Gotta Blast!
THEGRONIES?!?! WHAT’S POPPIN’?! (Please not fireworks)
Speedrun, Joe’s Words to the Masses
Telling a story this long and this complicated can be a delicate balancing act. You want the characters to develop at the right pace, for the story to unfold at the right time, and for the themes you're working with to be given the chance to be explored. And then, every once and a while you get to let that all go and just kick out the jams (i.e. "Fangs Out!"). "Speedrun" is definitely one of those episodes. I think the thing I like the most about Speedrun is that it's a bit symbolic of the project of Midnight Burger itself: a small group of weirdos in a hostile environment trying to do some good while staying out of reach of the baddies. - Joe
Wildfires and Schedules
As you may or may not know, Finlay and I live in Los Angeles, and as you probably DO know a little over a week ago a whole lot of Los Angeles caught fire. I've lived here for a long time and I've seen this city catch on fire many times over those years, this time is undoubtedly the worst I've ever seen. Luckily Finlay and I are just fine, but the power outages and fleeing the city until it was safe have put some serious delays in our production schedule. Everything's coming out on time right now but we may see some delays in releasing the Season 4 finale. It won't be anything too drastic, we're basically going to be playing catch-up for the remainder of the season and it may cause a slight delay, but, in the end, nothing stops the diner. We won't keep you waiting too long.
- Also Joe
Lord, I Was Born A Ramblin’ Man
Since THIS is the section of the newsletter written by a FAN… (Or mayhaps… a historian? A THEOLOGIAN?) Let’s dish. There’s so much ground to cover.
Let’s start off with formatting. Joe, one of my personal writing icons of this century, has the ability to pivot from one focus to another with precision and grace. Therefore, the switching of perspectives and how we observe our intrepid cast marks yet another sign of his writing prowess. Observing how the diner advances through the eyes of Zebulon’s Bram Frampton and Effie’s Kitty Caldwell is a useful device to mark the advance we make through Cryptessia in a comedic style of punditry observed famously in Ted Lasso.
Simultaneously, since we’re sprinting through this obstacle course, we get fed banger after banger in terms of hilarious lines and situations. So y’all know what that means. It’s time for ANOTHER Alice Listicle. (Al-Listicle?)
And the Medals for Best Speedrun Go To:
“Also his dad is here,” continuing the Caspar slander.
Teta punching a horse in the face
“Demons from the sky!”
They STOLE THE HORSE
Teta trying to win World War I in the name of SPAM
“Go back to clinging to your mom,” Libuza, babygirl…
The entirety of Caspar sassing Kazi
The Pencil Ad. That’s all.
The entirety of the restaurant scene, but let’s break it down:
The names Baldwin Cottonwood Highsworth IV and Duchess Franketa Von Blugswaag
Caspar’s improv skills are gorgeous
Our love language. (OUR WHAT?!)
BILLY ROSE YOU TOOK ALL MY CORN DOGS
Gloria stole a snow leopard, therefore we finally have a cat
David named his gun Rihanna
A drag queen named Eden D’Pusseé
David is totally gay Buck Rogers
Suffrajistu!
Fiona having queer awakening at a suffragette’s meeting
I’d pay to watch Ava participate in an axe-throwing competition
The last stolen thing being an ice cream truck, with Ava wearing the uniform
Chess Inception. Chess-ception.
Now, keeping in mind that we’ve covered form and comedy, it’s time to cover the concerns. Kazi is pushing towards something that might tear everything apart. She has no idea what the shape of the problem is, but she’s still determined to think she’s right to push people around like chess pieces. But her chessboard is within another game being set by the Benefactor, a trap that we are now zooming into at the end of the episode.
Listicles, You Are My Only Hope
Song:
Cat of the episode: Moscato, the fastest cat this is of the Milky Way
Most Underappreciated Character: Betty. #justiceforBetty
Who’s Ready to Fan Their Art!
What’s Next?
On January 28th will be Welcome to the Horizon Chapter 10: Phoenix, where we debate on the possibility of comets and going to the moon. THEN, on February 11th, we’re strapping on our boots and getting ready to swashbuckle for Chapter 43: Adventure! Of course, our subscribers on Patreon, Supporting Cast, or Apple Podcasts can listen to both of those right now, along with other exclusive benefits, you should check it out! Or, you can always buy us a coffee!
Your support means the world to us. Be sure and stop by our website sometime to send us a message, leave us a voicemail, or shop for some merch!
We'll be out there, somewhere, lookin’ for ya’.
-Joe and Alice