Pilot (Community)
| "Pilot" | |
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| Community episode | |
The main characters of Community, from left: Shirley, Abed, Britta, Prof. Duncan, Jeff, Annie, Pierce and Troy.
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Anthony Russo Joe Russo |
| Written by | Dan Harmon |
| Production code | 100 |
| Original air date | September 17, 2009 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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The pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Community aired on Thursday, September 17, 2009. Written by Dan Harmon, the show's creator, the episode was directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. The episode introduces Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a debarred lawyer who is forced to attend community college to get his license back. He tries to exploit his friendship with one of the faculty members for easy credits, but fails, and is forced to join a Spanish study group. The members of this study group make up the main cast of the series, which includes Chevy Chase as retired entrepreneur Pierce Hawthorne.
The show takes place at the fictional Greendale Community College in Greendale, Colorado. Harmon based the show on his own experiences in community college, and partly modeled the character of Jeff Winger on himself. He emphasized the cast's importance to the show, and also credited some of the actors for their improvisational skills. The episode attracted generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised both the actors and the comedy writing. The show received good viewership, and stood out in NBC's Thursday lineup, where the network's other shows suffered declines in ratings.
Jeff Winger, a disbarred lawyer, has enrolled at Greendale Community College as a condition for getting his license back. His plan is to use his friendship with Dr. Ian Duncan to obtain test answers. In the cafeteria Jeff meets the attractive Britta, and (in an attempt to get closer to her) convinces her to join his non-existent Spanish study group. As the study group convenes, Jeff pretends the other members simply did not show up. Britta, however, has invited Abed to join them. Jeff unsuccessfully tries to make him leave, and then gets called to the football field by Dr. Duncan. The professor makes a futile attempt to appeal to Jeff's conscience, and eventually agrees to provide the answers. Jeff returns to the study group, discovering that Abed has also invited Troy, Shirley, Pierce and Annie. Finding Britta smoking outside, he suggests the two study alone, but she persuades him to return.
Jeff, eager to get away, deliberately stirs a fight among the group, then leaves once more to get the test answers. Dr. Duncan hands him a sealed envelope, but only in return for Jeff's Lexus. When Jeff returns, the group is in turmoil, and Britta promises to go out with him if he can restore order. He does this through an inspirational speech, but Britta sees through his lies and asks him to leave. Jeff then comes clean about everything, adding that since he now has the test answers he does not need the study group. As the group turns against him he leaves.
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