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Plot[]

“
No, Troy. I have seen that look. Girls have given me that look. You are not being crazy, that dude is trying to steal your boyfriend.
”
Britta
Inside Troy's room at the apartment, he and Britta are in bed watching a classic episode of "Inspector Spacetime". Troy tells Britta that he convinced Abed to let her accompany them to InSpecTiCon, a convention dedicated to the show. Abed then knocks at the bedroom door wanting to go over the convention itinerary. Troy wants to keep the fact they've been sleeping together from Abed and Britta is forced to go through an elaborate escape route from his room to the hallway outside of the apartment. When Abed opens the door to let her in he reveals to both her and Troy that he knew all along she and Troy were sleeping together. He pretended not to know because he enjoyed the donuts she brought him for breakfast every morning.



4X3 Troy and Britta watching the Inspector
Troy and Britta watching "Inspector Spacetime".
Later, Abed and Jeff go to the study room to fetch his sunglasses before attending the convention. Jeff tells Abed he is only going to the convention so he and Annie can spend the weekend skiing. They turn on the lights and are surprised to see Pierce at the study table. Pierce explains that he came early for the next meeting to save himself a seat. He then becomes upset that he wasn't asked to be a part of their weekend plans. Jeff and Abed defend themselves by admitting that they didn't invite Shirley either which seems to placate Pierce. Jeff and Abed them left to meet up with the invited study group members and soon afterwards they arrive at the convention. Britta and Abed have a brief confrontation over her liking what he considers to be the worst Inspector, a female one named "Minerva". It ends when he suddenly tells Britta he respects her opinion which causes Troy to worried over Abed actually backing down.



Inspecticon
The InSpecTiCon.
Elsewhere, Jeff catches up with Annie at a convention booth and tells her that the ski trip is off since the ski slop was closed down due to an avalanche. Britta finds them both and notes that several convention attendees have been staring at Jeff. Troy and Abed reveal that Jeff bears a striking resemblance to a villain on the show called "Thoraxis". Jeff becomes annoyed and immediately suggests to Annie that they head home but Annie is reluctant wanting to enjoy her first "adult" vacation. Jeff says she can stay but reminds her that the reservation is in his name before he leaves. Afterwards, Troy reminds Abed about the "Gluon chamber" picture they wanted to take but he says that will have to wait until he meets up with an Inspector Spacetime fan he met online named Toby Weeks.



Jeff meets Thoraxis
Jeff meets "Thoraxis".
Abed spots Toby in the crowd and introduces him to Troy and Britta. Troy is disappointed when Toby convinces Abed to bail on going to the "Gluon Chamber" to sit in on an exclusive discussion panel of the show. Elsewhere, Pierce arrived at the convention having dragged Shirley along as well. The pair are greeted by two event officials and are asked to follow them. Meanwhile, Annie is in Jeff's hotel room by herself. She becomes giddy after she calls up room service and is mistaken as "Mrs. Winger". Over in the hotel lobby, Jeff tries to ignore another Inspector Spacetime fan who has mistaken him as the actor who played "Thoraxis". He is surprised when he sees it's an attractive lady named Lauren and decides to go along with it.



Abed's new friend Toby
Toby has tickets to an exclusive panel.
Meanwhile, Pierce and Shirley arrive for the convention and are asked by a man and woman to participate in a focus test group. At that moment, Troy and Britta are having lunch with Toby and Abed. After they leave, Britta warns Troy that Toby is trying to steal Abed away from him. She advises him to play it cool otherwise he could end up alienating himself from Abed by rejecting Toby. At the focus group, Pierce heavily criticizes the pilot for an American version of "Inspector Spacetime". In the hotel lobby, Jeff tries to reconcile how someone as attractive as Lauren could be such a big fan of the show. At the convention, Troy joins Toby and Abed at a panel. However, he quickly loses his cool and after an emotional outburst runs off. Toby then invites Abed to join in in England for another convention.



I'm not psycho
"I'M NOT PSYCHO!!!"
In Jeff's hotel room, Annie is enjoying taking advantage of the room service while pretending to be Jeff's wife. At the focus group, Shirley's pleas to keep the show true to it's source material are ignored in favor of Pierce's dreadful suggestions. Over at the lobby, the hotel staff alerts Annie to the fact that her "husband" is flirting with another lady. She keeps up the charade by staging a jealous public display and throws a drink in his face. Lauren does so as well before leaving. Elsewhere, Britta comforts Troy who is still upset about how he reacted to Toby and Abed. At that moment, the two new best friends are still discussing the convention in England. Abed is reluctant to go but Toby is persistent not only about the trip but also severing ties to his friends at Greendale.



Annie throws a drink in Jeff's face
Annie throws a drink in Jeff's face as Lauren and a crowd looks on.
Abed then figures out that Toby had been lying about his friend "Andrew". Toby confesses but argues that "Constable Reggie" type neurotypicals like Troy always hold back high functioning Inspector types like them. Abed counters that their dynamic creates a perfect balance that grounds unemotional people like them. In response Toby shoves Abed inside a replica of the X-7 Dimensionizer and refuses to let him out until he changes his mind. At the same time, Troy and Britta are about to take a photo in the "Gluon" exhibit but Troy can't go through with it. Britta understands and tells him he should go to Abed. Troy leaves and soon finds Toby guarding the prop he trapped Abed in. He chases Toby away and releases Abed who states he knew Troy would rescue him.



Abed is trapped inside an x-7 Dimensionizer
Abed is trapped by Toby inside an X-7 Dimensionizer.
Back at the hotel lobby, Jeff finds Annie. She explains that scene was mostly for the benefit of the hotel staff to but also admits she was upset he bailed on her. Jeff apologizes for his behavior and offers to make it up to her and starts by buying her an Appletini. Afterwards, Troy and Abed show off their fused Gluon photo while Britta shows them her Minerva t-shirt. Shirley and Pierce arrive and Abed apologizes to the pair for not inviting them. Having finished with the test group, Shirley is apologetic herself and says she did her best. Annie then shows up along with Jeff and announces they are leaving early. Jeff changes his mind and says he wouldn't mind staying longer and decides to get into the swing of things. He jumps onto a stage, rips his shirt off and says "Bow before Thoraxis!".



Bow before Thoraxis
"Bow before Thoraxis!"

End tag[]

The study group watches the American version of "Inspector Spacetime" starring Luke Perry and Jennie Garth. Abed then tells Pierce that he hates him.

Recurring themes[]

Continuity[]

  • Previously:
  • That just happened:
    • While pretending to be someone else, Annie talks about her career as a forensic investigator, a major that Abed had suggested she take in "History 101". 
    • Pierce reads from his book "Pierce Hawthorne's ideas for ladies" that Annie found in his mansion in "Paranormal Parentage".
  • Googly eyes:
    • It's revealed that Troy and Britta have been sleeping together for awhile but tried to keep it a secret from Abed.
    • Jeff and Annie's feelings for each other surface again with Annie's excitement at the idea of them being married and Jeff claiming that he would never be flirting with another woman if he was married to Annie.
  • All by myself: Pierce voices his frustration over not being invited to the convention. Though he is less bothered by it once they reveal Shirley wasn't invited as well, he still crashes the convention along with Shirley anyway.
  • This must be the place: Troy and Abed's apartment and Group Study Room F are featured briefly.
  • Winger speech: Abed delivers the lesson to be learned in this episode to his new friend Toby, while doing a Jeff impression.
  • Familiar faces: Beverly Hills, 90210 alumni Luke Perry and Jennie Garth appear as the American Inspector and his Constable.

Running gags[]

  • Biggest laugh of the night!: After staying the night in Troy's room, Britta is forced to go through an elaborate routine to keep up the appearance that she and Troy haven't been sleeping together.
    • In her bra and panties she exits the window of Troy's bedroom.
    • She swings across the fire escape to an adjoining fire escape where she does a somersault while putting on her pants.
    • She then lands on the adjoining fire escape outside Annie's bedroom where a slumbering Annie hands her a curling iron.
    • She finishes dressing and heads outside to the hallway while Troy and Abed are in his room discussing the event itinerary.
    • In the apartment hallway, she grabs her shoes from where she hid them over the lamps.
    • Using a broom, she pokes at a tile in the drop ceiling where she hid a bag of donuts.
    • With the donuts in hand, she knocks on the front door of the apartment and pretends that she is bringing breakfast for Troy.
  • Nice outfit:
    • Troy and Abed dress up as the Inspector and "Constable Reggie".
    • Toby Weeks dressed up as the Third Inspector.
  • NOOOOOO!: Jeff and Abed scream when they turn on the study room light and find Pierce sitting in the dark.
  • Rhyme time: Seeking some support against Troy and Abed's dislike of the female Inspector Minerva, Britta turns to Annie but is told by her "You're on your own, Al Capone."
  • That's you: Abed does his impression of Jeff while giving Toby a Winger speech.
  • You're the worst!: This phrase is replaced by references to "Minerva", a female Inspector universally reviled by "Inspector Spacetime" fans.

Pop culture references[]

  • Product placement: Toby mentions that Cadbury Cream Eggs are sold year round in England.
  • Shout out:
    • Annie daydreams about marrying Zac Efron.
    • Abed points out to Toby that he is dressed as the inspector whose actor was pursuing [1].
  • Well read: Britta quotes "If you love someone, set them free..." a quote which goes back to the 1970s.

Meta references[]

  • Everyone's a critic: The focus test group can be seen as a nod to the behind the scenes conflict between NBC and Community creator and ex-showrunner Dan Harmon. The executives asked that he try to broaden the appeal of the show but Harmon would often refuse. Shirley extolling the virtues of Inspector Spacetime as a show that is "smart, complicated, and doesn't talk down to it's audience" and asking the American producers not to change it can be seen as more commentary on the matter.
  • Homage: The "Doctor Who" spoof/homage "Inspector Spacetime is featured again and it's shown that there have been multiple actors to play the Inspector throughout the shows history, much like "The Doctor", and apparently multiple Constable Reggies, just as the Doctor's multiple Companions.
  • IRL: Toby mentioned to Abed that his best friend was named David. The actor who portrays Toby is Matt Lucas who is known for being on the show Little Britain with his real life best friend David Walliams. Matt Lucas has since become a regular on Doctor Who as the human/cyborg Nardole.
  • Up against the wall:
    • The American "Inspector Spacetime" shown to the focus group show is credited as having been directed by Tristram Shapeero and written by Maggie Bandur, the same writer and director of this episode.
    • Jeff's hotel room number is 404, the production code number of this episode. It had been scheduled to be the fourth episode aired this season but was switched to the third.

Reception[]

Reviews[]

Television critic Jace lacob of the online entertainment news site "The Daily Beast" announced on his twitter account the name of the episode on January 21, 2013. He had seen previews of it and "History 101" and gave the episodes favorable reviews.

Fellow TV crittic Micheal Auseillo from TV Line wasn't as pleased with the episode:

Speaking of Community, I’ve seen the show’s long-awaited Feb. 7 season premiere — and it’s good. Like, really good. Like, you’d-almost-never-know-Dan-Harmon-left good. I also screened a second Season 4 installment — the one set at a Comic-Con-esque convention — and that episode was… um… how shall I put this… [crickets] Did I mention the premiere is good?

Trivia[]

The same location used for Jeff's law firm is used for this episode as the hotel/convention center for "InSpecTiCon" in this episode.

Quotes[]

I've never been on an adult vacation before. This is the first time I've stayed in a hotel without a number in its name.Annie
Season Four Episodes

1. "History 101"
2. "Paranormal Parentage"
3. "Conventions of Space and Time"
4. "Alternative History of the German Invasion"
5. "Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations"
6. "Advanced Documentary Filmmaking"
7. "Economics of Marine Biology"

8. "Herstory of Dance"
9. "Intro to Felt Surrogacy"
10. "Intro to Knots"
11. "Basic Human Anatomy"
12. "Heroic Origins"
13. "Advanced Introduction to Finality"

Season 4 DVD xover

Season OneSeason TwoSeason ThreeSeason FourSeason FiveSeason Six
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