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"The Science of Illusion"
◄ Season One, Episode Twenty ►
Air date	March 25, 2010 on
Written by	Zach Paez
Directed by	Adam Davidson

Summary: Britta's April Fool's joke on Chang goes horribly wrong. Meanwhile, Annie and Shirley temporarily work as campus security guards, but they both want to be the "bad cop".

PlotEdit

It's the day before April Fool's, and Dean Pelton wants to make sure that the student body doesn't go too far with the shenanigans. In a pamphlet ("College Pranks: What To Know") establishing rules of conduct for April Fool's pranks, it is stated that student volunteers are used as extra campus security due to times of heightened shenanigans. Shirley and Annie decide to volunteer and help out as Abed wonders which of them will be the bad cop. Pierce tells the study group about his Buddhist religion and that he is about to ascend to a higher level. Jeff has Abed get him an outfit from the theater department which he convinces Pierce are ceremonial robes sent to him for his upcoming ascension. Britta admonishes Jeff and the study group for playing a prank on Pierce but ends up being called a buzzkill.

Britta decides to try and shake her buzzkill image by playing a prank on Señor Chang. Her April Fool's gag is to place a frog on his desk wearing a sombrero with his name on it. She tells her plan to Jeff who is extremely unimpressed. That night, she sneaks into the biology room to steal a frog for the prank, but it ends up escaping from her. While trying to recapture him, Britta bumps into a medical gurney carrying a cadaver and sends it crashing into the wall. The impact causes the cadaver to slowly start to slide off the gurney and out an open window. Britta struggles to pull it back in but fails, and the cadaver falls two stories to the ground. Horrified at what has happened, she takes a step back and ends up squashing the frog.

Annie and Shirley are called in to investigate the crime scene with Abed tagging along. They continue to bicker over who the badass of the partnership is while being egged on by Abed. Along with Dean Pelton, they inform the Spanish class about the incident, and Jeff immediately figures out who was responsible. He confronts Britta after class and gives her an ultimatum to confess. She decides to make an anonymous call to Annie and Shirley, fingering Jeff as the culprit. They track him down and find evidence in his backpack planted there by Britta. Jeff makes a run for it with Annie and Shirley splitting up and giving chase. He manages to lose them when Annie accidentally pepper sprays herself, and Shirley gets lost.

Annie and Shirley report back to Dean Pelton and end up being reprimanded by Abed who thinks the dean isn't being hard enough on them. Both of them are relieved of their duties as campus security and told not to pursue the case any further. They ignore the warning and decide to continue investigating, locating Jeff in the study room along with the rest of the group. He professes his innocence while also trying to prove Britta's guilt. Not believing him, Annie handcuffs him to the chair and slams his head onto the table. They are about to torture a confession out of him until Britta stops them, finally admitting she was the one responsible for the crime. Acknowledging that she is a buzzkill, she says she only did it so people would think of her differently. Annie, Shirley, Pierce, and Troy make similar confessions about their recent actions, causing all of them to cry which leads to a big group hug. Jeff looks on as the scene unfolds before being joined by Abed. Just as he is about to ask Abed a question, he interrupts him saying "Shh, just watch. It's beautiful".

End tagsEdit

The first appearance of the "Troy and Abed in the Morning!" show.

Recurring themesEdit

ContinuityEdit

Previously: Pierce's religion as a "Laser Lotus" is further explored and expanded upon.
Familiar face: Craig Cackowski, formerly appearing as a Greendale campus security guard, now returns as a police officer.
Identity crisis: Annie struggles to be seen as more of an adult, Shirley struggles to be seen as something other then just a older mother figure, and Britta struggles to be seen as less of a buzz-kill.
A sweet ride: Annie and Shirley drive around in the campus security golf cart which is later seen again in the Season 2 finale "For A Few Paintballs More".

Running gags:Edit

Attention!: The show opens up with Dean Pelton making the usual silly announcements.
You're The Worst!: For the first time, Britta is called a buzzkill.
I'm Batman!: Abed does another impersonation, this time as a typical angry African American police captain found in movies like "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Lethal Weapon".
Britta's obsession with her cats is demonstrated again.
Gay, he's so gay!: Pierce calls Jeff gay again.
Come sail away!: Troy cries because he doesn't get the joke that Jeff played on Pierce.

Pop culture references:Edit

Shout out: Leonard interrupts Dean Pelton's announcements by grabbing the microphone away from him and saying "Baba Booey" twice. This is a reference to a word used by fans of Howard Stern in numerous prank calls to other shows. It's also a nickname of Stern's producer Gary Dell'Abate.
Product placement: While wearing the magician's robe, Pierce is called Cookie Crisp by Star-Burns, a reference to the wizard who used to be the mascot of the brand. The joke is further elaborated on when Jeff gets him a wand with a chocolate chip cookie attached to the end of it.
Nicknames: Jeff calls Annie and Shirley "Cagney" and "Lacey" after the TV show.
TV Guide: Shirley calls Annie "Hannah Montana" after the TV show. Alison Brie played a character on that show in one episode.

Meta references:Edit

Use your allusion: Annie and Shirley storyline is a direct homage to the classic buddy cop movies from the 80's where a loose cannon teams up with a straight-laced partner. Abed makes repeated references to this genre as he observes them at work.

TriviaEdit

The photo of Britta's cat that Jeff uses as evidence of her guilt is actually a picture of Dan Harmon's real life pet. Gillian Jacobs revealed this in a twitter message.

QuotesEdit

"You're more of a fun vampire because you don't suck blood. You just suck"-Troy explaining to Britta why she's such a buzz-kill
"You know what? My prank is going to cause a sea of laughter, and I am going to watch you drown in it!"-Britta after Jeff mocks her prank
"Knock, knock. Who's there? Cancer! Oh good! Come on in! I thought it was Britta."-Britta admitting she is a buzz-kill

Season One Episodes
1. "Pilot" 2. "Spanish 101" 3. "Introduction to Film" 4. "Social Psychology" 5. "Advanced Criminal Law" 6. "Football, Feminism and You" 7. "Introduction to Statistics" 8. "Home Economics" 9. "Debate 109"	10. "Environmental Science" 11. "The Politics of Human Sexuality" 12. "Comparative Religion" 13. "Investigative Journalism" 14. "Interpretive Dance" 15. "Romantic Expressionism" 16. "Communication Studies" 17. "Physical Education" 18. "Basic Genealogy"	19. "Beginner Pottery" 20. "The Science of Illusion" 21. "Contemporary American Poultry" 22. "The Art of Discourse" 23. "Modern Warfare" 24. "English as a Second Language" 25. "Pascal's Triangle Revisited"
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five

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The Science of Illusion

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