John and Craig test out a dreamy thesis: that all fish out of water stories are either The Wizard of Oz or Splash. What are the differences? Are Splash movies funnier? And what are the hidden pitfalls of placing our characters in unfamiliar worlds?

We also look at how Rotten Tomatoes works (and how it’s manipulated). But first, we follow up on physical media and lining up in size order before answering a listener question on writing gibberish.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig shares a personal diagnosis in an effort to help other adults with diabetes.

Links:

• The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes by Lane Brown for Vulture
• Read the Frankenweenie script here and on Weekend Read 2
• Starfield
• Manhattan Bus Map by MTA
• Highland 2
• Writer Emergency Pack XL
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
• John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter
• John on Mastodon
• Outro by Nico Mansy (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and is edited by Matthew Chilelli.

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You can download the episode here.