WandaVision In The Media

[Cobalt Stargazer]

*peeks in, runs away to keep from clicking on the link*

[swanpride]

Same here...I don't want to ruin the surprise.

[Featherhat]

So Marvel does seem to be releasing official promos of next week now for those who want a few more glimpses. Nothing we don't really know.  

 

Official promo ep 5

Edited January 29, 2021 by Featherhat
I don't seem to be able to embed

[Kromm]

Here's the embed... 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Kromm

[arc]

Another new promo 

 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I laughed when I probably shouldn't have:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2021/01/31/wandavision-isnt-too-slow-everyone-forgot-how-to-watch-tv/?sh=60bbba3266b5&fbclid=IwAR3BV6L_nyQbOkBHdjOkslOPtBFqA4A03Bm--xUWYH8IqhCRRuQJw64ACvM

[Morrigan2575]

I saw something about that on Twitter and people were complaining because they couldn't binge and it was soooo slow! 

It was driving me nuts, the weekly episodes allow for some much entertainment (for me). I love reading all the different special and analysis on each week and seeing what was right/wrong. 

We never would have gotten that depth of analysis and speculation if this was dropped all at once. 

Now, I had any complaint about Disney is that all of their episodes are too short, WandaVision, the Mandalorian, etc. If you don't want to do 1 hours long episodes, fine then do 40 which is close enough to a TV Show once you remove the commercials

[Kel Varnsen]

2 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Now, I had any complaint about Disney is that all of their episodes are too short, WandaVision, the Mandalorian, etc. If you don't want to do 1 hours long episodes, fine then do 40 which is close enough to a TV Show once you remove the commercials

I actually love the shorter episodes that Disney+ does. Too many streaming shows are like "we don't have a time slot, we can make the episodes as long as we want". And a lot of the times the episodes just drag ok. The Netflix Marvel shows were bad for this (I didn't need each boring Luke Cage episode to be an hour plus. And outside of Marvel don't get me started on Space Force or Hunters.

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I actually love the shorter episodes that Disney+ does. Too many streaming shows are like "we don't have a time slot, we can make the episodes as long as we want". And a lot of the times the episodes just drag ok. The Netflix Marvel shows were bad for this (I didn't need each boring Luke Cage episode to be an hour plus. And outside of Marvel don't get me started on Space Force or Hunters.

I agree. I’ve come to really appreciate shorter and more tightly written shows even if it leaves me wanting more in the moment. I love that Disney+ isn’t sticking with an enforced runtime of their shows. 

3 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Now, I had any complaint about Disney is that all of their episodes are too short, WandaVision, the Mandalorian, etc. If you don't want to do 1 hours long episodes, fine then do 40 which is close enough to a TV Show once you remove the commercials

The second half of WandaVision should have longer episodes. It’s a six hour series and even if that includes the credits we’ve only seen 2 hours and 10 minutes. 

[peachmangosteen]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I actually love the shorter episodes that Disney+ does. Too many streaming shows are like "we don't have a time slot, we can make the episodes as long as we want". And a lot of the times the episodes just drag ok. 

 

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I agree. I’ve come to really appreciate shorter and more tightly written shows even if it leaves me wanting more in the moment. 

This 100%. If an episode of your show needs to be over 45 minutes then imo you're doing something wrong lol.

[Morrigan2575]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I actually love the shorter episodes that Disney+ does. Too many streaming shows are like "we don't have a time slot, we can make the episodes as long as we want". And a lot of the times the episodes just drag ok. The Netflix Marvel shows were bad for this (I didn't need each boring Luke Cage episode to be an hour plus. And outside of Marvel don't get me started on Space Force or Hunters.

I just think they're too short, some don't even reach 30 minutes. I don't need an hour+ just give me 40 minutes 😁

[Kromm]

I'm very happy with the length. It may be somewhat based around the length of a typical sitcom, but the important aspect is that it's resulted in a "no fat" approach. Every second is important. 

I'd rather be hungrier for more, than disappointed by getting it. 

Edited February 2, 2021 by Kromm

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I do wonder why the credits are so long. I've been conditioned by the movies to wait until they're finished in case something happens, but there's like five minutes of credits for a half hour program.

[tennisgurl]

Every day time I look through those long credits waiting for a post-credit scene, and it never comes! Maybe that's for the last episode?

I like that Marvel is putting the episodes out a week at a time, it gives me lots of time to really soak in every episode, and have more fun speculating on what will happen next. It is really hard to wait for the next episode though!

[Kromm]

18 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Every day time I look through those long credits waiting for a post-credit scene, and it never comes! Maybe that's for the last episode?

I think that was a given, once it was clear the first episode didn't have it. I mean do we really think they'd have them randomly placed in some episodes and not others? The exception would of course be the last episode, since it's the actual end of this story. Also, it's already been widely rumored what could be teased, since where Wanda will next appear has been clear from casting on other projects. 

Edited February 2, 2021 by Kromm

[tv echo]

Were WandaVision’s Darcy Lewis And Jimmy Woo Blipped? Kat Dennings And Randall Park Weigh In
ERIC EISENBERG   FEB. 3. 2021
https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2562287/were-wandavisions-darcy-lewis-and-jimmy-woo-blipped-kat-dennings-and-randall-park-weigh-in 

Quote

Both Kat Dennings and Randall Park made big Marvel Cinematic Universe comebacks this past week, reprising their respective Thor/Thor: The Dark World and Ant-Man And The Wasp roles on WandaVision, and while their separate arrivals on the show didn’t confirm whether or not Darcy and Jimmy were blipped, I felt compelled to ask them for their thoughts when I interviewed them yesterday afternoon. As seen in the video above, I spoke with them both during a virtual press day for the Disney+ series, and starting with Dennings she confirmed that she believes that Darcy didn’t get blipped:

"That was also a question I had! That was talked about at length with the writers. I don't think she was blipped. I would like a flashback to see Darcy not blipped. That would be very funny. But we decided she wasn't blipped."
*  *  *
Getting a degree like that takes a fair amount of time, so it stands to reason that Darcy was not only not blipped, but used the five year gap to further her education and earn her doctorate. Which is objectively awesome.
*  *  *
As for FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, Randall Park was equally curious about whether or not he got blipped. In the making of WandaVision it was something that he too asked the writers about – though he didn’t quite get the same kind of confirmation as Kat Dennings. Said Park,

"I did ask that question during the making of this, and I've gotten various answers [and] theories. I don't know the answer for sure, but my theory is that he wasn't because he needed that time to learn that card trick."

 

Will WandaVision Have Its Own 'Luke Skywalker' Moment? Elizabeth Olsen 'Really Excited' for Surprise to Come
By Rebecca Iannucci / February 2 2021
https://tvline.com/2021/02/02/wandavision-spoilers-marvel-cinematic-universe-character-returning/ 

Quote

But as Olsen hints to TVLine, another MCU vet could be making a visit to Westview — one that fans have not already heard about, as was the case with Park and Dennings. Back in December, fellow Disney+ series The Mandalorian stunned viewers with Mark Hamill’s appearance as Luke Skywalker, which had shockingly remained a secret until the Season 2 finale aired.

When asked if WandaVision has anything similar in store — namely a casting that she can’t believe hasn’t leaked yet — Olsen gave us a quick, “Yes.” And though she dared not offer any specifics, she did share with a laugh that “I’m really excited” for viewers to see what (or who) is coming.

WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer was similarly tight-lipped about who might pop up on the show, but she did confirm for TVLine “there are so many surprises left in store” for the five remaining episodes.

“I encourage all fans to settle in, because there’s more coming,” Schaeffer added.

Edited February 3, 2021 by tv echo

[FnkyChkn34]

37 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Will WandaVision Have Its Own 'Luke Skywalker' Moment? Elizabeth Olsen 'Really Excited' for Surprise to Come
By Rebecca Iannucci / February 2 2021
https://tvline.com/2021/02/02/wandavision-spoilers-marvel-cinematic-universe-character-returning/ 

Are we allowed to post speculations here?  It's not a spoiler since I have absolutely no idea, but I'll tag it anyway just in case people don't want to read my guess... 

Spoiler

Jeremy Renner.  They might need someone she knows (an Avenger) to help snap Wanda out of it and they seemed to have a good relationship.  Plus he's already on the Disney+ (not just MCU) payroll.

    

[AimingforYoko]

11 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Spoiler

Jeremy Renner.  They might need someone she knows (an Avenger) to help snap Wanda out of it and they seemed to have a good relationship.  Plus he's already on the Disney+ (not just MCU) payroll.

 

Taking answer to spec.

[tv echo]

Here's the direct link to this Jan. 25th Paul Bettany podcast interview with Lights Camera Barstool (starts at 53.31 mark)...
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lcb-ep-327-top-5-most-anticipated-2021-movies-interview/id1279516571?i=1000506464039
 

Edited February 4, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

You may wish to read his entire interview...

‘WandaVision’ Showrunner on Red Herrings, How the TV Broadcasts Work For Darcy and Jimmy, Episode 4’s Hospital Scene, and More [Interview]
Posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021 by Ben Pearson
https://www.slashfilm.com/jac-schaeffer-interview-wandavision/ 

Quote

In the wake of the show’s fourth episode, which expanded the scope of the series outside the bubble of the small New Jersey town of Westview, /Film spoke with [Jac] Schaeffer about how she made WandaVision her own, what Jimmy Woo and Dr. Darcy Lewis see in between “episodes” within this universe, the difference in the way peoples’ return from the Blip is depicted in this series vs. Spider-Man: Far From Home, red herrings, and more. Check out our full Jac Schaeffer interview below.
*  *  *
I know you’ve probably been asked a lot about the Nick at Nite inspirations for the various sitcom eras, but did you take any inspiration from any movies or TV shows when it comes to the outside the bubble storytelling for the rest of the series?
Yeah. In terms of the pop-up base and the S.W.O.R.D. of it in episode four, we had a lot of touchstones. Like Arrival was one of them. The current shows that take you to unexpected places – things like Russian Doll was an influence. Actually, that came out as we were writing, but episode four of Russian Doll totally flips the script, right? It’s a totally different deal. That blew my hair straight back. I was so dazzled by that. So there were some influences like that where it was, within a season, big structural shifts.

I have a couple of super granular, nerdy questions for you. How do the television broadcasts work to Darcy and Jimmy? It looks like they’re not seeing exactly the same thing that we are seeing, but are they seeing additional episodes? Are there reruns playing constantly until they see a new episode? Do they just see static? What’s going on there?
There are additional episodes. They’re seeing additional episodes, yeah.

Why did you decide to change what S.W.O.R.D. stands for in the show versus what it stood for in the comics?
That is a decision that has to do with larger story.

ETA: In the comics, S.W.O.R.D. stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department. However, in the MCU, S.W.O.R.D. stands for Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division. Some have speculated that this change was made to indicate that S.W.O.R.D. has replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. in dealing with on-Earth matters as well as cosmic matters.

(source)

 

Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on TWD, WandaVision, Flight Attendant, All Rise, Charmed, Chi Fire, Rookie and More
By Matt Webb Mitovich / February 3 2021
https://tvline.com/2021/02/03/the-walking-dead-spoilers-season-10-bonus-episodes-maggie-negan/ 

Quote

Now that we have some idea of what is really going on, will WandaVision show us how Wanda’s alternate “sitcom” world all started? — D.L.
Meaning, will we “rewind”/flash back, as Episode 4 did with Monica? “I can’t speak to the specific structural stuff,” head writer Jac Schaeffer told us, “but we will continue to surprise with the linear and nonlinear storytelling.”

WandaVision‘s Vision seems to now suspect something is wrong, and in the new promo it even looks like he and Wanda will fight. Or could that be a fake-out? — Cliff
After Wanda first lied to Vision about Geraldine, we asked Paul Bettany a version of your question — is the pair’s picture-perfect life about to go poof? After warning us he was about to “answer in a bleak fashion,” Bettany said, “It’s interesting to look at the American century through the prism of which sitcoms were out. You start off with Dick Van Dyke, where there’s real warmth to that relationship. By Bewitched, you’ve got a man whose wife is incredibly powerful, and yet he’s embarrassed by how powerful she is. Then you get to The Brady Bunch where everyone’s pretending there’s nothing wrong in the world, meanwhile you’ve got this huge civil rights struggle and the Vietnam War.” The 1980s then brought “Family Ties and teachable moments,” followed by the “very cynical and cool time of Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family,” Bettany observed, building to the point he wanted to make: “[In those shows], couples aren’t necessarily that fond of each other. And that fact serves our purpose in this show very well.”

Edited February 4, 2021 by tv echo

[Kate47]

Oh wow, I love Bettany's answer. This show, man. What a labor of love.

[arc]

BTW, if you like going on Youtube for Wandavision content, avoid Screen Culture for now. I've heard there's been some leaks and now there are some places sharing an "episode 5 + 6" promo. I've started dialing back my Wandavision promo consumption on Youtube to just the official Marvel channel for now.

[Kromm]

41 minutes ago, arc said:

BTW, if you like going on Youtube for Wandavision content, avoid Screen Culture for now. I've heard there's been some leaks and now there are some places sharing an "episode 5 + 6" promo. I've started dialing back my Wandavision promo consumption on Youtube to just the official Marvel channel for now.

That channel makes their own fake promos out of existing footage (often including other movies) and then labels it with words meant to fool you into thinking they're official or real.  There will be a little disclaimer in the notes.  Screen Culture is trash.

While trailers of course probably should just be watched on Marvel's channel (they deserve the hits, being the creators), I think it's safe to say that reputable media sites like IGN or Entertainment Tonight can probably be trusted to post accurate versions.  And although I have no idea who backs them, if anyone, I've noticed over time that JoBlo Movie Trailers posts accurate trailers.  They're stealing views, but they're accurate.

Stuff like Reactions or Trailer Breakdowns are another thing. You take a risk of being spoiled with them, but typically ARE working from the same information as us.  I've seen theories on channels like New Rockstars, Everything Always, The Film Theorists, or Nerdist, for example, that I disagree with, and occasional stuff I didn't personally pick up on myself, but not typically stuff from leaks.  But your mileage varies. There definitely are channels talking about leaks, although the better ones label the videos appropriately. 

[arc]

6 minutes ago, Kromm said:

While trailers of course probably should just be watched on Marvel's channel (they deserve the hits, being the creators), I think it's safe to say that reputable media sites like IGN or Entertainment Tonight can probably be trusted to post accurate versions. 

I'd been meaning to mention Screen Culture already, but today I saw their video embedded at Io9/Gizmodo. =( 

[formerlyfreedom]

How ‘WandaVision’ Made Itself the Perfect Anti-Binge Watch

Quote

If “WandaVision” had dropped its entire season all at once instead of teasing its mystery out over weeks of storytelling, what would we make of it?

I asked myself this question a lot while watching the first three episodes I initially had to review, and then even more once the fourth episode (“We Interrupt This Program”) dropped.

Good article - I'm inclined to agree with the writer, it's been best doled out a week at a time. If you click over, they do discuss the first five episodes, so you have been warned!

[swanpride]

Me too. Not every show is made to binge watch, some are made to watch and discuss.

[Kromm]

41 minutes ago, swanpride said:

Me too. Not every show is made to binge watch, some are made to watch and discuss.

Part 2 of that article should be called "Why People Are ABSOLUTELY Wrong When They Complain WandaVision's Episodes Are Too Short". 

[tv echo]

We interviewed the head writer of ‘WandaVision.’ Here’s what she told us
By Herb Scribner  Feb 2, 2021
https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2021/2/2/22260431/wandavision-writer-jac-schaeffer-q-a-marvel-cinematic-universe 

Quote

But the risk has paid off. “WandaVision” has been a success. It has a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an 80% from the average audience. It’s constantly in the headlines. And — like most Marvel projects — it’s fodder for theories, suspicions and questions galore.
*  *  *
Deseret News: What makes ‘WandaVision’ so innovative and different from other television shows? What does it mean for the future of television?
Jac Schaeffer: I feel like “WandaVision” is reflective of the moments that we’re having in television. I mean it really is peak TV. There’s so much exceptional comedy content out there. And certainly, like I have had my mind blown over and over again these past few years, with shows, particularly in the half-hour format that really defines how we understand a half-hour comedy. And, the fact that there are so many series right now that start going in one direction and then do a 180.

I feel it’s indicative of this moment where you don’t have to follow all the rules of what a half-hour show has to be. I think that streaming platforms like Disney+ afford more opportunity to get weird. Also, fans are so smart right now. You’re creating content for people who are bringing so much to the table. It’s not just a cold audience. When you have a fan base that’s so smart, so dedicated so ready, you can take big leaps.
*  *  *
DN: What was the scariest part of creating the show? What was the biggest risk?
JS: In the actual doing the show. I felt through most of the process very insulated from those kinds of pressures. The pressure was really mostly like — will Kevin (Fiege) like it? That was my day to day — will Kevin like it? And then, will I like it? Will I be proud of it? Will my team be proud of it? Are we putting something into the world that makes the world a better place, right? Those are the larger questions that I am asking myself day to day. But yeah, as it got close to actually premiering, I started to panic sure, but so far it seems like it’s going OK.

DN: What keeps you up at night about “WandaVision” right now?
JS: You can come up with a cool concept — lots of people can come up with cool concepts. Sticking the landing is the thing that everything is judged on — how it ends up. I stand by where the show goes, and I’m very proud of my team and so impressed and in awe of all of the collaborators on this enormous show. And it’s my hope that the fanbase feels the same excitement and emotional response that we all had in making it.
*  *  *
DN: Was there anything totally wild or out of bounds that you wanted to add to the show that got nixed? Or is there something wild you added that will come into the show soon?
JS: Yeah, I mean there were definitely things that I liked. There wasn’t anything that I was like, ‘I’m gonna walk off this project because you won’t do this’ — like nothing was ever like that intense. There are certainly things that I wish we had tried, but I do think all of those things that fall into that category are things that fell by the wayside in an effort to strengthen a cohesive story. The series itself is such an enormous swing. So, whatever weirder (things) that I wanted to do — I think we sort of nailed it with being an odd duck.
*  *  *
DN: What do most people ask you about?
There’s a handful. I get the season two question. I get — what theories are right? What theories aren’t right? And then I’m not going to tell you the other ones because I don’t want to say words — I don’t want to actually say the words that I’m not supposed to talk about.

DN: Is there anything else about “WandaVision” that you haven’t told anyone yet, or anything you want people to know?
JS: I mean there’s a lot that I want to talk about that I still can’t talk about. There is so much work that went into the big picture of the show. That’s what I can’t speak to — where everything started and really what we were thinking.

 

Wandavision's showrunner on Easter eggs and the possibility of a season 2
The A.V. Club    Feb 5, 2021

Quote

As Wandavision rolls on, viewers are finally getting some answers about what’s going on in Westview. They’re also getting a hell of a lot more questions.

Wandavision showrunner Jac Schaeffer holds the answers to all those questions, but she’s not telling—yet, at least. In the video above, we talk to her about whether the show will get a second season, how the Wandavision team places its Easter Eggs, and what she likes about writing female superheroes. (She’s previously worked on both Captain Marvel and Black Widow.) We also pressed her for details on working with some of our favorite female real life superheroes—namely, Emma Caulfield and Kathryn Hahn.Visit: http://avclub.com

WandaVision: Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Creator Jac Schaeffer Interviews
Comicbook.com   Feb 3, 2021

 

 

Elizabeth Olsen Has a Hard Time Not Spoiling Marvel's WandaVision
Late Night with Seth Meyers    Feb 3, 2021

Quote

Elizabeth Olsen shares how complicated it is to tease Marvel's WandaVision with the secrecy that surrounds it and talks about being nervous to shoot the show in front of a pre-pandemic live studio audience.

Edited February 6, 2021 by tv echo

[swanpride]

One thing for sure, I never have thought about sitcoms that much before. Like, I was vaguely aware that they changed over time, but I never really thought about how they changed and why.

[tv echo]

WandaVision Creator on Introducing Adult Monica Rambeau During the Avengers: Endgame Blip
By CAMERON BONOMOLO - February 8, 2021
https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/wandavision-introduce-monica-rambeau-blip-avengers-endgame-maria-rambeau-death-creator-showrunner-jac-schaeffer/ 

Quote

"Our priority was introducing Monica. That was always what we wanted to do well at the top of the show, and second to that, our priority was sort of the 180 of [Episode 4] being entirely separate from what we've seen [in WandaVision]," Schaeffer told Entertainment Tonight. "But we also wanted to answer the question of, 'Where are we in the MCU timeline?' So this idea seemed to satisfy all of those things all at once."
*  *  *
The reveal that Maria had died during Monica's five-year disappearance was "a big decision," Schaeffer said. "We had a lot of conversations, and Maria and Lashana were so important in Captain Marvel and such a tremendous character. We did not make that decision lightly."

She added, "But we felt that it really worked for Monica's character, and what it meant for her, and we also really loved the idea that Maria had built S.W.O.R.D. from the ground up."

WANDAVISION Showrunner Says Dr. Darcy Lewis And Jimmy Woo Backstories Were Cut From The Series
Josh Wilding    February 8, 2021
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/tv/marvel/wandavision/wandavision-showrunner-says-dr-darcy-lewis-and-jimmy-woo-backstories-were-cut-from-the-series-a182297#gs.seegi2 

Quote

During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer elaborated on Darcy and Jimmy's roles in the show, explaining that a lot of thought was put into their returns.

"With Darcy Lewis, it was really important to us that we show that eight years is a long time, and she has accomplished a lot and is a different person," Schaeffer explained. "So the fans enjoying her moment where she asserted herself as a doctor, it's a teeny tiny moment, but it was important to me and to my partners on this."

She added that Marvel Studios "did a lot of brainstorming about where the heck Darcy's been and what she's been up to" since 2013, adding: "Because it had been eight years, we were like, 'That's time enough for a PhD.' She was integral to everything that Dr. Jane Foster had done, so we liked the idea that she could still have that same sardonic, hilarious voice, but really have become more serious and have a reputation inside of the MCU as being an expert."

Schaeffer was asked to share any of the backstory ideas for Lewis and Woo (which would reveal more about what they've been up to since last appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but sadly declined. 

"I don't think I can. I wish I could. I wish I could spend a whole day talking about our Darcy Lewis ideas, and our Jimmy Woo ideas. They were really just great sources of joy for us when we were developing the series."

WandaVision Creator Jac Schaeffer on Using the Blip to Introduce Monica Rambeau
Entertainment Tonight    February 7, 2021

Quote

ET’s Ash Crossan spoke with ‘WandaVision’ creator and showrunner, Jac Schaeffer, who dishes on Monica Rambeau’s introduction, Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis’ return, and ‘shedding new light’ on the effects of Thanos’ snap and the blip. ‘WandaVision’ is now streaming on Disney+

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by tv echo

[LJones41]

Does anyone know why the setting for Wanda Maximoff’s sitcom scenarios in “WANDAVISION” keep changing from one decade to another nearly every episode?  What is this about?  Why not stick with one setting and one living room?  Is this transformation from one decade to the next simply a gimmick?  If not, does anyone know what this change in setting is about?

[Kromm]

6 hours ago, LJones41 said:

Does anyone know why the setting for Wanda Maximoff’s sitcom scenarios in “WANDAVISION” keep changing from one decade to another nearly every episode?  What is this about?  Why not stick with one setting and one living room?  Is this transformation from one decade to the next simply a gimmick?  If not, does anyone know what this change in setting is about?

Different sitcoms are being emulated.  The real sitcoms being emulated don't share the same settings.

Episode 1 is emulating multiple shows, but most closely The Dick Van Dyke Show. The house is a fairly close version of the setting of that show.

Episode 2 is emulating multiple shows, but most closely Bewitched.  The house is a fairly close version of the setting of that show.

Episode 3 is emulating multiple shows, but most closely The Brady Bunch.  The house is a fairly close version of the setting of that show.

Episode 4 doesn't count for this.

Episode 5 is emulating multiple shows, but most closely Family Ties.  I'll admit this show, despite being more recent than the others, is the one it's been longest since I've seen.  So I can only speculate that the house looks like the one from it.

Is it a gimmick?  Sort of.  But it's possibly also supposed to represent Wanda's mental state.  Maybe.  We don't know how much she's controlling, but we can infer that initially she was somewhat in total denial and now is more self-aware.  The older sitcoms were more idealized versions of a simple life.  As time went on, sitcoms changed and introduced real problems.  That's what she's inevitably facing.  The settings change because the whole scenario seems to be forcing her to at first change things to try and keep things under control, but each time she does so she arguably makes it even harder to keep things sitcom-simple.

[tv echo]

WandaVision: The Endgame Is In Sight
By Don Kaye    February 8, 2021
https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/wandavision-the-endgame-is-in-sight/ 

Quote

As WandaVision barrels into its final four episodes — following the game-changing finale of the show’s fifth installment, “On a Very Special Episode…” — the suspense and drama in the show is ramping up at increasingly high levels. But the anticipation and hype about the program itself is also continuing to build, particularly among Marvel fans who wait patiently for the show to reveal all its cards and deliver on the implications that have been laid out in the past five weeks like a trail of quantum breadcrumbs.
*  *  *
“There were so many levels of pressure on this show that that particular point of pressure wasn’t any more intense than any of the others,” says [WandaVision head writer Jac] Schaeffer during a chat over Zoom with Den of Geek. “I actually think that debuting on Disney+ was more intimidating being the first one out of the gate, but that’s just my scared self talking. There was a louder voice in my head saying that it’s worked out so well. I think that because of the year that we’ve been through, it does somehow feel right that the show is debuting in this way at this time.”
*  *  *
Of course, as well known before the show aired, that process started with an unusual idea from Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige: what would it be like if we placed two of the MCU’s most powerful superheroes, the psychically enhanced Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and the cosmically powered synthezoid Vision (Paul Bettany), into a sitcom? And what would happen if that sitcom format jumped from decade to decade over the course of each episode?

With that groundwork laid out, Schaeffer’s job as head writer was to flesh the initial premise out and make it into a coherent narrative that nevertheless took some big swings and incorporated a lot of other ideas and elements from the MCU. “When I was invited to pitch it, it existed as Kevin’s concept,” she recalls. “They had a lot of ideas and a lot of them were very exciting. Some of them were conflicted because it was just a big sort of kitchen sink of exciting ideas. My task was to make sense of that and to find a through line through all the really noisy and exciting ideas.”

While the framework of the show stayed mostly the same, it developed even further as the creative team expanded. “Once I hired a writers’ room, the content of the episodes shifted a bit and we just got closer and closer to — everything just got more cohesive in establishing the rules of the world and having everything be supportive of the larger story that we were telling,” says Schaeffer now.

Edited February 9, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Some Episode 6 reviews (you probably should watch the episode first)...

WandaVision Recap: The Quick and the Dead — Plus, Who's Got Powers?
By Matt Webb Mitovich / February 12 2021
https://tvline.com/2021/02/12/wandavision-recap-episode-6-all-new-halloween-special/

MARVEL’S WANDAVISION – EPISODE 6 REVIEW
Roger Palmer   February 12, 2021
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/marvels-wandavision-episode-6-review/

WandaVision: Season 1, Episode 6 Review
Matt Purslow    February 12, 2021
https://www.ign.com/articles/wandavision-season-1-episode-6-review

Did WandaVision episode 6 just reveal the true villain?
David Opie    February 12, 2021
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a35480477/wandavision-episode-6-pietro-agnes-villain/

6 Massive WandaVision Questions We’re Left With After Episode 6
Eric Eisenberg   February 12, 2021
https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2562812/6-massive-wandavision-questions-were-left-with-after-episode-6

Some media speculation regarding the "Yo-Magic" commercial that aired during Episode 6...

WandaVision Episode 6 Commercial Reveals A Devil's Bargain And Soul Stone Connection
By KOFI OUTLAW - February 12, 2021
https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/wandavision-episode-6-commercial-yo-magic-mephisto-soul-stone-explained/ 

WANDAVISION "YO-MAGIC" COMMERCIAL HAS A DEEPER MEANING THAN YOU THINK
Dais Johnston   February 12, 2021
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/wandavision-episode-6-yomagic-commerical-explained
 

Edited February 12, 2021 by tv echo

[swanpride]

Still think that it simply represents what Wanda experienced in the Raft....

[Morrigan2575]

On 2/12/2021 at 10:35 AM, swanpride said:

Still think that it simply represents what Wanda experienced in the Raft....

I saw some article that said it represented her time "trapped" in the Avengers compound in Civil War but, I don't think that fits. I think the time on the second makes the most sense. The commercials have been about Wanda's traumas. 

[swanpride]

I get the impression that a lot of people simply forgot the details of what happened to Wanda in the Raft...I guess mostly because it was more a side-note. We just saw her state on a screen second hand, and we never got to see in what state she was in when Cap rescued her.

[tv echo]

Seems more speculative than confirmed...

WandaVision’s Last Three Episodes Will Each Be One Hour Long
EDWARD LAUDER on 14th February 2021
https://www.small-screen.co.uk/wandavision-last-three-episodes-will-be-1-hours-long-each/

Quote

It’s been revealed that WandaVision’s final three episodes on Disney Plus will be each be one-hour long, which is pretty darn cool. This news was revealed via Kevin Feige himself, but we got it via Superhero Spotlight on Facebook.
*  *  *
OK, so why do we think that the final three episodes will be one-hour-long each? Well, it’s because of Kevin Feige himself. He revealed in a previous interview that the show is six hours long, and so far each episode has been around 30 minutes each.

So, that means that we’ve seen three hours of the show so far, and that then leaves three more hours of WandaVision to watch. There is the possibility that they could be splitting the time up a bit in-between each upcoming episode. However, it does seem as though each of the final three episodes are each going to be roughly one hour in length.

Edited February 14, 2021 by tv echo

[arc]

I saw that going around as a somewhat unsourced rumor yesterday on Twitter. (I mean, they said Feige confirmed it but no link, just an image.)

That said, over a year ago, the stars said they were pitched the series as if it were a six hour movie and so far the show has aired about three hours.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, arc said:

I saw that going around as a somewhat unsourced rumor yesterday on Twitter. (I mean, they said Feige confirmed it but no link, just an image.)

That said, over a year ago, the stars said they were pitched the series as if it were a six hour movie and so far the show has aired about three hours.

Feige has talked about it is a couple of interview. In a Collider interview about the length of the finale 3 episodes but didn’t give specifics. 

Quote

Moving on to the next thing. I loved what I’ve seen so far of WandaVision, I just wanna thank you for taking such a big swing with it. But I am curious, a lot of people talk about the episode lengths of MCU stuff, so I wanna know, how long are episodes seven, eight, and nine of WandaVision?

FEIGE: They all vary. Like many streaming series, you’re not tied into programming that has to start and stop, so it varies. Even those first three you saw vary slightly. That variation grows a little bit towards the end.

Quote

FEIGE: Well, we're looking a little differently. We're looking at it as developing them as either six hour-episodes, or nine or 10 half-hour episodes. So, for instance, WandaVision started that way and Falcon and the Winter Soldier as 30 minutes, but because it's streaming, it's Disney+, and the rules have blurred over the years, yes. Some can be 23 minutes. Some can be much longer than that. But She-Hulk, for instance, is being developed as 10 30-minute episodes. Some will be longer and some will be shorter. Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is being developed as six 40-50-minute episodes.

He told IGN this:

Quote

"It's about six hours of content," said Feige. "Sometimes that'll be six episodes, sometimes that'll be nine episodes, in the case of WandaVision. Sometimes that'll be 10 episodes. You basically have 10 half-hour episodes, which is what She-Hulk ... will be."

I think people are taking the 6 hour thing more literally than it was meant. Based on what he said She-Hulk and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be closer to 5 hours. The next three should be longer but I’m not getting my hopes up for hour long episodes. 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

The next three should be longer but I’m not getting my hopes up for hour long episodes. 

There should be more "commercials" to pad the runtime...

[Capricasix]

Good article from Den of Geek about the commercials and their parallels with the Infinity Stones. 

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/wandavision-episode-6-commercial-explains-what-theyve-all-been-about/

 

[tv echo]

Ben Travers at IndieWire criticized WandaVision, and then his review got criticized in return...

‘WandaVision’ Review: Episode 6 Gets Trapped in a Less Than Spooktacular Halloween — Spoilers
Ben Travers    Feb. 12, 2021
https://www.indiewire.com/2021/02/wandavision-review-episode-6-halloween-evan-peters-spoilers-1234616817/

Quote

All dressed up with nowhere to go, "All-New Halloween Spooktacular" offers plenty of colorful distractions without adding much to the story.
*  *  *
Not to be too crude about an episode introduced by two children, but “WandaVision” is back on its bullshit. The first third of the series was spent holding back information, asking audiences to invest in Wanda’s increasingly unbelievable realities, without providing any significant reasons as to how or why she was playing house with her dead boyfriend. Patience was tested, but after Episode 4 broke from the sitcom format to let us know what’s going on in the real world and Episode 5 successfully balanced life in- and outside of Westview, there was reason to hope Jac Schaeffer’s nine-episode limited series had found its groove.

But in Episode 6, with audiences sitting on the precipice of unprecedented change in the MCU, here we are again, trapped behind an invisible, suddenly expanding wall. There’s some fun to be had in the “Malcolm in the Middle”-inspired ’90s set-up, complete with a grungy opening number and tiny kiddos breaking the fourth wall, but there’s zero payoff on last week’s closing twist, very little progress made toward Wanda addressing her trauma, and too many empty, less-than-spooktacular shows of force. Aside from its weekly small-screen aesthetics, “WandaVision” still feels far too much like an inflated feature film that just keeps dragging out its story via inconvenient weekly installments.

People Were Dragging IndieWire’s Bad WandaVision Take and … Good
By Rachel Leishman      Feb. 15, 2021
https://www.themarysue.com/indiewire-wandavision/

Quote

It seems as if people have forgotten what TV is. In a recent article for IndieWire, author Ben Travers wrote up the “All-New Halloween Spectacular” episode of WandaVision and stated in his subheader that it was “all dressed up with nowhere to go” and that the episode “offers plenty of colorful distractions without adding much to the story,” which … I’m sorry, what?

In the most recent episode of WandaVision, we were given a look into Hayward’s mindset and how he really feels about Wanda Maximoff and the forcefield she’s placed around Westview. We got to see as Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, and Darcy Lewis tried to figure out exactly what he was doing, and in the end, as Monica and Jimmy were driving to meet her aerospace engineer, we watched as Darcy was consumed by Wanda’s growing sitcom dreamworld.
*  *  *
So, you know … television? I think that Travers maybe is used to binge-watching television at this point and has forgotten the feel of waiting weekly for the next big reveal. If I can survive all six seasons of Lost, you can survive waiting a week to watch WandaVision when there isn’t much else going on in the world.

What I think is interesting about these types of reviews for the show is that the review itself seems to dismiss everything that did happen in the show just to drive home this idea that each week, nothing happens. I’m sorry, but do you just not watch the same show that I do?
*  *  *
But also, if you want to just wait and binge-watch it all afterward, then go right ahead! But reviews like this one seem to only exist in shows where a female character is the focal point.

For example, I love The Mandalorian so much. It’s my favorite show, but I rarely saw reviews talking about how each episode was Din Djarin just on a mission trying to find a Jedi school for his son. (Something I personally love but fits more with what Travers is saying about WandaVision than WandaVision does.)

Regarding Wanda's changing accent...

'WandaVision': Elizabeth Olsen Confirms that Wanda Still Has a Sokovian Accent (& Explains Why You Don't Hear It)
Perri Nemiroff    Jan. 16, 2021
https://collider.com/wandavision-accent-explained-elizabeth-olsen/

Quote

When we first met Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron (after the Captain America: The Winter Soldier tease), she had a pretty heavy Sokovian accent. After all, Wanda and her twin brother Pietro (Aaron Taylor Johnson) grew up there. However, when we reunite with the character in Avengers: Infinity War, that accent is gone!

While making the press rounds for Infinity War back in 2018, Wanda’s vanishing accent was a mighty hot topic of conversation with Joe and Anthony Russo explaining that they intentionally stripped Wanda of her accent for two main reasons:

“One is you’ll notice at the beginning of Civil War that Black Widow is training her to be a spy, and two is she’s been on the run, and one of the most distinguishing characteristics that she has is her accent.”
*  *  *
That reasoning does make enough sense, but because most of Wanda’s scenes in Infinity War are just with Vision (Paul Bettany), one could assume what they really meant was, “We just decided to ditch it!” But, on a recent episode of Collider Ladies Night, Olsen actually confirmed that that’s not the case at all. Wanda’s accent disappeared with purpose and also - it’s not totally gone. Here’s how she put it:

“So, the Sokovia accent was created by me and Aaron and our dialect coach because it’s a fake country and we could find different sources of Slavic sounds. And we wanted to make sure it didn’t sound Russian because Black Widow speaks Russian, and so we just needed to sound more like Slovakian. So we created these sound changes that worked for Aaron’s British accent going to Slovakia basically and my American accent so that we sounded related. And then all of a sudden, all these different characters had to speak it in different films. [Laughs] So the Sokovian accent took a lot of time. It hasn’t gone anywhere. There have been reasons for everything. It lightened up when she started living in the States, and in WandaVision she is playing the role of being in an American sitcom and so it’s not gone. It is absolutely still there.”

(Collider Interviews)

A.V. Club reviewer gave Episode 6 a grade of A- ...

Halloween arrives early on a creepy, chilling WandaVision
Stephen Robinson    February 12, 2021
https://tv.avclub.com/halloween-arrives-early-on-a-creepy-chilling-wandavisi-1846253002

Edited February 16, 2021 by tv echo

[swanpride]

lol...I often disagree with the Mary Sue, but that one was spot on. I mean, yeah, shows and movies are a matter of taste, but I really don't get when exactly it became negotiable what is on screen. A lot happened in this last episode - the boys got more fleshed out and their powers got firmly established, there is this weird interaction between Wanda and Pietro, Vision nearly died, we learned a lot about what is happening at the parts of West view we usually don't see, Hayward established himself firmly as an antagonist with secrets of his own (which we suspected but didn't know for sure) and Darcy got sucked in...and those are just the developments on the top of my mind. To claim that nothing happened would basically require to not having seen the episode.

[Guest]

 

[tv echo]

TV's Tiny Pleasures: Ted Lasso's Biscuits, Marvel Fanfare, Queasy Diggle and Other Things That Bring a Smile
By Team TVLine / February 17 2021
https://tvline.com/lists/tv-small-pleasures-things-that-make-us-smile/ 

Quote

The TVLine staff took a beat to pay tribute to the tiny pleasures scattered across the many shows we watch. Like, the fun that MacGyver has in telling you where we are, or how Bob Hearts Abishola denotes when we are. There’s the gorgeous artwork that closes out every episode of The Mandalorian, and the Marvel-ous fanfare — heretofore reserved for the big screen — that trumpets the clicking on of every WandaVision.
*  *  *
A Marvel-ous Introduction
...
When cueing up that very first episode of WandaVision, we weren’t quite prepared to have the full “Marvel fanfare” animation preceding it — complete with glimpses of Chris Evans’ Captain America, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Rocket Racoon. Sure, every Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was preceded by the now-defunct Marvel TV’s generic version of said preroll, but seeing a small-screen project paired with the real deal only supersized our already considerable anticipation for Disney+’s first live-action Marvel series!

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by tv echo

[chitowngirl]

Looks like Modern Family this week!

[Featherhat]

Definitely, right down to the flashback with zany music to last night's crazy antics. 

[arc]

This is by far the most honest sitcom Wanda has been about what’s going on.

[tv echo]

Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on NCIS, Lucifer, Prodigal Son, New Amsterdam, Chi Med, Manifest, All Rise and More!
By Matt Webb Mitovich / February 18 2021
https://tvline.com/2021/02/18/ncis-season-18-spoilers-sloane-leaving-replacement/ 

Quote

I enjoyed your ideas on who WandaVision‘s Big Bad might be, but was surprised there was no mention of the mysterious Ralph. Any chance he will come out of the shadows to play a (villainous?) role in the final episodes? —Claire
I do wonder if Ralph will remain off-screen in the sitcom tradition of Vera and Maris — and Kathryn Hahn, who plays Agnes, didn’t lean either way when discussing Ralph’s possible appearance. “I don’t know! You’ll have to wait and see!” she hedged. “But that’s also an awesome sitcom trope. You’ve gotta have the crappy home life that you don’t want to return to, so you just end up sitting on your neighbor’s couch.”

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by tv echo