Contemporary American Poultry

"Contemporary American Poultry" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on April 22, 2010. In the episode, Jeff convinces the rest of the study group to help him skim chicken fingers from the cafeteria, but with Abed's help, the plan quickly spirals into a much larger operation. The episode is styled similarly to mafia movies, particularly the 1990 film Goodfellas. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics. Plot During one of their meetings, the study group leaves early for lunch to get chicken fingers, which are the only food served by the Greendale cafeteria that the members of the study group enjoy; however, the cafeteria runs out before the group can get any, as they are widely popular among Greendale students. Jeff (Joel McHale) gets angry when he notices Star-Burns (Dino Stamatopoulos), the fry cook, skimming chicken fingers for his friends. He convinces the rest of the study group to help him gain control of the kitchen. They work to get Star-Burns fired and to get Abed (Danny Pudi) hired as the new fry cook. Abed skims chicken for his friends as planned, but he also starts giving Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) chicken. This concerns everyone until he reveals that Chang is giving them higher Spanish grades in return, at which point the group (except for Jeff) enthusiastically supports the deal. Under Abed, the group works out a system to redistribute the skimmed chicken. Abed begins to use favors from other students to provide spoils to the rest of the study group. Irritated by this, Jeff attempts to talk to the group, but he realizes they no longer listen to him, as Abed has been providing the study group with things that they enjoy, using his newfound power. He leaves to find Abed taking more requests for chicken from other students. Jeff argues the ploy has gone on long enough, but Abed counters by arguing Jeff misses the control he once had. Jeff then tries to convince the rest of the group to stop following Abed. When they refuse to listen, he threatens to leave, and nobody stops him.