02-08-2004, 10:32 PM
Oh... I had planned on leaving Bebop out of this but I just can't keep my fingers off the keyboard.
First, lets all agree on what a filler episode is. The best way I can describe a filler episode is by looking at it's context in the whole story. If the episode repeats a lot of what's been done in previous episodes or does nothing to move the main story arc forward then it is a filler episode. I can think of some of my favourite series that have a few filler episodes thrown in just to fill a season.
Fushigi Yuugi really didn't need to spend quite as much time on Miyaka and Tomohome's relationship but the creators had to make a season worth of material. I still love the whole story but could easily have chopped out an episode or three.
Noir is another example of filler in a series. The repeated use of flashbacks got to be irritating in an otherwise excellent series.
With Cowboy Bebop, we're looking at another situation entirely. All the episodes were pretty much self contained stories or two part stories. There weren't any cliffhanger endings (except in the two parters) that drove a viewer to tune in next week. I personally enjoyed the way the crew of the Bebop was slowly introduced and worked in together. I would have enjoyed introducing Ed sooner just because I would like to see more of her in the series (my buddy Ed complains that every time there is a character named Ed in a story, they are demented in some way).
So... looking at what a filler episode is and how Cowboy Bebop was put together, I don't see how there can be any filler episodes. It would be easy to either chop out episodes or add more episodes in because they are mostly self contained stories.
A quick note on the manga... I bought it and just couldn't get into it. Yoko Kanno's music adds so much to this series that without it, the story is flat.
First, lets all agree on what a filler episode is. The best way I can describe a filler episode is by looking at it's context in the whole story. If the episode repeats a lot of what's been done in previous episodes or does nothing to move the main story arc forward then it is a filler episode. I can think of some of my favourite series that have a few filler episodes thrown in just to fill a season.
Fushigi Yuugi really didn't need to spend quite as much time on Miyaka and Tomohome's relationship but the creators had to make a season worth of material. I still love the whole story but could easily have chopped out an episode or three.
Noir is another example of filler in a series. The repeated use of flashbacks got to be irritating in an otherwise excellent series.
With Cowboy Bebop, we're looking at another situation entirely. All the episodes were pretty much self contained stories or two part stories. There weren't any cliffhanger endings (except in the two parters) that drove a viewer to tune in next week. I personally enjoyed the way the crew of the Bebop was slowly introduced and worked in together. I would have enjoyed introducing Ed sooner just because I would like to see more of her in the series (my buddy Ed complains that every time there is a character named Ed in a story, they are demented in some way).
So... looking at what a filler episode is and how Cowboy Bebop was put together, I don't see how there can be any filler episodes. It would be easy to either chop out episodes or add more episodes in because they are mostly self contained stories.
A quick note on the manga... I bought it and just couldn't get into it. Yoko Kanno's music adds so much to this series that without it, the story is flat.
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.