A Fistful of Paintballs
Encyclopedia
"A Fistful of Paintballs" is the 23rd episode and part one of the two-part second season
finale of Community
. The episode originally premiered on May 5, 2011 on NBC
. Acting as a sequel to "Modern Warfare
" from the first season, Dean Pelton once again announces plans for a new game of paintball. The winning prize being 100,000 dollars cash, the study group teams up. However, this year they are short on ammo and their friendship is once again tested. During the game a man only known as "The Black Rider" appears.
The episode was written by Andrew Guest
and directed by Joe Russo
. Unlike its predecessor, the episode is inspired by Spaghetti Western
films directed by Sergio Leone
.
) is seen chasing "Fat Neil" down a corridor with his gang when suddenly Annie emerges and defeats the bullies, but she gives "Fat Neil" a gun, since he is unarmed and leaves. Just as Annie is turning away "Fat Neil" attempts to shoot her but is headed off by Annie.
Through a series of flashbacks it is revealed that the paintball game was started by Dean Pelton and "Pistol Patty's Cowboy Creamery", an ice cream company. The Dean explains that the reason last years paintball assassin was unsuccessful was that the prize was too important. He then lets Pistol Patty, the ice cream company's mascot, a giant ice cream cone in western attire, explain the prize. The company has made the prize 100,000 dollars in cash, at which point pandemonium breaks out.
Annie comes back to her base where she is greeted by Abed. Abed proposes she join him, Jeff, and Chang in the library. Meanwhile in the library, Jeff and Chang are trapped by the math club, so Chang betrays him. Abed saves Jeff just in time, but Chang gets away. Jeff informs Annie that he too is low on ammo and they discuss whether they should join Pierce, who is hiding in the cafeteria, or steal his ammo since he has "more paint than a French kindergarten". They are interrupted by a stranger (Josh Holloway
), who they believe does not go to Greendale, and manage to escape from him.
On their way to the cafe they run into Britta, Shirley and Troy and find out they are working for Pierce, who has set up a safe zone in the cafeteria, known as Fort Hawthorne. During a dinner in the fort with Pierce, he express his desire to team up and split the cash. He informs them of the location of a stash of ammo. As the study group is looking for ammo, Annie finds Chang who has betrayed and is about to be "executed" by a gang of cheerleaders, whom he betrayed the math club to join. Annie shoots the cheerleaders but Chang tries to get away. Annie chases Chang when she is caught by the stranger she met earlier. They find out that he is known as "The Black Rider". Jeff and Abed arrive and save Annie but she finds out that Pierce loaded Jeff's gun with blanks. The study group finds Dean Pelton hiding in a closet and get all of last years paintball supply's from his office. Annie takes the paintball machine gun Chang used last year and storms off to confront Pierce.
Back at Fort Hawthorn the group finds that it's been demolished by "The Black Rider". They find Pierce and confront him. Pierce confesses why he loaded Jeff's gun with blanks: He walked in on them playing cards without him 3 days ago. Annie also confesses that they weren't playing cards but were actually voting whether Pierce should join the study group next year. She also confesses that she was the only one who voted to keep Pierce in. "The Black Rider" emerges and gets into a stand-off with Jeff as Annie is still in the stand-off with Pierce. Just then Pierce starts to have what appears to be a heart attack, but when "The Black Rider" goes to help him Pierce shoots him as he was just faking it. "The Black Rider" reveals that he only takes a class online and was hired by Pistol Patty's to keep the prize money. Pierce runs off alone, vowing revenge.
Chang is seen looking for another alliance to join when he is shot by a paintball-machine-gun from the Pistol Patty's. The back of the van opens up and a commando team dressed in white exit the van. Pistol Patty exits as the commando team bow to her. Pistol Patty goes on to say it's time for "Plan B: Operation Total Invasion".
, his sixth writing credit of the series. It was directed by executive producer Joe Russo
, his 15th directing credit of the series.
It was reported of February 28, 2011, by Entertainment Weekly
that Josh Holloway
would guest star in the season finale as a mysterious character.
Originally scheduled to air as an hour-long season finale on May 12, 2011, the episodes were split into two parts airing May 5 and May 12, respectively. Regarding the concept of the two-part season finale and the return to paintball, creator Dan Harmon said, "It's designed to exist both as one story but also two separate episodes. [The first] one has a Sergio Leone Western motif, so there’s more emphasis on tension, scarcity of ammo, and who might draw on who. But the second one erupts – the Western motif falls away and all out war ensues. There's a kind of an epic, wartime, band-of-rebels-against-a-larger-force Star Wars feel to the second one ... If we only did the Western one, there might have been some people who said, 'Oh it's great, but it's not 'Modern Warfare.' And then there's other people who, if we had only done 'Modern Warfare,' would say, 'Eh, same thing again.'"
Each character is introduced in the episode with an animation revealing the card they used to vote on expelling Pierce, and there are multiple flash back fades to the vote casting scene. Annie is the only one who voted to retain Pierce in the study group.
" by Sergio Leone
. The opening title sequence is a parody of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
. The episode title, "A Fistful of Paintballs," and the season finale's title, "For a Few Paintballs More," are allusions to A Fistful of Dollars
and For a Few Dollars More
.
Troy's costume is that of Bart from Blazing Saddles
.
At the end of the episode, as Pistol Patty's commando team assembles and goes through a roll-call, one of the commandos can be heard uttering Luke Skywalker
's "Red 5 Standing By" from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
.
In both this episode and its sequel in the following episode, Jeff finds the proposed tactics of the study group to be childish and remarks that they are not the Little Rascals, whereby the character Leonard (resembling Mickey Rooney
) insists that he, in fact, was.
Josh Holloway
guest stars as The Black Rider. His character gives nicknames to people resembling his character (Sawyer) on Lost
.
". Several critics noted the obvious comparisons to "Modern Warfare" when reviewing the episode, saying it does not top "Modern Warfare", but is a worthy companion episode.
Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
commented the episode "isn't the season's funniest episode, but it might be the most FUN, and that's where the episode, ultimately, gets me." He also said, "There are so many goofy, winning touches in this episode that it almost feels churlish to write too much that's negative about it." Although he graded the episode an A-, he felt "that it's hard to watch the first half of an intended two-parter and be able to say much about the work as a whole. I'll say that I think this is a pretty great set-up, but it's essentially ALL set-up, and that means a lot of how successful it is depends on next week's episode and how it goes." Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com called the episode "a worthy paintball redux" and "a fun, riotous companion to the classic episode."
HitFix
critic Alan Sepinwall applauded the episode, saying "the new installment went for depth instead of breadth, focusing entirely on the style of the spaghetti Western and doing a very impressive job of it. The revamped opening credit sequence was gorgeous, the score sounded very much like Ennio Morricone
's work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
, the different showdowns had the requisite number of close-ups, etc." He also enjoyed Alison Brie
's performance as Annie, commenting that "She was so fierce, so kickass as a strong loner heroine that I could very easily imagine her as the lead of an actual, not-for-laughs Western." TV Fanatic reviewer Jeffrey Kirkpatrick loved the episode, saying that it even tops the original paintball episode and very much enjoyed the performance of Alison Brie, calling her a "showstopper." Eric Koreen of the National Post
said the episode "was daring, stunningly shot and completely unafraid to try to do more than any sitcom ought to."
Community (season 2)
The second season of the television comedy series Community premiered on September 23, 2010 and concluded on May 12, 2011, on NBC and aired on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of Comedy Night Done Right.-Starring:*Joel McHale as Jeff Winger...
finale of Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
. The episode originally premiered on May 5, 2011 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Acting as a sequel to "Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare (Community)
"Modern Warfare" is the 23rd episode of the first season of Community and originally premiered on May 6, 2010 on NBC. In the episode, after the Dean announces the prize for a friendly game of paintball, Greendale sinks into a state of all-out paintball war, with every student battling for...
" from the first season, Dean Pelton once again announces plans for a new game of paintball. The winning prize being 100,000 dollars cash, the study group teams up. However, this year they are short on ammo and their friendship is once again tested. During the game a man only known as "The Black Rider" appears.
The episode was written by Andrew Guest
Andrew Guest
Andrew Guest is an American television writer. Guest's most notable works are episodes of Hope & Faith and 30 Rock . Guest was also a member of the production staff on Hope & Faith and writes episodes for Community...
and directed by Joe Russo
Russo brothers
Anthony and Joe Russo, known together professionally as the Russo brothers, are Emmy Award-winning American film and television directors. The brothers direct most of their work jointly, and they also occasionally work as producers, actors, and editors. The Russos are from Cleveland, Ohio, and were...
. Unlike its predecessor, the episode is inspired by Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
films directed by Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
.
Plot
Mike (Anthony Michael HallAnthony Michael Hall
Michael Anthony Hall , known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, film producer and director who starred in several teen-oriented films of the 1980s. Hall began his career in commercials and on stage as a child, and made his screen debut in 1980...
) is seen chasing "Fat Neil" down a corridor with his gang when suddenly Annie emerges and defeats the bullies, but she gives "Fat Neil" a gun, since he is unarmed and leaves. Just as Annie is turning away "Fat Neil" attempts to shoot her but is headed off by Annie.
Through a series of flashbacks it is revealed that the paintball game was started by Dean Pelton and "Pistol Patty's Cowboy Creamery", an ice cream company. The Dean explains that the reason last years paintball assassin was unsuccessful was that the prize was too important. He then lets Pistol Patty, the ice cream company's mascot, a giant ice cream cone in western attire, explain the prize. The company has made the prize 100,000 dollars in cash, at which point pandemonium breaks out.
Annie comes back to her base where she is greeted by Abed. Abed proposes she join him, Jeff, and Chang in the library. Meanwhile in the library, Jeff and Chang are trapped by the math club, so Chang betrays him. Abed saves Jeff just in time, but Chang gets away. Jeff informs Annie that he too is low on ammo and they discuss whether they should join Pierce, who is hiding in the cafeteria, or steal his ammo since he has "more paint than a French kindergarten". They are interrupted by a stranger (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
), who they believe does not go to Greendale, and manage to escape from him.
On their way to the cafe they run into Britta, Shirley and Troy and find out they are working for Pierce, who has set up a safe zone in the cafeteria, known as Fort Hawthorne. During a dinner in the fort with Pierce, he express his desire to team up and split the cash. He informs them of the location of a stash of ammo. As the study group is looking for ammo, Annie finds Chang who has betrayed and is about to be "executed" by a gang of cheerleaders, whom he betrayed the math club to join. Annie shoots the cheerleaders but Chang tries to get away. Annie chases Chang when she is caught by the stranger she met earlier. They find out that he is known as "The Black Rider". Jeff and Abed arrive and save Annie but she finds out that Pierce loaded Jeff's gun with blanks. The study group finds Dean Pelton hiding in a closet and get all of last years paintball supply's from his office. Annie takes the paintball machine gun Chang used last year and storms off to confront Pierce.
Back at Fort Hawthorn the group finds that it's been demolished by "The Black Rider". They find Pierce and confront him. Pierce confesses why he loaded Jeff's gun with blanks: He walked in on them playing cards without him 3 days ago. Annie also confesses that they weren't playing cards but were actually voting whether Pierce should join the study group next year. She also confesses that she was the only one who voted to keep Pierce in. "The Black Rider" emerges and gets into a stand-off with Jeff as Annie is still in the stand-off with Pierce. Just then Pierce starts to have what appears to be a heart attack, but when "The Black Rider" goes to help him Pierce shoots him as he was just faking it. "The Black Rider" reveals that he only takes a class online and was hired by Pistol Patty's to keep the prize money. Pierce runs off alone, vowing revenge.
Chang is seen looking for another alliance to join when he is shot by a paintball-machine-gun from the Pistol Patty's. The back of the van opens up and a commando team dressed in white exit the van. Pistol Patty exits as the commando team bow to her. Pistol Patty goes on to say it's time for "Plan B: Operation Total Invasion".
Production
The episode was written by Andrew GuestAndrew Guest
Andrew Guest is an American television writer. Guest's most notable works are episodes of Hope & Faith and 30 Rock . Guest was also a member of the production staff on Hope & Faith and writes episodes for Community...
, his sixth writing credit of the series. It was directed by executive producer Joe Russo
Russo brothers
Anthony and Joe Russo, known together professionally as the Russo brothers, are Emmy Award-winning American film and television directors. The brothers direct most of their work jointly, and they also occasionally work as producers, actors, and editors. The Russos are from Cleveland, Ohio, and were...
, his 15th directing credit of the series.
It was reported of February 28, 2011, by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
that Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
would guest star in the season finale as a mysterious character.
Originally scheduled to air as an hour-long season finale on May 12, 2011, the episodes were split into two parts airing May 5 and May 12, respectively. Regarding the concept of the two-part season finale and the return to paintball, creator Dan Harmon said, "It's designed to exist both as one story but also two separate episodes. [The first] one has a Sergio Leone Western motif, so there’s more emphasis on tension, scarcity of ammo, and who might draw on who. But the second one erupts – the Western motif falls away and all out war ensues. There's a kind of an epic, wartime, band-of-rebels-against-a-larger-force Star Wars feel to the second one ... If we only did the Western one, there might have been some people who said, 'Oh it's great, but it's not 'Modern Warfare.' And then there's other people who, if we had only done 'Modern Warfare,' would say, 'Eh, same thing again.'"
Playing card character introductions
The "game" that Pierce caught them playing wasn't a game, it was a secret ballot vote about if they should include him in the study group the next year. Each person received a red and a black card. Black cards voted to expel Pierce, red cards to keep. The vote had to be unanimous to eject him.Each character is introduced in the episode with an animation revealing the card they used to vote on expelling Pierce, and there are multiple flash back fades to the vote casting scene. Annie is the only one who voted to retain Pierce in the study group.
| Name | Card |
|---|---|
| Annie | Ace of Hearts |
| Abed | Jack of Clubs |
| Jeff | King of Spades |
| Britta | Queen of Spades |
| Shirley | Ace of Clubs |
| Troy | King of Clubs |
Cultural references
The episode is a tribute to Western films, specifically the "Dollars TrilogyDollars Trilogy
The "Dollars Trilogy" , also known as the "Man with No Name Trilogy", refers to the three Spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More , and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly .A Fistful of Dollars is an unofficial remake of...
" by Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
. The opening title sequence is a parody of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...
. The episode title, "A Fistful of Paintballs," and the season finale's title, "For a Few Paintballs More," are allusions to A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. Released in Italy in 1964 then in the United States in...
and For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Italian spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonté. German actor Klaus Kinski also plays a supporting role as a secondary villain...
.
Troy's costume is that of Bart from Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
.
At the end of the episode, as Pistol Patty's commando team assembles and goes through a roll-call, one of the commandos can be heard uttering Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
's "Red 5 Standing By" from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
.
In both this episode and its sequel in the following episode, Jeff finds the proposed tactics of the study group to be childish and remarks that they are not the Little Rascals, whereby the character Leonard (resembling Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
) insists that he, in fact, was.
Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
guest stars as The Black Rider. His character gives nicknames to people resembling his character (Sawyer) on Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
.
Ratings
In its original American broadcast on May 5, 2011, "A Fistful of Paintballs" was viewed by an estimated 3.49 million viewers.Reviews
The episode received positive reviews from critics, much like "Modern WarfareModern Warfare (Community)
"Modern Warfare" is the 23rd episode of the first season of Community and originally premiered on May 6, 2010 on NBC. In the episode, after the Dean announces the prize for a friendly game of paintball, Greendale sinks into a state of all-out paintball war, with every student battling for...
". Several critics noted the obvious comparisons to "Modern Warfare" when reviewing the episode, saying it does not top "Modern Warfare", but is a worthy companion episode.
Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
commented the episode "isn't the season's funniest episode, but it might be the most FUN, and that's where the episode, ultimately, gets me." He also said, "There are so many goofy, winning touches in this episode that it almost feels churlish to write too much that's negative about it." Although he graded the episode an A-, he felt "that it's hard to watch the first half of an intended two-parter and be able to say much about the work as a whole. I'll say that I think this is a pretty great set-up, but it's essentially ALL set-up, and that means a lot of how successful it is depends on next week's episode and how it goes." Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com called the episode "a worthy paintball redux" and "a fun, riotous companion to the classic episode."
HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
critic Alan Sepinwall applauded the episode, saying "the new installment went for depth instead of breadth, focusing entirely on the style of the spaghetti Western and doing a very impressive job of it. The revamped opening credit sequence was gorgeous, the score sounded very much like Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
's work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...
, the different showdowns had the requisite number of close-ups, etc." He also enjoyed Alison Brie
Alison Brie
-External links:...
's performance as Annie, commenting that "She was so fierce, so kickass as a strong loner heroine that I could very easily imagine her as the lead of an actual, not-for-laughs Western." TV Fanatic reviewer Jeffrey Kirkpatrick loved the episode, saying that it even tops the original paintball episode and very much enjoyed the performance of Alison Brie, calling her a "showstopper." Eric Koreen of the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
said the episode "was daring, stunningly shot and completely unafraid to try to do more than any sitcom ought to."
External links
- "A Fistful of Paintballs" at NBC.com
- "A Fistful of Paintballs" at TV TropesTV TropesTV Tropes is a wiki which collects and expands on various conventions and devices found within creative works. Since its establishment in 2004, the site has gone from covering only television and film tropes to also covering those in a number of other media such as literature, comics, video-games,...