And wearing that very sharp suit, too, when he's put into holding. Just not fair to everyone else.

Separated, I think. But yes. Still, WE CAN DREAM.

The first time I watched this episode, Cary's shirtless scene was the only thing that really stuck with me.

cosign.

Very true re: S2. Same level of total immersion into terror.

I've made a huge mistake.

I love this.

I hear you—the cold open of "Act Of Contrition" is so fun and light. You learn so much about who these characters used to be.

I'm not discounting the success or significance of It Happened One Night. But television shows modeled on rom-coms are far less like that film and far more like the Ephron films of the '80s and '90s.

That is exactly what I am doing.

For sure. I think the main difference is in my mind is that ANNIE HALL shifted the norms of the acceptable romance on television and made a romantic comedy into a film with prestige value. It's so starkly real that since then, rom-coms had to pay homage to AH.

Definitely—I think my reasoning is that the norms of the culture changed a lot from then to the "modern" rom-com, and ANNIE HALL is the point of transition. But those early films are so crucial to understanding ANNIE HALL, of course! So it's all connected.

I hadn't thought of that either, but I certainly could see the shift. I think ANNIE HALL is the division between that screwball type of romance to a theoretically more "modern" style, one incorporating the new sexual norms, for starters.

Noticed a ton of questions about this already, so just wanted to clarify: My reasoning for including Annie Hall as the progenitor of modern rom-coms was based on this article: http://grantland.com/featur… Going to link to it in the body of the article now, too.

Totally. I wish I'd had time to include it. I haven't caught up on it yet, but everything I've heard indicates it would make sense here.

Annie Hall is considered a kind of shift in the rom-com aesthetic, which is why I used it as the marker.

Clerical error, everyone. The A+ is in fact an A. Sorry for the confusion.

Thank you so much.

What Laura said. Thank you for the catch.

Thanks for the explainer. What a nightmare.