The Judge poured over her notes again, let out a long sigh, and furrowed her brow. She checked them, rechecked them, rechecked them again, took a quick burrito break, and rechecked them a third time. You would think as an eternal being I would have seen everything. I mean, there’s literally no way I couldn’t have seen everything.

She sighed. Nothing for it I suppose.

She snapped her fingers and it appeared before her. It really was as strange as she thought it would look, but somehow its mismash of parts congealed into an intelligible whole. It could almost be called beautiful. You know, if you were into that sort of thing.

“Whe… where am I?”

“Oh dear you can speak! I wasn’t really expecting that. Not sure why but…”

A look of confusion spread across… could you call it a face? Continue reading →

“Four Passengers” by Mary Crawford

The Good Place and The Great Divorce: Visions of Hell and Purgatory

The Good Place may be set in the afterlife, but it is not, first and foremost, about the afterlife. Its primary concern is the morals (or lack thereof) that landed its characters there. But a show that assumes the existence of an afterlife, and in particular an afterlife that judges its members on moral qualities, must deal with the question of not only how one can be a good person, but also why.

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For my final project, I decided to make a digital collage. I wanted the collage to encapsulate the spirit of the show, ranging from the obscure comedic references to the creativity and design of the main characters. Continue reading →

I decided to write a speech by Michael for my final project, using prophetic rhetoric from the Bible. The Good Place is decidedly not a religious show, though nor is my final project. Prophetic speeches from the Bible often condemn humans for their sinful qualities, and end with advice for how to be better. Throughout this class, we’ve discussed how Schur has defined human nature through The Good Place. I thought it would be powerful to take all of Michael’s revelations about human nature, and to place them into a speech. I used this religious technique simply to highlight Michael’s feelings towards humans. It also attempts to piece together Michael’s core philosophy about humans. Continue reading →

For my final assignment, I chose to write a review of episode 4.05, “Employee of the Bearimy,” which is under the divider below. This was one of the episodes I have most enjoyed this season, which I thought would make it well-suited to take a deeper dive into. There will be spoilers for this episode!

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My Final Project outlines the plans of a hypothetical neighborhood in The Good Place. The theme of this neighborhood is Notre Dame—see if you can spot all the references!

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For my final project, I decided to storyboard a cut scene from the pilot script. This takes place right at the start of Act Four, just after Chidi realizes that Eleanor is the one causing all of the chaos. Enjoy!

After spending an entire semester dissecting, discussing, and diving into everything related to The Good Place, it is about time we start convincing the four people left who haven’t given in and binged the show – and to provide those who have a handy-dandy list to kindly shove in the faces of said four. Without further adieu, here is my Top 10 list of reasons to watch The Good Place, with a short special surprise at the end. Enjoy!

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At the close of Season 3, after Chidi is taken away from her, Eleanor, like Chidi and Michael before her, has her own existential crisis, and begs the all-knowing Janet for ‘the answer’ to existence. Janet’s beautiful response prompted me to reflect on how this same sentiment was portrayed in other shows and movies I love…

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For my final project, I have decided to write a few scenes in the style of The Good Place pilot episode with a twist on the premise. My pilot episode scenes of The God Place focus on Elena who is starting her freshman year at Notre Dame. Instead of placement into the afterlife, my premise is that we exist in a world in which we get placed into our college, and so Elena is learning about her new Home Under the Dome. While I only wrote a few scenes that focused mainly on establishing the world of the show, you can imagine where an expanded script might take its audience: Does Elena actually belong at Notre Dame? Is Notre Dame even really Notre Dame? etc. Enjoy!

The Good Lecture: Ryan Cook & Chase Miller

The First Annual James E. Skerl ’74 Christian Manhood Lecture

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Sometimes when I’m bored or feel like procrastinating, one of my favorite things to do is take Buzzfeed quizzes with my friends. I really enjoyed my time in this class and had tons of fun discussing one of my favorite TV shows, so I wanted to choose a project that reflected the laughter and good times I had on Fridays in DPAC. I created a Buzzfeed quiz that involves answering various questions related to the show to ultimately decide which philosophy you should adopt. Once you finish my quiz, feel free to peruse the other quiz choices to figure out which Kardashian you are or test whether you are a Harry Potter expert (which I am, humble brag). And yes, all quiz results are 100% accurate– trust me, I’m a science major. I hope you enjoy!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessreeg/which-moral-philosophy-should-you-believe-in-the-fan24a2man