PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES

-This episode was inspired by my trip to Project Adventure here in New York that my gym teacher organized in junior high. I remember, it was April 2011. Pretty fun trip, let me tell ya. Of course, it was in seventh grade so when compared to sixth grade and eighth grade, it was a bright spot in an otherwise crappy year. I loved that place. Rock climbing wasn't an event, but I remember the rope swing and tightrope. It also wasn't crawling with uncaring employees. The joke is that Project Adventure is garbage, but no one (not even Buster) is aware enough to care or do something about it. That's why those signs are constantly around to emphasize that.

-I thought "RK vs. LPC & Ms. Tuxedo Pants" was a pretty strong episode, but I think this might be one of the best of the season. Keep in mind that I don't normally compare episodes to each other or say which one is the best or anything like that. I like every episode I write (OK, I think "Jaylynn the Poet" has been the weakest of the season) so I don't often see the point in doing that kind of thing. Let me give you some information on what I think my masterpieces are this season: "Sparky's Big Hit," "Wade's Birthday, Jaylynn's Bitch-day," "The Bad Boys Club (my choice for strongest of the season)," "It's the Holidays, Dammit!," "Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014," "Illuminati's For Idiots," "Cinema Thieves," "My Weekend With the CimFam," "Duck Infection," last week's episode, and this one. So out of 25 episodes in the season and three to go, I think 11 of them are A-minus/B-plus material. The ones I didn't name don't suck bozack or anything, it's just that these 11 really stand out. Like, these episodes are Thank You, Heavenly at its best. And I'm thinking "The Time Machine" is going to go up there too in May.

-One thing you may or may not notice is that the first half of this episode is more comedy-oriented, and after RoundTable, it starts to take a more serious turn. I didn't plan on that to happen, but I started noticing around the time I was writing RK and Jaylynn's scene at the Aquatic Aquaty Thing that it was getting kind of intense. That's why Buster and Wade have that moment at the end to just make things nice and easy again. You really should listen to "More Bounce to the Ounce." It's one of the greatest funk records ever made. R.I.P. Roger and Larry Troutman.

-This was the most intense RoundTable I've ever done. It's not going to win an Emmy or something like that, but compared to every other one, this is the first RoundTable that actually got overheated. I love discussing things like music and television during this segment. It's like my own personal talk show. Remember that RoundTable is where pop-culture meets politics. I might put my own opinion into one of the characters but it could be anybody. I don't have a mouthpiece on Thank You, Heavenly. Just because I agree with Sparky on this thing, doesn't mean I'll agree with him on the next thing. That's what you can appreciate about the show. Each of the five main characters have their own distinct identities. Jaylynn's starting to become more like me, but it's kind of a gradual thing.

-In real-life, Halley's actually going through some stuff but out of respect for her, I'm not going to tell you. I also won't tell you how much of this is based off of real-life experience. All I can tell you is because Thank You, Heavenly is one of the very few serialized cartoons out right now, I'm definitely planning to follow up on this storyline next week. I don't exactly know what I want to do yet, but the episode will most likely have Sparky in the B-plot while everyone else in Testicular Sound Express will be part of the A-plot.

-Buster's opening scene with the bottles is based off of real-life experience. I sometimes pour cans of juice into juice bottles at school. Why would I want to just drink an open can when I can just preserve the bottle? I think someone didn't understand what I was doing so I wrote that part because of it.

-Travis and Malik are reminders that the creator of this show is black. I'm pretty sure some of you thought I was white. I don't blame you, I'm like a Caucasian African-American 75% of the time. Plus, I'm in love with white girls, I understand a lot of the obscure references on Family Guy, and I'm a huge fan of rock and pop. Plus, I keep up with pop culture like adults keep up with politics which is something most black people don't do. Think about it, how many other black people you know are aware of pop artists like Austin Mahone and R5?

-I'm just like Buster. It frustrates me how hit-or-miss girls are when it comes to handshakes. Come on, act like you know!

-RK referenced the season six Full House episode "I'm Not D.J." when he said "But Jennifer got hers pierced!"

-Buster referenced the season eleven Family Guy episode "Bigfat" where Peter gets lost and turns feral.

-On Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, Nicki Minaj felt more creatively free and felt like she was making the music she always wanted to. Half the album consists of straight hardcore rap songs ("Beez in the Trap") and the other half consists of pop-oriented radio songs ("Starships"). She regrets it now.

-Buster not paying attention to Wade when he was rock climbing is a reference to the season twelve Arthur episode "The Chronicles of Buster" where Buster did the exact same thing to Arthur.

-When Sparky referenced GUTS, he was referring to the infamous Aggro Crag, the last event of every episode where the kids had to climb a large mountainous surface to win the competition.

-Woody playing with Andy was a masturbation joke. The signs are there.

-Sparky, RK, and Wade were imitating/referencing the opening of "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions, where the group members do a call-and-response routine. Sparky was KRS-One, RK was DJ Scott La Rock, and Wade was D-Nice.

-The Mountain Rush was just a little touch I added because I was drinking it at the time of writing the scene.

-In real-life, Ashley really does have a nephew. It's one of the very few times I actually see her excited, due to her being composed and very reserved.

-Ashley kissing RK was just a friendly gesture because Ashley admired RK's speech. I can't honestly tell you if she has feelings for him yet. There's a strong chance of them getting together in the future, but I think RK needs to continue to prove himself to Ashley so she can return his feelings. Also, Ashley denying that the kiss happened is definitely something she would do in real-life.

-This episode was dedicated to professional wrestler The Ultimate Warrior, who died on April 8, 2014 in Scottsdale, Arizona after collapsing in front of his wife. The night before his death, Warrior appeared on WWE Monday Night RAW for the first time in 18 years. That weekend, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as the headliner of the 2014 class, and appeared at WrestleMania XXX the night after. Before his Hall of Fame induction, Warrior hadn't been in the public eye for years due to a largely negative relationship with WWE and the people he worked with over the years. His crowning achievement was defeating Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI in 1990 to become the first-ever wrestler to hold the WWF Championship and Intercontinental Championship at the same time. Heading into the match, Warrior was Intercontinental Champion and seen as Hogan's successor as the company's top babyface.