Hey Zoners!  The countdown to Rapture continues, and before I get taken up, I want to say how much I have loved being a part of this amazing community.  NFZ has been a special home for me for the last 4 years, nearly 3 of those as a Completist.  I’m tremendously proud of all the work we have done, and I’ll always be grateful to have been a part of NFZ.

When I was deciding what to highlight in my last post, I considered what aspects of the show I most enjoy.  Sharp political satire?  Literary references?  A nice suit and a winning smile?  The ‘just when you thought it couldn’t get more ridiculous it does’? Or the one taping I attended, when I danced the Shag with Stephen?  But then it occurred to me that what I really love most is a great big character break.  Stephen has an adorable laugh and an infectious smile, but a good character break is more than that.  It’s the breaking of the fourth wall, the crack in the façade that lets us know he’s having exactly as much fun in all of this as we are.  And oh how much fun it has been!

Sometimes it’s brought on by an unexpected prop malfunction:

Or the paralyzing effects of nicotine:

A truly terrible pun:

A raunchy innuendo:

Or an especially ridiculous premise:

Whatever the cause, character breaks are pure joy. I’ve picked just a few of my favorites - share yours in the comments!

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