Advanced Gay

Last updated
"Advanced Gay"
Community episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 6
Directed by Joe Russo
Written byMatt Murray
Production code306
Original air dateNovember 3, 2011 (2011-11-03)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps"		Next →
"Studies in Modern Movement"
Community season 3
List of episodes

"Advanced Gay" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It aired originally on November 3, 2011 on NBC.

Contents

In the episode, Pierce decides to market Hawthorne Wipes to the gay community, only to be stopped by his skeptic father. This draws the ire of Jeff, who inadvertently exposes his own "daddy issues". Meanwhile, Troy is recruited by Greendale's secret air conditioning repair school.

The episode was written by Matt Murray and directed by Joe Russo. It received mixed critical reviews.

Plot

Urbana Champaign "Pocket Full of Hawthornes" video excerpt. Urbana Champaign.jpg
Urbana Champaign "Pocket Full of Hawthornes" video excerpt.

A video ("Pocket Full of Hawthornes") by drag queen Miss Urbana Champaign (Shangela Laquifa Wadley) devoted to Hawthorne Wipes has made the product popular among the gay community. Pierce decides to cash in on its popularity by launching a new line of wipes—Hawthorne's Pride Wipes—in "Greendale's First Annual Gay Bash". While plans for the party get underway, the event is canceled with the arrival of Pierce's dad, Cornelius (Larry Cedar), who makes several strongly racist remarks towards the group.

Jeff (Joel McHale), who grew up resenting his father's absence, is clearly affected by Pierce's submission to Cornelius and decides to help Pierce go ahead with the party. Britta (Gillian Jacobs) thinks Pierce and Jeff have Oedipal complex, although she constantly mispronounces it as "edible complex". Pierce is initially resistant to disobeying his father, but relents after receiving a warm welcome from the people at the party. Midway through the party, Cornelius shows up. Out of fear, Pierce declares Hawthorne Wipes a "straights-only" product, much to the disgust of the gay people at the event. While they jeer at him, Pierce collapses, faking a heart attack. At the hospital where Pierce is being treated, Jeff lays into Cornelius for his treatment of Pierce with an impassioned rant seemingly directed at his own absent father. Cornelius himself suffers a heart attack and dies.

Meanwhile, Troy (Donald Glover) impresses Jerry (Jerry Minor), the school plumber, with his seemingly nonchalant talent for plumbing. Jerry warns Troy not to abuse his talent. While walking down the hallway alone, Troy is kidnapped by the secret Air Conditioning Repair School, led by Vice Dean of Air Conditioning, Robert Laybourne (John Goodman). At the school's initiation, Troy is the quickest at assembling an AC unit while blindfolded. This leads to an invitation to join the school by Laybourne, who promises Troy lucrative employment as an AC repairman for life. However, if Troy accepts, he must keep his occupation a secret. Jerry confronts Troy about being approached by the air conditioning school, but Troy rebuffs him. Troy consults Abed (Danny Pudi) about choosing between plumbing and air conditioning. Abed is indifferent, saying that both are similar, but tells Troy to go with what makes him the happiest.

At the funeral of Cornelius (attended by all members of the group), Pierce tells Cornelius to "suck it" in his eulogy. Jeff gains ownership of Cornelius’ ivory toupee. Laybourne meets Troy at the funeral, asking for a decision. Troy declines Laybourne's invitation, saying his decision is to "watch TV with [his] friend." Laybourne warns Troy that he is making a mistake and vows to keep pursuing him. At the funeral's end, Chang (Ken Jeong) picks up Miss Urbana Champaign and comically derides Jeff for going home alone.

Production

"Advanced Gay" was written by Matt Murray, his first writing credit for the series. It was directed by Joe Russo, his 18th directing credit.

Cultural references

The storyline involving Troy and his talents is a spoof of the 1997 film Good Will Hunting . [1] [2] His initiation ceremony as an air conditioning repairman drew references to Twin Peaks and The Big Lebowski . [3] The vice dean’s speech to Troy about the lifetime commitment to secrecy parodies Men In Black.

Troy and Abed's "Inspector Spacetime" act is a spoof of the television series Doctor Who . [2] [3]

The name of the drag queen, Urbana Champaign, is also the name of a college town in Illinois.

“Cornelius” is Chevy Chase’s given name; in this episode, it is the name of his character’s father.

Reception

Ratings

In its original broadcast on November 3, 2011, "Advanced Gay" drew an estimated 3.84 million viewers, with a Nielsen rating/share of 1.7/5 in the 18–49 demographic. [4]

Reviews

The episode received mixed reviews from critics.

Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave it a 'B+', saying while "the episode didn’t quite earn all of its emotional moments, but I was impressed with how well it did regardless." She added that the episode's ending was weak. [5] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix praised Goodman's role but found Pierce's father's character too exaggerated. [1] Hollywood.com's Kelsea Stahler said "'Advanced Gay' wasn’t terrible, it just feels like a bit of a letdown after the fantastic 'Remedial Chaos Theory' and the hilarious 'Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps'." [2]

Ethan Alter of Television Without Pity said the episode's A and B stories were "mashed together in a lumpy, misshapen way." He also criticized the stereotypical portrayal of gay characters. [3] Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic said, "By no means is Community opposed to tackling controversial issues and writing non-PC jokes, but this episode was sure to offend just about everyone. Still, I guess that was the point." She rated the episode 3.5/5 stars. [6]

Related Research Articles

"Asian Population Studies" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 37th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on January 20, 2011.

"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.

"Accounting for Lawyers" is the second episode of the second season of Community. It originally aired on September 30, 2010 on NBC. In the episode, Jeff meets up with an old friend and colleague from his law firm, Alan, a spineless unprincipled character. He temporarily abandons the group to join Alan and other former colleagues at an office party, which he is invited to by Alan who wants to use him to get promoted. The study group suspects that Alan was the one who got Jeff disbarred, and set out to find the truth at the party.

"The Psychology of Letting Go" is the third episode of the second season of Community. It was originally broadcast on October 7, 2010 on NBC.

"Mixology Certification" is the tenth episode of the second season of Community. It was originally broadcast on December 2, 2010 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.

"Intro to Political Science" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of Community. It was originally aired on February 24, 2011, on NBC.

"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.

"Biology 101" is the third season premiere of Community and the 50th episode of the series overall. The episode originally aired on September 22, 2011 on NBC. The episode was written by Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan and directed by Anthony Russo.

"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.

"Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" is the fifth episode of the third season of the U.S. television series Community. It first aired on October 27, 2011 on NBC and is the series' 2011 Halloween episode.

"Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" is the eighth episode of the third season of the U.S. television series Community. It was originally broadcast on November 17, 2011 on NBC.

"Studies in Modern Movement" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American sitcom Community. It was originally broadcast on November 10, 2011, on NBC.

"Regional Holiday Music" is the tenth episode and mid-season finale of the third season of the American television series Community, and 59th overall episode of the series. It was originally broadcast on December 8, 2011 on NBC and is the final episode before the show went on hiatus during the 2011–12 midseason. The Christmas-themed episode is a musical featuring original songs performed by cast members. After Greendale's glee club members become incapacitated, the study group is asked to join. Despite their dislike of the club, each of them is lured into joining after their vulnerabilities are exploited.

"Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It originally aired on March 15, 2012 on NBC, with the series returning after a three-month hiatus. In the episode, Shirley's ex-husband Andre whom she has reconciled with proposes to her again. While planning her wedding, she also considers a business proposition from Pierce. The rest of the study group help Shirley plan the wedding, while Troy and Abed attempt to suppress their weirdness and act normal at the rehearsal to no avail.

"Introduction to Finality" is the twenty-second and final episode of the third season of the American television series Community and the third season finale. It originally aired on May 17, 2012 on NBC. This was the last episode to air with series creator Dan Harmon as showrunner before he was fired, though Harmon would later return as showrunner for the fifth season.

"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.

<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. 1 2 Sepinwall, Alan (November 4, 2011). "Review: 'Community' - 'Advanced Gay': Edible complex". HitFix . Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Stahler, Kelsea (November 4, 2011). "Community' Recap: Advanced Gay". Hollywood.com. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 Alter, Ethan (November 4, 2011). "Community: Enough with the Daddy Issues". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  4. ↑ Seldman, Robert (November 4, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory,' 'The X Factor,' 'Parks & Recreation,' 'The Office,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Grey's Anatomy' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  5. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily (November 3, 2011). "Advanced Gay". The A.V. Club . Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  6. ↑ Raines, Leigh (November 3, 2011). "Community Review: Daddy Issues". TV Fanatic. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
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.