A "bottle episode" is a term used when a TV show, usually in an attempt to save money on sets, keeps the action all in one place. Some of these episodes justify their singular setting by trapping the characters inside against their will while others incorporate more clever storytelling devices. Let's cover some of the most interesting and entertaining examples of a bottle episode in TV history with the following.
Mad About You - "The Conversation"
Sometimes, raising an infant might have parents feeling trapped in their own home (or even a singular location in their home) which is a topic explored in an episode from the sixth episode of the hit Paul Reiser TV show, Mad About You. Filmed in one single-shot take, "The Conversation" depicts Paul (Reiser) and Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) talking while they wait for their infant daughter to cry herself to sleep.
Breaking Bad - "Fly"
Considered by some to be one of the best Breaking Bad episodes and by others to be the worst, "Fly" earns its title from an insect that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) discovers making itself at home in the lab owned by Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). Directed by Rian Johnson, the episode sees him and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), determined to save their jobs (and lives), spending an entire night struggling to rid the lab of the "contamination," while having heartfelt and complex discussions regarding the current state of their lives.
Seinfeld - "The Chinese Restaurant"
In an episode of one of the all-time best sitcoms that left some network executives confused from behind the scenes, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) spend 20 minutes waiting to be seated for dinner before heading to the movies. Despite not featuring Michael Richards' Kramer, Season 2's subdued yet witty "The Chinese Restaurant" is one of the best Seinfeld episodes and one that most strongly defines the NBC comedy's schtick as a "show about nothing."
The West Wing - "Isaac And Ishmael"
One of the most powerful bottle episodes in TV history was a standalone from Aaron Sorkin's Emmy-winning political drama called "Isaac and Ishmael," which was broadcast before the official Season 3 premiere as a tribute to the victims of the tragedy on September 11, 2001. Described as a non-canonical play by the West Wing cast in a cold open where the actors directly address the audience, the episode is primarily set in the mess hall of the White House, which has been put on lockdown amid a terrorist attack, forcing some of those inside to investigate the matter and others to discuss it from a philosophical perspective with some visiting students.
Friends - "The One Where No One's Ready"
In Season 3's "The One Where No One's Ready," the Friends cast is hanging out when Ross shows up urging them to prepare to leave for an event. Depicted in real time and taking place almost entirely in Monica's living room, the episode proved popular enough to convince the producers to do at least one bottle episode per season for the remainder of the hit series' run.
The Twilight Zone - "Five Characters In Search Of An Exit"
Some of the most interesting stories told on horror anthology TV shows are bottle episodes but that is not the only reason why "Five Characters in Search of An Exit" is a shoo-in for one of the best Twilight Zone episodes. As the apt title suggests, the Rod Serling-penned Season 3 story, following a group of strangers trapped in a room with no windows or doors and no memory of how they got there, is a wickedly surreal mystery with a killer twist ending.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "The Box"
One of the best episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, "The Box," sees Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Captain Holt (Andre Braugher teaming up to see if they can get a dentist suspected of murder to give a confession before they are legally forced to release him from the interrogation room. Sterling K. Brown gives an Emmy-nominated performance in the Season 5 favorite as the stone-cold potential perp who forces Peralta to pull out every trick in the book to break.
Frasier - "My Coffee With Niles"
The Season 1 finale of Frasier (a spin-off show as good as its predecessor, Cheers) served as an homage to the 1981 dramedy, My Dinner with Andre. "My Coffee with Niles" takes place entirely during a cafe conversation between the title character (Kelsey Grammer) and his brother (David Hyde Pierce), during which they discuss happiness and Niles, for the first time, admits his feelings for Daphne (Jane Leeves).
Family Guy - "Brian & Stewie"
For its 150th show, Family Guy aired a bottle episode that stripped away its opening credits, musical score, the typical cutaway gags, and most of the characters. The entire plot of "Brian & Stewie" takes place inside a bank vault where the eponymous dog and baby (both voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane) find themselves accidentally locked inside for more than 24 hours.
Community - "Cooperative Calligraphy"
Likely responsible for teaching a generation of viewers about the concept of a bottle episode, one of the best episodes of Community, "Cooperative Calligraphy," is identified as such by Abed (Danny Pudi) in one of his signature meta moments. The Season 2 favorite sees the study group lock themselves in the study room for an entire night at the request of Annie (Alison Brie) to figure out who among them took her pen.
Parks And Recreation - "Leslie And Ron"
The seventh season of Parks and Recreation saw Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) on non-speaking terms for mysterious reasons until it was addressed and resolved in the season's fourth episode, aptly titled "Leslie and Ron." Locked in a room at the office by Ben (Adam Scott), the former coworkers are forced to talk through their feud, which we learn was caused by a sidelined Ron asking Leslie for a job to be closer to his old friends, only to be stood up.
Archer - "Vision Quest"
One of many examples of a bottle episode in which multiple characters find themselves trapped in an elevator comes from the sixth season of Archer. In "Vision Quest" much of the main cast of the animated spy comedy series get at each other's throats more than usual when they share a lift at ISIS that suddenly breaks down.
Kenan & Kel - "Freezer Burned"
Nickelodeon's Kenan & Kel aired a few episodes that saw the eponymous duo (played by All That cast members Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell) stuck in one place. One instance is Season 3's "Freezer Burned" in which Kel accidentally points a restaurant's restroom sign in the wrong direction, causing himself, Kenan, Kenan's family, and many others to become trapped in the freezer.
Grey's Anatomy - "The Room Where It Happens"
While all bottle episodes take place in one setting, not all are necessarily set during just one period of time. For instance, "The Room Where It Happens" from Season 13 of Grey's Anatomy takes place in a single operating room in which multiple characters recall their own memories of the most significant moments they have experienced there.
How I Met Your Mother - "The Limo"
Some TV shows get away with covering more ground than the typical bottle episode allows by keeping most of the action inside a mode of transportation. For instance, "The Limo" follows the How I Met Your Mother cast hopping between multiple New Year's Eve parties in a limousine driven by the recurring character Ranjit (Marshall Manesh), marking the beginning of his transition from taxi driving.
Hey Arnold! - "Das Subway"
Sometimes even a bottle episode set in a mode of transportation still sees the characters stuck in one place, like in the Season 1 Hey Arnold! episode, "Das Subway." Arnold and his friends decide to get home from the movie theater by taking the subway but end up sharing it with a bunch of stir-crazy passengers when it breaks down mid-trip.
Castle - "Cuffed"
Some bottle episodes manage to show scenes from outside the main setting by the use of flashbacks. That is how the Season 4 Castle episode, "Cuffed," explains how Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) ended up handcuffed together and trapped in a small room where they struggle to retrace their steps.
Supernatural - "Baby"
Rarely do bottle episodes and road trip episodes crossover but Supernatural achieved it in its eleventh season with "Baby," which is named after Dean Winchester's (Jensen Ackles) beloved Impala. The entire story – following him and Sam (Jared Padalecki) on a demon-hunting journey – is entirely told from inside the car.
Drake & Josh - "Tree House"
In the fourth season of Drake & Josh, the titular pair of stepbrothers (played by Drake Bell and Josh Peck) must reconstruct a neighbor's tree house that they accidentally destroyed. Upon finishing it, they find themselves trapped inside, having forgotten to cut out an exit before putting up the final wall. Their sister, Megan (Miranda Cosgrove), refuses to help them find a way out, and, to make matters worse, two twin sisters are waiting to meet them at the movie theater.
The X-FIles - "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas"
"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" is a fun holiday episode from the sixth season of one of the all-time best sci-fi TV shows, The X-Files. It sees FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) becoming trapped in a house haunted by the spirits of a dead couple (played by TV icons Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin) who want to prove to them how lonely the season can be.
Chicago Fire - "My Lucky Day"
The rescuers fall desperate for a rescue in a Season 9 episode of NBC's Chicago Fire ironically called "My Lucky Day." Firefighters Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) and Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) become cut off from outside communication when they and two others board a freight elevator that breaks down in the middle of a building fire.
Eureka - "H.O.U.S.E. Rules"
In the first season of the hit SyFy series Eureka, newly appointed sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) considers leaving the small town of brilliant people after being blocked from investigating a crime. However, his A.I.-equipped smart house tries to convince him to stay by luring other locals into the home and locking them inside.
Leverage - "The Bottle Job"
The title of the Season 2 episode of Leverage, "The Bottle Job," has a triple meaning – one being that it is a bottle episode. The other meanings refer to Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton's character, Nate, taking up his drinking habit again, as well as the team's task to commit an elaborate con that would take weeks in only 90 minutes.
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air - "Did The Earth Move For You?"
While there are many examples of bottle episodes used to help two characters mend their issues with one another by trapping them together, the Season 2 premiere of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sees two characters grow apart as a result. In "Did the Earth Move for You?" the victims are Will Smith (Will Smith) and his new girlfriend, Kathleen (Tisha Campbell), who learn too much about each other after an earthquake leaves them trapped in the Banks' basement.
This Is Us - "The Waiting Room"
Most episodes of This Is Us jump back and forth between different time periods but Season 3's "The Waiting Room" takes place entirely in the modern day without any flashbacks. However, for what it lacks in appearances by Milo Ventimiglia as Jack, it makes up for it by keeping the Pearsons (and the audience) on their toes as they stay in a hospital waiting for the birth of Kate's baby.
MacGyver - "Phoenix Under Siege"
Before Die Hard, there was the Season 2 MacGyver episode, "Phoenix Under Siege," which boasts a few plot similarities. Mac (Richard Dean Anderson) and his grandfather, Harry Jackson (John Anderson), stop by the Phoenix Foundation to look for some tickets to a hockey game only to become trapped inside the building when it is invaded by terrorists.
Scrubs - "My Full Moon"
The Season 8 Scrubs episode, "My Full Moon," is a notable bottle episode as being one of the few times we see Turk (Donald Faison) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) teaming up. They are left in charge of four interns at Sacred Heart on the night of a full moon, hence the title.
Teen Titans Go! - "Bottle Episode"
Never has a series taken the concept of a bottle episode as literally as the 29th show from the third season of Teen Titans Go! Aptly called "Bottle Episode," it sees the team of young superheroes struggling to figure out an escape when they become trapped in a large glass bottle.
Moonlighting - "Between A Yuk And A Hard Place"
Taking place months after the previous episode when Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) suffers a miscarriage, "Between A Yuk and a Hard Place" sees her and David (Bruce Willis) reunited when they become trapped in an elevator. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Agnes (Allyce Beasley) and MacGillicudy (Jack Blessing) intentionally caused the elevator to break down, giving the couple a chance to work out their issues.
The Dead Zone - "Cabin Pressure"
In the second season of USA Network's series adaptation of Stephen King's The Dead Zone, Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall) has a psychic vision that the plane he is currently traveling on is bound to crash. The episode is set entirely on a jet and is even depicted in real-time.
Black-ish - "Hope"
Creator Kenya Barris' ABC dramedy Black-ish was never afraid to address tough real-life topics and one of the most powerful examples is Season 2's "Hope." It takes place entirely in the Johnsons' living room as they watch a news report of a police brutality case, which prompts a difficult discussion regarding racial injustice.
That's My Bush! - "Trapped In A Small Environment"
From South Park creator Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Comedy Central's short-lived series That's My Bush poked fun at common sitcom cliches while also offering a humorous inside look at the then-current George W. Bush administration. It once took aim at the "trapped in a small environment" trope in an episode called "Trapped in a Small Environment," in which the president and his neighbor, Larry (John D'Aquino) get stuck in an elevator, giving them an opportunity to work through a feud.
