Focusing In On Interior Chinatown

Dave: [0:12] This is the Extra Extra Hot Great Podcast. Episode 327 for the November 23rd, 2024 weekend. I am free Peking duck with sauce, David T. Cole, And I'm here with highlight of your day, Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [0:31] I'm the dick. Dave: [0:32] And wooden dummy, Tara Arellano. Tara: [0:35] Ow! We'll be right back. Tara: [0:47] Welcome to Extra Extra Hot Great for another weekend. Patreons, thank you so much. We're thrilled you're here, especially we always welcome new members. get ready for a whirlwind of entertainment this and every weekend. This particular weekend, we're here to talk about Interior Chinatown, in which Willis Wu, Jimmy O. Yang, is a waiter in his uncle's Chinatown restaurant. He dreams of living an exciting and meaningful life, like the detectives he sees giving press conferences on TV, but is pretty sure his destiny is to be the side character in a cop show who finds the body in the cold open. And then he's the sole witness to the abduction of a nail salon employee. Police Department brings in a new detective to work with the ones Willis keeps seeing, Lana Lee, Chloe Bennett, who has a personal connection to the neighborhood. Lana believes there's more to the case than the abduction that Willis witnessed and that it could also have something to do with Willis's brother, Chris Pang, who mysteriously disappeared years ago. The show was adapted by Charles Yu from his 2020 novel of the same name. Its executive producers include Taika Waititi, who also directed the series premiere. All 10 episodes dropped on Hulu November 19th. Let's do the Chen check-in. Sarah, should our listeners watch Interior Chinatown? Sarah: [2:08] I haven't watched the entire thing, but based on what I've seen, yeah, give it a try. Tara: [2:12] Dave. Dave: [2:13] Yeah, I thought Sarah might like this. I'm going to say no. Tara: [2:16] I will probably keep watching it, but I don't think it's super essential. Well, let's get into it. Starting with Sarah, because this show is telling a story about representation in media through a lens you, Sarah, know very well, the police procedural. How effective did you think it was at hitting these targets? Sarah: [2:34] Pretty effective. I mean, especially when it was sort of, you know, like this credit sequence of the show within a show is like exactly like right on the line of complying with copyright slash not raising the ire of Dick Wolf and his team of lawyers. And there's also a fight sequence that is very aware of all the tropes in kung fu movies. And that sort of loving fondness for what it's examining from like two steps to a different side is really good. My issue with it this was a show that when we did our you know looking forward to fall preview episode i was pretty excited about the potential of this but i i'm not entirely sure that it has thought through the thought through this like extremely high concept of like this almost sophie's world ask what if the cop show but from the perspective of this guy who's like moving crates of stuff around in the first act while he's being questioned by detectives. Tara: [3:41] Mm-hmm. Sarah: [3:41] I think it understands that genre really well. I think it has a lot of good ideas about what to do with that. And especially like representation wise, like what that usually looks like in a cop show and how it's just a gesture. I think it has a lot of ideas and a lot of good ideas, but I'm not totally sure that it's stepped through them all like in a meta sense. I mean, I'm intrigued, but if it doesn't figure some shit out, I'm also going to bail after like three episodes. So I don't know. You could speak to that better than I can. Tara: [4:11] Yeah, I've seen half of the season, five of 10, and the way it's framed in terms of representation and what it's like to, you know, have a cop show that is normally like, we're just covering all the crimes that don't have any racial implications. And then they sort of dip into a different world. Tara: [4:30] I thought of this, and I'm sure you did too, Sarah, the season two Law and Order episode where a Chinese American high school student is killed and the first theory is like, he was in a Chinese gang. But then it turns out that, spoiler for an episode from 1991, a white classmate's family killed him because they were competing academically. It's the one with Kelly Bishop and Sam Rockwell is the killer, I believe. But it's the same thing with the Chloe Bennett character. Like, the other two detectives are, like, suspicious of her. They think she's IA. They're like, where did she suddenly come from? And that's part of the meta story, too, of, like, you know, this character. She says at one point, this is my first time being a cop or something along those lines. And we find out she's been a Krav Maga instructor. She's been a barback. She's been doing her own version of a sidekick character in other stories that happened before this one. But they keep turning to her to be like, you're the Chinatown expert. And all of those lines, it felt so true to how those episodes are when on SVU someone parachutes in. To just do, you know, their connection to whatever the case is. And, you know, yeah, I agree with you that I don't think they follow the meta-ness through as much as they could. Like, the first thing that I, the other comp that I thought of was WandaVision, where it's like every episode was a different full construction of the thing that they're satirizing. Sarah: [5:59] Right. Tara: [5:59] You get some of that in the first episode with obviously the opening credits, like you said, and the fight scene. And then there's also Lana takes Willis to a club and then it turns into like a hard seltzer commercial all around that stuff. And it's like, okay, that's like, that's fun. I want more of that. And it's sort of like peters out as the season goes on. They don't really commit to it as much as they could to be like how different settings could be different tropes. Sarah: [6:24] Well, and how, like, what is happening in any given set or any given part of the world when the people who we are watching are not on it and they gesture at that, like, sometimes when the main characters of this cop show are coming into the main characters of our show's sphere, literally the lights change. And then that's how you know. And I thought that that was clever and elegant. But like I said, at the same time, I did not get the sense that they had stepped through all the implications of if these characters' existences are only in a certain narrow lane in the background of this show, what that mostly means is that 23 and a half hours a day, they're just standing around in stasis. It's like whatever, serving the same tea over and over again if it's in the restaurant. I don't know what that would look like, but it's also not my job. Tara: [7:27] Right. Sarah: [7:27] To fill in those blanks, did either of you read the book? Because I feel like maybe that's the shorter way to get these answers, but I don't know. Tara: [7:38] I'll say our friend Allison Herman at Variety, she reviewed and she did read the book. So we'll link to her review because that was her problem too, where it's like, Apparently the book is told all in screenplay form. I mean, hence the title that, but the whole thing is like that. So she was sort of like to turn it from this very formal exercise of a novel into a show that has to have a whole world of characters. Her feeling badly summarized is it sort of trades the interesting allegorical elements of the book for more grounded stuff that would be interesting in another context but doesn't really fit here. She's saying the difference between Willis in his world of side character on a cop show versus like, and then there's his mom and she's trying to get a real estate license. Like, okay. Dave: [8:31] The thing I didn't understand is the construction of this. Pocket universe yeah and i felt that was very muddy like kind of what sarah was saying like what is happening when they're actually not on the show that i assume is a reason why this pocket universe exists and is everything that we don't see somebody's backstory construction in which case these characters wouldn't have that detail of a backstory construction that's the whole point they wouldn't have a mother and a father at home in this story about the brother who disappeared and he was the Kung Fu champion and I'll never will be and all that sort of stuff. Like there are parts of this that don't make sense from a multiverse Truman Show-esque blending construction. And I found like, I was so trying to figure out what the deal was with the rules of this universe in the first episode that it actually took me out of what they were doing, which is sort of ironic. You know, I was sort of like in my own pocket universe trying to figure out the rules of this pocket universe. Tara: [9:29] Right. Dave: [9:30] And I just kind of found like that muddiness was like the whole show and not only with the rules of the show but the lead i felt like i didn't really understand like what he was really feeling all the time except through actual dialogue like he's like i like that actor in silicon valley i thought he was really great there yeah but he i feel like his what i'm gonna guess is resting energy and maybe not so much here because i just felt like he was drifting through this and i realized that that is part of what his character i guess is supposed to be right he is a construct in this show yeah but also he's not selling anything that's on the paper too well and i felt like that was keeping me away from what they wanted to do as a mission statement here that's. Sarah: [10:19] I'll get back to the actors in a second because dave i agree me too and i actually think that the guy who plays carl should probably have been. Dave: [10:26] The lead because he just. Sarah: [10:28] Has this like weird energy. Dave: [10:30] That i. Sarah: [10:31] I think works better for this but like as you were talking about like well why does this character even have a pocket universe like well okay because that's what the script says but as you were talking i was thinking like my husband always fleshes out like a full backstory for all of his characters like even fucking spidersmith on loving he gave him like a middle name and all this stuff and. Dave: [10:58] Background info sorry what is that sweet cheeks that's. Tara: [11:03] The one who says sweet yes that is sweet cheeks. Sarah: [11:10] That character's middle name is Orson. Tara: [11:12] Okay. Sarah: [11:12] I don't know. I don't know. I had follow-up questions, and then I think I started laughing and forgot what the answers were. But there are a lot of actors who will just prepare to the absolute edge of the canvas, and it might be sort of funny to, I don't know, stack them up a little bit and sort of see slices of, like, there's an actor who's just there because he's somebody's cousin. And when the lights are off for him, he's just standing there like in a charger or whatever, versus Dan will have an entire lot, like an entire street of the WB lot. So I get that that's not the point in the novel, but if you're going to make it's 10 episodes, if you're going to make 10 episodes, it's like, I don't, I don't think you can come from that formal standpoint and not, and not just like step through it all the way and find out if it's making any sense. And if you have a main character actor who's this, he's fine. I think you need something else. Someone a little more left of center. Tara: [12:21] Yeah, I wrote this in my review, too, that he doesn't seem like he's up to carrying this show. I think he was good as a side character on Silicon Valley. He's a stand-up comic, primarily. But I don't think his acting is on par with the other people that are in the show. I mean, especially, like, Seema plays his father. He's like a legend of an actor. And so for this guy to be the center of it, you're putting a lot on him that I don't think he can totally carry. Sarah: [12:49] And if that's part of the point, I mean, if that's part of that, like that meta comment that it's like, This character isn't supposed to be at the center of things, but then to give him 10 episodes, it's like, all right, we know. Like, this didn't actually work. You should have thought that. Dave: [13:06] Looking at it from bird's eye view, you hear the premise of this show and you think, oh, this sounds fun, right? And it's going to have something to say. I mean, you're here because you heard it was fun. And then when you get here, you realize that they're telling this story about representation in the industry. But it's not really all that fun as well. It's sort of dour. It's sort of dark and murky. And I was a little bit surprised by that. And with everything else going on in the first episode, I thought that they needed more of those moments like the black and white are the Law and Order credits and things like that. There was touches of it. But I felt it needed to go harder on the first maybe couple episodes with that. And that is not an energy you need to sustain throughout the whole thing. But it definitely needed to front load that more to keep me in the seat, I think. Tara: [13:53] Yeah. I mean, I'll say it's set, it's sort of ambiguous, but based on the fashions and like tech and stuff, it seems like it's supposed to be set in like the late 90s, early 2000s. And so there's a point around the middle of the season where Willis and Lana are investigating like whatever happened to his brother. And Willis talks himself into getting into the police station by posing as tech guy so he can be like that trope in a cop show. So he finds a trove of like you know they must have been surveilling him all the time there's all these videos of my brother and the you know it's clearly like an 80s style cop show where they have enlisted him to be like oh he's kung fu guy and that's what they call him and like we see the scene where the younger detective calls him that and then he puts on more of an accent and there's like much more fighting and stuff so it's like a different version from that era of what a cop show, was, but all of those scenes, and again, the point is his brother was this star that Willis isn't. His brother doesn't get a name, by the way. He's just called Older Brother. But he's the star that Willis isn't, but at the same time, it's like, oh man, I wish I was watching that show, because he's so much more fun and interesting. Sarah: [15:02] Or not to be that guy, but maybe this should have been a movie? Tara: [15:07] Well, yes. A lot of things should. I mean, the thing is, like, I understand the point they're trying to make, and they sort of do build out the idea of, like, Other side characters and, you know, Will is helping them come to the floor and they're not all Chinatown residents, but people that he meets at the police station that he gets to enlist in, like, his various little schemes and gambits. And, like, that part of it is episodic, I guess. And, you know, you sort of get the sense that, like, all of these different side characters are, like, in their own Chinatown of the mind. You know what I mean? Like, you know. Sarah: [15:37] Right. Tara: [15:38] We understand the representation behind. Point that they're trying to make but it's like there's there was a way to make this more tightly and also like episodes don't need to be 42 minutes and especially with taika waititi being a executive producer it's like you couldn't go to this guy and be like all right look at what we've done on what we do in the shadows reservation dogs our flag means death like tighten the shit up because these these episodes they really drag and i i mean maybe part of that is like the joke of you know, they're the same length as a police procedural, but it's sort of like. Dave: [16:11] Don't need that meta. Tara: [16:12] No, no, no. And it's it's funnier and tighter and sharper if it moves faster. And that's also a problem. Dave: [16:17] I know we've talked about this before, but now that now that I know when it comes up, I'm like, mm hmm. The reason why you get those really good directors directing the pilot episode is because if they do that, they get royalties in perpetuity for the whole series. For the whole run. Tara: [16:31] Yes. Dave: [16:31] So now you know if you didn't why he came in for that first episode and then bailed. Tara: [16:37] Well, he's an, yes. I mean, he's an executive producer too. Dave: [16:40] I know, but that's why he's also, like, he may not have time or really wanted to direct it. Tara: [16:44] Sure. Dave: [16:44] But the difference is that's sort of the perk of being a director producer is that if you, like Martin Scorsese doing the first Boardwalk Empire, same deal. Tara: [16:55] For sure. Yes, absolutely. And the other thing is like part of being an executive producer at a certain level where you're not like hands-on every minute is that you are the person with clout who helps the lower people, you know, get their phone calls answered or like can, you know, create opportunities for other, and I'll give Tyga White TV. Dave: [17:13] I'm not saying he's craven. Tara: [17:14] I'm just explaining why he's there. No, no, no, of course. Dave: [17:16] Yeah. Tara: [17:16] I just want to, I agree with you, but I also want to give him credit for like really attaching himself to a lot of projects that might not have happened otherwise because he's, he's working with marginalized people from marginalized communities. So. Dave: [17:28] Yeah, more stuff like this, less love and thunder, Thor. Tara: [17:31] It would be great. Yes. And whatever that soccer movie was with the trans character that everyone got mad at. Rightly so. I have not seen it. Dave: [17:38] I don't even know what that is. Okay. Tara: [17:39] Nope. Dave: [17:40] All right. Dave: [17:54] It's time for Ask EHG, Sarah. Sarah's so happy. Sarah: [17:58] Sarah's frightened. Very, very, very scared. Oh, help. Dave: [18:10] All right. It is time for Ask EHG. If you didn't know what that was. First, we must talk about last week's Ask Ask EHG question. Our judge this week is Sarah. Sarah: [18:22] Yeah, this probably won't take long. Dave: [18:25] This might be my favorite one because it just was such a flop, flop, flop on the dock. Tara: [18:31] Yeah. Sarah: [18:32] The responses were just like, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. Dave: [18:35] No. Sarah: [18:36] Anyway, here was the question. Have you ever seen someone in an interview and decided you didn't want to see their show based on their clothes? I just saw an interview and the person was wearing such ugly shoes and I said, well, I ain't watching their show. Dave: [18:51] Okay. Tara: [18:52] Also, who was it? We don't know. Sarah: [18:54] Yeah, who what? Like, name names. There was a reason given in the Discord thread why names were not named, but I don't think I understand that either. Here's what I do understand, deafening silence, which is pretty much what greeted this. But we do have a couple of notable answers. Honorable mention to Katie Barr, who mentioned Amy Sherman Palladino's hats. Agree. Like, that's probably not why I'm never going to go and watch Gilmore Girls from the beginning. It's because I live in the world and I know that I shouldn't do that or I'll have a rage stroke. The hats don't fucking help. Dave: [19:33] But that's a good marker, right? That likes a good one-to-one hat. And then what you get when you go to Grimloor Girls. It's one thing that somebody have ugly clothes. It's one thing to have the personification of your story, of your script as headwear. Sarah: [19:48] Or like, chapeau-r-sonality. No, we're not doing that, Mrs. Maisel. Sorry. But our actual winner is Millsnack, who said, I do have an answer to this, which is Lily James's and to a lesser extent, Sebastian Stan's fashion approach to the press tour for Pam and Tommy, which just did not seem to fit either one of them as people. It felt like they were cosplaying both of them in an unflattering way, which fit my overall impression of what that mini series would be. And I steered clear. So you nailed it. Interesting. So mill snack, get yourself some more stickers. Thank you guys for answering questions. When you could and being baffled when you couldn't. Dave: [20:32] It was the bafflement that really made my day on the Discord. What the fuck? Tara: [20:36] Right. Because if your answer is no, you could just not answer. But the number of people who are like, no, it's a no. And I need you to know it's a no. Sarah: [20:47] Well, but when I read the question, I was like, oh, I bet I can come up with dot, dot, dot. And then I was like, no, I actually really couldn't. So my answer really would have been 17 dots and then no. Dave: [20:59] It was the. Sarah: [21:00] But here we all are together. Dave: [21:02] St. Louis sushi of asking issue questions. Sarah: [21:06] No, that's definitely no. Dave: [21:09] All right. So I'm sorry. Who was it? Milsnack? Tara: [21:12] Milsnack. Dave: [21:12] Milsnack. DM me on discord. I need your postal address and I will send you those stickers. I'm waiting for a new sticker to come. I made through method logo stickers, which is actually the Pee Wee Herman. And what the hell is happening with this road sticker? So just waiting for those to come in before I send out the fresh batch. All right, let's get to your questions. First one from Melissa. How many network shows have featured main characters participating in a threesome? And I think I know the answer, but I'm curious if anybody has an answer that's more than one. So Tara, you got an answer that's more than one? Tara: [21:44] Okay. Yeah. I mean, obviously they're referring to Dr. Odyssey. Dawson's Creek had the early stages of one, but it's iffy since at least one of the people in it was definitely too intoxicated to give it informed consent. That said, it was also like on Dr. Odyssey, a girl and two guys. But beyond that, I started to do research to see if there was any that I forgot before remembering this is an information I need. So do your own research, perv. Dave: [22:10] I don't need that in my search history. Tara: [22:12] Right, Sarah. Dave: [22:13] I live in Texas and there's a Trump administration coming in. I don't need that heat. Tara: [22:18] Sarah. Sarah: [22:19] Yeah, I mean I had the exact same answer as Tara pretty much down the line. Like, A I know this is referring to Doctor Odyssey B, Dawson's Creek doesn't count because only one of those people is a main character and C, this is a problem for DuckDuckGo See you there. Dave: [22:36] I mean, the new season of Frasier, maybe, who knows They'll get desperate. Not us Alright, second question is from Tipickles, our favorite Vulcan gift your co-hosts vanity plates sarah debunting make me vanity plate make tara vanity plate what do we get t-bone obviously oh yeah for. Sarah: [22:56] Dave kern dog. Dave: [22:58] That's really good and is it like k space and the rest of it all jammed up. Sarah: [23:05] It is actually as rendered in my notes uh k yeah k space and then all the rest of them. I don't know how many digits you get or how many. Dave: [23:16] You get seven, I think, most places. Sarah: [23:18] Oh, okay. Yes, us two. Dave: [23:19] Yeah. Sarah D. Bunting, seven letters, E to B. Tara: [23:23] Nice. Sarah: [23:23] Yeah. Dave: [23:24] Tara, milk fat. Tara: [23:27] Wow. Dave: [23:29] You love milk fat. Tara: [23:31] Okay. Dave: [23:31] I mean, if it's got milk fat in it, you probably like it. Well, the thing is, though. Tara: [23:37] Want to drive around with a car that says fat on it? God. Dave: [23:40] I know, but still. Anyways, what are yours? Tara: [23:43] How could you... Dave: [23:43] I'm not saying you're milk fat. I'm saying you like milk fat. Sarah: [23:47] I'm just glad I didn't get raisins. Dave: [23:49] Prove me wrong, children. Prove me wrong. Tara: [23:52] All right, well... Dave: [23:52] Well, I mean, snack girl's not fun. Milk fat's fun. Tara: [23:59] I don't want to leave now. Sarah: [24:01] Podcast over. Tara: [24:02] Oh my God. I wish I could on the fly think of something incredibly mean to give you, Dave. But yours instead is blah, B-L-U-H. And for Sarah, it's B-B-B-O-S-H. Dave: [24:15] Oh, nice. Sarah: [24:17] Oh, I love it. Dave: [24:19] All right. Next question is going to take a little bit. It comes from D3F42. Still don't know what that means. Which Muppets should be appointed as secretaries in the new U.S. Government? So filling the cabinet with Muppets, Tara. Tara: [24:33] Nice try, D3F42, but no thank you to any discussion of the actual nominees of the new U.S. government. Not going to get into that. I only picked ones for characters that I thought I had a good answer for, so I'll just run them all down. State, I'm going to go with Animal, who projects strength and resolve. Treasury, Count Von Count. Duh. Defense, Miss Piggy. She's good at that with the karate. Attorney General, Statler. I just picked at random. Mean and confrontational. Interior, going to go with Beauregard, who is the Muppet Show janitor. Agriculture, the peas, the group of peas, all of them collectively. For labor, we're going to go with Kermit, who has experience managing diverse workforces. Health and Human Services, Dr. Teeth. He's a doctor. Transportation, Fozzie, who drives the car in the Muppet movie. Energy, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. I think he's more of a chemist, but at least he's a scientist. And for education, I'm going to go with Rolf, who will not cut funding for arts education in our schools. Dave. Dave: [25:40] We had a lot of the same picks. For state, I went with the newsman. For treasury, Count Von Count. Tara: [25:47] Sure. Dave: [25:48] For defense, I went with Crazy Harry, the guy with the bombs. Tara: [25:52] Yes. Dave: [25:53] Justice, both Statler and Waldorf, metering out justice. Tara: [25:57] Sure. Dave: [25:57] Interior also had Beauregard, the janitor. Agriculture, Swedish chef. Good with food. Commerce, I put Uncle Deadly in here because I think he's rich. Tara: [26:08] Okay, probably. Dave: [26:10] I think that's his deal. He's like carpetbagger Muppet or something. Tara: [26:13] If not, we're going to hear from it from one of our listeners. Dave: [26:15] Sure. Tara: [26:16] I think we all know which. Dave: [26:18] Labor, Rizzo the rat. Health and Human Services. I also went with a doctor, but I went with Julius Strangepork. Tara: [26:25] Mm-hmm. Dave: [26:26] Transportation. Also, Fozzie the Bear, because he has access to his uncle, Studebaker. Tara: [26:30] Uh-huh. Dave: [26:31] Energy. I went with Animal here, because animal is all energy. Tara: [26:34] True. Dave: [26:35] Education. I went with Sam Eagle, because he was a headmaster in The Muppet's Christmas Carol. Tara: [26:40] Mm-hmm. Sarah: [26:41] Oh, okay. Dave: [26:42] Veteran Affairs. Oscar, because he's been in the shit. And Homeland Security. I went with Lou Zealand because he's got the fish, that boomerang. So he's got everything settled. Sarah. Sarah: [26:56] Yeah, there's some crossover here. Agriculture, I went with Camilla, a chicken. Commerce, I went with Gonzo. Not sure why. Defense is Link Hogthrob from Pigs in Space because Star Wars defense system. Bunsen Honeydew is my education secretary. Fozzie Bear is my energy secretary because he seems to have a lot. Health and Human Services was Dr. Teeth, because doctor. Homeland Security is Miss Piggy, because are you going to tell her some shit? No, you're not. HUD is Rolf. Interior is Waldorf and Statler, because they never seem to go outside. Labor is Rizzo. Seems like a pretty hardworking guy. State is Swedish chef. He's from Europe. Very diplomatic. Transportation is Scooter, because it's right there in the name. Treasury is Kermit because that's what was left and Veterans Affairs is Sam the Eagle. Dave: [27:49] I like Swedish Chef for State because I feel like he cannot be understood therefore can never be misunderstood yeah so that's a good thing exactly Jack has our next question what would be your ideal 6pm to midnight Saturday block of classic sitcoms and legal procedurals Tara. Tara: [28:09] 6 o'clock Seinfeld 6.30 The Simpsons 7 o'clock Friends, 7.30 News Radio, 8 o'clock Futurama, only the good years, 8.30 Arrested Development, 9 Law and Order, and from 10 to the midnight hour, Columbo. Dave: [28:27] Oh, Columbo. Yeah, Columbo's good. I'm going to add Columbo in and pretend I always had it in there. And the reason I'm going to add Columbo is because I didn't really have any legal procedurals because they're not really my jam. So even though that was the directive, I went outside the directive because it's my podcast. Who's gonna stop me nobody that's who so i went with twilight zone episodes news radio, seasons three through nine of the simpsons the a team 30 rock toast of london the venture brothers and of course the one that was in there from the start colombo sarah. Sarah: [29:00] Six o'clock golden girls 6 30 fraser seven o'clock cheers 7 30 night court eight o'clock law and order nine o'clock murder she wrote, and 10 to 12, a true crime film or miniseries. Tara: [29:16] Frasier before Cheers, unorthodox. Dave: [29:19] Ritten Z has your Ask Ask EHG question for this week. She says, Tulsa King has cemented my belief that Martin Starr would be an amazing hang, and I would love to get a cup of coffee with him. Who would that be for you? And I guess we're talking about TV people, but she didn't say. So if you want to go outside that, hey, knock yourself out. Go to the Discord channel, Ask Ask EHG, put your answer there. We are now in total chaos scheduling why. So the judgments will come when they come. I'm not going to try to figure it out. They're just going to happen when they happen. Sarah: [29:50] But just try to put an episode number so that we can keep it straight and make sure that stickers go to their rightful homes. Dave: [29:57] There you go. Extra work for you guys. Put the episode number. This is episode 327. And I will try to add that information as we go along. I will take a break from my month off and will come into my office and will type one sentence in with the number of the podcast. Dave: [30:17] It is time for the tiny canon this week we've got one from mr john ramos aka. Dave: [30:25] The couch baron hi extra hot great i'm very excited to be doing my first submission for the tiny canon. Tara: [31:55] Visual medium is Jamie wearing a shirt with Aisha's likeness on it that reads, gone too soon. Tara: [32:01] So Jamie's desperation for Aisha to stay even drives him to propose marriage to her. and. Tara: [33:26] Good fun. It's a sad fun. Like a cruise. I wanted to pause there because, as the panel knows, my job sometimes takes me on cruises. and a sad fun is really not a bad way to describe them. Sarah: [33:39] But with that, they both realize they're done, leading to the final exchange that's prompted the submission in clip three. Tara: [34:22] And on top of that whose teenage self among us would not want two handfuls of that butt love you guys and thanks for. Sarah: [34:29] All you do, thank. Tara: [34:32] You john dave and i have watched more of this show so i think we should close it up but sarah why don't you start. Sarah: [34:37] I wasn't sure which sections we were supposed to be watching so but i'm never unhappy to be watching a saved by the bell reboot episode so thank you for that all of this was really good and i think that this tiny canon submission and what it's about also hangs the light on what is so charming to me about the show. Sarah: [34:59] And that's that everything is really heightened and not realistic. But the way they do these wish fulfillment things, but in a not preachy way, it comes back around too sweet, even though it's almost satirizing the genre. So this was a perfect example of that and of the way that the show has of being kind of really bright and candy-colored and scathingly funny, but also there's a core of not sentiment, but you know what I mean, at the heart of it. Just that little kicker that it's like, let's just add a little acid to the dish so that it's not too sweet and you're not too focused on like, oh, would a teenage boy really talk like this? Of course he wouldn't. I'm not sure a teenage girl would talk like she talks, but it always gets at something that is true and usually funny, but sometimes also just sad fun, like a cruise. This was really a delight to watch, and that is one of the more memorable breakups in comedic television. Sarah: [36:10] So, excellent presentation, and thank you for reminding me that I have got to watch this series. Dave: [36:18] Put it on the list. Sarah: [36:20] I know it's on the list, but it needs to move up, I think. You gotta bump up. True. Fucking A. Tara: [36:27] It's definitely a trope of television, especially for sitcoms, that when a couple breaks up, And when both of them are credits cast, like it can't be too acrimonious because they're both going to still be on the show and you don't want the audience to like turn on them. I mean, when Ross and not to be me, but I can't help it. When Ross and Rachel initially break up friends, it takes like the entire rest of that season and part of the next because they like briefly get back together again and then break up again to, you know, get them back on a steady footing. Dave: [37:04] I just wanted to say, I don't know how in sync it's going to be. But if you hear something that kind of sounds like friends clapping in the background as Tara started talking about friends, that was actually our dog, Nolten, shaking his head. And that was his ears flapping around. Tara: [37:20] I can't help it. When Ross and Rachel initially break up, friends. Dave: [37:26] And it seemed like he was trying to do the clap, clap, clap thing we do. I'm just saying he might be a podcast fan. He's also feeling under the weather today. So I'll give it up to him. Tara: [37:34] He moved to the chair. Dave: [37:36] Oh, good boy. Tara: [37:36] There he is. Dave: [37:37] Loulton's got a boo-boo on his leg. Tara: [37:38] He got it. Dave: [37:39] Anyways. Tara: [37:40] He hurt his foot. Anyway, Friends and other shows, that's like I would say more so the exception than the rule when it comes to breakups like this. And Sarah is right. This is not how teens talk about breakups. They would rarely have the self-knowledge to be like, oh, I like her more than she likes me and therefore we should stop versus I like her more than she likes me, but she's still around. So let's just see how long this goes, because I think that's probably more common in reality. But yeah, John is right. The scene is it's so sweet. And it's lovely to think that they could both have this much care for each other. You do want to continue liking them both. And so this is kind of the best way things could end. And who cares about realism? This is also a show where Zack Morris is governor of California. Like, you know. Sarah: [38:36] Yeah, exactly. Tara: [38:38] It's, yeah, it's great. And the closing line is so sweet. I also hadn't really heard until we played the clip when Aisha's like, okay, I did just cringe just then. And you barely hear Jamie go, yeah. I don't know. That actor hasn't really done anything since then that I've seen. Like, where is he? Is he so funny? So great presentation, John, and great performance by that actor. Call your agent because we miss you. Dave. Dave: [39:05] It is cute. And I do like that he rewound a bit and put in the shirt because gone too soon for somebody that's moving a few blocks to a different school was really funny. And yeah, this is a tiny cannon I never would have thought of. And I'm glad it's here. Cutest breakup exchange is the tiny cannon. If you think you have another nomination for it and you want to put it in the hopper. By the way, we will start having listener tiny cannons soon. We do have a couple that are popping up during the month of December and January. But I recently reformed the submission form. So you actually can put in the correct information. The people that had submitted sort of had to put a lot of manual notes in. I apologize for that. So it's all taken care of now. So it's much more streamlined for your submissions. All right, let's put this to the official vote. Sarah D. Bunting, what say you? Tiny, canon, worthy or not? Sarah: [39:56] Yes. Dave: [39:57] Tara? Tara: [39:58] Yes. Dave: [39:58] Me too. So. Oh no that wasn't ready, it's so hard to do this okay so, tiny cannon cue this breakup exchange state bug bell reboot season one episode nine all in the hall you hereby inducted into the tie cutis break up exchange i kind of fucked up but let's go with it, Dave: [40:28] why don't you Americans. Tara: [40:31] Love a winner and will not tolerate. Dave: [40:34] A loser. Nope. All right. It is time for the not quite winners and losers of the week. My not quite winner of the week is Javier Bardem. I mean, he's the winner. He got to work. He's going to be starring in a series adaptation of Cape Fear because he wants to go back to the psychopath. Well, I guess work wonders for him in no country for old men. So why not double dip with Cape Fear? But k fear was always already a super tight great two-hour movie we don't need a fucking 10-hour version of it what's he going to do is going to be like the same thing except eight hours of filler of all the different ways he freaks out the family and hides in their car like they're going golfing he's underneath the golf cart like what are they going to do to this that's going to make a compelling 5x as long watch. Tara: [41:21] Breakout episode about the person who rolled the cigar that he smokes in the movie theater. Dave: [41:26] That's right. Sarah: [41:27] Or he's just still in his Jose Menendez costume and styling and just plays it as Jose Menendez. Dave: [41:36] We need a governing body to tell people whether it needs to be a series or a movie. I'm so fucking sick of it. Like 20% of it, get it right. I feel like of the stuff we talk about, always feel like we're trimming it or expanding it. Sarah: [41:48] The container board. Dave: [41:49] Yeah. Not Quite Loser of the Week is Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which is an animated Marvel Cinematic Universe show from Disney. And they have scrubbed a trans storyline episode from the schedule. Just to remind you, corporations are not your friend. Good reminder of that, if nothing else. Sarah: [42:09] My Not Quite Winner, it's, well, both of these are NBC properties. The Not Quite Winner is Law & Order, which has booked Mekhi Pfeiffer for season 24. And is reuniting him with his ER co-star, Maura Tierney. So that sounds almost good enough to get me to tag back into Law & Order Mothership. Not quite, but if I'm missing out, let me know. Dave: [42:32] Who does she play? Please tell me she's an attorney. Tara: [42:39] Isn't she the new captain? She's a cop, I think. Sarah: [42:43] Oh, there you go. Perfect. Dave: [42:44] It's not my captain. It's my attorney. Boo. Sarah: [42:48] My not quite loser is new york local news fans chuck scarborough the other day announced that he is retiring after 40 years of anchoring the news at nbc4 i was in an elevator with him once or twice at 30 rock very nice guy off the set too so um yeah it's the end of an era definitely for new york local news consumers tara my. Tara: [43:14] Not quite winner of the week is conan o'brien who is announced as the host of next year's Oscars. I guess with Jimmy Kimmel Live ending, they don't have to keep trying to prop up Jimmy Kimmel person by having him host every year because, of course, they air on ABC. So when they wash out on finding anyone else to do it, they usually just get him because he kind of has to. But I think Conan has done it before. As I recall, he was good. I think he will take it seriously. One of the things that I said was pro about his show on Max earlier this year is that he commits to sell a joke sometimes to his physical detriment. And I don't think he's going to act like he's above it, which was a problem that people complained about with Jimmy Kimmel a lot. So I think Conan O'Brien is a good broadcaster, a good host, and will do a good job. So this is all good. Sarah: [44:05] Great. Tara: [44:06] My not quite loser of the week is a website I had never heard of before called thehollywoodgossip.com. And the only reason I heard of it is because, oh, no, they didn't reported that this site claimed Steve Harvey may be at risk of getting fired from hosting Family Feud for his bitchy attitude. As though that is not the reason he got hired. Yeah. Dave: [44:27] Don't drink water. It's too wet. Sarah: [44:30] What? Tara: [44:31] Yes. It's like, oh, Judge Judy might lose her show because she's too sassy with the defendants. Like, that's the point. I think Steve Harvey is fine, actually, but good job. Sarah: [44:43] No. I mean, I clicked on your story. And there would be an absolute revolt if they fired him. Tara: [44:48] Of course. Sarah: [44:48] Like, I would get in the streets. Yeah. He's good. Tara: [44:52] He's great. Speaking of people that are good at hosting, Steve Harvey. Sarah: [44:56] Yeah. Tara: [45:03] Welcome in, grandpas. Oh, the things you missed. Spurious gossip stories, Muppet cabinet members, so very, very much more. Kick up that pledge and you can hear all of this and all of the archives that you've ever missed ever. Tara: [45:19] ExtraHotGreat.com slash club. For now, we want to tell you about this week's extra credit topic. It comes from Beezor Laura. She has titles it losing their shit. Beezor Laura writes, when my kids were little, I had to watch Big Bird in Japan a lot. One of the things that made this viewing experience more enjoyable was the part where Big Bird absolutely lost his shit, as you can hear here. Music. Tara: [46:38] So, what you couldn't see is the beginning of that clip is Big Bird and Barkley chasing a bus through the streets of Japan. And then when the bus does not stop for them, that's when you hear Big Bird losing it. So, back to Laura, who asks, what is your favorite example of an otherwise calm TV character completely losing it? And I added, please clip it so we can hear. I'll go first. mine is from 30 rock the fourth season finale is called i do do and in this episode someone finally notices that kenneth has been a page for uh. Tara: [47:15] Years and you're not supposed to so he gets a promotion as junior in charge boy of the entire nbc page program which is great except it means he's gonna have to move to los angeles and kenneth doesn't want to because he loves 30 rock of course. So Tracy advises him to just suck at the job so that they rescind the promotion. But instead, what happens is he's so bad at the job, he gets fired. So this is what happens at one of this episode's three weddings. Please play my cut. Hey, everybody. I got fired today. Tara: [48:13] Apartment renovations, and your overpriced Star Wars memorabilia. That doorman is hammered. I have watched you throw away better food than my family eats. Dave: [48:46] So kiss my face. That was actually really sweet. I'll see you all in heaven. Tara: [48:57] Have a wonderful summer. So it's, you know, it's sort of like Big Bird where it doesn't really totally stick the landing of rage. But like even drunk, uninhibited Kenneth is still Kenneth. I mean, he he does a big elaborate gesture where he like smacks one hand down on his other bicep and he holds his hand up and you think he's going to flip them off. But then he just gives a huge, aggressive thumbs up. So that's my pick. Thank you, Jack McBrayer. Sarah. Sarah: [49:28] Well, mine comes from the West Wing. I would not say that Toby Ziegler is an otherwise calm or ever calm anything so much as he is soft spoken as played by Richard Schiff. He's usually vibrating with tension, but just keeping it chill and using his Spaltean to work things out in his office. He's definitely the quietest voice in the room ordinarily. So I thought of that moment in The West Wing at season two, episode 18. It's called 17 People. And this is when people are starting, people on the staff are starting to be told about Bartlett's MS diagnosis. Sarah: [50:02] Toby has been simmering with this throughout the episode and then finally puts a series of questions to President Bartlett, despite warning glowers from Bartlett that Toby is getting dangerously close to, at best, a slap fight with the guy who played Charles Starkweather in a movie, not for nothing. But this is actually the middle, this clip, of a much longer scene with a lot more hollering. Sarah: [50:25] But this is the crux from a Toby standpoint, I think. And he's basically just saying, like, this diagnosis is putting everyone at risk, and your sort of flip refusal to answer my question straightforwardly is doubling down on the not great so can we hear that clip please dave so i'm led to wonder given your condition and its lack of predictability why there isn't. Sarah: [51:45] That it was Leo, who no one elected. I know this brief was probably for more like funny slash comedic drunken meltdowns. This is not that. It's hard to convey how close Bartlett is to shrieking throughout this entire scene. That's not that unusual for Bartlett, though. For Toby, I think it is. A lot of the West Wing is almost unwatchably naive and self-satisfied now. And this episode was written by Sorkin. So a lot of this scene was written by Sorkin. But, you know, Sorkin's writing can make a fine, filling meal for actors under the right circumstances. And Schiff and Martin Sheen do a great job here, as does the late John Spencer, who I miss every time I have occasion to rewatch the show. He doesn't have much to do in this scene but look stricken, but there was nobody better at looking stricken. Laura, sorry if this isn't really what you meant, but it's what's on my mind. And if anyone is interested in recalling that scene, West Wing is on Max at the moment. So if you'd like to return to a very different time vis-a-vis liberal wish casting in primetime, that's where you'll find that. Dave. Dave: [53:02] First thought, best thought. Tara: [53:06] Now, calm down, diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly. They did their best, shoddly-iddly-iddly-diddly. Gotta be nice, hostility-diddly-biddly-diddly. Buddy, got a quarter? I am shocked and appalled. Mr. Sarah: [53:52] Flanders, with all due respect, Bart didn't do anything. Do I hear the sound of butting in? It's got to be little Lisa Simpson. Springfield's answer to a question no one asked. What do we have here? The long, flabby arm of the law? The last case you got to the bottom. Tara: [54:08] Of was a case of Malamars! Malamars? Oh, that's going in the act. Oh, yeah, the clown. The only one of you buffoons who doesn't make me laugh. And as, being I have ever met. Hey, I got off pretty easy. Dave: [54:44] And then Ned Flanders just slowly walks into his car and drives through the gate of the local mental hospital and checks himself in. That's it. This is the first thing I thought of, and I couldn't think of anything better. Ned Flanders going fucking crazy. Tara: [54:58] Yep. Dave: [54:59] Yep. Sarah: [54:59] Yeah, agree. Dave: [55:02] And that is it for another episode of Extra Extra Hot Great. We open with interior Chinatown before answering your burning ass EHG questions like, what's your vanity plate and what Muppets are filling out the United States cabinet? Couch Baron got his first tiny cannon saved by the Bell's cute breakup cannon on the books. We celebrated those who weren't quite best and worst of the week and wrapped it all up with a look at level-headed characters losing their shit. Next up, it's personal authorization code on EHG Prime with Wendy Molyneux, Jeff Drake, Bobby Crutt, Sarah Baker, and Joe Reed. Remember! We're listening. I am David Teagle, and on behalf of Tara Ariano. Tara: [55:49] I'm just a pervert with a stamp fetish. Dave: [55:51] And Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [55:53] Do you not like Filet-O-Fish? Dave: [55:54] Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time right here on extra extra hot great.