Celebrity Pharmacology 212

Celebrity Pharmacology 212

◀️ Previous   Gallery   Transcript  ▶️ Next — Episode information 🔽

Director: Fred Goss — Writer: Hilary Winston — Aired: January 27, 2011 —Season: Two — Number: Thirteen Summary: Pierce bribes Annie for a larger role in a play while Jeff uses Britta's phone to send dirty texts.

Plot

We've got 50 at-risk pre-teens armed with baseballs, chanting for drugs, who just spent intermission eating nothing but Charleston Chews, thank God. Hope you can top Act I, is all I'm saying.

— Dean Pelton to The Study Group

The study group is practising their parts in full costume for a play Annie is putting on. They all start to complain about their roles which makes Annie remind them why they are putting on the show in the first place. It's supposed to be for the sake of promoting an anti-drug message to a few kids. Dean Pelton shows up to check on their progress and informs them that many students from San Ramon Middle School will be showing up tomorrow to watch their play. Annie notices he is wearing a costume and wonders if he wants to be in the play as well. Pelton replies that the outfit he is wearing is for a meeting at the airport Ramada.

Costume rehearsal.

Later, Britta is complaining to Jeff about a guy she's seeing that keeps texting her. Jeff tells her it's the modern day flirting ritual, but she says she personally doesn't care for it. Meanwhile, Chang tries to talk to Shirley but is ignored when she walks out of the study room with Britta. Outside, Pierce catches up with Annie and, unhappy with the non-speaking role of "Drugs", tries to convince her to give him a bigger part in the play. Annie reminds him the show isn't about one character but the anti-drug message. Back in the study room, Jeff and Abed notice that Britta left her phone behind and that she received a text from someone named Marcus. Jeff decides to send a flirtatious text back to the texter in Britta's name; he brushes off Abed's concerns that this could be a bad idea.

Jeff decides to send a flirtatious text on Britta's phone to someone named "Marcus".

Elsewhere, Pierce is shadowing Annie and notices that she is collecting aluminum cans around campus. After watching her trade the cans for cash at a recycling center, he continues to follow Annie's car to her home and knocks on her door. When she lets him in, he expresses shock that she would live in such a bad neighborhood in an apartment above a Dildopolis location. Annie explains that this is all she can afford on her savings as her parents cut her off financially after her past drug problem. Pierce offers to help her out and writes out a check. Annie is reluctant at first to accept it, but he insists, and she thanks Pierce for his generosity. Pierce then hints to her about his part in the play, and she encourages him to use a line he ad-libbed during the rehearsal.

Pierce actually does something nice for once.

Later, Pierce watches an old Hawthorne Wipes commercial starring his father, Cornelius Hawthorne. Despite his earlier claims to have been in the commercial, it turns out his father chose a child actor to play the part of his son rather then Pierce. The next day, the study group is in the student lounge about to put on the play for the school kids in the cafeteria. Pierce arrives with a rewritten script and guilts Annie into implementing more of his changes into the play by reminding her of the money he gave her. The Dean tries to pump up the audience for the play by handing out free baseballs, but they remain unenthusiastic. Backstage, Chang tries again to connect with Shirley, but she continues to ignore him.

"Welcome to the Greendale Drug Awareness Show!"

Britta mentions to Jeff that her nephew Marcus is attending the play, and he realizes he made a mistake; this becomes even more apparent when Britta shows him a text Marcus sent included with this emoticon: 8=>. Jeff goes to Abed looking for help but instead finds him unsympathetic to his situation. Jeff tries to correct his mistake by sending Marcus more texts, but it only ends up encouraging the boy to continue sexting. As the play begins, Pierce gets a good response from a line he improvised. Backstage, Chang again tries to talk to Shirley. She explains she wants nothing to do with him because he's crazy, and the thought of her having been with him and possibly having a child by him is too much for her to handle.

"Cool Cat Jeff's" funeral.

Back on stage, a pivotal scene is ruined by Pierce who goes off-script and steals the spotlight away with his buffoonery. Britta is worried that the anti-drug message of the play is being lost on the kids but Annie allows Pierce to continue his improvisions. The audience end up liking the character so much that they pelt the other study group members with baseballs when Pierce's character leaves the stage. Pierce demands that Annie allow him to return despite the fact that his part in the play is over. He reminds her about the check he gave her, and she relents. When he returns, the audience immediately cheers for him, and one of the kids actually declares her love for "Drugs" much to Annie's horror. During intermission, Pierce returns backstage in the student lounge euphoric over how popular he is with the kids.

The audience pelts the cast with a baseballs.

Annie finally stands up to him and fires him, disgusted with how he twisted the message of her play. Before leaving, an angry Pierce reveals to everyone how he bribed Annie into changing the script. The study group expresses their disappointment over Annie selling out her ideas for money and she runs away in tears. Dean Pelton then informs them that the kids are all riled up and chanting for "Drugs". Everyone plans to bail but Jeff insists they stay and try to salvage the situation for the kid's sake. Chang then appears ready to take on the "Drugs" role for the second act. When the play starts up again, Chang covers him replacing Pierce by stating how drugs lures you in nicely and then changes on you dominating your life. He punctuates this by insulting the audience upsetting them enough that a boy yells "Let's kill him!" and they attack him en masse.

"Greetings you little snots!"

Annie and the Dean watch on pleased that the message got through to the kids. Meanwhile, Jeff confronts Marcus and tells him he was the one who sent the text messages not his aunt. Marcus tells him he'll keep it secret for a price: Britta's bra. Afterwards, Shirley praises Chang for how he handled the kids. After apologizing for how she had been treating him lately the other study group members arrive and congratulate Chang on a job well done. Annie shows up too and apologizes for her actions which leads to a group hug. She notices Pierce sneaking in to grab his bags and tells him that while appreciates the gesture she can't take his money. She doesn't want to be dependent on him like she was with her parents nor does she want to be another person taking advantage of him. She tells him she is going to get a job and assures him that despite what happened they are still friends.

A big group hug including Chang.

End tag

During the night Annie is trying to get some sleep in her apartment but is awakened by loud speakers used by the Dildopolis store below announcing various specials they are having.

Annie trying to sleep.

Recurring themes

Continuity

Continuity lists

Narrative Recurring or debuting plot points in this episode: That just happened: Chang tries to win over Shirley after recently learning in "Asian Population Studies" that she may be carrying his child. History lesson: Details are given about Annie's past history, particularly her relationship with her parents and her current estrangement from them due to her past drug problem. Pierce's strained relationship with his father is also explored. People Recurring or debuting characters in this episode: First appearance: Pierce's father Cornelius Hawthorne is first seen in this episode. Britta's nephew Marcus makes his one and only appearance on the show. Returning students: Garrett appears as one of Annie's backstage assistants. Places Recurring or debuting places in this episode: This must be the place: The study group rehearses for the play in Group Study Room F. Annie's apartment makes another appearance, as does Dildopolis. The cafeteria is where the play is performed. The student lounge acts as a backstage. Things Recurring or debuting items in this episode: School supplies: Chang gives a mixtape to Shirley. Jeff uses Britta's cell phone to send flirtatious texts to her nephew. Pierce repeatedly mentions Hawthorne Wipes, and watches old footage from the company's commercial shoot. A sweet ride: Annie's car is shown to be a beat up old Honda Accord hatchback.

Running gags

List of Running gags

Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode: Biggest laugh of the night!: Troy takes a baseball to the face. Board certified tutor: Pierce claims to have previous acting experience having played himself in a few "Hawthorne Wipes" commercials as a child, but it's revealed that he did poorly at the audition and his father replaced him with an actor. Deanotation: Pelton greets the group with the salutation "Dean dong!". Man crush: Dean Pelton finds Jeff Winger sexy even in a coffin. Later, he steals a framed photo of Jeff in his cool cat outfit from the funeral scene. Nice outfit: Troy and Abed are wearing bee outfits for the play. The Dean is wearing a bee costume too, although it is for an important meeting at the airport Ramada. Pierce is dressed as a marijuana leaf in the play to represent drugs. Shirley is dressed as a crayon in the play. Jeff and Britta are wearing identical "cool cats" outfits with cat ears and leather jackets.

Pop culture references

List of Pop culture references

References to popular culture in this episode: Product placement: Dean Pelton hopes the visiting middle schoolers will buy all the "Charleston Chews" from the school vending machines. He also mention that his bee outfit has something to do with his plans at the airport Ramada Inn. Shout out: Chang gives a mix-tape to Shirley that contains a heavy dose of Johnny Gill. Use your allusion: The bee outfits being worn are similar to those worn by John Belushi and others in the "Saturday Night Live" sketches known as "The Killer Bees" during Chevy Chase's tenure on that show. Abed connects marijuana with custom-painted vans and solving mysteries because all three things are often associated with Scooby Doo. Coincidentally, Jim Rash voiced a character on an episode of "Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated".

Meta references

List of Meta references

Meta references in this episode: Current events: All the children attending the drug awareness were given baseballs. Dean Pelton explains, "Next time you think about drugs, think about baseball instead." At the time, Major League Baseball was working to overcome the bad PR from numerous players being implicated in various banned substance scandals. Up against the wall: Dean Pelton accidentally describes Annie's episode arc when he recaps the drug awareness play. IRL: Chang accuses Shirley of ignoring him because he is Korean, but Shirley rebuts that he is Chinese. In real life, Ken Jeong is of Korean descent. Pierce's complaints about Annie's play and his ideas for improvement mirror Chevy Chase's thoughts about Community. Chevy was not a fan of the show, did not appreciate its humor, and his suggestions were often incompatible with the sensibilities of the creator.

Trivia

The amount of the check Pierce writes to Annie is $5000.

Quotes

“Annie, question: Is Pierce marijuana, and does marijuana help people work faster? I thought it just made them custom paint their vans and solve mysteries.”— Abed

“What are you doing here?”— Annie

“Never mind that, there's a rapist in the hallway.”— Pierce

“That's my landlord, and if he wanted you raped you'd be raped.”— Annie

“Let me ask you a question or two of my own. What are you doing in an apartment above Dildopolis? And when did they open a second location?”— Pierce

“Come on, Annie. You and I are alike. We're independent. We need each other.”— Pierce

“Okay, guys, remember, the most important thing is to have fun. The second most important thing is to know all your lines and all your blocking and not mess up a single thing. Actually, flip those.”— Annie

“Are you ignoring me because I'm Korean?”— Chang

“You're Chinese.”— Shirley

“There's a difference?”— Chang