Asian Population Studies
Encyclopedia
"Asian Population Studies" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community
, and the 37th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC
on January 20, 2011.
The group goes for their first class of the semester, which is taught by a sober Duncan. Troy accidentally tells Pierce that Shirley had sex with Chang during Halloween. Rich enters the class late, stating that he enrolled in the class after Annie persuaded her when they volunteered together during their winter break. Jeff realizes that he is the one Annie has a crush on.
In the cafeteria, Annie seems happy about Rich joining their class. Most of the group supports Annie's relationship with Rich, though Jeff brings up his age. Britta observes that a sober rather than drunk Duncan will make the class more difficult. Annie suggests they ask Rich to join. Jeff, upset about this new romance, reminds Annie that there is a process in order to join the study group, and that it would be unfair if Rich doesn't go through it. Annie then suggests they have a mixer and invite all the candidates that they want to join the study group.
Just then, Shirley's ex-husband and boyfriend Andre shows up. Britta once again tells Shirley that she should reconsider her decision, to which Shirley blurts out that she is pregnant and 8 weeks along. Troy and Pierce realize that she might be carrying Chang's baby.
At the mixer, Troy tries to find out if Shirley had sex with her ex husband around Halloween, but fails. Pierce suggests that he should tell Shirley about it, and let her deal with it. Meanwhile, Jeff brings a girl to the mixer, hoping that would lure Pierce and Troy to ask her to become a member instead of Rich. Rich then enters the class with kettle corn, instantly gaining popularity. Chang comes to the mixer, realizing they invited everyone from the Anthropology class but him. When he questions Abed about it, Abed pretends to be a robot to get out of the awkward situation.
Once most of the viable candidates leave, Annie approaches Jeff, and says that they should make the decision. This distresses Jeff - however, Chang shows up then, and asks Jeff to let him join the group instead of Rich, and Jeff reluctantly agrees. Jeff tries to convince the group to pick Chang over Rich, pointing out that they know very little about Rich and his perfect behavior is too good to be true.
After Jeff finishes his speech, the group is evenly divided, with Jeff, Abed and Britta voting for Chang, and Annie, Troy and Pierce voting for Rich. Shirley remains, and she votes for Chang after Pierce threatens to shatter her world. Angry, Pierce reveals that Shirley had sex with Chang on Halloween and that the baby might be his. Andre walks out after Troy confirms this, and Shirley asks Chang to leave. Rich says he should go, and Annie and Pierce go after him, with Pierce showing his disapproval towards Jeff.
Annie later catches Jeff in the men's room, and demands an explanation for his behavior towards Rich. Annie points out his duplicitous behavior and gives him an ultimatum about his true relationship with her. Jeff states that he wishes he could give her an answer, but relationships are complicated. Annie, incensed, says that she will ask Rich out. As Annie walks out, Britta walks in and asks Jeff to find Andre and get him to fix things with Shirley, admitting she isn't a fan of him, but she's a fan of Shirley, who is devastated.
Jeff finds Andre who reveals that he isn't angry with Shirley but himself and believes that had he not betrayed Shirley, the conflict would have never occurred. He also says that he will raise the child whether it is his or Chang's. Jeff later finds out that Rich rejects Annie for a date due to her young age, which results in Jeff visitng Rich in his apartment. He expresses his desire to emulate Rich, so that he too can be perfect and abuse that power.
In the tag scene, Troy and Abed have another episode of 'Troy and Abed in the morning' with Rich, trying to learn from him his recipe of making homemade kettle corn. Jeff enters inside and tells Rich its all fake, while Rich says its just a fun way to start the day. Rich asks Jeff to join them, but Jeff walks away.
.
This episode received positive review from the critics, with Samantha Urban of Dallas News writing, "You have to admire Community for being the only show on the Thursday night lineup that can get away with an ending that is sentimental without being saccharine, while still being funny and contributing to character development."
Kelsea Stahler of hollywood.com wrote, "We've come to expect a lot from Community, so it's not going to get a gold star every week. This is one of those weeks. This week's episode was solid (and to be honest I can't think of a time when an episode of Community wasn't), but my favorite aspect wasn't the plot or even the one-liners, which are always on-point, it's the element of incredible attention to detail."
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 37th 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 January 20, 2011.
Plot
The study group talks about how they spent their winter holidays. The group finds out that Annie likes someone, and attempt to guess who it is. Chang requests to join the group, but is rejected. Shirley attempts to discuss her new relationship with her ex-husband, though the group ignores her in order to find out who Annie likes.The group goes for their first class of the semester, which is taught by a sober Duncan. Troy accidentally tells Pierce that Shirley had sex with Chang during Halloween. Rich enters the class late, stating that he enrolled in the class after Annie persuaded her when they volunteered together during their winter break. Jeff realizes that he is the one Annie has a crush on.
In the cafeteria, Annie seems happy about Rich joining their class. Most of the group supports Annie's relationship with Rich, though Jeff brings up his age. Britta observes that a sober rather than drunk Duncan will make the class more difficult. Annie suggests they ask Rich to join. Jeff, upset about this new romance, reminds Annie that there is a process in order to join the study group, and that it would be unfair if Rich doesn't go through it. Annie then suggests they have a mixer and invite all the candidates that they want to join the study group.
Just then, Shirley's ex-husband and boyfriend Andre shows up. Britta once again tells Shirley that she should reconsider her decision, to which Shirley blurts out that she is pregnant and 8 weeks along. Troy and Pierce realize that she might be carrying Chang's baby.
At the mixer, Troy tries to find out if Shirley had sex with her ex husband around Halloween, but fails. Pierce suggests that he should tell Shirley about it, and let her deal with it. Meanwhile, Jeff brings a girl to the mixer, hoping that would lure Pierce and Troy to ask her to become a member instead of Rich. Rich then enters the class with kettle corn, instantly gaining popularity. Chang comes to the mixer, realizing they invited everyone from the Anthropology class but him. When he questions Abed about it, Abed pretends to be a robot to get out of the awkward situation.
Once most of the viable candidates leave, Annie approaches Jeff, and says that they should make the decision. This distresses Jeff - however, Chang shows up then, and asks Jeff to let him join the group instead of Rich, and Jeff reluctantly agrees. Jeff tries to convince the group to pick Chang over Rich, pointing out that they know very little about Rich and his perfect behavior is too good to be true.
After Jeff finishes his speech, the group is evenly divided, with Jeff, Abed and Britta voting for Chang, and Annie, Troy and Pierce voting for Rich. Shirley remains, and she votes for Chang after Pierce threatens to shatter her world. Angry, Pierce reveals that Shirley had sex with Chang on Halloween and that the baby might be his. Andre walks out after Troy confirms this, and Shirley asks Chang to leave. Rich says he should go, and Annie and Pierce go after him, with Pierce showing his disapproval towards Jeff.
Annie later catches Jeff in the men's room, and demands an explanation for his behavior towards Rich. Annie points out his duplicitous behavior and gives him an ultimatum about his true relationship with her. Jeff states that he wishes he could give her an answer, but relationships are complicated. Annie, incensed, says that she will ask Rich out. As Annie walks out, Britta walks in and asks Jeff to find Andre and get him to fix things with Shirley, admitting she isn't a fan of him, but she's a fan of Shirley, who is devastated.
Jeff finds Andre who reveals that he isn't angry with Shirley but himself and believes that had he not betrayed Shirley, the conflict would have never occurred. He also says that he will raise the child whether it is his or Chang's. Jeff later finds out that Rich rejects Annie for a date due to her young age, which results in Jeff visitng Rich in his apartment. He expresses his desire to emulate Rich, so that he too can be perfect and abuse that power.
In the tag scene, Troy and Abed have another episode of 'Troy and Abed in the morning' with Rich, trying to learn from him his recipe of making homemade kettle corn. Jeff enters inside and tells Rich its all fake, while Rich says its just a fun way to start the day. Rich asks Jeff to join them, but Jeff walks away.
Production
The episode was written by Emily Cutler and directed by Anthony RussoRusso brothers
Anthony and Joe Russo, known together professionally as the Russo brothers, are Emmy Award-winning American film and television directors. The brothers direct most of their work jointly, and they also occasionally work as producers, actors, and editors. The Russos are from Cleveland, Ohio, and were...
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Asian Population Studies" reached approximately 4.733 million households with a 2.2 rating/6% share in the 18–49 demographic.This episode received positive review from the critics, with Samantha Urban of Dallas News writing, "You have to admire Community for being the only show on the Thursday night lineup that can get away with an ending that is sentimental without being saccharine, while still being funny and contributing to character development."
Kelsea Stahler of hollywood.com wrote, "We've come to expect a lot from Community, so it's not going to get a gold star every week. This is one of those weeks. This week's episode was solid (and to be honest I can't think of a time when an episode of Community wasn't), but my favorite aspect wasn't the plot or even the one-liners, which are always on-point, it's the element of incredible attention to detail."
External links
- "Asian Population Studies" at NBC.com
- "Asian Population Studies" 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,...