No One Replaces Troy

Community, S04E03

Abed, Troy, and Britta went to an Inspector Spacetime convention, inviting Annie and Jeff along who planned to go skiing in the area.  Abed introduced a friend he had been emailing for a while named Toby, and Troy quickly began to feel threatened by Toby's obvious attempt to replace him as Abed's best friend.  Annie played as Jeff's wife in the hotel, making Jeff's flirtation with a girl seem like adultery.  Pierce and Shirley also came to the convention, even though they weren't invited, and got pulled into a focus group about the American version of Inspector Spacetime.

I wasn't happy to see Toby, who was so pushy and rude, try to muscle his way into Abed's life through their mutual love of IS, but I did love how Troy got jealous in the same way a woman would if someone was trying to steal her boyfriend.  It's not unlike Abed to not even notice that Troy felt like he was being snubbed, especially since Abed was told to expand his his horizons and Troy was now spending his time more often with Britta.  Even though I'm still not loving the two of them together yet, I'm glad Troy wasn't just left to his lonesome.  Britta's no substitute for Abed, but at least she was there to support him and encourage him to "win back his man."  Troy might have gone off in a more destructive way if Britta hadn't been there instead of just screaming at Toby for forgetting his name.

Abed has really made some progress because he realized that although he had a lot in common with Toby, he was no replacement for Troy who is the one who keeps him grounded or "human," if you will.  It might have been nice if Troy had heard him come to that conclusion, but him simply knowing that Troy is his rock no matter how many other friends his makes is enough for me.  Also, Abed didn't need to freak out much being shoved into that phone booth like he would have in the past.  He trusted that Troy would find him, and of course he did.  That was a really cute moment.

Something else that I liked was when Britta asked about the only female inspector.  Somehow his explanation about Minera seemed to be sort of directed at Britta:

Yes.  And everyone hates her, not because they're sexist but because she sucks.

I liked how they kept using Minerva as a point of discord between Britta and Abed.   She seemed to have tgotten that shirt with her on it to sort of poke fun at Abed, who didn't agree much with her thoughts that Minerva was kinda cool.  It really shows you how Abed and Britta are like polar opposites when it comes to taste.

I thought Annie seemed a little delusional when she was pretending to be Jeff's wife, even if it was just for fun or to pass the time.  I mean, she seemed like a bigger psycho when she brought Jeff into it and made him look like a philandering weasel.  Still, I'm glad that she made him stop lying to that Thoraxis fan.  It made him look sleazy, and his accent was terrible.

My favorite part of their story was actually when Jeff stopped acting like he was too good for the convention and let his inner geek out by shouting Thoraxis' catchphrase.  He even ripped open his shirt and stood dramatically.  It was sort of cute that most of the other fans bowed down to him.   He should have done that sooner and had fun with it rather than sulk around the hotel like a jerk.

The only good thing about Pierce an Shirley joining the focus testing was Pierce's contribution to the show.  When Abed saw the Inspector Spacetime that was made with Pierce's suggestions, he had me laughing at his whispered "I hate you."  I wish I could see Abed get some kind of revenge on him somehow.

So far, I like this episode better than the other two.  It's not exactly noteworthy, but I feel like things are starting to pick up.  I hope that they will be able to have a story that makes me like Britta and Troy together better.  Right now I can't see her as much more than a third wheel to the Troy-Abed dynamic.  I'd rather see Jeff and Annie give it a go again, though.  They were sort of interesting as a fake married couple at least.  I don't know if they would really be so great if they were really man and wife.  Pierce and Shirley didn't have a big part in this episode, but at least they contributed to a final laugh in the extra scene.  Can't end an episode much better than Abed quietly furious at someone.

Abed Is The Sanest of All

Community, S03E19

Abed had to see a psychiatrist to avoid trespassing charges from the "dean."  Jeff and the other accompanied him (he hates to see doctors on his own), and they all defended Abed's eccentricity by showing their own and proving that he was no crazier than any one else.  The doctor not only determined that Abed should be committed, but revealed that Greendale was not a school but an asylum they had all attended for 3 years.  Everyone believed him for about a few minutes before they got the truth from him--he was working for Chang and the dean had been replaced with a lookalike (as Abed kept telling them).  They planned to get the dean back.

I'm happy that the gang was still finding a way to see each other after two months have passed since their expulsion.  Troy had a really interesting dish that had Bagel Bites, Doritos and a deconstructed Hot Pocket mixed in it.  I probably would try that no matter how odd the combination sounds.  It was also good to see Abed up to some mischief, wearing his Inspector Spacetime outfit, but unfortunate that it led to him having to go see a psychiatrist.  Especially because he was probably trying to find evidence to prove that the dean had been kidnapped and replaced and no one was paying attention to his theories.

I loved that Jeff and the others went with Abed to the psychiatrist.  On one hand you could think that they had nothing else better to do (being ex-students with no jobs), but on the other hand, they all really love Abed so much that they wouldn't let him go alone.  They didn't let the doctor step over Abed and make him sound insane, but instead made themselves sound just as crazy (if not crazier) than Abed through stories of their own lapses of sanity.  Now that's friendship.  But I really liked when they were recalling some highlights of Abed's weirdness.  Troy had a really good quote about him regarding that:

You have to understand about Abed, he’s usually adorable weird like Mork from Ork but since we got expelled he’s been creepy weird like present day Robin Williams.

Some of the best Abed memories were Shirley's and Pierce's.  In the former, he got pissed that Shirley claimed someone was the "new Speilberg" and called her a  "bad person."  I could see him shoving the tray in her face if she wasn't his friend.  I love angry Abed.  But the latter, where Abed was narrating Pierce's life, was absolute gold.  I couldn't stop laughing at that.  He was saying such rude stuff and Pierce was getting so angry!  And it was great that he even narrated when Pierce spoke to him, but made it seem like Pierce was talking to himself.  Abed is so damn good!  That was my absolute favorite scene.

I got a little scared when the doctor said that Abed needed to be committed, but I was glad that Jeff was trying to joke his way out of it.  It was cute when he told Abed to do his Don Draper impression and all Abed really did was pose and say "cigarettes."  Adorable.  But what I liked best is that they didn't readily accept that Abed should be locked away as if he were a maniac on the rise.  It made my heart smile to see them fight for him.

It was also a little cute how they noticed how the dean always used to have their back, even for the most trivial things.  He's creepy and odd, but he's most certainly their friend, whether they want him to be or not.  He's at least less of a negative existence in their past Greendale life than Chang was.  If anyone needs to be committed, the guy snorting corn chips up his nose like crack is a better choice.

It was a good trick that the doctor pulled on the gang to make them think that Greendale was never a college.  They are a little guillible sometimes, so I'm not surprised they began to believe it at first (plus they are a little co-dependent at times).  I almost thought that would be a great twist (though kind of a cop out) on this show, but I was happier that they caught the doctor trying to sneak out and called him out on his shit.  If they hadn't, Chang would have been able to keep them oblivious of his plan (save Abed) for longer, and he might have come up with a better plan to eliminate them.  Plus, it was really funny when the doctor tried to come up with another lie on the spot about Greendale being purgatory and Jeff slapped Troy for falling for that.  Oh, Troy.

It's also funny that Chang was plotting to take care of them now that they were on to him.  He is really starting to look a villian!  I like how he's changed from an unqualified Spanish teacher who used to make their lives unnecessarily miserable to a power-hungry mastermind.  I wonder what will happen to him if he's fired from that job?  Someone as crazy as him can't be left to his own devices for very long.  He's needs to have some kind of task or we might see him setting off explosives somewhere.

It's wonderful how the gang all hugged each other when they realized they weren't crazy and that they had something they needed to do (aka save the dean).  Chang may have one foot in the crazy house right now, but his horrible plan is really bringing them all together.  I thought they were tight before, but they are really proving that their bonds go deeper than a shared class or school.  I can't imagine anything ever breaking them apart.

This is one of my favorite episodes.  It's been a while since I've liked one that wasn't a more adventurous tale of battle or chaos in the school.  This time I just really enjoyed the depth of everyone's friendship and the hilarious memories they could look back upon.  Abed, although being silent throughout most of the doctor's appointment, was really funny through his friends' eyes.  Finally, everyone has seen that their enemy Chang needs to be taken down and the dean needs to be rescued.  Can't wait to see how Chang plans to stop them and how Jeff and the others manage to take him down.