PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 11/19/17-11/20/17; 11/23/17; 11/24/17)
-It's amazing what can happen when you do a rewrite.
-I always had plans to do a Thanksgiving episode this season, as I did in seasons two and four. The only problem was that I had no idea what I wanted to do. The first one was pretty simple since I had never done a Thanksgiving episode before, and the second one was held up by Cimorelli's guest appearance and the episode taking a completely different turn when I wrote it. However, I was stuck on this episode for a while.
-After a while, I decided to write a Modern Family-inspired episode about the whole gang coming together and the story being driven by their interactions. I had the RK subplot in there, but I later decided to do a story where Sparky and Buster interacted with Anja and Lynne. I came up with the idea of them forgetting to buy the turkey and then taking Anja and Lynne with them around town so they couldn't tell anyone. I wrote the first draft last month, but it was pretty weird to me and it seemed like this was going to be a weak episode.
-It wasn't until this week that things took a turn for the better. I actually spent a majority of the time working on next week's episode when I thought about what would happen if Lynne stole the turkey. I started rewriting yesterday afternoon and it took me more than twelve hours to do the second draft. Then after I slept, I did some final editing. All of a sudden, the episode was a lot stronger and I had something that I felt really good about. Of the three Thanksgiving episodes, this one is definitely the best. I don't know if it's my favorite though. (11/19/17)
-This episode was interesting because it showed a side of Lynne that I rarely ever show. Most of her character is based on her interactions with Jaylynn, so it's very easy to see her as this evil little girl that has no remorse or conscience. However, with this episode, she gets to be more vulnerable and human in her attempt to hide what she did, her fear of getting in trouble, and her guilt over being seen as a hero when she knows she is anything but. That wasn't my intention with this episode at all, but it just turned out that way.
-Initially, I saw this episode as a chance to write interactions between characters that would usually never happen. I didn't really get the opportunity to do that much, but Lynne having a conversation with Bitch Clock was a glimpse of what could have been.
-I wanted a C-plot involving Jaylynn, Halley, and Sanna but the time for it ended up being taken away by the other two plots. Unlike most episodes, their scene together didn't hurt the story or stick out awkwardly so I kept it as just regular Thanksgiving stuff.
-Sparky talking to the camera was part of what I was going for originally with the episode inspired by Modern Family. But things ended up taking a different turn after that.
-When I was younger, the school would always serve Thanksgiving food for lunch around this time. I never ate it.
-RK compares getting the no homework day to winning the Money in the Bank ladder match, a match concept in the WWE where the wrestler has to climb the ladder and retrieve a briefcase that guarantees them a world championship match any time, any place for up to one year.
-Buster's idea of how Bitch Clock stole the turkey is a reference to the Family Guy episode "Turkey Guys."
-Bitch Clock references "The Greatest Party That Never Happened" (#TYH526), the episode where RK and Wade accused him of killing Sparky, Buster, and Jaylynn, which led to them assaulting him and trying to drown him
-Sparky's use of "Wazzup?" is a reference to the Budweiser commercials from the early 2000s, which is what prompted RK to say that no one's used it since the Patriots won their first Super Bowl (they beat the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002).
-RK references the "pie jacking," an incident that was first brought up in "My Thanksgiving with the CimFam" (#TYH406) where RK was caught stealing an entire pumpkin pie and got assaulted by Sparky.
-Buster references Batman's car, the Batmobile.
-Jaylynn makes references to two previous episodes: "When Satan Takes the Wheel" (#TYH414), an episode where Jaylynn becomes Lynne's personal assistant in exchange for her not telling Anja that Jaylynn stole her car, and "Reality Bites III" (#TYH528), an episode where Jaylynn takes Lynne to a live mall appearance of Daniel Tiger after Lynne jumped Jaylynn's car.
-When talking to Wade about his essay, RK references the opening line of "Silent Murder," a bonus track from Nas' 1996 album It Was Written. When I came up with that line before I started writing, I noticed that I've referenced songs from It Was Written in every Thanksgiving episode. In "Talking Turkey," (#TYH208), Sparky, Buster, Wade, and Jaylynn begin whistling "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill) to escape Ashley. And in "My Thanksgiving with the CimFam," Sparky decides to kill Lisa after finding out she almost ruined the Thanksgiving dinner, with "Live Nigga Rap" (featuring Mobb Deep) playing in the background.
-Aaron & Rodney's is named after Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder and Boondocks writer Rodney Barnes.
-RK was watching a ten-hour loop of the former entrance video of professional wrestler Drew McIntyre. During his first run in the WWE, he used "Broken Dreams" by Shaman's Harvest as his entrance theme.
-Buster wanting Sparky to skip another year to tell a Thanksgiving story is a reference to the fact that I've only done Thanksgiving episodes every other year, and I plan to continue that trend by not doing another one until season eight.
-In the first draft, after RK found out he was not getting the no homework day, he pushed Jaylynn down and then went on a rant that referenced the same rant Bret Hart went on during the March 17, 1997 edition of WWF Monday Night RAW. A crowd formed and he pretended that he didn't go on the rant, then the scene cut to him in detention saying that this was the worst Thanksgiving ever. I always intended to change that scene to make it more subtle.
-RK writing the same sentence multiple times in his notebook is a reference to the chalkboard gag from the opening sequence of The Simpsons.
