Something that's easy to overlook about the Inspector Spacetime segment in this episode is that with the exception of the very brief excerpt from the Christmas Special in 3x10, this is the only glimpse of the "real" Inspector Spacetime we ever see. Everything else is cosplay or other expressions of fannish enthusiasm (e.g. posters).
I can relate to how Abed immediately fell for Inspector Spacetime, because it very closely parallels how I (and probably Dan Harmon too, considering he was a fan of the original series) fell for Doctor Who. I came to the series cold; a friend told me she thought I'd like it, so I talked my mom into letting me stay up (this was back in the 80s; I was in middle school and the show aired at 11:00 PM on Sunday) to watch it. The story that happened to be showing that night was "The Invisible Enemy," a 4th Doctor adventure. Looking at it as an adult, I can state it's not a very good episode. But it *is* completely nuts, which is the sort of thing that middle school-age boys usually find appealing. Another thing young boys (and girls too, though I think to a lesser extent) tend to enjoy is learning reams of detail about things they're enthusiastic about-Pokemon characters, baseball statistics, dinosaurs, members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, etc. (You could argue that fandom is composed of people who never grew out of that capacity for child-like enthusiasm.) There was a lot of stuff in that first Doctor Who I didn't quite understand, but the idea of learning more about it was exciting.
In that context, Abed's reaction to Inspector Spacetime makes perfect sense. In many ways, he's still somewhat childish, and he clearly has fannish enthusiasm in boatloads. He's exactly the kind of person who would look at all the bizarre things show in that Inspector Spacetime clip-the Booth, the guys in weird costumes, the Blorgons-and say, "I need to know more about this." And knowing there was 49 years of history to absorb, it's no wonder he recognized it immediately as the greatest thing he'd ever seen.
You said it! Abed and Inspector Spacetime seems like a match made in heaven. I've never seen Doctor Who (booooo!) but I've had the same reaction to some shiows. Of course Community is one of them.
Also, good catch on those two appearances being the only ones by the "actual" Inspector Spacetime. I was wondering which episode the 1981 special was, and didn't look at the obvious answer (to be fair, I got sucked into a partial S3 rewatch)
I can relate to how Abed immediately fell for Inspector Spacetime, because it very closely parallels how I (and probably Dan Harmon too, considering he was a fan of the original series) fell for Doctor Who. I came to the series cold; a friend told me she thought I'd like it, so I talked my mom into letting me stay up (this was back in the 80s; I was in middle school and the show aired at 11:00 PM on Sunday) to watch it. The story that happened to be showing that night was "The Invisible Enemy," a 4th Doctor adventure. Looking at it as an adult, I can state it's not a very good episode. But it *is* completely nuts, which is the sort of thing that middle school-age boys usually find appealing. Another thing young boys (and girls too, though I think to a lesser extent) tend to enjoy is learning reams of detail about things they're enthusiastic about-Pokemon characters, baseball statistics, dinosaurs, members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, etc. (You could argue that fandom is composed of people who never grew out of that capacity for child-like enthusiasm.) There was a lot of stuff in that first Doctor Who I didn't quite understand, but the idea of learning more about it was exciting.
In that context, Abed's reaction to Inspector Spacetime makes perfect sense. In many ways, he's still somewhat childish, and he clearly has fannish enthusiasm in boatloads. He's exactly the kind of person who would look at all the bizarre things show in that Inspector Spacetime clip-the Booth, the guys in weird costumes, the Blorgons-and say, "I need to know more about this." And knowing there was 49 years of history to absorb, it's no wonder he recognized it immediately as the greatest thing he'd ever seen.
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Also, good catch on those two appearances being the only ones by the "actual" Inspector Spacetime. I was wondering which episode the 1981 special was, and didn't look at the obvious answer (to be fair, I got sucked into a partial S3 rewatch)
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