The Office has an amazing ability to toe the line between reality and total absurdity. Since Community is made much in the same mold, I think making a comparison here is fair. The opening with the study group with exception of Britta giving total devotion to Jeff left me confused and wondering what happened. The pilot showed the formation of the study group and while they liked Jeff, now they are bowing down at his feet?
Other than that, it was a fine episode. Ken Jeong's first appearance as Señor Chang was beyond brilliant. The homework assignment is to do a simple conversation in Spanish. Jeff is pared with Pierce who complicates things a whole lot. Pierce is a crazy old guy with crazy ideas and Jeff sees that, but Pierce wants to be accepted by Jeff. So Jeff goes along with Pierce to prove to Britta he can be nice. This culminates into one the funniest scenes I've seen in a while. Their presentation turns into a montage with gentle pop music playing in the background. Jeff and Pierce keep switching into outlandish costumes in outlandish situations (Pierce and Jeff rowing a"boat" while the Indian Annie is tied up between them). They get F's, but I guess Jeff made an impression on Britta.
The other story was parody on humanitarian protests with Shirley and Annie learning that there are actual atrocities in the world after Britta brings it up. The protest turns into a joke as they plan more protests in the future for other misdeeds around the world. I liked how it showed the ignorance of many people and the silliness of some of these protests. While many are worthwhile causes, sometimes you have to wonder what they are thinking.
Score: 8.7/10
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