Community/Recap/S1 E19 Beginner Pottery

Jeff convinces Annie and Abed to enroll in a Pottery Class with him, but the plan for an easy A goes off the rails when Jeff becomes intensely envious of the talent of a fellow classmate. Meanwhile Pierce convinces the rest of the study group to join him in a week long sailing course taking place in the school parking lot.

The Community episode "Beginner Pottery" provides examples of:
"Troy: Oh my god. Pierce is going to be the only person ever to drown in a parking lot. Twice."
 * The Ace: Introducing Rich -- a doctor who hasn't lost a patient in ten years and can make working bird fountains effortlessly in pottery class.
 * Always Someone Better: Jeff has some character growth with this realization.
 * An Aesop: Jeff learns he doesn't have to be awesome at everything.
 * Berserk Button:
 * The pottery professor has long since had it with parodies of that scene from Ghost in any permutation.
 * The sailing professor seems to have a similar hot button over the "king of the world" scene from Titanic.
 * Beyond the Impossible

"Jeff: Good luck!
 * Big No: After Pierce gets "lost at sea".
 * Completely Missing the Point: Jeff tells Abed not to do any more voiceovers. Abed seems to think that it's not because it's annoying, but that it's because voiceovers are a lame storytelling technique.
 * Country Matters: Subverted Trope with Pierce telling Shirley, after she leaves him to fend for himself in the sea (parking lot) that now he knows what the C in "Captain" stands for -- crabapple.
 * Determinator: Pierce, since birth. He got his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, both arms, and one ankle. The doctors even stopped delivering him. He's not going to let a little thing like drowning at sea in the middle of Colorado stop him.

Pierce: Don't need it! Never had it!"

"Shirley: Damn the storm; we're going after Pierce! Jump the halyard. Starburns, you get down there and you man the iron jenny ; there's a man overboard! That's an order!
 * Doomed Moral Victor: Invoked when Shirley becomes one of these when she captains her ship into a "storm" in order to save Pierce, stating she would rather be nice than strong. Her reward:
 * In-universe Funny Aneurysm Moment: The defaced Patrick Swayze photo which was put there before he died so its not in bad taste.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar:
 * Rich teaches Annie how to check for breast lumps... off-screen...
 * The sailboat was purchased at a government auction - it's called the SS Nose Candy.
 * Annie while making the vase.
 * The cast agrees.
 * Heh, Heh, You Said "X": The mark of a true seaman is not giggling at the word "seaman."
 * Mommy Issues: Jeff. Rich takes them Up to Eleven.
 * Nautical Knockout: This happens to Pierce in a boating class. Only since the college is nowhere near water, the boat is in the middle of the parking lot, yet the instructor insists that they act as if they were at sea, and Pierce is essentially left to die.
 * Never Heard That One Before: The pottery teacher has seen so many lame Ghost reenactments that his single rule is no Ghost reenactments on penalty of failure. It later turns out that the Boating teacher has the same problem with "I'm king of the world!"
 * The Other Wiki: When Jeff pulls up insane statistics on Santa Fe, Annie wonders if he did his research on Wikipedia.
 * Painting the Fourth Wall: Abed's voice-over about Jeff's envy towards Rich.
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Shirley decides to save Pierce at the expense of her grade.

Pierce: I'm gonna sink!

Britta: I'm about to get the only 'A' I will ever get, and Pierce isn't even dying.

Pierce:] Save me!

Britta: You don't have to do this.

Shirley: I know, but I'd rather be kind and get stepped on once in a while than be a hardass and turn my back on a friend. Hoist the mains.

They sail across the parking lot.

later

Instructor: You just steered your boat into a storm. Any last words?

Shirley: The sea may be cold and unforgiving, but I'm not. The ship may go down, but at least she'll go down with honor."


 * Stanford Prison Experiment: The sailing class becomes all too real when Pierce is abandoned to the high seas, while in the middle of the school's parking lot.
 * Strange Minds Think Alike: The pottery professor and the sailing instructor hate Ghost and Titanic which they believe mock their respective professions.
 * Too Soon: In-universe example: The pottery teacher in "Basic Pottery" has banned the imitation of a scene from Ghost. He drives the point home by pointing to a poster of Patrick Swayze with an "X" over it. He then quietly tells the shocked students "I had it made before he died so it's not in bad taste."
 * Through the Eyes of Madness
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: The sailing course becomes a parody of a high seas adventure.
 * What Have We Done: Said by Troy when the group abandons Pierce in the parking lot.
 * Worthy Opponent: The sailing teacher says this word for word as Shirley successfully captains the boat.