Beginner Pottery
- Episode aired Mar 18, 2010
- TV-PG
- 28m
Jeff signs up for a pottery class for an easy credit, but winds up failing the class when his jealousy of another student gets the best of him. Meanwhile, Pierce's incompetence could ruin hi... Read allJeff signs up for a pottery class for an easy credit, but winds up failing the class when his jealousy of another student gets the best of him. Meanwhile, Pierce's incompetence could ruin his group's grade in boating class.Jeff signs up for a pottery class for an easy credit, but winds up failing the class when his jealousy of another student gets the best of him. Meanwhile, Pierce's incompetence could ruin his group's grade in boating class.
- Rich's Mom
- (voice)
- Young Jeff
- (uncredited)
- Surprised Student
- (uncredited)
- Greendale Student
- (uncredited)
- Man
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Abed says Jeff is "Goldbluming", referring to actor Jeff Goldblum, Jeff unintentionally impersonates Goldblum. This is a reference to Goldblum's 1986 movie The Fly (1986).
- GoofsThe clay in the pottery teacher's hands changes shape between shots.
- Quotes
Pierce Hawthorne: Jeffrey, when I was born, I got my umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, both arms, and one of my ankles. Mom said there came a point when the doctor stopped delivering me and just started laughing. I mean, if I ever let being bad at something stop me, I wouldn't be here. That thing some men call 'failure,' I call 'living.' 'Breakfast.' And I'm not leaving until I've cleaned out the buffet. Now, how about a shove?
Jeff Winger: Good luck, Pierce.
Pierce Hawthorne: Don't need it. Never had it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Episodes of Community (2015)
After the let-down that was the previous week's "Basic Genealogy", "Community" thankfully rebounds with the competent and wildly entertaining "Beginner Pottery", a broad and frequently amusing diversion that not only delivers on laughs, but manages to establish new concepts that will only grow in importance as time goes on. It may not be the finest of the first season, but it never lets up on the jokes or wonderful character-beats that define the series as a whole.
Jeff (Joel McHale) joins a beginner's pottery class with Abed (Danny Pudi) and Annie (Alison Brie), under the assumption it will be an breezy blow-off class for easy credits. However, he is soon shocked by fellow student Rich (Greg Cromer), a man who is seemingly perfect in virtually every aspect. Jeff becomes obsessed with being shown- up by the humble and good-spirited Rich when his work simply cannot compare, and he goes on a quest to try and prove that Rich is some sort of con-man who only joined the class to attain praise and admiration. At the same time, Shirley (Yvetter Nicole Brown), Pierce (Chevy Chase), Troy (Donald Glover) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) sign up for a one- week course on sailing lead by the gruff Professor Slaughter (Lee Majors), but quickly find themselves in over their head due to their failure to operate as a team.
Part of the success of the episode in comparison to the previous is that it feels more calm and focused, with a clear and defined effort to cut-down on the numerous sub-plots and instead focus on a more simple A and B storyline narrative. There is a clear sense of tonal consistency and both of the ongoing plot lines follow a structure that compliments and contrasts with one-another, helping the overall episode to organically flow. It also gives some really nice business to each and every character, with everyone getting their moment to shine. There's a lot of really clever character development given to both Jeff and Shirley in this episode, including finally getting a glimpse of Jeff's past and what makes him tick, which helps to inform his conflict with Rich.
The humor is also drastically ramped up here. The B storyline involving the Sailing Class is much more focused on broad comedy and it's filled to burst with some beautifully hilarious broad comedic gags and physical humor. Definitely one of those episodes that had me near rolling on the floor with laughter at some of the things writer Hilary Winston came up with. The back-and-forth sort-of battle between Jeff and Rich also supplies plenty of great gags, including an uproariously funny nod to actor Jeff Goldblum and his unique delivery.
As it stands, while far from the best, "Beginner Pottery" is just such a refreshing and good-natured bit of fun, I can't help but adore it. It's consistently funny and has some nice character development that make it a very fun watch. I have to give it a very strong 9 out of 10. Definitely worth giving a re-watch if you haven't seen it in a while.
- TedStixonAKAMaximumMadness
- Nov 19, 2016