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Documentary Filmmaking: Redux

Season 3, Episode 8, Aired Nov 17, 2011

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Dean Pelton directs a commercial starring the study group and a collection of the school's most colorful characters. Abed, meanwhile, shoots a behind-the-scenes documentary of the entire affair.

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Luis Guzman

Luis Guzman

Joel McHale

Jeff Winger
Alison Brie

Annie Edison
Jim Rash

Dean Pelton
Yvette Nicole Brown

Shirley Bennett
Gillian Jacobs

Britta Perry
Chevy Chase

Pierce Hawthorne

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Fan Episode Reviews (2)

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"Anarchist Cat Owner"

8.5

"Great"

By selkiewriter, Dec 15, 2011

Can I just say the timing of this episode freaked me out because my Brit Lit class had just read Conrad's Heart of Darkness the week this episode aired? We watched the movie too and it had the British guy from Lie to Me (RIP the show, not the guy) in it.

Anyways, Greendale tries to make a commercial which Abed documents the making of. The Dean, as the director, descends into madness (seriously, did someone wash that ice cream machine?) and he tries to take the entire school down with him. Except for Pierce who goes all diva and quits early then spends the episode holding out for a trailer and catering and then another trailer. Abed saves the day as he is too awesome to just remain a fly on the wall. Go Greendale, Go Greendale, Go!

Daaaw Britta and Troy at the end! I'm totally rooting for Britta/Troy and Annie/Abed this season!
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Heart of Darkness

10

"Perfect"

By sh811a, Nov 24, 2011

This is one of my favorate episodes of the show, it could be the fact that it tackles my favorate subject Film Making which is one of the things I do best in life and love. This episode obviously parodies on the documentry "Heart of Darkness" which of course was about Francis Ford Coppila's struggle in making "Apocalipse Now" (one of my personal favorate war movies.), who the heck would've thought making a simple low budget commerical could become a hellish struggle.
Dean Pelton was just at his best, it was just hillarous seeing him just go completely insane trying to shoot his vision of the community colage commercial which had almost the highest budget that was too high even for a low budget or independant film, really made me wonder where the heck most of the money went. The dean in a way sort of falls into a classic artistic trap where he is completely lost in his vision which is a really fraked up vision because all the scenes being filmed really make no sense as if trying to me more than what they should be. This really takes it's toll on all of the characters physically and psychologically.
And all the characters were just as much at their best we see all of them are losing it. From Anne developing sort of a Stockholm Syndrome toward Dean Pelton as she expresses her insane admiration and worship. I love the fact Abed is making a documentry of the commercial filmmaking, it's sort of that film within a film element. But I really love how Jeff transforms into sort of a method actor even though at first the dean role was suppose to be a joke. And there was a moment which cracked me up when the dean is overly harsh on Jeff because in his mind he did something wrong but it was also the dean's egotism taking over, then fires him and then Jeff cries it was both funny and sad, I'll admit I did feel bad for Jeff because he was just doing is job and he did it right.
My favorate one though was seeing both Britta and Troy as they were doing the hugging scene over and over and over again. I can't help but feel that part was a small parody on Stanley Kubrick's making of "The Shining" since he did a crazy number of takes on most scenes with the actors. The same thing is happening with those two when soon they both psychologically break down they turn on one another and even the concept of hugging one another tramatizes them.
I did like how in the end we see humanity from Dean Pelton as he his regret and becomes aware of the damage he's done. He just wanted to created something great which was to show the world how great the collage he runs really is but instead just made a mess of it along with his own life. I sort of sympahtize (I said sort of) and emphaisize with that because I have visions or dreams I want to create but sometimes it doesn't turn out the way I wanted it to. But we see Abed humanity come though by finishing the comercial for Dean Pelton, which of course was a mixture of fotage roughly edited and actually turned out to be entertaining (though still fraked up). And even that little moment at the end when both Britta and Troy hugged for real and looked at one another in a way that expressed they want to be more than friends. Personally I would like it if both characters became a couple because it has been hinted at a few times but most importantly they both have great chemestry together.
Abed and the Dean vision became a reality.
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Luis Guzman in Community from the episod...

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Luis Guzman and Jim Rash in Community fr...

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Jim Rash in Community from the episode "...

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (6)
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- Jeff: Pierce mistook me for the Dean today.
  Abed: How did that make you feel?
  Jeff: I've become a stranger to myself. I'm bald now. I've always been bald. I really dreamt of having hair, and now the bald man is awake.
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- Dean Pelton: (about the bald cap) I don't like it. It's hokey. It's fake. Take it off.
  Jeff: ...No!
  Dean Pelton: I beg your pardon...actor?
  Jeff: I have worn this stupid thing for 12 days. I have made bald friends!!
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- Britta: I'm in Psych 101 and even I don't know what's happening.
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- (When Britta and Troy aren't hugging "correctly") Dean: Okay, if you get this wrong one more time, I'm segregating the school!
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- Annie: The Dean had his seventh epiphany today, which has given me an epiphany of my own: the Dean is a genius. He has to be! If he isn't, I've given almost two weeks of my life to an idiot. That is unacceptable, therefore the Dean is a genius and I will die protecting his vision!
  Abed: Are you by any chance familiar with Stockholm Syndrome?
  Annie: Is it something that the Dean created? Because if not, I don't care.
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- Dean: I thought you were a fly on the wall.
  Abed: Some flies are too awesome for the wall.
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NOTES (1)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Canada: November 17, 2011 on Citytv
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Jeff's line "I merely dreamed of having hair. And now the bald man is awake" is a a reference to The Fly.
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- The entire episode is a parody of Hearts of Darkness, the documentary showing Francis Ford Coppola's difficulties shooting Apocalypse Now.
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