16-bit Episode of NBC’s Community

May 18th, 2012 by

About once per season, the clever team behind NBC’s sitcom Community come up with a special episode that is done in a style atypical of the series’ regular real-life presentation.  Last year’s Christmas special, for example, was done in a style reminiscent of the stop-motion animated classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.  Well, this season’s special episode was done largely in a style hearkening back to the graphics of classic 16-bit systems like the Sega Genesis and the SNES.  The episode entitled “Digital Estate Planning”, aside from being hilarious as usual, is a particular treat for those of us who enjoyed 16-bit games in their heyday.  Chock-full of loving references to games like Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and more this episode is highly recommended.  If you live in the US you can watch this episode on Hulu, but if you’re like the rest of us you can either download it from a digital service like iTunes or wait for re-runs/the Community Season 3 DVD release.  The point is, if you can you should check this episode out as soon as possible!