Community – Recap & Review – Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas

photo: nbc

Community
Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas

Original Air Date: Dec 9, 2010

Meg – Sr. Reviewer
meg@thetwocentscorp.com

In honor of Community’s stop-motion Christmas spectacular, I have composed a short song (to the tune of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”).

Abed the clay-faced student
had a small psychotic break.
And all the friends who saw him
Tried to tell him it was fake.

They staged an intervention
and did their best to understand
why Abed teleported
them to Winter Wonderland.

So all the study groupers
saved their friend from ice with song (and guns!)
And beat the cartoon warlock
who’d tried to kill their Christmas fun.

Now Christmas time has meaning
for each and every one.
So clay or flesh (or Snowman Chang!)
all is well within the gang.

Then all the study groupers
shouted out to him with glee—
Abed the clay-faced wonder
friends for life through history!

We kick things off with the animated dean announcing to the student body that “your school acknowledges no specialness this time of year.” We see closed off “designated holiday zones” in which a lone kid is lighting a menorah. Awww.

The study gang chats about their plans for Christmas break (err, I mean nondenominational seasonal recess). Troy’s going to play video games and Annie’s going to take a (much-needed) course on relaxation.

Shirley corrects Abed’s “Merry Christmas!” with a season’s greetings, claiming that she is sensitive to other people’s cultures (Umm, this is the same woman who went Rambo on the Jesus movie set a few weeks ago. I think not…).

The gang realize that Abed has magically made them all stop-motion animated. He suggests they embrace the genre with a song. When in (stop-motion animated) Rome, right?

Everyone is worried that Abed has gone bonkers—like the worried parental stand-ins they are, Jeff and Britta drag Abed to “therapy” with Professor Duncan.

Abed decides he needs to find the meaning of Christmas. He sings a “sad quick Christmas song” to Frosty the Foul-Mouthed Snow-Chang. Chang complains about being “fondled by singing mental cases” (Yes, I’ve always wanted the snow-people to fight back!).

Abed magically teleports the gang to Planet Abed—the most Christmassy planet in the universe (“the atmosphere is 7% cinnamon!”). He transforms everyone into Christmas versions of themselves: Teddy Pierce, Jeff-in-a-Box, Shirley Baby, Ballerina Annie, Brittabot, and Troy Soldier. Wow, Shirley really got the raw end of that deal. She’s in a diaper.

The gang suffers through the harsh terrain, losing Shirley to a remote-control Christmas pterodactyl and Jeff to a swarm of humbugs (they feed on sarcasm!). Ultimately, Annie, Troy and Pierce fight Duncan (unmasked as an evil Christmas Warlock!) to let Abed ride the Christmas train to Santa’s warehouse.

Abed opens a box conveniently labeled “Meaning of Christmas” and finds… the Season 1 Lost DVD set. He says it represents lack of payoff. Hee!

Christmas Warlock Duncan tells Abed he knows why he escaped into stop-motion animationland. Apparently, on the day she was supposed to show up to enjoy her annual viewing of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” Abed’s mother sent a card. The card basically says, “yeah, I’m with my new family. Laters.” Ouch. Abed freezes over.

Suddenly the gang bursts into the warehouse to defeat the Christmas Warlock and melt Abed’s ice prison with love and song (and weapons). Rescued, Abed has an epiphany—“the meaning of Christmas is the idea that Christmas has meaning—it can mean whatever we want. It used to mean being with my mom. Now it means being with you guys.” Awww! The gang decides to round out the episode by staying in stop-motion and watching Rudolph together.
I loved this episode – it was a lot of fun and while it could have been really gimmicky, the story had a lot of heart to it. I know I can sometimes criticize the show for being too clever for its own good, but tonight’s episode struck the perfect balance. What did you think? Leave some comments and let me know your two cents!