Mixology Certification

"Mixology Certification"
Community episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 10
Directed by	Jay Chandrasekhar
Written by	Andy Bobrow
Production code	209
Original air date	December 2, 2010 (2010-12-02)
Episode chronology
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List of Community episodes

"Mixology Certification" is the tenth episode of the second season of Community. It was originally broadcast on December 2, 2010 on NBC.

In the episode, the study group celebrates Troy's 21st birthday, the legal age, at a bar. Jeff and Britta try to guide Troy into the new phase of his life. However, the night out slowly becomes silly and depressing due to alcohol, and Troy is forced to become the adult for the night.

The episode was written by Andy Bobrow and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. It received generally positive critical reviews.

Plot

Troy (Donald Glover) is turning 21 at midnight and the group decide to celebrate at a bar. Jeff (Joel McHale) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) can't agree on which bar is cool enough, but settle on the "least offensive" one. However, on the way there, they find out that the bar has been shut down, and head to another bar, The Ballroom, instead. Troy is excited to learn about bars and drinking from the "adults," Jeff and Britta. Britta gives Annie (Alison Brie), who's underage, a fake ID: the driver's license of Caroline Decker from Corpus Christi, Texas. Paranoid about being caught, Annie conjures up an alter ego, taking the role of Caroline with a Southern American accent to appear convincing as the person in the fake ID.

At the bar, Jeff and Britta lecture Troy on what to order for his first legal drink. Annie stays in character as Caroline, whom she imagines to be a "drifter." She talks to the bartender about her "friend" Annie, who she says plans everything out in her life and doesn't even know who she is. Abed meets a fellow science fiction geek, Robert (Paul F. Tompkins), who buys him a drink. Abed enjoys talking to him, but Robert is really trying to hook up with Abed. Robert finally asks Abed outright if he would like to have gay sex with him. Abed refuses and admits that he knew that Robert wanted to hook up but wanted to keep talking about Farscape, prompting an outburst from Robert as he claims Stargate is better and leaves.

It turns out Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is an old customer of The Ballroom. The bar has plenty of photos of her completely wasted pasted on the walls. She spends the night nervously trying to take the photos down before anyone in the group sees them. Britta finds one of the photos in the ladies room, which she shows to Jeff and Troy. They make fun of her, and she leaves in shame. Pierce (Chevy Chase) arrives on his own in his wheelchair, but is stuck at the door (which is covered with a huge farewell poster with Shirley on it), grumpily refusing any help. Shirley grudgingly helps him get out on her way out.

As Troy orders his first drink, he notices Annie flush with (alcohol-induced) self-doubt, Abed moping about his exchange with Robert, and Jeff and Britta losing all self-control being intoxicated. He abandons his 7 and 7 and responsibly drives the group home. As he drops Annie off, he movingly gives her a self-assuring talk.

Production

The episode was written by Andy Bobrow, his second writing credit of the show. It was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, his first directing credit of the series.

Cultural references

"Mixology" was a departure from the usual array of pop culture references.^[1] Among the real world topics the episode touched on was Troy's Jehovah's Witness faith which forbids birthday celebrations. Instead, Abed and Annie buy a cake which reads: "Hello during a random dessert. The month and day of which coincide numerically with your expulsion from a uterus" to avoid mentioning "birthday".^[2] Annie researches Troy's Chinese zodiac and thinks he is a Horse (1990), even though he insists he is a Snake (1989).^[3] At the bar, Abed plays the Asteroids arcade game. He spends the evening chatting with another guy at the bar about the 1984 film The Last Starfighter and the 1999 TV series Farscape.^[1] For his first alcoholic beverage upon reaching the legal drinking age, Troy orders a 7 and 7.^[3]

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast on December 2, 2010, "Mixology" was viewed by an estimated 4.55 million people, with a Nielsen rating of 1.9 in the 18–49 demographic.^[4]

Reviews

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics.

Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com wrote that the episode gave viewers "something a little more meaningful". She added, "Normally, I'd be annoyed about a sitcom trying to teach me something about life, but Community has such a humble, but authoritative way of teaching us as viewers that I can't help but appreciate."^[3] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix called the episode "dark but surprisingly sweet."^[5] Todd VanDerWerff said it was one of his favorite episodes thought he "expect[s] lots of people to just hate it because of how thoroughly it wears its heart on its sleeve."^[1]

Jeffrey Kirkpatrick called the episode "average" and gave it a 2.5/5 rating.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} VanDerWerff, Todd (December 2, 2010). ""Mixology Certification"". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/mixology-certification,48382/. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Kirkpatrick, Jeffrey (December 3, 2010). "Community Review: "Mixology Certifiction"". TV Fanatic. http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/12/community-review-mixology-certification/. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Stahler, Kelsea (December 3, 2010). "'Community' Recap: Mixology Certification". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/news/Community_Recap_Mixology_Certification/7737829. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 
4. ^ Gorman, Bill (December 3, 2010). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Private Practice,' 'Bones,' 'Nikita' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/12/03/thursday-final-ratings-private-practice-bones-nikita-adjusted-down/74225/. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 
5. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (December 2, 2010). "'Community' - 'Mixology Certification': You're the man now, shaggy dog story!". HitFix. http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/community-mixology-certification-youre-the-man-now-shaggy-dog-story. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 

External links

• "Mixology Certification" at NBC.com
• "Mixology Certification" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Mixology Certification" at TV.com
• "Mixology Certification" at TV Tropes