"Pillows And Blankets"
◄   Season 3, Episode 14  ►
Air date	April 5 2012 on
Written by	Andy Bobrow
Directed by	Tristram Shapeero

“	There are people who say, 'I don't get it. So it was a pillow fight.' To which I say: ' You weren't there.'	”
–Shirley "Big Cheddar" Bennett

Summary: What started as a casual disagreement about blankets and pillows blossoms into all-out war on the Greendale campus.

Contents 1 Plot 2 End tag 3 The Old Negro Space Program 4 Recurring themes 4.1 Continuity: 4.2 Running Gags: 4.3 Meta References: 4.4 Pop Culture References: 5 Quotes 6 Comments

PlotEdit

After Star-Burns, a member of Abed's team, Pillowtown, throws a pillow at one of Troy's team's (Blanketsburg) forts, it collapses, causing a pillow fight in the study hall. Dean Pelton convinces Jeff to organize a meeting to get Troy and Abed back together and build a blanket-pillow fort worthy of a Guinness world record. At the meeting, Troy gives Abed an "all-tomato," saying Abed gives him the whole tomato, or else. Abed declines the ultimatum, and at midnight, members of Blanketsburg attack a fort made by Pillowtown. Troy then declares war on Pillowtown.

Jeff wants the war to continue so that he will not have to go to classes, so he gives both teams an inspirational speech which keeps the war going. After Annie hears about this while treating injured players, she refuses to send text messages to Jeff or respond to his, and forcefully tells him to his face that Troy and Abed's friendship is at stake.

After a humiliating injury from one of the members of Blanketsburg, Pierce gives Abed the blueprints to a doomsday device he concocted. After Troy catches wind of the plan, he recruits Ben Chang to bring in his security force, consisting of teenagers he hired at a bar mitzvah, to take down Pillowtown. After Chang's force starts winning the battle, Abed unleashes the doomsday device: a full body pillow-suit which makes Pierce nearly invulnerable. Abed then sends an email to members of Pillowtown outlining Troy's lame tendencies, including distraction via shiny stuff and sudden inexplicable bouts of crying. When Troy receives the intercepted message from a hacker working for Blanketsburg, he sends a text message to Abed saying "You may be my best friend, but I'll be your LAST friend" and notes that no one else will have the patience to deal with Abed's issues. Once Jeff hears about the arguing, he sets up another meeting, hoping to gain peace. Abed and Troy then decide whoever wins the war gets to stay in the apartment, and the loser has to move out.

The next morning, a great battle occurs in the cafeteria. The battle concludes after Dean Pelton announces the representative for Guinness was fired, and the war ends on a weary, inconclusive note when everyone promptly walks away. After everyone leaves, Abed and Troy continue pillow fighting, telling Jeff it will be the last thing they will ever do together. Jeff then tells them that signals that they like each other so much, they are willing to beat each other with pillows forever. Jeff then gives Abed and Troy "imaginary friend hats" he gave to them in the dean's office which they threw away. They become friends again. Jeff then reveals that he actually went to the Dean's office and "searched" for the friend hats, showing that he does take what's happening amongst his friends seriously even if he's not entirely sure why.

During the war, Britta tries to get photographs of the events that occurred, only to mess up every photo, except for her final shot with Troy and Abed doing their signature handshake. The narrator reveals that she, in very Britta style, was trying to get an image of light reflecting off a plate of waffles and took her lone great picture by accident.

End tagEdit

Troy and Abed are having a pledge drive for Greendale Campus Television that loses its funding mid-broadcast.

The Old Negro Space ProgramEdit

NASSA(10:23)
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In 2007, the writer of this episode, Andy Brobow, wrote, produced, and directed a ten minute short film called "The Old Negro Space Program". It was a mockumentary done in the style of Ken Burns' films. It chronicled the struggles of black astronauts excluded from "white" NASA and the formation of their own group called NASSA (Negro American Space Society of Astronauts). It later became the inspiration for this episode.

Recurring themesEdit

Continuity:Edit

• And we're back: This is a direct continuation of the previous episode "Digital Exploration of Interior Design."
• Double take: The documentary theme is used once again, but this time in the Ken Burns format.
• Returning students: Leonard, Star-Burns, Garrett and Fat Neil return. This time Neil is a school DJ going by the name of "Real Neil".
• History lesson: The study group's past history is briefly touched upon by the narrator of the documentary. Annie's wish to be a Health Care Adminstrator is also mentioned which is something she herself had stated in "Mixology Certification".
• Climax: The war is ended simply by the Dean announcing the Guinness Rep is no longer coming.
• Familiar faces: Chang's new security recruits from "Contemporary Impressionists" return.
• Winger speech Jeff uses his gift of persuasion to keep the feud going longer so he doesn't have to attend classes.
• School supplies: Jeff's cell phone and his texting obsession are featured prominently.
• This must be the place: The final showdown for the warring factions is in the school's cafeteria.
• A nice gesture: Troy and Abed's hand clap is shown once again in this episode.
• Previously: A shot of Pierce's medical records include "Broken legs; set, caste, pain meds" on Nov 4 2010. This is a nod to the events in the Season Two episode "Aerodynamics of Gender" when he double bounced and broke both his legs on the trampoline.

Running Gags:Edit

• Bag-ul: Troy mispronounces the word "ultimatum" as two words "all tomato".
• Man crush: Pelton cries for Jeff to save him during the initial skirmish when the two opposing forces collide in the study room.
• Britta'd it: Britta tries unsuccessfully to document the war through photography.
• Come sail away!: Troy cries when he sees the e-mail Abed sent listing his weaknesses.
• Nice outfit: Pierce creates the "Pillow Man" suit as a special WMD. Both sides of the conflict have uniforms that identify them as Pillowtonians or Blanketsburgers.
• Changuage:
  • Chang's new security force is nicknamed "The Changlourious Basterds ".
  • Troy and Abed offer a DVD entitled That's Enter-Chang-ment during the end tag.
• Annies boobs:
  • A picture of Annie is shown with the camera panning up from her chest to her face.
  • In the episodes end tag, Abed and Troy are having a pledge drive and offer a copy of their DVD documentary on the life of the monkey called From Labs to Riches.

Meta References:Edit

• Use your allusion: The tone and style of this episode is done in the manner of the famous documentary film maker Ken Burns.
• Résumé: The narrator of the documentary is actor Keith David, who has done voiceovers for Ken Burns documentaries before. He is never shown onscreen but Jeff is heard talking to him during his voiceover. He recognizes him as the guy in the short lived TV show The Cape which was mentioned in Paradigms of Human Memory and shown to be a favorite of Abed's. However, Keith David denies to Jeff that he had been on the show.
• Behind the scenes: According to Pierce's medical records, the date of the events of the episode is April 1, the weekend before this episode aired. However, according to Shirley's text to her husband, the date is March 20, possibly the Thursday the episode would have aired if not for the hiatus.
• Parody: Troy and Abed's pledge drive mimics how PBS (the network most associated with Ken Burns documentaries) interrupts their programming to solicit funding donations.
• Up against the wall: During their pledge drive in the end credits, Troy and Abed beg for donations explaining that Greendale programming is in danger of going off the air. The show Community has struggled with ratings throughout its run on NBC leading to questions, around the time this episode aired, about a fourth season.

Pop Culture References:Edit

• IMDB:
  • The Rambo franchise is mentioned along with the confusing titles of each installment.
  • Jeff is accused of channeling Ferris Bueller when he exploits the conflict to delay classes.
  • The nickname "Changlourious Basterds" is inspired by the film Inglourious Basterds.
• Shout out: Sombody tried, and failed, to get Tom Hanks to voice the documentary.
• TV Guide: Jeff recognizes the narrator from his work on The Cape.
• Name that tune: Daybreak is featured again this time played by Fat Real Neil on his radio show.
• Product placement: The Subway sandwich shop can be seen prominently several times in the final battle in the cafeteria.
• PBS fund drive: Abed and Troy's end segment is similar to many PBS fund drive segments shown.

QuotesEdit

“I know there's a lot of blanket stackers and pillow packers out there thinking it's gonna go down tonight. But there's a lot of us folks from the scene in between saying: 'Hey, we're all looking to chill out, and lay down with someone special.' This is real Neil, with pipes of steel, signing off with the smooth sounds of Daybreak.”— Fat "Real Neil" Neil

“Well, that's it. I just heard from the Guinness rep. He's not coming. He's been fired, in what he described as the world's biggest mistake. I doubt that will make the next edition.”— Dean Pelton

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. "Contemporary Impressionists"	12. "Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts" 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. "First Chang Dynasty" 22. "Introduction to Finality"
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five

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