Farewell, The Office

When I watch a TV show, whether during its initial run, or marathoning it on Netflix, I always am on the lookout for the "Lincoln Squirrel" moment*. In other words, the point where a show goes from good or very good, to one of my all time favorites. Some of my favorite shows never had this moment, others that moment has become obscured by time, due to me seeing individual episodes long before I watched them in order. For The Office, that moment is as clear as if it just happened. In fact, I remember it so vividly I could justify calling these moments the "Jan and Michael Take a Meeting at Chili's", except for that being too clunky to use.

Unlike many of my favorite shows, I came to The Office early on in its run. My friend had DVR'd the first season of the show, and we had watched them. I was underwhelmed by the pilot, a mostly shot for shot remake of the U.K. edition's pilot. However "Diversity Day", the second episode was a major improvement, and the rest of the season was funny, at least funny enough to keep me interested for a second season.

The second season started off well, with some great episodes like "The Dundies" and "Office Olympics". Clearly the show had hit another level, as it was funnier while also improving the Jim & Pam relationship. The biggest jump in quality was the character of Michael Scott, who was no longer a pale imitation of David Brent.

As much as it had improved, I still wasn't expecting what happened in the "The Client". Yeah, I expected Jan to get angry with Michael's inability to follow her game plan with this important potential client (played by Tim Meadows), and there was plenty of the awkward comedy to be found in her mortification and frustration at what he was doing. Watching the episode again a while back I realized how clearly it was being set up what eventually happened, but that first time through it looked like the usual Michael Scott dumbassery.

And then it happened. Suddenly Michael Scott made that turn, and you realized that he knew what the hell he was doing as a salesman, and how to get close the deal with this very important customer. The show had defied expectations and added depth to Michael Scott without it feeling cheap or undeserved. From then on, I knew that the American version of The Office was a noteworthy companion to its British counterpart. I was hooked for the rest of that season, and for seven more after that.

I could go on about why The Office was such an important show, or how it reflected life so well in the cubicle jungle (even if it got way too cartoonish at times, especially after season five), but far better writers have already done that. Instead I'll just add my own thoughts on what it meant to me. As of this writing in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I've still yet to see the final episode, so I don't have any thoughts to share about the wrap up of the show. Perhaps I'll share them later. From here on out there won't be any rhyme or reason to the paragraphs, just a bunch of disjointed thoughts about this show that I will miss.

The Michael Scott Paper Company arc is season five was eerily similar to a situation I was going through at the time in my own life. No, I hadn't had my "One True Love" shuffled off to Nashua, NH. Also, my situation was closer to Pam (jumping on board with Michael's company because she feared being trapped in a stagnant situation that was not stimulating) than Michael's (a feeling of disrespect by the company he had been so loyal to for so many years). Unfortunately, my situation ended up being closer to Ryan's before he joined the Michael Scott Paper Co. than what happened on the show, but still that arc holds a special significance to me.

Somehow I enjoyed the sentimental Jim and Pam stuff such as "Casino Night" or "The Job" and the awkward humor best exemplified by "Dinner Party". From reading on the Internet, I gather that these tend to be fairly mutually exclusive groups. Also, the people in the latter group are also more likely to think the U.K. version is far superior. While I certainly enjoyed the U.K. version, I prefer the American version, in part because it is closer to my tastes, and in part Michael Scott is a far better character than David Brent. Keep in mind I saw the U.K. version in its entirety several years after the American version had become a favorite show of mine.

Even in the show's weakest years, it still had some great moments, and some of the characters still rose above the problems. The back half of season eight, my least favorite run of the show, still had Florida Stanley. Ellie Kemper as Erin was one of the best things about the later seasons of the show. She brought a great mixture of joy and sadness to a character that could have been an absolute train wreck.

Right from his debut, Creed was funny. He only got better as time went on, and was always good for a laugh, even during the dire Deangelo episodes following Steve Carell's departure. Stanley, Toby, and Meridith were also fairly consistent season to season, with occasions where they'd rise up and steal episodes.

I've wrote about it before, but I can't help but smile every time I think about the end of "The Job". There, I said it, even if it means I have to turn in my "Cynical and Ironic Humor Appreciation" badge at the security desk.

I like Ed Helms, and Andy had his moments during seasons 3,4, and 5, but he sure became annoying after that. Far too often Kevin became too much of an "Idiot Food Monster" and the show suffered for that. Ryan was a useless character after the MSPC arc, but I enjoyed his time as the overwhelmed corporate manager in season four. I have to imagine that is what it kind of feels like to be an executive at NBC.

Catherine Tate could have had a great role on the show. Perhaps she should have been the manager instead of Ed Helms. But far too often they wrote her character like a female David Brent, and it just didn't work. Ditto with trying to turn Andy into a softer Michael Scott.

Michael Scott's seemingly irrational hatred of Toby was one of my favorite aspects of the show. I'm pretty certain most people have that kind of reaction to the annoyance that is corporate HR, at least to a certain extent. Even if we have better relationships with the HR people than Michael had with Toby. On the other hand, perhaps it was just Toby. After all, his replacement was Holly...

Michael Schur is the primary guy behind Parks and Recreation, quite possibly my favorite show of all time. He wrote for The Office during its first four seasons, including some of the best episodes of the show's run. He was a writer on Saturday Night Live during one of my favorite periods of the show, and he was one of the creators of the late, great Fire Joe Morgan. Yet it is his portrayal of Mose Schrute is the first thing I think of when I see his name.

Michael never got to use that baler, so I suppose Darryl can consider that a success.

Here is where I mention Oscar. Phyllis, and Kelly. I don't really have any specific recollections to share, just that the show was richer for having them.

Gabe was both creepy and goofy looking, and occasionally funny. Robert California was a much better character in theory, at least after his hilarious appearance in the season seven finale, than he was in practice. It's OK, James Spader, you were the best part of Lincoln. Plop and little fat Dwight, Jr, I barely knew you. Cathy, you were the most superfluous character in a show that had a guy work in a closet and spoke one or two lines a week. I had to look your name up you were so unimportant.

The mental unraveling of Jan was a thing to behold. It was amazing how she went from this generic professional in the first season to the absolute train wreck of "Dinner Party".

Can't wait for season 17 of Parks and Recreation, when Ann meets her cousin Karen in Utica during Leslie's Presidential campaign.

"Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica."

Angela was far too awful to Andy during their engagement, even if he retroactively deserved it for being such an ass to Erin. Also, that baby poster was freaking terrible. You were one of the bright spots of season nine, and cats are never not funny.

Favorite Episode: (tie) "Dinner Party" and "The Job"
Favorite Season: Season 3
Favorite Story Arc: Michael Scott Paper Company
Least Favorite Episode: The clip show a few seasons back
Least Favorite Season: Season 8

*I'm aware this sounds borderline insane. To explain this would completely derail my heartfelt appreciation of The Office. The short answer is a reference to that moment when I felt The Simpsons stepped over that threshold. Google "Lincoln squirrel Simpsons" and you'll see what I mean.

Dispatches from the Popcorn Theater: Silver Linings Playbook

So it's May, which means it is time for the start of summer movie season. Kicking off this year is Iron Man 3, which I have seen, and which I will be writing about in the next few days. However, before I move on to explosions and CG spectacles of our warm weather months, I have one last movie from the oscar bait season of the fall and winter.

Had things gone differently (read: better) for me in the winter, I would have already seen this (and several other films as well) months ago. Although I had plenty of time, that corresponding freedom came with a severe lack of income, which made going to movies something totally out of the question, especially since every trip to see one would include an hour drive to the theater. I had hoped to write about some movies, both new and old, that I watched on DVD, Netflix, or other means. Unfortunately, it turns out being unemployed doesn't always inspire you to be in a writing mood. But now I have a new job, moved to a new place about five minutes from a 20 screen multiplex, and am looking forward to getting back to the movies.

Lucky for me, that theater just down the street was still playing Silver Linings Playbook when I went to see it a few weeks ago. After watching it, I was glad I had the chance to see it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, although I could see why other people would not exactly like it.

When I first started seeing the trailers and marketing materials for the film, I must admit it wasn't exactly on my short list of winter movies. Had I known the plot of the movie led up to a climactic scene involving a dance competition, I would have definitely left it off my list. On the other hand, had I first heard it was directed by David O. Russell, then I would have been looking forward to it despite the underwhelming trailer and unimaginative in-theater marketing. I ♥ Huckabees is one of my favorite films, and I also enjoyed The Fighter as well.

I enjoyed pretty much every one of the major performances in the film, especially Jennifer Lawrence and Jacki Weaver (the mother of Bradley Cooper's Pat). Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro were pretty great as well, which is a bit of surprise considering how indifferent I usually am to Cooper. I'm pretty certain DeNiro was got nominated for the Oscars because everyone was relieved he gave a good performance for once.

Sometimes the movie was incredibly awkward to watch. This was in part because too often it hit very close to home, but most of the time it was just because it's awkward to watch people lose control or walk around completely self-deluded. Still, many parts of the film were very funny. I'd share the part I thought was the funniest, but it would ruin the climax for you, so you'll just have to see it for yourself.

I recommend seeing this as soon as you can, which in most cases at this point would be on DVD or Blu-Ray. Although I won't go back and alter my Favorite Films of 2013 list, this one definitely fits right in the top 5, behind Moonrise Kingdom, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Avengers.

Next time on Dispatches from the Popcorn Theater: It's Summer Movie Season! Despite the exclamation point, Andrew is a bit underwhelmed by the lineup, but is encouraged by the kick off by Iron Man 3. Tony Stark sure knows how to make an entrance, doesn't he?

Movies we Love: Pirates of Silicon Valley

While out in Silicon Valley the past week for a job interview, I took advantage of the unlimited mileage on my rental car to drive around. Although one purpose of my driving was to get a feel for the area, in case I got the job, I also had another, more geeky reason. Some people like to search for haunted places, or purchase sketchy maps to find the homes of celebrities. Me, I spent my time driving around looking for the campuses and office buildings of the big Silicon Valley companies. I went by several brick and mortar buildings of companies that to most of us exist only in the ether of the internet: Oracle, Facebook, HP, VM Ware, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Most of these were either on my way to and from the airport and interview, or were close to my hotel. A couple I found by accident while looking for a book store. But only one did I make a specific trip out of my way to drive by: the Apple campus bounded by Infinite Loop in Cupertino.

Apple, along with Microsoft, are at the center of Pirates of Silicon Valley, a 1999 made for TV film from TNT. Well, more accurately the center of the film is the story of Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) and Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall), and how their companies fueled the big PC revolution of the 1980s. The bulk of the film takes place in the late 70s and early 80s, and details the formation of both companies, the development of such early PC mainstays as the Macintosh and DOS, and Microsoft's cribbing of the Macintosh to build their first version of Windows, and culminates in Jobs being fired from the company he founded, primarily for being an unhinged asshole. Wrapped around the story is a presentation by Jobs after his return to Apple in 1997, a particularly contentious one where he announced Microsoft buying a stake in Apple. The movie ends with a giant image of Gates on the big presentation screen, much like the giant head from the famous "1984" Apple commercial.

A big part of why I like the film is because of where it ends. Pretty much nobody could have guessed in 1999 that Apple was about to have an even bigger second act. Although Jobs had brought the company out of its dreadful low point in the mid 90s, pretty much everybody thought it was still Microsoft's world to lose. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel detailing the last decade and a half, with John DiMaggio's Steve Ballmer playing a much larger role, of course. It's a case where being dated (like Back to the Future) helps, rather than hurts, the film.

Beyond that, though, it's a really well done movie, considering it was a made for basic cable movie. This isn't as surprising at it may seem today, as most cable channels have moved to focusing on creating new shows instead of movies. Back in the late 90s, TNT made several competently made movies, the best of which (in my opinion) is Pirates of Silicon Valley. It has some neat tricks, such as Steve Wozniak (Joey Slotnick) explaining how much of a BFD the Graphical User Interface was, or Steve Ballmer stepping out of the scene to highlight the significance of Microsoft selling DOS to IBM. Also, for a film based on true events, it is fairly accurate, which isn't always the case for even the best of these films*.

The best part of the film are the performances. Noah Wyle does an excellent job of not only looking like Jobs, but acting like Jobs. He nails the precarious balance of charismatic brilliance and passionate fury that pretty much made up Jobs. Anthony Michael Hall also does a great job with Bill Gates. The supporting cast does a mostly enjoyable job as well, particularly Joey Slotnick as the cheerful computer wizard Steve Wozniak and John DiMaggio as Gates' eventual successor Steve Ballmer**. What other movie can you see the voice of Bender Bending Rodriguez, Charlie's Mom from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and General Martok from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? None other that I am aware, that's what.

When I need something to put on while I am working, this is one of my go-to movies. For some reason it allows me to focus on what I'm doing, and motivates me to get it finished. I remember watching it multiple times whenever it showed up on TNT, and I may have even recorded it on VHS at one time, watching it any time I wished as long as I was near a VCR. Eventually I bought it on DVD, and have watched it many times since. Several projects I've worked on have gotten finished in part because I was watching this. While not a requirement for every one of my favorite movies, it plays a big part in why Pirates of Silicon Valley is on that list.

*See The Social Network

Valloween; Or, Community Returns to Form

Community had a somewhat rocky season 4 premiere last week, but this week's Halloween episode (it was supposed to air October 26th!) "Paranormal Parentage" was a funny, sweet, and a little bit spooky Valentine for fans.

The study group is meeting up at Greendale CC to head to Vicki's awesome Halloween party; Troy and Abed's "Calvin and Hobbes" costumes were absolutely adorable and perfect (seriously, Donald Glover rocked that tiger costume!), and the miscommunication between Jeff (as a boxer) and Annie (who was supposed to be his ring girl, but showed up as the creepy little ghost girl from the movie the Ring) was actually a pretty clever touch. Britta is inexplicably a ham.

Okay: Tangent. I never know whether to expect anything between Annie and Jeff; of course it's been hinted at pretty heavily since the Season 1 finale, but I almost feel like choosing "now" to expand their relationship (or close the lack there-of) would seem a little tired since the writers have already settled on Britta and Troy exploring their relationship. I hate it when shows shoehorn as many couples as possible at one time, especially when it's relationships within the main cast. At any rate, I liked that Annie stood up for herself when Jeff said "are you naive?" and she replied "I'm sure as stuff not your sexy little ring girl!". You go, Annie! That being said, she felt more like her early Community self as opposed to the more confident and clever girl she's (supposedly) grown in to.

The episode itself centers around "rescuing" Pierce from his panic room - along the way, spoooky mishaps happen to the study group as they divide up to search the house and look for the passcode. Could it be the ghost of Pierce's overbearing (and extremely racist) father? Unlike last week, the B and C plots didn't feel rushed or cheap. Britta is intent on solving Jeff's own daddy issues, and Shirley (unintentionally) shakes Troy's confidence in his ability to keep up with Britta. Abed finds the secret security room and watches the events unfold from behind the revolving bookshelf. Annie, in an act of meta so meta that it's just mindblowingly meta, reveals that she hates reference humor. Touche, Community. You do not disappoint. On the whole, though, the humor was somewhat low-key. It's not that most of the jokes didn't land - it's just like the show wasn't even trying to raise the bar humor-wise. It was a comfortable and reassuring "shhhhh, don't let the last episode give you the wrong impression."

Hawthorne Manor was a real treat to finally see - we'd heard so much about it from when Troy was living there, yet it's taken this long to get a proper glimpse of the place. And, of course, Torg the Norwegian Troll is missing from his rightful place on the bookshelf. Much like Pierce himself, the decor is stuck perpetually in the 1980s and giant picture of Chevy Chase Pierce, in his glory days, adorns his bedroom.

Now, I love Community and its doses of whackiness and suspension of disbelief (especially with the Halloween episodes). However, as much as I felt this episode will hopefully be indicative of a season that can only go up from here, I really am looking forward to a plot in the study room, at Greendale, with the characters grounding themselves and dealing with slice-of-life issues. The Study Group has a way of finding and amplifying the craziness among the normal goings-on at Greendale CC and I really like those episodes the most, I think (for example, their extreme and overblown hatred of Todd is really funny to me).

Finally, I love that Britta is ready to start her journey of becoming a Spacetimian.

Abed's Happy Community College Show: a Review

At last! At last! Community has returned to us! And to...semi-disappointed reviews? A slight bump in ratings? Oh...that doesn't sound good.

A lot has happened since Season 3's finale; Creator Dan Harmon was fired by Sony, prompting the hiring of two new Showrunners, Chevy Chase finally showed himself out, NBC only ordered the front half of a season, making Community's 4th season a sure 13 episodes long. Talks of cancellation were abound, and fan groups banded together to spread the word about the show. Adding insult to injury, the show's cries of "we're not too meta and high concept to be enjoyed by everyone!" were drowned out by another "lol look at nerds they're so nerdy! NERDS!" joke on the Big Bang Theory, which gets all the ratings ever.

A lot of the criticism behind the Season 4 opener "History 101" had to do with the "feel" of the show. Now, full (yet possibly redundant) disclosure: I actually haven't watched the episode yet. I wanted to get down these feelings of anxiety and anticipation after hearing word that OMG COMMUNITY ISN'T THE SAME ABANDON SHIP!

That's not fair. I'm going into this, my beloved show, with the hopes that the episode isn't on par with the season as a whole if it is truly bad. On the other hand, I've heard people say that the quality is equal to that of some of Harmon's weaker episodes, so that gives me a little insight as to what to expect.

Well, everyone, give me your hands, show me the door, I cannot stand to wait anymore:

"History 101"

The cold opening was genuinely pretty good; a multi-camera sitcom whitewash (complete with laugh track) that relied completely on identifying things and saying that they were things while whacky hijinks ensue (like everyone showing up with the SAME HIPSTER GLASSES!). I'd like to believe this was a not-so-subtle "Fuck YOU" * to NBC, the Big Bang Theory (as Abed makes some sort of half-hearted nerd joke the likes of which Sheldon Cooper would utter), and maybe the whole idea of the generic Sitcom formula that seems to thrive these days despite having been done to death. We go on to find out that this is Abed's "happy place" inside his mind - he'd started out with a babbling brook, but decided to incorporate aspects of his own life into it. As Abed is established as seeing things through rose colored tv-trope lenses, the show cuts to a meta version of the opening credits (referenced in the title of this blog post). Abed's internal happy place aside, I'm sticking to the idea that the cold open was definitely a message of some sort - would it take Community selling its soul to finally get the ratings it deserves? WOULD THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY, NBC?

Now, that being said, the tone itself does feel a bit off. Not Multi-cam laughtrack off, but there's something happening here that I can't put my finger on (and I'm not talking about Dean Pelton in a dress riding through the cafeteria in a chariot announcing "The Hunger Deans"...that's pretty normal). It's not Jeff's admission of his graduating "early", or New Jeff at all, or Abed's brink of mental breakdown at the idea that the Study Group has only a limited amount of time together. Is it the directing? The lighting? The cinematography? Was the catering spread subpar?

Is it because the group dynamic is broken up so early in the episode? The Study Group is barely in one place at the same time, instead opting to show Pierce and Abed side by side, Annie and Shirley together pulling pranks, Britta and Troy being progressive and making wishes, Jeff doing...the tango. Even the "Greendale babies" segment wasn't that out of the ordinary...but at the same time it wasn't hilarious.

Heart? Is the episode missing heart? The organic kind of feeling that this is actually a school, where it took people time to get to, and the people in the background are trying to get to class or eat lunch, and things happen in a way that's only meaningful to the Greendale 7 (and therefore to the audience as well)?

Okay, the ABED TV Blinde/Blonde promo was pretty funny.

"Can somebody tell me what the hell we just did?" I'm kind of confused, too, Pierce. For once, we're on the same page. I mean, the plot makes sense. The jokes are there. But nothing seems finished, or fleshed out. Jeff's characteristic "speech" at the end seems wasted because the episode wasn't set up correctly for it. The reviewers were right; it wasn't a great episode. It could have been so much more, and it should have been.

For all the people I've been bugging to get into Community, I urge you not to judge the series on this episode. Thank you for tuning in and giving it a shot; if possible, please go back and watch the first three seasons. You'll see why I love the show and really want it to thrive to Six Seasons and a Movie, but not at the cost that the latter half of the series loses what makes it so special in the first place.


* Sorry, dad, for the language.

Live from Arkham Asylum (and City)

Sorry I haven't contributed much to this blog (or any of mine, for that matter) lately - aside from just being in a general Cabin fever funk I've been catching up on my neglected Steam library.

A few months ago I purchased Arkham Asylum GOTY and Arkham City GOTY on Steam during one  particularly awesome sale. There they sat, undownloaded, unused, with the likes of Bioshock 2, Star Wars KOTOR, and Sonic the Hedgehog (I'm reeeaally behind, you guys) among others.

On a whim I decided to play through Asylum, knowing it had gotten rave reviews and was considered to be one of the best superhero video games ever made. What followed was a marathon of play-through, sleep, and searching for Riddler clues without using the various secret maps if I could help it. I quickly found that my favorite tactic was the inverted takedown, where I, as Batman, take down various gun-wielding thugs by stringing them up by the ankles from a gargoyle. Usually by the time I cleared a room a nice pile of inmates had formed under one of them, a look of grotesque satisfaction upon the gargoyle's face that mirrored my own. (This screenshot is from City, actually.)

Asylum was particularly fun in that the gameplay was almost surreal in a sense; the first fight against the two Titans was probably one of the most amusing and anxiety-ridden game fights I've ever had. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, and was especially confused when one Titan starting beating up another Titan. The confusion was replaced with joy once I realized I could ride around on their backs and destroy stuff. I imagined Batman's internal monologue to be along the lines of "wheeeeeeee!".

Having won the game by putting the ADD ridden Joker back in his place (Hahaha Batman I will defeat you!..Is that Jack Ryder's helicopter?) I finished the Riddler challenges...and found out that none of my achievements had been registered neither by Windows Live nor Steam.

Now I'm in the middle of Arkham City and find myself frustrated by the prospect that I (as Batman) may be dying of Joker AIDs. Apparently overdosing on a formula that turns one into a giant supermonster with bones sticking out all willy nilly does a number to the body.  The prospect of the Joker dying is actually really, really depressing to me - I mean, he's a psychopath and all around asshole and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, but it's still kinda sad. However, I had read awhile back that Mark Hamill was retiring from voicing the Clown Prince of Crime after City and I could see no better send-off than letting the Joker go out with a bang. And Joker AIDs, which he has spread to about 2000 people in Gotham, apparently.  (Full Disclosure: AIDs is never funny. However, the Joker does many things in poor taste, so I deemed it appropriate to refer to his mysterious illness in the game as such.)

The only issues I've had game-play wise with City were controls. It's taken a bit of finagling to accommodate easy to access controls using a laptop (without a mouse) but I think I've got it figured out now. Prior to the control modification I had come to the conclusion that I would not make a very good Batman (for many of the same reasons outlined here). That, and the fact that Andrew pointed out that I would never get through saying anything in the "Bale voice" without laughing hysterically.

I've therefore made the decision to repeat all of Batman's lines with aforementioned gravelly, ridiculous voice.

That's all for now; I've got some political prisoners to rescue!

From inside the snowglobe: Continuity and Fictional Universes

Note: On Occasion, we will be reposting updated posts from the Quo Vadimus, the first iteration of this blog. Some might say this is because we're out of ideas, and they may be right. Just as accurately, we feel these posts are worthy of the "high standards" of Doctor Strangeblog, and deserve being exposed to you, our readers. We considered also editing the posts for content and to better cultivate our ideas, but we decided to keep the posts as they are, warts and all. In other words, we don't cotton to Special Editions around here.

Originally Posted: September 6, 2012

If you look at the majority of my favorite TV shows, most are serialized to some extent. They range from fully serialized shows such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, to Star Trek: DS9 which has standalone episodes, but is dominated by a clear serialized storyline. Even Futurama, which isn't all that serialized in many episodes, has a clear line of continuity and a few multiseason arcs. Of my most favorite shows, only The Simpsons and Newsradio really don't have any serialized elements.

I'm not entirely sure why I favor serialization of more episodic shows. I think it's because I love getting enveloped by the mythology and back story, and abhor the usual repetition and note hitting of largely episodic procedural shows such as Law and Order, CSI, and NCIS. Frankly, they are tedious and slow to me, much in the way many people think about shows like Mad Men.

Of course, because I enjoy Continuity and Serialization so much, it can cause a bit of consternation with some of my favorite shows. The fact is in most cases us fans care much more about this crap than the show creators do. This isn't always the case, particularly the auteur shows like Mad Men or Breaking Bad. However, there are plenty of holes out there. For example, let's talk about The West Wing. Sure, there is a nice story arc for most of the characters through its entire seven season run. Sure, the length of Jed and Leo's friendship varied over time, but that was explainable. However, a bit less explainable* is that sad magical village known as Mandyville. Here former media consultant Mandy disappeared to without explanation after the first season. Also disappearing into this land were Republican Ainsley Hayes, youngest daughter of the President Zoey Bartlet, and several other secondary and tertiary characters. Obviously the most famous resident of Mandyville was Sam Seaborn, who just disappeared without explanation part way through the fourth season. Granted, both Ainsley and Sam came back from Mandyville at the end of the series, but it still was a bit frustrating. I know, I know, magic xylophone and a wizard did it and such**.

Also, it's interesting how quickly you can go down a very deep rabbit hole when thinking about show universes. For example, although there are obvious animation and creative similarities between The Simpsons and Futurama, the former is considered a fictional part of the latter's universe. This is partly because there are Bart dolls amongst the trash asteroid that was threatening Earth in one of the episodes. Your brain twists even more if you've seen a latter-day episode of The Simpsons where Bender makes a cameo. Of course, the best explanation is that The Simpsons is a stupid-age show running during Futurama, and Bender's "cameo" was during one of his short periods of in universe notoriety. Then again, the only references to The Simpsons are from the present day, not in the Futurama timeline (3000-3012). Yeah, I've spent too much time (read: any time) thinking about this crap.

Of course, I would be remiss if I talked about continuity and show universes and left out St. Elsewhere. The amount of connections that could theoretically exist and relate to the end of that series is absolutely astonishing, and there is even a "hypothesis" about this. Obviously this is going way too far, and clearly wasn't the intention of the writers of the show***. Still, it can be fun at times to think about this stuff.

Although it was one of the few shows that didn't have a connection to that St. Elsewhere finale, one episode of Newsradio did parody that ending***. Which I suppose should be appropriate considering that show's lack of serialization. In the end all of this stuff, even the really well tuned and serialized stuff, is fake. They are all constructs of fiction, perpetuated by fans and (for the forseeable future) by the copyright owners. Unlike our universe, these can be extinguished by us forgetting about them, or expanded into additional universes, where different possibilities and timelines exist. Hell, perhaps our universe is just a fictional construct of some other beings. Eh, whatever, as long as we aren't in the darkest timeline.



*It is less explainable in-universe. Obviously real world situations explain about every one of these.
**If you don't get these references, then God, Jed, I don't want to know you. Or you are twelve, and thinks The Simpsons is that so-so show before Family Guy.
***Or maybe they just want you to think that's the case. The truth is out there, man.
****I would have loved to point you to a clip of that ending, but I couldn't find it during a short search.