Line #60 Recap/CommunityS1E01Pilot


1	Meet [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist Jeff Winger]]. Jeff was an [[AmoralAttorney attorney]] until it was discovered that his credentials from Colombia [[WorthlessForeignDegree weren't from the Columbia everyone was thinking]]. Now, in order to get a real degree and qualify as a lawyer, Jeff has to go back to school -- specifically, Greendale Community College, a less-than-prestigious institution in Denver.
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3	Jeff, of course, has no intention of doing any actual work; having once helped Professor Ian Duncan, the pompous British psychology lecturer, get out of a DUI charge, Jeff plans to exploit the favour Duncan owes him to acquire all the answers for every class on his schedule. Despite Duncan's [[MoralMyopia recently-discovered ethics]] (and fear of getting caught), Jeff manages to browbeat him into getting the answers for him. In the meantime, he directs his focus to Britta Perry, an attractive member of his Spanish 101 class who just happens to be worried about the test they have the next day. Sensing an in, Jeff claims to be a Spanish tutor leading a study group and arranges to meet with her later.
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5	Unfortunately for Jeff, Britta senses a rat lurking beneath Jeff's charming exterior and invites along Abed Nadir, a pop-culture-obsessed fellow student. Abed, in turn, invites along a few more people: Troy Barnes, a slightly [[TheDitz dim]] former high school football JerkJock; Annie Edison, a high-strung overachiever and ex-classmate of Troy's; Shirley Bennett, a single mother highly devoted to both her kids and her religion; and Pierce Hawthorne, a local moist-wipe magnate who isn't quite as [[TheDitz intelligent]], [[CasanovaWannabe attractive]], well-liked, or [[TotallyRadical up with the times]] [[SmallNameBigEgo as he thinks he is]]. And they all think Jeff's a Spanish tutor.
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7	Although trapped in the lie, Jeff is a [[ManipulativeBastard very clever, quick and manipulative prick]], and soon manages to exploit the underlying tensions in the group to sabotage the meeting, hoping to get Britta alone. However, Britta soon perceives what kind of man Jeff ''really'' is, and Duncan appears determined to teach Jeff a lesson about moral relativism and his slippery ways -- however much he doesn't want to learn it.
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9	It's beginning to look like Jeff is stuck with his new study group -- whether he wants it or not.
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11	As with many pilots, this one [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness feels noticeably different]] from the rest of the series -- the characters in particular play directly into their stereotypes, rather than playing with them. This is most strikingly apparent with Abed and Troy, who show no sign of their future HeterosexualLifePartners relationship.
12	-----
13	!!The ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Pilot" provides examples of:
14	* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle:
15	-->'''Pierce:''' Ay-bed the Ay-rab.
16	* AccidentalMisnaming: Even more wrongly than mispronouncing Abed's name, in the same scene, Pierce erroneously calls Britta, Troy, and Annie "Brittles," "Roy the wonder boy," and "little Princess Elizabeth" respectively. He introduces Shirley correctly, but Jeff has to clarify if that's really her name.
17	* ActorAllusion: Jeff (Creator/JoelMcHale) is referred to as "[[Series/TheSoup (Ryan) Seacrest]]."
18	* AmoralAttorney: Jeff.
19	* BaitAndSwitchAccusation: Britta exclaims "Busted!" when bumping into Jeff and he shrugs thinking she has seen through his scheme but then it turns out she was referring to herself being caught smoking a cigarette.
20	* BeatWithoutABut: The very first scene opens like this, with Dean Pelton sharing a few thoughts of wisdom and inspirations. Justified in this case, since he was missing a cue card.
21	-->"What is Community College? Well, you've heard all kinds of things. You've heard it's Loser College, for remedial teens, twenty-something dropouts, middle aged divorcees, and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity. That's what you've heard, however, I wish you luck!"
22	* TheBlindLeadingTheBlind: How the story begins! Jeff claims to be a Spanish tutor to get time alone with Britta. Then she invites Abed, who invites half a dozen other people to the "study group", and Jeff has to stall and keep them distracted to avoid having to admit that he can't tutor them.
23	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: When Jeff is talking to Duncan, a professor whom he once gave counsel:
24	-->'''Jeff:''' Yes, and I'm hoping that our friendship will yield certain advantages: academic guidance, moral support, every answer to every test for every one of the classes I'm taking...
25	* BreakfastClub: Lampshaded mercilessly.
26	* TheBreakfastPlot: Taking in account the BreakfastClub happening, Abed tries to turn the episode into a full-blown homage to the movie, but this is subverted as nobody goes along with it and it would take a while until the show started making WholePlotReference episodes.
27	* CasanovaWannabe: Pierce.
28	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: While the seeds of how all the characters the later viewer will be familiar with are present and several of them only slightly different from how they will eventually turn out, there's notable and at times quite significant differences with all of them:
29	** Britta is more of the StraightMan of the ensemble, rather than the insecure and slightly [[TheDitz ditzy]] SoapboxSadie she becomes starting from the second episode.
30	** Annie is more hostile, confrontational and antagonistic to the other members of the study group, Jeff and Shirley especially. The DVDCommentary for this episode also suggests that Annie was intended to be more of an antagonist to Jeff than she ended up being.
31	** Troy is more of a stereotypical "dumb meathead" JerkJock character than the geeky CloudCuckoolander [[TheDitz Ditz]] he would later become. Also, rather than the familiar "Troy and Abed (in the morning)" dynamic, the show seems to be attempting to create more of an OddCouple friendship between Troy and Pierce.
32	** Abed's role as MetaGuy is downplayed, and the Asperger's-like tendencies of his condition are given more emphasis. This is also notably one of the few episodes where anyone attempts to 'diagnose' him ("Yeah? Well, you have Asperger's.") rather than it being treated as an unspecified disorder.
33	** Duncan is clearly intended to be more of a PsychologistTeacher (with hints of a SinkOrSwimMentor) towards Jeff rather than the inept semi-regular he ended up being. This case, however, is probably due to it also being an example of RealLifeWritesThePlot, since Creator/JohnOliver decided not to leave ''Series/TheDailyShow'' to take a regular role on the show. As Duncan was clearly also supposed to be the main teacher role in the series, Chang doesn't appear at all.
34	** Jeff, Shirley and Pierce are more or less how they would later appear in the show proper, although Shirley's religious tendencies are downplayed and Pierce seems to have more of a lecherous and sleazy 'CasanovaWannabe [[BourgeoisBohemian ex-hippie]]' type of thing going on rather than the socially inept InnocentBigot he later becomes. Jeff is also more of a straight-up JerkAss and UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist who is [[LackOfEmpathy borderline sociopathic]] at times, with little sign of the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]] he would have even a few episodes later.
35	** Jeff spends the entire episode wearing sweat pants, as opposed to the {{Fashionista}} he will soon become.
36	** In his brief appearance the Dean is as inept as his later appearances suggest, but there's little indication of his myriad alternative sexualities or his crush on Jeff.
37	* ChekhovsGunman: Troy, Britta, Shirley and Pierce all appear in quick shots during the Dean's opening narration:
38	-->What is community college? Well, you've heard all kinds of things. You've heard it's loser college for remedial teens [''Cut to Troy''], twenty-something dropouts [''Shot of Britta''], middle-aged divorcees [''Shirley''], and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity [''Pierce''].
39	** Less so with Britta than the other three, because Jeff has a crush on her from the outset, introduces himself to her in the school cafeteria, and only meets the rest (and Annie) when Abed invites them to the study room.
40	* CloudCuckoolander: Abed.
41	-->'''Abed:''' You know, I thought you were like Creator/BillMurray in any of his films, but you're actually like Creator/MichaelDouglas in any of ''his'' films.\
42	'''Jeff:''' Yeah? [[AdHominem Well,]] [[JerkAss you have Asperger's.]]
43	** Abed is noticeably more Asperger's than MetaGuy in this episode.
44	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
45	-->'''Jeff:''' Are you unaware that Shirley finds your advances inappropriate?\
46	'''Pierce:''' [''Chuckles''] What advances?\
47	'''Shirley:''' You have been [[CasanovaWannabe sexually harassing me]] since the very first day of class.\
48	'''Pierce:''' Sexually harassing? That makes no sense to me. Why would I harass someone who turns me on?\
49	'''Troy:''' Saying she turns you on ''is'' the harassment, dude.
50	* ComplimentBackfire:
51	-->'''Pierce:''' I like you, Jeffrey. [[YouRemindMeOfX You remind me of myself]] at your age.\
52	'''Jeff''': [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame I deserved that.]]
53	* DeadpanSnarker: Jeff.
54	* DemotedToExtra: Watching this compared to the rest of the series, it's pretty clear that Duncan was supposed to be around a lot more than he ended up being. This is because John Oliver decided not to leave ''Series/TheDailyShow''.
55	* DidntThinkThisThrough:
56	** As anyone who has ever attended college can tell you, professors often create exams on the fly, albeit based on the material that has been covered in the class to date (and also tend to have open-ended questions). Answer keys often aren't written until after the exam, if at all. This means that Jeff's plan to extort the answers to all his future tests out of Duncan had a gaping hole in it: even if he wanted to, Duncan has no way to hold up his end of the bargain.
57	** Jeff's own confident assertion to Duncan that right or wrong doesn't matter comes back to bite him when Duncan later points out that, by Jeff's own logic, he's under no obligation to give Jeff the test answers just because Jeff got him out of a jam once. He's also not prepared for Duncan to have figured out that Jeff was clearly planning to exploit this favour more than once, and so it would be worth more than simply "the satisfaction of being even".
58	* DirtyOldMan: Pierce.
59	-->'''Jeff:''' Let's discuss this creepiness.
60	* DistinctionWithoutADifference:
61	-->'''Annie''': You're the one who lost his football scholarship when you broke both collarbones trying to do a keg stand.
62	-->'''Troy''': A keg ''flip''! They're really hard to pull off.
63	* TheDitz: Troy and Pierce.
64	* TheDulcineaEffect: Jeff develops a crush on Britta after seeing her for about thirty seconds, which he will pursue for the rest of the season.
65	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Aside from {{characterization\|Marches On}} issues, there's also the different opening credits and no [[TheStinger Stinger]]. Also somewhat ironically, given the trope title, the pilot is most of all fairly normal, with no hint given to the absolutely off-the-wall GenreBusting series it would become.
66	* EngagingConversation: Between Jeff and Britta.
67	-->'''Britta''': I joined the Peace Corps. I did a little foot modelling, I got tear gassed in a World Trade Rally...
68	-->'''Jeff''': Marry me.
69	* EveryoneMeetsEveryone
70	* FakeRealTurn: The study group.
71	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
72	** Troy is deeply impressed by Jeff's insight about his motives for either wearing his jacket because other people like or to spite them for disliking it ("either way, it's for them; ''that's'' what's weak"). Later the show would make Troy's insecurity over measuring himself up against Jeff as a person and as a man into a bit of a character arc.
73	** Britta tells Jeff that she values honesty above all else, yet freely admits that she lied to him to get him to clean up his mess, foreshadowing that she's not the OnlySaneMan she initially appears to be.
74	* FeedbackRule: Can be heard in the opening scene when the Dean starts his speech.
75	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: After Jeff snaps the pencil to prove a point about how humans can come to identify with anything, Abed gasps in horror -- and during Jeff's big speech, Abed can be clearly seen trying to put it back together.
76	* GoYeHeroesGoAndDie: The Dean's attempt at a RousingSpeech to welcome and inspire the new students turns into one of these when he discovers he's lost the middle of his speech — which, unfortunately, was the bit with all the rousing, welcoming and inspiring stuff in it. What he has is basically just calling them losers.
77	-->'''The Dean''': You've heard it's a loser college for remedial teens, 20-something dropouts, middle-aged divorcees, and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity. [[CouldSayItBut That's what you heard. However,]] ... [[SubvertedTrope I wish you luck!]]... Okay, you know... Oh-oh. Okay, [[DoubleSubversion there's more to this speech.]] There's actually a middle card that is missing.
78	* HehHehYouSaidX:
79	-->'''Jeff:''' [''As what he thinks is a parting shot to Abed''] Well, you have Asperger's.
80	-->'''Troy:''' [''Chuckles''] [[MondegreenGag Ass burgers.]]
81	-->'''Annie:''' [[DudeNotFunny It's a serious disorder.]]
82	-->'''Pierce:''' If it's so serious, why don't they call it meningitis?
83	-->'''Troy:''' [''Chuckles'']
84	-->'''Pierce:''' [''Chuckles''] [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike Ass burgers.]]
85	* ILied: Britta promises Jeff a date if he'll stop the fighting he started. After Jeff uses his {{manipulative bastard}}ry to calm the group down, she uses these words exactly.
86	* InstantlyProvenWrong: When Duncan exclaims that Jeff has insulted the integrity of the entire institution, he is confronted with the sight of a "waster" under his window.
87	* IronicEcho:
88	** "BOOYAH."
89	** When browbeating Duncan to get him the test answers because of the favor he owes Jeff, Jeff confidently rebuts Duncan's protests that it's wrong by declaring that there's no such thing as right or wrong. Later, when Duncan has apparently come up with the test answers, Jeff's own moral relativism comes back to bite him when Duncan points out that by Jeff's own logic, Duncan is under no obligation to hand over the test answers just because he owes Jeff, and demands Jeff's CoolCar in payment.
90	** At the beginning of the episode, after Abed tells Jeff an amazing amount of information about Britta, they have the following exchange:
91	--->'''Jeff''': [''Condescendingly''] I see your value now.
92	--->'''Abed''': [[InsultBackfire That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever said to me.]]
93	** Later, after Jeff has (unintentionally) brought the study group together, there's a CallBack to it:
94	--->'''Abed''': ...I see your value now.
95	--->'''Jeff''': That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever said to me.
96	* JerkAss: Jeff is this because he's flattering and manipulative. Pierce is this because he's insulting and insensitive.
97	* JerkJock: Troy.
98	-->'''Jeff:''' [''In [[JerkJock Troy]]'s defense''] You think astronauts go to the moon because they hate oxygen? No, they do it to impress their high school's prom king.
99	* LackOfEmpathy: With his willingness to manipulate the other members of the group into being at each other's throats for his own selfish purposes and his consequent lack of guilt or caring about the consequences when Britta calls him on it, Jeff is borderline sociopathic in this episode.
100	-->'''Britta:''' Wait, so this is a ''game'' to you? You put human beings in a state of emotional shambles for a shot at getting in my pants?
101	-->'''Jeff:''' [[JerkAss Why can't you see that for the compliment it is?]]
102	* MagicalNegro: Subverted; turns out, the African American cafeteria worker ''isn't'' there to listen to Jeff discuss his life.
103	-->'''Jeff:''' I'm sorry, I was raised on TV, and I was [[TaughtByTelevision conditioned to believe]] that every black woman over fifty is a cosmic mentor.\
104	'''Cafeteria worker''': Well, I hope you're conditioned to pay for your damn tacos, [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} Seinfield]].
105	* ManipulativeBastard: Jeff. He effortlessly gets the group either at each others throats or best friends with each other, depending on which he thinks will improve his chances of scoring with Britta.
106	* MoralMyopia:
107	-->'''Jeff:''' Duncan, you ''did'' seem less into integrity the day I convinced twelve of your peers that when you made that U-turn on the freeway and tried to order chalupas from the emergency callbox that your only ''real'' crime was [[ChewbaccaDefense loving America]].
108	** Jeff himself is a perfect example of this trope -- he is a manipulative and untrustworthy man who will lie and cheat to get what he wants, but when both Britta and Duncan reveal they have been lying and cheating to manipulate ''him'' (Britta to get him to resolve the arguments he caused and expose him, Duncan to teach him a lesson about how he won't get the free ride he expects at Greendale) his response is to get angry and outraged at being manipulated.
109	* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Jeff's Spanish, although it doesn't really matter since Britta's is so bad she can't detect it. It helps that Jeff is both speaking extremely confidently and what he's saying is actually coherent Spanish in itself, albeit not appropriate for the context and the sort of thing you'd actually say to a maid or valet at a hotel.
110	* TheNicknamer: Troy calls Jeff "Seacrest" and Abed "Film/SlumdogMillionaire."
111	* OfficeGolf: Implied when Duncan wields his gold club in his office.
112	* OvertRendezvous: Duncan calls Jeff to meet him on the football field.
113	* {{Pilot}}
114	* PullTheThread:
115	** It's pretty clear that Britta has realized early exactly what kind of guy Jeff ''really'' is, or at least is ''deeply'' suspicious to the point where she's almost convinced, and is stringing him along until he can demonstrate it in front of everyone.
116	** Annie's also quick to start pulling threads: "What kind of board certifies a tutor?"
117	* RedHerring: When Abed notes their situation resembles ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', Britta asks him whether he has an emotional problem he needs to talk about, and he says he has a "doozy in the chamber if things get emotional". This point is not followed up on at all. The original script has him break down later on and tell a story about his binder of [=DVDs=] that melted in the sun, which, him being a fan of cinema, was supposed to be the "doozy". The final script has him quote ''The Breakfast Club'' (and some ''Film/DirtyDancing'') instead.
118	* ReversePsychologyBackfire: A ZigZaggingTrope. Jeff uses ReversePsychology on Duncan, which fails as Duncan is a psychologist and sees right through the BS, but in the end, Duncan does what Jeff wanted anyway ... after Jeff uses reverse psychology. Seemingly a ReversePsychologyBackfire backfire ... except that Duncan actually ''doesn't'' do what Jeff wants in the end.
119	* RuleOfEmpathy: Jeff's speech. Of course, he's just bullshitting them, but he's damn convincing.
120	-->'''Jeff:''' We're the only species on Earth that observes [[Creator/DiscoveryChannel Shark Week]]. ''Sharks'' don't even observe Shark Week; but we do. For the same reason, I can pick up this pencil [''he does so''], tell you its name is "Steve", and then go like this; [''snaps it in half; Abed gasps in horror''] and part of you ''dies'', just a little bit on the inside. Because people can connect with ''anything''. We can sympathize with a pencil, we can forgive a shark, and [[Film/GoodWillHunting we can give Ben Affleck an Academy Award for Screenwriting]].
121	-->'''Pierce:''' [[TakeThat Big mistake.]]
122	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike:
123	** Both Abed and Jeff independently tell Britta she looks like Creator/ElisabethShue (which, come on, [[CelebrityResemblance she totally does]]).
124	** Both Troy and Pierce find great humor in "Asperger's".
125	* TakeThat: At Creator/BenAffleck.
126	* TitleDrop: Happens towards the end of Jeff's speech to the study group.
127	* TitleOnlyOpening[=/=]UniquePilotTitleSequence: The standard theme song is not used in this episode; instead, the background music from the opening scene ends over a short animated title card.
128	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Jeff starts the series off as not a particularly nice man at all. However, he's got CharacterDevelopment coming his way whether he wants it or not.
129	* VolleyingInsults: Between Prof. Duncan and Jeff.
130	* WelcomeEpisode
131	* WestminsterChimes: The Dean preludes his speech with this tune on tape.
132	* WorthlessForeignDegree: The entire reason Jeff is enrolled at Greendale.
133	-->'''Jeff:''' The state bar has suspended my license. They found out my college degree was... less than legitimate.\
134	'''Prof. Duncan:''' I thought you got a bachelor's degree from Columbia?\
135	'''Jeff:''' And now I have to get one from ''America''.
136	* YouRemindMeOfX: Pierce means it as a compliment when he tells Jeff that Jeff reminds him of a younger version of himself...
137	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: ...but since Pierce is, putting it gently, a complete tool, Jeff doesn't take it as one.

Context Recap / CommunityS1E01Pilot