NBCPop quiz: Which Community kid looks spiffiest in that snazzy astronaut gear—make that their Greenstranaut gear? (See what we did there?) Everyone rocks those space duds equally...so no need to choose! Now, find out why Greendale's "outer space" episode is part Alien, part Apollo 13, all funny:
Per Community creator Dan Harmon's unique vision, tonight's "Basic Rocket Science" approaches overdramatic space flicks like Armageddon the same way the paintball episode "Modern Warfare" took on action movies.
"One of Dan's rules is that there can't be any magic on our show," Gillian Jacobs (Britta) tells us. "We can stretch reality to the very limit but we can't actually break reality, so we go to Greendale's version of space." There's a spaceship "space bus" and everything.
So there's no interplanetary travel, but Jeff & Co. definitely go on an adventure. Says Joel, "Greendale starts a space program, and we get trapped in its space vehicle. There is violence. And Pierce becomes like the android in Alien who loses his mind."
And poor Abed (Danny Pudi) gets left behind, but there's no shortage of awesome from the fan fave who ends up manning the control center back at Greendale. Plus, he smokes a cigar!
The standouts in tonight's ep are Donald Glover as Troy, who has about 50 hilarious one-liners as the ship's captain, and Jim Rash as the always funny Dean of Students. "The space bus might end up being my favorite episode this season," Yvette Nicole Brown says with a smile. Adds Donald, "It's really cool. Dan's a genius." Agreed!
Side note: Keep an eye on Troy and Britta tonight. Notice anything interesting? Just sayin'.
Don't miss Community tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC. "Basic Rocket Science" really is the best way to spend your Thursday.