| "Competitive Ecology" | |
|---|---|
| Community episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Anthony Russo |
| Written by | Maggie Bandur |
| Production code | 304 |
| Original air date | October 6, 2011 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Competitive Ecology" is the third episode of the third season of the American television series Community and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It was originally broadcast on October 6, 2011, on NBC.
Professor Kane (Michael K. Williams) tells his biology students that their partners for a terrarium project will be the people sitting across from them. This pairs the study group members with strangers. The group asks to form their own pairings, which Kane allows, but Pierce (Chevy Chase) is left with outsider Todd (David Neher). Meanwhile, Chang (Ken Jeong) tells Sgt. Nunez (Mel Rodriguez) he is ready to become a detective, but Nunez shoots him down. In response, Chang delusionally imagines himself as a film noir detective.
The pairings prove dysfunctional – Jeff (Joel McHale) lets Annie (Alison Brie) do all the work, Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) realize they spend too much time together, and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) pesters Britta (Gillian Jacobs) with pictures of her children. The group agrees to consider changing partners. After several proposals are rejected, Jeff suggests they each make a list ranking who they would like to work with; Abed will then determine the optimal pairings.
Chang becomes convinced a matchbook he found is a clue to something. Nunez tells Chang to stop, but Chang refuses. He assembles a crude evidence board and searches through boxes of matchbooks. When he leaves, a ball of yarn catches fire and destroys the room where Chang had been living.
The new pairings place Troy with Britta, Annie with Shirley, Todd with Jeff, and Abed with Pierce. When pressed, Abed explains he put the least popular and most popular people together, leading the group members to fight over their popularity. Todd tries to leave, but Jeff stops him. Britta grabs the results list from Abed and lights it on fire, almost killing a turtle Todd found earlier. Todd snaps and berates the group before leaving.
Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) arrives to the scene of the fire. Realizing Chang's living arrangements might be exposed, Pelton urges Sgt. Nunez to not call the police. Nunez quits over this, causing Pelton to promote Chang to head of security. The seven group members arrive in class without completing the project. Angry, Kane reprimands them and tells them they will have to work as one group all year. Afterwards, they struggle to work together until Jeff blames Todd for their problems; the group unites around this.
The end tag shows the group completing personality evaluations for Britta's psychology class. She inadvertently sees male genitals instead of penciled-in bubbles.
The episode was written by producer Maggie Bandur, her first writing credit for the series. It was directed by executive producer Anthony Russo, his 13th directing credit for the series. A number of references are made in this episode to jokes from "Remedial Chaos Theory" (including Pierce sleeping with Eartha Kitt and Shirley's knowledge of Britta's marijuana use), due to a change of the episode order. The revised order is referenced in the latter's opening joke, and was suggested by Gillian Jacobs. [1]
The episode received positive reviews from the critics. Andrea Towers of TvOverMind wrote, "From the group's teamwork conflicts to Chang's Film Noir, this episode was not only enjoyable in all its plots but also in what it gave us as viewers. It was great to see some reminders that the Troy/Britta relationship is still alive and well (and maybe soon to be even more explored!) and to see the study group calling themselves out on some of their more apparent personality traits in a rather hilarious way that resonated with the audience." [2]
Emily Cheever, of Ology, said of the episode, "I liked this episode not just because of it's[ sic ] simplicity but also because it really reminded me of last season's episode "Paradigms" which made almost a mockery of the Community formula. But there's really nothing wrong with the formula and it would be a shame for Community to mess with success (or at least, success in the eyes of a fan). Of course, I feel that with the taste of the two part "Paintball" finale last season, Community is going to have to push a little bit harder for an episode that makes me beam with joy." [3]
"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.
"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.
"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.
"The Politics of Human Sexuality" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on December 3, 2009.
"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.
"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.
"Competitive Wine Tasting" is the twentieth episode of the second season and 45th overall episode of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on April 14, 2011.
"Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 43rd episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on March 17, 2011. The episode focuses on Shirley's pregnancy, while Abed and Troy make friends with a student from the Balkans.
"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.
"Studies in Modern Movement" is the seventh episode of the third season and 56th overall episode 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 and 60th overall episode 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.
"Contemporary Impressionists" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It originally aired on March 22, 2012 on NBC.
"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.
"Course Listing Unavailable" is the 18th episode of the third season of the American comedy television series Community and the 67th episode overall. It was written by Tim Saccardo and directed by Tristram Shapeero. It originally aired in the United States on May 3, 2012, on NBC.
"Basic Human Anatomy" is the 11th episode of the fourth season and 82nd overall episode of the NBC sitcom Community, which originally aired on April 25, 2013.
"Heroic Origins" is the 12th and penultimate episode of the fourth season and 83rd overall episode of the NBC sitcom Community, which originally aired on May 2, 2013.