"Basic Human Anatomy" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the NBC sitcom Community, which originally aired on April 25, 2013.
In this episode, Troy and Abed switch bodies - an homage to Freaky Friday - while the valedictorian race between Annie and Shirley sees the pair team up to take down Leonard who is currently #1 in the class.
The episode was written by Jim Rash, and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.
Plot
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The group has to creatively present any moment from history as part of their final history project. Annie proposes a series of banners which Jeff automatically accepts before knowing any of the details as he wants a "passable" grade from a "doable" project. Annie and Shirley are both vying for the valedictorian spot and would rather the group aim for an A on the assignment.
Shirley asks Troy and Britta about what they are going to do for the first anniversary of their first date, but they both pretend to not have forgotten the date. Troy, however, remembers it as being the third anniversary of he and Abed watching the original Freaky Friday for the first time, which he presents to him as a DVD. As Abed is thanking Troy for the gift and saying how he wishes he had his life and Troy the same for Abed, they re-enact the body switching scene from the Freaky Friday. As the pair spin around and fall to the floor a Greendale technician turns the lights on and off citing, "Sorry. Routine light switch check." Troy and Abed are disappointed the change did not work.
The next morning, Troy (as Abed) wakes up next to Britta who wishes him a happy anniversary. Troy runs over to wake Abed up and tells him a body switch occurred after all. Troy and Abed try to convince the rest of the study group that they did actually swap bodies and that Abed (as Troy) will have to go to with Britta for their anniversary dinner. Troy (as Abed) tells the group the pair cannot switch back unless they recreate the exact scene from yesterday, but the DVD has gone missing.
Jeff asks Dean Pelton to give the Freaky Friday DVD to Troy and Abed to convince them it's the original DVD and so they don't suspect that Jeff has bought a new copy instead. When the Dean asks Jeff about how Troy and Abed switched bodies, he grabs onto the DVD and convulses while the same technician turns the lights on and off again, also citing a routine light switch check. The Dean starts acting like Jeff.
Annie and Shirley visit the Dean, who continues to act like Jeff, in order to find out why Leonard is ranked #1 in the class. The Dean at first refuses, but then to act like Jeff reveals that Leonard once took a class in 1968 in Rotary Phone Maintenance and has been taking every subsequent class pass/fail in order to maintain a perfect GPA. When the Dean confronts Leonard, Leonard runs out of the college, thereby returning Shirley and Annie to #1 and #2 in the class respectively. Annie is attracted to the Dean while he is acting like Jeff but cannot understand why. Shirley's solidarity with Annie dissolves as soon as she gets the #1 ranking and she gloats about it, which annoys Annie.
Over their dinner, Abed (as Troy) tells Britta that Troy has been talking to Abed about their relationship and wonders if they really are working when they forgot a relationship milestone such as their anniversary. Jeff insists Troy (as Abed) go find the DVD when he rejects the new copy as it is actually of the 2003 remake. The janitors, who are having a murder mystery night during the day, direct them to the lost and found. While looking for the DVD, Troy (as Abed) confesses to Jeff that he doesn't think his relationship with Britta is working and that they should break up. Back at the restaurant Abed (as Troy) is confessing the same thoughts to Britta. Jeff commends Troy for his commitment to the bodyswap with Abed, but tells him that he has to be honest with Britta because "that's what a man does."
Troy and Abed meet up at the restaurant and re-enact the bodyswitching scene, as Jeff turns the lights on and off, to return to their rightful bodies. Troy finally sits down and breaks up with Britta saying that he knows he can be a good friend to her and wishes to have at least that even while he cannot be her boyfriend.
When the group returns to the study room, Pierce shocks them by having completed the banners for their history assignment, within 25 minutes.
In the end tag, which takes place a week later, Troy and Abed perform out-takes with the Dean, to the annoyance of Jeff who demands they stop doing the bit.
Continuity
- Annie and Shirley reference the C+ grade the group received for their history paper in "Intro to Knots".
- Pierce remarks, "someone's making her way around the table" when he finds out Troy and Britta are dating, referencing when Jeff and Britta once dated.
- Leonard has been attending Greendale for at least as far back as 1968 and has had rhinoplasty, which the Dean has evidence of his original nose.
- Greendale by-laws requires the Dean to grant three wishes to any student he scolds.
Production
The episode was written by cast member Jim Rash, his first writing credit for the series. It was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.
This aired as episode eleven, but was the tenth episode produced.
Cultural references
Troy buys Abed a six-pack of body switching movies which includes Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30, The Change-Up, 17 Again, 18 Again!, and Vice Versa.
Reception
The episode was seen by approximately 2.33 million viewers.
Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated the episode positively with a B+, saying, "[I]t's an episode that takes a potentially insipid and unbelievable premise and finds something strangely heartfelt in it."
References
External links
- "Basic Human Anatomy" at NBC.com
- "Basic Human Anatomy" on IMDb
- "Basic Human Anatomy" at TV.com
- "Basic Human Anatomy" at TV Tropes
