| "Football, Feminism and You" | |
|---|---|
| Community episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Joe Russo |
| Written by | Hilary Winston |
| Production code | 103 |
| Original air date | October 22, 2009 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"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 (Donald Glover) and his career playing football at Greendale Community College, while the B storyline concerns Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and her difficulty befriending other women. Pierce (Chevy Chase) works with Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) to create the school's mascot. The episode was watched by 5.18 million viewers upon its premiere and received polarized reviews.
Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) is trying to boost interest in Greendale's football team, which has recently been renamed the "Greendale Human Beings." Aware that Troy (Donald Glover) was a star football player in high school but suffered an injury preventing him from going further, he attempts to convince Troy to join the team, but Annie (Alison Brie) objects, believing Troy has a better future. Pierce (Chevy Chase) offers to help Dean Pelton to redesign the school mascot to reflect the name change. Through many attempts, Pierce and the dean realize that the only acceptable mascot is one free of race, gender, or other identification, and end up creating a vaguely human-shaped mascot, wrapped entirely in white gauze to disguise any discernibly human characteristics.
Jeff (Joel McHale) later discovers posters and flyers for Greendale with his photogenic face front and center. Worried that these flyers would damage his professional reputation, he confronts Dean Pelton. Then Dean blackmails Jeff, promising not to send out the flyers if he can convince Troy to join the football team. Jeff succeeds in doing so behind Annie's back. Annie later observes Troy slipping back into his pre-college, jock ways such as being late for class and being lax on homework. She discovers he had rejoined the football team and realizes that Jeff convinced him to do so. Jeff counters that Annie is trying to direct Troy on the path that she wants him to be on; Annie takes the comment too hard, but later is cheered up in the bathroom by Britta (Gillian Jacobs). At a pep rally before his first game, Troy tells Jeff that the accident that ended his first football career and cost him his scholarship was not an accident: Troy could not take the pressure of being the star player, and injured himself on purpose. Since there is no pressure to succeed at Greendale, Troy now genuinely enjoys playing football. Jeff and Annie later make up for interfering in each other's lives.
Meanwhile, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is upset when Britta doesn't join her in a bathroom break, and later insulted when Britta does join her but ridicules Shirley's desire to take her mother to get a makeover on feminist grounds. Shirley insists that the time women share in the bathroom together is to support each other, and that from now on, Britta can "pee alone." Britta realizes that she has never had support in such bathroom meetings, and is there to support Annie in a bathroom meeting after Jeff's accusation. Shirley walks in and praises Britta for her success.
Jeff's role is limited, as in the previous episode, giving the show more of an ensemble cast feel. [1] [2] The episode gives further background to other characters before they began Greendale. [3] [4] Annie realizes that she and Troy have changed since high school. Troy was previously portrayed as a jock, but can now be seen as someone scared of the pressures of transitioning into adulthood. [3] This contributes to development in Troy's character which leads to him being portrayed as less of a jock, allowing him to bond with Abed. [5] Meanwhile, Britta becomes more pragmatic under Shirley's influence. Sean Gandert of Paste remarked that Community often associates pragmatism with maturity and adulthood. [2]
"Football, Feminism and You" was originally scheduled as the third episode to air, between "Spanish 101" and "Introduction to Film". [6] The "human being" mascot introduced in the episode recurs in later episodes. [3] [5] [4] Troy suggests to Jeff that he take a pottery class, which he does in the later season 1 episode "Beginner Pottery". [7] Gandert found that the show has a "newfound self-awareness" beginning in this episode, with Abed making multiple meta-jokes. [2]
Upon its first broadcast in the United States, an estimated 5.18 million viewers watched the episode. [8]
John Young of Entertainment Weekly found the episode the best so far, praising Jeff and Troy's dialogue on the football field in particular. [9] Gandert reviewed that the episode was not as funny as previous episodes, but one of the most well-written. Gandert found the narrative "nimbly ducks and weaves" across the multiple storylines. [2] Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic praised the episode for using Troy as the lead and giving Jeff a more minor role, as "taking advantage of the rest of this amazing cast proves the show can be just as funny and lead to more unique plotlines". [10]
However, the episode garnered a B− rating in The A.V. Club , with Emily VanDerWerff criticizing that the episode reiterates established points from previous episodes, following the episode airing out of the original order. She highlighted Annie's crush on Troy and Britta and Jeff's sexual tension as aspects that made more sense to establish earlier. However, she praised the human being as "odd and amusing". [6] Jonah Krakow of IGN found it a poor episode, rating it 6.5 out of 10. Krakow criticized that Jeff does not contribute much to the episode, but praised Glover's acting and Troy's high school football rap. [1]
In 2018, Thrillist 's Tyler McCarthy ranked "Football, Feminism and You" as the 19th-best episode of Community. [3] In 2019, Aron Garst of GamesRadar+ ranked it 15th-best. [5] In 2020, Joe Matar of Den of Geek found it one of the best early episodes of Community. [4]
"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.
"Modern Warfare" is the twenty-third episode of the first season of Community and originally premiered on May 6, 2010, on NBC. In the episode, after the Dean announces the prize for a friendly game of paintball, Greendale sinks into a state of all-out paintball war, with every student battling for supremacy. During the chaos, Jeff's study group teams up in order to last longer in the game. Meanwhile, Jeff and Britta confront their unresolved sexual tension.
"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.
"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.
"Debate 109" is the ninth episode of the first season of Community. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on November 12, 2009. In the episode, Jeff teams up with Annie to take on City College in a debate, while Pierce tries to help Britta quit smoking using hypnotherapy. Meanwhile, the study group attempts to figure out if Abed's student films are predicting their futures. The episode received mostly positive reviews, with many critics singling out Abed's subplot for praise.
"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.
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"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.
"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.
"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.
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"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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