Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Last Night's Episode Of 'The Good Place' Was An Inspired Homage To 'Groundhog Day'
*SPOILERS AHEAD for the current season of The Good Place, do not scroll down until you've seen the first three episodes of season two*
The Good Place—which if you're not watching, you're forking crazy, because it's hilarious AND the show has figured out a way to apply the twists and turns of Peak TV dramas such as Lost and Breaking Bad to a comedy format—kicked off its second season last week with a premiere which was almost like season one in miniature (only seen from Michael's perspective). By the end of the episode, Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason had already figured out they were in The Bad Place remarkably faster than they did the first time. How was the show going to move forward from here? We couldn't possibly go through the same scenario again, right?
In last night's episode, "Dance Dance Resolution," Michael did indeed go through with rebooting everything...802 times. The delightful episode, which may be the best of the entire series thus far, turned into an inspired riff on Groundhog Day, just with way more puns. Creator Mike Schur explained his love for the classic Bill Murray movie to us:
Support for LAist comes from
We felt like given the setup of the season, and knowing that we wanted the point to be that Michael's plan had a flaw in it, and that no matter what he tried it wouldn't work. It was like, "Oh my God, we can do Groundhog Day." That's what we should do, we should do Groundhog Day where it's just a thousand attempts that all fail in funny, spectacular ways. The difference is with our Groundhog Day, it's from the point of view of the mastermind behind the plan. He's the one who's narrating it, and going like, "Nope, didn't work. Didn't work again." Then the other thing is that because Groundhog Day is a perfect film, in my opinion, and is unbeatable as a comedy premise, it was like, "Okay, we'll do Groundhog Day, but we're going to do it for about eight minutes, and then we're going to move on." If you do Groundhog Day for an entire episode, people are going to start thinking to themselves you can't do Groundhog Day without being worse than the original Groundhog Day. Yeah, it was our homage to Groundhog Day. It was wonderful, because it's one of my favorite movies, and it was really fun to try to replicate what made it so wonderful in this very bizarre situation that we're in.
You can read our longer interview with Schur about the first season here. And in case you missed out on any of the puns, here's a list of them from the episode's writer, Megan Amram:
here's an abridged version of the full list of food puns i turned in with my first draft of tonight's #TheGoodPlace episode pic.twitter.com/x335NYNN09
— Megan Amram (@meganamram) September 29, 2017
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist