Modern Warfare (Community)
Encyclopedia
"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 supremacy. During the chaos, Jeff's study group teams up in order to last longer in the game. Meanwhile, Jeff and Britta confront their unresolved sexual tension
.
The episode was written by Emily Cutler and directed by Justin Lin
. The episode's plot is a parody of multiple action movies such as The Matrix
, Die Hard
, Battle Royale
, The Warriors and Rambo
. The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and came third in its timeslot.
Abed takes Jeff back to his base, where he has teamed up with Troy. Abed and Troy reveal that the coveted prize of the paintball game is priority registration, which gives the last student standing the ability to have first choice when scheduling classes next semester. They convince Jeff to join forces with them in order to last longer in the game. After eliminating the chess team, the three run into Pierce and Starburns, who are raiding the vending machines for supplies. Pierce eagerly betrays Starburns for the other three and joins them. Jeff, Troy and Abed take a bathroom break only to find themselves in a trap set up by Shirley, Annie, and Britta, who have joined forces. Caught in a Mexican stand-off, Abed insists that all seven of them should join forces, even Jeff and Britta, who argue at first, agree that an alliance would be beneficial. The group heads to the outer campus and is attacked by the Glee Club, who takes out Annie and Troy before the rest of the study group takes cover. Jeff lures Pierce into the open as bait for the Glee Club, and then he, Britta and Abed take out the rest. The four remaining group members hide inside the ruined cafeteria and talk about what they'd do with priority registration. Shirley says she'd take morning classes to spend more time with her sons, and Britta says that any one of them that wins should give the prize to Shirley. Jeff becomes annoyed and accuses Britta of being a phony, and Shirley and Abed almost shoot them to stop them from arguing and take them out of the game. The four are then attacked by a group of roller-skating-disco-junkies, who are beaten by the group, but Abed and Shirley are taken out.
Britta and Jeff escape to the group's study room, where they forgive each other for their past arguments and insults and make fun of Abed's take on their relationship. Jeff says that it would serve the rest of the study group right if they had sex in the study room and held it over them. Britta agrees, and the two actually have sex on the table. Afterwards, Britta unsuccessfully tries to betray Jeff before Señor Chang—employed by the Dean to take out any remaining students—barges into the room and attacks the still-dressing couple. Britta steals Jeff's clip of paintballs and sacrifices herself to take out Chang, leaving Jeff as the winner of priority registration. Jeff narrowly escapes the blast of several paintball bombs strapped to Chang's chest, and heads for the Dean's office. The Dean reveals that priority registration is illegal, but gives it to Jeff anyway under pressure. The next day, Britta and Jeff decide to pretend they didn't hook up, which is almost foiled by Abed's insistence that something within the group has changed (Pierce responds by saying that it might be himself, as he's wearing a man-thong). Jeff gives the priority registration form he won to Shirley, surprising himself and Britta.
, his third directing credit for the season and series.
, Terminator 2
, The Matrix
, Highlander
, Rambo
, The Boondock Saints
, The Running Man
, Scarface
, Face/Off
, Battle Royale
, Predator
, The Warriors, Hard Boiled
, 28 Days Later
and Demolition Man
. In addition, Abed comments that Jeff and Britta's relationship was lacking the heart and soul of Ross Geller
and Rachel Green
's relationship from Friends
and Sam Malone
and Diane Chambers
from Cheers
. Chang's "self-destruct" and laughing as he exploded was the same as the Predator's demise at the end of Predator
. Sounds from the TV show Lost
(specifically the noise of the Smoke Monster
and the sound used before cutting to commercial) were also included in some scenes.
.
The episode received much acclaim from critics. Jonah Krakow of IGN
gave the episode a 9.7 calling it "Incredible" and also stated "Most sitcoms don't have as many water-cooler moments as serialized adventure shows like Lost or 24, but I know this episode of Community will be an exception." Jason Hughes gave the episode a positive review saying "Like most action movies, there isn't a whole lot more to say about the plot. But, like action movies, it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch it all go down." The episode later won "Comedy Episode of the Year" at the Gold Derby Awards. Sean Gandert of Paste
gave the episode a 9.1/10 calling it "phenomenal" and also calling it a "spitting distance" from being the best episode of the season. TIME
critic James Poniewozik
named it the third best TV episode of 2010, saying "A lot of sitcoms can make you laugh. It's a rare one that can so fully share the sense of joy its cast, writers and crew have in making the show."
Community (season 1)
The first season of the television comedy series Community originally aired from September 17, 2009 on NBC to May 20, 2010 in the United States. The first three episodes aired at 9:30 pm ET before being moved to 8:00 pm ET...
of Community
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 originally premiered on May 6, 2010 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...
. 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 supremacy. During the chaos, Jeff's study group teams up in order to last longer in the game. Meanwhile, Jeff and Britta confront their unresolved sexual tension
Sexual tension
Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two people interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens....
.
The episode was written by Emily Cutler and directed by Justin Lin
Justin Lin
Justin Lin is a Taiwanese American film director, best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious franchise and the television show, Community.-Life and career:...
. The episode's plot is a parody of multiple action movies such as The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, Battle Royale
Battle Royale (film)
is a 2000 Japanese film directed by Kinji Fukasaku based on the novel of the same name. It was written by Kenta Fukasaku and stars Takeshi Kitano. The film aroused international controversy.A sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, followed...
, The Warriors and Rambo
First Blood
First Blood is a 1982 action thriller film directed by Ted Kotcheff. The film stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam War veteran, with Sheriff Will Teasle as his nemesis and Colonel Samuel Trautman as his former commander and only ally...
. The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and came third in its timeslot.
Plot
When Jeff and Britta enter the library arguing with each other again, the rest of the group complains and Abed remarks that the constant sexual tension between the two is dividing the study group. Angry over the claim that he and Britta have any sexual tension between them, Jeff leaves to take a nap in his car. An hour later, he wakes up to Greendale resembling an apocalyptic wasteland covered in paint. When he enters the school, he is told by Garret, a casualty of the paintball war, that the prize of the Spring Fair Paintball Assassin game announced by the Dean raised the stakes of the event. Before Jeff can discover what the prize is, Leonard shows up with a paintball gun, shoots Garret multiple times, and then goes after Jeff. Jeff flees until he meets Abed in the hallway (decked in a Rambo-esque uniform), who shoots Leonard, saving Jeff.Abed takes Jeff back to his base, where he has teamed up with Troy. Abed and Troy reveal that the coveted prize of the paintball game is priority registration, which gives the last student standing the ability to have first choice when scheduling classes next semester. They convince Jeff to join forces with them in order to last longer in the game. After eliminating the chess team, the three run into Pierce and Starburns, who are raiding the vending machines for supplies. Pierce eagerly betrays Starburns for the other three and joins them. Jeff, Troy and Abed take a bathroom break only to find themselves in a trap set up by Shirley, Annie, and Britta, who have joined forces. Caught in a Mexican stand-off, Abed insists that all seven of them should join forces, even Jeff and Britta, who argue at first, agree that an alliance would be beneficial. The group heads to the outer campus and is attacked by the Glee Club, who takes out Annie and Troy before the rest of the study group takes cover. Jeff lures Pierce into the open as bait for the Glee Club, and then he, Britta and Abed take out the rest. The four remaining group members hide inside the ruined cafeteria and talk about what they'd do with priority registration. Shirley says she'd take morning classes to spend more time with her sons, and Britta says that any one of them that wins should give the prize to Shirley. Jeff becomes annoyed and accuses Britta of being a phony, and Shirley and Abed almost shoot them to stop them from arguing and take them out of the game. The four are then attacked by a group of roller-skating-disco-junkies, who are beaten by the group, but Abed and Shirley are taken out.
Britta and Jeff escape to the group's study room, where they forgive each other for their past arguments and insults and make fun of Abed's take on their relationship. Jeff says that it would serve the rest of the study group right if they had sex in the study room and held it over them. Britta agrees, and the two actually have sex on the table. Afterwards, Britta unsuccessfully tries to betray Jeff before Señor Chang—employed by the Dean to take out any remaining students—barges into the room and attacks the still-dressing couple. Britta steals Jeff's clip of paintballs and sacrifices herself to take out Chang, leaving Jeff as the winner of priority registration. Jeff narrowly escapes the blast of several paintball bombs strapped to Chang's chest, and heads for the Dean's office. The Dean reveals that priority registration is illegal, but gives it to Jeff anyway under pressure. The next day, Britta and Jeff decide to pretend they didn't hook up, which is almost foiled by Abed's insistence that something within the group has changed (Pierce responds by saying that it might be himself, as he's wearing a man-thong). Jeff gives the priority registration form he won to Shirley, surprising himself and Britta.
Production
The episode was written by Emily Cutler and directed by Justin LinJustin Lin
Justin Lin is a Taiwanese American film director, best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious franchise and the television show, Community.-Life and career:...
, his third directing credit for the season and series.
Cultural references
The episode is an affectionate parody of such action movies as Die HardDie Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, Terminator 2
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
, The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, Highlander
Highlander (film)
Highlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. It stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart. The film depicts the climax of an ages-old battle between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and...
, Rambo
First Blood
First Blood is a 1982 action thriller film directed by Ted Kotcheff. The film stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam War veteran, with Sheriff Will Teasle as his nemesis and Colonel Samuel Trautman as his former commander and only ally...
, The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints is a 1999 American action comedy film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Irish fraternal twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense...
, The Running Man
The Running Man (film)
The Running Man is a 1987 American action film loosely based on Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, and Richard Dawson....
, Scarface
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
, Face/Off
Face/Off
Face/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another....
, Battle Royale
Battle Royale (film)
is a 2000 Japanese film directed by Kinji Fukasaku based on the novel of the same name. It was written by Kenta Fukasaku and stars Takeshi Kitano. The film aroused international controversy.A sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, followed...
, Predator
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
, The Warriors, Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
, 28 Days Later
28 Days Later
28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston...
and Demolition Man
Demolition Man (film)
Demolition Man is a 1993 American, science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla, and starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, and Denis Leary co-star....
. In addition, Abed comments that Jeff and Britta's relationship was lacking the heart and soul of Ross Geller
Ross Geller
Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television series Friends, portrayed by David Schwimmer. The character is noted for his geeky, lovable demeanor.- Origin :...
and Rachel Green
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Jennifer Aniston. Aniston received an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for her performances.-Background:...
's relationship from Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and Sam Malone
Sam Malone
Sam "Mayday" Malone is a fictional character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Ted Danson. The central character of the series, Sam is a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team who owns Cheers and tends bar there. He is a recovering alcoholic and...
and Diane Chambers
Diane Chambers
Diane Chambers is a fictional character portrayed by Shelley Long on the American television show Cheers , and on several episodes of the subsequent Cheers spin-off Frasier...
from Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
. Chang's "self-destruct" and laughing as he exploded was the same as the Predator's demise at the end of Predator
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
. Sounds from the TV show Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
(specifically the noise of the Smoke Monster
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
and the sound used before cutting to commercial) were also included in some scenes.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Modern Warfare" was viewed by an estimated 4.35 million households receiving a 2.0 rating/7% share in the 18-49 demographic coming third in its timeslot according to the Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
.
The episode received much acclaim from critics. Jonah Krakow of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a 9.7 calling it "Incredible" and also stated "Most sitcoms don't have as many water-cooler moments as serialized adventure shows like Lost or 24, but I know this episode of Community will be an exception." Jason Hughes gave the episode a positive review saying "Like most action movies, there isn't a whole lot more to say about the plot. But, like action movies, it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch it all go down." The episode later won "Comedy Episode of the Year" at the Gold Derby Awards. Sean Gandert of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
gave the episode a 9.1/10 calling it "phenomenal" and also calling it a "spitting distance" from being the best episode of the season. TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
critic James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik is an American journalist and television critic. He writes Times Tuned In column and has a blog with the same name.Originally from Monroe, MI, Poniewozik attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating with a BA in English. He subsequently attended the graduate program...
named it the third best TV episode of 2010, saying "A lot of sitcoms can make you laugh. It's a rare one that can so fully share the sense of joy its cast, writers and crew have in making the show."
External links
- "Modern Warfare" at NBC.com
- "Modern Warfare" 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,...
– a complete list of all the tropes in the episode