Bottle episodes and other televisual novelties

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I admire, even if I don’t always enjoy it, when show runners try to do something different within the 30/45/60 minutes they have.

‘Fly’ in Breaking Bad or more recently ‘Blow-Up’ in Only Murders in the Building for example. What examples do you rate for pushing against the format’s constraints.

Dan Worsley, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 13:33 (two days ago) link

Family Ties did one where it was just Michael J. Fox addressing an (unseen?) therapist over the recent death a friend.

cryptosicko, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 13:34 (two days ago) link

twin peaks the return: gotta light?

johnny crunch, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 13:58 (two days ago) link

Pine Barrens obviously (if that counts)

Teddy Perkins episode of Atlanta

groovypanda, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:02 (two days ago) link

I've rarely enjoyed a musical episode of a "straight" series (okay, Bob's Burgers), but I'll give the producers credit for trying to stretch the medium.

Infanta Terrible (j.lu), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:07 (two days ago) link

also a trope at this point: the silent episode (Buffy, Bojack)

a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:18 (two days ago) link

Only Murders did a silent episode as well. I think they make a point of doing one "televisual novelty" episode per season.

cryptosicko, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:21 (two days ago) link

The Seinfeld episode that runs in reverse (the one where they go to India for a wedding). It's not really clear why they chose to do that either, just to do something different I guess.

frogbs, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:33 (two days ago) link

The life-not-lived episode, where you get an alternate path for the main character, like with George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. The Leftovers and Mr. Robot did this...not really a dream episode (like The Sopranos one where Tony, in the hospital dying, became a salesman at a convention), but with those two shows, it was a little hard to tell.

clemenza, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:47 (two days ago) link

every season of The Righteous Gemstones has a flashback episode with a de-aged John Goodman, obviously a lot of shows do flashback episodes but these go back 30 years which means none of the rest of the cast (outside of Walton Goggins) are in them

amusingly in one of them I spotted a VHS copy of The Flintstones movie, wonder who starred in that in the Righteous Gemstones universe

frogbs, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 14:51 (two days ago) link

In addition to the silent episode, Bojack Horseman also has “Free Churro” which is entirely him giving a eulogy. Maybe goes in the same bucket as the Family Ties one.

Lavator Shemmelpennick, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 16:41 (two days ago) link

The Homicide episode "Three Men and Adena."

Iza Duffus Hardy (President Keyes), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 17:40 (two days ago) link

Not sure how you'd classify it, but Six Feet Under's "That's My Dog" was bizarre and very love-it-or-hate-it.

clemenza, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:05 (two days ago) link

Only Murders did a silent episode as well.

I did like the conceit of that one, though -- fully made sense given the character POV.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:08 (two days ago) link

Penny Dreadful had a good stand-alone episode on Joan of Arc's origin story

Andy the Grasshopper, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:09 (two days ago) link

Two episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati:

- a reality show starring Herb Tarlek's family (and workplace)
- everyone of the staff has a fantasy segment while listening to Mr. Carlson deliver a speech

Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:11 (two days ago) link

on the short-lived Comedy Central sitcom That's My Bush there was an episode where Dubya gets impeached and has to find a series of new jobs, each of which becomes its own sitcom with its own theme song

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a ton of these, one that comes to mind is when they re-did the episode where they try to break Wade Boggs' record for beers on an airplane but with the female characters instead, it wound up being pretty bad though

frogbs, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:15 (two days ago) link

Is there a term for what Mythic Quest has done each season, an episode using none of the principal cast? Feel like I've seen other shows do it

Vinnie, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:16 (two days ago) link

always sunny had the "one-take" episode "charlie work"

what angers me about the smurfs these days (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:16 (two days ago) link

oh yeah that's probably one of the best episodes they ever did

there was a recent one which wound up centering around a long psychopathic revenge fantasy by Dennis that he has while in the doctor's office for high blood pressure, it's not clear it's a fantasy though until the very end when he pulls someone's heart through their chest

frogbs, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:22 (two days ago) link

Inversely related...Greatest series ever that didn't do a single weird thing in the course of five seasons: Friday Night Lights. (I guess you could say a new school the last two seasons was weird, but not the weird of this thread.)

clemenza, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:27 (two days ago) link

has a flashback episode with a de-aged John Goodman

I know this isn't the point of the thread, but my wife and I were watching A Man on the Inside, the fluffy Ted Danson thing on Netflix, and it opened with a de-aged Danson that was absolutely terrifying to see.

Was going to post it, but the only screenshot I could find is hosted on X and fuck sharing a link to that cesspool.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:31 (two days ago) link

twin peaks the return: gotta light?
― johnny crunch

I was going to nominate The Return as the series were "weird" loses all meaning.

clemenza, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:33 (two days ago) link

futurama's "the sting" featured a nested series of hallucinations. also had a body-switching episode that posed a logical conundrum complicated enough that they needed to bring a mathematician in to solve it

what angers me about the smurfs these days (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 18:42 (two days ago) link

The X-Files had that episode about Mulder and Scully being on a ship during WWII that could be a dream/hallucination/past life.

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 19:12 (two days ago) link

Is the TNG time loop episode (Cause and Effect) weird?

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 19:14 (two days ago) link

30 rock's queen of jordan episodes, which were structured like episodes of a bravo reality show

what angers me about the smurfs these days (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 19:20 (two days ago) link

The Homicide episode "Three Men and Adena."

Also "Night of the Dead Living", set entirely within the squad room.

visiting, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 19:34 (two days ago) link

X-Files had a few. Like that baseball alien episode.

Iza Duffus Hardy (President Keyes), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 19:35 (two days ago) link

EastEnders two-hander with just Dot and Ethel was practically Pinteresque.

ER had an episode that went out live.

bored by endless ecstasy (anagram), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:03 (two days ago) link

Directed by Tarantino IIRC

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:06 (two days ago) link

LEXX had two virtually identical consecutive epidoes called "the net" and "the web". they were, as per usual with LEXX, concoctions of primitive CGI, spooky synth noodling, and riduculous high pomp space opera costuming

massaman gai (front tea for two), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:08 (two days ago) link

* episodes, duh

massaman gai (front tea for two), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:08 (two days ago) link

xp - Nah, I don't think his was the live episode:

"Motherhood" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American medical drama ER. Written by supervising producer Lydia Woodward and directed by Quentin Tarantino, the episode was first broadcast on NBC on May 11, 1995.

In the Mother's Day-themed episode, Susan Lewis helps her sister Chloe give birth, John Carter learns the true outcome of his surgical internship application, and Peter Benton is told tragic news about his mother. Writing the episode, Woodward said she did not create the script with Tarantino in mind, but that she did try to "gross out" the screenplay after learning he would direct.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:09 (two days ago) link

B&W newsreel episode of MASH

I think we're all Bezos on this bus (WmC), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:11 (two days ago) link

There's a lot of MASH ones. In addition to the newsreel one, there was the 'real time' one; the one with the dying soldier's out of body experience; and the notorious "Dreams" episode.

Okay, heteros are cutting edge this year, too. (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:24 (two days ago) link

xxp - ah u right, I just remembered two big event episodes of ER and assume they were a combo package

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:30 (two days ago) link

Girls had a handful of episodes that focused (almost) solely on one of the leads with no real B-plots: "One Man's Trash" & "American Bitch" for Hannah; "Japan" for Shoshanna; and "The Panic In Central Park" for Marnie.

Despite doing a series re-screen/catch-up last year, I don't remember if Jessa got her own episode or not.

Okay, heteros are cutting edge this year, too. (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:36 (two days ago) link

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead-type episodes where the a minor character is the focus and the main cast are relegated to the background. Or we see a previous episode's events from a minor character's POV. I know I've seen a few of these but I can only specifically remember Lost's "Nikki and Paulo" episode at the moment.

blatherskite, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:37 (two days ago) link

I was just looking up the Marnie episode of Girls, which is the only episode of that entire show I remember fondly tbh (similar to the Mystic Quest standalone).

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:40 (two days ago) link

PVMIC, but just looked back at the Girls episode guide IMDb, and "Japan" is actually a fairly normal episode but for the bits filmed in Japan, so strike that one.

Okay, heteros are cutting edge this year, too. (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:43 (two days ago) link

There was also the "Cooperative Calligraphy" episode of Community, where the characters are locked into a room in order to specifically create a bottle episode.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:44 (two days ago) link

The Troy McClure-hosted clip show and spinoff showcase are all-timer simpsons eps that break out of the world of the show; the vh1 behind the music one they did a few years later is less successful. They’ve probably done it a dozen times since

the babality of evil (wins), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:47 (two days ago) link

(Then theres the treehouse eps but they quickly became a tradition so don’t count)

the babality of evil (wins), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:47 (two days ago) link

Seems like The Monkees was maybe the first (American) show to really lean hard into this?

-The fairytale episode
-The one where they quit the shoot during the first scene and go to Paris, with occasional cutaways to studio with Bob Rafelson waiting for them to come back.
-The concert documentary

Okay, heteros are cutting edge this year, too. (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:49 (two days ago) link

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead-type episodes where the a minor character is the focus and the main cast are relegated to the background. Or we see a previous episode's events from a minor character's POV. I know I've seen a few of these but I can only specifically remember Lost's "Nikki and Paulo" episode at the moment.

Lower Decks is the Star Trek: The Next Generation version of this, which lead to an animated spin off series I have never watched

Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 20:50 (two days ago) link

Broad City: "Mushrooms" with all the animations.

Okay, heteros are cutting edge this year, too. (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:00 (two days ago) link

buffy's "the zeppo" is another rosencrantz ep

what angers me about the smurfs these days (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:01 (two days ago) link

there was an episode of angel where he transforms into a puppet

what angers me about the smurfs these days (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:01 (two days ago) link

the best of the late Angel episodes

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:06 (two days ago) link

Lower Decks is great. You should totally watch it xps

groovypanda, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:08 (two days ago) link

i liked angel season 5 but i am prob in the minority there

xp

what angers me about the smurfs these days (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:08 (two days ago) link

Community was where i first heard the term bottle episode. and they had a few, including one set in a van done up like a spaceship. typically done because they were cheap.

in fact the entire run was full of special episodes - fancy dress, paintball, floor is lava, pillow fort, puppets, dungeons and dragons, holodeck, video game, the one with the timelines...

koogs, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:11 (two days ago) link

^^IIRC, the term "Bottle Episode" was either fairly new or just gaining traction outside the industry when Community referenced it.

Okay, heteros are cutting edge this year, too. (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:20 (two days ago) link

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead-type episodes where the a minor character is the focus and the main cast are relegated to the background

Babylon 5 did one like this as well as Trek, B5 one was "A view from the Gallery". It wasn't all that great tbh.

Agree re the Mythic Quest standalones.

What about "Long, Long Time" from the Last of Us? not 100% standalone but mostly?

Stoop Crone (Trayce), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:33 (two days ago) link

in fact the entire run was full of special episodes - fancy dress, paintball, floor is lava, pillow fort, puppets, dungeons and dragons, holodeck, video game, the one with the timelines...

Ha, yeah, my post upthread about Community started to go down this path but I couldn't even remember all of the themed episodes and gave it up lol. Also the holiday Claymation episode!

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:35 (two days ago) link

The episode of All In The Family where Archie and Meathead wind up locked in the storage room of Archie's Place following a burglary, and spend the entire show chatting away until help arrives, learning sad truths about each other.

henry s, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:40 (two days ago) link

I didn't see it, but that series about the Menendez brothers had one episode that was just the younger brother monologuing to his therapist. Might even have been one long take.

Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:46 (two days ago) link

"and spend the entire show chatting away until help arrives, learning sad truths about each other."

Shoebootie!

scott seward, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 21:59 (two days ago) link

an unforgettable moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LPqWM-0nTA

scott seward, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 22:02 (two days ago) link

I think about that every damn time I put my shoes on (I'm a sock-sock-shoe-shoe guy)

henry s, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 22:02 (two days ago) link

The X-Files definitely experimented with its format quite a lot - another example is the COPS “crossover” episode. Also two specific episodes from the perspective of the guest star, where the principals barely appeared. And of course a lot of people were surprised when they started doing humorous episodes, beginning with “Humbug” in S2. Whatever his flaws, Chris Carter did allow and encourage a lot of freedom to play around and push the format’s limits.

Duane Barry, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 22:22 (two days ago) link

The "clip show ep except none of the scenes are from actual eps" Gambit was done by Community but I think others too.

a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 22:26 (two days ago) link

Atlanta's been mentioned once, but they did a bunch of weirdly disconnected episodes, many of them with none of the four lead characters appearing.

clemenza, Thursday, 30 January 2025 02:19 (yesterday) link

There's the "Access" episode of The West Wing where it's framed from the point of view of a documentary crew following CJ around for the day. The Rookie has done this as well with the characters being interviewed and shadowed for a true crime documentary. The West Wing also has the live Presidential debate which went out live.

9-1-1 has a bunch of these scattered throughout the first few seasons where each character gets their own episode which is basically their backstory and features none of the other characters much. Also has a ton of meta shit where a couple of the characters are consultants on a drama about LA firefighters.

ailsa, Thursday, 30 January 2025 11:55 (yesterday) link

I didn't see it, but that series about the Menendez brothers had one episode that was just the younger brother monologuing to his therapist. Might even have been one long take.

If only Seinfeld had done this

unboxing helena (Matt #2), Thursday, 30 January 2025 12:06 (yesterday) link

The Troy McClure-hosted clip show and spinoff showcase are all-timer simpsons eps that break out of the world of the show; the vh1 behind the music one they did a few years later is less successful. They’ve probably done it a dozen times since

― the babality of evil (wins), Wednesday, 29 January 2025 bookmarkflaglink

Was hoping someone would mention the 138th show spectacular, its like a commentary/pisstake on this thing.

xyzzzz__, Thursday, 30 January 2025 12:10 (yesterday) link

That Menendez episode is actually pretty great. If it somehow wasn't done in one long take, the editing must be amazingly seamless. There's a moment where the actor (who is fantastic) playing Eric clearly makes a mistake in his dialogue, but he just smirks, corrects himself (in character) and goes on. I love that.

Mind you, the rest of the series is icky in that usual Ryan Murphy way.

cryptosicko, Thursday, 30 January 2025 12:24 (yesterday) link

What about "Long, Long Time" from the Last of Us? not 100% standalone but mostly?

Ahhh yes, this is one of the ones I was trying to think of when I mentioned Mythic Quest. Standalone episode, barely or not at all featuring principal cast

Vinnie, Thursday, 30 January 2025 14:41 (yesterday) link


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