Dean Pelton’s Entire Backstory From Community Explained – Looper

One of the difficult things about pinning down the details of Dean Pelton’s backstory is that Community has proven more than willing to offer up specifics about him and then contradict them. As such, it is hard to say for sure what happened to Dean Pelton before the show started.

For instance, in the season 2 episode “Intro to Political Science,” Dean Pelton explains that the female Uncle Sam outfit he’s wearing belongs to his sister. However, Jeff quickly accuses him of not having a sister at all. The show never revisits the issue. Likewise, in the first episode of Community, the dean is shown wearing a wedding ring, implying he might be or have been married. That wedding ring is not seen again until the season 5 episode “Basic Story,” where Dean Pelton explains that it belonged to his mother, as fans on Reddit noted.

Another Redditor, however, was able to grab at least one solid detail about Dean Pelton’s past. In the episode “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux,” the dean proclaims that he was a university graduate before destroying his Bachelors of Education from Appomattox University. Beyond that, his scholastics career is not described in much detail beyond an off-handed mention that many of his previous places of employment are no longer operational.

The only other detail out there about Dean Pelton’s past is his implied previous relationship with his nemesis Dean Spreck of City College. According to a Twitter conversation preserved on Reddit, Community writer Andy Bobrow confirmed that an extended backstory existed for the two deans, but the show never explored their dynamic before it ended after season 6.