Virtual Systems Analysis
- Episode aired Apr 19, 2012
- TV-PG
- 22m
After sending Troy and Britta on a date, Annie volunteers to keep Abed company in his Dreamatorium.After sending Troy and Britta on a date, Annie volunteers to keep Abed company in his Dreamatorium.After sending Troy and Britta on a date, Annie volunteers to keep Abed company in his Dreamatorium.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Jeff reads out Abed's file, Abed's patient number is 1373, which is Community creator Dan Harmon's birthday - 01/03/1973.
- GoofsThe "control panel" in the Dreamatorium starts out perfectly centered between four squares, but changes to being more toward the right of the four squares when Abed becomes Jeff.
- Quotes
Annie Edison: [Inside Abed's simulation, where he is impersonating Troy. Annie sticks a needle in Troy's arm] Sodium pentothal, known commonly as truth serum.
Troy Barnes: I saw Abed's name in the hospital school files, I love butt stuff, I hate spiders, I stole a pen from the bank, I cried during About a Boy... the soundtrack... I don't wash my hands before surgery. I can see why women find Clive Owen attractive to the point where I might just as well be attracted to him. I use comparisons to Hitler to win arguments on the Internet at the drop of a hat. I know nothing about wine. I'm more turned on by women in pajamas than lingerie. I just want to know they feel comfortable. I didn't get Inception.
[Sobbing]
Troy Barnes: I didn't get Inception...
[Sobbing continues]
Troy Barnes: There's so many layers!
- ConnectionsReferenced in Harmontown: Bill Martigans (2014)
- SoundtracksGreendale is Where I Belong
Performed by Ludwig Göransson
This one fails, not big time like a few of the other community episodes but it attempts to be different and in the process forgets that it also needs to be entertaining. The ultimate problem is that this episode leans largely on a very weak plot-line in community one that should only really be touched upon jokingly and never focused on fully. For example in the 11th episode of this season, Troy and Abed decide they need to be "normal" for Shirley's wedding so they go in the dreamatorium to weird out for several hours and normalize themselves. In that context its funny, its touched upon briefly and if you think the dreamatorium is a stupid plot-line gimmick you don't have to deal with it for long.
In this episode Annie and Abed go into the dreamatorium, a room in their apartment that they have painted with stripes so that they can go in there and play make believe for several hours. At one point during the dream sequence Pierce say's "can I just say I have no idea what is going on here." That line was essentially throwing the casual viewers a bone, saying look if you don't get this don't worry it doesn't make that much sense anyways. So Annie and Abed go in there to play make believe and Abed soon gets bored with Annie since she doesn't know how to play in his make believe world of inspector space time, so he develops a game where by Annie is a hospital administrator, something she wants to be in reality, and from there the show goes on in a strange direction where Abed's social awkwardness is further explored and examined.
Here are a few of the inconsistencies with this episode, we are shown two things Abed weirding out big time, and Troy having an obsession with Abed. While Abed does get weird, and while Troy and Abed have a strange relationship, its not the the extent that this episode shows it. Troy would be able to go and have a good lunch with Britta as it has been shown many times before that they have a solid relationship that may be more than a friendship.
There wasn't really any of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) in this episode and he is basically the necessary anchor within this show, he is shown a few times but in the dream world where Abed is essentially playing Jeff as the way he thinks Annie perceives him. So a Jeff-less episode already had the odds set against it, and by focusing the action all on the dreamatorium this episode just drifted too far off into weird land.
Here's the other weakness of this episode, usually we have two or three plot lines to follow, so in case we find one dull at least we will be entertained by another. For example last week episode 15 of this season, we see Britta freaking out at Annie's apartment, Jeff and Shirley teaming up to investigate Blade, and Pierce attempting to become best friends with Chang. All three funny story lines, if you didn't like one then you'd like the other two at least. Where as this episode has its one and only plot-line of the dreamatorium, I briefly was hopeful that they would flash over to show Britta and Troy eating lunch but we didn't get any of that.
- giantpanther
- Apr 20, 2012