- Title: Community – VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing
- wiki: link
“Abed, I don’t like this side of you. And I do not like that side of VCR technology.”
In a pair of stories where things quickly escalate out of control, Jeff (Joel McHale), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), and Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks) discover a stack of unused and forgotten Greendale text books which they decide to sell on the black market. Meanwhile, Abed (Danny Pudi) and Annie (Alison Brie) get lost in an absurd competition trying to choose between Annie’s brother (Spencer Crittenden) and Abed’s girlfriend (Brie Larson) as their new roommate.
Shirley’s storyline is fun, if a bit predictable as the group’s most good-natured member brings out her dark side eventually not only turning on Jeff and Hickey but also Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and Chang (Ken Jeong). The highlight of the episode is the garage-sale bought Old West VCR game that Abed and Annie force their guests to play despite the fact that neither understands why they are playing the game nor why the pair are so hyper-competitive.
Aside from being wacky and fun, Abed and Annie’s hyper-competitiveness continues to illustrate how much the pair relied on Troy (Donald Glover) whose absence is felt far more than just in the monthly rent department. It’s nice to see Rachel angered by Abed’s behavior but not scared-off by it (she is correct in calling his “third act apology” adorable) as it means we might get more of Larson over the remainder of the season.
