Studies in Modern Movement
"Studies in Modern Movement" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American sitcom Community. It was originally broadcast on November 10, 2011, on NBC.
| "Studies in Modern Movement" | |
|---|---|
| Community episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Tristram Shapeero |
| Written by | Adam Countee |
| Production code | 307 |
| Original air date | November 10, 2011 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
In the episode, the study group helps Annie move in with Troy and Abed. Annie is worried about living with Troy and Abed's "manchildren" antics. Meanwhile, Britta and Shirley lock horns over religion and morality, while Jeff is forced to spend the day with Dean Pelton.
The episode was written by Adam Countee and directed by Tristram Shapeero.
Plot
Annie (Alison Brie) is moving into Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed's (Danny Pudi) apartment. The rest of the study group are helping her move, except Jeff (Joel McHale), who is shopping but concocts an elaborate plan to convince Britta (Gillian Jacobs) he is ill. While packing at Annie's old apartment, Britta warns Annie that being roommates with Troy and Abed will not be easy, because the reasons she adores them will become the reasons she will despise them. Troy and Abed wear special T-shirts with a Twitter hashtag—#AnniesMove—for the occasion, and are live-tweeting the event.
Troy and Abed's childish antics, such as using all of Annie's packing tape to tape Troy on the toilet door) start to annoy Annie, but she tries to play along. Troy damages the apartment's electrical outlet, and Pierce (Chevy Chase) offers to fix it before her landlord comes. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is concerned that Annie's "cohabitation" with Troy and Abed will lead to her moral decay, and Britta slams her religious uptightness.
While shopping, Jeff runs into Dean Craig Pelton (Jim Rash). "Craig" knows that Jeff is avoiding helping Annie move from Troy and Abed's tweets, and blackmails Jeff into spending the day with him. Jeff reluctantly has lunch with him at a Mexican restaurant and joins him in a green screen karaoke session singing "Kiss from a Rose" in matching outfits. He even appears to be enjoying himself after the song is finished, but the Dean then lets it slip that their accidental run-in, and day together, only happened because he read Jeff's Greendale e-mails, and Jeff becomes violently outraged.
Britta and Shirley ride in the same car on the way to Troy and Abed's place, and spend the time arguing over religion and morality. Britta picks up a hitchhiker to prove that she is moral without being religious. However, the hitchhiker begins talking about Jesus, to Shirley's delight and Britta's dismay. He and Shirley have a friendly chat until he claims to be Jesus himself, which upsets Shirley but delights Britta, who is also pleased that their passenger thinks marijuana should be legalized. However, when the hitchhiker starts singing about being against race mixing, then about drinking human blood, Shirley and Britta are horrified and throw him out of the car together.
While fixing the electrical outlet, Pierce damages the circuit and the wiring burns a line down the wall. Pierce decides to cover it with new paint. Instead, he makes a mess of the paint and ends up getting dangerously high on paint fumes.
Troy and Abed show Annie her new room—a blanket fort. Annie is uncomfortable with it, having been told the apartment has two bedrooms, but then enjoys a shadow puppet show Troy and Abed put on for her. However, when she discovers the apartment's second empty room, which Troy and Abed have decorated into an empty "Dreamatorium" for imaginary experiences, she finally expresses her unhappiness at their childishness. She decides not to move in with them.
Troy and Abed eventually compromise by giving their bedroom to Annie while moving into the blanket fort. Jeff arrives at the apartment and admits that he faked illness to get out of helping. The group forgives him, then reveal that they saw his rendition of "Kiss from a Rose," which was tweeted by Dean Pelton.
Production
"Studies in Modern Movement" was written by Adam Countee, his third writing credit of the series. It was directed by Tristram Shapeero, his sixth directing credit.
Cultural references
The "Dreamatorium" in Troy and Abed's apartment closely resembles a Star Trek holodeck.[1][2]
When he "runs into" Jeff at the mall, Dean Pelton says, "This is just like that Lake House movie... I can only assume, even I have limits."[1]
Troy and Abed's use of bubble wrap closely mirrors a scene with Chandler and Joey from the TV show Friends. Shirley also mentions the show, stating "I've seen enough episodes of Friends to know that cohabitation leads to sex, drugs, and something Parade magazine called 'Schwimmer fatigue.' "[3]
Reception
Ratings
In its original American broadcast on November 10, 2011, "Studies in Modern Movement" was viewed by an estimated 3.49 million people, with a Nielsen rating/share of 1.5/4 in the 18–49 demographic.[4]
Reviews
The episode received mixed reviews from critics.
Ethan Alter called "Modern Movement" one of Season 3's better episodes.[1] Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave it a 4.5/5 rating, saying: "It's not every week that a show has me laughing out loud, but 'Studies in Modern Movement' accomplished just that."[5] Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com said, "This episode wasn’t mind-blowing. It wasn’t out there. But it was rich with character. It felt like hanging out with your hilarious, messed up friends – but those that could really only exist on television – for a half-hour. And sometimes, that’s all you need."[2]
Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said, "I like seeing the relationships evolve in the way that they have, and I enjoyed the episode overall, but it ultimately felt a little lightweight."[6] The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff gave the episode a 'B', saying, "There are a lot of good ideas in 'Modern Movement,' but I don’t know that they ever really coalesce into anything more than a collection of stories..."[7]
References
- Alter, Ethan (November 11, 2011). "Community: #AnniesMove #KissFromARose #FunnyStuff". Television Without Pity. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- Stahler, Kelsea (November 11, 2011). "'Community' Recap: Studies in Modern Movement". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- Wyman, Bill (November 11, 2011). "Community Continues to Gnaw at the Shared Premise of All Sitcoms". Slate Magazine.
- Seldman, Robert (November 11, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory,' 'Grey's,' 'Prime Suspect' Adjusted Up; 'Bones,' 'Rules,' 'Private Practice' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- Raines, Leigh (November 10, 2011). "Community Review: Three's Company". TV Fanatic. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- Sepinwall, Alan (November 11, 2011). "Review: 'Community' - 'Studies in Modern Movement': I have a Dreamtorium". HitFix. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- VanDerWerff, Emily (November 10, 2011). "Studies In Modern Movement". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 20, 2011.