Top 10 TV Bottle Episodes
A so-called "bottle episode" of a TV show refers to an episode that features a minimal number of characters, and are usually set in only one location. Sometimes, these episodes are also set in real time, taking on the effect of stage plays. As such, they are more commonly found in sitcoms, but dramas and various other genres have been seen to use the format to their advantage.
Though some may criticise them for their slow pace or lack of action, I've always been a fan of such episodes. They allow for more in-depth character development, and provide a great opportunity for the actors to showcase their skills.
Below is a list of the ten best bottle episodes of television shows that I've seen.
Though some may criticise them for their slow pace or lack of action, I've always been a fan of such episodes. They allow for more in-depth character development, and provide a great opportunity for the actors to showcase their skills.
Below is a list of the ten best bottle episodes of television shows that I've seen.
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- DirectorHal CooperStarsBea ArthurBill MacyAdrienne BarbeauWhen Maude has a session with a psychiatrist, she pours out all her innermost feelings, revealing her anxieties ranging from her feelings for her dead father, her resentment towards her mother and her fear of turning 50.Maude's second appearance on this list, Bea Arthur's third, makes for one of the most unique television experiences ever. It features one and only one character: Maude. In it, she delivers a one-woman monologue to an off-screen psychiatrist (who has no lines), delving into her deep hurts concerning her childhood, her marriage, her relationships with others and, mainly, her feelings about herself.
No other episode of television that came before it delivered a half-hour show like this. It was incredibly brave of the scriptwriters to trust in their character, and to trust one actress to hold the entire show - but it was a risk that most certainly paid off. It is a soul-searching monologue that makes deep revelations about the character, both emotionally poignant and hilarious at the same time.
A rarity on television in the 1970s and still uncommon today, this episode from Maude's fourth season marks one of Arthur's finest performances, along with a script that I only wish could have gone on longer. Any aspiring writers, actors or directors should study this television episode as gold standard. - DirectorJim DrakeStarsBea ArthurBetty WhiteRue McClanahanSophia falls ill suddenly, and the other girls worry she may be having a heart attack.The girls are trapped at home as a storm batters Miami. Unfortunately, oldest golden girl Sophia begins to feel unwell, leading the others to believe she is suffering a heart attack. The tension rises as they learn that paramedics are unable to get through to them due to the storm.
Unlike some of the previous entries in this list, this episode shows a much lighter side to humanity, as the girls band together and pray for their matriarch's recovery. They are supportive, kind and help each other through a difficult situation. Of course, the writing of the show's creator Susan Harris is moving, but also incredibly funny. Its final scene showing the girls contemplating the nature of death is one of the show's best. - DirectorAlice TroughtonStarsDavid TennantCatherine TateBillie PiperAs part of a well-deserved holiday, the Doctor takes a tour on a planet called Midnight. Little does he know that something is knocking on the walls, although the planet shouldn't be inhabited. Soon the passengers begin to panic when one of them is possessed.What happens when you place a bunch of humans on a strange vessel on an alien planet, and then scare holy hell out of them?
This episode is a truly fabulous hour of TV, and showcases one of the best examples of a bottle episode. Using fear as a main motivator for the characters in response to a peculiar entity that seems to have inhabited one of the passengers, it explores the darkest side of humanity, and how far people are prepared to go to save their own skin. By the end of the episode, we learn that the true monster of the story is not of an extra-terrestrial nature, but looks exactly like you and I. - DirectorStephen WilliamsStarsAndrew LincolnNorman ReedusLauren CohanMorgan tells the captured wolf about his journey from King County to Alexandria, where he met a lone survivor with a code.Not a typical bottle episode per-se, but still meets the description of minimal sets and minimal characters, the feature-length fourth episode of season six sees Morgan happen across a man who has spent life peacefully on his own after the dead rose from the ground. After Morgan attempts to kill him, the two ultimately end up learning a lot from each other, as new character Eastman (played in an award-nominated guest spot by John Carroll Lynch) imparts how he has learned to survive, how he came to discover the world had ended, and the dark events in his past that led to his tranquil demeanour.
The episode is definitely one of my personal favourites. It explores the world of the living dead through the eyes of polar opposites, in addition to offering a fascinating insight into human psychology, and the behaviour of individuals confronted with evil. - DirectorDominic BianchiJames PurdumPeter ShinStarsSeth MacFarlaneAlex BorsteinSeth GreenBrian and Stewie get locked in a bank vault where they are forced to deal with each other on a whole new level.Family Guy celebrated their 150th episode in style in this, the most stripped-down show of bravado in its long history. Devoid of music, cutaway gags and any other characters, the episode features Brian and Stewie being locked in a bank vault over the course of a weekend. They do what most comedy characters do in this situation: they bicker, they show affection and they finish the episode closer than ever.
I suppose what makes "Brian & Stewie" so effective is its context. In a show that is known for its frenetic pace and long stream of cultural references, there is none of that here. It takes itself and its characters very seriously. Though we get our standard Family Guy gross-out humour - including Stewie's ear-piercing gone wrong, a stray bullet and Brian...cleaning up a soiled Stewie - it has moments towards the end that verge on the sublime, as Brian makes dark revelations about his state of mind. It is the most dramatic episode of the show, and shows a side to the characters, and indeed the writers, that we didn't think existed. - DirectorHal CooperStarsBea ArthurBill MacyAdrienne BarbeauDuring a trip to attend Walter's convention, Maude tells Walter she is discouraged about finding a job and thinks it is because she is a woman Maude decides to speak about woman's lib at Walter's convention.Another superb American sitcom from decades ago, not enough people have seen or even heard of Maude. It follows far-left liberal Maude Findlay and her long-suffering but supportive husband Walter, as Maude's unusually progressive attitude finds her in a whole bunch of comical scrapes.
This episode from the show's first season is set entirely in a motel room, before and after a business convention of Walter's. The majority of the show is their argument over gender roles, as Maude feels that, as a woman, she is being treated as a second class citizen in the world, not to mention in her own marriage.
The astounding script is performed uproariously by seasoned comedienne Bea Arthur and the loveable Bill Macy. Unusually, the comedy doesn't seem to have aged at all, and is just as funny over forty years later. The issues tackled still resonate today, and the dispute between the two only gets funnier, deeper and more interesting as it goes on. - DirectorGail MancusoStarsJennifer AnistonCourteney CoxLisa KudrowA stressed Ross desperately and insistently tries to get the rest of the gang ready for a black tie event at the museum, while Joey and Chandler clash over personal belongings and personal space.The episode that popularised the verb "to go commando", most people consider this one of the best of the sitcom's 10 year run. Set entirely in real time and only in Monica's apartment, her brother Ross frets about making sure everybody is ready for an important function at the museum where he works. However, his plans begin to be scuppered by the squabbles and problems of his friends, including: Joey and Chandler dispute over an armchair cushion, Phoebe accidentally covering her formal attire in sauce, Monica trying to get in touch with her ex, and Rachel's very lengthy deliberation over which of her many outfits she should try on.
This cracker from season 3 serves to exhibit the well-rounded and well-loved characters, and exactly why they work so well when the six of them are all together. Full of fiery confrontations and excellent one-liners, it is a sitcom classic, and one of Friends' funniest shows. - DirectorMandie FletcherStarsDavid JasonNicholas LyndhurstBuster MerryfieldDel, Rodney, and Albert are mistakenly apprehended as shoplifters by an overzealous security guard at the Top Buy Supermarket. And things get worse when they're taken to the manager's office and realise that they've lost their receipt for the goods. Shortly after, Tom the security guard brings a cocky shoplifter, Lennox Gilbey, into the manager's office, where he promptly pulls out a gun and demands money from the safe. Unluckily for Lennox the safe is on a time-lock and due to the dodgy watch he's wearing, he's 15 minutes later than he planned - and the safe doesn't open until 8am the next morning. After being held hostage throughout the night, Del realises that he sold the dodgy watch to Lennox, and that he also knew him as a kid. By preying on his guilty conscience, Del persuades Lennox to reveal that the plan was hatched by Tom and the supermarket manager to get at the £60,000 stored in the safe. The three accomplices beg Del not to go to the police, and instead, he arranges for Lennox to get a job as security guard at the supermarket after Tom's retirement, and then makes sure he wins a £1,000 prize as the millionth customer in the store.Hilarious as always, this episode of the classic sitcom sees Del Boy, Rodney and Uncle Albert held in a supermarket office on suspicion of shoplifting. Then, events take a dramatic turn when an armed thug holds them and two staff members hostage overnight.
More farcical than emotional, this episode is simply an exercise in terrific comedy, making use of its limited setting and characters to ramp up tension and the hilarity of the silly predicament they've found themselves in. Look out for the moment Rodney tries to take the gun from their kidnapper...or so the others think. Priceless! - DirectorRian JohnsonStarsBryan CranstonAnna GunnAaron PaulThere is a fly loose in the lab. Walt and Jesse must do whatever they can to kill it before it contaminates the meth.An admittedly divisive episode of perhaps the greatest television series in the universe (in my humble opinion), critics have featured this season 3 episode on both Best and Worst lists.
For me, it may not be one of the absolute best of BB's run, but it's still brilliant. It features the magical performances of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as Walt and Jesse respectively, as they comically try and prevent contamination of their meth-lab by an ordinary, pesky housefly.
In addition to being hysterically funny, it also offers some of the poignant revelations by Walt, as he reveals to Jesse his regret over the death of a loved one, and the precise moment at which he wished he had died. The beautiful writing is transcended by the two wonderful actors. - DirectorIan BevittStarsBrian CapronTina O'BrienJack P. ShepherdRichard confesses all to Gail. He admits to killing his ex-wife, leaving Duggie to die and killing Maxine. He tries to make Gail sympathize and to convince her that everything he did was for her; that his love for her and her children led him to such extremes to protect them. Gail tells him that he's mad, and realizes that his other marriages didn't work out because Richard is unable to have children. She tells him that everything is over between them and orders him to leave the house. A horrified Gail rings Audrey as Richard leaves the street, seemingly forever.When I first started making these lists, I certainly never expected to be including a soap opera as a top 10. Nonetheless, I believe this corker of an episode from the long-running British serial has earned its place.
The pay-off for a storyline built up over a year sees serial killer Richard (played with ice-cool efficiency by Brian Capron) finally own up to his sins to wife Gail (Helen Worth), and admitting to the murders and attempted murders of several characters over the preceding months. The only two characters to feature, it allows them to portray the well-written dialogue (unusually well for a soap) to the best of their abilities - a particular highlight being Gail's calling her murderous businessman husband "Norman Bates with a briefcase".
Though the storyline's action-packed climax featuring a kidnapping and a car-chase certainly made for entertaining and scary viewing, the knife-edge tension of this episode makes for a chilling character-study.