Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Community)

Last updated

"Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"
Community episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 14
Directed by Joe Russo
Written by Andrew Guest
Production code214 [1]
Original air dateFebruary 3, 2011 (2011-02-03)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Celebrity Pharmacology"		Next →
"Early 21st Century Romanticism"
Community season 2
List of episodes

"Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community and the thirty-ninth episode overall. It was originally broadcast on February 3, 2011, on NBC. It was written by Andrew Guest and directed by Joe Russo. In the episode, the study group plays a game of Dungeons & Dragons to cheer up a fellow student Neil (Charley Koontz) after he becomes depressed. However, when Pierce (Chevy Chase) learns he was not invited, he begins working against the rest of the group.

Contents

The episode draws inspiration from the Dungeons & Dragons games played by creator Dan Harmon when growing up. Harmon came up with the basic premise but allowed the other writers to build a story around it. Having never played Dungeons & Dragons, Guest studied the game with fellow writers and relied on Harmon's experience when writing the script. Filming was relatively easy and inexpensive, with few sets and minimal effects required. However, network and studio executives were not very supportive of the episode, to Harmon's frustration.

"Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" was seen by 4.37 million viewers in its original broadcast. It received positive reviews from critics for its humor and use of its ensemble, though some criticized its portrayal of Pierce. The episode has frequently been listed among the show's best episodes and led to a sequel, "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons". In June 2020, the episode was removed from Netflix and Hulu due to scenes with Chang (Ken Jeong) in makeup resembling blackface.

Plot

Neil (Charley Koontz) is depressed after being bullied; most of his peers derisively call him "Fat Neil". Since Neil enjoys Dungeons & Dragons , Jeff (Joel McHale) feigns interest in it and organizes a game with the study group. Pierce (Chevy Chase) is not invited, as the others worry he would offend Neil. Abed (Danny Pudi) serves as dungeon master and explains that the goal is to defeat Draconis, a dragon. He provides pre-made characters for the study group while Neil plays as his own character, Duquesne. The group is inexperienced and struggles initially, but Duquesne easily defeats several goblins with his sword, impressing the others.

Pierce arrives, angry he was not invited. He demands to join, so Abed creates a new character, "Pierce Hawthorne". While the others ignore "Pierce Hawthorne" in the game, Neil has Duquesne provide "Pierce Hawthorne" a cloak. Pierce responds by stealing Duquesne's sword, killing Chang's (Ken Jeong) character, and fleeing. Jeff takes Pierce outside to explain the situation, but Pierce refuses to listen. Since they are now working against each other, Abed takes Pierce to a supply closet to play separated from the group. From there, Pierce obtains a copy of the adventure the group is playing and discovers an amulet to control Draconis.

The group, now intent on chasing "Pierce Hawthorne" despite Neil's reluctance, travels to a nearby town to acquire pegasi. Abed returns with Pierce. As the adventurers fly over a forest clearing, they are able to retrieve Duquesne's sword, but "Pierce Hawthorne" arrives and uses Draconis's powers to freeze time. Pierce has his character transform Duquesne's appearance to resemble Neil. When Jeff protests, Pierce reveals that Jeff coined the name "Fat Neil" in the first place. The group admonishes Jeff while Pierce savors his triumph.

Despite being frozen, Neil uses his turn to show pity for Pierce. The rest of the group follows suit. Infuriated by the inactivity, Pierce unfreezes time. This gives Neil an action, which he uses to destroy "Pierce Hawthorne's" amulet with Duquesne's sword. Without the controlling amulet, Draconis eats "Pierce Hawthorne" and thanks the adventurers by giving them his hoard of treasure. As the rest of the group celebrates and departs, a happier Neil tells Pierce that he enjoyed the game and hopes they can play again. Pierce is left alone in the study room, having learned nothing from the game.

Production

I always wanted to do a Dungeons & Dragons episode. I knew that we had predecessors there. I knew that The IT Crowd did one. I knew that Freaks and Geeks did one. [...] I wanted to just fade into the group playing the game, and how do you tell a story that way?

—Dan Harmon [2]

The inspiration for the episode came from series creator Dan Harmon, who had played Dungeons & Dragons growing up. Harmon sought to build an episode around the game while also allowing the game to fade into the background as the story unfolded, instead of allowing the conceit to simply be that Dungeons & Dragons is a "nerdy game". [2] According to episode writer Andrew Guest, Harmon had first discussed the idea during pre-production for Community's second season. He laid out the basic pitch for the episode – that the study group would spend the full episode playing Dungeons & Dragons – and allowed the other writers to develop a meaningful story. [3] Harmon also provided the writers with a milk crate filled with the Dungeons & Dragons books from his childhood for reference. [2] [4] He credited the idea of the group helping a stranger to the other writers, likening the idea to Saving Private Ryan . [2] [4] The writers also created other concepts for the group's response to Pierce, including one in which Pierce would seal the other characters inside a cube and the rest of the group would start a new game in there, but this was later simplified to the others feeling sorry for Pierce. [2]

Following these discussions with the other writers, Guest wrote the first draft of the script. [3] He had no experience playing the game before writing the episode and relied heavily on Harmon's experience; he and several other writers also watched documentaries and read through manuals to better understand the game. [5] He later remarked that his lack of experience helped to ensure the game was accessible to everyone. [3] Harmon, Guest, and Chris McKenna then spent two days at Harmon's and Guest's homes finalizing the script. During this time, Harmon came up with the idea for Pierce cheating by obtaining the adventure the group was playing. [2]

The table read for the episode received a positive reception, including from episode director Joe Russo, who had also played the game before, according to Guest. [2] [3] Despite this, studio and network executives responded poorly to the episode, deeply frustrating Harmon. [2] In a 2019 Community reunion, Harmon described one Sony executive's response as "We wish you had handed this in on time so we could have thrown it in the garbage." [4] The crew also had some difficulty getting permission from Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, to use the game in the episode. However, Guest noted that a contact at the company was a fan of the show, and Harmon's familiarity with the game helped to relieve any concerns from the company. [5]

The episode was inexpensive to produce and could be shot in about four days using few sets, which was one of the reasons for its creation. [5] The episode's opening is modeled after the opening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , including the female narrator and the use of strong percussion. [6] [7] Throughout the episode, many scenes featured musical cues written by Ludwig Göransson and inspired by The Lord of the Rings films; sound effects were also added in a few key moments, but no other major effects were used. [6] [8] Some Dungeons & Dragons rules, such as rolling initiative, were ignored or amended. [9] Guest explained that the focus of the episode was on telling the story, not the details of the game. He remarked that the writers joked they could have spent the entire episode setting up the game, but they "wisely moved away from that". [3]

During its fifth season, the series created another episode, "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", that also centered around a game of Dungeons & Dragons and served as a sequel to this episode. [10] [11]

Reception

Ratings

In its original broadcast on February 3, 2011, "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" was viewed by an estimated 4.37 million people, with a Nielsen rating of 2.0 in the 18–49 demographic. The 18–49 rating marked a 9% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, "Celebrity Pharmacology". [12] [13] After factoring in seven-day DVR viewership, the episode rose to a 2.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic. [14]

Reviews

The episode received highly positive reviews from critics. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a grade of "A", stating that despite some cheap jokes and reduction of certain characters such as Pierce to stock types, the episode was "endlessly inventive", conveyed a sense of fun, and used the show's ensemble well. [8] James Poniewozik of Time also enjoyed the episode, saying that "Community has become a strong enough and well-enough defined show that the best and funniest things its characters can do is simply talk to one another", and approving of the fact that the episode involved very little "visual pyrotechnics". Like St. James, though, he criticized the flat depiction of Pierce as a pure villain. [15]

HitFix 's Alan Sepinwall considered it the inverse of the earlier episode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas", depicting what was actually happening instead of what the group was imagining and focusing on jokes over heart. He felt uncertain about how the emotional aspects would work going forward but deemed it one of the show's funniest episodes and "a brilliant comic set piece". [16] Sean Gandert of Paste gave the episode a 9.7 rating, calling it "one of [his] favorite episodes of television, period." He praised the execution of the episode's parody and noted that keeping the show's characters together allowed almost everyone to have great moments. [7] Joshua Kurp of Vulture remarked that every character "brought their A game" and noted that the show's commitment to its premises overshadowed any flaws. [17]

The episode has frequently been ranked among Community's best. In a March 2015 list, Matt Fowler of IGN placed it third and called it "one of the show's greatest, geekiest episodes". [18] Dustin Rowles of Uproxx ranked it seventh and complimented its use of its ensemble. [19] Screen Rant 's Lena Wakayama placed it tenth, noting that it worked well even for those unfamiliar with the game. [20] The episode has also been included in lists of Community's top episodes from Variety , [21] Entertainment Weekly , [22] and Den of Geek . [23] Russo and cast member Alison Brie have both cited it as one of their favorite episodes. [4] [24]

Removal from streaming services

In the episode, one of the characters wears makeup resembling blackface to portray a dark elf, similar to the person depicted above. LARP drow.jpg
In the episode, one of the characters wears makeup resembling blackface to portray a dark elf, similar to the person depicted above.

On June 26, 2020, Netflix and Hulu removed the episode from their platforms due to scenes with Chang playing a dark elf by wearing makeup resembling blackface. The episode's removal came in the wake of two other shows – Scrubs and 30 Rock – pulling episodes featuring characters in blackface. [25] [26] A statement from Sony Pictures Television said that the studio supported the decision to remove the episode. [25] [27] Some commentators found the decision surprising, arguing that it was ambiguous as to whether Chang was actually in blackface and that the removal did a disservice to the episode's focus on the effects of bullying. [28] [29] Cast member Yvette Nicole Brown mentioned that it did not seem the joke was understood by those criticizing it, as there was context that in her view made it different from blackface. [30] Harmon did not comment on the episode's removal at the time. [26] In a 2021 interview with The New York Times , Harmon remarked that "justifiably they're stripping it from the streaming archives because it's got a joke about blackface", but added that it "is probably the best episode of Community". [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Harmon</span> American screenwriter

Daniel James Harmon is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC and Yahoo! Screen sitcom Community (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast Harmontown (2012–2019), co-creator of the Adult Swim animated sitcom Rick and Morty (2013–present) and its subsequent franchise along with Justin Roiland, and co-founder of the alternative television network and website Channel 101 along with Rob Schrab.

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1974. As the popularity of the game grew throughout the late-1970s and 1980s, it became referenced in popular culture more frequently. The complement of games, films and cultural references based on Dungeons & Dragons or similar fantasies, characters, and adventures became ubiquitous after the end of the 1970s.

<i>Community</i> (TV series) 2009–2015 American sitcom

Community is an American television sitcom created by Dan Harmon. The series ran for 110 episodes over six seasons, with its first five seasons airing on NBC from September 17, 2009, to April 17, 2014, and its final season airing on Yahoo! Screen from March 17 to June 2, 2015. Set at a community college in the fictional Colorado town of Greendale, the series stars an ensemble cast including Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase, and Jim Rash. It makes use of meta-humor and pop culture references, paying homage to film and television clichés and tropes.

<i>Community</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the television comedy series Community premiered on September 23, 2010 and concluded on May 12, 2011, on NBC. The season consists of 24 episodes and aired on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of Comedy Night Done Right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas</span> 11th episode of the 2nd season of Community

"Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community. It originally aired on December 9, 2010, on NBC. Abed begins experiencing the world in stop motion. His study group enlists the help of psychology professor Ian Duncan to end the delusion, but turns against Duncan after he reveals Abed's delusion began when he learned his mother is not visiting for Christmas.

"A Fistful of Paintballs" is the twenty-third and penultimate episode of the second season of Community. It is part one of the two-part second-season finale, along with "For a Few Paintballs More", and is a spiritual successor to "Modern Warfare" from the first season. The episode originally premiered on May 5, 2011, on NBC.

"Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of Community. The episode originally aired on February 17, 2011 on NBC. In the episode, Pierce pretends to be dying after a drug overdose and takes psychological revenge on the rest of the study group for not taking him seriously. He stages a documentary with Abed and plays on the rest of the study group's sympathies by giving them gifts and promises that torments them with their insecurities.

"Competitive Wine Tasting" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on April 14, 2011.

"Paradigms of Human Memory" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community and the forty-sixth episode overall. It was originally broadcast on April 21, 2011, on NBC. It was written by Chris McKenna and directed by Tristram Shapeero. In the episode, the study group reflects on events from the past school year; many of these memories lead to arguments as they recall and recognize their faults, both as individuals and as a group.

"For a Few Paintballs More" is the twenty-fourth episode and part two of the two-part finale of the second season of Community. The episode originally aired on May 12, 2011, on NBC. The episode is a continuation of "A Fistful of Paintballs", and picks up from the middle of the paintball game that commenced in part one. The study group realize that the game was a scheme by school rivals City College to destroy Greendale's campus. They band together with other Greendale students to face the City College paintball players to try to save their campus and win the $100,000 prize money for the school.

<i>Community</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the television comedy series Community premiered on September 22, 2011, and concluded on May 17, 2012, on NBC. The season consists of 22 episodes and aired on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of the network's "Comedy Night Done Right" programming block.

"Remedial Chaos Theory" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television series Community. The episode was written by Chris McKenna and directed by Jeff Melman. It originally aired on October 13, 2011 on NBC. It follows a community college study group at a housewarming party for members Troy and Abed. When Jeff throws a die to determine who will go to collect the pizza delivery from downstairs, seven different timelines unfold, showing each member of the group leaving to collect it depending on the outcome of the die—including the canonical timeline, in which Abed catches it before it lands. The episode was intended to be the third episode of the season, but was delayed by a week due to filming, editing and visual effects overrunning. As a result, "Competitive Ecology", due to be fourth, was aired third.

"Digital Estate Planning" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the U.S. television series Community. It originally aired on May 17, 2012, on NBC. The episode featured retro video game–styled graphics and a synthesizer-driven soundtrack reminiscent of 8-bit consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Master System, with references to multiple classic games on those and later consoles.

<i>Community</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the television comedy series Community premiered on January 2, 2014, and concluded on April 17, 2014. The season consists of 13 episodes and aired on NBC on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of the network's "Comedy Night Done Right". The season features the return of series creator Dan Harmon as showrunner, as well as the exit of cast members Donald Glover and Chevy Chase from the series. John Oliver returned as Ian Duncan after a two-year hiatus. Jonathan Banks made his introduction to the series as Buzz Hickey, a criminology professor.

"Repilot" is the first episode of the fifth season of Community, and the 85th episode overall in the series. It originally aired on January 2, 2014 on NBC; and was written by series creator Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna and directed by Tristram Shapeero. This is the final episode of the series to feature Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne, making a cameo appearance following his departure in season 4.

"Cooperative Polygraphy" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of Community, and its 88th episode overall. Written by Alex Rubens and directed by Tristram Shapeero, the episode originally aired on January 16, 2014 on NBC. In the episode, the study group takes a group polygraph test as requested in the will of Pierce Hawthorne. It quickly becomes apparent that the questions and their answers are intended to create tension among the members of the group. Walton Goggins guest stars as Mr. Stone, Pierce's executor who leads the polygraph test.

"Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of Community, and the 94th episode overall in the series. It originally aired on March 20, 2014 on NBC. The episode was written by Matt Roller, and directed by Joe Russo. The episode marked the series writing debut of Roller and the final episode directed by Russo.

"Conventions of Space and Time" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series Community and the seventy-fourth episode overall. It was written by Maggie Bandur and directed by Michael Patrick Jann. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on February 21, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Winger</span> Fictional character in Community

Jeffrey Tobias "Jeff" Winger is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Community. He is portrayed by Joel McHale and first appeared in the pilot episode of Community. Jeff was created by producer Dan Harmon, who briefly attended Glendale Community College. While at Glendale Community College, Harmon became involved in a Spanish study group. Harmon designed the character of Jeff around himself, creating the character as a solipsistic narcissist.

References

  1. ↑ "Community. Advanced dungeons and dragons". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 St. James, Emily (June 9, 2011). "Dan Harmon walks us through Community's second season (part 3 of 4)". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Carroll, Bart (February 2, 2011). "NBC Community Interview". Dungeons & Dragons . Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fox, Jesse David (November 19, 2019). "Community Reunited: 'I Think I'm on the Greatest Television Show Ever Made'" . Vulture . Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Ewalt, David M. (March 8, 2011). "Behind The Scenes Of Community's "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"". Forbes . Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Woerner, Meredith (February 4, 2011). "Did Community just make D&D "Cool"?". io9 . Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Gandert, Sean (February 3, 2011). "Community Review: "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" (2.14)". Paste . Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  8. 1 2 St. James, Emily (February 3, 2011). "Community: "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on June 13, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  9. ↑ King, Austin (January 25, 2021). "Everything Community's D&D Episodes Get Wrong About Dungeons & Dragons". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ Snierson, Dan (November 11, 2013). "David Cross to guest on 'Community'". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  11. ↑ St. James, Emily (March 20, 2014). "Community: "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  12. ↑ Gorman, Bill (February 4, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Mentalist' Adjusted Up; 'Private Practice,' 'Parks & Recreation' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  13. ↑ Gorman, Bill (February 4, 2011). "TV Ratings Thursday: Fox Wins Easily, As Most Shows Decline Slightly, But 'Perfect Couples' Crashes". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  14. ↑ Gorman, Bill (February 22, 2011). "Live+7 DVR Ratings: 'Fringe' Tops % Gains, 'Grey's Anatomy' Leads Absolute Gains". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  15. ↑ Poniewozik, James (February 4, 2011). "Community Watch: Character Alignment". Time . Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  16. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (February 3, 2011). "Review: 'Community' – 'Advanced Dungeons & Dragons': The last dragon?". HitFix . Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  17. ↑ Kurp, Joshua (February 4, 2011). "Community Recap: 'Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'" . Vulture . Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  18. ↑ Fowler, Matt (March 17, 2015). "Top 10 Community Episodes". IGN . Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  19. ↑ Rowles, Dustin (April 15, 2020). "The Best 'Community' Episodes Of All Time, Ranked". Uproxx . Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  20. ↑ Wakayama, Lena (April 27, 2020). "14 Best Community Episodes Of All Time". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  21. ↑ Moreau, Justin (April 22, 2020). "The 12 Best Episodes of 'Community' to Watch on Netflix and Hulu". Variety . Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  22. ↑ Agard, Chancellor; Holub, Christian; Franich, Darren (April 3, 2020). "The 15 best episodes of Community". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  23. ↑ Matar, Joe (April 18, 2020). "The Best Episodes of Community". Den of Geek . Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  24. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (November 8, 2018). "Joe Russo Loved the Dungeons & Dragons 'Community' Episode Too". ComicBook.com. ViacomCBS. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  25. 1 2 Maas, Jennifer (June 26, 2020). "Netflix Pulls 'Community' Episode 'Advanced Dungeons & Dragons' Due to Blackface Scenes (Exclusive)". TheWrap . Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  26. 1 2 Ivie, Devon (June 27, 2020). "Community Episode Removed From Streaming Over Chang's Dungeons & Dragons Blackface" . Vulture . Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  27. ↑ Thorne, Will (June 26, 2020). "'The Office' Blackface Scene Edited Out, Netflix Pulls 'Community' Blackface Episode". Variety . Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  28. ↑ Crow, David (June 27, 2020). "Community: Netflix and Hulu Remove "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" Episode". Den of Geek . Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  29. ↑ Purcell, Alexander (July 4, 2020). "Community: 'Advanced Dungeons & Dragons' Shouldn't Have Been Pulled From Streaming". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Yvette Nicole Brown Hopes Streamers 'Reconsider' Pulling Controversial Community Episode". SYFY Official Site. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  31. ↑ "The 21 Best Comedies of the 21st Century (So Far)" . The New York Times . June 16, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.