Community: "Basic Lupine Urology"

I'm sometimes overly critical of Community because I know that the show can be incredibly funny when it's not seemingly intentionally alienating a larger audience. "Basic Lupine Urology" felt like an episode you could actually use to convince skeptics to tune in to the show. Of course, at this point it's really too late for the show to actually build on its audience, but it was just nice to see an episode where Community pulls out everything in the bag of tricks to service a funny, relatable, but still hilariously absurd little plot.

One of the things I liked best was how immediately we get placed into the Law and Order pastiche, and how quickly the characters pick it up and run with it. Of course Abed knows what's going on, but here he, and Shirley, in a humorous twist, are able to use their extensive knowledge of the form to their advantage. They make for surprisingly good cops, even if Abed and Troy have to fight over which one gets to have the last zinger.

I could probably take up thousands of words gushing over all the little details that made the episode so enjoyable. From the janitor's inane conversation prior to discovering the "body", to Britta's attempts to "enhance" the crime scene photos, to the last second reversal of the real culprit. Everything was just spot on. When Annie is poring through the files at night with Chinese food on her desk, check out her coffee cup, it's the exact Greek cup that is always seen on Law & Order. And because Community can never really do just one pastiche, we also got a little "A Few Good Men" thrown in for good measure, with the return of Big Head Todd, the annoyingly perfect war hero.

"Basic Lupine Urology" is one of the few episodes from this season of Community that I know right now I'll be able to watch again and again and still find myself laughing. I can't ask for more than that.