Mark Lee and Matthew Wrather recap Community, Season 5 episode 3, “Basic Intergluteal Numismatics.”
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The aforementioned Butt Stuff super cut:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBkJYnLjsaw
Re: who was really the ACB? As Zodiac is based on a real-life unsolved crime, the doubt at the end as to the real perpetrator was appropriate, and I’m sure it was in reference to other things that more knowledgeable OTI denizens can point out.
The “there’s a little ACB in all of us” got me thinking of peerless anime series ‘Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’ which revolves around the ‘stand alone complex’ in which an initial act spawns many imitators all acting independently in what appears to be a group or unified effort when viewed from a distance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_Ghost_in_the_Shell#Stand_Alone_Complex
Thus, my personal theory is that each of the characters floated as ‘potential’ ACBs were infact individual perpetrators. This fits quite nicely with the fact that the idea was spun off a random mention in an earlier episode as a second-order simulacra.
Looking at just the episode I don’t think it’s possible to deduce the identity of the Ass Crack Bandit. It’s also likely that, as an homage to Zodiac (and reality) we’ll never find out.
Not that I’m not trying. The best evidence is the scene where the ACB is waiting inside that little alcove outside the study room. I’m pretty sure most of the study group has passed close enough to the shelves to get a good height comparison.
Every time you bring up the donkey thing, I feel the need to take you to task for it, but then I just feel defeated and I don’t bother. Complaint lodged. That’s all I can muster.
I could say a lot about Community, but what’s the point?
Do you not want to see the woman eff the donkey? Do you hate Shakespeare?
Yes, Community and crime procedurals. Something I can actually talk about.
But first, I think one of the things that also came back in this episode was Annie and Jeff as a viable couple. Under Harmon’s leadership, they’ve been able to sell that ship in a meaningful way while always reminding us of how creepy the age difference was while the previous season just tried to clumsily give fans of the ship what they wanted without understanding why it worked.
On the question of what’s being trivialized, I think it’s the ass crack banditry. The crime on this episode of Community stands in contrast to the ones committed on various crime procedurals. I think the show is asking you to make a comparison but not the one you were hinting at in this recap. A show like Bones mixes the horrific crime with a lot of humor and lightness (and also a ton of stereotypes and harassment of witnesses and suspects). A show like Law and Order SVU (which is the worst of all the Law and Order’s) or Cold Case mixes in a ton of melodrama. I think both trivialize the actual crime and ignore it in favor of humor and melodrama. In this episode of Community, characters repeatedly said something about how silly or unimportant the crime being committed was. This pretty much never happens except in really light shows like maybe Monk or Psych when the case is a little ridiculous. And yet, with the humor and melodrama these shows are making light of the crimes they’re portraying. They make it palatable for the audience by shifting the focus and making us more jaded to the gruesome scenes week by week. (Although I possibly shouldn’t include myself in this as I’ve never been bothered by the bodies in Bones. I’m always really aware that they’re fake. I’m not sure exactly why.)
OK, more on the male/female crime procedural partnerships. The accusation that they’re only trying to solve the case as an excuse to hang out with each other is somewhat warranted given the set up for a lot of these shows. Castle and Bones are notable examples. The shows that actually feature two cops do a little better. I’m thinking of Law and Order Criminal Intent and Law and Order SVU though SVU kind of went back and forth.
Just a quick comment, but I thought the ACB was Pierce Hawthorne. I don’t think we’ll ever be seeing Chase on the show again (or at least I’d be surprised if we did) but for me that’s the reason for the reveal of his death at the end; Jeff and Annie run down the hallway and discover Hawthorne. It could also be Yvette; doesn’t Annie mention that hall was a dead-end later?