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Community/Recap/S3/E17 Basic Lupine Urology


"Greendale Community College is represented by two separate yet equally important types of people; the goofballs that run around stirring up trouble, and the eggheads that make a big deal about it. These are their stories."'

When the study group's final project for biology is destroyed and they risk receiving only a passing grade, they spring into action, launching an investigation into the 'murder' to find the culprit, see justice served and do better than a C.

Tropes appearing in this episode of Community include:

  • Actor Allusion: Michael Kenneth Williams saying "a man must have a code."
  • Affectionate Parody/Homage/Parody Episode: To the Law and Order franchise, especially the original series. Additional tropes listed individually.
    • The title "Lupine Urology" to creator Dick Wolf.
    • The cold open with two janitors having a mundane conversation and discovering the smushed yam.
    • CHUNG CHUNG
    • Shirley knocking on the glass to interrupt Star-Burns' interrogation.
    • Jeff ordering a hot dog from Garrett's cart. The entire scene is set up like the numerous external shots of the characters wandering New York that pervade Law and Order.
    • Abed and Troy claim to hear a kitten meowing in Starburns' locker and therefore exigent circumstances.
    • It even goes to the set details and the way that scenes are shot and framed; for example, green lamps similar to those in the District Attorney's office are in the Dean's office and on Professor Kane's desk in the biology lab, and a scene with Shirley, Troy and Abed discussing the case in the rarely-seen corridor outside the study room is shot in such a way that evokes both the police precinct and the Lieutenant's office.
    • The sudden twist phone call just before the credits where they learn of Starburns' death.
    • Leslie Hendrix as the coroner.
    • A scene with a disorganized filing room.
    • A big celebrity guest star as the defense attorney (in this case, it's Michael Ironside, Type Cast as a military officer).
  • Amoral Attorney:
    • Annie's tactics during the trial were vicious and unethical. Jeff of all people calls her out on it and points out that in her desire to win she stopped caring about finding out the truth.
    • The defense attorney wasn't much better, taking the opportunity to slander the absent Starburns as a "Holocaust-denying 9/11 pedophile."
  • As You Know: Troy and Abed confirm Magnitude's alibi. Start scene:

Abed: So you're saying you did check out a key, but it was inside your backpack when someone stole it off a table in the library while you were using the bathroom, and you haven't seen it since?
Magnitude: (in affirmation) POP POP!

  • The "B" Grade: The whole plot of the episode begins because Annie refuses to accept a "passing" grade for their sabotaged project.

Annie: A passing grade? Like a C?! Why don't I just get pregnant at a bus station?!

  • Be as Unhelpful as Possible: In true Law and Order style, everyone Troy and Abed interview turns out to be hiding something at some point.
  • Black Boss Lady: Shirley takes on this role due to Genre Savvy status from watching police procedurals, acting as a virtual Expy of L&O's Lt. Anita Van Buren.
  • Blatant Lies: Star-Burns claiming that he had simply found that backpack, despite being seen by both Troy and Abed stealing it off a table.
  • Brick Joke: The first time we see Star-Burns in the episode is when he falls for Troy and Abed's sting by swiping Troy's backpack. Later, after they've broken into his locker and discovered the equipment he's stolen for his meth-lab operation, Starburns comes across them -- and drops another three backpacks which he's obviously also stolen.
  • Call Back:
  • The Cameo: Leslie Hendrix (who plays coroner Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers on L&O), who performs an autopsy on the "murdered" yam; and Michael Ironside as Lt. Colonel Archwood.
  • Character Development: We receive a subtle-but-clear example of how far Jeff Winger has come over the course of the series -- the Amoral Attorney supreme, who would previously do anything no matter how underhanded to win and get what he wants without any real concern for who might get hurt in the process, is now willing to lose the case and sacrifice an easy A grade in order to ensure that an innocent man (and one who he doesn't even like very much) is not wrongfully punished.

Jeff: When we started this, you were after the truth. And then I convinced you it was more important to win. Don't be like me. A man's got to have a code. I can only assume there's a female equivalent to that, a code-ette or something.

Annie: But --

Jeff: It's not worth getting an A if an innocent man might get an F.

  • Chekhov's Gun: Starburns confesses that he stole equipment from the bio lab for the meth lab he was making in his trunk. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that meth lab exploded and killed Starburns.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: In true Law and Order style, the first person the 'cops' interview -- Todd -- ends up being the guy who gets 'arrested'. Subverted in Todd's case, but not so much for Neil, however, who was also interviewed early on and turns out to be the actual culprit.
  • Comically Missing the Point:

Pierce: 5 to 1 on the black guy!
Better: That's offensive.
Pierce: Fine, 6 to 1.

Abed: Ah! What happened Todd? Cut yourself on an extra sharp Oscar Wilde play?

Abed: Whoever did it likes to steal backpacks off tables in the library. Only one way to catch a dirtbag like that.
(Cut to Troy sitting in the library "disguised" as a college student wearing glasses and a letterman sweater)
Troy:(loudly) Well, time to visit the restroom!

  • Disregard That Statement: Lt. Colonel Archwood abuses this to call Star-Burns a "Holocaust-denying 9/11 pedophile" and Annie abuses this to suggest that Todd is a wife-beating, alcoholic, pill-popping virgin.
  • Downer Ending: The culprit is discovered and justice is served...then comes a phone call that Starburns is dead.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: Starburns.
  • Expospeak Gag: The title more or less means "Study of Dick Wolf", the creator of Law and Order.
  • Expy:
    • Shirley as Da Chief/Black Boss Lady Lieutenant Van Buren.
    • Abed and Troy as the detective team. Abed in particular appears to be channeling Detective Lennie Briscoe, including wearing a scarf.
    • Jeff as the Executive Assistant District Attorney (Jack McCoy for much of the series) and Annie as the junior ADA.
    • Prof. Kane and the Dean as judges (Kane is the arraignment judge, and he and the Dean both behave as the trial judge).
    • Britta is the computer tech handling image forensics. She tries to offer her skills as a psych student/profiler as well, but gets cut off mid-sentence for a scene change.
    • Leslie Hendrix isn't even an Expy. She's just her Law and Order character, complete with the ever-present pink scrubs.
  • Enhance Button: Really just Britta using the zoom/enlarge function. She applies an "Old West color" (sepia) filter first.
  • Fake-Out Make-Out: Star-Burns attempts one on Quendra to evade pursuit, but she refuses even when he reassures her he'll "explain later."

Quendra: "The explanation isn't the issue!"

Shirley: It's been a long fifteen years.

  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: The episode title.
  • Good Cop, Bad Cop: Troy and Abed take turns playing both.
  • Hello, Attorney!: Jeff and Annie suit up very nicely in this episode.
  • I Gave My Word: Troy and Abed promised Starburns that they would not reveal what he was doing in the biology lab at night. Professor Kane is willing to respect that they are honoring a pinky swear.
  • I'm Standing Right Here:
    • During Starburns's interrogation, Shirley pulls Troy and Abed into the other room to talk to them...except their "soundproof one-way glass" is an empty glass aquarium and some boxes.

Starburns: I can both see and hear you!

    • During a sidebar in Kane's office during the trial, Annie pulls Jeff over for a sidebar-within-a-sidebar. Kane points out this trope and simply concurs with what they were talking about instead of waiting for them to give a redundant explanation.
  • Impersonating an Officer: Abed, Troy and Shirley spend their portion of the episode acting like the cops on Law and Order. It's often lampshaded -- and they happily admit -- that they aren't cops, but clearly enjoy the role-play.

Shirley: He's right. We're not cops.
Abed: I'd say our hands are tied, but we basically have no hands.

  • Infraction Distraction: Inverted; Star-Burns confesses to setting up a meth-lab in the trunk of his car to get off the hook for killing a yam.
  • Laser-Guided Karma:
    • Fat Neil murders the yams so that Vicki will pass, avoid summer school, and be available for sex at his parents' cabin. Neil must retake Biology during the summer.
    • Star-Burns's crimes are completely overlooked, but he dies when his meth lab explodes.
  • Lost in Transmission: Britta's offer to put her psych degree to use in catching the bad guy is cut off by the Law & Order-style title cards before she can even start the offer.

Britta: I can also help! As a psych major I can pro- [Bong-Bong]

Fat Neil: God forgive me! I did it for love!

  • Lyrical Dissonance: The Dean's lullaby in The Tag, which ends, "The dean will be here / Staring at you."
  • A Man Is Not a Virgin: One of Annie's "withdrawn" questions is about whether Todd is still a virgin or not.[1]
  • Meaningful Echo:
    • "A man's gotta have a code."
    • "We only have time for justice."
  • Miranda Rights: "You have the right to do whatever you want, nothing you say or do can be used against you by anyone, but we'd really like it if you came with us, please-and-thank-you..."
  • Mood Whiplash: After yet another bout of wacky Greendale hijinks surrounding taking a dead yam too seriously, the episode ends with news coming in that Starburns has died in a meth-lab explosion.
  • Move Along, Nothing to See Here: By Chang in the beginning. Jeff lampshades that it's the first time that statement was actually true.
  • Murder Is the Best Solution: Vicki, Fat Neil's girlfriend, may fail the final class project. The only reasonable course must be to kill the rest of the classes projects.
  • Musical Pastiche: The Special Edition Title features a remake of the opening theme with L&O style instrumentation.
  • Oh Crap: Starburns has a truly epic one of these when he's discovered stealing bags. And again when the equipment for his car-boot meth lab is discovered.
  • Off on a Technicality: Abed complains that Todd will be getting away due to this, after Starburns withdraws his (key) testimony due to threats. Of course, as Abed himself lampshades, one of the 'technicalities' involved is that Troy and Abed are not actually cops.
  • Only Sane Man: Professor Kane does not appreciate being summoned to the biology lab at midnight for what is essentially a sweet potato someone's pushed off a table. He also gets increasingly irate with the lunacy everyone displays about the ensuing investigation.

Holy crap! We are definitely dissecting pine cones next year.

Abed: We can't both do the zinger.
Troy: Sorry.

    • The gag is repeated when they attempt to quip "Why do they always run?" simultaneously.
  • The Rainman: Abed being unable to read an analog clock.

Abed: I'm gifted in other ways.

  • Relationship Upgrade: Neil and Vicki, whom a number of fans have been viewing with Shipping Goggles since Season 2.
  • Serious Business:
    • The sweet potato projects. In contrast the serious felonies Starburns is committing are quietly ignored, setting up the ending.
    • The pinky swear between Starburns, Abed and Troy is treated as if it were some binding legal deal between the cops/DA and the criminal witness in exchange for testimony.
  • Ship Tease: My, how quickly Jeff responds to a text message involving Annie and sex in the biology lab....
  • Shipping Goggles: Dean Pelton gets visibly (more) interested when Prof. Kane gets in the face of Lt. Colonel Archwood.
  • Shout-Out: Prof. Kane tells Jeff that "a man gotta have a code."
  • Special Edition Title: In the L&O style, complete with the Power Walk at the end.
  • Stealth Pun: Star-burns dies due to braking badly.
  • Sympathetic Murderer: Subverted with Todd, who looks set up to be a perfect example of one of these (for a given value of 'murderer' seeing as we're discussing the death of a yam here). Then it turns out the yam was dead when Todd accidentally dropped it anyway, and it was Neil who killed it.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Ignoring the tragedy of it, it should be remembered that Star-Burns chose to build a meth lab in his own car trunk. There are several things wrong with that, beyond legality and morality.
  • Unsportsmanlike Gloating:

Annie: (punches the air) Booyah! Ha-ha! That's how it's done! (dances) Uh, uh, uh! Whoooo-hoo!

  • Vomiting Cop: Troy gags during the autopsy scene.
  • Wham! Line: Star-Burns is killed in a meth-lab explosion. The beauty of this example is that it works on both a dramatic level within the series itself and as a continuation of the overall L&O parody, referencing those episodes which would end with the District Attorney receiving a phone call that would provoke one of these instead of closing with a Schiff One-Liner.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?:
    • The whole episode revolves around a yam being killed.

Starburns: I swiped some beakers for the meth lab that I'm building in the trunk of my car, but that's it! I didn't kill any yam!

  1. ↑ It's been established that Todd is a father, so we can probably chalk this up to Annie's Courtroom Antics.
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