History Series / DispatchesFromElsewhere

* ImagineSpot: We get a ''lot'' of these as a way of getting into the characters' emotional states.

* LeadYouCanRelateTo: Peter, Simone, Janice, and Fredwynn ''all'' qualify for this. The show makes it very obvious right from the beginning, exhorting the viewer to compare the characters' experiences and emotions to feelings they themselves have probably had.

* BornLucky: Octavio's narration suggests that this is the true nature of Divine Nonchalance, comparing it to a cartoon character effortlessly and obliviously avoiding a long line of potential sources of disaster. Clara is implied to be a strong possessor of Nonchalance.

* HostageMacGuffin[=/=]LivingMacGuffin: The missing Clara. Finding her is one of the ultimate goals of the Institute experience; Octavio more or less ''orders'' the participants to look for her.

* MediumBlending: In Episode 1, Octavio's narration comparing Divine Nonchalance to the behavior of a BornLucky cartoon character is accompanied by a split screen in which we see Simone's walk home from the cafe recreated as a black-and-white cartoon a la Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Fredwynn, with his obsessive attention to detail, fascination with conspiracies, and social tone-deafness.

* ArcWords: "Nonchalance."
* BornLucky: The original ARG suggested that this was the true nature of "divine nonchalance", comparing it to a cartoon character effortlessly and obliviously avoiding a long line of potential sources of disaster. In-series, Clara is implied to be a strong possessor of Nonchalance.

* ScavengerHunt: Much of the Institute experience involves these.

* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: One of the main draws of the Institute experience is that it offers a purpose to people, a goal for them to pursue. Of the central cast, Peter seems to be most motivated by this, but the others clearly feel the same draw, if less intensely.

* LaResistance: The Elsewhere Society may be this, opposing the schemes of Jejune, but YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters is in full effect. (If they even ''are'' on opposite sides.)

-->'''Octavio:''' ''(after thirty seconds of silence)'' ...And now that I have your attention, we can begin.

Mystery anthology series, created by and starring Creator/JasonSegel and airing on Creator/{{AMC}}.

* LivingIsMoreThanSurviving: One of the apparent goals of the Institute is to teach this. Indeed, Coleman's narration in the first episode focuses on how Peter's life has been gradually stripped down to nothing.

* UnreliableNarrator: Octavio confesses that he has told one lie in his introduction to the first episode, but reassures the viewer [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial that he is NOT becoming one of these]].

Mystery anthology series, created by and starring Creator/JasonSegel and airing on Creator/AMC.

Based, interestingly, on a real-life AlternateRealityGame that began in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco in 2008 and ran for several years -- although Segel has switched the scene to UsefulNotes/Philadelphia.

A group of four very different people (Segel, Creator/SallyField, [[Music/{{Outkast}} Andre Benjamin]], and Eve Lindley) find themselves drawn out of their dull, mundane lives when they each discover clues leading them into a mysterious puzzle involving the bizarre Jejune Institute and its head, Octavio Coleman, Esq. (Creator/RichardEGrant). They attempt to follow the instructions they are given and unearth the truth about the Institute, but the mystery winds deeper than they ever imagined -- in fact, it's entirely up in the air as to whether they've entered an AlternateRealityGame or stumbled onto an honest-to-God GovernmentConspiracy.

Based, interestingly, on a real-life AlternateRealityGame that began in San Francisco in 2008 and ran for several years -- although Segel has switched the scene to Philadelphia.

* HostageMacGuffin: The missing Clara. Finding her is one of the ultimate goals of the Institute experience; Octavio more or less ''orders'' the participants to look for her.

* LivingMacGuffin: Clara. Finding her is one of the ultimate goals of the Institute experience; Octavio more or less ''orders'' the participants to look for her.

* SoulCrushingDeskJob: Peter's programming job for an online music streaming service that is totally not Spotify. When Simone comes to visit, he's embarrassed -- not to see her there, but rather that she can see how lame his job is.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: The first episode is introduced by Octavio himself, looking into the camera and addressing the audience directly.

* BornLucky: The original ARG suggested that this was the true nature of "divine nonchalance", comparing it to a cartoon character weffortlessly and obliviously avoiding a long line of potential sources of disaster. In-series, Clara is implied to be a strong possessor of Nonchalance.

A group of four very different people (Segel, Creator/SallyField, [[Music/{{Outkast}} Andre Benjamin]], and Eve Lindley) find themselves drawn out of their dull, mundane lives when they each discover clues leading them into a mysterious puzzle involving the bizarre Jejune Institute and its head, Octavio Coleman, Esq. (Creator/RichardEGrant). They attempt to follow the instructions they are given and unearth the truth about the Institute, but the mystery winds deeper than they ever imagined -- in fact, it's entirely up in the air as to whether they've entered an AlternateRealityGame or stumbled onto an honest-to-God [[TheConspiracy government conspiracy]].

* ArcWords:
** "Divine nonchalance."

* LaResistance: The Elsewhere Society may be this, opposing the schemes of Jejune, but YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters is in full effect.

-->--'''Octavio Coleman, Esq.'''

A group of four very different people (Segel, Creator/SallyField, [[Creator/{{Outkast}} Andre Benjamin]], and Eve Lindley) find themselves drawn out of their dull, mundane lives when they each discover clues leading them into a mysterious puzzle involving the bizarre Jejune Institute and its head, Octavio Coleman, Esq. (Creator/RichardEGrant). They attempt to follow the instructions they are given and unearth the truth about the Institute, but the mystery winds deeper than they ever imagined -- in fact, it's entirely up in the air as to whether they've entered an AlternateRealityGame or stumbled onto an honest-to-God [[TheConspiracy government conspiracy]].

A group of four very different people (Segel, Creator/SallyField, [[Creator/{{Outkast}} Andre Benjamin, and Eve Lindley) find themselves drawn out of their dull, mundane lives when they each discover clues leading them into a mysterious puzzle involving the bizarre Jejune Institute and its head, Octavio Coleman, Esq. (Creator/RichardEGrant). They attempt to follow the instructions they are given and unearth the truth about the Institute, but the mystery winds deeper than they ever imagined -- in fact, it's entirely up in the air as to whether they've entered an AlternateRealityGame or stumbled onto an honest-to-God [[TheConspiracy government conspiracy]].