The lost commitment to adventure
My last post was a labour of love toward one of my then-present mind spirals and, while I'm super proud of it, I'm left struggling with how I want to approach a new one. Life has been monotonous for a while. I've been gone on a fleeting mission to find writing inspiration. As a fervent lover of media in most of its malleable forms, I've been watching, listening, and reading a lot. This year I've watched 50 movies so far (peep my letterboxd), been consumed by new tv releases (ily Pittlings), and started renting library books again. In case anyone was wondering, I'm 7/23 on my David Cronenberg discography marathon. I love stories, what else is new? Still, regardless of how much I love adding to that list, I've started to feel stagnant. Being unemployed again is a whiplash sensation; downtime becomes all the time if I don't keep myself grounded. As I'm sure many of you can empathize, I miss when the only bullet points on my to-do list were having fun and eating rocket popsicles. Normally, I'd let that feeling fester and swell, turning into an engorged leach on my side, but instead I want to sit with it. I want to turn something stale into an exercise in changing perspectives. As a seasoned worrier, I'm very familiar with dwelling on negativity and past mistakes. The lifelong tension from that anxiety has been especially exhausting this past year, and I've come to realize I'm now more irritated at my frequent uncertainty than I am upset. It's taxing on the body to care so much about too much all the goddamn time. Blah blah blah the overwhelming weight of being a person, the lengths we go to feel alive, the fears we share with no one... ANYWAY!
I'm well-documented to be painfully sentimental and overanalyzing, so what's one or two more supposedly trivial things? What I'm about to say is no doubt influenced by nostalgia; a deep longing for a time I can't have back or a way of seeing the world I can no longer recall. But I've been (re)watching some older tv shows as of late and I just think there's something to those long-running pioneer ones with 20+ episode seasons that scratches a worldbuilding itch for me. It's even more apparent with their popularity's continued longevity despite the advancements of streaming. Without even mentioning any titles, I'm positive your brain just inserted an example. In my corner of the internet at least, it feels like people are yearning for worlds to fall into again; fully-formed universes that have dutifully detailed WIKI pages. I'm not saying there isn't a place for 8 or 10 episode shows. Some of my favourite modern ones are shorter, high-budget releases (xoxo The Boys) that use their time constraints to their advantage. I just think the new formula for streaming series shows a clear shift toward conciseness. Some shows thrive in this format, while others suffer from rushed or unsatisfying plots and senseless expository dialogue to account for those half listening on their phones. Television is different now, and we all know there's no coming back from the shift. Even without the change, we humans are nothing if not nostalgic, reminiscing, weepy creatures. I don't know what's in the air but it feels like fandom culture is coming back in a way lately, and people want more fluff to pad out their favourite shows.
No matter how much time passes, and the ever-increasing number of streaming services available, almost everyone I know has that one old show they just can't stop rewatching. I believe most people continue to come back to these older shows because its the filler, the bottled moments, and the classic tropes that feel approachable and comforting; easily palatable during times of boredom. For me, I've always gravitated toward the procedural shows (BOOOOO copaganda I know) like Criminal Minds or Bones, and fantasy series like my forever favourite (for better or for worse): Supernatural. But these are just the beginning bullet points on the list! Think sitcoms like HIMYM or The Office, or teen dramas like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Gilmore Girls, or even juggernauts like Grey's Anatomy and SVU which are somehow still airing today. I listed so many to really illustrate just how many shows during this time period were grinding out weekly episodes for an average of 20 weeks, oftentimes still writing and filming segments the week of. Olivia Benson has never known peace! In honour of their underappreciated genius, I want to talk about some of my favourite "filler" and bottle episodes from long-running tv shows. I think we're lacking in livable universes in our television shows these days. I want to feel like the characters I see on screen are real people who wake up everyday and experience life beyond the moments we "see" of them as viewers. Of course they're fictional, but imagination is a tried and true friend, is it not? Yay! I've created a perfect opportunity to yap about my interests because it's my blog and not yours! Hey, it's fun to talk about things we don't often talk about. Spoiler warning for episodes that have all been out for a decade or more!
Supernatural (4x5) - "Monster Movie"
"It's about time the Winchesters got back to tackling a straightforward, black-and-white case."
Ok, yes, the stylized black & white monster-of-the-week episode based on Classic Universal Monsters is my favourite example... I thought we were being honest here? I love this show. It was the first "scary" series I watched on my own when I was 13 (the Bloody Mary episode,,,, man). I've spent a considerable amount of time singing the show's praises as much as I have criticizing its unholy mess of a plot. All this to say, I'd like to think I am a TOTALLY VERY QUALIFIED PERSON in the domain of this circus. I know my monkeys Sam, Dean, and Cas very well. Very few tv shows are perfect and this is not one of them, but all the same I had such a hard time picking my favourite episode to feature here, so I guess that says something. The MOTW trope is my preferred form of filler, in both realistic and mythical genres. I love earnest underdog heroes that defeat the monsters in the end, whether those monsters are human or lifeforms beyond explanation. Supernatural is built on the relationship between its two leads, so in true X-Files fashion (hehe sneak peak), it lends itself to contained storylines nicely as the leads are the anchor to the overarching plot. The Winchester brothers' character backstory of being life-long monster hunters also creates a realistic in-universe reason for them to encounter various standalone creatures on their travels to hell and back and back and back again. There's no deep thought process here. I just really appreciate when writing makes sense and feels lifelike; when the characters feel like lived-in personalities instead of two dimensional figures on a storyboard. I'm not asking for 100% realism, but real enough for the universe its subscribing to.
"Monster Movie" is a quintessential Supernatural early episode filler. It's clear the writers room was eager to be as goofy as possible before the responsibilities of all the angel shit took full focus and every character became even more depressed all the time. I've always admired how the show wears it's influences on its forehead, even down to the classic rock song titles for many episodes. Also, I love a good parody. This one being an homage to Classic Universal Monsters is a perfect synthesis of two things I love to see on screen: a good mystery and a good monster, complete with two characters that feel like old friends. What I love so much about this pick is how not only is it a callback episode to those benchmark monster movies, but its a callback to the earlier dynamic of the show. Supernatural found its humble beginnings with an episodic plot structure, and monster-of-the-week stories were its staple. While I love the core 5 first seasons the most, the explicit religious themes introduced this season would eventually consume the show and stretch it further from its monster hunting origins. So "Monster Movie" feels juuusssssttt right for me. The camp and coziness makes for the perfect rewatch filler pick. Not to mention it's popular as a Halloween episode, which only now makes me realize the loss of filler episodes has led to a lack of holiday episodes and... wow tragic.
Bones (5x12) - "The Proof in the Pudding"
"In an hour, you'll find that this never happened."
AKA the JFK episode. Oh, 100% I'm talking about the JFK episode of Bones. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Still cannot believe that's a real sentence I just typed out. JFK! Bones! Episode! Where they are maybe-but-maybe-not-but-definitely identifying the remains of JFK! And it aired on a random Thursday! This is the kind of jump the shark energy I'm looking for people. Are we getting the appeal now? Walk with me.
As a police procedural show at its core, Bones is mostly comprised of episodic plotlines. There are reoccurring threats or villains throughout its run, but the main appeal of the show, as with most of its kind, is the weekly new case to solve with Brennan, Booth, and crew. I'll always hold a very dear place in my heart for these shows (despite their obvious misrepresentation of the police) as I grew up watching them with my grandmother. Bones is a reliable blend of a creepy murder mystery with a light workplace comedy that I always found set it apart from others. While the SFX makeup and gore can be occasionally disturbing, the tone of the show is much more sitcom quippy in its dialogue unlike, say, Criminal Minds, for example. Both have lighter moments, but Bones embraces comedic elements into its storylines. "The Proof in the Pudding" is my favourite episode of the entire show as you can probably gather from how excited I am to talk about it, and that's entirely because of its absurdity. If you give me a top-secret government conspiracy plot involving unknown remains which may or may not be the assassinated 35th US president, I am unequivocally seated.
From the jump, the rules are laid out: prove the cause of death, no one comes in or out, the skeleton's identity must remain "unknown", and someone is always watching. It almost feels like a challenge set out for both the characters and the audience. God, that's so sickkkkkk. Would you not be immediately invested? I'd say this episode is a bridge between a regular filler episode and a bottle episode, as its mostly contained to one location. It's a bonkers twist to invite speculation on whether or not the skeleton is JFK, but again, I think storylines contained to one episode allow screenwriters to explore and play in their creative universes. I don't think you could get an episode like this without a few leaps of faith and foolery. Even with this ridiculous concept, the episode shines in its character work. I appreciate the exploration of Booth's relationship with the government and what he's willing to admit is wrong about the administration he serves. It's a side detail that continues building throughout the episode, expanding on his character and the dynamic he has with someone like Hodgins, an overzealous conspiracy theorist. The characters develop in tandem with the weekly case's progress. The narrative can stand on its own for the general viewer, and the small character moments offer a knowing glance to those who've been following along for the whole ride.
The X-Files (1x8) "Ice"
"It's still there, Scully. 200,000 years down in the ice."
I fear I must admit I only recently started watching The X-Files, but please before you throw your pitchforks, know I'm just as disgusted with myself as you are. Forgive me for being so late and tasteless! I've always considered Bones and Booth to be one of the best television slow burns of all time, but upon starting this first season I've come to realize I don't think I know ball just yet. Mulder and Scully, the blueprint that you are! "Ice" is my quintessential bottle episode selection to wrap up this post and in what is probably recency bias, I've saved the best for last. The episode is... an homage to John Carpenter's The Thing, as well as its source material. Yes, another horror theme. I'm consistent, mwah!
When done right, a single location premise is one of my favourite plot setups. Aaaaandddddd as a massive silly stupid fan of the 1982 movie, the paranoia behind not knowing who's really real or under the influence of a parasitic alien is part of the appeal. Not to mention, it's a bonus when the ensemble cast works so well. When you strip a story to its barest bits and rely primarily on the dynamics between your characters, the spotlights settle on vulnerabilities. The episode follows the havoc of a rogue monstrous parasite infecting human hosts, true, but that havoc stems from the hosts' mistrust of each other. The story is grounded in human insecurity just as much as it is presented as supernatural interference. It fits quite aptly with Mulder's frequent mistrust of the world around him too, seeing it reflected back to him as a suspected infected by the crew. Writing that weaves anxiety in such a compressed, almost sweltering atmosphere is some of the most horrifying to me, especially as someone who's been relatively desensitized to scary stuff. Misunderstanding is a wet and salivating maw that mangles even the most discerning minds.
Since I'm still in the early days of watching The X-Files, I don't have a lot of meaningful character analysis to divulge in just yet. Still, I can already tell it's going to be PJ approved. I can see the seeds of what-the-fuck-am-I-watching rooting nicely as I near the end of the first season. Another key pillar of these shows I'm now realizing through writing this post is casting. None of these stories would be as compelling without the seamless relationships between each of their core dual leads. Mulder and Scully are what I've come to realize as the gold standard for codependent partners that are a tad unhealthy for each other but widely entertaining for audiences. "Ice" is the eighth overall episode of the show and already demonstrates how deeply these characters tether themselves to each other as if they're the last two people left on earth. Those early chemistry reads must've been nuts.
So, PJ loves media and PJ wanted to write about it so she did! It might seem trivial or surface level to spend all this energy on tv shows, but I've always believed we owe simple joys more devotion. I miss when watching a good series was a commitment to adventure! I crave characters that feel so human I kinda hate them sometimes! I'm all for quality over quantity, but lately the quality is few and far between. Do you have any favourite filler episodes to share? Please do! I'd love to hear more about where your brains have travelled to. See you soon, blog babes! In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of David Duchovny loving shrimp, courtesy of Sam:
Love,
PJ <3