Line #60 Recap/CommunityS3E16VirtualSystemsAnalysis


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/virtual_systems_analysis.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Blorgons? In this sector?! Well, this mission has gone pear-shaped indeed!]]
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8	When the biology final exam is unexpectedly postponed, the study group finds themselves with three hours of free time on their hands. While most of the study group go to lunch, Annie convinces Abed to let her spend some time with him in the dreamatorium instead, [[ShipperOnDeck as a cover for convincing Troy and Britta to go on a date]]. What starts as an innocent simulation of ''JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime'', however, degenerates into an argument between Annie and Abed, which in turn eventually results in Abed experiencing a [[HeroicBSOD minor breakdown]] when Annie tampers with the Dreamatorium's 'engine'. In order to snap him out of it, Annie must travel through an imaginary hospital populated by Abed's impressions of his friends to find him, which in turn gives her some insight into herself, her friends, and what makes Abed tick.
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10	----
11	!! Tropes appearing in this episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'' include:
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13	* ActionGirl: Not much of one at first, but Annie does [[TookALevelInBadass take a level in badass]] near the end to fight the Blorgons.
14	* ActorAllusion:
15	** Alison Brie's deliberately terrible Mockney accent alludes to the far more convincing posh accent she uses in ''Film/TheFiveYearEngagement''.
16	** Pierce is considered an "Emmy contender"; his actor Chevy Chase really does have an Emmy award.
17	* AntiClimax: Defied. After Annie wraps up the episode's emotional arc by reassuring Abed with a YouAreNotAlone speech, she suggests going out to lunch. He comments that it's anticlimactic, so she comes up with a more exciting "Inspector Spacetime" FinalBattle against the Blorgons.
18	* ArcNumber: In Abed's file, he is listed as "Psychiatric Patient 1373." The number 1373 also appears on the ship at the end of [[Recap/CommunityS3E12ContemporaryImpressionists Contemporary Impressionists]]. The origin of the number is that Dan Harmon was born on 1/3/73.
19	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Annie manipulates the Dreamatorium to add empathy. She gets what she wants: Abed has a breakdown and instead summons her other friends to simulate the kiss she wanted from Jeff. Annie refuses, and talks with Abed-Annie that just because she wants to kiss Jeff doesn't' mean it's a good idea.
20	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: And both sides must learn how to compromise. Abed is right to tell Annie that meddling never ends well in their group, given what happened when he tried manipulating Britta and Jeff's romance, and that she doesn't know everything. Annie also tells Abed that he can't micromanage relationships around what he wants. In the end, Annie gives an indirect apology for breaking the Dreamatorium boundaries, and Abed tries to consider others' feelings.
21	* BrickJoke: Like Britta and Abed, the waiter in Abed's simulation seems unrealistically exaggerated and over-the-top in his hatred of ''Film/DieHard''. Then, when we actually encounter him, the waiter is ranting about ''Film/DieHard'' in the exact same fashion; apparently, it was the only part of Abed's simulation that actually was realistic.
22	%%* BuffySpeak: Annie's attempts at ''JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime''-esque {{technobabble}}.
23	* CallBack:
24	** Jeff's "3-hour lunch? 3-hour lunch? 3-hour lunch?" to Britta's "Intervention? Intervention? Intervention?" from "[[Recap/CommunityS3E12ContemporaryImpressionists Contemporary Impressionists]]" ([[Recap/CommunityS2E15Early21stCenturyRomanticism most]] [[Recap/CommunityS1E24EnglishAsASecondLanguage recently]]).
25	** Senor Kevin's makes its [[Recap/CommunityS3E07StudiesInModernMovement third]] [[Recap/CommunityS3E09FoosballAndNocturnalVigilantism appearance]] this season.
26	** Abed's ability to run simulations of the group explains his uncannily predictive student films from "[[Recap/CommunityS1E09Debate109 Debate 109]]"
27	** [[Recap/CommunityS3E09FoosballAndNocturnalVigilantism Buttered noodles]] appear in the hospital school's vending machines, and Abed makes them for lunch.
28	** Jeff and Annie's kiss from "[[Recap/CommunityS1E25PascalsTriangleRevisited Pascal's Triangle Revisited]]."
29	** Annie responds to Abed (as Jeff)'s touch as she did to [[Recap/CommunityS1E17PhysicalEducation his Don Draper]], [[Recap/CommunityS2E24ForAFewPaintballsMore his Han]], and [[Recap/CommunityS3E09FoosballAndNocturnalVigilantism his Batman]].
30	** In TheTag, Troy covers Abed's breakdown by simulating WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties with a hand-drawn sign and humming "[[Recap/CommunityS3E05HorrorFictionInSevenSpookySteps Daybreak]]."
31	** Abed-as-Troy announces that he knows "nothing about wine". Certainly, in "[[Recap/CommunityS2E19CriticalFilmStudies Critical Film Studies]]", he thought it was called "no-no juice".
32	* CavemenVersusAstronautsDebate: Invoked: Troy and Abed are mentioned to play "Dinosaurs versus Riverboat Gamblers" in the Dreamatorium. It's how Abed got the construction approved.
33	* CharacterDevelopment:
34	** For Abed especially. In this episode, he learns to take the feelings of others into consideration and not [[ItsAllAboutMe just his own]].
35	** Annie recognizes her own ControlFreak tendencies and self-obsession in trying to get people to follow the courses she has plotted out for them, along with some self-introspection about how her [[UnresolvedSexualTension thing for Jeff]] might not be based on the healthiest of foundations.
36	* ChekhovsGun: Annie uses the [[spoiler: Quantum Spanner to free Abed from his manacles in the Dreamatorium]] after it was introduced earlier.
37	* CirclingBirdies: Pierce claims to have seen eagles after [[GroinAttack sitting on his balls]].
38	* Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike: Abed doesn't want to go to the Mexican restaurant where Troy and Britta have lunch because the manager thinks ''Film/DieHard'' is bad and is very vocal about why:
39	-->"And another thing I hate about ''Die Hard'': '''[[OneSteveLimit two]]''' FBI agents named Johnson?"
40	* ComicalOverreacting: Abed doesn't take it [[{{Fainting}} very well]] when Annie messes with the dreamatorium's engine. He has the same reaction when she redecorates his and Troy's blanket room.
41	* ControlFreak: Both Abed and Annie's tendencies towards 'running simulations' in the lives of themselves and their friends -- and then meddling to try and make them come about -- are explored over the course of the episode.
42	-->'''Annie:''' You don't have a patent on being a ControlFreak, Abed.\
43	'''Abed:''' Actually, I kind of do.
44	%%* ExplosiveInstrumentation: The Blorgon attacks deals this type of damage.
45	* {{Expy}}: The Blorgons are obviously based on the Characters/{{D\|octorWhoDalek}}alek. They're robotic enemies in a ''Doctor Who'' send-up who chant "Eradicate" instead of "Exterminate".
46	* FlashbackEffects: Scenes playing out in the dreamatorium are distinguishable by a Soft Glow effect.
47	%%* FlyingSaucer: The HMS Spacetime 12.
48	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
49	** At the beginning in the Dreamtorium, Annie protests that she doesn't know a lot about ''Inspector Spacetime'' and suggests that she and Abed play something that she's more familiar with, like "hospital administration." This sets up "Hospital School", the ''Series/GreysAnatomy''-like medical soap which Annie has to traverse in order to find Abed, where her character is an administrator.
50	** In season 1, Chang is known as Senor Chang because of his position as Spanish teacher. In this episode, there is a restaurant called Senor Kevin's. [[spoiler:Guess what name Chang uses in season 4 when he's stricken with "Changnesia"]]
51	* FourthWallPsych: Done as an in-universe ScreenTap when Annie, caught up in the simulation, runs into the Dreamatorium's ''actual'' fourth wall... which is also the "fourth wall" of the screen.
52	* FreezeFrameBonus: On the study room whiteboard:
53	** ''Help, I'm being bound in a book factory''.
54	** ''If the opposite of pro is con, what's the opposite of progress?''
55	* GodwinsLaw: Abed's impression of Troy says he "use[s] comparisons to Hitler to win arguments on the internet".
56	* GoodNewsBadNews: The Dean breaking the news about Biology class being canceled because of the teacher's sickness.
57	* HairFlip: The Dean flips his wig hair after telling the cast their teacher has the flu.
58	* HeldGaze: Annie and Jeff (played by Abed) stare at each other during the recreation of the Pascal's night, though it doesn't lead to a kiss, unlike the last time with Jeff and Annie in reality. Clearly Abed is aware of their penchant for Held Gazes with each other though....
59	* HereWeGoAgain: Annie "breaks" Abed again in TheTag when she redecorates Troy and Abed's blanket room.
60	* HeroicBSOD: After Annie meddles with the Dreamatorium's 'engine' to force Abed into considering other peoples' feelings, he spends the episode in a funk, convinced that the other members of the study group don't need him..
61	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Abed and Troy, ''really'' driven home in this episode. For the sake of context: the last time one of Abed's [[HeroicBSOD emotional nosedives]] pulled the show into [[Recap/CommunityS2E11AbedsUncontrollableChristmas genre-bending surrealism]], the event was triggered by his mother's abandonment. This time, it's Troy spending time with someone else, which puts a pretty intense spin on exactly how dependent Abed is on Troy for even a relatively stable emotional life. The ending does offer some hope, however; Abed learns he needs to stop forcing things to try and fit how he think they should work and go with the flow more, and contrary to what he believes will happen Troy genuinely enjoys his lunch date with Britta. Ultimately, after some teething issues, they both seem to benefit from moving out of their ever-so-slightly codependent relationship and spending more time with other members of the group away from each other.
62	* HypocriticalHumor: Annie is trying to teach Abed empathy, but when he displays empathy towards Carson Daly, she scoffs dismissively.
63	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Annie really seems to believe that the "real Jeff" would show concern for Abed.
64	* IWantMyJetPack:
65	--> '''Annie''': Look at 2001. Did we have a space odyssey? No! We got snowboarding in the Olympics and we over-validated Carson Daly.
66	* InLoveWithLove : Annie admits that she is only in love with the idea of loving Jeff.
67	* InsistentTerminology: Abed insists on calling things in his Inspector Spacetime simulation by their correct names when Annie [[AccidentalMisnaming bungles them]], which irritates her. By the end he learns to meet her halfway.
68	--> '''Annie''': Isn't that what a quantum spanner is for?!\
69	'''Abed''': Technically no. But that's fine.
70	* IThinkYouBrokeHim: Annie says "I broke Abed!" after she induces a BSOD.
71	* JerkassBall: Abed and Annie grab it when Annie fixes up a lunch date between Troy and Britta. They then end up in the Dreamatorium, with Abed ending the simulation of ''Inspector Spacetime'' because Annie doesn't know enough about continuity. Abed admits he's mad that Annie meddled, and Annie retorts that Abed can't just control Troy or predict the date will go badly. Cue the rest of the episode.
72	%%* LiteralGenie:
73	%%-->'''Annie:''' Take me where I want to go.
74	* TheMatchmaker: Annie sets up Troy and Britta on a lunch date. Abed thinks she did this to clear her way to Jeff. Annie says she did it because she thinks that they would be cute together and that Jeff is just a bonus.
75	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Invoked by Abed, when they switch to Jeff and Annie's scene outside [[Recap/CommunityS1E25PascalsTriangleRevisited their first year transfer dance]].
76	-->'''Annie:''' Abed wasn't there. So [[ThirdPersonFlashback whose memory is this]]?\
77	'''Abed (as Jeff):''' Maybe its yours. Maybe the dreamatorium really works. Or maybe Leonard was watching from the bushes and told Abed. \
78	'''Leonard:''' (in the bushes) I don't have cable!
79	%%* MetaGuy: Abed's role as this is lampshaded in this episode.
80	* MindScrew:
81	** Not even the writers understood the plot until they started editing. Lampshaded: Abed-as-Pierce pops up in the Dreamatorium at one point specifically to point out that he has no idea what's going on.
82	** In universe, the reason Abed-as-Troy (and presumably the real Troy) doesn't get ''{{Film/Inception}}'':
83	--->'''Abed-as-Troy''': ''[Weeping]'' So many layers!
84	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
85	** Annie has this reaction when she pushes Abed into a breakdown. She resolves to snap him out of it, including stopping a hologram of Jeff kissing her and getting herself in trouble by acting like Abed to find him.
86	** Even the Dean thinks he went too far with his half-man half-woman split down the middle "Duali-Dean of Man" costume. A later scene shows that it went well, however.
87	--->'''Dean:''' I have to go to the bank today! What am I supposed to tell people in line, "I had good news and bad news?!" Come on, Craig. Get your life together.
88	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Annie ends up breaking Abed by messing with the Dreamatorium machine. She then has to use the Dreamatorium to fix him.
89	* NotHyperbole: When Abed says he refuses to go to the restaurant because the manager hates ''Film/DieHard'', it at first seems like he's treating the movie as SeriousBusiness. But then his friends discover that the manager constantly and annoyingly rants about how much he hates it.
90	%%* NotSoBadassLongcoat: Inspector Spacetime!Abed.
91	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Annie and Abed were introduced with contrasting personalities (she the perky overachiever, he the weird movie buff), but in this episode Annie tells him that they are both meddling {{control freak}}s.
92	-->'''Annie:''' I was trying to make life go according to some script. I can't. You can't. We both need to get more comfortable winging it. At least it'll be less work.
93	* OneHeadTaller: Abed-as-Jeff points out Jeff and Annie's "2-foot height disparity".
94	--> '''Abed (as Jeff)''': But damn the rules, damn the system, damn our two-foot height disparity.
95	* OscarBait: "Hospital School" brings us tragic heart-wrenching Alzheimer's patient and Emmy contender Pierce Hawthorne:
96	-->'''Shirley:''' Mr. Hawthorne, you're out of your bed again.\
97	'''Pierce:''' Because I think I'm on a train.
98	* OutOfGenreExperience: ''Community'' finally did a medical drama episode.
99	* ThePeepingTom: It's posited that Leonard was in the bushes when Jeff and Annie kissed and told Abed about it. To Leonard's defense, he didn't have cable.
100	* PimpedOutDress: In the real world Annie is wearing an unflattering yellow frock with a scarf as a makeshift shawl. In the Dreamatorium, it becomes a shiny, floor-length dress.
101	* RayGun: Annie and Abed use laser-firing blasters at the Blorgons.
102	* RecursiveReality: The final third of the episode gets into this, until the point where we have Alison Brie playing Abed playing Annie ''and'' playing Annie playing Abed, at which point she turns into Danny Pudi playing Annie playing Abed. Or something. [[MindScrew It's kind of complicated]].
103	%%* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Said verbatim by Abed-as-Jeff when describing Hospital School.
104	* SeriousBusiness: When Abed refuses to go to the restaurant because the manager hates ''Film/DieHard'', it initially seems like he's taking the movie and a dissenting opinion on it too seriously. However, when we actually ''meet'' the manager, it turns out ''he's'' the one who falls in this trope, as he apparently spends all his time ranting obsessively about how much he hates it.
105	* ShipSinking: Annie, who was once infatuated with Troy, is now officially trying to pair him with Britta.
106	** Subverted with Annie and Jeff, Annie confesses that she really doesn't love Jeff, she just loves the idea of loving him. Even so, the ship is still present in future episodes.
107	* ShipTease:
108	** In various ways the episode teases Annie/Abed:
109	*** After Shirley (who is a figment of Abed's imagination) proclaims that Abed doesn't exist and no-one needs him, Annie responds with a fervent "I need him!"
110	*** It's perhaps telling that the first thing Abed does in "Hospital School" is assume the role of Jeff and begin to flirt with Annie. With the torpedoing of the Annie/Troy ship and Annie seeing her relationship with Jeff in a new light it also teases Annie/Abed due to those two ships becoming less plausible. "Hospital School" is also revealed to be building up to Abed re-staging Jeff and Annie's kiss from "Pascal's Triangle Revisited" -- doing so would, of course, require Annie to kiss Abed (while he was pretending to be Jeff).
111	** Also, Abed/Troy, in one of the few episodes they spend apart. Troy takes time out of his date to call the apartment and make sure that Abed's okay, while Abed imagines Troy wanting to ditch his date and come home. Ultimately, they both seem to benefit from spending a few hours with other people.
112	* ShipperWithAnAgenda: Abed (as Jeff) accuses Annie of supporting Troy and Britta's lunch date so Annie can get with Jeff. She retorts that it wasn't her ''primary'' reason (she genuinely thinks they're cute) but considers that possibility a bonus.
113	* StuffedIntoALocker: Annie eventually finds Abed in a metaphorically enlarged version of the locker he used to get shoved into in junior high school.
114	* StreamingStars: Shows up in the JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime title sequence.
115	* TakeThat:
116	** "[[MedicalDrama Hospital Administration]]" is one of these to hospital-based dramas like ''Series/GreysAnatomy'':
117	--->'''Abed-as-'Dr. Jeff':''' It's a sexy, emotional school, where doctors save lives and make love, often simultaneously. Our cases, RippedFromTheHeadlines. Our passions, unbridled. Our cafeteria, eh.
118	** Also seems to be one for ''Film/{{Inception}}'' and other MindScrew films:
119	--->'''Abed-as-Pierce''': [[ItMakesSenseInContext (after Annie-as-Abed is dragged away by Abed-as-Chang)]] [[LampshadeHanging Can I just interject and say I don't know what the hell is going on?]]
120	%%** To Carson Daly.
121	* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: Rather, talking down the catatonic. Abed has a breakdown when Annie messes with the Dreamatorium and summons her other friends while putting himself in a locker, chained to the wall. He tells Annie he's used to people putting him there so he may as well give them what he wants, and add some space. Annie, with a very guilty MyGodWhatHaveIDone expression, tells him this isn't what she wants.
122	* TruthSerums: Annie injects Abed (as Troy), who reveals the desired information about Abed and then continues to blurt out embarrassing confessions. To sum up:
123	** He likes [[RunningGag butt stuff]], [[SpidersAreScary hates spiders]], and [[FelonyMisdemeanor stole a pen from the bank]].
124	** He cried at ''Literature/AboutABoy'' ...the soundtrack.
125	** He doesn't wash his hands before surgery.
126	** He is [[EvenTheGuysWantHim as-good-as-attracted]] to Creator/CliveOwen.
127	** He uses GodwinsLaw at any opportunity in internet debates.
128	** [[MenAreUncultured He knows nothing]] about {{wine\|IsClassy}}.
129	** He's more turned on by women wearing pajamas than lingerie (he likes [[NiceGuy knowing they feel comfortable]]).
130	** And what finally makes him break down in tears? [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He doesn't get]] ''{{Film/Inception}}''.
131	* UptownGirl: Abed (while impersonating Jeff) spoofs this during his cheesy [[OfficeRomance Hospital Romance]] speech.
132	-->"I know I'm just a surgeon and you're a hotshot upstart administrator but damn the rules...damn the system."
133	* WholesomeCrossdresser: The Dean. Well, he's half of one, anyway: one half of his "duali-Dean of man" getup is male, the other half is female (complete with wig and dress).
134	* YouAreNotAlone: Annie to Abed at the end of the episode.
135	-->'''Annie:''' My point is, your simulations are nothing more than anxieties. You're afraid you don't fit in. You're afraid you'll be alone. Great news... you share that with all of us, so you'll never be alone and you'll always fit in.
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Context Recap / CommunityS3E16VirtualSystemsAnalysis