User Reviews

This is without a doubt the best Christmas special of any TV show I've seen. Since I saw that it was going to be all in stop motion animation I was smiling. Loved it all the story was charming and touching and of course Abed's character was brilliantly portrayed by Danny Pudi (even though it was just through his voice) he really made the episode an emotional learning experience about the meaning of Christmas. The animation was very well done and the short songs were a great addition. All in all the episode had me smiling the entire way through and confirming that this is definitely if not the best then one of the best TV comedy shows on in recent years.

This episode is a great tribute to the classics Christmas specials that we've all seen in our childhood; Romeo Muller's classics of course - "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "The Little Drummer Boy" or "Frosty the Snowman". The explicit reference to Rudolph, the Stop Motion shape, the narrative, and even the name of the episode follows that direction. And the feeling it's the same while watching "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas": the extreme empathy with the main character while it searches for something with the aid of friends, and the emotions follow the up's and down's right until the end, the peak of the flow. Structured in the classic three acts (like Muller's), the episode, like other episodes that are tributes or explicitly refer to some idiosyncrasies of TV shows (Cooperative Calligraphy for instance, the bottle episode), explores that references through Abed, many times the voice of the writers in the show. All in all, impeccable cinema.

(This is the thirty-sixth installment in an ongoing series. I am in the process of writing brief reviews of each and every episode of creator Dan Harmon's beloved cult-comedy series "Community." This project was originally conceived as a response to NBC's cancellation of the series before it was renewed for a sixth and final season on Yahoo. As this is a hobby, updates will come incrementally and it may take some time for me to complete this.)

Ah, Christmas. That beautiful time that comes but once a year. A season of giving. A season of appreciation. And, in the case of "Community"... a season for delightful holiday specials!

"Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" quickly became a personal favorite on its original air-date in 2010. Boasting a delightful throwback style, wonderfully quirky tunes and a surprisingly emotional climax, it's arguably one of the best sitcom holiday specials... well, of all time as far as I'm concerned. And it's another fine example of this series' rampant creativity!

Abed (Danny Pudi) finds himself in a strange situation when he begins to see the world as though it was an old-fashioned Rankin-Bass stop-motion TV special. And he quickly deduces that it's his mission to find the true meaning of Christmas. Concerned, the rest of the study group, under the supervision of Professor Duncan (John Oliver), agree to play along as they "enter" a fictional world in their shared imagination. But they will quickly learn that all is not what it seems, and there's a devastating truth to why Abed's worldview has changed so much...

While it's not overly complex in its story, the true magic of "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" lay in its execution. The entire episode is accomplished through stop-motion animation, and it's just gorgeous to look at. All of the characters are delightfully designed, and the "Christmas World" they enter is a wonder to behold. The cast all excel in voice-over roles. Particularly Pudi and co-stars Chevy Chase and Gillian Jacobs, who are both given quite a bit of meat to work with. I also loved the musical numbers. Yes, this is a musical episode, and it's as fiendishly funny as you could hope.

"Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" is without doubt my personal favorite holiday themed episode of "Community," and in a grander sense, one of my favorite holiday episodes of any show or sitcom. It's whimsical and wonderful, and easily earns a perfect 10 out of 10!

Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas is another stand-out episode from Community. It seems like every other episode this season has been that. I just want to say that this is the reason why Community is the best comedy right now. This episode is a perfect example- it is really ambitious and never ceases to surprise me. The stop motion is pretty fantastic, and the entire story was completely enjoyable. The writing is impeccable and it's really great how the whole cast is always on board with everything the writers come up with. You can tell they had a great time doing the voices. All in all, this is definitely a must see episode from TV's finest comedy.

Holy crap, I have really liked the show so far, great writing, crazy ideas, good characters...but this episode is just too good to not log in to IMDb and write my first review!! 10/10 episode,I freaking cried a little...and it's April!!

I LOVED this episode. :D. <3 Totally. LOVED IT!!!!!

This is such a delightful nod to Christmas stop motion films. A really fun surprise and very well done. Thumbs up all around.

Funny as hell and the emotion just lands so well. Can't beat perfection. I have to write a hundred and fifty characters so I'm stalling you may not like the episode as much as me but that's life and if you like community why haven't you seen the episode.

The animated episodes just don't work. Online it seems like I'm in the minority, but friends I speak to have similar opinions... the show and the characters themselves make the best episodes even better and the weaker ones still a good watch.

This isn't a bad episode, but compared to "normal" community or "actual animated comedies", it's not great.

I'm a great fan of Community, at least so far (having seen the first thirty episodes in two days). This episode though, can't see the point of it.

Cmon man.. This was a good series until now. Dont create this propaganda here

Lots of people really like claymation and love this episode. Both don't do anything for me. I did laugh a couple of times but i generally dislike when animated shows do a "big sad thing". It almost always feels cheap because it does not involve real people visually responding.