NBC comedy television show Community recently included a very short parody/rip-off/tribute (choose your label) to Doctor Who. The clip shows a Doctor-like character called Inspector SpaceTime, who travels through history, and includes a Dalek-like villain. You can view the video of the Inspector SpaceTime portion of the episode here at the bottom of this post.

This Thursday, the NBC comedy Community will enter the world of Dungeons & Dragons when the gang befriends a loner, inviting him into their group for a game of Advanced D&D.

NBC has released a promo still from the episode, which shows Pierce (Chevy Chase) studying up for the game with a D&D manual. Check out the image here below, along with a synopsis of the episode, including everyone’s D&D character names.

The show’s creator, Dan Harmon, has said that the episode will not see the group dressed in D&D garb or entering some kind of magical fantasy world. Instead, the gang will be gathered around a table, but this is Community — even the shows where they never leave the study room are great.

The episode, titled “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,” airs on NBC on this Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 8PM ET/PT.

The cast of NBC sitcom Community will soon be partaking in a rousing game of Dungeons and Dragons in an upcoming episode later this season.

And when I say rousing, I mean there will be a bunch of people gathered around a table rather than a fully costumed-fantasy world, according to the show’s creator Dan Harmon.

Admittedly, I haven’t really ever followed Community, although many of my geekier friends speak very highly of it. I found it sort of suspect that the cast held a panel at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con. But, after watching the ‘Zombie’ Halloween episode and hearing this news, it may be enough for the show to earn its credibility with such a fan base.