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Plot[]

“
You know what, Jeff? One of us is about to win this game. But years from now, when the story is retold, all they're gonna remember is one of us loved clothes and the other loved the game.
”
Coach Bogner to Jeff
Jeff arrives at the study room wearing a special outfit he picked out for his first day of Billiards class. As the rest of the group settles in, Britta mispronounces the word bagel causing the study group to mock her. When the study session starts, Troy finds a drawing in his textbook which resembles Abed. Drawn alongside various romantic symbols, the group assumes that the textbook's previous owner was a girl with a crush on Abed. Later in Spanish class, they confer with Chang and discover the girl's name is Jenny Adams. Abed is uninterested, but the group insists on making a love connection despite Jeff's protests. Afterwards, Jeff goes to billiards class and shows off his skill at the game and impresses the other students.



PE Hearts and rainbows Abed
White Abed or Brown Joey?
The teacher, Coach Bogner, arrives and informs the class that they are required to wear the school's athletic uniform which includes a pair of tight fitting gym shorts. Jeff awkwardly tries to maintain a cool exterior but quickly becomes extremely self-conscious. He get into an argument with the coach when he refuses to wear the uniform resulting in him being kicked out of class. Meanwhile, the study group is in the cafeteria after tracking down Jenny Adams for Abed. They convince him to talk to her but after seeing Abed in action, however, they decide he's not ready yet. They take it upon themselves to teach him how to pick up girls. The group believe he needs to approach her using a different persona and start arguing about which one would be the most effective.



Jeff in gym uniform
Jeff is uncomfortable wearing the gym uniform.
Jeff shows up and criticizes the group for forcing Abed to be something he's not. Impressed by the speech but ignoring his admonishment, the study group members all agree that Abed should imitate Jeff. Abed takes their advice and tries a second time to woo Jenny. The study group looks on as he finds her in the student lounge and successfully flirts with her. However, his success is short lived when her boyfriend Joey Elkins shows up. He bore a striking resemblance to Abed and the group quickly realizes they made a mistake. They step in and stop an angry Joey from fighting Abed. The next day, the group apologizes to Abed for what happened. He admits the only reason he did any of it was because he knew how much it meant for them to help him. Abed states he doesn't really need help with women as they usually flock to him.



1x17-Abed hits on Jenny
Abed hits on Jenny.
He didn't mind changing for them because he already knows who he is. This inspires Jeff to overcome his embarrassment and confront Bogner while wearing the gym shorts. He goes to the student lounge and challenges Coach to a game of pool. The match starts as a crowd gathers including the rest of the study group, Ben Chang and Dean Pelton. Jeff manages to get the upper hand and taunts Bogner while strutting around in his gym shorts. Bogner mocks Jeff believing that Jeff still hasn't learned his lesson about vanity. Jeff tries to prove him wrong by stripping to his underwear. Bogner follows suit and the game continues. As the game reaches its climax, Bogner tells Jeff it's the game itself that matters, not what they wear. Taking his hint, Both Jeff and Bogner strip completely naked at the same time.



Naked Jeff celebrates
Jeff celebrates his victory over Coach Bogner.
Jeff then takes his last shot and sinks the 8 ball winning the game. Bogner accepts his defeat and tells Jeff he is free to wear whatever he wants to class. Jeff says he chooses shorts earning him a kiss from Bogner as well as his respect. Afterwards, Jeff is basking in his victory with the study group when he is approached by an attractive female classmate from his billiards class. She congratulates him for his win and then shyly asks if he could introduce her to Abed. Jeff considers this for a second and then tells her that Abed prefers the direct approach. She goes over to the pool table where Abed and Troy are playing a game and chats him up as the study group looks on. They are all joined by Joey Elkins who observes the scene and laments why he can't have Abed's way with the ladies.



Joey's lament
"Man, why couldn't I be Brown Joey?"

End tag[]

Troy and Abed are role playing as Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street until Troy remembers that he has to attend a funeral for his cousin. In the Community The Complete First Season DVD commentaries, Donald Glover mentions that this bit was Yvette Nicole Brown's idea.

Recurring themes[]

Continuity[]

Continuity lists
Narrative
Recurring or debuting plot points in this episode:
  • Googly eyes:
    • Annie says that she enjoyed the moment with Abed when he impersonated Don Draper from the show Mad Men and tried to kiss her.
    • Annie ogles Jeff as he plays pool naked, as does Dean Pelton.
  • Discontinuity: Jeff tells Leonard that he met his son on Family Day, although Family day doesn't occur until the following episode, "Basic Genealogy."
  • History lesson: Another allusion is made to Abed's probable autism, with Annie saying "It's just like The Notebook, except, instead of Alzheimer's, Abed has-" before being cut off.
  • Winger speech: Jeff delivers one to the group in the beginning of the episode but is ignored by the study group. Abed gives one towards the end of the show which relays the true lesson of the episode.
People
Recurring or debuting characters in this episode:
Places
Recurring or debuting places in this episode:
Things
Recurring or debuting items in this episode:
  • School uniform:
    • Jeff strips down, revealing striped underwear; this type of underwear worn by Jeff would make appearances in later episodes.
    • Greendale's gym uniform is introduced in this episode.
  • School supplies:
    • The Spanish textbook Dos Mundos appears.
    • Pool table
  • Sweet spread: A bag of original flavored Let's potato chips are seen behind Coach Bogner when playing pool against Jeff.

Running gags[]

List of Running gags
Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode:
  • Attention students!: The Dean makes an announcement teasing Jeff.
  • Bag-ul: Britta mispronounces the word bagel. She would later mispronounce other words throughout the series.
  • Bon appetit!: Pierce again implies that Britta is a lesbian. Britta tells Abed to be sexy like Jo from Facts of Life... except as a guy. Jo is considered something of a lesbian icon.
  • Fan service: Jeff strips down to his underwear while playing pool, then goes full monty when he takes his final shot.
  • I'm Batman!: Abed continues his trend of portraying other personalities. In this episode, it's Don Draper from "Mad Men".
  • I lived in New York!: Britta says she can pronounce bagel correctly as she lived in New York.
  • It's a mixer, it's a mixer!: Jeff spills a bag of bagels on the floor and Abed immediately counts that there are thirteen of them.
  • Man crush: Dean Pelton takes pictures of Jeff when he's naked and feels up his bare stomach.
  • Shut up, Leonard!: Jeff again tells Leonard to shut up because Leonard says that Jeff will look like an ass in gym shorts. Jeff says he knows about Leonard's gambling problem to which Leonard replies "Touché".
  • You're the worst!: Britta is called "the worst" by Señor Chang. She would go on to be called this many times by other characters in future episodes.

Pop culture references[]

List of Pop culture references
References to popular culture in this episode:

Meta references[]

List of Meta references
Meta references in this episode:
  • IRL : Britta's mispronunciation of the word Bagel is inspired by creator Dan Harmon pronouncing it Bag-ul.
  • Résumé: Abed practices his seduction technique on Annie by portraying Mad Men character Don Draper. Alison Brie also stars in that show as Trudy Campbell.

Trivia[]

  • In the Community The Complete First Season DVD commentaries, Danny Pudi mentions that the make-up required to transform him into Joey Elkins took hours and included three different fittings for coloured contact lens.
  • Abed Nadir impersonates Jeff Winger to woo Jenny Adams. He promises her that it will be fun to be together, saying it's an "Abed guarantee." Later on, Jeff indeed repeatedly uses the phrase "a Winger Guarantee," most notably in his law commercial song "Jeff Winger Hero-At-Law."
  • In the background of the Spanish class, a map of Mexico is hanging upside-down.
  • The picture of Ancient Greeks playing pool is captioned ΓΕΦΥΡΑ ΑΓΟΡΙ (gephyra agori, meaning perhaps "boy battlefield").

Quotes[]

It's just like the Notebook, only instead of Alzheimer's, Abed has [Shirley clears her throat so that Annie doesn't say "autism"] ... someone who likes him.Annie
Nobody here is "Can't Buy Me Love"-ing or "Love Don't Cost A Thing"-ing anyone because we've all seen enough after school specials [off Shirley and Troy's confused looks] and Fat Albert [Shirley and Troy nod in understanding] to know that Abed only needs to be himself.Jeff
Yes Abed, you need to be someone else. Someone who eventually gets a girlfriend because I can't think of anything more frightening than a half-Polish, half-Arab virgin in his thirties. One way or the other, that story ends with an explosion.Pierce
The truth is lots of girls like me because let's face it: I'm pretty adorable. And my aloofness unconsciously reminds them of their father, so I'm more used to them approaching me.Abed
So we didn't damage your self esteem or anything?Britta
Britta, I've got self esteem flowing out of my butt. That's why I was willing to change for you guys because when you really know who you are and what you like about yourself, changing for other people isn't such a big deal."Abed
Season One Episodes

1. "Pilot"
2. "Spanish 101"
3. "Introduction to Film"
4. "Social Psychology"
5. "Advanced Criminal Law"
6. "Football, Feminism and You"
7. "Introduction to Statistics"
8. "Home Economics"
9. "Debate 109"
10. "Environmental Science"
11. "The Politics of Human Sexuality"
12. "Comparative Religion"
13. "Investigative Journalism"

14. "Interpretive Dance"
15. "Romantic Expressionism"
16. "Communication Studies"
17. "Physical Education"
18. "Basic Genealogy"
19. "Beginner Pottery"
20. "The Science of Illusion"
21. "Contemporary American Poultry"
22. "The Art of Discourse"
23. "Modern Warfare"
24. "English as a Second Language"
25. "Pascal's Triangle Revisited"

Nbc-community-dvd

Season OneSeason TwoSeason ThreeSeason FourSeason FiveSeason Six
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