers with his desperate need to be taken seriously as a Dean while being simultaneously quirky and ridiculous.
The Dean has so many amazing moments thanks to his obsessive love for costume changes, andwith theCommunitymovie still in the works, fans hope to see more. In the meantime, viewers will have to settle for re-watching the 110 episodes whenever possible.
10Dean’s Bedtime Song
Best Lupine Urology - Season 3 Episode 17
After a dramatic day involving yams, Troy and Abed are, for some unknown reason, tucked up in a bunk bed in the study room. In comes the Dean with two cups of warm milk, much to the surprise of Shirley, who has come to say goodbye to the boys.
As he hands the cup over, Dean sings a bedtime song: “Troy and Abed, off the Dreamland, catching the train to Sleepy Town. And when they wake up, the Dean will be here. Staring at you. Sweet Deans.” Is this a sweet moment or is it creepy? Knowing the Dean, it’s a bit of both.
9I Loved You In IMDB
Documentary Filmmaking: Redux - Season 3 Episode 8
A commercial for Greendale is spiraling out of control and the Dean is drunk on power. This episode shows what happens if the Dean’s passion and dedication for the college goes too far!
While on the phone withformer student, now Hollywood actor, Luis Guzman,the Dean motions to Annie to show him a movie Luis was in. As she hands him Guzman’s IMDB page, the Dean mistakenly thinks that’s the name of his latest movie.
8Lady Gaga Dean
Epidemiology - Season 2 Episode 6
It isHalloween at Greendale Collegeand the Dean has accidentally poisoned the entire campus with what he believed was cheap taco meat. Now everyone is zombified and spreading the virus by biting each other at the Greendale Halloween party.
The entire episode israted as one of the best in the seriesand it is easy to see why. Dean’s Lady Gaga costume is superb, plus viewers get the bonus of a topless Troy saving the day.
7Time Hoodie
Conspiracy Theories And Interior Design - Season 2 Episode 9
This twisty episode pushes Dean to breaking point at the end as he learns a valuable lesson about conspiring with absolutely anyone who asks. All he wanted was to feel like part of the gang but he took it too far, as usual.
By the end of the multiple fake shootouts, the Dean is traumatized. He pulls his hood over his head and begs: “Would that this hoodie is a time hoody!” in a desperate hope that he could turn back time and never get involved in the conspiracies at all.
Environmental Science - Season 1 Episode 10
Viewers may have been wondering about Dean Pelton’s romantic inclination and this moment certainly shines a light on some possibilities. With a picture of a man dressed as a Dalmatian on his computer, Dean looks suspiciously at it thinking out loud: “This had better not awaken anything in me.” This quickly became recognized as one of thefunniest quotes inCommunity.
Later, viewers will spot (pardon the pun) Dalmations throughout seasons 1, 2, 4, and 5 as the subject becomes a running gag. It looks as if it did indeed awaken something in Dean…
5Costume Montage
Paradigms Of Human Memory - Season 2 Episode 21
In anepisode parodying the classic ‘callback clip show’in sitcoms, the group starts recalling moments unseen previously. As is the usual way for the Greendale study group, this turns into an argument and the Dean rushes in.
Jeff turns on the Dean and viewers get to see a full montage of ridiculous costumes the Dean has chosen to announce college events. This montage has some of the funniest Dean costumes from Tina Turner-ing the clocks forward for daylight savings to the free Caesar salad bar at the cafeteria.
4Jesus Wept!
Lawnmower Maintenance And Postnatal Care - Season 6 Episode 2
This season 6 episode is another hilarious look into what happens when Dean is given an ounce of power. He introduces a new (but actually very outdated) virtual reality system to the college and is swept up by having a whole world to control.
Jeff and Frankie try to talk Dean into deleting the system, but he is too obsessed with it, shouting: “Jesus wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer!” One of the darkest but also funniest moments is when Dean takes a system file and deletes it by holding it underwater within the virtual world until it stops struggling.
3Look At His Shadow
Contemporary Impressionists - Season 3 Episode 12
In this episode, Jeff is seeing a therapist who has prescribed him antianxiety meds. Instead of helping him, these meds only dulled his ego, making him increasingly more egotistical as the episode goes on.
Jeff’s narcissism is not helped by Dean when, upon seeing Jeff for the first time that semester, he drops to the ground and convulses in his ultra-cool shadow. It is the most ridiculous and funniest moment of the entire episode.
2Duali-Dean Of Man
Virtual Systems Analysis - Season 3 Episode 16
“I am dressed this way because I have good news and bad news.” Because of course he does. This is a classic Dean moment, as he is utterly unable to announce anything without a vaguely related costume.
The best moment in this episode comes slightly later when the Dean worries that he “may have gone too far with this one,” as he has to go to the bank dressed like Victor-Victoria. Thankfully, everyone at the bank loved it, which truly warms the heart of any Dean fan.
1Peanut Bar Rap
VCR Maintenance And Educational Publishing - Season 5 Episode 9
Can one really call themselves a rap fan if they haven’t learned the Peanut Bar Rap by heart? This is possibly the all-time best Dean moment inCommunity. It is as chaotic as it is sublime.
All the Dean had to do was to tell the group that their paychecks would be a week late, or even just send an email. That wouldn’t be very Dean of him though. Instead, he raps his apology which then turns into some out-of-body experience. Perfection.
