PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 9/28/18-9/29/18)

-Sometimes, it's scary how much time flies.

-I had this episode penciled in as the season premiere for several months, but originally, it was going to come out on Sunday alongside the second episode of the season as a doubleheader. Then I decided to add a third episode to open up the season, and that's when I came up with the idea of having the first three episodes of season seven in one weekend on three consecutive nights.

-I tried something similar in season two (2013-2014) with five episodes on St. Patrick's Day weekend. Each episode would focus on one of the main characters, with two episodes on Friday, two on Saturday, and the last one on Sunday. However, only the first two ("My Weekend with the CimFam" and "Too Many Margheritas") came out on time. The next two ("Duck Infection" and "The Wade Crusade") came out on Sunday, and the last one ("The Incredible Anja Saleh") came out the following Sunday.

-Because season six came up short of the number of episodes I had planned (one was cancelled and the other was delayed until tomorrow night), I wanted to start this season with the ones that were missing. This episode was written for season seven, but it was an idea that felt more like it belonged in season six. That's why I gave it the code of #TYH625, because I was going to start working on this one and tomorrow's episode right after "The Simpsons Movie: Thank You, Heavenly Edition." However, I procrastinated so it didn't work out.

-I knew for a long time that I wanted to do this episode, but it wasn't a sure thing until I came up with the story of the guys going to New York for Halley's birthday. The episode was never really about Brooklyn or New York specifically, it just served as the backdrop for the larger story of Halley dealing with her parents fighting.

-I wrote this episode as if the kids were going to New York for the first time, to separate it from other episodes where they went there. However, I knew I couldn't ignore history, so I had Sparky reference previous trips and the kids show apathy towards going. This was the first episode where New York actually played a role in the plot, rather than just be a location like previous stories.

-I started working on the episode on July 31 and finished on August 11. This is the latest I have started writing a new season since season four (2015-2016), but it was different there because my original idea for the season premiere failed and I had to come up with a new one.

-The episode title is a reference to the NXT TakeOver specials produced by the WWE, specifically the event that is held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn the night before SummerSlam. The first Brooklyn special took place in 2015.

-Sparky references a previous episode where Jaylynn spends week spying on the boys through various means, season four's "Going Back to Portland: Part I."

-Jaylynn responds to Sparky's question by referencing the slogan for the British cosmetics company Rimmel.

-In the first draft, all I had was the Friends parody at the end of the episode so I needed additional scenes to set it up. I always planned to include the scene where RK complains that KG made him watch several Friends episodes, but him hearing the show's theme song at Walgreens was inspired by me hearing it at the store last night.

-Jaylynn references the 1998 Disney film The Parent Trap, which is a remake of the original 1961 version.

-Buster's black T-shirt is an actual shirt that I once saw on display at a clothing store.

-At the birthday dinner, Halley's father makes a reference to the 1985 song "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?" by rapper Schoolly D.

-The shopping spree montage was an idea that I originally came up with for the season four premiere that was scrapped and replaced with "The Fourteenth Year." However, this montage had Anja in Halley's role and the song I had in mind was different. I tried to track down the song for this episode but I couldn't find it, so I just used "Mr. Saxobeat" which sounded similar. At one point, I was considering using "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" by Dua Lipa.

-Halley's parents are named after Cory Matthews' parents from the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World (1993-2000).

-"Medina" is a Five Percenter term for Brooklyn. Wade questions RK's knowledge of it due to his former affiliation with the Five Percent Nation in the earlier seasons.

-The ending I was thinking of originally involved Sparky and Halley having dinner under the Queensboro Bridge, but I went with a simple conversation instead. The kids' dialogue when they were caught eavesdropping was also different, but I changed it due to it not being funny enough.

-The original song that played over the end credits was "Not for Radio," the opening track off Nas' latest album NASIR, but I started to feel like it didn't work with the episode anymore so I replaced it with "Queens Get the Money," the opening track off his untitled 2008 album. I felt like the switch represented how I wanted to open the season. Last season, I actually tried getting excited about the premiere and promoting it, but this season, I just decided to come back quietly.

-The Friends parody has various references to the series: Gunther's longstanding attraction to Rachel, Chandler's "could (insert word here) be" catchphrase, Ross' "We were on a break!" catchphrase, the "PIVOT!" line from "The One with the Cop," and Phoebe's song "Smelly Cat."

-The last line of the episode is also a reference to Friends. RK references the season three episode "The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy," but with the original line, Ross used it to refer to Chandler ("I hate Chandler. The bastard ruined my life").

-The episode is dedicated to the legendary singer Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16 at her home in Detroit, Michigan from pancreatic cancer. Franklin is regarded as one of the greatest vocalists of all-time, with hits such as "Respect," "Think," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "I Say a Little Prayer," and "Rock Steady." Her widespread influence, chart-topping hits in multiple decades, and natural ear for music helped her earn the moniker "The Queen of Soul."