There are many levels when it comes to the depiction of Architectural Space in Cinema. Sometimes it’s shown within a sequence (i.e. Inception) or in a much larger scene (i.e. Le Mépris ). Other times, it’s shown for the entire duration of the Film (i.e. Rope). But in Episodic Television, there is a term for an episode that’s filmed entirely in one location: The Bottle Episode.
Bottle Episodes served a practical need, rather than an artistic one, when they were first created to save time and money by having an episode take place in one location with regular cast members without any special preparations. However, by limiting an episode to one location, the development of the story line and the characters actually created more of an artistic expression and analytical discussion.
Television shows like Breaking Bad, Star Trek, The West Wing and Seinfeld have all done Bottle Episodes which were used to highlight character relationships and dynamics. A successful Bottle Episode doesn’t rely on the gimmick of the single location. Instead, the single location becomes secondary to the storyline of the characters that inhabit that location. There is no better example of this than the Bottle Episode from the Television Show, Friends, titled “The One Where No One’s Ready” (1996).
