diff --git a/pandora/annotation/models.py b/pandora/annotation/models.py
index a8ede67da..51b087708 100644
--- a/pandora/annotation/models.py
+++ b/pandora/annotation/models.py
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class Annotation(models.Model):
     value = models.TextField()
     findvalue = models.TextField(null=True)
     sortvalue = models.CharField(max_length=1000, null=True, blank=True, db_index=True)
-    
+
     languages = models.CharField(max_length=255, null=True, blank=True)
 
     def editable(self, user):
@@ -138,8 +138,7 @@ class Annotation(models.Model):
 
             findvalue = self.value
             try:
-                l = self.get_layer()
-                if l['type'] == 'entity':
+                if layer['type'] == 'entity':
                     findvalue = self.get_entity().name
             except:
                 pass
@@ -210,19 +209,15 @@ class Annotation(models.Model):
     def _get_entity_json(self, user=None, entity_cache=None):
         """When serializing many annotations pointing to the same entity, it is expensive to
         repeatedly look up and serialize the same entity.
-
-        TODO: if Entity were a (nullable) foreign key of Annotation, we could just:
-
-            prefetch_related('entity', 'entity__user', 'entity__documents')
-
-        before serializing the annotations, which would make self.entity.json(user=user) cheap and
-        all this unnecessary.
         """
+        from entity.models import Entity
+
         if entity_cache is not None and self.value in entity_cache:
             return entity_cache[self.value]
 
-        entity = self.get_entity()
-        entity_json = entity.json(user=user)
+        id = ox.fromAZ(self.value)
+        entity = Entity.objects.filter(id=id).only('name').get()
+        entity_json = entity.json(keys=['id', 'name'])
         value = entity.annotation_value()
 
         if entity_cache is not None:
@@ -232,7 +227,7 @@ class Annotation(models.Model):
 
     annotation_keys = (
         'id', 'in', 'out', 'value', 'created', 'modified',
-        'duration', 'layer', 'item', 'videoRatio', 'languages', 
+        'duration', 'layer', 'item', 'videoRatio', 'languages',
         'entity', 'event', 'place'
     )
     _clip_keys = ('hue', 'lightness', 'saturation', 'volume')
@@ -295,10 +290,13 @@ class Annotation(models.Model):
                             value = getattr(self.item.sort, key)
                         if value != None:
                             j[key] = value
-        subtitles = get_by_key(settings.CONFIG['layers'], 'isSubtitles', True)
-        if subtitles:
-            if 'id' in j and self.layer == subtitles['id'] and not self.value:
-                del j['id']
+
+        # Items without any real subtitles are given a dummy 5-second subtitle
+        # every minute to ensure that they have at least *some* clips. Treat
+        # them specially. See Item.add_empty_clips
+        if l.get('isSubtitles') and 'id' in j and not self.value:
+            del j['id']
+
         return j
 
     def __unicode__(self):
diff --git a/pandora/entity/models.py b/pandora/entity/models.py
index faff0e259..d515937fa 100644
--- a/pandora/entity/models.py
+++ b/pandora/entity/models.py
@@ -168,8 +168,8 @@ class Entity(models.Model):
             elif key == 'sortName':
                 response[key] = self.name_sort
             elif key == 'documents':
-                response[key] = [ox.toAZ(d['id'])
-                    for d in self.documents.all().values('id').order_by('documentproperties__index')]
+                response[key] = [ox.toAZ(id_)
+                    for id_, in self.documentproperties.order_by('index').values_list('document_id')]
             elif key in self.data:
                 response[key] = self.data[key]
         return response