Community Ep. 17, "Physical Education"

Think back to Community's 2^nd episode ever, “Introduction to Film”, which took place in those heady days of September 2009 when we thought the dot-com bubble would never burst (I may have my dates wrong). In those times we thought healthcare reform was coming any minute- and jet packs and robot servants who resembled Heath Ledger I'm sure. And Community creator Dan Harmon thought he had a show about 6 individuals in a group, not a group of 6 individuals. Ah, we were all so young and stupid.

You see I bring up “Intro to Film” because tonight's “Phys Ed” episode showed a markedly different way of telling an Abed story that's more in line with the show Community is now. That first episode is a typical origin story. We learn Abed probably has Asberger's, that it's taken a toll on his relationship with his father, and that Britta is graciously willing to project a whole lot of authority issues on to Abed's dad. Jeff and Britta feel compelled to help, but it turns out Abed has resources of his own; the message more or less is “stay out of other people's lives/business”. Overall it's an occasionally funny, occasionally touching half-hour, but most of the laughs come from Abed and the rest come from Abed's kooky, crazy disease.

Compare that with the group trying to get “Brown Joey” a date tonight. Abed is still the juicy center of hilarity, but:

• Troy: “Annie, you sit over there... and be a girl!”
• Shirley: “We have to find the secret admirer for Abed if it's a girl. And for Jesus if it's a boy.”

The simple rhythm of having different people interject their thoughts makes things funnier¹. Also these particular people happen to be really funny.


It will probably seem like I'm belaboring the point by this... juncture, but think about how unique Community's use of group scenes really is. The Office has a deep cast and notorious conference room scenes that have everyone play off everyone, but Community often has the entire group deal with a central problem for an entire episode. It's probably what Tina Fey intended 30 Rock to be like in the beginning, back when there was a real writer's room, and Cerie, and characters besides Liz, Jack, and Tracy.

With all the camaraderie, Jeff's pool-playing A-plot is what we might call an outlier (or “thing to be avoided for the last 4 paragraphs”). Starting the episode fully clad in leather, Jeff ventures off on his own, running into an old pro who questions the reasons he is signing up for a pool class.

Actor Blake Clark (he of Boy Meets World) really nailed the insecurity, abuse of power, and debatable sexuality that are the pillars of a phys ed teacher². He did a great job of selling the more extreme behavior (argument-based stripping and hints of a short fetish), while keeping to a relatable personality. And if you think that's some kind of backhanded criticism of Ken Jeong as Professor Chang...

The dynamic at play here is making some sacrifices to the coolest activity available to man, or whatever other stupid thing you may love. Abed's stupid thing for instance, happens to be friendship and the episode's turning point comes when he speaks movingly on the importance of other people's hopes for you (Jeff: “You are a god, Abed.”).

It was interesting to see Community take on a subject that can't reasonably seen as a parody on a Saved By the Bell trope- one best described as the lighter side of peer pressure (points for originality and degree of difficulty). So if that's the thread connecting the Abed and Jeff storylines, Britta's experience is a riff on the same theme.

When non-townies leave their hometown, one adventure they usually have is other people from other places on the map saying certain words wrong³. “Phys Ed” strikes that vein of observational comedy by making Britta utterly unable to say “bagel” correctly. Again the size of the group is used for laughs; Britta is moved to confidence in her idiosyncrasies by Abed's speech and, of course, to tears again by the group's unoriginal unrelenting way of making fun of her. There's no question in my mind that Britta deserves the Most Improved Award for Community Season 1, but alas, the Emmys have rejected my proposal for such an award again this year.

I fully recognize that the end of the episode had a couple of moments where a lot of people may have jumped ship. First there was the over-the-top derobing of Jeff and the teacher, and others probably disliked the pool chick (she of the staring at Jeff throughout the episode) conveniently falling for Abed. However both of these worked for me, and I like symmetry in my sitcoms so...

Episode Grade: A-

Standout Character:Abed

Standout Moment: Abed channeling Don Draper to seduce Annie (Trudy from Mad Men)

Footnotes

1. Proof that rhythm matters, and you actually need multiple people: the unfunniness of multiple personality disorder.
2. Occupation? College pool professor. (I didn't notice the first time if he had any special degrees on the wall of his office, but I'm sure it's worth checking out.)
3. For instance, teaching Oregonians that they pronounce the word “Oregon” incorrectly took up roughly 60% of my first semester of college.