Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

'Community' - 'English as a Second Language': Good Troy Barnes

The Spanish study group faces a life without Spanish class.

By Alan Sepinwall Friday, May 14, 2010 8:43 AM

Don't fall for Annie's Disney face!

Credit: NBC

A review of the latest "Community" coming up just as soon as I picture you as Paul Giamatti...

After the pop culture inferno that was last week's "Modern Warfare," "Community" mostly(*) dialed down the references for a more character-driven - but still very funny - episode that asked an obvious yet necessary question: what are these people going to do once they finish their Spanish requirement?

(*) Though of course we got the extended, amusing flip on "Good Will Hunting" with Troy's hidden plumbing gifts, and the brief courtroom drama parody (with Pierce as the judge and Abed as the court reporter), and, my own personal favorite, the small nod to "Fletch" with Pierce only knowing how to say "Tierra del fuego" in Spanish. "Community" is not a show that wants to go cold turkey on the reference humor, nor should it.

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What could have been a rote exercise in plot mechanics instead turned into a nice character duet for Annie and Jeff, with her desperate to keep her friends and him assuming they'll stay together - and, if not, no biggie, because he's the studly Jeff Winger and can make new friends. And the scene at the end where Jeff says Annie's dressed like a travel agent, and she in turn says, "I was going for more of a professor thing" - and the priceless reactions from both Joel McHale and Alison Brie after she said that - suggests that we're not done with the obvious, comically rich but emotionally awkward sexual chemistry between these two.

Two things I'm curious about: 1)How much will the show feature Senor Chang (who was used just enough so that the character's broadness never got tired) next year now that he's going to be a student? 2)Given that this was structured like a season finale, what exactly do Dan Harmon and company have up their sleeves for the actual finale?

And how can I not love a show that features an exchange like the following between Troy and Abed:

"I think I got half of it, which got me through the half I didn't." -Troy
"Like the first season of 'The Wire.'" -Abed

So good, and so nice to see Pierce get to save the day, and not even want or need credit for it.

What did everybody else think?

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Alan Sepinwall, Community

irerancincpkc

Awesomeness. Nice to see Chang be funny once more, and the chemistry between Jeff and Annie is pretty awesome, I hope they explore it more in Season Two. Loved seeing Piers save the day. This seemed like a season finale, so I'm guessing Dan Harmon has something pretty different for us to close out the season, and that has me excited. :)
May 14, 2010 at 8:54AM EST Reply to Comment
I immediately thought of you, Alan, when Abed mentioned The Wire. So good. Overall, though, I thought it was a mediocre episode.
May 14, 2010 at 8:54AM EST Reply to Comment
klg19

"Did you just say 'key-tar' or did you pronounce 'guitar' like a hillbilly?"

Another great episode. The "dress like a professor" bit was a wonderful treat after the Winger plan to shut out Annie. So happy that the creators' recognition of the smokin' chemistry between McHale and Brie is getting carried through.

May 14, 2010 at 8:58AM EST Reply to Comment
- klg19 Also: do Abed's and Britta's passed-out entanglement, and their entwined arms as Jeff exhorts the group to go for Anthropology together indicate a graceful way to make a space for Annie with Jeff? Because I don't see it, personally. The only person who has real chemistry with Abed is Troy.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:22AM EST
stepliana

A letdown after last week - it seemed like they tried to get too much done with this episode. Fanservice for the Jeff/Annie shippers after last week's Jeff and Britta developments, getting Ken Jeong out of his teacher role and into the group - why exactly?, and an obligatory reference humor storyline which ultimately went nowhere.

Mostly I was just annoyed with the Senor Chang storyline - don't most colleges have a two year foreign language requirement, or did I just go somewhere strange? (Also, second year courses begin with 201, not 103 - right?) It felt like they were throwing gimmicks left and right (tasers! keytars!) because since they're funny on their own, they MUST be funnier together - only in this case, not. That and the fact that it felt like the entire storyline was written for appeasement, rather than story. Just... eh.

Still looking forward to next week, though. Prom!
May 14, 2010 at 9:00AM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall I was able to complete my foreign-language requirement in only two semesters, though I think I may have already had an AP French credit from high school.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:04AM EST
- I went to a 4 year University and I never had to complete a foreign language requirement, they had other Social Science courses I could take as alternatives.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:52AM EST
- Randoman Couldn't disagree with you more about the Spanish Credit/Chang plot. You can't realistically have these guys taking Spanish the entire series. And you want to find a way to keep Ken Jeong around. So making Chang a student makes perfect sense. And I highly doubt that Chang will join the study group. He'll hang around on the fringes like Starburns or Leonard and the show isn't going to miss a beat.
  
  I'm kind of with you on the Jeff/Annie thing though. But I'm hoping that it's ONLY fanservice. Last week was Jeff/Britta, this week was Jeff/Annie. If they take a leap and triangle up Jeff/Annie/Britta, I'm going to fear for the show. That could be a killer to the group chemistry.
  
  I really hope Dan Harmon is just keeping his options open with that storyline or merely tossing a bone to the Jeff/Annie shippers.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:52AM EST
- stepliana Because I am That Girl, I went and looked it up - one year of study at the 200-level. Since I elected to start an entirely new language when I got to college, that meant two years for me - 100 and 200-level. So, ignore me.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:55AM EST
- stepliana Also, @Randoman - I couldn't agree more. Don't get me wrong, I love the little tidbits of romance the show tosses us, but if this show becomes about Jeff and all the women who chase him, I will be super annoyed, that's not what Community is about. It's about the group, and their shenanigans. Episodes have suffered when the group splits up too much, splitting it further with romantic warring would be the worst.
  May 14, 2010 at 10:02AM EST
- jenfullmoon Depends on the college. Mine had a 1-year requirement, some other schools in our system required a language practically as a double major. Also depends on your major. So yeah, I can buy it was one year.
  
  You know what this episode reminded me of? I had terrible high school Spanish teachers (not quite Chang level, but we never got beyond chapter 5 or 6 every year), and when the profesora walked in and spoke Spanish and nobody had any idea what she said? That was my class in our third year of Spanish. Ah, deja vu...
  May 14, 2010 at 11:35AM EST
- Chrissy There was one sexual tension joke, guys. This is hardly Ross and Rachel and Joey. Jeff is uncomfortable with his attraction to an 18-year old basket case, and it's funny. Let's not worry that the sky is falling just yet.
  May 14, 2010 at 3:30PM EST
cadfile

I loved the "Good Will Hunting" subplot with Troy.

In college my foreign language requirement was numbered 101, 102, 103... The 200 level and higher was for people majoring in the language.

The only thing I missed was a Troy/Abed tag at the end but one with Pierce was okay.
May 14, 2010 at 9:13AM EST Reply to Comment
Alex

Again, loved it. It had a little bit of everything- Chang craziness, Jeff & Annie's undeniable chemistry, Lawyer!Jeff, Pierce doing something kind, Abed/Troy extra-special friendship moments... I can't believe this show is only in its first season. It feels like they've done so much!

Alan, how come some weeks we get to see the full credits, and most of the time we don't? It's not that long of a sequence to begin with. Do they really need those precious extra 20 seconds for the show, or is it more for advertising?
May 14, 2010 at 9:21AM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall I'd assume it's based on how much story they've used up. Before "The Simpsons" went HD and got the snazzy new credits, there was a very long period (at least a decade) where most episodes would cut immediately from Bart at the chalkboard to the car almost running over Homer in the garage, just so each episode could fit in more story. I don't believe the commercial load varies from week to week.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:29AM EST
- Anonymous Cutting down openings is something that does happen on cable and syndicated shows, in both cases to increase ad time. Some shows even get compressed and/or sped up in parts in order to squeeze out every last second for extra commercials.
  May 14, 2010 at 11:31PM EST
chuchundra

This ep really did seem like a season finale, so I'm curious to see what they've got on tap for the real finale next week.

A few thoughts:

Nice to see Pierce save the day and the little bits from Fletch that they throw in now and again are just great.

I thought the Good Will Hunting references were clever -- you figure a show set in a college is going to get to that sooner or later -- but my wife got a bit lost because she'd never seen the movie. I occasionally miss some of the references but it doesn't bother me because usually the lines/plot twists make sense or are funny on their own. The GWH refs were a bit different in that if you haven't seen the movie, you'll be a bit lost at sea.

It's nice to see that they're going to make a conscious effort to move things around a bit next year to keep things fresh. Anthropology instead of Spanish isn't a big leap, but we should at least get a different classroom dynamic with a new teacher/subject.

May 14, 2010 at 9:32AM EST Reply to Comment
Rinaldo

"don't most colleges have a two year foreign language requirement"
"Also, second year courses begin with 201, not 103 - right?"

Both these things vary from place to place. I've seen all manner of course numbering, and of requirements outside one's major -- enough that neither point seems like a problem at all to me.

As to why full credits only some weeks? I figure it's the same as on any other show that has two (or more) versions of opening credits: They finish editing that week's episode and look at the timing, which has to fit a quite strict Xminutes/Yseconds slot to air. If they came in right on time, they have time to run the full opening credits; if (after all possible trimming and editing) they're 15 seconds over, short credits this week.
May 14, 2010 at 9:38AM EST Reply to Comment
Count Blah

It felt like a season finale because it was one before NBC went and ordered an extra episode.
May 14, 2010 at 9:46AM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall No, the additional episodes that Community made after NBC extended the order have already aired. These last two were always intended to be the last two.
  May 14, 2010 at 9:54AM EST
aabbbiee

May 14, 2010 at 10:06AM EST Reply to Comment
gratefuldad

I'm late to this party, but I enjoyed my first exposure to Community.

Is that Pete's wife? Maybe she can do the Charleston with the guy from the Soup.
May 14, 2010 at 10:11AM EST Reply to Comment
- Randoman Or the robot:
  
  http://i40.tinypic.com/35hmjih.gif
  May 14, 2010 at 10:15AM EST
Furtively

One more pop culture reference... The scene when they wake up after the all night study session, recreates the scene from Stripes the morning of basic training graduation.
May 14, 2010 at 10:13AM EST Reply to Comment
Farrah

Hey Alan you could've said "One question", and then said what you're curious about a la Chang's "two questions" but actually three joke haha...good episode as always.
May 14, 2010 at 10:47AM EST Reply to Comment
Mike

The Wire joke would have been funny on its own, but was made even better by the subtle set-up: one of Troy's goals for his education (in addition to grinding his own coffee) is to understand HBO.
May 14, 2010 at 11:03AM EST Reply to Comment
dsbs

I think I may be missing something - what exactly was the joke about Annie dressing like a professor?

And let me just say right here that I don't care how wrong/creepy it would be in real life, Jeff and Annie are smoking and adorable together. I don't know if sex is the way to go, but please, show, keep on doing what you're doing.
May 14, 2010 at 11:47AM EST Reply to Comment
- LAprGuy The joke was that Jeff had dated a professor earlier in the season.
  May 14, 2010 at 11:50AM EST
- LAprGuy And (hit submit too soon) that when he mockingly complemented her outfit after the final, she noted she was going for "the professor look."
  May 14, 2010 at 11:53AM EST
jerseygirl

I guess this is a four year community college (yea!!!), since Jeff is counting down to 2013.

And anthropology just seems like a perfect class --- isn't that basically what their group is -- an anthropoligical study?
May 14, 2010 at 12:06PM EST Reply to Comment
theholyavenger

One of the funniest things ever was when Annie told Brittta that it was obvious from her name that her parents smoked pot.
May 14, 2010 at 1:00PM EST Reply to Comment
- Maura Ha! That might have been my favorite line of the episode.
  
  This was a much more subdued episode, but it had to be. They'd have to work long and hard to top last week. I think it was smart to not even try.
  
  I haven't seen Good Will Hunting, but I go the general reference I like that they turned the premise on its ear. I assume Abed's line about his favorite 10 seconds of the day refers to something Ben Affleck says to Matt Damon in the movie.
  May 14, 2010 at 1:13PM EST
- "I assume Abed's line about his favorite 10 seconds of the day refers to something Ben Affleck says to Matt Damon in the movie."
  
  It's a big flip, but yeah. In the movie, Ben Affleck picks up Matt Damon at his house to drive him to the construction jobs they both work. He says the best ten seconds are "walking from the car to the door, hoping you won't be there," meaning he moved out of the old neighborhood and got a better career.
  
  Abed incorrectly displaces the quote, but it makes sense when you think about him not always understanding motivations behind characters.
  May 15, 2010 at 3:24PM EST
Hatfield

I can't say that I laughed as much as I usually do, vut I still loved it. The "Antelope Slaughter" B-side was probably my favorite. Did anyone catch what Abed said at the very end as the fadeout happened? Sounded like it was something about a girlfriend, but I couldn't tell.
May 14, 2010 at 1:06PM EST Reply to Comment
Alan

I wonder if Pierce's car will hit a water buffalo next season...
May 14, 2010 at 1:28PM EST Reply to Comment
dmgobears

Hilarious episode as Commnunity continues to be one of the funniest 30 minutes on tv. I too am interested in what Senior Chang's firing means for the future. I am looking forward to next year's Anthropology professor assuming that becomes the subject bringing together the study group.
May 14, 2010 at 2:24PM EST Reply to Comment
RD

I was really hoping for a Troy/Starburns exchange of "Do you like apples" .."Well, I got her number, how you like dem apples" or of the Good Will Hunting bar scene with Starburns being Scott William Winters.

Regardless, great episode. This show's becoming a pleasure to watch.
May 14, 2010 at 2:54PM EST Reply to Comment
- albatross As soon as Troy went into the bathroom, I thought "Good Will Plumbing."
  May 14, 2010 at 5:38PM EST
Oaktown Girl

I was actually very bummed by the Senor Chang story line. The non-traditional Asian American Spanish teacher was delightfully rare "out of the box" thinking for television. To now have him turn out to be a total fraud really negates a lot about his character for me. Sure, he was over-the-top in his teaching style, but that made great television. What kept his character from being totally one dimensional was the implied understanding we had about his back story: that he had a true passion for Spanish, and at one point in his life devoted himself enough to its study to become a teacher. Now that's kaput.

This is a good show, and I'm betting they'll continue to have interesting things for Chang to do. But I feel cheated. And is his brother the Rabbi a fraud, too?
May 14, 2010 at 4:53PM EST Reply to Comment
- Alf We'll always have Rabbi Chang, his brother.
  May 14, 2010 at 8:21PM EST
- When you think about that exchange they shared on Family Day, ("Senor Chang? Really?" "This is who I am now!") it makes a lot more sense now.
  May 15, 2010 at 3:28PM EST
Did anyone else notice that the two security guards were the Troy and Abed dopplegangers from the end of a previous episode? It's great to see the show do little callbacks like these. It's one of the things that made Arrested Development so great.
May 14, 2010 at 8:45PM EST Reply to Comment
O-Prime

Did anyone else notice that the two security guards were the Troy and Abed dopplegangers from the end of a previous episode? It's great to see the show do little callbacks like these. It's one of the things that made Arrested Development so great.
May 14, 2010 at 8:49PM EST Reply to Comment
I loved the "It's the Ark of the Covenant!" remark... and Abed's instantaneous reaction to cover his eyes. That, for me, made the show.
May 15, 2010 at 12:56PM EST Reply to Comment

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'Community' - 'English as a Second Language': Good Troy Barnes

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Comments

Option 1

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Option 3

I immediately thought of you, Alan, when Abed mentioned The Wire. So good. Overall, though, I thought it was a mediocre episode.

klg19 Also: do Abed's and Britta's passed-out entanglement, and their entwined arms as Jeff exhorts the group to go for Anthropology together indicate a graceful way to make a space for Annie with Jeff? Because I don't see it, personally. The only person who has real chemistry with Abed is Troy.

sepinwall I was able to complete my foreign-language requirement in only two semesters, though I think I may have already had an AP French credit from high school.

I went to a 4 year University and I never had to complete a foreign language requirement, they had other Social Science courses I could take as alternatives.

stepliana Because I am That Girl, I went and looked it up - one year of study at the 200-level. Since I elected to start an entirely new language when I got to college, that meant two years for me - 100 and 200-level. So, ignore me.

Chrissy There was one sexual tension joke, guys. This is hardly Ross and Rachel and Joey. Jeff is uncomfortable with his attraction to an 18-year old basket case, and it's funny. Let's not worry that the sky is falling just yet.

cadfile I loved the "Good Will Hunting" subplot with Troy.In college my foreign language requirement was numbered 101, 102, 103... The 200 level and higher was for people majoring in the language.The only thing I missed was a Troy/Abed tag at the end but one with Pierce was okay.

Anonymous Cutting down openings is something that does happen on cable and syndicated shows, in both cases to increase ad time. Some shows even get compressed and/or sped up in parts in order to squeeze out every last second for extra commercials.

Count Blah It felt like a season finale because it was one before NBC went and ordered an extra episode.

sepinwall No, the additional episodes that Community made after NBC extended the order have already aired. These last two were always intended to be the last two.

aabbbiee

gratefuldad I'm late to this party, but I enjoyed my first exposure to Community.Is that Pete's wife? Maybe she can do the Charleston with the guy from the Soup.

Randoman Or the robot:http://i40.tinypic.com/35hmjih.gif

Furtively One more pop culture reference... The scene when they wake up after the all night study session, recreates the scene from Stripes the morning of basic training graduation.

Farrah Hey Alan you could've said "One question", and then said what you're curious about a la Chang's "two questions" but actually three joke haha...good episode as always.

Mike The Wire joke would have been funny on its own, but was made even better by the subtle set-up: one of Troy's goals for his education (in addition to grinding his own coffee) is to understand HBO.

LAprGuy The joke was that Jeff had dated a professor earlier in the season.

LAprGuy And (hit submit too soon) that when he mockingly complemented her outfit after the final, she noted she was going for "the professor look."

jerseygirl I guess this is a four year community college (yea!!!), since Jeff is counting down to 2013.And anthropology just seems like a perfect class --- isn't that basically what their group is -- an anthropoligical study?

theholyavenger One of the funniest things ever was when Annie told Brittta that it was obvious from her name that her parents smoked pot.

Hatfield I can't say that I laughed as much as I usually do, vut I still loved it. The "Antelope Slaughter" B-side was probably my favorite. Did anyone catch what Abed said at the very end as the fadeout happened? Sounded like it was something about a girlfriend, but I couldn't tell.

Alan I wonder if Pierce's car will hit a water buffalo next season...

dmgobears Hilarious episode as Commnunity continues to be one of the funniest 30 minutes on tv. I too am interested in what Senior Chang's firing means for the future. I am looking forward to next year's Anthropology professor assuming that becomes the subject bringing together the study group.

RD I was really hoping for a Troy/Starburns exchange of "Do you like apples" .."Well, I got her number, how you like dem apples" or of the Good Will Hunting bar scene with Starburns being Scott William Winters. Regardless, great episode. This show's becoming a pleasure to watch.

albatross As soon as Troy went into the bathroom, I thought "Good Will Plumbing."

Alf We'll always have Rabbi Chang, his brother.

When you think about that exchange they shared on Family Day, ("Senor Chang? Really?" "This is who I am now!") it makes a lot more sense now.

Did anyone else notice that the two security guards were the Troy and Abed dopplegangers from the end of a previous episode? It's great to see the show do little callbacks like these. It's one of the things that made Arrested Development so great.

O-Prime Did anyone else notice that the two security guards were the Troy and Abed dopplegangers from the end of a previous episode? It's great to see the show do little callbacks like these. It's one of the things that made Arrested Development so great.

I loved the "It's the Ark of the Covenant!" remark... and Abed's instantaneous reaction to cover his eyes. That, for me, made the show.

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cadfile

I loved the "Good Will Hunting" subplot with Troy.

In college my foreign language requirement was numbered 101, 102, 103... The 200 level and higher was for people majoring in the language.

The only thing I missed was a Troy/Abed tag at the end but one with Pierce was okay.

Count Blah

It felt like a season finale because it was one before NBC went and ordered an extra episode.

gratefuldad

I'm late to this party, but I enjoyed my first exposure to Community.

Is that Pete's wife? Maybe she can do the Charleston with the guy from the Soup.

Randoman Or the robot:

http://i40.tinypic.com/35hmjih.gif

Furtively

One more pop culture reference... The scene when they wake up after the all night study session, recreates the scene from Stripes the morning of basic training graduation.

Farrah

Hey Alan you could've said "One question", and then said what you're curious about a la Chang's "two questions" but actually three joke haha...good episode as always.

Mike

The Wire joke would have been funny on its own, but was made even better by the subtle set-up: one of Troy's goals for his education (in addition to grinding his own coffee) is to understand HBO.

jerseygirl

I guess this is a four year community college (yea!!!), since Jeff is counting down to 2013.

And anthropology just seems like a perfect class --- isn't that basically what their group is -- an anthropoligical study?

theholyavenger

One of the funniest things ever was when Annie told Brittta that it was obvious from her name that her parents smoked pot.

Hatfield

I can't say that I laughed as much as I usually do, vut I still loved it. The "Antelope Slaughter" B-side was probably my favorite. Did anyone catch what Abed said at the very end as the fadeout happened? Sounded like it was something about a girlfriend, but I couldn't tell.

Alan

I wonder if Pierce's car will hit a water buffalo next season...

dmgobears

Hilarious episode as Commnunity continues to be one of the funniest 30 minutes on tv. I too am interested in what Senior Chang's firing means for the future. I am looking forward to next year's Anthropology professor assuming that becomes the subject bringing together the study group.

RD

I was really hoping for a Troy/Starburns exchange of "Do you like apples" .."Well, I got her number, how you like dem apples" or of the Good Will Hunting bar scene with Starburns being Scott William Winters.

Regardless, great episode. This show's becoming a pleasure to watch.

O-Prime

Did anyone else notice that the two security guards were the Troy and Abed dopplegangers from the end of a previous episode? It's great to see the show do little callbacks like these. It's one of the things that made Arrested Development so great.

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