No seriously, what are you going to do with those bee costumes? From what I can tell Dean Pelton’s desires for the costumes used by Troy and Abed is for some Furry festivities. I refuse to comment further on the apparent Furry fetish, only to say that I’m not surprised. The best thing about this week’s episode of Community is that it took a step back to be a little more traditional in the setup, allowing for the subtle juxtaposition between common place sitcom fodder and the brilliant writing to coalesce into something that tickles the heart.
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Speaking of organ tickling, let’s get to the B-stories. First up is Jeff Winger, who thought it would be the height of comedy to send a sexually suggestive text from Britta’s cell to a guy named Marcus. Abed didn’t approve, but he also never stopped the shenanigans. It turned out that the recipient of the message was Britta’s 15 year old nephew. Like most hormonal boys was aroused with suspicion at the promise of seeing some naked lady parts. See how I cleverly inserted “aroused” in that last sentence….oops, I’ve done it again. When Jeff tried to text Marcus to clarify he turns to Abed for assistance, but there was none to be had.
This wasn’t an Abed episode in the slightest, but these moments with Jeff really reinforce the importance of the character. He’s the one who is aware at all times of what is going on with the study group. Abed observes, sometimes informs, and always gets the subtext of the moment. The writers utilize that most often to help let the audience in on the meta jokes. This week proved, as has been done before by Community, that Abed also works to provide a subtle jab at the every day goings on of a sitcom.
“Do you ignore me because I’m Korean?”
“You’re Chinese.”
“There’s a difference?”
The other item up for interest is Shirley’s refusal to address Senor Chang and his potential fatherhood of her child. He tries making her a mixed tape (awww!), only to then realize she probably doesn’t have a tape player and provides a list of potential sellers on craigslist (uuuhhhh). In the end Chang steps up to help the group out of a jam, which prompts Shirley to finally acknowledge the man.
”Zabbadazooey”
Hey, there was actually an episode of Community complete with a clear task for the main players to achieve and a conflict to be resolved. You know, traditional storytelling and whatnot. Annie wants to put on a play for middle school kids about the dangers of drugs. Being her friends the group agrees to perform the anti-drug play she wrote. But it immediately becomes clear that Pierce is not happy with his non-speaking role as “Drugs.”
So like any rational old man he follows Annie around, sees that she’s the can collecting lady for the area, and follows her home. This is when he just happens to find out about Annie’s financial hardships and offers to help out with a friendly donation. Immediately Pierce makes comments about not being happy with his role in the play. With little prodding Annie capitulates to Pierce’s demands.
By the time the gang gets to put the show on for fifty young kids Pierce is all but in control of the proceedings. He adds lines, takes jokes from Jeff, and controls Annie like a marionette. A marionette made of guilt ridden money strings. When the group finds out that Pierce has bought his way to the forefront of the play, a fact which comes out after he excites the kids with the awesome firework partytime that is Drugs (yay Drugs!!!!!), it is once again Abed who sums everything up in one statement. “That’s why the script got changed. Pierce bought his way in. Annie sold out her message.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is the entire backbone of the episode in one brief comment. See? I told you Abed was the one to observe and inform.
So with the kids hungry for more amazing drug action Annie is forced to fire Pierce from the show, but because the group only agreed to do it for Annie’s ideals Jeff fires her. This is when Senor Chang shows up to save the day. He dons the Drugs costume, and goes out to scare the kids. Or spook them in some way. He ends up being beaten down by a gang of children, but the good news is that they no longer love Drugs. Goal achieved.
Unanswered Questions
I’m serious, what the hell does Dean Pelton want with those bee costumes?
Is the Period Fairy real, and does Annie still get monthly dollar bill donations from this mythical menstrual creature?
I, also, don’t think Shirley’s character would say “tripping balls.” OK?
Is the black leather jacket with sunglasses the epitome of cool, or do you need the cat ears to fully achieve being a cool cat?
