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The Bottle Bible
Note: This post was originally published on June 26, 2023.
We are updating it to reflect the release ofSeverances second-season episode, Woes Hollow.
Welcome, weary internet traveler, to this shrine to the bottle episode.
Perhaps youve arrived here with questions.
You want to know what a bottle episode is.
Were ready to help.
What Exactly Is a Bottle Episode Anyway?
But both of those definitions lead to confusion: How do you define confined place?
If an episode takes place entirely on a cruise ship, does that count?
What is small cast does that mean two or three people, or can it be more?
(Yes, but possibly no!)
What if theres a tiny piece of the episode thats in a different setting?
(Could still be a bottle!)
What if theres one main cast member and one guest star?
Also, wait, why does it have anything to do with the setting?
Isnt a bottle episode more like an episode that feels separate from the rest of the show?
(Absolutely not.)
That underlying financial pressure has a tendency to produce a certain kind of story.
But that kind of fictional experience can be created without actually making a bottle episode.
But they dont stay in the office.
They go to a restaurant.
They go to a bar.
This kind of episode is often so compelling and exciting, though it deserves its own name.
Were going to start calling it asuitcase episode.Everybody get on board!
In cases like these, arguing over whether it meets the definition is fun!
Not fun: conflating all unusual, standalone, departure, or otherwise distinctive episodes into the termbottle episode.
Frequently Asked Bottle-Episode Questions
.Can animated shows have bottle episodes?
The short answer: Not really.
The longer answer: Yes, animated shows do have some analogous production techniques to the live-action bottle episode.
But most animated shows have more than one location background already created.
The process of moving the story between multiple animated backgrounds is nothing like a live-actioncompany movebetween various locations.
.Can reality shows have bottle episodes?
I have a similar answer here as I do for animated TV.
Maybe youre looking for the termstandalone episodeordeparture episode.
Why cram these all intobottle episodewhen that means something entirely different?
.Can I call these filler episodes?
No, you may not.
Butfiller, as its typically used now, doesnt mean anything specific about a category of episodes.
It makes sense to critique an individual episode as underwhelming or boring or slow.
Like them or loathe them, at least bottle episodes can be defined.
.Do you have any guesses about why Id heardbottle episodemeant something else?
.Isnt language fluid?
Are we not supposed to adapt new meanings and new uses over time?
Its a lovely collision of function and form.
And its not like we cant come up with other, more specific names for other kinds of episodes!
HaveYouJustWatchedaBottleEpisode?ADecision-MakingGuide.
1.Does the episode take place entirely on a set the show regularly uses?
Yes:Go to question 2.
No:Go to question 3.
Is the episode shot in an indoor, contained space?
Yes, I understand that a forest is not a set:Go to question 4.
No, but I think the city of Copenhagen counts as one contained space:Go to question 11.
Does, say, 90 percent of the episode happen on a set the show regularly uses?
Yes:Go to question 6.
No:Go to question 4.
Were talking about a single room, an apartment, or several rooms inside a home or workplace.
Yes:Go to question 5.
No:Go to question 11.
5.Wait, not all workplaces are the same.
Is this like the office building fromSeverance?
Did the desks cost $100,000 to make?
Yes:Go to question 11.
No:Go to question 6.
6.Is it just the shows main cast?
Yes:Go to question 10.
No:Go to question 7.
TheAll in the FamilyElevator Story Addendum
7.How many guest stars with speaking roles are involved?
Yes:Go to question 8.
No:Go to question 10.
8.Heres where we get into tricky speculation territory: Are the guest stars … fancy?
Would they add a fair amount to the episodes budget?
Did Dwayne The Rock Johnson show up?
Yes:Go to question 9.
No:Go to question 10.
9.Do we think Dwayne The Rock Johnson agreed to get paid scale for that appearance?
Yes, I have a hunch he did:Go to question 10.
No:Go to question 11.
The X-FilesIce Codicil
10.Does the episode have other pricey add-ons?
Is the episode twice as long?
Yes:Go to question 11.
No:Go to question 12.
Does it tell a self-contained story?
Is it mostly about people talking to one another rather than big plot swings?
Yes: This is not a bottle episode, but its probably a suitcase episode!
No: Are you sure?Go back to question 1and loop back and try.
12.Is this different from a standard episode of the show?
Just one standing set instead of four?
Takes place over a shorter period of time?
Yes: Its a bottle episode!
No: Its not a bottle episode!
Is That Episode I Just Watched a Bottle Episode?
IsSeverancesWoes Hollowa bottle episode?No.
IsMonsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez StorysThe Hurt Mana bottle episode?Yes.
IsIndustrysWhite Mischiefa bottle episode?No.
Its a departure episode.
AreThe BearsNextandIce Chipsbottle episodes?Reasonable people can disagree on these cases.
The creative team does little press, so its difficult to say how the budgets for each episode work.
(Jamie Lee Curtis, for instance, is likely not cheap.)
IsThe Bears Napkinsa bottle episode?No.
Its a departure episode.
IsFeud: Capote vs. the Swanss The Secret Inner Lives of Swansa bottle episode?No.
IsExpatss Centrala bottle episode?No.
& Mrs. Smitha whole season of bottle episodes?No.
IsThe Bears Fishesa bottle episode?No.
IsThe Bears Honeydewa bottle episode?No.
IsStar Trek: Strange New Worldss Ad Astra per Asperaa bottle episode?No.
IsSuccessions America Decidesa bottle episode?No.
IsSuccessions Honeymoon Statesa bottle episode?Reasonable people can disagree on this one.
That apartment is full of extras, though, as well as a few guest speaking roles.
Its a borderline case.
IsSuccessions Connors Weddinga bottle episode?No.
IsTed Lassos Sunflowersa bottle episode?No.
IsThe Last of Uss Left Behinda bottle episode?No.
IsThe Last of Uss Long, Long Timea bottle episode?No.
