YMMV / Community S 3 E 10 Regional Holiday Music

• Aluminum Christmas Trees: There actually is a Christian song called "Happy Birthday, Jesus!", but its melody and lyrics are different from the song that Shirley sings.
• Awesome Music: All of the episode's songs are pretty charming in their own way, but "Jehovah's Secret Witness" and "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" are probably the two best straightforward songs out of the overall episode. "Planet Christmas", the climactic song at the Holiday show that the whole study group (minus Britta) sings together is also pretty good, even if we only hear part of it.
• Crosses the Line Twice: One of the Glee Club members at the episode's beginning stabbing himself in the hand with a fork after they get a standard cease-and-desist order.
• Fridge Brilliance: Britta's "song of her heart" during the pageant is hilariously awful, but her caroling at the episode's end with the rest of the Study Group is actually pretty decent. It makes a lot of sense when one remembers the former was her singing basically whatever spilled out of her own mouth since she didn't have any set notes or even lyrics to work off of, while the latter has her working off of previously-decided lyrics and notes.
• Fridge Horror:
  • If one were so inclined, it's entirely possible to hear the ever-increasing-in-volume Glee-style sung musical cues (especially the eerie number at the end of the episode) as being the ghosts of the original murdered Glee Club. "We'll see you after regionals..." indeed.
  • Additionally, whatever the hell happened to Mr. Rad? Did he just escape? Is he still at large? Will we ever find out?!^note Well, no.
• Funny Moments: Pretty much the entire episode, but special mention must be given to Jeff singing at Britta a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers to get her into the Glee Club.
• Genius Bonus: The claim that the creator of the Inspector Spacetime Holiday Special lost his knighthood over it might be a sneaky reference to Michael Grade, the infamous BBC controller who played a major role in getting Doctor Who kicked off the air in the 1980s. He is one of a few BBC controller who was never knighted, and since the Queen was known to be a fan of Doctor Who, some people have interpreted this as Laser-Guided Karma on Her Majesty's part.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • The Study Group (and soon the entire audience) jumping to Britta's defense when Mr. Rad yells at her on-stage during the pageant, as well as their support for allowing Britta to continue her awkward song in the name of inclusivity.
  • Relatedly, the Study Group coming to Troy and Abed's apartment at the end of the episode to celebrate Christmas and watch the Inspector Spacetime Holiday Special with Abed.
• Moral Event Horizon: The Reveal that Mr. Rad murdered the previous Glee Club for them having not gone onto "regionals."
• Squick: Annie's descent into incoherent baby talk when she's trying to come across as sexy to Jeff.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: As annoying and insufferable as they are, one can't help but feel just a bit sorry for the initial Glee Club when they suffer a collective nervous breakdown at the beginning of the episode. This is made even more effective considering what Prof. Raddisson reveals about the previous Glee Club. Their panic over the cease-and-desist order mirrors a person having a drug-induced breakdown and it's possible Raddisson has been pressuring them to go to regionals "or else".