PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 3/21/20)

-I was always interested in writing an episode centered around the Jennings Detective Agency. While I don't have a problem with how "Buster Loves Ashley" or "Social Media Freaks Anonymous" turned out, I really liked the idea of the JDA and knew I didn't have much time to have an entire episode about it.

-Initially, I was envisioning something similar to classic noir films like Touch of Evil. Because the Jennings Detective Agency is based on a fictional 1970s action show, I wanted an episode where I just commit to the idea of RK and KG being old-school detectives. There was going to be a mystery, but the episode was mostly going to rely on how seriously RK and KG took the agency.

-At some point, I decided to rework the episode because I didn't have enough time for the original idea, which would have involved a lot of research and understanding of noir films. I thought about what would happen if a strange virus ended up affecting the people of Seattle, and RK and KG decided to reform the JDA to get rid of it. At the time, the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic was beginning to take off and I was hearing more about it. However, I wasn't planning to have it be something that impacted the episode much.

-I started writing this episode the night "Buster the Neoteric" came out. A day later, with the coronavirus beginning to become even more of a problem, I decided to comment on it with this episode. I came up with the idea of a disease affecting the city, but I didn't want to say it was the coronavirus because I wouldn't have been as comfortable using the actual disease. Using the squirrel virus as a stand-in allowed me to do whatever I wanted, and make fun of the panic and hysteria without having to insert the effects of the disease on the show. I came up with the opening scene that night, and decided the episode would not only address the coronavirus, but prominently feature the JDA at the same time.

-With everything the coronavirus has affected in the world over the last few weeks, I have no intention of incorporating it into the show. The squirrel virus is something that can be in this one episode and never return. Meanwhile, the coronavirus is a real-life pandemic that hasn't even peaked in America yet. While the world of Thank You, Heavenly is almost exactly like the real world, this is one thing that would end up limiting the plans I had for the rest of the season if I included it. Besides, working on the show is a great distraction from the news.

-The episode was originally scheduled for March 8, but I knew I needed more time since I was approaching the episode differently. I moved it to March 13, then March 15, and even though the first draft was done that day, I still wasn't comfortable with releasing it yet. Finally, I chose March 20 as the new official date.

-I actually had enough material for a two-part episode, but I just didn't have enough time. This is why the squirrel virus is only part of the first half of the episode. If the coronavirus pandemic started earlier in the year, about a month ago, I would have definitely made this episode two parts.

-Originally, the "Small World" instrumental would have played while RK and KG were working on an unidentified case. However, when I wrote the new opening scene, I thought it would work great there instead.

-The news report interrupting Corky was actually inspired by real-life events. There were two times in recent weeks that I was watching The Goldbergs and a coronavirus news report came out of nowhere. The first time it happened, I missed the rest of the episode. The second time, it was shorter so the episode came back right near the end of the second act, but it was still annoying.

-RK references the science fantasy children's book series Animorphs, written by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant under the shared pen name of K.A. Applegate.

-KG references the episode "KG Gets a Job," where KG inadvertently gives Bitch Clock the idea to kill Mr. Ansolabehere after he gets fired from Fernando's Pizza for the first time.

-RK references lyrics from the Cheetah Girls song "Strut," which was originally included in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006).

-I had Principal MacGregor singing "bad idea" in the first draft, but in the rewrite, I thought it would be funnier if he also used the "Ari-chan" adlib and replaced Ariana's name with his own.

-RK criticizing Goldilocks and the Three Bears was originally supposed to be in "Buster the Neoteric." When him and Jaylynn got tired while climbing the Columbia Center, they would discuss the merits of the story and whether or not it made sense. I decided to move it to this episode to save time on that other one.

-Mr. Ansolabehere telling KG they can't do anything about Fernando's shutting down is a reference to the scene in the 1990 film Goodfellas when Vinnie tells Jimmy that Tommy is dead.

-The use of "22 Two's" is a callback to "Social Media Freaks Anonymous," because in that episode, the JDA used it as their theme song. RK later references the episode at school when he tries reminding the guys of what the agency is capable of.

-The name of the hospital RK and KG visit is a reference to writer Richard Pursel, who has worked on animated shows such as The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991-1995) and SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-).

-When trying to get the cops to leave, KG references Kunta Kinte, one of the central characters of the 1977 ABC miniseries Roots. The series was based on Alex Haley's novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976).

-I remembered that the police chief had previously made an appearance in "Buster Loves Ashley" when RK and KG were looking for cases, so I brought him back with the same name. I also brought back the gag of RK calling him Chief McNulty because he believed it was the more appropriate name.

-I just put in The Jamie Foxx Show as the DVD gift because I needed a random show that Chief Simmons thought RK already liked.

-RK's distaste for Thank U, Next is a reflection of my opinions towards the album to an extent. I don't think the album is bad, but I remember hating it when I first heard it a year ago and I believe it's the weakest album Ariana's put out.