| "Economics of Marine Biology" | |
|---|---|
| Community episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Tricia Brock |
| Written by | Tim Saccardo |
| Production code | 406 |
| Original air date | March 21, 2013 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Economics of Marine Biology" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the NBC sitcom Community , which originally aired on March 21, 2013.
Dean Pelton enlists the help of the study group in order to enroll a wealthy new student whose laziness is expected to bring much needed funds to Greendale.
Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) asks the group to help Greendale recruit Archie (Zack Pearlman), a spoiled 22-year-old who has rich parents and, given his history of spending seven years in high school, will likely inject Greendale with massive funds. While the Dean has set up wholesome activities to show Archie around the college, the school board would like to recruit him by any means necessary — including strippers, parties, and pretending Shaun White teaches at the school. After seeing Archie arrive with a new scooter, gifted to him by City College, the Dean chooses to throw his ideas out and take the school board's suggestions. Britta (Gillian Jacobs) refuses to do so, while Abed (Danny Pudi) uses this to create a fake fraternity, leaving only the Dean and Annie (Alison Brie).
Not wanting Pierce (Chevy Chase) to be jealous of the attention given to the potential student, the Dean asks Jeff (Joel McHale) to spend the day with Pierce in order to take him off campus. They go to a barber's place where they have their beards shaved. Jeff expects it to be a bore, but then starts enjoying it, and regrets shaving his face himself. Pierce intercepts a text message meant for Jeff and finds out that he was being distracted. He is upset at the ruse. Jeff apologises and asks the rest of the group to be nicer toward Pierce.
Troy (Donald Glover) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) start their first class of Physical Education, but the course is actually P.E.E. (Physical Education Education), where they are taught how to be gym teachers. Troy flounders under the pressure and is soon bullied by their coach (Ian Roberts), but Shirley is quite adept at the class and quickly becomes the top student. After a depressed Troy drops the class, Shirley comforts him and the two work together to help continue Chang's (Ken Jeong) rehabilitation, impressing the coach.
During a cafeteria party, with strippers and balloons, Archie overhears Magnitude (Luke Youngblood) saying his catchphrase, "Pop! Pop!" In order to make his decision and enroll, Archie demands ownership of the catchphrase, to which the Dean reluctantly agrees. The next day, the Dean and Annie see a disheveled Magnitude, now struggling to cope with life and come up with a new catchphrase. They realize what they have done is morally wrong. The Dean wakes up Archie, who has passed out from the partying, and tells him that the Greendale he experienced was not the real Greendale and that if he wanted a college that gave him special treatment it would be elsewhere. Archie still enrolls, appreciative of the honesty and being treated like normal.
This aired as episode seven, but was the sixth episode produced. [1]
The episode was initially watched by approximately 2.95 million viewers. [2]
The episode was met with mixed reviews. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a B, saying it was, "the most like an episode of classic Community that any episode has all season, but it’s also curiously hollow, without any thematic weight." [3] where Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said it was, "perfectly decent example of the kind of campus hijinks episodes the series did a lot in season 1 before shifting towards more ambitious concepts in seasons 2 and 3." [4] and Gabrielle Moss of TV Fanatic remarked, "Do you think I couldn't tell that the Abed frat micro-subplot was eighty times more interesting than anything actually happening on screen in this episode?" [5] Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a positive score of 8.5, praising Chevy Chase's performance as Pierce. [6]
"Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 30th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 21, 2010. The episode's plot surrounds a religious film created by Greendale Community College student Abed Nadir.
"Football, Feminism and You" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 22, 2009. The episode centers on Troy and his career playing football at Greendale Community College, while the B storyline concerns Britta and her difficulty befriending other women. Pierce works with Dean Pelton to create the school's mascot. The episode was watched by 5.18 million viewers upon its premiere and received polarized reviews.
"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.
"Environmental Science" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on November 19, 2009.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"Digital Exploration of Interior Design" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It originally aired on March 29, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Chris McKenna and directed by Dan Eckman.
"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 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.
"Heroic Origins" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the fourth season of the NBC sitcom Community, which originally aired on May 2, 2013.
"Advanced Introduction to Finality" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth season of the NBC sitcom Community. It originally aired on May 9, 2013.
"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.
