Is How To Get To Heaven From Belfast A Journey Worth Taking?

Dave: [0:24] This is the Extra Extra Hot Great Podcast, episode 395 for the February 14th, 2026 weekend. I am non-crack-using-crack-addict David T. Cole, and I'm here with BAFTA nominee Tara Arellano. Tara: [0:46] Oh, what an honor. Welcome to Extra Extra Hot. Great for another weekend. Sarah is still out. Sarah's probably going to be out for a while, so assume Sarah's out until we tell you Sarah's back. But in the meantime, send her good thoughts. Tara: [1:12] America's cookie jar. That's right. Thank you so much for your support. Thank you for joining us for this discussion of how to get to heaven from Belfast. Dave: [1:22] Up. Tara: [1:23] You'd think. Saoirse, Roisin Gallagher, Greta, Natasha O'Keefe, Robin, Sinead Keenan, and Dara, some name I will not even attempt. First name is C-A-O-I-L-F-H-I-O-N-N. Dave: [1:40] You ready to have your mind blown? Tara: [1:41] What? Dave: [1:41] Queelan. Tara: [1:42] Get out of here. Dave: [1:43] That's how you say it. Tara: [1:44] Wow. Okay. Well, Queelan done. Good for you for looking it up. We're all friends in whatever they call high school in Ireland, which is when something scandalous happened that they all agreed to keep secret forever. 20 years later, Greta has drifted away from the rest of them, moving to a village in the Donegal, marrying someone they don't know. Then, Greta's sister-in-law emails all of Greta's old friends to let them know Greta has died in case they wanted to come and pay their respects. The three friends make the journey, but getting closer to the life Greta had without them only raises more questions like, is Greta really even dead? The show was created by Lisa McGee, who previously brought us Dairy Girls. All eight episodes of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast dropped on Netflix February 12th. We might talk about events from any of them, but we'll probably focus on the first three. Let's do the Chen check-in. Dave, should our listeners watch How to Get to Heaven from Belfast? Dave: [2:40] I wanted to like this show more than I did, so It has some structural Netflix-y problems, so I'm going to give this one a marginal pass. Tara: [2:49] I wanted to like something from the creator of Dairy Girls because I like Dairy Girls a lot, but this is not what I want her to do. So it's a pass for me as well. Let's get into it. I mean, the Netflix-y stuff, let's start here. I'll stop complaining about this when every platform stops making 30 of them a year. There are ways to introduce stakes to your TV series without anyone having to be murdered or not. Dave: [3:15] Society says no, you're wrong on that one. Tara: [3:18] Well, I know that. It's just so tiresome. The problem is like there are funny moments and interactions between the characters where as a viewer, I felt like Lisa McGee was relaxing into the comedy and like just having fun writing crazy bitches bickering with each other. And I just wanted to tell her that's enough. That can be a show. But I guess, like you said, the marketplace says otherwise. Dave: [3:42] Yeah, I think there's a lot of agents talking to their good writer, comic leading talent and saying, you know what people are buying right now, left and right, stuff with murders in it. Tara: [3:53] Yeah. Dave: [3:54] So that's why you have this. That's why you had that deadlock. Tara: [3:58] Right? Dave: [3:59] Is that the name of it? Tara: [4:00] The Australian one. Dave: [4:01] Kate and Kate from Australia? Tara: [4:02] Yes. Or New Zealand, whichever it was. Dave: [4:04] Oh, yeah, right. Yeah. I feel like they're not exactly playing into their strengths. And the moments where you get where they are tapping into their sort of previous talent as strict comedy writers lands. But within the greater work isn't quite gelling properly. They're not flipping the tone in a way that feels solid here. When they decide to go from bickering to the mystery of the symbol somebody painted on the wall in the abandoned cab and stuff, you're like, okay, that flip-flop didn't really transition well. So it's got that problem to it. Plus the Netflix issues that are all Netflix series that we all know, you know, from the second screenifying of the dialogue and the sort of cyclical nature of exposition in these things to just being 10 pounds a show and a 30 pound bag. Tara: [4:57] Yeah, I was stunned that there were eight of them by the time we got through the first couple, because it's so padded out with exposition of stuff that happened in the same episode or flashbacks we've already seen five times. And like I said, we only watched the first three. Dave: [5:11] And you would forgive it if the rest of it was working, right? Like I say, if the murder mystery wasn't really compelling because it was moving too slow. But the character work of the main three, but also like the surrounding cast and you see parts of it. That's what I mean. It's frustrating because you see like the in-owner. Tara: [5:31] Yeah. Artilo Hamlin. Dave: [5:32] Yeah. And the really terse waitress he has working there. Like there's some good little characters here. And even like the romantic interest cop that's in town, cop slash car mechanic slash helper out or around places. Like you could see that working on its own in that silo too. But then it gets bogged down when they start going into the mystery because it's a little yellowjacket-y. They're shown as teenagers in school, but also they're adults. Yeah, it's got a little bit of green jackets, I guess. And when that happens, it's not as good as that as it is at the comedy character moments. But there's not enough of those to make up for the weaker mystery. Tara: [6:17] Yeah, I could see another version of this show where instead of it being a season long mystery, it's like a procedural where Liam, the cop slash mechanic slash whatever, is the protagonist. He's solving like little stupid piddly crimes in this teeny tiny town. And like he and the waitress and Seamus, the innkeeper played by Ardolo Hanlon, are like the continuing characters. And then the rest of the time, it's like, well, my cat is missing or whatever. Dave: [6:45] Okay, but then the cop also, in addition to being the mechanic and general handyman around town, also has to be a vicar now. Tara: [6:52] Yes, sure, exactly. Exactly. Like, that's a funnier show. Dave: [6:57] Yeah, and that doesn't need to be like a pure comedy either. Like, there are shows out there that exist in exactly that sort of scenario you're talking about where it's mostly a light take on something, but it's got some stakes to it. But this one seems like the stakes are too big for everything else they want to do in the show. And I think even if you were like, well, I could do without the comedy and just go for the mystery. um it's not firing on all those cylinders too which is a shame because like when the characters are like on a roll and talking to each other and like getting into multiple stupid car accidents in one episode like these are like yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah more of that yeah give me way more of that and this would have been much better yeah and it just like i say stalls out too often yeah. Tara: [7:43] It could have been a road trip comedy. Dave: [7:45] Of them. Tara: [7:45] Just like going around ireland and getting into, you know, planes, trains, and automobiles type mishaps with Robin's car or whatever. Dave: [7:54] Yeah. Tara: [7:55] There are just so many better shows that are like buried in what we got, which is so ultimately, other than the settings, so generic for our era. Dave: [8:04] And even the stuff that's supposed to be like, well, it's not supernatural, but, you know, it's supposed to have a mystical, spiritual connection. Like that stuff just lands really flat. It seems very just surface. You know, all the Celtic symbology and everything going on. Tara: [8:20] Yeah. It's a shame. The one thing I can say I hope for this is that, you know, for the people who do like this kind of genre, that it does well enough, that it gives her enough of a pass to do something else. Because I would love to see her work with these older actresses again. They were all great and really funny with each other. I just wanted them to, you know, just be living normal lives. Tara: [8:43] Because that's enough. Bye. Dave: [8:49] You know what isn't enough? Tara: [8:51] What? Dave: [8:51] The paltry 20 to 25 seconds of the scene you hear every week. Why don't we let it go the whole one? It's two minutes long. Everybody ready? Here we go. No, not really. Here is Ask EHD. Full D. Yeah, we're going full of minute. Tara: [9:10] Oh, wow. Dave: [9:11] No. All right. It is time for Ask EHG, which means it is first time to pass judgment on last week's Ask EHG question, where you, dear listeners, provide the answer. It came from Beezor Laura. She asked, what's a great moment from an otherwise awful TV character? When people could stop talking about how to use butter for a second, they did get around to answering this question. Tara: [9:38] I have an answer for this if you want to go to me first. Dave: [9:40] But first, before we get to those people, get out of the way of those people. Tara, What do you got? Tara: [9:45] Mine is from Beverly Hills 90210, Season 3, Episode 3. The episode title is Too Little Too Late slash Paris 75001. This is the one where Brenda and Donna start their special French course in Paris and get up to various shenanigans over there. Dave: [10:03] Is this where Yul Rooney comes from? Tara: [10:05] Yes. Dave: [10:06] Okay. Tara: [10:06] But that's not what I'm talking about today. But that is where the arc comes from. So they, in the scene that I want to talk about, they go to a restaurant. The menu, of course, is all in French. It's very fancy. They are not sure what they want and they get rushed to order. And so they order salve de veau. And so when it comes, they eat it. They think it's veal. Veal is veau. And Donna says, it's a little rubbery. They're like, it's strange. Brenda pulls out her dictionary and pulls it up and says, it's brains. And Donna opens her mouth. The bite she has taken just falls out. And in contrast to the stuff that Tori Spelling generally chose to do on that show with physical comedy, she underplays this moment beautifully. And I laugh every time I see it. There's a clip in the show notes if you want to see if you agree. Dave: [10:57] All right, great. Let's get to your answers. First one is from Julie. She is putting up there when Pete Campbell punches up the smug headmaster in season seven, episode 11 of Madman. Beginning of his character, Redemption, says Julie. I always like a Pete Campbell entry in things, but I disagree in the premise that he's an awful TV character, so we can't award this to you. Unfortunately, you picked the wrong judge for that one. Wendy says, Xander saving Willow from the dark side on Buffy. Seth makes a case for the most odious character in the replies, in my opinion. Sergeant Hatred from the Venture Brothers. Terrible character. He agrees, says it's a pretty disgusting and unfunny character that the show never manages to rehab. True. But he and Brock do have a good moment in the later season where they smuggle a polar bear into villain White Whale's skyscraper. Tara: [11:46] Yep. Dave: [11:47] I mean, A for effort in that one. That's a big swing. Man Drake, the often maligned guide on What We Do in the Shadows, had one good episode where the vampires were invited to a rich vampire's country house, and it turned out that the guide had engineered the whole thing as a ruse to get revenge on them for being mean to her. Our winner this week is Johnny Assay. I'd never liked Charlie on Lost, but the No Penny's Boat thing, one of the greatest moments of that series. I agree, I hated Charlie all the time. And part of Not Penny's Boat is just the way it was delivered. But part of it was goodbye, Charlie. All right. So, Johnny, hit me up on DM on Discord for your sticker prize. I will get those in the mail sometime in this calendar year. Tara: [12:31] Yeah, you got it. It's probably about time for a new sticker. Maybe you should have an All Right Fred sticker. Dave: [12:36] I don't want to cut into all these dozens of shirt sales. I think one. We sold one. So there's something. Tara: [12:43] Amazing. Wow. If you're listening to this, and you definitely are, if you bought that shirt, welcome. And thank you. Dave: [12:50] This first question comes from Seth. What TV character is most likely to date a magical snowman come to life? All right. Great opening question, Tara. Tara: [13:02] It is. And there are a lot of magical snowmen come to life, obviously. Olaf from Frozen or the snowman from the Naked Gun remake last year. Dave: [13:11] Okay. Tara: [13:11] But I went with Kimmy Schmidt, and I'm not sure, thinking back on these seasons of that show that actually exists, that she didn't date a magical snowman come to life. Dave: [13:20] Yeah. Tara: [13:21] That feels like something she could have done. Dave. Dave: [13:26] I can take that over again. It was like five pounds of X-Men. My answer is Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. He had that whole life on Mars for a while living in X-Holic because he was too smart for everybody. I think while he's there, he met a snowman. He came magical to life. Maybe he made the snowman and made the snowman come to life. And they lived a whole life on Mars that nobody else saw. And now he misses it. Okay. Tara: [13:50] Makes sense. Dave: [13:51] And with an E, you're an Olympic figure skater. Yay. Which TV theme are you choosing for your short program skate? And what does your costume look like? And what are you naming your signature move? First of all, not agreeing with that yay part of that. No, thank you on this whole skating stuff. My TV theme is Columbo. Tara: [14:10] Sure. Dave: [14:10] That's the theme. And then the theme of the dance itself is Columbo closing the net on his suspect. It's a figure skating routine symbolizing that part of the show where he stops being sort of that dopey, bumbling character that he plays and he starts breaking down why you were going to prison. I'm dancing in a mauve leotard and I have like a short, tight trench coat that everybody complains is leaving nothing to the imagination. And then after the judges give the scores, I point at them and say, oh, and one more thing, and then I run back to the rink, and I perform my signature move, not taking sufficient care of my basset hound. Tara: [14:53] Okay. I'm going to be skating to the Moonlighting theme song. Recently was reminded of how good it is when Carrie was on a few weeks ago. I am, of course, wearing a fluffy blonde wig, because I'm worth it. Shout out Sybil Shepard and her old L'Oreal Preference hair dye commercials. An applique sweater with huge shoulder pads and the longest skirt that I can skate in but will still make me look like Maddie Hayes. And my signature move is the Herbert Viola where I jump while pretending to bow a string instrument on my leg. Dave: [15:28] Wow. Tara: [15:28] Yeah. Dave: [15:29] Dr. Calhoun, when you say you will meet someone at 3 p.m., when do you actually arrive? Tara. Tara: [15:35] Well, if I know where I'm going and that there will be ample parking. Yeah. I'm going to get there at like 2.55. And if I don't know where I'm going and have no idea what the parking situation is or know for sure it's going to be street parking, like 2.35. Dave: [15:51] Wow. All right. That was more considered than mine, which was 2.50 to 2.55. That would be what I was aiming for, no matter the confidence in the directions or the state of the conveyance. Tara: [16:03] Yeah. Dave: [16:03] Next question comes from LBBB. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the end of Calvin and Hobbes, cast a Calvin and Hobbes movie. Curious if we have the same answer here. Tara, go. Tara: [16:15] Well, I'm assuming these are going to be voice performances. We're not going to try and do a live action one. So my Calvin is Ben Schwartz. Hobbes is Bill Hader in like dry, flat, sarcastic mode. Dad, Brian Husky. He would also be fine for a live action one, probably. Mom is Kristen Milioti and Susie Durkin's Amy Poehler. Dave: [16:37] Okay. Tara: [16:38] Dave. Dave: [16:39] I went with the some things are sacrosanct and should not be done. I think Calvin and Hobbes. Let's honor the creator's wishes and just let it be as a comic. Tara: [16:47] That's also a very good answer. Dave: [16:49] It feels like it shouldn't be done. Tara: [16:51] I feel like if I had given that answer, you would yell at me and say, do you understand what we're doing here, et cetera, et cetera. Dave: [16:57] No, no. My answer is correct and therefore failed. L-A-F-R or Laffer still refuses to tell us exactly what the pronunciation behind that is supposed to be. Do you like the laugh? If you could choose to live in the world of any Aaron's spelling property, which would you pick? Which show would be your version of Hell? Version of Hell, just because of the title, I assume it's bad news. We're going with a show called The San Pedro Beach Bums. Tara: [17:26] Sure. Dave: [17:27] The title font is Cooper Black, I believe, taking a quick look at it. So if you want to relive the days of your iron-on name on the back of your shirt so you'd be kidnap ready. That's what it looks like. Tara: [17:40] Right. Dave: [17:40] But I ultimately went with a show called Glitter. Are you familiar with Glitter? Tara: [17:44] No, I am not. Just the movie. Dave: [17:46] Yeah, Glitter is a show that is about fashion at a fashion magazine, but it's also about like politics, it says. So the heady brew. And the reason I chose it is because I was thinking recently how much I miss print layout. Tara: [18:03] Yeah. Dave: [18:04] Doing newspapers and magazine layout and stuff, which was like how I got into this whole thing years and years and years ago. And that's part of it is that they're putting together a fashion magazine every month or whatever. so i'll just slide into that. Tara: [18:16] That's cute yeah. Dave: [18:17] It is cute i'm cute tara. Tara: [18:19] The world i would want to live in is of course hotel you know why i love hotels love to stay in a hotel oh sure my hell erin spelling hell is ironically enough seventh heaven oh yeah it's super wholesome and yet the dad is uh secretly a sex offender. Dave: [18:37] Fun. Jovial Jen, walking downtown, I looked in an office window and saw a room full of toilets. So I'm wondering, what's the premise of an office sitcom called Room Full of Toilets? Tara: [18:50] Yeah, it's going to be basically like Lodge 49, but only the parts about Ernie, because he worked at a plumbing sales company. Dave. Dave: [18:59] It's the subtitle for a season two of The Chair Company, where Ron really goes down the rabbit hole. these are laura every time i see a nutter butter i think of the friends episode where they have chick and duck compete to find the nutter butter first what food immediately makes you think of a tv show moment for me it's any time anybody mentions anything or just the restaurant red robin i immediately go to the project runway where red robin was their promotional partner for that episode. They got Tim Gunn to go to a parking lot in Red Robin and try to sell that collab as the person, I'm guessing, who has one burger in his whole life and ate it with a knife and fork. Tara: [19:42] Yep. Dave: [19:44] So that's, yeah, Red Robin is exactly where I go there. Red Robin, right to Project Romnoy. Tara? Tara: [19:50] Well, I'm right here with Beezor, Laura. I also think of that scene whenever I hear Nutter Butter. Judge rules, Nutter Butter. Ooh, tough call. One that I thought of for this is also from Friends. It's a season one episode where Joey finds out his father has been having an affair for like years and years and years. And the woman he's been having an affair with shows up at Joey and Chandler's apartment. And after the very awkward moment where Joey is absorbing that this is the lady, she offers, she holds a Ziploc bag and offers Chandler cheese nip. Chandler says, Joey's having an embolism, but I'd go for a nip. Dave: [20:27] That's good. Tara: [20:28] Cheese nips are good. Yep. Better than Cheez-Its. Dave: [20:31] Cara, if you could have one extra sense that Animal has, what would it be? Tara: [20:36] I guess to see in the dark, I think really good smell and hearing seem like they would interfere with my sleep, which is my most important consideration always. Dave: [20:45] Do you want like sonar ability or like IR ability or thermal predator mode? Like which way, which mechanism do you want to see at night? Tara: [20:54] Yeah, thermal predator. That would be good. Dave: [20:56] All right. As long as it makes those noises when you target it, not something. Tara: [21:00] Well, that's, I mean, that's if we consider predators animals, Dave. Dave: [21:04] No, we don't. Tara: [21:04] It's like you learn nothing from Predator Badlands. Dave: [21:07] I've watched Predators Badlands. I know they have a thing going on. Tara: [21:11] Predators are people and they can be gay. Dave: [21:14] Yeah. Okay, so my answer to this is a thing I found out recently. Butterflies can taste things with their feet. And I think that'd be a really good party trick. Blindfold me, put my foot in various bowls. I will tell you what's in those bowls. My foot feel alone, I'll say. Tara: [21:30] Maraschino cherry. Dave: [21:32] Yeah. Yeah, Bree with a touch of something. And they're like, oh my God. Then I wake up in a pile of money. Tara: [21:40] That's how it would happen for a turn. Dave: [21:42] Big Kev. Let's go to our next question. Egg separation, shells, fingers, a bespoke gadget, or some esoteric fourth method. Do they mean cracking an egg or separating the yolks from the white? Tara: [21:55] That. Dave: [21:55] Oh, okay. I'm trying to think if I've ever had need to separate a yolk from the white. Tara: [22:01] Yeah, you probably wouldn't because you're not a baker. Dave: [22:03] I don't like baking. Yeah, baking is, there's too many variables in baking. The closest I've ever come to baking is when I worked at the donut house and we had to bake a couple things, but that was just like throw some frozen croissants and danishes in the ovens and heat them up. Actual baking where you have to like, oh, the barometer outside has changed. Therefore, you have to change the amount of milk. Oh, fuck it. I'm done. Tara: [22:26] Yeah. You need improvising. Dave: [22:28] Yeah. Tara: [22:29] Okay. Dave: [22:29] Well, answer the cracking one then since I can't answer this. Just love cracking an egg on the side of a pan. It's great. It's very therapeutic. Tara: [22:36] Yeah. Dave: [22:36] Eggs weren't so expensive. That's all I do all day. What's Dave doing? He's egging again. Answer here, please. Tara: [22:47] Yeah, fingers. Dave: [22:48] Okay. But what do you do? You just pull out the yolk? Tara: [22:51] You crack the egg. You put it in your hand. The egg and yolk. You just sort of slide it back and forth. Dave: [22:58] And what's on your fingers after? Tara: [23:00] Just the yolk. Dave: [23:02] How would you characterize it? Just looking at your fingers, all the stuff dripping off of it? Tara: [23:06] No, no, it doesn't. You have to make sure it doesn't break. Dave: [23:08] Okay, I'm just saying. Tara: [23:09] Oh, I see. Goo. Dave: [23:11] Thank you. Goo. Tara: [23:14] Goo. Dave: [23:15] It'll take a while, but we got there. All right. Seth is back bookending our questions. Industry, the show, has a character called Sweet Pea Go Lightly. Is this worse than jazz? Tara: [23:29] Well, first of all, I want to say that is what our friend Joe on this at Oscar Buzz would call a book-ass name, even though industry is not based on a book. That is a book-ass name. But if she is frequently called by her full first and last name, yes, that's worse than jazz. Dave: [23:45] Stupid. Tara: [23:45] Dave. Dave: [23:46] Yeah. It's bad. And I think every time you invoke that name, you have to eat a can of those teal Heinz beans. You know what we've seen in the British section? Tara: [23:55] Mm-hmm. Dave: [23:56] You know, it's sort of like the drinking game, except you have to eat cold beans out of a can. Tara: [24:00] Right. Dave: [24:01] But the time you'd have to dedicate to saying that name is short, whereas Jazz can go... So I'm going to give this one to Jazz. Tara: [24:10] All right. Dave: [24:10] All right. Here comes your question to answer. It comes from Fairy Ruby. Ruby is re-watching Gilmore Girls and got angry all over again at the writers making Lane pregnant the first time she had sex instead of getting to have the cool rock and roll life she deserved. What character arc makes you feel like a character got cheated out of a future they deserved? Got an answer for that? Go to the Ask Ask ESG channel on our Discord. Or if you can't get on Discord and you have an answer, you can eel me directly, which is where you find an eel and you tape your answer to it and you send it upstream to find me yep, david at cole.fyi is where you eel mail me your answer if you're not on discord and we'll be back soon with judgment on that oh we forgot to do the food clips fucked up. Tara: [25:01] I was waiting for it. Dave: [25:02] Yeah fucked it up it is time for the tiny canon presenting today is listener ambrose. Tara: [28:08] Go back. Thank you, Ambrose. Dave, why don't you go first? Dave: [28:17] All right. I thought this was a good selection and what timing to have it after we're talking about Lisa McGee's second show or follow up to this Dairy Girls. I forgot that this is how we open it up. And he's right. It's extremely efficient and it immediately gives you the mix of what to expect in the show and then sort of the ratio of that mix, right? We're going to be dealing with the troubles, but we're also mostly going to be following the lives of these girls with the troubles as sort of the background. I don't want to say no noise, but you know what I mean. It's just like a fun way to get into it. We don't see all the characters here, but we get the group vibe that we're going to be experiencing. When you get an opening narration like that, obviously didn't expect it to be somebody else reading it. That was a great take. But when you get that opening narration, and it is over all the scenes that Ambrose was talking about, like where the first imagery is the kids spray painting London out of Londonderry and then a pan over the countryside and all that, you are immediately transported to the right place and time. And I decided it was super efficient. Like the whole cold open is like a minute and 10 or something like that. Little twist there, whereas Orla reading it. And of course, you know, we don't know Orla fully yet at this moment in time, but we certainly get that boundaries aren't a part of her lexicon. Dave: [29:42] They don't exist for Orla. So I thought that was like Orla. So I thought that was a great note there. So yeah, I agree with him. And Ambrose also put all that together. So thank you, Andrews, for bringing all that into the presentation. So great presentation, technically and content-wise. Tara: [29:58] Yeah, I don't have much to add. I agree. It's a very succinct intro to both of the characters. Sort of undercuts the corniness of the images chosen for the B-roll. You know, you can tell the way that Erin is writing. She does anticipate someone reading it. She's trying to be like very highfalutin and stuff. And this is the sort of thing that she would select if she could to make a B-roll of Derry. The joke working, however, depends on you not having your captions on. Dave: [30:27] Which you might. I made that note as well. Tara: [30:29] Yeah. Dave: [30:29] I mean, it's going to sound weird. I would hope there's some creative leeway for captioning, but maybe it's all just very standardized and rigid. Like, you can never not tell a character's speaking. It's just like, against the rules of captioning. But that was like, I was like, oh, I mean, that sucks to get spoiled like that. Tara: [30:47] Yeah, I agree. I mean, Netflix has a little bit of history with this. We also complained during Big Mouth times that whichever of the hormone monsters, that's hard to understand. And then at a certain point, they would caption everything he said. And that sort of ruined the joke of him being incomprehensible. Dave: [31:07] It's like captioning Kenny on South Park. Tara: [31:09] Yes, exactly. Anyway, I digress. I don't understand what he means when he says this isn't a cold open or it is a cold open or you don't know it's a cold open. And like a cold open doesn't have to be a joke. A cold open is just what happens on a show before the credits. I mean, dramas can have cold opens too. But that said, I think he did a very good job. And this does definitely cue you for the kind of show you're going to get. This isn't going to be homework. Yes, true. And still, it's hard for me not to remember how it ended and thinking, oh, God, it turned into homework at the very, very end with that Chelsea Clinton button, which is like. Dave: [31:47] Oh, right. Tara: [31:48] A bad girl. Dave: [31:49] Yeah. Tara: [31:50] Rick. It's Rick. Dave: [31:52] Rick the Hormone Monster. Okay. Let's put this to the official vote then, Tarah Arianna. Tara: [31:58] Yay. Dave: [31:58] Me too. So... That means Aaron's diary from Dairy Girls, who we hereby inducted into the extra hot, great, tiny, cold open cannon. Dave: [32:16] It's time for the not-quite-winners and not-quite-losers of the week. First not-quite-winner, Colin Firth. Firth. Tara: [32:25] Good job. Dave: [32:26] Thanks. I don't know why I put so much mustard on that, but I'm enjoying it, and that's his name from now on. Anyways, Colin Firth is joining Jack Loudon in Apple TV's new show called Berlin Noir. And I looked this up, and it's sort of like a hard-boiled detective story set, I think, at the end of the 20s and beginning of the 30s. in Berlin. So it's going to be a lot of intrigue and politics involved I'm going to assume. Kind of made me think of Babylon Berlin. Tara: [32:54] Yeah, we still never watched that final season. Dave: [32:56] Yeah, we should do that. It wasn't our fault. The captions were fucked up when we got it. And we thought, well, we'll figure that out later. And then we never did. But now we got it to watch now. After we watch that, we'll be jonesing for some other similar material. And that show will be here. Not Quite Loser of the Week is Super Bowl. Almost 3 million And fewer people watched it from last year. So suck on that, sports. You might be a loser of the week, but I love it. Yes, finally, revenge for all those preempted shows of my youth. Tara. Tara: [33:29] My not quite winner of the week is Chris Fleming, a stand-up comic. His previous special was at Peacock, and I recommend it very highly. It is very funny. But he has set his first special on HBO. So Live at the Palace will be premiering on the actual network, not just HBO Max, on February 27th. And I highly recommend that you check it out. I will be for sure. I'm sure that'll be my around the dial that week. And my not quite loser of the week. This is a PS to a, I think, winner or not quite winner. Recently, Sarah picked the original cast of The Real Housewives of New York because they had all moved to Palm Beach to be in a new show on E! called The Golden Life. Thank you. But one of those is Jill Zarin, who decided she would go ahead and post a racist Instagram rant about Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, complaining there were no white people in it. Like, it's pretty cut and dried. Thought deleting it would get her out of trouble, was wrong. She got fired from the golden life because of it. And even her own daughter posted a pro Bad Bunny message in an Instagram story. story so it's like there's not a worse way to fuck up if you're jill zarin oh and also the store that zarin fabrics that she's associated with had to make a post it's like we we do not cosign she is not part of this anymore so please. Dave: [34:55] Buy your fabrics. Tara: [34:56] Yeah great job jill fucking asshole hello. Kari: [35:10] Friends welcome back to carrie race and the world's most dangerous musical moments on tv this time out we're heading back to january 1980 and a tv special creatively titled the donna summer special. Three guesses who it stars, and if you need all three of those, congratulations on your position in the current presidential administration. Okay, black screen to start us off with Donna looking directly into the camera. Check. Absurd special effect that gives her three faces that merge into one that looks like your cousin Ron made it on his Commodore 64. Check. Donna giving a breathy speech that sounds like a deleted scene from The Hobbit? Check. Kari: [36:13] Donna, come on. We do not have all day. Are you getting paid based on how long you pause between each word? Cutting to the chase, there once was a little girl that had a dream, yada, yada, yada. And we watch reenactments of Donna's life intercut with her singing her recent hits at the Hollywood Bowl. But the reenactments are truly only like 10 seconds long, and every time we come back from commercial, it's Donna talking to the camera about Never Never Land. She even drags her poor daughter into it, and we see Donna singing her daughter to sleep, and then her daughter's dream is her dressed exactly like Donna, singing on stage with other children as her backup vocalists and band. Yeah. Kari: [37:24] The daughter is in full hair and makeup. She's not even trying to pretend like she's lip syncing the song, and it is not okay. I don't want to rag on this special completely. The parts where Donna is just singing at the Hollywood Bowl are great, so why couldn't this just have been that? Why did they have to dress it up with all of this nonsense? Anyway, there's this leopard-print glittery dress that Donna wears during her performance of Hot Stuff that she is working the hell out of, and I love that for her. Hey, who do you think of when Donna sings this? We'll be. Kari: [38:18] Let's say it at the same time. One, two, three. Ilya Rozenov. Just kidding. Of course, it's Robert Guillaume. And here he is, dressed in a white suit with huge angel wings. They do a cute skit that involves Robert singing Midnight at the Oasis and Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Donna uses the phrase jive turkey. Five stars, no notes. Of course, she's got to perform Bad Girls, and she does it in the most fantastic purple bustier and leggings you have ever seen, and she's got a trio of baddies to help her out. Actress Debra Lee Scott, Andy Warhol-Muse, and model Pat Ast and fashion icon Twiggy. There's a trio. I mean, they can't really sing, but they look cute as hell. Kari: [39:31] It all wraps up with her telling us that this little girl's dreams came true, which, no duh, Donna, we've been watching. We get it. You were the little girl. We're not morons. Overall, I guess I would give it a 2 out of 5 on the danger scale, but let me leave you with the part that is a 5 out of 5 on the hanky scale. Get yours handy as our boy Bobby G takes us out. Until next time, stay safe out there, my friends. Tara: [40:35] Welcome in to the Grandpas. Today's extra credit topic is taking advantage of Sarah's absence because it's another Taskmaster question. You guys love to send us Taskmaster questions and we hold them for moments like these because Sarah does not watch. Dave: [40:52] She said people who watch Taskmaster are stupid. Tara: [40:56] She did. She did. Dave: [40:58] She told me. And she named about two dozen people on the Discord. By name. Not even their usernames. Tara: [41:06] No. Dave: [41:06] She knew their real names. Tara: [41:08] She gave addresses. Dave: [41:09] Yeah. Tara: [41:09] Jonas 3 asks, us and not Sarah, tell me your five favorite and five least favorite Taskmaster contestants and why. If you want, pick your favorite overall series cast. Dave: [41:23] Okay. Let's pick it back and forth. Do favorites. I'll go first. My first favorite doesn't come until season five. and probably, ooh, tied for my all-time favorite, I can't choose, is Bob Mortimer. Tara: [41:35] Ah, I had Bob. Dave: [41:37] All-time banter. Yeah, of course you have to have Bob. Tara: [41:40] No, no, I mean, I had him and I had to cut him because there were others I liked more. I know. It was shocking. Dave: [41:45] Large inhale gasp. All right. Well, for me, he's an all-time banterer. His certifiably weird, the most entertaining way his brain works, it just is absolutely something I love. If you watch him on Taskmaster and you enjoy him there, you get like concentrated Bob Mortimer on the panel shows in which he can just talk and talk and talk. Would I Lie to You? Tara: [42:08] Oh, yes. Dave: [42:09] Last one laughing from last year. Tara: [42:11] Oh, yeah. Dave: [42:12] The UK version. So good. Tara: [42:13] Incredible. Dave: [42:14] He's tied for first for me. Tara: [42:15] Oh, okay. Oh, there's a tie. Dave: [42:18] Yes. There's two I can't choose from. I got a quizzy on the second one when it arrives. Tara: [42:22] Okay. Dave: [42:23] But who is your first fave? Tara: [42:24] My first fave did not come along until season seven, and it is Jessica Knappett, a certified lunatic, was also recently on Would I Lie to You and reminded me how funny she was. Dave: [42:36] Didn't she have the shirt with the crow? Tara: [42:38] Yes. Dave: [42:38] That was like in Dutch or something. Tara: [42:40] Yes, the incomprehensible t-shirt for one of her prize tasks. Jessica also lives on in Taskmaster history forever because at one point she fell off the little extension of the stage during a live task. Dave: [42:54] Yeah. Tara: [42:54] And ever since they have called that extension whenever it needs to be used, the Nappet for her. So for being a great contestant and for being part of the Taskmaster firmament forever, Jessica Nappet. Dave: [43:08] Okay, great. Here is my second, but tied for first. So before I reveal, do you have any guesses? Tara: [43:14] Mike Wozniak. Dave: [43:15] Yes, that is correct. Series 11, Mike Wozniak. The man gave himself hemorrhoids trying to complete a task that it turns out only he had to do, which was fart on a plane. That's true. He was there for hours. Tara: [43:29] So, you know, I've recently started listening to the official Taskmaster podcast. So I just finished the season 11 episodes and they, of course, had him on as the guest. for when they were discussing the hemorrhoid episode. And he was delightful talking about that. I mean, he knows he made history. Dave: [43:46] Yeah. Tara: [43:47] Yeah. Dave: [43:47] And he's great as the assistant on Junior Test. Tara: [43:51] Yes, he is. Dave: [43:51] Which turned out to be a really fun show. Tara: [43:54] Yeah, it's cute. Dave: [43:54] But oh my God, he's so good there too. Tara: [43:56] Yeah, he's delightful. Dave: [43:57] Yep. Tara: [43:58] And I'd forgotten until I re-listened to, I mean, listened for the first time to the podcast of how many great Series 11 moments he had. Like writing original songs, the milk moment that I talked about last week. Dave: [44:10] The onstage live reveal of his. Tara: [44:13] His mohawk. Dave: [44:14] Yeah. Tara: [44:14] It's incredible. He's great. Dave: [44:16] Yeah, he is great. All right. Who's your second? Tara: [44:18] My second is from season nine, Rose Mattafeo. Speaking of junior taskmaster, she is the junior taskmaster taskmaster. Has gone on to make several great standup specials. Of course, Starstruck, we love. Speaking of which, her love interest in that is also in How to Get Ahead in Bel... How to Get Ahead... No. How to Get Tavern from Belfast. Dave: [44:41] How to Get Ahead in Belfast. Tara: [44:42] He plays... Dave: [44:43] It's a different show. Tara: [44:44] I was thinking How to Get Ahead in Advertising. No. Dave: [44:46] Oh, boy. Tara: [44:47] He's the agent of one of the three former classmates who is a TV writer now. Dave: [44:53] Yeah, yeah. Tara: [44:54] Anyway, she's delightful. She's an all-time classic. Anytime she and Ed and Katie got to do a team task together, it was pure magic. I love her forever. Rosemann fam. Dave: [45:05] All right, my third, and I think I just have to finally admit that I just have a crush on her, is Morgana Robinson. Tara: [45:11] Knew I was going to hear that. Dave: [45:12] Yeah, she seemed genuine, but it also seems like she's genuinely a little bit mean all the time, which, you know, I don't mind. Tara: [45:18] Yep. Dave: [45:19] But not pointedly so on the show. Like, you never got a bad vibe from her like some other people that we might mention when it comes time to the worst people of Taskmaster. So, yeah. Series 12, Morgana Robinson. Wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers. It's that type of deal. Tara: [45:38] Well, my next fave when we just finished talking about him is Mike Wozniak from Series 11. And I'll just also add from what I learned from the podcast that he has a great body too, apparently. Sarah Kendall went on at some length about seeing him in shorts for the first time and being like a little Twitter painted about it. So on top of everything else, he is a sex symbol as well. Dave: [45:59] My fourth from 14th Series is Fern Brady. Another all-timer, I was going down YouTube trying to find some clips and discovered one where Alice Horne's basically saying, she broke the way I had to think about game construction because she would just parse it in a different way than everybody else and dominate because of that different interpretation that she's coming at it from the side or whatever. Tara: [46:22] Yeah. Dave: [46:23] And I thought that was great. And she is super entertaining in that series. I don't know why she chose her getup. It seemed like the worst getup we've ever seen on Taskmaster. The one-piece, lame, whatever you call that, bodysuit with the metal pieces tacked onto it just seemed like an A to Z bad decision. But it was very entertaining. Tara: [46:44] Well, it gives her a sense of urgency because she has said a lot of the times when she's doing tasks in that costume, she really has to pee and can't because it's a whole production to get out of that thing. Dave: [46:54] I believe it. Tara: [46:55] I do, too. I'll also recommend her her stand up specials, too. She's very funny. But you might need the captions because her accent. My next fave from series 13, Judy Love, someone that in the early going I did not expect would be one of my faves because usually the person who is like the most low effort is the kind of person I'm not going to latch on to. but she found a way to still be so hilarious like anytime she was irritated anytime she got called out on something talking in this to great in the studio one of the probably all timers for studio participation she wasn't one of my face but I'll say Fade Al Gorey is in that category too from series 19 I look forward to seeing her somewhere in the future I would love to see her on what I lied to you I think she would be hilarious she won me over in a way I did not expect next all. Dave: [47:50] Right last favorite is series 19 Matthew Baton. I really enjoyed him that series. I think it was because of low expectations because his character from Ghosts is just like so drippy and sad and kind of pathetic that I wasn't really expecting such a difference between him and the actor and the character but turns out you can act differently than you actually are. That's what actors do Dave say people listening. I understand that now but he was really funny the of course exposed testicle moment was like an all-time great yes and the fact that he did not change that look when he came back for uh spoiler alert the champion of champions right yep and he competed very well against like the likes of jason manzoukas who was probably the loudest chaos agent they've ever had on the show but still if i had to pick one as my favorite from that series it would be matthew bayton bayton i really think he uh held his own and he was really entertaining. Tara: [48:51] Yep. I agree. He's great. And the exposure episode being called from one of his quotes, my presumably scrotum. It's also a wonderful moment for him. Dave: [49:04] British people calling it a scrotum is very funny. Tara: [49:07] It is. Dave: [49:08] Yeah. It's never sounded more scientific. Tara: [49:10] It's true. My last fave is someone I feel got robbed from the victory in series 20. that was, of course, infamously ended in a three-way tie. And I think a lot of people were unsatisfied by how it ended, especially that, I mean, Maisie, who is like an okay contestant other than being tied for first place at the end. I don't know if she's someone that anyone needed to necessarily see more. I think she was great on the show. That's not a knock on her. I'm just like, I don't think she was the strongest player overall. But one of the people that she beat out in that tiebreaker was Anya Magliano, who was the youngest contestant on that season. She has just been cast alongside a fellow Taskmaster alumna, Emma Seedy, to be in the first cast of Saturday Night Live UK. I just thought she was really funny. Starting a bit where she was suggesting that Greg was her biological father was a really funny way to create a rapport with him right away. And I still remember in one of the prize tasks, they were told they had to describe their task in a high-pitched, funny voice. And so there's one moment where I forget even what she got, it doesn't matter. But someone asks where she was when she got it and she goes, Piccadilly sagas? I still remember how she said it. It really made me laugh. So Anya Magliano, I look forward to more great things from her for years to come because she is so young. Dave: [50:36] All right, let's move on to our least favorite Taskmaster contestants. First one, probably the least least favorite is Ian Sterling from Series 8. Had like a genuine moment that cooled the demeanor on the set. You could tell like Alex Horn after he was like watching himself, Ian, being an absolute dick during a task, like just comes to like, that was bad, wasn't it? Everybody's like, uh-huh. And there was like no real like kicker comedy moment to that. It was just like, ooh, I got a little chilly, Alice Horne. It's like, I don't know what, like, could we edit it around that? Like, it was just like a moment you could hesitate in the past during the editing room. Like, should this even be in there? But I guess they were like, well. Tara: [51:16] Fuck this guy. Dave: [51:17] Yeah, fuck this guy, I guess. I even forget what the thing was about. Tara: [51:22] It was a team task where he was just like being really abusive to his. Dave: [51:26] Right. Tara: [51:26] Just like super bossy and not in a fun way. Dave: [51:29] Was it the gazebo one? Tara: [51:30] I think it was something involving the tub. Like they had to fill it or something. I don't recall the details. Dave: [51:36] Yeah, he was just like a true 100% real-life dick in that moment. And it wasn't his only moment of that series, too, but that was just the marquee moment. He is my least, least favorite and also first. Tara: [51:48] My first least favorite is, it sort of snuck up on me, but when I was doing this exercise, I realized I had to honor my truth. From series seven, it's Rod Gilbert, who is a real friend of Greg's in real life for clearly many years, decades possibly, latched onto a runner for all of his prize tasks that they all ended up in some way involving the same photo of Greg posing in, briefs very brief briefs in his smalls exactly and at a certain point it's like we fucking get. Tara: [52:20] It like this is this is too much it's gone it's gone around to where it's like it's unfunny then it's funny again and then it's now it's really unfunny like if the point of this show is supposed to be invention you're not doing that and he was like kind of a dick in a lot of the tasks too especially the team task he wasn't a good team player um so rod is my first okay. Dave: [52:43] My second one comes from series nine. It is our favorite. Tara: [52:48] Yep. Dave: [52:49] Least favorite. Tara: [52:49] Yep. Dave: [52:50] JoBran. Tara: [52:50] Yep. She's on my list too. Dave: [52:51] Yeah, of course she is. Boring and bad at the game. Tara: [52:55] Yeah. Dave: [52:55] And you can be bad at the game and very entertaining, but those people that are just like a constant eye roll of attitude. Yeah. I just can't stand. Tara: [53:04] Yeah. Don't do the show. Dave: [53:05] Don't do this show. And you could be misanthropic and entertaining and be somebody who, quote, doesn't want to be there and play it in a way that is good for the show. But her whole thing just I was just like, ah, just every time she's on screen, I was like, this is just the worst. Tara: [53:22] She's a real sourpuss in an unpleasant way to watch. Dave: [53:25] And maybe that's her stick generally. I mean, we also don't know many of these contestants until we watch them on Taskmaster. Tara: [53:32] Yeah. Dave: [53:32] But even if that is her whole thing, not on this show, please. Tara: [53:37] Yeah. It didn't make me want to discover more of her, which is usually the case with most other Taskmaster contestants where you see them, you fall in love with them. They have a place in your heart forever. And with her, it was the opposite. it and that was also the case with her series nine co-star david badil this was the the pity of season nine is that it has three of the best contestants ed gamble rose matta feo and katie wicks and two of the worst david badil and joe brand yeah like david badil just an idiot like not entertainingly either like doesn't just frustrating annoying i presented a sportsmanship nonac recently from from taskmas where he just like does not follow the how gameplay goes in a live task and ruins it for his teammate but also for the viewer like just taking the fun out of it by being a fuck up idiot yep so that's him and then my third is joe brandon we've already talked better all. Dave: [54:36] Right my third was david bedell so we can. Tara: [54:38] Now skip to our fourth picks series. Dave: [54:41] Nine was a real study in contrast. Tara: [54:44] Yeah. Dave: [54:44] Next series on, Katherine Parkinson. Tara: [54:48] From humans. Yes, heard of them. Dave: [54:52] Possibly medicated for her whole series appearance, allegedly, I'm saying, not knowing anything. But she just seemed a little phased from what was going on. She had a weird detached vibe for the whole thing. Like her agent said, you should really do this and didn't tell her what it was. And she just arrived and she was just confused. A lot of delayed reactions and a lot of really stupid questions that seemed genuine to me. And it was just a whole lot of not really getting it. And it was weird. She wasn't terrible in the same way let's say Joe Brand was terrible, but it was just like, it was just one of those puzzling, why are you here? If somebody gave you two hours worth of prep, you probably would have been so much better. But nobody in her life seemed to do that for her. Tara: [55:40] Well, I mean, to give her a little bit of grace and not to negate your choice at all, But this was the first fully pandemic season. So what we might be seeing is trauma. A lot of the times people have complained about how shitty the prize tasks were that season. And you have to consider, well, they probably had to just go with what was in their house because they could not go to a store to get something. Yeah, she does seem like she's dealing with a lot. That might be why she seems strange. Dave: [56:13] She just seemed foggy to me the whole time. And yes, who knows why, but it was just weird to watch. Tara: [56:20] Yeah, the joke on the Taskmaster podcast is that whenever she would fuck something up, Ed Gamble or his wife would go, oh, mommy. That was like the cash grace for her. Well, speaking of asking stupid questions, and it doesn't seem like a bit, my next least fave is Lucy Beaumont from Series 16. Is that what you were going to guess? Dave: [56:40] Also, my last pick. Yeah, yeah, that was my last pick. For sure. Tara: [56:43] Yeah, she makes me so uncomfortable because I just cannot decide either she is that, let's say, goofy. And you know still she's like responsible for, I believe, at least one, if not multiple children and is going through the world in this addled way. Dave: [57:02] Yes. Tara: [57:02] Or. Dave: [57:03] Or she fell down the stairs recently. Tara: [57:05] Sure. Hit her head. Or she's pretending to be that dumb. Dave: [57:09] Uh-huh. Tara: [57:09] And I don't know which is worse. Dave: [57:11] If she's pretending to be dumb, this is some Andy Kaufman level shit. Tara: [57:16] Well, yes. I mean, when I interviewed Alex and Greg about her season, I did ask, like, what is her deal? Dave: [57:23] Yeah, I remember this. Tara: [57:23] And Alex was like, I can just tell you she's not putting it on. I don't know what her deal is, but it's not phony. So... I believe him, I guess. Dave: [57:33] Let me qualify my choice because she's bad. She was last place in that series. And she didn't really understand a lot of what was going on around her, it seemed. Just sort of like realizing some things after the fact. And I might say after the fact, sometimes on a different episode. Tara: [57:51] Yeah. Dave: [57:51] Like it just was puzzling where her concentration was at, let's say. But she was a bad contestant. Tara: [57:59] Yeah. Dave: [57:59] But I'm happy she was in that series. Because it was so crazy that this prominent entertainer in the UK, you're wondering, do we need to call some sort of service on her? Tara: [58:12] Right. She just needs to be in a conservatorship. Dave: [58:14] Like, can she feed herself without a cork at the end of the fork? Like, these are the questions I'm wondering about her. And you say, oh, that's very funny hyperbole. Like, she seems like maybe she needs a lot of care at home. Tara: [58:27] Does she have control of her own money and should she? Dave: [58:30] Yeah. Tara: [58:31] Yeah. Dave: [58:32] Yeah. Okay, last one. Hit us. Tara: [58:35] My last one. I also thought about Ian Sterling, but I was pretty sure you were going to take him. So I'm going to take the Ian Sterling of the more recent seasons, which is John Robbins, the winner of Series 17. He was the guy who's really into Queen. And if you forget, don't worry, you're going to hear about it 16 times per episode. Dave: [58:54] Yeah, he'll come to the stage in his Freddie Mercury Live Aid jacket. Tara: [58:57] Yes. And I realize how preposterous it is for me to say what I'm about to say, but he wanted it too much. He was too competitive in like an unfun way. Dave: [59:08] When Tara says you're too competitive, you got to take a good look at yourself. Tara: [59:13] But I mean, he did win. Dave: [59:15] Yeah. Tara: [59:15] But when he came back for the champion of champions this year, A, he was like clearly pissed off when he didn't win again. Dave: [59:22] Yeah. Tara: [59:23] Like you could tell it really bugged him. and i'll also say maizey's prize task for that one episode was just one where she like talked shit about all her male co-stars in the champion of champions because they were all men right like was just spreading rumors about them being bad feminists basically and like everything she said about him is like i kind of believe that that like he thinks he's the exception that proves the rule that he's like the good kind of you know ally to women who is actually a scumbag not in any criminal Wade, just like a dick. Dave: [59:55] Yeah. Tara: [59:55] So, yeah. I didn't come out of that liking him better either. Dave: [59:59] So that's favorite, least favorite. And now we're going to do best overall series. Did you do worst overall series as well? Tara: [1:00:04] I did not. Dave: [1:00:05] Okay. All right. Well, let me just give you my worst overall series and we can end on the other one. Tara: [1:00:09] Okay. Dave: [1:00:10] As I think you hinted at, I think they should really thank Rose Mattafeo, Ed Gamble, and Katie Wicks for pulling season nine out of the dumpster because that was- Carrying. Tara: [1:00:21] It on their backs. Dave: [1:00:22] High highs, low lows on that one. Tara: [1:00:24] Oh, yes. Dave: [1:00:24] So it gets a pass because of that. It's like at the end of the day in the creamy middle because of those extremes. And then like I was looking at all the other ones. I was like, there's no one that's like uniformly terrible, right? We never really had like a super dead of a season. I went with the most forgettable series, which was series 17, Joanne McNally, John Robbins, Nick Muhammad, Sophie Willen and Steve Pemberton. The only thing I remember from that is the guy's jacket that he brought onto stage, the Freddie Mercury jacket, and Nick being dressed as a vampire all the time. Tara: [1:00:58] Yeah. Dave: [1:00:58] And them taking the time to CG out his reflections and everything during the series and leaving that as an Easter egg for somebody to discover, which they did. Tara: [1:01:07] Yep. Dave: [1:01:07] Yeah. But beyond those two things, couldn't tell you a thing about that series. Tara: [1:01:11] Yeah, if I had to pick a least, and I hadn't before, but when I was going through it, the one that I thought was like most forgettable for me is series six, which is Alice Levine block. Dave: [1:01:24] Yeah. She's like a radio host or something like that. Yeah, you don't. Tara: [1:01:28] And she did that podcast that I'm sure is fake. My dad wrote a porno. Dave: [1:01:33] Oh, right. Tara: [1:01:33] I mean, I don't know for a fact it's fake. I just really believe it is. Awesome Chowdhury, he was fine. Russell Howard, he was okay. he's another hostie kind of a guy yeah he's a comic too but tim vine look like the punny old loser like andy saltzman more recently well one is season but a loser to me and lisa tarbuck the most forgettable winner i think they have yeah so yeah. Dave: [1:01:59] That's a good choice all right best overall. Tara: [1:02:01] My overall best cast, and I'm very curious to see if we matched, is Series 4, Hugh Dennis, Joe Lycett, Lale Adifope, Mel Gedroich, and Noel Fielding. And we recently revisited this one. I think we talked about it right after Mark was here, but Mark Blankenship was in the Mark Blankenship chair visiting us in January. He brought up Joe Lycett to me when we were out shopping or whatever, and I was like, have you seen him on Taskmaster? He said no. So we watched one episode that was not the one I thought it was, and then we watched just the task where Joe has the solo task of, like, smiling at the camera every 10 or 20 seconds or something, increasingly weirdly. Dave: [1:02:40] Yeah. Tara: [1:02:40] So I think that was a season where, like, not a dud. And they also seem to really, like, like each other in a very cute way, especially Mel and Hugh, who knew each other from university, said that they used to call him Desky. And then that was his nickname for the rest of the season because he was a SWAT. He was, like, very studious. Dave: [1:02:58] Yeah. Tara: [1:02:59] So that is my pick, Series 4. Dave: [1:03:01] Well, Tara, my pick was Season 4. Tara: [1:03:04] Yay! Dave: [1:03:07] I really enjoyed Mel Getterix's stealing of every little wax seal. Tara: [1:03:12] Melt this down for later. Dave: [1:03:14] Yeah. Did we ever discover what happened to those? Tara: [1:03:17] Nope. Dave: [1:03:17] Did we ever get a post-show follow-up? Tara: [1:03:19] Did not. Dave: [1:03:20] Yeah, I thought it was really great. I know Noel Fielding is in everybody's cup of tea. And certainly, if I had to watch everything he's ever done, no thank you. but between the Mighty Boosh and this, and he's fine on Bake Off as well. I think he's a capable color guy. I enjoyed him here too. He's a really good artist. And every time there was something to do with drawing or painting, I would forget. And then he would be like, well, I just whipped this up, this painting of the Taskmaster, using acrylic paint that I squeezed out of my foot or something like that. I was like, wow, that is super great. I always forget about how town city is in that regard too. Tara: [1:03:55] And as Greg pointed out, He's like kind of a lad when it comes to the sports tasks, too. Like they had one where they had to kick things and he was great at that as well, which you don't expect. Someone who is a goth weirdo. Dave: [1:04:06] And Hugh Dennis was one of our better skewing older contestants, I thought, too. Like he has some of the same tics as everybody who's whatever, like over 45 that they have on the show. But he also seemed to be game for letting himself look stupid and playing the fool sometimes. sometimes which is sort of the difference between a lot of the older contestants i find there's ones that are there and they're sort of like stoic and calcified and that is what rubs me the wrong way but there's some that are there and they act kind of a little bit towards that but then they also know their role which is sometimes to be made fun of because they do stupid things yep and when they engage with that that makes the difference yeah. Tara: [1:04:48] Yeah sanjay was a recent example of like the bad. Dave: [1:04:51] Way to. Tara: [1:04:51] Do that where it's like oh did you feel when you're watching this package do you feel bad that you opened that cupboard and ruined it for everyone he's like nope like okay great well this was a waste of 10 weeks of your time. Dave: [1:05:02] Yep, Dave: [1:05:04] And that is it for another episode of Extra, Extra Hot Great. We donned our best Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton costumes to find out how to get to heaven from Belfast. Didn't talk about that. Makes no sense. You can fill in the blanks. Before answering your burning ask ESG questions like who's dating a snowman and what Aaron Spelling universe are you living in? From Austin to Australia to Derry, famously part of Belfast, we all agreed Derry Girl's first cold open was tiny cannon worthy. We celebrated those who weren't quite the best and worst of the week. Bad Girl Carrie Race explained the 1980 Donna Summer Special. And we wrapped everything up with a look at our personal Taskmaster cast picks. Next up is Love Story. Remember? We're listening. I am David T. Cole and on behalf of Tara Ariana Your. Tara: [1:06:00] Accent's not that sexy. Dave: [1:06:01] And the absent Sarah D. Bunting Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time right here on Extra Extra Hot Great.