External links
- "Communication Studies" at NBC.com
- "Communication Studies" at IMDb
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| "Communication Studies" | |
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| Community episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 16 |
| Directed by | Adam Davidson |
| Written by | Chris McKenna |
| Production code | 116 |
| Original air date | February 11, 2010 |
| Guest appearances | |
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"Communication Studies" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the U.S. television sitcom Community. It originally aired on February 11, 2010, on NBC.
In the episode, on Abed's advice, Jeff tries to help Britta regain the confidence in their relationship after an embarrassing drunk dial by her. Meanwhile, Annie and Shirley's plan to take revenge on Chang for humiliating Troy and Pierce backfires. The episode is also notable for beginning the series' Beetlejuice gag, in a character uttering "Beetlejuice", a name next uttered in "Cooperative Calligraphy", and again for a final time in "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps", leading to Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice) himself walking by, as in the Beetlejuice franchise, wherein the man would enter the scene on his names' thrice utterance. [1] [2]
The episode was written by Chris McKenna and directed by Adam Davidson. It received mostly positive critical reviews.
Jeff (Joel McHale) is invited to Greendale College's Valentine's Day dance by his girlfriend and statistics professor, Michelle (Lauren Stamile). On the way to the library, he discovers a voicemail from a drunk Britta (Gillian Jacobs) from the previous night. At the library, Annie (Alison Brie), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) and Abed (Danny Pudi) receive Valentine's Day gifts, but Troy (Donald Glover) and Pierce (Chevy Chase) do not. Jeff plays a hungover Britta the message she left him, mocking the implication of the booty call, leaving her humiliated.
After Jeff and the group notice over the following amount of time that Britta has been left too embarrassed to talk to him as a result of the booty call, Abed explains that in accordance with the rules of character dynamics in sitcoms like theirs, due to the interruption of Jeff's and Britta's sexual tension-imbued storyline, the only way the two can go back to their old mutually competitive relationship is for her to see him embarrass himself. They decide that Jeff must return Brittas drunk booty call with a fake drunk one of his own. Jeff and Abed spend the evening getting drunk enough for Jeff to make a believable call. The next day, they discover that Jeff made calls to both Michelle and Britta, but don't remember anything about either of them.
At Spanish class, the Greendale Human Being delivers Valentine's gifts to Troy and Pierce. Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) guesses right away that the presents were sent by themselves to make it look like they have girlfriends. Chang ridicules them in front of the class. Later, Annie and Shirley devise a plan to prank Chang in revenge. The next day in class, Chang receives a letter purportedly from Princeton offering him an associate professor position. He instantly calls the bluff, and blames Troy and Pierce for the failed prank. In retribution, he forces them to escort him to the Valentine's dance wearing ladies' pantsuits and threatens to fail them if they refuse.
At the dance, Michelle is angry at Jeff for drunk calling her and then hanging up after discovering she wasn't Britta. Jeff tries to come clean, but Michelle refuses to listen. Troy and Pierce are dressed up in pantsuits and ready to hit the dance floor, but are stopped by Annie and Shirley. Annie and Shirley confess to sending the fake letter and have decided to tell Chang the truth so that they can suffer the consequences. However, Troy and Pierce are touched by their gesture, and follow through with their embarrassing ordeal.
Britta arrives, dressed formally, and tells Jeff that he invited her to the dance during his booty call. Jeff panics and confesses that his relationship with Michelle is likely to be over because of the voicemails. Britta then reveals that he didn't actually invite her and that she dressed up to test the legitimacy of his booty call. She then plays to Michelle the voicemail she received from Jeff, in which he confesses his love for Michelle, which leads to the couple's reconciliation.
In the end tag, Pierce abandons Troy after the party to get frozen yogurt with Chang.
"Communication Studies" was written by Chris McKenna, his first writing credit of the series. It was directed by Adam Davidson, his second directing credit.
Several songs can be heard in the episode: "We Are Not Alone" performed by Karla DeVito, from the soundtrack of The Breakfast Club, during the drinking montage; "Going Crazy" by The Paparazzi Kids, when Chang dances with Pierce and Troy; and "If I Die Before You", performed by Ludwig Göransson, while Britta and Jeff have their conversation at the dance. [3]
When Jeff first encounters Britta having a hangover, he asks, "Can I get you an alibi for Cobain's suicide?" [4] The next day, Britta counters a hungover Jeff's zinger: "You look like you're about ready to marry Courtney Love." [4]
When describing the change in dynamics of Jeff and Britta's relationship, Abed uses an example from Who's the Boss? in which Tony sees Angela naked in the opening credits. [5] When devising a plan to fix the relationship, Abed uses the example from the episode "The One With the Boobies" in Friends . Chandler sees Rachel naked and had to reciprocate by getting naked for Rachel. [4]
The montage of bizarre dancing and other wacky activities by Jeff and Abed while drunk was inspired by The Breakfast Club , a film which was mentioned by Abed in the episode as he fails to recall the name of the female lead. [6]
The episode is also notable for beginning the series' Beetlejuice gag, in a character uttering the name "Beetlejuice"; in the self-titled 1988 film, animated series, and musical, the character of Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice) would suddenly enter the scene whenever someone said his name three times, with the name next being uttered in "Cooperative Calligraphy", and again for a final time in "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps", immediately after which Beetlejuice himself (portrayed by an uncredited extra) walks by in the background, paying off the gag. [1] [2]
In its original American broadcast, "Communication Studies" was viewed by an estimated 5.15 million people, with a Nielsen rating/share of 2.3/7 in the 18–49 demographic. [7]
"Communication Studies" received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Jonah Krakow of IGN said "There was plenty to love about this episode, including some great interaction between Jeff and Britta, some spot-on pop culture quips from Abed and some hilarious character work from Troy, Pierce and Senor Chang." He gave the episode an 8.8/10 rating. [4] Jason Hughes of AOL TV said, "Suddenly I want to spend at least 40 more minutes in the world of 'Community' after tonight's episode... Jeff and Abed tore it up with one of the most bizarre drunk montages I've ever seen, culminating with Abed in the absolute best 'aftermath' position I've ever seen. [6] Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.0/5 rating, saying "The main story line was not only hilarious, but also strong in terms of cementing Jeff's relationship with Slater and pushing off any potential Britta-Jeff pairing for seasons. That's kind of a good thing because we don't need yet another show based on sexual tension." [8]
Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave "Communication Studies" a 'B' and said the episode had too many plot twists: "It's the thing where you think there's going to be a standard sitcom plot twist that occurs, and then the show goes out of its way to show you that the standard plot twist didn't actually happen. Community tries it four or five times in tonight's episode, and by the end, it feels a little too much like piling on." VanDerWerff praised the show's ending and the handling of the Jeff-Britta dynamic: "what finally makes this one work for me is that last scene between Michelle, Jeff and Britta. Obviously, this show is going to push Jeff and Britta together at some point, but I appreciate a show that's willing to do this less because it's obligatory and more because it wants to toy with our expectations." [5]
"Spanish 101" is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on September 24, 2009. The episode features Jeff and Pierce working on a Spanish project as Annie and Shirley organize a protest. Receiving 5.39 million viewers upon its premiere, the episode was met with mostly positive critical reception. The end tag—the first of the series—shows Troy and Abed performing a nonsense rap in Spanish, an early interaction between the pair which was praised by reviewers.
"Epidemiology" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 31st episode of the series overall. It originally premiered in the United States on NBC on October 28, 2010 as a special Halloween-themed episode. In the episode, the Dean throws a Halloween themed party on campus. During the party, a few of the partygoers become sick from eating a hazardous substance that the Dean mistook for taco meat bought at an army surplus store. The sickness causes those affected to turn into a violent, zombie-like state that can be passed on through bites. As the study group try to escape, the Dean locks the doors, trapping them inside with the infected.
"Cooperative Calligraphy" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 33rd episode of the series overall. A metafictional bottle episode, it aired in the United States on NBC on November 11, 2010.
"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.
"Social Psychology" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 8, 2009. The episode shows Jeff bonding with Shirley through mockery of Britta's new romantic interest, Vaughn. Annie gets Abed to participate in a psychology experiment organized by Dr Ian Duncan. It received 4.87 million viewers in the United States and mixed critical reviews.
"Advanced Criminal Law" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 15, 2009. The episode follows Jeff attempting to help Britta after she confesses to cheating on a Spanish test, as Pierce helps Annie by composing a school song and Abed attempts to convince Troy that he is an alien. It garnered 5.01 million viewers in its first broadcast and was met with mixed critical reception.
"Home Economics" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on November 5, 2009. The episode revolves around Jeff's living situation now that he no longer has the money he earned as a big-shot lawyer and the emotional aftermath of Britta and Vaughn's breakup. It garnered 5.45 million viewers on its premiere and received positive critical reception.
"Romantic Expressionism" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the U.S. television series Community. It was originally aired on February 4, 2010, on NBC.
"The Science of Illusion" is the twentieth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on March 25, 2010.
"Pascal's Triangle Revisited" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the first season of Community. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on May 20, 2010. In the episode, the group gets ready to say goodbye for the summer at the end-of-year dance. Britta and Professor Slater compete over their affections for Jeff, while Annie considers leaving Greendale and Troy looks for a new place to live. The episode received generally positive reviews, with critics both praising and criticizing the final twist.
"Anthropology 101" is the second season premiere of the American television series Community. It was originally broadcast on September 23, 2010 on NBC.
"Aerodynamics of Gender" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 32nd episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on November 4, 2010. The two plotlines concern the women's discovery that Abed has an undiscovered talent at insulting people's appearance, and Troy and Jeff finding a secret garden with a trampoline.
"Early 21st Century Romanticism" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community and the fortieth episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on February 10, 2011. The episode revolves around the study group's various Valentine's Day plans: Abed and Troy ask the same girl to the dance, Britta goes on a date with a lesbian, and Jeff is tricked into hosting a party.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"Origins of Vampire Mythology" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It originally aired on April 12, 2012, on NBC. In the episode, Britta must resist the temptation to meet up with her ex-boyfriend Blade, and Jeff tries to figure out how Blade is able to attract women.
"Introduction to Statistics" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community, airing on NBC on October 29, 2009. Annie hosts a Dia de los Muertos party, the success of which depends on Jeff attending. At the party, Pierce gets high, causing trouble for the other characters. Jeff pursues their statistics professor, Professor Michelle Slater. Finally, Shirley is distressed due to her ex-husband's behavior.
"Basic Human Anatomy" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the NBC sitcom Community, which originally aired on April 25, 2013.
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