Remedial Chaos Theory
A dice roll creates seven alternate timelines at a housewarming party.
"Remedial Chaos Theory" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It follows a study group at a housewarming party where a dice roll creates seven different timelines. The episode received critical acclaim and is considered one of the best episodes of the show.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Community
- Airdate
- 13 October 2011
- Writer
- Chris McKenna
- Director
- Jeff Melman
- Length
- 21 minutes
- Season article
- Community season 3
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Troy and Abed throw a housewarming party for their study group. After Abed shows off his Raiders of the Lost Ark boulder diorama, everyone starts playing Yahtzee. When the pizza arrives, Jeff rolls a die to pick who will go get it from the doorman. Abed says this creates six different alternate timelines based on the roll. Across these timelines, similar events happen: Pierce brags about sleeping with Eartha Kitt, Jeff stops Britta from singing along to "Roxanne," Abed straightens a miniature Indiana Jones figurine, Britta smokes weed in the bathroom, and Jeff hits his head on a ceiling fan. In the first timeline, Annie is chosen, and Troy finds a handgun in her bag. Pierce tries to give Troy a gift. Annie comes back and calls the pizza guy a creep. The scene resets from the dice roll to show the other timelines. The group believes Shirley has a baking problem, and Pierce's gift is a Norwegian troll he knows Troy fears. When Shirley gets the pizza, her pies burn because the group ignores them, so she insults everyone and leaves. When Pierce goes, Troy complains to Britta that Jeff makes him feel immature. When Britta leaves, Pierce torments Troy with the troll, and Britta returns engaged to the pizza guy. The "Darkest Timeline" happens when Jeff rolls a 1 and Troy goes. In his rush to get back quickly, Troy slams the door, knocking the diorama boulder loose. Annie trips over the boulder while helping Jeff with his head injury, and her gun accidentally fires, shooting Pierce in the leg. Britta drops a joint, starting a fire. Troy returns to find the apartment on fire and the troll staring at him in the middle of the chaos.
Production
"Remedial Chaos Theory" aired as the fourth episode of Community's third season on NBC, premiering Thursday, October 13, 2011, at 8 p.m. Chris McKenna wrote it, marking his sixth script for the series. The writers created annotated diagrams called "story circles" for each character in every timeline, showing their actions; series creator Dan Harmon later posted images of these on Tumblr. Jeff Melman directed the episode. Originally scheduled as the third episode, its broadcast was pushed back a week because it needed finishing touches like editing, reshoots, and visual effects. Harmon said he made that call, and NBC agreed. Because of the swap, the episode that actually aired third, "Competitive Ecology", includes jokes that first appear in "Remedial Chaos Theory": Pierce mentions his Eartha Kitt story, and Shirley references Britta's marijuana use. The reordering also caused two consecutive episodes, "Geography of Global Conflict" and "Competitive Ecology", to have similar B-plots involving Chang and his security guard storyline. Additionally, the episode that followed "Remedial Chaos Theory", "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps", became the second straight episode to feature seven different stories. The opening lines of "Remedial Chaos Theory", where Britta and Annie argue over whether the apartment number is 303 or 304, directly reference the episode's delayed airing. Before Harmon confirmed the reordering, some fans and critics noticed inconsistencies between "Competitive Ecology" and "Remedial Chaos Theory", speculating that the final timeline shown in the latter might not be the one the series would follow. Harmon clarified that the canonical timeline is the final one, where Abed stops the die from landing on a number, and stated no ambiguity was intended. The Police song "Roxanne" plays briefly in several timelines and for a longer stretch in the final one. According to Harmon on the audio commentary, licensing that track consumed most of the music budget for the entire third season, which is why "Daybreak" by Michael Haggins and Ludwig Goransson's score appear so often in other season three episodes. However, Joel McHale later said Harmon often bought music when the studio refused, citing "Roxanne" as an example.
Reception
When it first aired on October 13, 2011, "Remedial Chaos Theory" pulled in about 3.82 million viewers, a 13% bump from the week before. In the key 18–49 demographic, it scored a 1.7 Nielsen rating, which climbed to a 2.4 after a week of DVR playback. While the season’s opening trio of episodes got a lukewarm reception, this one was a critical smash and has stayed a fan and critic favorite. The A.V. Club gave it an A, IGN a perfect 10 out of 10, and TV Fanatic a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Adam Quigley of /Film called it the best episode of the show up to that point. Reviewers highlighted its clever structure and the series’ return to a high-concept format. Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com noted that after the first three episodes, the show went back to "experimental, high-concept television laced with absurd comedy." The episode’s intricate alternate timelines and attention to detail drew particular praise. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club described it as "silly, moving and revelatory" all at once. The end tag and the Darkest Timeline scene were especially well-received. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly commended the entire cast’s acting. Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix lauded how the episode detailed each character’s relationships within the group, plus its humor. Robert Canning of IGN summed it up: it "told a great story, it satirized a specific aspect of pop culture and it, above all else, was full of laughs."
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