Pierce has had quite the transition since season one. He started off as a doddering old man who was casually racist and couldn’t keep his hands off Shirley. He was a sexual harasser, told bad jokes and was often the butt of many others. He never really fit in with the group, and now we’re seeing the effects of his displacement.
Over the past several episodes, Pierce has increasingly been playing the role of the villain. While he used to ruin things just by being his bungling self, he is now turning downright malicious. The incidents that Pierce mentioned — the trampoline and the Dungeons and Dragons game — were both episodes in which Pierce was just a dick who ruined everyone else’s good time purely out of spite.
The end of the episode where Jeff fell asleep next to Pierce in the hospital room seemed like it was supposed to redeem Pierce a little bit, but it didn’t for me at all. I’m having trouble finding any reason at all to like this character, and beyond that, I think he’s actually starting to drag the show down a little bit.
So while I wasn’t a fan of Pierce’s unrelenting jackassery this week, Troy’s face more than made up for it. Yes, I loved the Firefly joke, and the singing, but his face every time he looked at LeVar Burton killed me. Each time they did it was funnier than the last, especially when it led to a private freak-out. I just hope poor Troy at least eventually got the signed picture so he’ll have someone he can actually talk to.
The other big aspect of this episode was the documentary format. Dan Harmon has criticized the format before on Twitter, and even though talking heads and inter-cut footage can be lazy and manipulative, it can also be effective. What struck me the most, though, is how Community felt a lot less intimate when done in this format. While it may work for The Office, Parks and Rec, and Modern Family, Community is certainly better served by doing things the way that they always do.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Feb 18, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
I LOVE Community. I’m an episode behind having just watched the Valentine’s Day episode last night.
I agree with you that Pierce is just downright awful, but I believe it’s a build up for an utter collapse and rebuild. It’s standard M.O. Time will tell.
There were so many good things about this week’s episode. Considering LaVar Burton has worked with Joel McHale on The Soup before and Yvette Nicole Brown was Dwight’s Staples coworker in season 3 of The Office, there was a good amount of inside jokes. Did you noticed the room where Troy freaks out looks suspiciously like the Dunder Mifflin break room?
I loved the Firefly shout-out (it probably would be a good way to go). But I also could relate to Troy’s dilemma… it’s super intimidating meeting one of the icons of your youth.