Biology 101
| "Biology 101" |
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"Biology 101" is the first episode of the third season of Community. The episode originally aired on September 22, 2011 on NBC. The episode picks up where the second season left off, with Pierce out of the group. The study group resumes class at Greendale and decides to enroll in Biology.
The episode was written by Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan and directed by Anthony Russo.
Plot
The study group decides to take a Biology class together, but Pierce soon faces problems when only six seats are available in the class. Jeff quickly makes enemies with their professor (Michael K. Williams) and is removed from the class. Dean Pelton, meanwhile, finds a new rival in Vice Dean Laybourne (John Goodman), the dean of the renowned Air Conditioning Repair Annex.
Production
The episode was written by executive producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, their first writing credit for the series. It was directed by executive producer Anthony Russo, his 12th directing credit for the series.
Cultural references
The episode features a scene where Jeff is knocked unconscious by monkey-gas. Jeff drifts into a dream state much like the one seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where Jeff sees himself in Pierce's body while the study table takes control of his life.
In order to cheer up Abed, Britta and Annie show him a British science fiction television series that started in 1962 called Inspector Spacetime. The short clip was a pastiche of Doctor Who, with similar opening credits, a time and space traveling hero, a chord that was reminiscent of the opening chord of the show, and attack by robots similar to the Daleks, who cry "Eradicate."
Britta finds the original British version of Cougar Town for Abed, which is called Cougarton Abbey, a reference to the British series, Downton Abbey.
The opening musical sequence is a parody of the musical television series Glee, a television series Community has referenced previously.
Reception
Ratings
In its original American broadcast on September 22, 2011, "Biology 101" was viewed by an estimated 4.00 million viewers with a Nielsen rating of 1.7 in the 18–49 demographic.[1] Along with the low ratings, the episode also received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics.
References
- ^ Seidman, Robert (September 23, 2011). "TV Rating Thursday: 'Big Bang Theory' Leads Night; 'X-Factor' Steady, Solid Starts For 'Whitney,' 'Person Of Interest'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 14, 2011.