Epidemiology (Community)
Encyclopedia
"Epidemiology" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community
, and the 31st episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC
on October 28, 2010 as a special Halloween
-themed episode.
) greets Pierce (Chevy Chase
), who is dressed as Star Trek
s Captain Kirk
for the annual Greendale Halloween party. The pair walk inside to enjoy the party, where all the songs being played are by the 1970s pop group ABBA
. Jeff confronts Dean Pelton (Jim Rash
), who is dressed as Lady Gaga
, over the less-than-tasty food being served at the party. Pelton refuses to say where he got it, until Jeff comments that Pelton had bought it at an army surplus store. Suddenly, Pierce begins sweating. When Annie (Alison Brie
) finds a doctor, they discover that Pierce is running a temperature of 102°F. While Troy (Donald Glover
) and Abed (Danny Pudi
) attempt to court women with their Aliens
-inspired costumes, the nature of the mysterious sickness (which has by now been transmitted to several others at the party) takes a bizarre turn when Pierce bites Star-Burns (Dino Stamatopoulos
) in the arm.
The main characters (except Pierce) continue to enjoy the party, despite noticing that many of those attending the event appeared to be "high on drugs". Troy, who has by this time changed out of his science-fiction style costume and opted to dress as a shirtless Dracula, calls Abed a nerd, hurting his feelings. Meanwhile, at his office, Dean Pelton telephones the army surplus store where he purchased the food for the party and discovers that he had purchased something other than food. Pelton is transferred to an army special operations officer, who advises the Dean to quarantine those inside the library and wait for the army to arrive.
At the party, Leonard (Richard Erdman
) savagely bites a woman, and Troy and Abed realize that they are in the midst of a zombie attack. The unaffected partygoers try to escape through the library's front door, only to find that the Dean has locked it from the outside, sealing all those inside the library with the zombies. The remaining survivors barricade themselves in the group study room.
Rich (Greg Cromer
), the doctor who helped Pierce earlier in the episode, hypothesizes that if the temperature in the library is lowered, the fever could be broken. However, the thermostat is outside with the zombies. Rich also explains that this type of fever could cause brain damage and death if left for more than six hours. While outlining the disease's symptoms, Rich begins exhibiting them himself, having been bitten earlier. Britta (Gillian Jacobs
) is also revealed to have been bitten. Chang (Ken Jeong
) throws an ice skate at the pair in an attempt to knock them out, but ends up breaking the window behind the two, allowing the zombies to surge in and grab Annie.
The group flees the study room and split up. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown
) and Chang escape to a nearby bathroom, where they share a moment together and hook up. Jeff, Troy and Abed get to the library's basement, where they spot a window. However Jeff -- not wanting his expensive suit to get dirty by going through the window -- opens a door instead, letting in the zombies from the other side. Jeff is overpowered by the horde. Abed encourages Troy to "be the first Black man to make it to the end" and sacrifices himself, allowing Troy to escape through the window.
Once outside, Troy forcibly takes the keys from Dean Pelton and reenters the building to get to the thermostat. Abed and Shirley bite Troy, but he is able to reach the thermostat before turning. After the air conditioning comes on, everyone is healed. The army then arrives to "disinfect" the building (as well as ensure that the Dean is the "only witness"). Upon discovering those inside are uninfected, they opt to erase everyone's memories. In the aftermath, the partygoers assume the drinks were roofied
.
In a ending tag scene, Troy receives a voicemail message from Chang before he became infected bragging that he and Shirley had "hooked up
."
, his first directing credit for a half-hour comedy series. He has previously directed episodes for The Wire
, Battlestar Galactica
, CSI: NY
, and True Blood
.
The following songs by the Swedish
pop music
group ABBA
are featured throughout the episode: "Waterloo", "SOS
", "Dancing Queen
", "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
", "Mamma Mia
" and "Fernando
".
This episode featured a special Halloween-themed opening credit sequence, unique to this episode. Series creator Dan Harmon
later stated on his Twitter
account that he paid for the changed opening credits himself, as it wasn't in the network's budget.
component of NBC's Comedy Night Done Right for that evening (only The Apprentice
, a reality show aired late at night, scored lower).
Alyssa Rosenberg from The Atlantic praised the episode, saying, "Communitys on a roll with episodes torn straight from the reels of classic movies this season, and last night's Halloween episode lifted the show to new heights: this may have been the best half-hour of Community since "Contemporary American Poultry" and "Modern Warfare
." Sean Gandert of Paste Magazine also found the episode to be one of the series' best, writing, "Community gets things so, so right. This is one of those special episodes that really pushed the boundaries of the show, and honestly, I even preferred it to "Modern Warfare"—this may be the best episode of the show so far."
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
, and the 31st episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on October 28, 2010 as a special Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
-themed episode.
Plot
Outside the Greendale Community College library, Jeff (Joel McHaleJoel McHale
Joel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
) greets Pierce (Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
), who is dressed as Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
s Captain Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
for the annual Greendale Halloween party. The pair walk inside to enjoy the party, where all the songs being played are by the 1970s pop group ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
. Jeff confronts Dean Pelton (Jim Rash
Jim Rash
Jim Rash was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter.His most noticeable appearance was when he portrayed Mr Grayson/Stitches, a sidekick to the supervillain 'Royal Pain' in the 2005 film Sky High and as the recurring characters Fenton on That '70s Show...
), who is dressed as Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, over the less-than-tasty food being served at the party. Pelton refuses to say where he got it, until Jeff comments that Pelton had bought it at an army surplus store. Suddenly, Pierce begins sweating. When Annie (Alison Brie
Alison Brie
-External links:...
) finds a doctor, they discover that Pierce is running a temperature of 102°F. While Troy (Donald Glover
Donald Glover
Donald McKinley Glover is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work in the sketch group Derrick Comedy, and is best known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community...
) and Abed (Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi is an American actor, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early years:Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago and grew up speaking Polish...
) attempt to court women with their Aliens
Alien (franchise)
The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
-inspired costumes, the nature of the mysterious sickness (which has by now been transmitted to several others at the party) takes a bizarre turn when Pierce bites Star-Burns (Dino Stamatopoulos
Dino Stamatopoulos
Dino Stamatopoulos is an American television comedy writer, actor and producer who has worked on Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien...
) in the arm.
The main characters (except Pierce) continue to enjoy the party, despite noticing that many of those attending the event appeared to be "high on drugs". Troy, who has by this time changed out of his science-fiction style costume and opted to dress as a shirtless Dracula, calls Abed a nerd, hurting his feelings. Meanwhile, at his office, Dean Pelton telephones the army surplus store where he purchased the food for the party and discovers that he had purchased something other than food. Pelton is transferred to an army special operations officer, who advises the Dean to quarantine those inside the library and wait for the army to arrive.
At the party, Leonard (Richard Erdman
Richard Erdman
Richard Erdman is an American film and television actor and director.-Notable roles:...
) savagely bites a woman, and Troy and Abed realize that they are in the midst of a zombie attack. The unaffected partygoers try to escape through the library's front door, only to find that the Dean has locked it from the outside, sealing all those inside the library with the zombies. The remaining survivors barricade themselves in the group study room.
Rich (Greg Cromer
Greg Cromer
Gregory M. Cromer, Jr. is an American actor known as Greg Cromer.-Filmography:-External links:...
), the doctor who helped Pierce earlier in the episode, hypothesizes that if the temperature in the library is lowered, the fever could be broken. However, the thermostat is outside with the zombies. Rich also explains that this type of fever could cause brain damage and death if left for more than six hours. While outlining the disease's symptoms, Rich begins exhibiting them himself, having been bitten earlier. Britta (Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs is an American film, theatre and television actress, best known for her role as Britta Perry on the NBC comedy series Community.-Personal life:...
) is also revealed to have been bitten. Chang (Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong , also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early life and medical career:...
) throws an ice skate at the pair in an attempt to knock them out, but ends up breaking the window behind the two, allowing the zombies to surge in and grab Annie.
The group flees the study room and split up. Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown
Yvette Nicole Brown
Yvette Nicole Brown is an American actress and comedian. Brown has appeared in various commercials, television shows, and films throughout her career...
) and Chang escape to a nearby bathroom, where they share a moment together and hook up. Jeff, Troy and Abed get to the library's basement, where they spot a window. However Jeff -- not wanting his expensive suit to get dirty by going through the window -- opens a door instead, letting in the zombies from the other side. Jeff is overpowered by the horde. Abed encourages Troy to "be the first Black man to make it to the end" and sacrifices himself, allowing Troy to escape through the window.
Once outside, Troy forcibly takes the keys from Dean Pelton and reenters the building to get to the thermostat. Abed and Shirley bite Troy, but he is able to reach the thermostat before turning. After the air conditioning comes on, everyone is healed. The army then arrives to "disinfect" the building (as well as ensure that the Dean is the "only witness"). Upon discovering those inside are uninfected, they opt to erase everyone's memories. In the aftermath, the partygoers assume the drinks were roofied
Flunitrazepam
Flunitrazepam is marketed as a potent hypnotic, sedative, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, amnestic, and skeletal muscle relaxant drug most commonly known as Rohypnol...
.
In a ending tag scene, Troy receives a voicemail message from Chang before he became infected bragging that he and Shirley had "hooked up
Casual sex
Casual sex or hooking up refers to certain types of human sexual activity outside the context of a romantic relationship. The term is not always used consistently: some use it to refer to any extramarital sex, some use it to refer to sex in a casual relationship, whereas others reserve its use for...
."
Production
The episode was written by producer Karey Dornetto, her third writing credit on the series. It was directed by Anthony HemingwayAnthony Hemingway
Anthony Hemingway is an American film and television director. He has directed episodes of The Wire, CSI: NY, and Treme. Before becoming a director he worked extensively as an assistant director in television and film....
, his first directing credit for a half-hour comedy series. He has previously directed episodes for The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
, Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
, CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
, and True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
.
The following songs by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
are featured throughout the episode: "Waterloo", "SOS
SOS (ABBA song)
Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....
", "Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
", "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
", "Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia (song)
"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
" and "Fernando
Fernando (song)
"Fernando" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the group's first non-album single and was released in November 1975 through Polar Music. Lead vocals were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad...
".
This episode featured a special Halloween-themed opening credit sequence, unique to this episode. Series creator Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon is a writer and performer. He is the creator and an executive producer for the NBC television comedy series Community, and, along with Rob Schrab, a founder of the alternative television network/website Channel 101....
later stated on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that he paid for the changed opening credits himself, as it wasn't in the network's budget.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Epidemiology" reached approximately 5.635 million households with a 2.4 rating/7% share in the 18–49 demographic. It was the least-watched non-realityReality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
component of NBC's Comedy Night Done Right for that evening (only The Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
, a reality show aired late at night, scored lower).
Alyssa Rosenberg from The Atlantic praised the episode, saying, "Communitys on a roll with episodes torn straight from the reels of classic movies this season, and last night's Halloween episode lifted the show to new heights: this may have been the best half-hour of Community since "Contemporary American Poultry" and "Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare (Community)
"Modern Warfare" is the 23rd episode of the first season of Community and originally premiered on May 6, 2010 on NBC. In the episode, after the Dean announces the prize for a friendly game of paintball, Greendale sinks into a state of all-out paintball war, with every student battling for...
." Sean Gandert of Paste Magazine also found the episode to be one of the series' best, writing, "Community gets things so, so right. This is one of those special episodes that really pushed the boundaries of the show, and honestly, I even preferred it to "Modern Warfare"—this may be the best episode of the show so far."
External links
- "Epidemiology" at NBC.com
- "Epidemiology" at TV TropesTV TropesTV Tropes is a wiki which collects and expands on various conventions and devices found within creative works. Since its establishment in 2004, the site has gone from covering only television and film tropes to also covering those in a number of other media such as literature, comics, video-games,...