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Plot[]

“
Annie, do you know how many times a sitcom has done a secretly replace a priceless item thing? Because Abed does, Abed knows everything. I know you think you can think your way out of this with your thinkingness but don't think too much.
”
Troy


Annie joins the rest of the study group in the student lounge and asks them about their weekend plans. As they are talking, Garrett and three students are loudly playing a game of foosball in the corner. Abed mentions that he and Troy will be spending Saturday repeatedly watching his newly arrived special edition DVD of "The Dark Knight". Meanwhile, the three students beat Garrett and loudly celebrate their victory. Ignoring Shirley's pleas, Jeff goes to confront them and gets challenged to a game. They agree to never use the foosball table again if he is able to score once. Jeff feigns disinterest and pretends to leave but then quickly attempts to score a point. After he fails and is mocked by the foreign students, Britta tries to snap a photo of his humiliating defeat with her knock-off brand cell phone.



Jeff confronts the Germans
Jeff confronts the obnoxious foosball enthusiasts.
Later at Troy and Abed's apartment, Annie is doing some light house cleaning when she accidentally steps on and destroys Abed's new "Dark Knight" DVD which had been lying on the ground. Troy emerges from his blanket fort room and after noticing Annie's mood displays a similar mortified reaction when shown the remains of the DVD. He insists that Annie just tell Abed what happened since there's no way they hide this from him. Back at school, Jeff has stayed overnight in the student lounge practicing his game at the foosball table. Shirley approaches him concerned he's getting too obsessed with beating the Germans. Jeff then reveals that as a kid he used to love the game but had to give it up because of bullies like the exchange students. He tells her she wouldn't understand as it's a guy thing he needs to resolve. Shirley then shows off her skill at the game which leaves Jeff awestruck.



The Dark Knight is stepped on.png
The Dark Knight meets his match: Annie's foot.
Elsewhere, Troy and Abed arrive home with snacks for their "Dark Knight" marathon but enter and see that the apartment has apparently been ransacked. Annie rushes towards them claiming they had been robbed and Troy reluctantly goes along with her fictitious account. Meanwhile at Greendale, Jeff catches up with Shirley and begs her to teach him how to play foosball as well as she does. She refuses saying that it's an evil game that brings out the worst in people. Jeff angrily ridicules her piousness but quickly regrets his words and apologizes. He turns to go when Shirley stops him and resignedly agrees to help train him. They meet the next morning, and Shirley reveals to Jeff that an all-or-nothing kill-or-be-killed attitude is the most important skill needed to dominate the game. She illustrates this by aggressively taunting and berating him as they play the game until he finally gets angry enough to score a point against her.



Dark Shirley
Shirley finds Jeff's killer instinct.
Over at Troy and Abed's apartment, Officer Cackowski is going over the details of the crime with the roommates. Annie further embellishes her story insisting it was a break in and theft as not only the DVD was stolen but also some of her jewelry. Before Cackowski leaves he tells them he'll be in touch but in circumstances like this the stolen goods are never recovered. Abed tells Annie and Troy his suspicions that it was an inside job since there were no signs of forced entry and concludes that it was the landlord, Rick. Back at Greendale, Jeff and Shirley are still training when they are interrupted by the Germans. A heated exchange occurs and another challenge is issued. Both sides agree to play each other on Monday with the stipulation that the losing team never use the foosball table again.



3X9 Donkey Kong
"Oh, you are so on that things have
become very much like Donkey Kong!"
Meanwhile at casa de Trobed, Abed exits The Dreamatorium dressed in his Batman outfit. Assuming the Batman persona he tells his roommates he will see justice done. He begins to leave the apartment via the fire escape and Annie finally confesses everything. Abed doesn't believe her because if she was guilty she would have come forward earlier. He then uses a grappling hook Troy gave him last Christmas to rapel down to the landlord's apartment, with his roommates following close behind. At the same time, Shirley and Jeff are enjoying a meal over at Señor Kevin's and he asks her how she came to be so good at foosball. Shirley reveals that she played the game as a kid as it gave her an outlet for all the anger she had at the time. She then recalls an incident which had a profound affect on her.



3X9 Abed rises
The Dork Knight rises...and then falls.
At a YMCA she beat a boy at the game and jabbed the kid with a foosball rod which caused him to pee his pants. She further humiliated by naming him "Tinkletown". A horrified Jeff calls Shirley by her childhood nickname "Big Cheddar" which makes her realize he was that boy she bullied years ago. Jeff calls her a fraud and angrily leaves the restaurant. Meanwhile back at Trobed's apartment complex, Abed manages to make it to the fire escape of his landlord's apartment in one piece. Still channelling Batman, he interrogates Rick only to find out that his only crime is his collection of stolen women shoes. Officer Cackowski later arrives on the scene and warns Abed to stay out of Rick's apartment. Annie confesses what she did and Abed forgives her.



3X9 Big Cheddar ruling the foosball table
Flashback to Shirley's time as a foosball bully.
The following Monday, Jeff and Shirley go up against the two Germans. Jeff and Shirley juggle the ball between one another before leaving it in the center, which causes infighting between the two German players. Jeff and Shirley then decide to quit and walk out hand in hand in front of the other members of the study group, with Pierce wondering when the two became close. The two are then seen walking away as little kids, thus showing a truce between Big Cheddar and Tinkletown.



Community 3x09 Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism.avi 001027944
Big Cheddar vs. Tinkletown Rematch.

End tag[]

Leonard reviews frozen pizza for his YouTube channel. Frozen_Food_Reviews_Eugenio's_Four-Cheese_Pizza

Recurring themes[]

Continuity[]

Continuity lists
Narrative
Recurring or debuting plot points in this episode:
People
Recurring or debuting characters in this episode:
Places
Recurring or debuting places in this episode:
Things
Recurring or debuting items in this episode:

Running gags[]

List of Running gags
Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode:
  • A dollop of whipped irony: Juergen says "I wish there was a word to describe the happiness I feel at your misfortune!" referring to the German word Schadenfreude, which means exactly that.
  • Annie's Boobs: Annie hides a piece of Abed's DVD in her bra when they go to the landlord's apartment.
  • Catchphrase: Juergen says a misphrasing of the popular phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong!".
  • Gasp!: Annie gasps when Abed (as Batman) goes out the apartment window.
  • Sexy voice: Shirley gets very into the zone when playing foosball.
  • Shut up, Leonard!: Shirley tells Leonard to shut up and then says she's seen his YouTube videos where he reviews frozen pizza.

Pop culture references[]

List of Pop culture references
References to popular culture in this episode:
  • Alert nerd!: The Batman franchise is referenced and featured prominently in this episode.
  • IMDb: The German film "Das Boot" is mentioned by Jeff.
  • Shout out: Batman star actor Christian Bale is referenced.
  • Use your allusion:
    • Jeff mocks The Germans by mentioning their country is known for their well-engineered cars.
    • Rick the apartment manager appears to be watching a "Quantum Leap" porn parody before Abed interrupts him. Rick even says the main character Sam Beckett's catchphrase "Oh boy!".

Meta references[]

List of Meta references
Meta references in this episode:
  • Parody: During Jeff and Shirley's intense over the top foosball showdown, the scene shifts to an anime inspired cartoon which is known for not only having many such confrontations but also overly dramatizing them which this scene is also doing.

Trivia[]

DVD commentaries[]

In the Community The Complete Third Season DVD commentaries, episode writer Chris Kula and Joel McHale both mention that the stash in landlord Rick's closet was originally supposed to be drugs, not ladies shoes. Community season 3 dvd

Leonard's Video[]

  • The version of Leonard's video seen at the end of the episode shows the upload date for the video to be November 26, but Leonard actually says in the video that it was uploaded on November 29.
  • Although his mannerisms are somewhat reminiscent of TheReportOfTheWeek ("Reviewbrah"), Leonard's frozen pizza reviews are not based on Reviewbrah -- this episode aired in 2011, and TheReportOfTheWeek only started doing reviews in 2011 and didn't become well-known until 2016/2017.

Quotes[]

Tell you what, we'll stop playing, if you can score a point on us.Juergen
Tempting, but then wouldn't I be playing foosball? And, if so, how would I not be a loud, weird knob?Jeff
Free shot. I'm not even touching the foosenschaften.Juergen
Season Three Episodes

1. "Biology 101"
2. "Geography of Global Conflict"
3. "Remedial Chaos Theory"
4. "Competitive Ecology"
5. "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps"
6. "Advanced Gay"
7. "Studies in Modern Movement"
8. "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux"
9. "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism"
10. "Regional Holiday Music"
11. "Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts"

12. "Contemporary Impressionists"
13. "Digital Exploration of Interior Design
14. "Pillows and Blankets"
15. "Origins of Vampire Mythology"
16. "Virtual Systems Analysis"
17. "Basic Lupine Urology"
18. "Course Listing Unavailable"
19. "Curriculum Unavailable"
20. "Digital Estate Planning"
21. "The First Chang Dynasty"
22. "Introduction to Finality"

Community season 3 dvd

Season OneSeason TwoSeason ThreeSeason FourSeason FiveSeason Six
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