PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written on 12/28/14)
-Well, that was the last Thank You, Heavenly episode of 2014. Let's go backstage!
-This was one of the original 14 concepts created during development of the third season, around spring break. The plot went mostly unchanged because the characters ended up in the same place I initially intended them to be in. But there are some differences:
-Originally, because this episode focuses on both groups, I was going to have Anja's party requests be constantly shut down by the other characters. I got rid of this idea because it didn't seem right to have every character, especially the straight men like Sparky and Ashley, ignore Anja because at some point, one of them would have to address what they're doing wrong. This isn't an idea I couldn't absolutely work with and rejected. But to me, it made a lot more sense and a more interesting storyline to have Jaylynn be the one to go overboard and ignore what Anja wanted. Especially because when it comes to Anja, Jaylynn is almost always the most considerate person around. However, she is never selfish or an asshole. She thinks she's doing it for Anja when in reality, she's trying to compensate for the birthday party she never had before. This gives Jaylynn some kind of motivation for not listening to Anja.
-KG was going to be the one to help Anja stand up to the other kids and get tough. This was going to mark the first time both characters ever had any interaction with each other. However, when the story became more about Jaylynn going overboard, those plans were scrapped.
-Initially, Chuck E. Chocolate's was going to be a more demented version of Chuck E. Cheese's, complete with intentionally overbearing animatronic and anthropomorphic devices. However, I decided to make it more of a stereotypical adult establishment similar to places like Hooters.
-This episode was also one of the most difficult to write so far this season, alongside "That's Why They Call Her Sanna Q." Not as painful to write as that episode, but I definitely had my doubts. On Christmas, I was even a little disappointed because I was worried the episode would turn out too short. At this point, a regular Thank You, Heavenly episode is 8,000-10,000 words, including the Segway Segment. On Christmas Day, the episode was about half what it ended up becoming. It was alarming to me because I had hoped to be further than that by the time Christmas rolled around.
-When I was in junior high, my best friend William and I often played a bunch of games together that we created ourselves. One of those games had an establishment called Chuck E. Chocolate's. It was under the same umbrella as Chuck E. Cheese's, but it was for adults and often promoted its terrible food. The specialty of the joint was its chocolate cake. I then thought about using the place in an episode of the show, although the establishment's dilapidated structure was originally going to be more of a plot point.
-I'm going to be honest: The last two episodes, I have been a little bit tired. I guess it's because after "The Field Day from Hell" and getting past "Positive Rein-dunce-ment," some of my energy has been taken away. Hopefully, the three-week break will be beneficial for getting my strength back. I'm actually working on writing a Christmas story for a contest. Three first-prize winners will get $330, and with that money, I hope to buy a PlayStation Vita and some other games I have had an interest in playing. I have actually had my eyes on the Vita for the past two years but now I want to make my dreams a reality. The contest is all I have so I need to put my heart into it. But, make sure to keep your eyes peeled on January 18. The second half of season three begins with "Illegal Business."
-The episode was originally going to be a satire of how companies have a stereotypical view of what adults want and how they think, which was actually going to be a metaphor for how television writers and producers perceive adults. However, with the whole plot about Anja's birthday, this kind of commentary was going to become distracting. The plot is definitely something to consider in the future, though.
-As of this episode, four characters have had episodes devoted to their birthdays: Buster ("Buster's All-Star Birthday Bonanza (Parts I & II)" in season one), Wade ("Wade's Birthday, Jaylynn's Bitch-day" in season two), KG (The season premiere "14 Candles: Up All Night"), and now Anja. I might have one more birthday episode this season. Before Thank You, Heavenly ends, I want every main character to have their own birthday episode. I'm 40% on the way, and if "Sparky's Birthday" panned out in season one, I would be 60% on the way.
-Because this is the final episode of the year, I decided to give some extra thoughts on a few particular episodes of my choice from seasons two and three. Episodes that aired last year do not count. With that being said, let's begin with my top choice.
"My Weekend with the CimFam"
I felt like I would end up discussing this episode again because my feelings have changed since it first aired back in March. Damn, nine months ago, this world is moving too fast. Now, I don't like this episode as much as I did back then, but I definitely don't hate it. In fact, in my mind, this is far from a bad episode. However, this is not a classic like I don't know, "Duck Infection" or "The Trip" will be. From that St. Patrick's Day weekend in particular, this is my third-favorite episode. If you want to count "The Incredible Asil Mousa" as well because it was supposed to air that weekend too, this would still be #3. The concept of Cimorelli on Thank You, Heavenly is something that I did carefully. I didn't want them to drop f-bombs or do anything the other characters normally would, but I didn't want the episode to revolve around them. I wrote lines that I could actually imagine them saying, and changed their personalities based on how I thought they would act in their own TV show. What am I saying here? I'm saying that I don't look at Cimorelli the same way anymore. Even before the episode was written, I imagined them being on the show because it just seemed like the perfect fit. Would I do this again? Actually, I would. I don't love this episode, but it's something I thought was cool to do the first time and cool to repeat. However, it wouldn't be the same concept. It would definitely involve Sparky still and Cimorelli causing him problems that they're oblivious to. The fact that Sparky just recently referenced the episode means it's going to happen again. I'm actually interested in having Cimorelli become the show's go-to guest stars.
"The Life and Times of Diana Katanova"
When I wrote this, I knew a person would look at it and only feel two ways: They would either think it's brilliant, or never want to look at it again because of how unsettling it was. If this episode aired on TV tonight, there would be no shadow of a doubt how divided the fan base would become after watching it. There's hope that the episode does achieve its desired effect. My friend Sasha, who regularly comments on episodes now, actually really liked this one. She acknowledged how dark it was, but also recognized that Diana and Savanah were serious antagonists and Buster was at a crossroads. This episode has a notable black-and-grey morality. Buster is trying to defend his friends from being killed by two psychopaths, but he basically kills these two psychopaths in order to do it. Diana became a depraved and sociopathic monster, but she was also controlled by Savanah who was past the point of no return as well. Diana and Savanah were such good antagonists in my mind, I now cringe at the some of the things they said and did. This is an once-in-a-while episode that may never come again, and if it does, there will definitely be some changes to the format.
Alright, that's out the way. Let's move on.
-The opening of this episode was meant to be similar to the opening from "Wade's Birthday, Jaylynn's Bitch-day" where everyone sits around the table and plans out just what they're going to do for the person. Also, this was something I was SERIOUSLY considering: RK and Wade have a subplot to prove to Jaylynn that they're good party planners. It was intended to be strictly comedic, but the timeline wouldn't work since they were planning for Asil's party days in advance, and the RK/Wade subplot was meant to be the same day as the party.
-I really liked the "Coffee Mug" cutaway. It was one of those "in the bank" gags I had planned before I started writing.
-During this episode, I was trying to bring Halley closer to her real-life personality. Like when she points out Buster's strip club joke at Chuck E. Chocolate's.
-RK calling the crack addict Rob Base was a double entendre, referring to the slang name for cocaine ("base") and the 1980s rapper Rob Base, best known for his hit "It Takes Two" with DJ E-Z Rock in 1988. This was actually going to be pointed out in the episode, but I felt like it would have been too on-the-nose.
-Oh yeah, regarding this scene, I almost rewrote it entirely. It was originally going to end on another cutaway with RK singing the Out of the Box theme song while dancing in a big cardboard box and wearing a sailor hat, but I felt like it was not funny enough and felt more like a Family Guy-type cutaway used to fill up time. Originally, Chuck E. Chocolate's was supposed to be a defunct restaurant now operating as an unoccupied space, but I started to think that didn't make a whole lot of sense due to the fact that the restaurant space would have already been claimed by another business. So, it became what people think the average adult restaurant is like.
-One of my favorite running gags on this show is Jaylynn's inability to see with glasses.
-I decided to end RK's hatred for Anja in this episode, because after something like that is already acknowledged and joked about, there's no point in continuing it. Plus, it started not to make sense to me why RK hates Anja, someone who has never antagonized him in any way, but is friends with Ashley, a character who someone like RK should potentially be annoyed by. So, I decided to write that into the episode. And yeah, RK's opinion of Lynne reflects my opinion. I'm not interested in doing anything about that because Lynne's main purpose is to be Jaylynn's enemy. Besides, you cannot do much with a recurring character's recurring character.
-In the 2014: A Year in Review segment, I was going to mention ISIS/ISIL near the end but it is very difficult to boil something like that down to a brief sentence. It is nowhere near a simple situation so I decided to just make a joke about it.
-Remember that weird running gag in the second season when everyone kept referring to Sparky as Alex Mack because I thought their characters were alike? OK, I guess it's just me.
-When discussing Jaylynn taking over Anja's birthday, RK references the season four Who's the Boss? episode "Prom Night II" when Angela does a similar thing to Sam.
-I came up with the Skinny Petey bit on Christmas, but it actually entered my brain the night before while watching Full House.
-In elementary school, for more than a freaking year, they played "I Believe" by Yolanda Adams every morning. It was our school song. They even played that garbage at graduation. The only reason why I hate that song is because of how much they played it. In junior high, at every assembly, they played "Shackles" for the dance team. I loved that song, and still do.
-Originally, I wasn't going to give Duncan Brannan a guest spot but decided to in the end. This is actually Brannan's second appearance on the show, his first being season one's "Halloween in Seattle."