A Fistful of Paintballs

"A Fistful of Paintballs" is the 23rd episode and part one of the two-part second season finale of Community. The episode originally premiered on May 5, 2011 on NBC. Acting as a sequel to "Modern Warfare" from the first season, Dean Pelton once again announces plans for a game of paintball. The winning prize being $100,000, the study group teams up. However, this year they are short on ammo and their friendship is once again tested. During the game a man only known as "The Black Rider" (played by Lost star Josh Holloway) appears.

The episode was written by Andrew Guest and directed by Joe Russo. The episode is inspired by Spaghetti Western films directed by Sergio Leone.

Plot

Mike (Anthony Michael Hall) and his gang are chasing "Fat Neil" down a corridor when Annie emerges and defeats the bullies. "Fat Neil" asks her for a paintball gun, but winds up shot when he tries to pull the gun on Annie.

In flashback we find out the paintball game was started by Dean Pelton and "Pistol Patty's Cowboy Creamery", an ice cream company. The Dean explains the reason last year's "Paintball Assassin" game was unsuccessful was that the prize was too important. He then lets Pistol Patty, the ice cream company's mascot, a giant ice cream cone in western attire, explain the prize. The company has made the prize 100,000 dollars in cash, at which point pandemonium breaks out.

Community

A community is a social unit of any size that shares common values, or that is situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a village or town). It is a group of people who are connected by durable relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties, and who mutually define that relationship as important to their social identity and practice. Although communities are usually small, community may also refer to large groups, such as national communities, international communities, and virtual communities.

The word "community" is derived from the Old French comuneté which comes from the Latin communitas (from Latin communis, things held in common).

In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks, may be shared in common, affecting the identity of the participants, and their degree of cohesiveness.

Perspectives from various disciplines

Community studies

Community studies is an academic field drawing on both sociology and anthropology and the social research methods of ethnography and participant observation in the study of community. In academic settings around the world, community studies is variously a sub-discipline of anthropology or sociology, or an independent discipline. It is often interdisciplinary and geared toward practical applications rather than purely theoretical perspectives. Community studies is sometimes combined with other fields, i.e., "Urban and Community Studies," "Health and Community Studies," or "Family and Community studies."