Episode no. Season 2
Episode 21 Written by Chris McKenna | Directed by Tristram Shapeero Production code 220 | |
Original air date April 21, 2011 (2011-04-21) | ||
"Paradigms of Human Memory" is the 21st episode of the second season of Community. It was originally broadcast on April 21, 2011 on NBC.
Contents
Though it contained no material from previous episodes, the episode had the format of a clip show, parodying the genre and self-parodying many aspects of the show itself as the characters took a memory lane down the school year. In it, they point out each member's transgressions in the past year that have affected the group's stability. Jeff ends up giving one of his trademark speeches, and the group realize having been through so much together, they can get through anything together despite their petty differences.
The episode was written by Chris McKenna and directed by Tristram Shapeero. It premiered to acclaim from television critics.
Plot
The study group are working on their final anthropology project of the semester in the library. Troy's (Donald Glover) monkey (Annie's Boobs) steals a paintbrush and escapes into an air conditioning vent. Chang (Ken Jeong) goes into the vent and retrieves a treasure trove of the group's lost items stolen by the monkey, including Annie's (Alison Brie) pen that caused the group to get into a heated argument in "Cooperative Calligraphy". Some of the items remind them of their adventures throughout the year.
They realize that the year hasn't been exactly a good one, with many unfortunate events occurring. Abed (Danny Pudi) then remembers that Jeff (Joel McHale) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) have been hooking up secretly, which angers the group, who point out various events where the two acted selfishly to the rest of the group. The two retaliate by recalling other events where each of the rest of the group behaved unscrupulously.
While they are arguing, Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) enters in a samba costume, at which Jeff points out the number of times he has walked in on the group in ridiculous costumes bearing irrelevant news. The Dean gets upset and leaves. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) begs the group to stop fighting before they hurt themselves. Troy disagrees, saying that they should let it all out and never fight again. They then recall several identical instances within instances where the group argued among themselves to let it all out so that they would never fight again. Annie then concludes that the group is always fighting and will always be fighting.
As the group prepares to leave after completing the project, Jeff delivers another of his speeches, which is a montage of all the speeches he gave in the clips recalled by the group in the episode, saying that although the members of the group constantly hurt each other, "it's just the universe's way of molding us into some kind of super group." Everyone hugs and makes up.
Production
"Paradigms of Human Memory" was written by Chris McKenna, his fifth writing credit for the series. It was directed by Tristram Shapeero, his fourth directing credit for the series.
Although the episode parodied clip shows, most of the clips were not actually flashbacks of the series' previous episodes, but new material. The episode featured a total of 75 scenes, with 72 brand new "clips". Apart from the claymation scene (which flashes back to "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas"), all the flashback clips were written and shot for the episode. The clip featuring Jeff, Britta and Abed at the Halloween party (a flashback to "Epidemiology") was not filmed together with the original episode, and the set had to be recreated.
Ratings
In its original broadcast on April 21, 2011, "Paradigms of Human Memory" was viewed by an estimated 3.17 million people, with a Nielsen rating of 1.4 in the 18–49 demographic. It was the lowest rated episode of the first two seasons.
Reviews
The episode received positive reviews from critics.
Jeffrey Kirkpatrick of TV Fanatic said "they can't really go wrong when they stick the dysfunctional seven in a room together and just let the cameras roll. Amping it up a notch with another parody only makes it that much stronger." He praised the episode's self-deprecating parodies and gave it a 4.8/5 rating. Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com called the episode "especially hilarious" and that the clips "remind us of the characters' quirky, hilarious characteristics and put the trajectory of the show's season on display." She added, "It was smart, it was pointed, it was well-written, and you know what? It was damn funny and that's really all you can ask for from a comedy." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said the episode was "an incredibly clever riff on the tradition of sitcom flashback episodes, but it also features some of the biggest laughs I've had at the show in quite some time, and it told an actual story about the study group in general and Jeff and Britta in particular. And it did so while commenting on how often the show tells these specific kinds of stories. Meta on top of meta on top of meta, with many gut-busting jokes piled high on top of that." Todd VanDerWerff gave the episode a full "A" grade, and stated the episode "might be one of the funniest episodes Community has ever done... For an episode that spends a lot of time taking the piss out of other things... the ultimate joke is on the show itself, with a conclusion that is very consciously assembled to be the ultimate conclusion to the show's usual formula..." Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode 9.5 out of 10, lauding the episode's satirical resemblance to clip shows.