Community

Season 4

History 101

1. The first episode without the contribution of creator and former show runner Dan Harmon. Harmon left the show after creative differences with Sony, the show's producers.
2. In an interview, Dan Harmon told "The A.V. Club" that Fred Willard (who plays alter-Pierce in the episode) was on the shortlist of actors he initially wanted to play Pierce.

Paranormal Parentage

1. Pierce says, "Ghosts can't go through doors! They're not fire." This is a direct reference to Chang's quote from Community: The First Chang Dynasty (2012), where he said "Fire can't go through doors! They're not ghosts."
2. Abed makes a note that Pierce purchased his panic room on the same day as the theatrical release of "Do The Right Thing." Giancarlo Esposito, who plays Pierce's half-brother Gilbert and appears in this episode, was in the film.
3. Troy and Abed are dressed as Calvin and Hobbes, characters from a popular cartoon strip.
4. The opening credits of the intro are Halloween-themed. The paper fortune teller sequence is the same one used in Season 2's Community: Epidemiology (2010), with the new addition of Jim Rash's credit, which features a man in an electric chair.
5. In Pierce's bedroom, seen behind Jeff as he and Britta talk about Daddy issues is the painting of Chevy Chase that he had in his house in the first Caddyshack film!

Conventions of Space and Time

1. Matt Lucas guest stars as a fan of the Inspector Spacetime series. He has also appeared in Doctor Who (2005) as Nardole, a companion for the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi); his first appearance was in a Christmas special.
2. Annie has a "Charlie St. Cloud" poster in her room. Alison Brie's future husband Dave Franco was in that movie.
3. At the Inspector Spacetime convention one female is wearing a gold pagoda headpiece and a gold and green bathing suit. That costume is an exact copy of a Darling Mermaid Darlings outfit from the TV show Pushing Daisies (2007).
4. One subplot revolves around an awful American version of a British television show. Joel McHale starred in the failed American version of British sitcom The IT Crowd (2006) in 2007.
5. This episode aired in the week following North America's largest Doctor Who convention, Gallifrey One. It's unknown if this was intentional. However, the second episode following was set on Thanksgiving, so it may just be a nice coincidence due to the delayed run of the season.
6. The penultimate scene is from the American version of "Inspector Spacetime" with Luke Perry and Jennie Garth, both of whom starred in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990).
7. In the audience of the panel you can see Adam Goldberg, a regular on creator Dan Harmon's podcast "Harmontown".
8. Guest star Matt Lucas' character disparages people who watch competitive cooking shows. In 2020, Matt Lucas became the co-host of competitive cooking show The Great British Baking Show (2010).
9. Tricia Helfer plays a fan at the inSpecTiCon. She is most famous for her role as the Number Six Cylons in Battlestar Galactica (2004) and is a popular guest star at comic-con events.
10. Pierce twice mentioning having a hot blond with a tennis racket for a sidekick is in reference to his movie Fletch (1985), which co-starred Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, who fit both those descriptions.
11. Annie's hotel room number is 404 and the episode number is 4.03. In episode 3.04, Troy and Abed's new apartment number is 303.
12. Annie asks Jeff for an Appletini, which is the favorite drink of Zach Braff's character in Scrubs (2001). Earlier in the series Jeff complains about being compared to Zach Braff.
13. Britta asks what a gluon is. The gluon was first hypothesised in 1968, first named in '72, first experimental evidence in '78. Atomic nuclei are made of protons and neutrons; protons and neutrons are made up of quarks; gluons are the massless particles that bind those quarks to each other. They figuratively glue protons and neutrons together.

Alternative History of the German Invasion

1. Lukas says "That must be nearly 100 luftballons", which is a clear reference to the top hit 1983 protest song 99 Luftballons (English translation "99 AIR Balloons") by the German pop-rock band Nena. One balloon does eventually pop, leaving behind 99 luft balloons.
2. As Jeff begins his speech referencing "Hogan's Heroes," a slow, inspirational-speech-type version of the Hogan's Heroes theme song plays quietly underneath.
3. The show introduces Reinhold (Chris Diamantopoulos), Juergen's cousin, leading the same German study group who appeared in Community: Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism (2011). Nick Kroll, who portrayed Juergen, could not reprise his role in this episode due to his commitment on his own show, Kroll Show (2013).
4. Alex Schemmer, who plays Karl, also guest starred as Trent on an episode of Cougar Town (2009), which is one of Abed's favorite shows.
5. Reinhold says "English is my second language" since he was portraying a German student. Chris Diamantopoulos (the actor who portrays Reinhold) was born and raised in Canada but his first language is Greek so that statement was actually true for him well.

Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations

1. The song that Britta plays on her boom box became the theme song to the Fox show Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013), which would air its pilot episode six months after this episode aired.
2. The Dean's cowboy outfit is an almost exact replica of the one Jeff wore to the faculty Halloween party in S01E07 "Introduction to Statistics," prompting Jeff to ask "is that..." before the Dean interrupts him.
3. The dip that Abed brought to the party was made by Señor Kevin, which is the Mexican themed restaurant the group has visited many times.
4. When Jeff is surprised by the appearance of his half brother in his Lexus he proclaims, "What in the cat's cradle is going on?" which is a reference to the 1974 song "Cat's in the Cradle", about a father who was too busy to spend time with his son.
5. A photo of Shirley, Annie, Troy, and Jeff in their costumes for the first Halloween party can be seen on Shirley's fridge in the garage.
6. Gillian Jacobs and Adam Devine would later work together on the Disney+ film "Magic Camp".

Advanced Documentary Filmmaking

1. While making this episode, Chevy Chase got angry at how his character Pierce Hawthorne was becoming increasingly more racist, asking the writers if saying the n-word was next. This caused quite a stir, which led to Chase taking a leave of absence the next week for the shooting of Community: Intro to Knots (2013). He returned the week after that for Community: Basic Human Anatomy (2013).
2. Abed's decision to show himself reacting to the "ugly" footage, instead of showing the footage itself, is a reference the same choice made by Werner Herzog in his "Grizzly Man" documentary.
3. In the credits, it is revealed that Garret's middle name is Xander.
4. Greendale is attempting to help cure "Kevin" of his "Changnesia" with a grant from the MacGuffin Institute. In film, a "MacGuffin" is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation.
5. Abed's name appears for every job in his movie's credits except for Executive Producer. Jeff was credited as the executive producer because he supplied the money for the film.

Economics of Marine Biology

1. The Dean is mocked by the group for schilling "Let's Potato Chips" as part of an endorsement deal. This fictitious brand of chips can be seen on many other shows, including Arrested Development, Orange is the New Black, New Girl, The Middle, 2 Broke Girls, My Name is Earl, Ugly Betty, Switched at Birth, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Sons of Anarchy, and--of most importance to Abed--Cougar Town.
2. On IMDb this is the lowest rated episode of the series.
3. In the cafeteria scene where the Delta Cubes pull Dean Pelton's pants down, he is wearing orange and blue striped boxer briefs. This is the exact same type of underwear that Jeff wore in the episode where he played pool in his undies (Community: Physical Education (2010)).
4. At the scene where Troy and Shirley are picking team members, the classmates are named after former writers of the show.
5. In the slide presentation near the beginning, Archie is seen lighting a $1000 bill on fire with a $100 dollar bill. Owing the scarcity of 1000's it is actually worth at least $1600. Moments later Pierce is seen doing the same.
6. Jeff (Joel McHale) and the Dean (Jim Rash) can be seen wearing the same briefs.
7. At the end when Jeff & Pierce are speaking at the barber shop, Chevy Chase says: "You know one sport I never got? Golf! I've belonged to dozens of courses in my life but never played..." An obvious play on his role as Ty in Caddyshack.

Herstory of Dance

1. Brie Larson, who played Rachel, actually auditioned for the role of Annie Edison, which eventually went to Alison Brie, according to an interview made by HFPA Chairman Ruben V. Nepales for his international column for the PDI Inquirer Entertainment.
2. Chang, as the DJ, announces that the Sophie B. Hawkins dance is sponsored by Hawthorne Wipes, which are "perfect for cleaning the dash of your '92 Subaru". In the early '90s homosexuality was less socially acceptable. But when the Subaru demographics folks realized that their Outback was rather popular with lesbians, they started the first advertising campaign deliberately aimed at the lesbian niche market. For a while the Subaru Outback was the semi-official car of the lesbian community.
3. The character Kat is a parody of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. A popular film stock character, the MPDG is an eccentric, quirky teenage girl or young woman who never pursues her own happiness and only exists to help the depressed male protagonist lighten up. Knowing what a film buff Abed is, it's clear this is why Annie set them up. Abed also perfectly suits the role of the brooding male lead MPDGs are often paired with.
4. When Abed leaves Jessica to go to the coat check room for the first time, he leaves behind a kaleidoscope and a Gideon's Bible, describing them to Rachel as icebreakers. These are references to the popular Beatles songs "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Rocky Racoon."
5. In the coatroom Abed checks a jelly bean kaleidoscope. While that device is not commercially available, photoshopped graphic design images labeled 'jelly bean kaleidoscope' are common.

Intro to Felt Surrogacy

1. Chevy Chase and the show parted ways after shooting the 11th episode, which was the finale, shot out of order. However, Chase agreed to record dialogue for this episode, which was the last episode to be produced, in which the cast mostly appears in puppet form. So because of this, although his puppet is part of the cast, Pierce is not seen in human form.
2. Sara Bareilles makes a cameo as the air balloon guide. Her song Gravity is heard in Community: Paradigms of Human Memory (2011).
3. When they meet the Mountain Man, Jeff says, "And I thought my hair looked fake." This is in reference to the actor who plays the Mountain Man, Jason Alexander, wearing a luxurious wig for the part. For most of his notable career Jason Alexander has been partially bald.
4. Annie's most shameful secret is a reference to a story Alison Brie told in an interview on the David Letterman show. She related how a stranger was obsessed with her feet and wanted to give her what he claimed to be a strictly platonic foot massage.
5. Abed's puppet is wearing a shirt with an Inspector Spacetime logo.
6. As Kevin is leaving the study room, his puppet says, "He isn't what he seems!"
7. During the tag scene at the end of the episode, the puppet characters hum the song "Daybreak," which is often hummed by various characters over the course of the series.
8. At the very beginning, when the group is in the study room, the white board behind Annie and Shirley reads as follows:"Until further notice, the union bldg will have some spaces available if needed. Thanks for your patience as we are presently working to resolve this problem."
9. When the group first starts singing to figure out where they'll go on their adventure, Britta suggests that they maybe see France, to which Pierce replies "Or anywhere else where naked ladies will dance." This is a reference to an old novelty song, "There's A Place In France" which begins with the following lyrics: "There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance."
10. With all the problems the group faced in their previous adventure, no one seems to notice the elephant in the room: Pierce was accidentally left behind in the woods and still hasn't returned.

Intro to Knots

1. Yvette Nicole Brown could not be on the set when they shot the scenes with the kittens, because she is super allergic, so a stand-in had to be used and the scene had to be the very last one shot.
2. Two of the kittens handed out at the end of the episode are named 'James' and 'Fiona' after Danny Pudi's children.
3. The first act was filmed in a few continuous shots without cuts.
4. First episode in the entire series where the study group is not complete; Chevy Chase was unavailable during the week of shooting and is not in this episode. His absence is explained as his character having sensitivity training with his brother Gilbert. He returned the following week for the shooting of the next episode, Community: Basic Human Anatomy (2013).
5. Jeff says about the curtains "Actually, these will also work for Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, or whenever people get to see it." This references the fact that this episode was shot when NBC had moved the premiere date for Season Four of Community to an undisclosed time.
6. This episode was intended to be an homage to the 1948 Alfred Hitchcock film Rope (1948). According to writer Andy Bobrow, he had intended the episode to be shot in long tracking sequences, in real time, just like the movie, but production argued it wouldn't be feasible in the timeframe they were given to shoot it. An allusion to that intention is Abed's line "This is amazing and possibly happening in real time!", when the group argues amongst themselves after Cornwallis is tied up by Chang.
7. In a clear homage to Die Hard, Abed takes off his shoes.
8. Troy's holiday sweater has gingerbread men dipping one in a glass of milk and it says "milk boarding" along the bottom.
9. The judge's name is Anne Mebane. Annie Mebane is a writer for the show.
10. Professor Cornwallis called Troy "childish" and Donald Glover's rap persona is Childish Gambino.
11. The opening shot of the episode lasts a full two minutes and explores most of Jeff's apartment. Professor Cornwallis' entrance scene similarly lasts over a minute and also travels through the apartment.

Basic Human Anatomy

1. Danny Pudi and Donald Glover recorded all of each others' dialogue so that the other could listen to it prior to filming to get the tone and mannerisms exact.
2. The lost and found has a bee costume from the episode "Celebrity Pharmacology 212."
3. In the opener, Abed is wearing a "This is Not My Time Machine" tee. At the top, Bill and Ted from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), are with the Tenth Doctor's Tardis, and below them, the Tenth Doctor is with their phone booth.
4. Britta's pajama top is the same t-shirt she wore while with Annie during the oil spill fundraiser in Community: The Psychology of Letting Go (2010).

Heroic Origins

1. When Britta's anarchist group leaves her, she is standing in front of a Greendale Citizen of the month board. Every photo is of Annie.
2. When at the frozen yogurt shop in the mall, the Simple Minds song from 'The Breakfast Club' is playing in the background. The movie is referenced several times in the first pilot.
3. Abed was going to call his chart the "Loom of Fate," a reference to the 2009 comic book movie "Wanted" where such a device was used.
4. Near the end of the episode, Troy says, "and we're all Spider-Man!" In 2010, one of Donald Glover's fans suggested that Glover play Peter Parker in the then-upcoming Amazing Spider-Man movie. Fans showed their support on Twitter by retweeting the hashtag #donald4spiderman.
5. In this episode, Abed talks about how terrible the Star Wars prequels are, while this episode is, ironically, a prequel.
6. Second episode in the entire series to feature an incomplete study group. Chevy Chase left the show after shooting the finale, Community: Advanced Introduction to Finality (2013), out of order, after which this episode was shot. His absence is explained as Pierce donating his kidney to his brother Gilbert to get out of the history final. Chase returned a week later for the last episode shot, the puppet episode Community: Intro to Felt Surrogacy (2013), by giving his voice to puppet Pierce.
7. Final appearance of Abed's father, Gobi Nadir (Iqbal Theba).

Advanced Introduction to Finality

1. During Jeff's graduation ceremony the blackboard clearly reads 'Six Seasons and a Movie'.
2. The blackboard at Jeff's graduation has the episode's production number written in the top corner.
3. When Abed is first transported to the Darkest Timeline, he stops to look at a bulletin board that has posters saying Chang is Us, as well as a poster for Starburns' Crystal Meth for sale.