Community: Contemporary Impressionists

What Happened, Yo!:

-Over the winter break (This episode aired out of order), Abed has developed an obsession with hiring celebrity impersonators so he can act out scenes from movies.He gets in trouble though, when Vinnie, a former French Stewart impersonator who now runs an impersonator business comes to collect the $3000 dollars Abed owes him. Abed doesn't have the money, so Vinnie says that if the study group shows up as impersonators at a Bar Mitzvah he needs people for, then the debt will be cancelled. Annie isn't sure about it, because she thinks Abed needs to face reality and it'll hurt him if the group keeps bailing him out, but Troy argues that Abed doesn't need to grow up and that he betters the group's lives by offering an alternative to reality. So they all agree to do it, but Troy becomes nervous when Vinnie tells him that if the gig doesn't go well, Abed will get his legs broken. At the Bar Mitzvah, Troy is panicked, trying to make sure everything goes smooth, but Abed would rather hang out with the other impersonators, not getting what's at staked. Somehow, everything goes well and Abed's debt is clear. but Troy gets angry when he finds out that Abed has hired more impersonators. He and Abed talk and Troy gets Abed to agree that he should trust that Troy might know best for time to time, but Abed is still not that happy and goes to the Dreamatorium by himself, where an apparition of Evil Abed appears and tells Abed that there are benefits to being alone.

-Meanwhile, Jeff has been seeing a new shrink who has prescribed anti-anxiety pills to him, but this concerns Britta, due to Jeff not having much anxiety and she warns him that he might be experiencing dangerous levels of Narcissism and that he needs to stay away from flattering situations. But, when he has to be Ryan Seacrest at the Bar Mitzvah, all the ladies go nuts over him and only make his ego worse. After a fake award show, where the Bar Mitzvah boy wins all the awards, Jeff freaks out and goes on a mini rampage of sorts, ending with him getting tranquilized by Chang and passing out on the side of the highway. The Bar Mitzvah Boy doesn't mind Jeff's episode, thinking his dad hired the Hulk. Britta picks up Jeff and he thanks her for trying to help him.

-Also meanwhile, Dean Pelton gives Chang permission to hire security interns for credit, but Chang can't find any volunteers. While he's being security at the Bar Mitzvah though, he finds that the young boys seem interested in his weaponry, so he hires them all as security interns. He also meets a Moby impersonator who resembles the Dean and considers using him to replace the Dean and make Chang even more powerful.

I Like This: Oh, Evil Abed. Contemporary Impressionists gave us something we hoped we'd never have to see, but was probably coming eventually: a crack in the relationship between Troy and Abed. And the way we got to this crack was great, with Troy trying his hardest to keep Abed from getting his legs broken, while Abed doesn't seem to get the seriousness of his situation at all. The scene where Troy has to confront Abed after he learns that Abed is still hiring impersonators has funny moments in it (Like the reference to episode 5, Advanced Criminal Law), but is mainly a dramatic scene, which is well-acted and well-presented. Never changing may be a key component of Abed's character, but it can't last forever and he and Troy both know it. Abed isn't ready to accept it yet though, which leads to his encounter with Evil Abed, who I'm willing to accept as a personification of Abed's darker side, rather than the actual Evil Abed from the darkest timeline (Although I'd probably accept that too.). The final scene with him tempting Abed into breaking off from Troy is funny, but also very intriguing, and I'm excited to see how this plays out.

The rest of the episode wasn't as dark or thought provoking as the Troy/Abed stuff, but it was still great. Jeff becoming dangerously narcissistic was funny and I enjoyed it getting worse and worse until he basically hulked out and wound up hitchhiking on the side of the road as The Lonely Man played. Britta was also good in this story, and I was glad to see the return of her Therapist ambitions, which is a good road for the character. And Pierce's slight subplot was also funny, and I enjoyed the payoff with him getting mistaken for Fat Burt Reynolds.

But...: On the fence about Chang's story at the moment, but I do think a team of children being security at Greendale is an inherently funny idea, so I'm assuming this'll just get better.

The Bottom Line: Contemporary Impressionists was another great episode of Community, which took Troy and Abed's friendship into an interesting direction and gave Joel McHale the chance for some great comedy. Man, I love this show.

Grade: 82% (Great)

Memorable Moments


-Due to the lateness of this entry, not many memorable moments that I can remember this week, but I can stil come up with a few.

-Dean Pelton: "I don't know who told you that pouting was an option with me, but all you're making me feel is a hatred for Renee Zellweger".

-The Dean's over-the-top reaction to seeing a super confident Jeff was superb. "Even his shadow!"

-Britta as white Michael Jackson was funny. Troy: "If you have anything else do say, say it in a high-pitched voice while walking backwards". Britta (In a high voice while walking backwards): "Jeff is in grave danger. Hey-eh!"

-Evil Abed: "Hi, Abed." Abed: "Hi." Evil Abed: "Where's Troy?" Abed: "In the other room." Evil Abed: "That's Okay. There are many advantages to traveling by yourself. You can drive faster, change the direction, and the only pee breaks are yours." Abed: "Are you real?" Evil Abed: "Are you?" Abed: "This is really crazy and inaccessible and maybe too dark." Evil Abed: "Maybe to them, but not to us." Abed: "Cool. Coolcoolcool." Evil Abed: "Hot. Hothothot."