Blue Bloods season 9 and the bottle episode dream

Is it possible that we could end up seeing a Blue Bloods season 9 bottle episode, and if so, what could that look like?

Let’s start here with a little bit of a discussion when it comes to television terminology. A “bottle episode,” for those unaware, is basically an installment in which the entire action unfolds within often a single scene. There’s something a little bit special about placing characters within a new environment where they react to things more in real time — it’s a writing challenge to do longer scenes and it’s an acting challenge to stay in character for that long.

There are also ways in which it could really work within an environment like Blue Bloods, especially since the majority of the characters are cops. They could all find themselves within a hostage situation at NYPD headquarters, or something could happen following a family dinner that causes everyone to become trapped together.

What happens here, as a result of all of this, is that it throws many of these characters into a situation that we have never seen before. It’s one thing to solve crimes on the job, but what happens when the family is in danger together? There’s something that could be really interesting to see. Who takes the lead, and how does everyone react? You could also see unusual character pairings like Henry and Erin, Jamie and Nicky, Frank and Eddie, or other things of this nature as they try to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, the idea of seeing something like this happen during season 9 feels pretty unlikely, mostly because it’s such a difficult challenge to do production-wise. Every single one of the cast members would have a super-long day at set, and you wouldn’t be able to produce anything simultaneously. All of the work would need to be done at once and with that, it would be one of the most intense productions possible to do a full 42 minutes of programming set mostly in one place. Maybe there’s a chance that you could do most of an episode in this sort of format, but that’s probably it — while still incorporating a family dinner in there since really, that’s the way that it should be regardless.

What do you want to see when it comes to a Blue Bloods season 9 bottle episode, or do you want to see one at all? Share right away in the attached comments!

(Photo: CBS.)