Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts

Did You Know?

• KUAM aired the episode on Sunday, May 1, 2011 due to The Royal Wedding preempting it on most NBC stations.
• Abed and Troy compared Pierce's offer to "buy" their handshake to a similar deal in Indecent Proposal.
• Dean Pelton compared his self-proclaimed father figure role to the horror film Children of the Corn.

Plot

The study group and classmates take a farcical Anthropology final exam. Dean Pelton arrives with a reporter from Dean Magazine to observe. Dr. Ian Duncan makes an excuse and leaves. Shirley's water breaks, saving the class from admitting the Anthropology class was fake. The dean plans to drive her to the hospital, but a food festival riot in the parking lot traps her on campus. Abed knows how to deliver a baby, but Shirley refuses to let him see her "nethers"; instead, Abed guides Britta through the delivery. Chang pesters Shirley about "Chang babies," hoping the baby is his, and calms her with stories of his relatives' births. Shirley's husband Andre arrives for the final stage. Shirley delivers a boy, clearly Andre's. Grateful to Chang, she names the baby Ben. Dean Magazine shuts down after two issues.

Reception

The episode was viewed by an estimated 3.35 million people, with a Nielsen rating of 1.4 in the 18–49 demographic. Critical reception was positive. Jeffrey Kirkpatrick rated it 4.2/5 and praised Ken Jeong and Gillian Jacobs' performances as the best in the series "by a mile." Cory Barker of TV Surveillance noted the episode wasn't "overly complicated" but had "a number of really solid, straightforward emotional beats." Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com called it "full of heart, a few chuckles and one really fake-looking newborn." Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club gave a B+ score, enjoying the series "getting out of its own way and let Shirley deliver her baby."