Also, a bottle episode may or may not involve a Minimalist Cast. "Die Hard" on an X, though limiting the episode to one location, rarely fits this trope, since the other elements of that trope often negate the budget-saving aspects of a Bottle Episode. Sometimes an episode which is a Period Piece may look fancy and expensive, but these are often using the studio's already-existing (thus free) costumes and sets. Some plots lend themselves to the nature of a Bottle Episode, such as Sinking Ship Scenario, "Groundhog Day" Loop, Locked in a Room, or Episode on a Plane. One advantage of a bottle episode is that it comes equipped with its own reason for why the characters need to stay together and communicate, an essential part of screenwriting. Depending on the writer, how well the premise works out, and the quality of the acting, bottle episodes can range from terrible to some of the best-received. Due to limitations in locations and cast, the writers have to lean heavily on inventive situations and dialogue to carry the show. Sometimes single-location episodes are written as a Self-Imposed Challenge by the writers, and might ironically cost more than a standard episode if the one location is new and/or elaborate.īottle episodes often place a higher burden on the writers than a normal episode. The Star Trek cast and crew call this a "ship-in-a-bottle" episode, which is where the name originated. All that matters is that it costs less, because the money is having to pass through a "bottleneck". The term has become synonymous with "single-location" episode, even though bottle episodes can (theoretically) have as many locations as a normal episode. Of course, all this doesn't mean the episode will be cheap, just that it's meant to be like any regular episode, unforeseen complications can cause the show to run over the scheduled budget. Bottle episodes are often a chance for a slow, characterization-filled episode before/after a big special-effects-laden action episode. This keeps production costs down, because no-one needs to scout locations, build new sets, or create fancy CGI graphics of the outside of the spaceship. The easiest way to go about this is to use only the regular cast (or even just part of the regular cast) and set it in a single location, especially if you have a main standing set. Abed Nadir, Community, "Cooperative Calligraphy"Ī "bottle episode," also known as a "chamber piece," is designed to take up as little money as possible.
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