I agree that the last three episodes should all be seen as "finales." When I heard Dan say that on the commentary it stuck with me too, and I've always thought of it that way since.
For the episode order stuff... Besides the few episodes that should be switch because of production order and therefore make more sense continuity wise, I'd be wary of changing the order of any episodes for my own "shipper" sake. I think the creators want the show to be viewed a certain way and I personally want to respect that. So switching Interpretive Dance and Romantic Expressionism is probably something I won't do.
Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Jeff and Slater secretly dating before Interpretive dance anyway, but it just comes to light in that ep?
Finales: You can do the same with S2 and S3 (if you move Digital Estate Planning), both also have 3 episode finales. I wonder if that's a conscious decision...
Viewing order: You're right, logically I totally agree with you. Interpretive Dance should precede Romantic Expressionism... Especially considering the secretly dating thing yeah, hadn't thought of that. I'm just bummed it doesn't work... v_v
I think I disagree with changing the viewing order for shipper reasons, in large part because of continuity/story arc issues. For a really good example of how messing too much with production order can damage the arc of a show like Community, see S4.
I'm pretty sure I remember Andy Bobrow Tweeting during S4 that one of problems with that season was that Guaraso and Port refused to stick with the production order and opted instead to uplink episodes they thought would be most likely to get eyeballs in an effort to improve ratings. So the end result you was that you had dis-continuities, none of the study group starting with their history class until four episodes into the season, character arcs that weren't tracking properly, and the never-ending confusion about the status of the relationship between Britta and Troy.
There is an argument to be made for watching the episodes in production order instead of order they were aired, though (the exceptions being the animated episodes, which I'll get to). Unfortunately, the DVDs and Hulu
( ... )
Also, didn't Dan & co only realize after this episode aired that J/A were a potential gold mine?
I wasn't here for the beginning of fandom, but based on what I remember from the S1 DVD commentaries, Dan and the Russo Brothers actually noticed the chemistry in episode two before the audience did. It's literally when Jeff walks into the room, kisses Annie's hand, and calls her "milady."
That's it. That 5-second scene. That's what got their attention.
A lot of the audience didn't even get onboard until "Football" or "Debate."
The other J/A scene Dan really likes according to the S1 DVDs? It's the scene at the end of "Intro to Statistics" where Jeff silently asks Annie to dance, because according to him, that's when he realized that he might be able to do something with it. (That might also be the commentary where Dan admits that if he had to do it all over again, he would've made Annie at last 20-21 because...well...Alison Brie.)
I always thought that first milady/milord (as well as the 'Annie is awesome' scene from the Pilot) where moments that were recognized in hindsight... I'm so confused now!
So I guess one of us will have to rewatch/listen to the commentaries to find out who out-geeked who? ;-)
Comments 7
For the episode order stuff... Besides the few episodes that should be switch because of production order and therefore make more sense continuity wise, I'd be wary of changing the order of any episodes for my own "shipper" sake. I think the creators want the show to be viewed a certain way and I personally want to respect that. So switching Interpretive Dance and Romantic Expressionism is probably something I won't do.
Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Jeff and Slater secretly dating before Interpretive dance anyway, but it just comes to light in that ep?
Reply
You can do the same with S2 and S3 (if you move Digital Estate Planning), both also have 3 episode finales. I wonder if that's a conscious decision...
Viewing order:
You're right, logically I totally agree with you. Interpretive Dance should precede Romantic Expressionism... Especially considering the secretly dating thing yeah, hadn't thought of that. I'm just bummed it doesn't work... v_v
Reply
I'm pretty sure I remember Andy Bobrow Tweeting during S4 that one of problems with that season was that Guaraso and Port refused to stick with the production order and opted instead to uplink episodes they thought would be most likely to get eyeballs in an effort to improve ratings. So the end result you was that you had dis-continuities, none of the study group starting with their history class until four episodes into the season, character arcs that weren't tracking properly, and the never-ending confusion about the status of the relationship between Britta and Troy.
There is an argument to be made for watching the episodes in production order instead of order they were aired, though (the exceptions being the animated episodes, which I'll get to). Unfortunately, the DVDs and Hulu ( ... )
Reply
Reply
I wasn't here for the beginning of fandom, but based on what I remember from the S1 DVD commentaries, Dan and the Russo Brothers actually noticed the chemistry in episode two before the audience did. It's literally when Jeff walks into the room, kisses Annie's hand, and calls her "milady."
That's it. That 5-second scene. That's what got their attention.
A lot of the audience didn't even get onboard until "Football" or "Debate."
The other J/A scene Dan really likes according to the S1 DVDs? It's the scene at the end of "Intro to Statistics" where Jeff silently asks Annie to dance, because according to him, that's when he realized that he might be able to do something with it. (That might also be the commentary where Dan admits that if he had to do it all over again, he would've made Annie at last 20-21 because...well...Alison Brie.)
On Football ( ... )
Reply
So I guess one of us will have to rewatch/listen to the commentaries to find out who out-geeked who? ;-)
Reply
Leave a comment