What Is a Bottle Episode (and What’s No longer): An In-Depth Manual

The duration of time “bottle episode” can inspire feelings of misunderstanding and frustration.
Photo: Netflix

Novel: This publish was within the origin published on June 26, 2023. We’re updating it to replicate the free up of The Derive’s season-four episode, “Goodbye.”

Welcome, weary files superhighway traveler, to this shrine to the bottle episode. Per chance you’ve arrived here with questions. Perchance you’ve heard murmurings about a duration of time shrouded in mystery and controversy, a theory that your friend instructed you manner one thing but that you believe you studied of route manner one thing else fully. Per chance you’ve watched Community’s season-two episode “Cooperative Calligraphy,” which is a bottle episode, and talks about bottle episodes, but never of route defines bottle episode, and now you possess to perceive more. Per chance you’re in an argument about episode three of The Final of Us, and you’re here to eventually role the story straight.

You wish to possess to perceive what a bottle episode is. We’re in a position to lend a hand. (And need to you possess to come inspire at some point soon, we’ll be looking ahead to you at isitabottleepisode.com.)

“The One The assign No One’s Ready.” It’s a bottle episode.
Photo: NBC

Basically the most familiar definition of the duration of time bottle episode is an episode of TV that takes space in a single confined space with a microscopic solid and few or no guest stars. The Merriam-Webster definition adds one other fragment, describing it as “an inexpensively produced episode of television that is mostly confined to 1 surroundings.” However both of these definitions lead to confusion: How kind you clarify “confined space”? (Depends upon.) If an episode takes space fully on a cruise ship, does that depend? (Doubtlessly not. However perchance?) What’s “microscopic solid” — does that mean two or three of us, or can it be more? (Sure, but presumably no!) What if there’s a little fragment of the episode that’s in a certain surroundings? (Can also still be a bottle!) What if there’s one important solid member and one guest extensive identify? (Per chance?) Additionally, wait, why does it possess the relaxation to kind with the environment? Isn’t a bottle episode more worship “an episode that feels separate from the remainder of the indicate”? (Fully not.)

A more total definition of bottle episode might perhaps be more accurate: It’s about how and why a particular episode is made, and it has nothing to kind with what the episode feels or looks worship or what style of yarn it tells. Bottle episodes, an plan that can fair possess come from Enormous identify Prance but additionally originates within the 1960s with a indicate known as The Outer Limits, are initially a money-saving approach. Factors worship building new models, filming birth air or on affirm, adding guest stars who don’t possess corpulent-season contracts, or requiring considerable visible effects all impact an episode more costly, and the level of a bottle episode is to assign money so that other episodes in that season can mosey big. As a end result, the strictest definition of a bottle episode is an episode that’s filmed fully on one prebuilt (“standing”) role, involves most effective important solid participants, and is more cost-effective and faster to produce than a outmoded episode.

That underlying monetary stress has an inclination to produce a obvious style of yarn. Bottle episodes in most cases scheme some procedure for everyone to in discovering stuck inner this microscopic space: a door is locked, there’s a closing date, there’s a bomb possibility, there’s one thing to reduction for. A classic instance is Breaking Nasty’s season-three episode “Soar,” which companies and products on the two lead characters, trapped inner a gargantuan underground lab, who don’t possess the relaxation to kind but consult with each and every other. Director Rian Johnson confirmed that “Soar” was written and filmed to be noteworthy more cost-effective for the explanation that indicate wished too noteworthy money from the season’s budget for other episodes, and that budgetary circumstance created the fictional end result. The characters can’t mosey away, so “Soar” is that this intense, wordy, emotional TV episode that feels role distinctly other than the remainder of the assortment.

However that style of fictional trip might perhaps fair furthermore be created without of route making a bottle episode. It’s why viewers (and even some critics) possess fallen into the habit of increasing the premise to consist of the relaxation that feels worship a bottle episode. The X-Recordsdata’s season-one episode “Ice” is one instance: At the birth meant to be precisely the style of mark-saving plan bottle episodes are designed to provide, “Ice” is made up our minds in an arctic-exploration space with a lurking monster and a extraordinarily microscopic solid. However the advanced dismay-movie manufacturing parts of route ended up blowing thru the budget, particularly for the explanation that episode required a perfect amount of CGI. No longer a bottle!

Excited Males’s “The Suitcase” from season four is one other model of “feels worship a bottle episode but isn’t one.” Peggy and Don are on closing date, and practically all of the episode is ethical them making an are trying to work out a new advertising and marketing campaign for a bags firm whereas also talking round (and eventually about) their whole relationship. However they don’t attach within the gap of job. They mosey to a cafe. They mosey to a bar. Peggy spends noteworthy of the night time dodging a dinner she’s supposed to be at, and the episode cuts again and forth between the gap of job and the restaurant. There are deal of models, many of microscopic minor persona roles, and the predominant quarter-hour are corpulent of other characters and stories. It’s not! A! Bottle episode! This style of episode is ceaselessly so compelling and spicy, though — it deserves its private identify. We’re going to initiate up calling it a “suitcase episode.” All americans in discovering on board!

There are edge circumstances, too, the style of examples cheap of us can disagree about. Seinfeld’s “Chinese language Restaurant” from season two is a if truth be told helpful one: It’s not filmed on a previous, standing role, but its single microscopic dwelling and otherwise pared-inspire manufacturing would’ve still made it comparatively inexpensive. TV manufacturing has modified quite moderately from the times of The Outer Limits, so it’s miles colorful to rethink the strict early definition essentially essentially based mostly on present TV models — it’s miles a residing-Constitutionalist capability to the plan that in space of bottle-episode originalism. Clutch Girls’s “One Man’s Trash” from season two: It’s not filmed on a standing role, and it involves one important solid member and one guest extensive identify, but creator Jenni Konner has mentioned it was faster and more cost-effective than other episodes, and the whole lot else about it fits. This fully meets the spirit of bottle-episode law! Succession’s “Honeymoon States” is one other instance: It has a gargantuan crowd of extras and a guest characteristic, and its confined dwelling is a extraordinarily gargantuan residence with lots of rooms. However that whole residence is a standing role, and lots of the episode’s action (outdoor of some transient aspect road scenes) takes space inner. In circumstances worship these, arguing over whether or not it meets the definition is enjoyable! No longer enjoyable: conflating all abnormal, standalone, departure, or otherwise distinctive episodes into the duration of time bottle episode.

“The Chinese language Restaurant.” No longer a standing role, but still a bottle episode.
Photo: NBC

The rapid reply: No longer of route.

The longer reply: Sure, interesting reveals kind possess some analogous manufacturing solutions to the dwell-action bottle episode. It’s more cost-effective and faster to impact an interesting scene if it takes space in a dwelling the assign the whole backgrounds possess already been created. An episode of Bob’s Burgers in which Bob spends the whole time inner his dwelling kitchen, shall we advise, is much less complicated and more mark efficient to produce than an episode the assign new backgrounds would need to still be drawn from scratch. However most interesting reveals possess greater than one affirm background already created. There’s no procedure a Bob’s Burgers episode that outdated most effective preexisting backgrounds couldn’t take space in his dwelling and the restaurant and Tina’s lecture room. The capability of nice looking the yarn between lots of interesting backgrounds is nothing worship a dwell-action firm pass between varied locations. As a end result, the stress of little dwelling in a dwell-action bottle episode ethical doesn’t work the a similar procedure in an interesting context.

I of route possess a a similar reply here as I kind for interesting TV. It’s logical that episodes filmed fully in a studio or competition dwelling would be more cost-effective than of us who mosey out on affirm or fling somewhere. However the technique of scripting a fictional TV indicate and outlining an “unscripted” truth indicate will not be fully the a similar, and there’s deal of variation even inner truth. It’s complicated, shall we advise, to impact any apples-to-apples comparability for what “bottle episode” would even mean between Exact Housewives versus Top Chef versus Treasure Is Blind. So I’m going to head with “No,” and I safe that inner some particular assortment and circumstances, there might perhaps very effectively be exceptions.

Per chance you’re taking a survey at some stage in time standalone episode or departure episode. However there are deal of kinds of episodes: musical episodes, clip reveals, episodes that shift the level of peep, flashback episodes, or the categories we’re calling suitcase episodes. Why cram these all into bottle episode when that manner one thing fully diversified?

No, you might perhaps presumably also fair not. Successfully, k, clip reveals did in most cases lend a hand the procedure of padding out a season, so calling that “filler” is colorful. However filler, because it’s in most cases outdated now, doesn’t mean the relaxation particular about a class of episodes. As a substitute, it’s roughly deployed to intend “I believed this episode was uninteresting” or “This episode is doing persona vogue, but it completely’s not advancing the plan I care about.” It’s far colorful to critique an individual episode as underwhelming or uninteresting or sluggish. It’s much less if truth be told helpful to turn that critique accurate into a story class, because not everyone will agree with what does and would not depend, and making an are trying to clarify that class will straight develop into a swirling maelstrom of angry files superhighway of us arguing about why they hate one thing. Love them or abhor them, no much less than bottle episodes might perhaps fair furthermore be defined.

I kind! Bottle episodes are a rarer phenomenon within the streaming technology, on yarn of a assortment of shifts in how TV will get made when it’s in most cases written and filmed as a total eight-episode season in space of individual episodes over the route of five months. Netflix especially has been nice looking toward a mannequin of TV the assign no individual episode looks that diversified from every other episode; the whole lot flows into the whole lot else. As a end result, it feels more considerable and abnormal when an episode does stand out, both since it has a new role of characters, it’s role in a new space, or its yarn feels more self-contained. So there’s an flee to name these episodes one thing, and on yarn of Community and TV Tropes and the increasing ubiquity of on-line TV discourse, the duration of time bottle episode has been floating round, ready for the (inaccurate) taking!

Sure. However it completely would be a disgrace, don’t you believe you studied? Bottle episode already has a meaning, and it’s this kind of placing, attention-grabbing one, borne out of not ethical in most cases-amorphous story impressions but explicit within the inspire of-the-scenes necessity. It’s an even collision of characteristic and produce. And it’s not worship we are in a position to’t present you with other, more particular names for different kinds of episodes! Look above.

➼ Sure, I perceive that a forest isn’t a role: Scramble to query 4.
➼ No, but I mediate town of Copenhagen counts as one contained dwelling: Scramble to query 11.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 6.
➼ No: Scramble to query 4.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 5.
➼ No: Scramble to query 11.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 11.
➼ No: Scramble to query 6.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 10.
➼ No: Scramble to query 7.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 8.
➼ No: Scramble to query 10.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 9.
➼ No: Scramble to query 10.

➼ Sure, I of route possess a hunch he did: Scramble to query 10.
➼ No: Scramble to query 11.

➼ Sure: Scramble to query 11.
➼ No: Scramble to query 12.

➼ Sure: Right here isn’t a bottle episode, but it completely’s potentially a suitcase episode!
➼ No: Are you definite? Return to query 1 and take a look at out yet again.

➼ Sure: It’s a bottle episode!
➼ No: It’s not a bottle episode!

“Soar.” An officially confirmed bottle episode.
Photo: AMC

Is The Derive’s “Goodbye” a bottle episode? Sure! It’s cheap to take be aware of this a bottle episode, even supposing it breaks one among the familiar pointers role out above: “Goodbye” takes space outdoor. However its exterior surroundings is within the microscopic, without complications contained dwelling of a downhearted alley. The alley is an ceaselessly outdated affirm on the assortment. Your whole episode takes space with one lights setup and most effective just a few digicam setups. The very top doable characters who appear are these within the predominant solid, and there are most effective four of them, which makes the setups even less complicated. Given all these issues, especially in comparability with the commonplace manufacturing of the remainder of the assortment, this counts!

Is Severance’s “Woe’s Hole” a bottle episode? No. In truth no.

Is Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menéndez Story’s “The Hurt Man” a bottle episode? Sure.

Is Commerce’s “White Mischief” a bottle episode? No. It’s a departure episode.

Are The Derive’s “Subsequent” and “Ice Chips” bottle episodes? Realistic of us can disagree on these circumstances. The inventive team does microscopic press, so it’s complicated to reveal how the budgets for each and every episode work. (Jamie Lee Curtis, shall we advise, is likely not low mark.)

Is The Derive’s “Napkins” a bottle episode? No. It’s a departure episode.

Is Feud: Capote vs. the Swans’s “The Secret Internal Lives of Swans” a bottle episode? No.

Is Expats’s “Central” a bottle episode? No.

Is Mr. & Mrs. Smith a total season of bottle episodes? No.

Is The Derive’s “Fishes” a bottle episode? No.

Is The Derive’s “Honeydew” a bottle episode? No.

Is Enormous identify Prance: Unprecedented New Worlds’s “Advert Astra per Aspera” a bottle episode? No.

Is Succession’s “The United States Decides” a bottle episode? No.

Is Succession’s “Honeymoon States” a bottle episode? Realistic of us can disagree on this one. There’s an outside scene, but it completely’s very transient, and the remainder of the episode takes space within the standing role of Logan’s residence. That residence is corpulent of extras, though, as effectively as just a few guest speaking roles. It’s a borderline case.

Is Succession’s “Connor’s Marriage ceremony” a bottle episode? No.

Is Ted Lasso’s “Sunflowers” a bottle episode? No.

Is The Final of Us’s “Left On the inspire of” a bottle episode? No.

Is The Final of Us’s “Long, Long Time” a bottle episode? No.

Linked

There’s a noteworthy-loved etymology of bottle episode that aspects to Enormous identify Prance’s habit of creating “ship in a bottle” (as in, the whole episode takes space inner the Project) episodes. The competing foundation comes from a 1986 book known as The Outer Limits: The Loyal Accomplice, which describes Outer Limits showrunner Leslie Stevens caught in a procedure back the assign he wished to acquire a procedure to produce a total episode in four days. He known because it a “bottle indicate,” as in, “pulling an episode out of a bottle, worship a genie.”

A filmmaking duration of time for when a total manufacturing must obvious out of 1 dwelling and relocate to 1 other. Firm strikes inevitably add to both time and value.

In 2023 the clip indicate is practically extinct, but this outdated to be an attractive commonplace produce of episodic time-losing inspire within the times of the 22-to-24-episode season. The premise is in overall that some yarn ingredient creates an excuse for the whole characters to reminisce, so some extensive share of the episode is clips from previous episodes.