Exorcising Our Demons With Millennium

Dave: [0:52] This is the Extra Extra Hot Great Podcast. episode 340 for the February 15th, 2025 weekend. I am local dung moisture bylaw, David T. Cole, and I'm here with fiery fritter, Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [1:12] It's a metaphor. Dave: [1:14] And aging stripper, Tara Ariano. Tara: [1:16] Okay, they say Chantilly and Sally, but by all means, IMDB, call me aging stripper. Dave: [1:25] Hello, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Extra, Extra Hawk Rate, the podcast made possible by you. Thank you so much for your continuing support. Dave: [1:34] It is foresending pool time, and this one comes from Research Et. It is Millennium, Season 2, Episode 21. Somehow, Satan got behind me. Why this episode, Research Et says, I've been trying to work this as a canon submission. But it turns out to be more of a three-bearer situation. One segment a little too dated, one a little too silly, and one just right. Which one is which? We'll never know. Plus, there's another one. There's four segments, so it was a big mystery. Dave: [2:05] But we're glad you sent it in. Here is the episode rundown. We start with a pretty funny cold open. There is a car misdelivering newspapers in all sorts of different ways, causing property damage, landing on roofs, setting off car alarms, making dogs bark at 3am in the morning. The old man driving this car just ends up at a donut shop and goes in, starts arguing with the donut kid at the counter over the immediacy of his coffee and apple fritter order, sits down with three older men grousing about the world today, goes back to finally get the order after the fritters cooled off, and it is revealed that these guys are actually four demons, and one of them loves the fact that the kid just peed in his coffee, as you heard at the top of the show. This episode of Millennium was written and directed by longtime Chris Carter collaborator Darren Morgan. That is the guy who wrote Clyde Bruckman's Final Reprose, Humbug, the Jim Circus Sideshow episode, and Jose Chung's From Outer Space. He was also the guy in the Flukman suit in Flukman. Dave: [3:10] This episode of Millennium follows those episodes' darkly humorous bent. To paraphrase history's greatest acting robot, Morgan's episodes always seem to be trying to destroy the show that they were written for. So here we are with Season 2, Episode 21, Somehow Satan Got Behind Me. During the episode, each demon is telling a story about them tempting and damning human souls, you know, their job, that intersects with an appearance of one of the few humans who can actually see them for who they are, Frank Black, or as I will be calling him in true Homer Simpson fashion, Millennium. Dave: [3:48] First segment is a tale about a demon hitchhiking. A young man picks up an old man, but turns out he's one of the demons. This guy has an interest in true crime. I just cut that for future use for you, Sarah, for exhibit B. Sarah: [4:11] Thank you so much. Dave: [4:13] So the young man who's driving the van that just picked up the demon hitchhiker, he knows a guy named Joey Mac Potter. Gets to know him through a prison letter writing system. Joey Mac Potter sent this guy a gift, a devil bobblehead, which he has in the van. The demon then shows this guy a picture of Joey Mac Potter to show that he is also really into true crime and suggests that the kid is actually like a really great candidate to be a serial killer. He's got all the traits. He loves true crime so much that why not just take that extra step and have at it, which he does. He kills a sex worker first, kills 35 more people to tie the record, but then goes back to the scene of the crime because that's what serial killers are supposed to do. They're supposed to go back to the scene of the crime to relive their kill. Dave: [5:02] At that revisit, there is Millennium. He's working the scene. He sort of gives the demon kind of a stare. As the van goes through the crime scene on this highway, the demon drops the bobblehead from the van in order for Millennium to discover and connect this guy with all the other previous murders, which they do. And he goes to prison where he gets a note from the demon suggesting he hang himself with his own underwear, which doesn't take. But then Joey Mac Potter is in the cell with him. Dun, dun, dun. Dave: [5:45] Killing champion. A little bit of Dark Twilight Zone there for the end of that one. That was the first segment, second segment, second demon. This starts off with a guy waking up to the evil of alarm clocks. And by the way, it is that alarm clock from the 70s and 80s that we all had. Sarah: [6:05] Yep. Dave: [6:08] You know that one still have it this one's all about the banality of evil and all the banal things this guy goes through in his life waking up to this alarm clock the evil ab crunch machine that he's using the evil razor blade that cuts him in the morning the evil clothing he has to contend with and i by the way co-sign this 100 not. Tara: [6:28] Only required to cover their god-given bodies they also tie a superfluous. Dave: [6:33] Constricting piece of cloth around their necks. For no reason whatsoever. They could step back and just think about white eyes. We dress ourselves and then we put this constricting thing around our necks. Dumb. I'm with the demons on this one. Evil coin-op laundromats. Evil chasing that first hive, whatever. In this case, going to a strip club. Sexy. They sin so. Sarah: [7:11] Yeah. Go, baby. Go. Do it. Dave: [7:31] It goes on for another 15 seconds after that, too. The evils of just being bored and channel surfing at home. And then the demon adds to that some minor irritations that he can set up, like getting a parking ticket. And then during that scene where this guy gets a parking ticket, Millennium is there, too, and he's getting a parking ticket. People just figure out their lives suck, according to the demon. And this guy certainly does. So one moment he just gets up out of bed in the middle of the night and casually jumps out of his, I'm going to guess, 244th floor apartment because the guy falls for a very long time in a very green screen moment and splats on the ground. And that's how that demon gets his souls, just letting everybody live their lives. Story number three is one demon's way of doing mass damnations. Starts off with the weird homophobic analogy. And after that, we learned that it's all about a standards and practices guy at Ant, not Fox, but Ant Network. According to the name Deskplate, did anybody catch that? Tara: [8:39] No. Dave: [8:40] His name is Waylon Figleaf. And his job is just to censor TV show scripts before they're filmed. The demon asks, so how does a standards and practices guy create this situation where you're ripe for mass damnation? And it is this reason. It's the heavy burden of the job. Ah, but you're forgetting how humans regard everything in their lives now. Tara: [9:25] Nation's morality on my very shoulders. Dave: [9:30] All right. Now, at this point, a metal track, like a metal song starts playing and Figleaf is looking around. So this is like something is happening in their universe. It's just the soundtrack. And he's trying to figure out where the hell the music is coming from. And then an Ally McBeal CG dancing demon baby enters his office and just starts moshing away. The demon says this is great because these days, instead of assuming it's a demon, people think they are bonkers. Dave: [10:00] So next scene, Waylon Figleaf is at the same parking spot as everybody was getting the tickets. And he's looking at the parking signs there. And they're all standards and practice policy stuff. Testicles by permit only. Moist dung will be towed and so on and so on as he reads this giant confusing string of signs. He is obviously starting to crack up a little bit. At the laundromat that he goes to, he starts madly sorting a stranger's smalls into acceptable and unacceptable pieces of clothing. He then goes into the strip club we've always seen and does a sort of standards and practices color commentary for the routine currently happening on the stage. And then he goes back to the office. He's on the phone with some producer shouting about how aliens, obviously the superior species, wouldn't be using Uzis. And then the dancing baby demon comes back and he's telling him the time for words is over and it's time to kill them all. And then dance, which he does. He starts dancing with the baby. He's like got this fucking crazy guy energy. This actor really does this part really well. The dancing while he's got a dirty, hairy magnum is, I don't know, it just seems pitch perfect to me. Sarah: [11:14] Yeah, very Bill Irwin, but dark. Dave: [11:17] So it turns out the Uzi toting aliens are characters from an episode of The X-Files, and they barge in on Folder and Sfully performing an alien autopsy on one of their alien friends. And the aliens are delightfully budged. They're out of a 50s movie here. And Waylon barges into the set and shoots the aliens and the cast and crew scatter. There's no dialogue from our David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson lookalikes. He then shoots himself in front of the camera. At the crime scene that follows, Millennium sees the dancing demon baby. And then back at the donut shop, one of the demons asks, so what about the mass damnation of it all? And this is the answer. Not every network has such strict broadcast standards and practices. When humans attack right after these messages. So they kept the footage and they turned it into another Fox. Remember the when X attacks? Tara: [12:27] Of course. Dave: [12:28] Shows that took me back. Sarah: [12:29] Of course. Dave: [12:30] And so that got beamed into millions of homes across the country. And that works in their favor. And that is the third of four segments. The fourth one is a demon at a strip club scares away a kid. Obviously there for his first strip club experience. simply by being a glimpse of his future. He's like, oh, I don't want to end up like this old dude. And this gets the demon a little low. Chantilly comes up, an older dancer, gives him a lap dance for 20 bucks. Like the demon, she's also kind of stuck in a rut. They bond over this and start going out. He then breaks it off for job-related soul-stealing reasons. She commits suicide in the bathtub and he freaks out crying at the scene, but he's actually happy because he's still got it, eh? Then he sees Millennium at the crime scene who says to him, you must be so lonely. And that line, as he's telling it in the donut shop, brings the whole table, hits them hard. And then they leave the donut shop one by one. The last demon to leave, the first one we saw the episode, tells the kid, great cup of coffee, keep up the good work. And that is the end of this weird episode of Millennium. Tara: [13:42] I thought this was fun. I don't think I ever watched this show. I was aware of it, of course, because I was an X-Files watcher. But I agree. I had never heard it put that way before, that Darren Morgan's always trying to break the shows that he works on. But I get the sense that this was a major departure from the Dürer version of the show. Dave: [14:01] Yeah. Well, I think in the first season, it was all about him tracking serial killers or killers anyways. Tara: [14:07] Yeah. Dave: [14:08] And then the second one, they kind of broke it out and it was more like crazy stuff. Tara: [14:12] Yeah. But this reminded me of like the best weird X-Files episodes that he also probably wrote. I mean, in every case. Most of them are in the canon, I think, because he was very talented at this sort of braiding the horror parts and the social commentary parts and the humor, all of which comes through. And I can see research at this point, like you said, we don't know which one of these she thinks is the one that she would lift out. But they do all, even within this off-tone episode, each segment sort of has its own tone. Dave: [14:45] Too. Tara: [14:46] Yeah like it feels it's it's funny to watch an anthology single episode of different episodes that could have all stood on their own if this was an adult swim show but the last one with the the senior citizen love story they're probably in their 40s is it's surprisingly like melancholy i thought the twist at the end of like he's he's crying because he's so relieved was interesting and then you know like dave said the way it brings them all down because they are lonely was like an interesting way to close it up. It could have closed on the guy falling out of the window and been more upbeat. But I like this version of what a demon's life is. Sarah. Sarah: [15:28] I liked the sort of generally the through line of like this very, very, very pitch dark humor attaching to the taking of own lives, which it's a fine, it's like a fine line. It's a knife edge to try to avoid cutting yourself on. And I think that the X-Files episodes that we know Darren Morgan is responsible for are like proof of concept for him to pull this off. I would love to know which segment was too dated and which one was too silly. The first one I did sort of feel seen, but it also felt like Wikipedia stub. And that was good. Like they sort of kept it short and they're like, here's a, you know, three name thing and here's the serial killer triad. But the only thing I didn't like about their keeping it sort of short and not getting into it too much was that that was the demon that I thought was the most interesting and flavorful in terms of his delivery, that there was a Carl Reiner in Ocean's Eleven, which is too tall for him. I don't know. They all look alike to me. I thought he was good. Dave: [16:40] There's something about that segment because it doesn't really fit into the format of the others. So I'm just kind of wondering screenplay-wise how that fit into the creation of it because the other ones have all the same locations. Like they all feature the parking, they all feature the laundromat. Tara: [16:55] Yeah. Dave: [16:56] And this one is very contained. It's just in the van as they go through stuff. So I was kind of wondering if that was the start of it. And then he had this idea and he broke it out and then it became more sort of entwined for the rest of the episode. Sarah: [17:09] Yeah, I think that was probably like, all right, well, here's the, I mean, again, a stub. And then these are like more like connected and fully explained and more kinetic. But also there's a good ear for which ones should be more like a little short story and what should be just an art story. Sarah: [17:27] But yeah, I didn't know what to expect. And I think that, you know, if you know anything about the show, you still wouldn't expect this. But this was really enjoyable and a good pick for the forsening. And while the sort of like Ally McDemon was like dancing around, and this guy is screaming that aliens, quote, still have groins and they shouldn't be kicked there. I was like, what? I mean, for any number of reasons, this would not get made today, I don't think, at least on a network. But I also just remember thinking, I'm so glad that this exists. It made me think of how I feel about David Lynch, which is even if it's just like this kind of privileging of derangement that I don't like connect to as an enjoyable viewing experience, I'm so glad that someone is just being like, I had this dream, let's try to shoot it. So, yeah, this was wild and pretty fun. And I agree with Dave that that guy, the network sensor guy, was just completely committed, sprunging around, yelling. Sarah: [18:41] Such dark humor in that segment, when he asks if the camera is still on and. Sarah: [18:46] They just nod the whole camera to say yes. It's very good. Much better than I expected. Dave: [18:53] Yeah, I was going to say, I didn't expect that from Millennium because I didn't watch Millennium at the time either. This was way funnier than I thought that show allowed. You know, I thought it was all like the serious version of the X-Files. That was the impression I had. But this one like could fit into the X-Files perfectly. Sarah: [19:10] For sure. Dave: [19:18] What if the x-files use this as their theme to the start with all the flashes of ufos and mysterious storms and stressed out faces screaming i think it would be more popular than it is right now, All right, you probably couldn't hear that over the theme, but that was me doing the last little bit of the X-Files theme. No judgments this week because this is a pre-tape. I do want to say before we get into the questions for us, ask EHGs. You don't have to submit them just on the Discord. If you're not on the Discord, you can still submit them. The link is right in the show notes. It goes to a Google form, so you don't need to be on the Discord to do it. But that's where most of the questions do come from, but not necessarily so. So if you're not on Discord, but you have a question for us, just check out the show notes and fire away. All right. First question comes from Alicia. What show that hasn't yet had a D.B. Cooper plotline needs one? Going back to the old school. All right. Tara: [20:26] High potential. Gather whatever evidence you do have. Put it on a board. She's going to figure it out. Sarah. Sarah: [20:33] That is really good. Dave, you can just play that clip and make everyone sweet. Dave: [20:38] I didn't have it handy, so I had to wing it. Sarah: [20:42] Okay. So maybe this does happen in a latter season of The Americans that I haven't gotten to yet, but finding out that D.B. Cooper was affiliated with The Center as in illegal would be pretty perfect. I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen, though, because someone would have told me about it and spoiled me on it. So let's go to current shows. Obviously, I hope. I cherish the hope that the final season of P-P-P-P-P-Push Legacy chooses to reward my faithful viewing slash plugging of the program with the Deeb's reference, but we'll see. Only another month. Tara: [21:20] Deeb's. Sarah: [21:21] Dave. Dave: [21:21] All right. I have the absolute perfect show to do it, but first. All right, buckle up for my suggestion. And I'm going to say it, and it's going to be like three seconds of silence. And then you're going to be like, that's the best fucking pick ever. Paradise. Tara: [22:01] Oh, yeah. Sarah: [22:02] It's pretty good. Dave: [22:03] Thank you. Sarah: [22:04] Yep. Dave: [22:06] Catherine, what's a real thing you once assumed was made up because you saw it in the context of a fictional TV show, Bortles? I thought that was something just made up. I didn't realize that was a real world reference. I don't know if it makes it any funnier, but I don't know. Bortles did not even occur to me. Something that sounds so weird was actually a thing in the universe in which we inhabit. Tara: [22:27] Well, I have one for you that you didn't say, which is the Chicken Tonight jingle from, because you saw it in The Simpsons, you didn't realize that was a real product. Dave: [22:35] You keep on saying that and I keep on saying you're wrong. Tara: [22:38] All right. Dave: [22:38] It's not the first time you brought that to the table. Tara: [22:40] Okay, well, cut that out then. Dave: [22:42] No, no, we'll just leave it in as a measure of how well we know each other. Tara: [22:45] All right. My actual answer for myself is when we get a flashback to Marge and Homer's wedding, he brings out a cake to a whale of a wife. And I did not realize at the time that was a reference to the Carvel ice cream cake. The end. Dave: [23:00] Alicia is back. It's been a long time since we heard from Alicia. What are your go-to foods and drinks for when you are happy, sad, or rageful? I just got fixated on rageful. What's rageful eating? Like, what is that? Like, you get a crusty baguette and you're just like, just a dramatic fashion in which you tear it with your teeth. Like, seriously, what is rageful eating? That's my question. Tara: [23:24] It's really hot. It inflames you more without the anger. Dave: [23:28] All right. Tara, what do you got here? Tara: [23:31] You don't have answers? Dave: [23:32] No, I just got fixated on the fucking Rachel eating. I don't understand it. Tara: [23:36] For me, all of those are situations where you need a treat. I don't necessarily have a different answer for the different moods. But when you need a treat, duh, Dairy Queen, I'm going to get either a Turtle Blizzard or a classic chocolate dipped vanilla cone. Dave: [23:50] Sarah. Sarah: [23:50] I agree. Like it's pizza or mac and cheese because they are treats, but I'm on the savory side of those treats. And if I'm feeling rageful or anxious, like on that side of the head up, but bad emotional spectrum, I don't usually feel like eating. So beverage wise a bourbon manhattan will help and then hinder any mood and uh if you don't drink blueberry lemonade polar seltzer also meets any emotional occasion all. Dave: [24:22] Right racial eating what like if it was soup you'd be like god damn fucking boss yeah everything did i get those reports out by the end of the week all right fine. Sarah: [24:35] Yeah how am i supposed to grumble if i'm also eating Milsnack. Dave: [24:41] What are we forgetting? Tara? Tara: [24:44] I mean, you said you wouldn't, but 9-11. Never forget, they said. But you did. Dave? Dave: [24:52] Sarah? Sarah: [24:55] Keys they're in your other coat every time my. Dave: [24:58] 79 we heard you give all your opinions on justified primeval when it premiered but after seeing the whole season what are your thoughts now sarah what are your thoughts now. Sarah: [25:08] Well i think i've seen it recently um more recently than tar and dave but i have to admit that it kind of slid out of my head pretty shortly thereafter like i wanted Boyd Holbrook's character to get killed a lot. He did. I was content. I would have watched another season with another big bad, but I don't mind that it didn't get one. At least it hasn't yet. I assume that window was closed. I liked it during it and kind of was okay with not remembering it after. So I guess what we're forgetting is justified city primeval. Tara: [25:44] Tara? Yeah, I agree. It didn't need to happen. I'm not mad that it did, but I don't remember anything about it. I forgot that Boyd Holbrook was in it. I forgot he got killed. It was weird to see Raylan outside Kentucky. I vaguely remember the annoying daughter, and that's kind of it. So, you know, it was a good time. I don't need it. I don't need more. Dave? Dave: [26:07] I am totally into show follow-up questions and ask ESG. I think it's a good idea because sometimes we forget to circle back on things. Sarah: [26:15] Yeah, true. Dave: [26:16] But this question needed to come into my life 18 months ago. Tara: [26:20] Yeah. Dave: [26:21] I think I was whelmed by it. The RC Cola version of Justified. It's fine. I'll drink it. Okay. The only thing I remember is that the killer sure does like walking around in his underwear a lot. That's like the only visual icon. Sarah: [26:35] Tidy whiteys in a kimono. Shut up, Boyd Holbrook's character whose name we forget. Dave: [26:41] Shane M. A la Galaxy Quest, the EHG crew and special guests must staff the Starship Enterprise from the original series. Who is taking over the main cast positions? Tara is the captain. Sarah is the subspace theorist, who I learned as a crew member position, who yells space a lot in her duties. I should probably be in engineering, given what I do for the podcast, but I opted for communications because it just seems like less stress. Being the only person who listened, who I know is a doctor, Dr. Dan Casino is chief medical officer. Sarah: [27:17] Ooh, okay. Dave: [27:18] Nick Reinwell-Jones runs 10 forward. it. I'm going to put Josh Gondelman in ship counselor. He would be very empathetic. And Andrew Cunningham gets killed by a hologram program come to life. Wow. Sarah. Sarah: [27:33] Well, I felt that Spock was Tara because, you know, universally beloved, competent, cool under pressure, and always wearing a blue top. Bones is me because he's definitely the biggest grump. So that leaves Dave as Kirk, but then Dave just feels like a more Scotty guy, so I'm bringing back Smooth Joey Apollo Reed to guide us through space in the captain's chair. Horace Kim Reed, Sulu and Chekov are Heather and Jessica the Fug Girls, and that's kind of all I got. Tara: [28:10] I also made me Kirk, since I'm the most in charge of scheduling and booking, etc., without doing the most actual production work. Dave: [28:17] You think a lot of yourself. Jesus. Sarah: [28:20] I said in charge. How are you supposed to be wig cop? How are you supposed to be wig cop to yourself? Do you wear a girdle? No. I have issues with this. But anyway, continue. Tara: [28:29] All right. For Spock, I put Willa Paskin, because she was the most science-y guest I can think of, in that she does investigations. I don't know. For McCoy, I put Nick Reinwell-Jones since he's not a doctor, but his wife is a nurse practitioner. I think that's as close as we get other than Dan Casino, not a medical doctor. Sarah, you are Uhura in communications, facilitating all of that stuff. Dave, I also put as Scotty, engineering and problem solving. For Sulu, the helmsman, I put Eve Beatty because she is the only person other than me and Dave I know who does as many road trips. and as Chekhov, the navigator, I put Philip Michaels because he works for Tom's Guide so he knows how to get places. Sarah: [29:11] Ooh, yeah, I like these. Dave: [29:12] What if we had to put a villain in the mix? What if we like, who's Khan in our universe? Tara: [29:17] Oh. Dave: [29:17] Hmm? Mm-hmm. Tara: [29:20] Mm-hmm. Dave: [29:21] Mm-hmm. Tara: [29:21] Mm-hmm. Dave: [29:22] Who's like super intelligent, but malicious, vindictive. Tara: [29:29] But righteously angry, so I'm going to say Mo Ryan. Dave: [29:32] Mm-hmm. Tara: [29:33] And I think she would be fine with that, actually. Dave: [29:36] I don't know why I see Adam Grosworth as con. Tara: [29:40] I think he'd be fine with that, too. Dave: [29:42] Okay. LTE has our next question. I recently finished watching Patriot and discovered there is an obscure podcast by the showrunner Stephen Conrad about Leslie Claret reading his textbook, In Universe textbook, The Integral Principles of the Structural Dynamics of Flow. What show do you think should have a podcast dedicated to an obscure piece of it? Tara: [30:04] It's not that obscure, but it is small in any given episode. I want a podcast that is just Deshaun Wesley from Legendary hyping me up like he does during Redemption Battles. And I have a clip. Let this damn redemption battle begin. You better vote, Let's go. I want to see redemption, bitch. I want to see redemption now I want to see redemption Dimption shake, beat it up right now I want to see redemption, bitch Say, I want to see. Tara: [30:57] Give me redemption, bitch. Give me redemption, bitch. Rit, rit, rit, rit, rit, rit, rit, rit. Jenna, 3,003. And hold that pose for me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. Meow. Okay. He doesn't even observe his own counting. I love just making up noises. That's so great. Great. I got to figure out how to make that my alarm in the morning, honestly, because that would really get me hype. I'd love that man. Sarah. Sarah: [31:35] I would like to hear a podcast called slough house beautiful the actual slough house and slow horses why is the door so shit i get that it's supposed to blend in but it probably shouldn't be so literally physically hard to get into and out of the building and the building shouldn't be about to fall down all the time how was this building chosen what was it originally what used to occupy the site. Just a whole sort of like land and deeds history of the site and the memoranda exchanged about designating it for this purpose, read aloud in toffee British accents, would be interesting to me and me alone. And if this is in the books, I bought a couple of them for my husband for Christmas, so let me know if McCarran gets into it. Dave: [32:23] Mine is also a supplemental podcast coming from Britain. Tara: [32:27] My mate Paul met this Italian couple whilst he was backpacking, and they invited him back to their room for a threesome. Dave: [32:46] Filmed it. And that's a side of drug use that Paul McCartney doesn't sing about, isn't it? So Mike Baggasse is my May Paul from my May Paul. Tara: [32:56] That's a great answer. Dave: [32:58] All right. Ellen F. has our last question. Which show had the biggest drop off from being all over the cultural zeitgeist while it was on to never hearing anybody mention it once it's over? They are putting Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty up for good examples of this phenomenon. Sarah, what do you have? Sarah: [33:16] Yeah, those are really good examples. I feel like we're maybe not good people to ask about this definitely because we do this for a living and the echo chamber is real for some of these shows. And it's like, why doesn't anybody talk about The Leftovers anymore? Was anybody who did not review television for a living even talking about The Leftovers? Not necessarily. With that said, I think that there was a period of HBO non-limited, limited series that everybody that was water cooler TV still in the before time, and then they just fell off a cliff. So my answer is Big Little Lies. And also, to some extent, Fleabag. I feel like everybody talked about that a lot for two or three years, and now nobody really does anymore, which is odd to me. Dave: [34:06] Dave well i think the poster child for this has to be game of thrones i mean you could not escape game of thrones for whatever it was six years and then with the last whatever a couple seasons where everybody started bagging on it because it was not following the published material and now like nobody really talks about game of thrones in the same way even if there's like a lot of game of thrones stock it was so much back in the day yeah it was like what did you get at the grocery store well i got game of thrones milk because why not it was like crazy how much people were talking about game of thrones and inserting it into everything and coming up with all these you know bullshit think pieces about game of thrones so game of thrones i think is the top one i'm also going to put in house of cards into this yeah. Sarah: [34:46] I thought about adding that but it was like. Dave: [34:49] Super buzzy and then there's. Sarah: [34:51] A reason for that. Dave: [34:52] There's a reason for that of course sure heroes remember how much fucking everybody was high on heroes when it started and very quickly fell off the face of the earth, but somehow managed to get a reboot series, which again, fell off the face of the earth almost immediately. And the other one I'm going to put in here is Twin Peaks. I think Twin Peaks was extremely buzzy in the first season. It was like the show everybody was talking about. And then even in the second season, before it even was rebooted, it sort of fell off for whatever reason. But those are my suggestions. Tara: [35:26] Along the lines of House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, considering all the talent in it, it's really, it was a thing and then not a thing. And it was on for so much longer than you remember. On the HBO side, I'm going to say True Blood. That was like a big campy thing. Sarah: [35:42] Good one. Tara: [35:42] I never hear that anyone revisited. Fargo in between seasons is, it's just like it doesn't exist. I mean, people aren't discovering it. And when they added Designing Women on Hulu a couple of years ago, I really thought it would have a moment like Frasier did a few years back when it seemed like everyone I followed on Twitter was watching it again. But I'd never see anyone talking about Designing Women. So, you know, it's still there. It could still happen. Dave: [36:10] Lego vip has your ask ask e hg question for this week in sketch comedy endings are notoriously hard what are some of the best sketch endings got a candidate go to our discord go to the ask ask e hg channel plop it in there and we'll be back soon with a judgment on that one. Dave: [36:29] It is time for the tiny canon presenting this week is listener erica the name bob ross conjures up a lot of images. Happy little clouds, trees. Tara: [37:53] Ross cleans his paintbrush into the signature moves, Tiny Cannon. Thank you. Thank you, Erica. Sarah, why don't you start? Sarah: [38:02] Thank you, Erica. I'm wondering if this is one of those submissions that relies on the panel's age, but I don't know how people consume Bob Ross here and beyond. But this was like the original slow, soothing PBS slash rain delay television. I found as a young teen that putting this on when I had terrible cramps had a Pavlovian effect. While I was waiting for the three Tylenol to kick in, I would just watch Bob. He always seemed to be on when I needed him. What I like about this particular nomination is that we think of Bob Ross as like exclusively soothing, gentle, and nurturing to your mid-century artistic soul. But this is a pretty often memed clip and on the like one and a half entendre basis. And it's evidence that even Bob and that welcoming halo of hair felt frustration and needed an outlet for negative feelings, which makes him even more relatable. So this is a very clever, fun submission. And I agree. I concur. Dave: [39:12] I like to think that because I know that he was trapped in that hair, that he really didn't want to have that hair after a little while. And the producers are like, you gotta keep the hair, Bob. That this brush thing was like his one on air outlet for his hair rage. Hair rage! Sarah: [39:32] And he earned it. Tara: [39:34] I don't think I've ever seen a full episode of this show. It's just, it's not part of my culture, I guess. I did watch the short version of the compilation clip. The one I watched was like three minutes. And it was funny to see how samey they all are across episodes. Like, beat the devil out of it. He is one that he says a lot. He does the same gestures every time he explains what he's doing and why. And, you know, the odorless paint thinner. How it makes a mess in the studio. and there's slight variations on that. Like, it gets on the floor. It gives my crew funny-colored freckles. Like, it's so wholesome. And he seems a tiny bit sheepish about it each time. Like, after he's done the flick, he sort of giggles. Like, it's... Dave: [40:18] Yeah. He's going to apologize to the brush off air. Tara: [40:20] Yeah. Yeah. Yes. It's very sweet and wholesome. And it, you know, it gives you a picture of, like, what people love about this show. Which, like, even though I haven't seen the whole episode, obviously I'm aware of it, what it is. This is a funny thing to seize on and pick out, but obviously you are not alone if someone put together 46 minutes of it. Holy crap. This was a very nice introduction to one of his idiosyncrasies and how he lets the viewer come in, whether it's their very first episode. He would have no way of knowing that. But if you are coming to a brand new fresh, you're still going to learn as much about it from the 40th episode as you would if you had watched the first. So I love that. Dave. Dave: [41:03] There was a chunk of time, I'm going to guess, in the late 70s, early 80s, where the joy of painting was the closest thing to something entertaining for a little kid on TV on Saturday at two in the afternoon. So you've been watching cartoons all day. Those devolved into hated fishing shows. And then the joy of painting came on. That was like, you know, the closest thing. So I watched a lot of joy of painting and I was always just like, I don't know why. I always thought, like, this is the, it was sort of like the Roadrunner cartoons. Like, oh, this is the time he doesn't paint mountain and trees. This is the time the coyote's actually going to catch. But, you know, it's always mountain and trees. What are you doing, Dave? So I've seen a lot of this. The signature move, the concept as a tiny no-neck is really great. I was immediately thinking what else can go into it. Tara: [41:51] The shirt tug on TNG. Dave: [41:53] Yeah, exactly. But just listening to that clip instead of watching it and not having the benefit of the audio. And then a super cut of that really reminds me of that scene from Clone High where Gandhi has ADD and he's like, rhythm is everywhere. There's like a certain madness to what's going on in the studio when Bob is like smacking his brush around that I feel is like reflected in Gandhi and Clone High, which I also enjoyed. Who's going to go against Bob Ross? Like what kind of monster? This is like, you know, naming your bill going to Congress, you know, like, let's protect kids act like, oh, fuck. What is it about building nuclear plants? But we got you. I feel like this is a little bit of that, too. Even if I really didn't like Bob Ross, I feel feel like I would have to vote for it anyways in order to, you know, not get mobbed. So let's put this to the official vote. Sarah, what say you? Sarah: [42:50] I say yay. Dave: [42:51] Tara? Tara: [42:52] Yay as well. Dave: [42:53] All right. so bob ross's brush glinting from the joy of painting and we hereby inducted into the extra hot great tiny signature move canon you. Tara: [43:05] Didn't actually vote. Dave: [43:05] Who cares okay i'm just telling you in case. Tara: [43:09] You do all. Dave: [43:14] Right move over not quite winners and losers of the week it is time for the not quite top 11 lists, I will go first with TV show titles that sound like bad porn titles, Letter A Edition. Here we go. Number one, A Bunch of Munch. Number two, Aftermash. Number three, Agatha Christie's Marple. Number four, Almost Family. Number five, the angry beavers. Number six, from the UK is the animals of farthing wood. Number seven, Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown. Sarah: [44:09] We miss him. Dave: [44:10] Number eight, Are You Being Served? Number nine, Around the Horn. And closing up our list, letter A titles that sound like porn titles. It's Astro Blast. Sarah: [44:26] Oh, my. Yes. Tara: [44:29] Yes, it is. Dave: [44:31] Sarah D. Bunting, what do you got? Sarah: [44:33] I have 10 mid-century cop shows that Leslie Monica Quartermain Charlson guest starred in. Charlson was best known for playing the unlucky in love Dr. Monica Quartermain on General Hospital because, you know, everyone on Soaps is unlucky in love. That's the point of them. I did not know that she had passed away last month at 79 years of age. Just heard about that this morning, so I am memorializing her with a list of some cop shows she guested on, mostly because some of them sound really wild and fake. I will also note that she probably had another dozen guest shots on PI shows, but I kept it to strictly law enforcement here. Number one, NYPD starring Jack Wharton. Number two, Mannix. Number three, Adam-12. I am starting to see a lot of overlap with Dave's porn list, actually. Sarah: [45:26] Number four o'hara u.s treasury which also featured joey tata so we might be seeing that show and again with again with this search starring burgess meredith among others probably should have been called dirty cia tricks for clarity but guess that didn't pass muster number six the rookies aka the show that probably got kate jackson the role on charlie's angels levels? Seven, The FBI, with Ephraim Zimbalist Jr. Number eight, Caribe, which was basically Miami Vice 1975 edition, starred Stacey Keech and Carl Franklin as Crockett and Tubbs. Number nine, Extra Extra Heart Creates Old Friend, The Streets of San Francisco. And number ten, Most Wanted, a single-season mid-70s joint starring Robert Stack, which I may or may not go and try to watch later today. Tara. Tara: [46:24] In honor of our lead topic, Millennium, created by Chris Carter, I have the not quite top 11 things I have in common with Chris Carter that we could discuss if we ever met. Number one, he's very into surfing, something I would love to be into. I did try, but when I took lessons, I sucked at it big time. Number two, he worked at Surfing Magazine, eventually working up to being editor-in-chief at 28. I also ran a beloved niche publication when I was 28 with the other two people on this call, in fact. Tara: [46:54] Number three, as a pottery hobbyist, he made hundreds of thousands, according to Wikipedia, pieces of dinnerware, most of which he subsequently threw out. I've also thrown out dishes by breaking them. Number four, one of his first jobs in TV was on the orphan sitcom Rags to Riches, a show I watched in depth within the last 10 years, which means we probably both have strong opinions about Heidi Ziegler, who played the youngest saxophone playing orphan Mickey that I hated so much when I watched that show. Number five, after Rags to Riches, he created a sitcom called A Brand New Life with Barbara Eden and a young Jenny Garth. So we probably both have strong opinions about Jenny Garth as well. Tara: [47:33] Number six, he had barely read any sci-fi before he created The X-Files. I, of course, can barely read. Number seven, he made The X-Files in Vancouver, so I'm sure we can compare notes on how overrated we both think it is. Number eight, after the latest season of The X-Files, Gillian Anderson said she would not play Dana Scully again. I am also probably unlikely to work with Gillian Anderson again in the future. Number nine, Carter made a pilot called The After for Amazon that never got picked up to series so i'm sure we both have a lot of shit we'd like to talk about that company together and finally number 10 carter has stepped away from tv to focus on his art collection and given his blessing to ryan coogler taking over the x-files franchise for disney i would also love someone talented and cool to carry on my legacy while i do nothing in particular all day so good job chris carter giving us all something to aspire to. Tara: [48:30] We welcome in the grandpas for our extra credit segment. Just a reminder of all of the episode you're missing when you don't kick up your pledge to the $5 level. We talked about Millennium for the Forsening. We talked about Bob Ross's love of painting. We did not quite top 11 lists. We answered questions about who we would be on the Enterprise and what we're forgetting. And food, of course. It is really drifting into being a food podcast. That joke a couple of weeks ago. really not a joke go to extrahotgreat.com slash club for more information on everything including our ongoing campaign to add more segments and more features and more drunk dave call-in show today's topic comes from me and called it i choo choo choos you on your birthday because it's valentine's day but it's also several tv stars birthdays i invited my co-host to pick one of these Valentine's Day babies or one of their TV characters where applicable and plan a date that would make them feel special amid all of the hearts and cupids that everyone else is celebrating. And then also pick the one of these you would least like to spend their birthday with and tell us why. Since it was my topic, I'll go first. First, some runners-up that I did not pick. Danai Gurira, whose Walking Dead character Michonne could probably use a spa day. Yul Kwan from back when I still watch Survivor and who I assume is still a hot person I would enjoy gazing at across a candlelit table. Tara: [49:57] Florence Henderson, who if nothing else would imbue our time together with what else? Wessonality. But obviously, I'm going to be James Eckhouse's date for his birthday. For those who don't know, James Eckhouse is probably best known for playing Jim Walsh, father to Brenda and Brandon on Beverly Hills 90210. I'm going to start our time together at the restaurant bar with a heavy pour of a Manhattan. He is not from Manhattan, but he did get his BFA from Juilliard. I'm going to tell our server to delay seating us for just a few minutes so I can sneak him a cheeky weed gummy too. When we do get to the table and he's had his first glass of wine, I'm going to assume he's sufficiently lubricated to tell me some stories about working on 90210, stressing up top. I only want to hear good things about the young cast members who have died, which cast member was the least professional, most entitled, spent the most time boring everyone about his aspirations as a musical artist and dancer, you know, that kind of thing. Tara: [50:53] But because this is about making it a nice birthday for him, I will drop this line of questioning by the time our entrees arrive and ask him about the non-90210 topics strangers are probably much less curious about, like his career as a director, his work as an acting teacher, what it was like to be directed by Albert Brooks in Defending Your Life and Adrian Lyne in Fatal attraction. I will give him what every older person wants, especially on their birthday, my undivided attention. And then for dessert, I will surprise him with a local favorite from his native Chicago, a piece of birthday cake under a frozen custard sundae from Lickety Split. By the way, I didn't research what wine I would order because I don't care, but I did look up what are some good famous ice cream shops in Chicago. So Lickety Split, I will see you next time I go. And finally, when I take him home, I'll pour him a brandy and ask him to show me photo albums of his career because while some dates end with dancing, he is turning 70 today and I feel like he would probably rather chill and would appreciate it if I encourage him to go change into his t-shirt and basketball shorts while I'm getting his drink ready. If he's anything like my dad, who is also 70. I actually do think he has stories beyond bitchy anecdotes about 90210. He seems gregarious and I bet we would have fun and I'll hold when we do all of our dates and then who we'd least want to spend the time with. Dave. Dave: [52:08] Florence Henderson. Tara: [52:10] Yep. Dave: [52:10] First, we have a light dinner and discuss her 1996 appearance on You Don't Know Jack, Volume 2. Before, going back to her place, where I'm going to strip naked and cover myself with Weston oil and make sweet, sweet love. Tara: [52:31] Oh my God. He's going. Sarah: [52:35] I hate this. I hate it here. Tara: [52:38] Sarah, I think I know who you're going to pick, but let's see if I'm right. Sarah: [52:43] Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars. Tara: [52:45] Yeah. Sarah: [52:47] So we're doing a stakeout. Tara: [52:50] Nice. Sarah: [52:51] But S-T-E-A-K stake. I will have Goldbelly send a Ruth's Chris spread or something similar. I will prepare it and deliver it to his easily overlooked four-door sedan near a no-till motel. Reserving the meat-free sides for myself. But letting him take a post-prandial nap after he eats while I cover whatever motel door we're sitting on and looking for whoever we're looking for. Once he is awake again and refreshed, I will get the process-y download about STAKE's stakeout process, learn tips and tricks for staying awake all night, how you get your mind off having to pee, etc. And, uh, that's it. What happens in the backseat is no one's business and does not require a cue from the soundboard. Dave: [53:44] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's still plenty of meat on that bone. Sarah: [53:49] Nope. No. Tara: [53:54] The Valentine's Day birthday boy or girl I would least like to spend with is Teller of Penn and Teller fame. Obviously, I'm going to have to do all the talking. That would be tedious for both of us, but especially me. Speaking of tedious, I don't need him doing illusions throughout our time together and elaborately miming that while I was in the bathroom, they delivered my dessert and then it disappeared. Teehee, celebrate your birthday with Penn and leave me out of it. Dave. Dave: [54:20] I picked Zach Galligan. First, we'd have a light dinner. Then as it happens with Zach Galligan every time he leaves his house Phoebe Cates walks in and recites the whole my dad died in the chimney role playing Santa Claus speech from Gremlins mm-hmm, Then, I strip naked, I cover myself with Weston oil, and make sweet love to whoever sticks around. Tara: [54:51] Wow, that's so boingy. Sarah. Sarah: [54:59] The person I least want to go to tape with is Dave. when I actually am so big teller. Because, I mean, there's a slight chance that it could be fun in a, all right, let's see how this goes, kind of meeting a challenge way. He is quite expressive without being verbal. But if his commitment to the bit extends to what Tara so wisely referred to with many verbal eye rolls as illusions, and also to a performance of John Cage's 433, during which I will absolutely get the church giggles at like the eighth second or have eaten cabbage at dinner prior to the show and desperately need to rip a sizzler. It's not going to be a good time. I mean, for anyone else, it will be hilarious to me at a story that I dined out on for years, but not with Taylor because he's not going to have a good time and neither am I. Tara: [55:59] This is part of our lives now okay. Dave: [56:04] Well, guys. Sarah: [56:05] And the Wesson oil. Dave: [56:06] That is it for another episode. Sarah: [56:08] Not acceptable. Dave: [56:10] We gathered together to discuss Millennium's Demon Flashbacks episode before answering your burning ass EHG questions like, where TV should DV Cooper jump into next? And what show went from 60 to zero the fastest? Erica cleaned up at the first tiny signature move canon with Bob Ross's brushwork. We celebrated those who weren't quite the best and worst of the week and wrapped it all up by choo-choo-choosing a TV star to take out on Valentine's. Next up, it's the White Lotus Season 3. Remember! We're listening. I am David Teakle, and on behalf of Tara Ariana. Tara: [56:56] There's some places women don't belong. Dave: [56:58] And Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [56:59] Dry Dave, not moist. Dave: [57:03] Thanks for listening We'll see you next time Right here on Extra Extra Hot Great, In Texas all you get is dry rubs there