Monsters of Television

“Troy, make me proud: Be the first black guy to make it to the end.”

“Epidemiology” is an instructive example in pop culture roulette. In fact, when you consider it in relation to “Modern Warfare” and “Basic Rocket Science”, you realize the three levels of how pop culture roulette.

I know, I know. I’m about to suck all the joy out of a zombie episode with ABBA music talking about how Community deploys homages and who it positions characters within it. But why else do you come here if not for me to suck the joy out of your viewing experiences?

…The episode was pretty great, though.

And I do mean that. I really enjoyed the episode on a pure awesome level. I mean, how can I not? It’s got zombies, great references, solid  production design (that was barely recognizable as the library!), and ABBA. Zombies, obviously, are experiencing a cultural zeitgeist with an upcoming television show, Sears commercials, and brain eating marches. It makes sense to exploit it for humor and ratings.

And why the episode works so well because it commits to the premise without really questioning it. The episode speeds through the stages of the zombie narrative (infection-running-hiding infection-running-dwindling numbers-running-surviving-hooking up-black guy dying-military/militia “saving” everyone-new day) without pausing to acknowledge it. Breaking that fourth wall breaks the illusion of what’s going on, and unlike some of the other big genre homages, since zombies a little less realistic, you have to maintain a sense of internal realism for it really work.

This is in contrast to “Basic Rocket Science” where it felt like everyone was kind of in on the joke (and didn’t think the joke as very funny). Factor in the product placement, and there was no immersion in the homage for the audience or for the characters. Yes, rabies-induced rage due to military surplus taco meat has less chance of happening than getting locked in a KFC-sponsored space simulator, but in how the two episodes play out, everyone is buying into the premise of the former, and that’s what you have to do to sell an homage. You can’t do it half-baked and expect it to work.

What stops “Epidemiology” from achieving “Modern Warfare” levels of greatness is that there’s no big character beat in it. I criticized “Basic Rocket Science” for this pretty harshly because their character beats kind of came out of nowhere (Annie wants to transfer? What?), and clearly weren’t going to be followed through with anyway. I’m feeling more generous about the lack of character beats in “Epidemiology” since the rest of the episode works well, but without a really strong button on the episode (Troy and Abed really should’ve had strong play here, I think, and something beyond Troy re-reaffirming his nerdiness), the episode falls just short of being the new yard stick for the show.

But it’s not in a frustrating way, as if there were hints of it through the episode that simply weren’t exploited more. “Epidemiology” is absolutely great, and my criticisms are, even I’ll admit, a little self-indulgent. I should be able to sit back and just enjoy the zombie mayhem. And I can and I did, but the part of my brain that works like this doesn’t always shut off, and it’s a frustration of mine sometimes.

I remain convinced, however, that when I watch the episode a couple more times, I won’t even care about what I just wrote. And I’m perfectly okay with that.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Love the Halloween-themed opening credits. Also love how they happened. Streets ahead, sir.
• I know I didn’t discuss Chang and Shirley. If they come back to it, I will. Otherwise, I’m counting it as a zombie-night stand. Wait, that sounds like something else…
• I really wish my mom had named me Kevin. Goddammit, Mom.