Taking The Down Elevator To Dept. Q

Dave: [0:24] This is the Extra Hot Great Podcast, episode 565 for the week of June 2nd, 2025. I am not your baby boy, David T. Cole, and I'm here with therapeutic tennis ball, Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [0:43] Ow! Dave: [0:44] DC Betty Boop, Tara Ariano. Tara: [0:46] I don't know why no one takes me seriously. Dave: [0:48] And hyperbaric chamber, Taylor Cole. Guest: [0:50] Don't fresher luck with me. Sarah: [0:53] Music. Dave: [0:57] What a way to start. And the way you started was, boo. Guest: [1:03] Your boos only make me stronger. Dave: [1:05] Yeah, I know. Tara: [1:07] Welcome to Extra Hot. Great for another week. We'll get into the episode in just a moment. But first, the Patreon campaign, it's back because it's the beginning of the month. Briefly, because we just did this in episode 562, and also briefly because I am sick, as you may be able to tell. But some of the campaign progress we made has rolled back, because that's what always happens at the start of a new month as people's credit cards expire, their financial circumstances change, etc. At the end of May, we were just $35 away from hitting our next campaign goal. As of this recording, it's $93. I think this could be the month we actually click over and unlock the latest perks, which are regular TV commentaries on the extra, extra hot, great bonus episodes from Carrie Race and Stephanie Green and a one-off Drunk Dave call-in show. So join us if you haven't. It's just $5 a month. If you have joined and you can kick up your pledge, we would love to see it. If you can afford to give a gift to a loved one that you think would enjoy us, you can do that. If you can't, you can ask a loved one to gift a subscription to you. All of this information and more is at extrahotgreat.com slash club. And if you can't get there this second, that's fine. It is in the show notes. Dave: [2:15] And just on a related note for people that are listening on Apple Podcasts, we'll be starting offering basically the same club subscription through apple podcast soon so this is just a heads up that your feed may look different whether you engage with that apple subscription or not i believe it is one feed for everybody and the stuff you can't get will be ghosted out so you'll see the extra extra hot greats sort of in your feed but you can't do anything with them i believe that's how it works or there's some interface change i'll go into more how to do it when it's actually up probably on next week's show but i just wanted to give everybody heads up that you're not seeing things, nothing's broken, hopefully, and that, yes, it's sort of a mixed presentation now. All right, that's it for me. Tara: [3:00] That's it for Sight Business. Joining us, he is a teacher and a podcaster you've heard hosting the Great American Pop Culture Quiz Show, as well as here with us many times. It's Taylor Cole. Welcome back, Taylor Cole. Sarah: [3:10] Thank you. Guest: [3:12] Thanks, guys. Tara: [3:13] Taylor is here to talk about Department Q, in which DCI Carl Mork, Matthew Goode, and his partner James Harvey, Jamie Sives, are at the site of a wellness check that turned out to be a crime scene, called in by a rookie named Anderson, Angus Yellowlees. They all find out the hard way that the scene was not as secure as they thought. When Mork returns to work, he's frustrated by everything that he has to attend department mandated therapy sessions with Dr. Rachel Irving, Kelly McDonald, that the detectives who are investigating the crime in which Mork was a victim are screwing it up. and that his supervisor, Moira Jacobson, Kate Dickey, is relegating him to a new cold case department some politician expressly asked for and that she doesn't even want except to spend the budget allocated for it on things the police precinct actually needs. Plus a huge new TV for her office. So, you know, we're on her side. Mork's new civilian assistant, Akram Saleem, Alexei Manvalov, is the one who pulls the case they end up tackling first, the four-year-old disappearance of a prosecutor named Merit Lingard, Chloe Peary. The series was adapted by Scott Frank of The Queen's Gambit fame from The Keeper of Lost Causes, one in a series of Department Q books by Danish novelist Juicy Adler Olsen. All nine episodes dropped on Netflix May 29th. We might talk about events from any of them. Let's do the Chen check-in. Taylor, should our listeners watch Department Q? Guest: [4:35] I think so, yes. I liked this a lot. You know, some nits to pick, but overall, I was happy to watch all nine. Tara: [4:40] Sarah? Sarah: [4:41] Same, roughly. I think I think you'll know pretty soon if it's for you, but if slow horses strained quite slowly through a cheesecloth of Sherlock and House is your jam, then you will love this. And if it's not, then you will not. Tara: [4:53] Dave. Dave: [4:55] Nanu, nanu. Tara: [4:57] Which means? Dave: [4:59] It's my tribute to Inspector Mork. Tara: [5:01] Oh, I know. Dave: [5:02] I'm going to agree with everybody so far. I think it is pretty good. Tara: [5:06] Yeah, I'll say it's fine. I'm sure we're going to finish it, but it didn't blow my hair back. Dave: [5:12] Yeah, I mean, that's fair. I mean, pretty good is relative. I think the type of show that this is actually born out of has done it better, but... Tara: [5:19] Yes. Dave: [5:20] We haven't had a Nordic noir in a while, so I'm a little starved for it. Tara: [5:24] Fair. All right. Before we get into this, I'm going to make very clear, we are in the spoiler zone now. I'm going to talk about the first few minutes of the series premiere where something surprising happens, so if you really don't want to be spoiled, come back to this after you've watched it. Spoiler alert! No! Yes! Okay. Now that we're here, the tropey gallows humor over the corpse interrupted by the full shock of the shooter just materializing really fucking got me. I may have gasped out loud. What did everyone else think of how this cold open set the tone for the rest of the series? Dave: [5:55] Let me go first. I don't usually give it to the guests, but I just want to illustrate how stupid my notes are. And I made myself laugh doing the notes because I unironically wrote the phrase Cracker Jack opening. Oh, that's so nice. Guest: [6:09] That's so nice. I agree. It's because I made it all the way to the end. And this mystery ends up going in so many more different directions that that initial opening, as great as it is, almost had evaporated from my mind. Which is a good thing, because I think I kind of like where the rest of this series goes. But it is a good way to sort of set the tone and let you know there are going to be surprises in there, for sure. Dave: [6:34] How familiar tale are you with Nordic noir shows? Have you watched other ones? Like ones actually from Scandinavia, like The Bridge or... Guest: [6:41] I watched a few episodes of the FX, The Bridge, and decided it was not so much for me, but not so much the Nordic stuff. I came to this more through the lens of liking a lot of the works of Scott Frank, particularly like his screenplays for movies. So that was more sort of my way into thinking about this series. Dave: [6:57] That escalation you're talking about or that one-upsmanship of the moments that make a show like this, you know, the milestones. What? Huh? What the fuck? Guest: [7:05] Yeah. Dave: [7:06] That's a familiar sort of feeling you get when you watch these type of shows. So if you like this, I think there's definitely more out there that you'll enjoy that we can recommend. Tara: [7:14] Yeah. I mean, Sarah, you've watched many of these too. What did you think of that opening? Sarah: [7:18] I thought it was amazing. I thought it made it more economical for them to do certain things from the jump. And then I literally jumped. So it has certain rhythms and it knows it does and it lulls you. And then my notes were like, I was in the middle of writing down credits cast that I recognized from other stuff. And it was like Kelly McDonough. In my notes, because I just was not expecting that at all. And I thought it also shared a certain sadness that Nordic noirs and also docudrama about real events have compared to usually Further West product, like American product, particularly. I'm thinking of The Breakthrough, which was out earlier this year on Netflix, and it's about a real case that was inspired by the way the Golden State Killer case was solved. And the tone of their crime drama and even true crime stories is much more about the sadness and grief around these stories. So I thought it got at that tone as well and was not as prurient. guess as some further Western European and American product can be. Tara: [8:35] I've complained before at some length about Netflix and its flashback-itis, but every time this one returned to the shooting at the beginning, it was slightly different and felt newly upsetting to me. Dave: [8:46] Yeah, what was really upsetting about that is when they brought in the Taiwanese 3D reenactments. Guest: [8:51] Oh my God. Sarah: [8:52] Yeah, the Crime 360 bots. Dave: [8:55] I understand it's a forensic tool and it's used in police departments across the world, but it was when they use it in a dramatic sense when somebody's having a serious mental anguish flashback it's like i don't know if that hit like you thought it was gonna hit well. Sarah: [9:09] Yeah yeah that weird like tron uncanny valley thing that's happening when. Dave: [9:14] People are just. Sarah: [9:14] Sort of like it's a pile of legos falling. Dave: [9:17] To the floor and you're like yeah well. Guest: [9:20] I think we can all agree matthew good uh very good looking individual uh human being and they you know i mentioned kind of when he's first coming back from the shooting, he keeps mentioning, oh, I got shot in the face. I got shot in the face. It was, you know, in one side of his neck and out the other because you're not going to mess up a face like that for the purpose of a show. We need full Matthew Good face, who I think is overall really good in the series. I like him a lot. I think it's not necessarily a sense of, oh, I hate this problematic cop character because he's too blunt or too mean or too disconnected, but I'm also not fully charmed by him in the way he thinks he's also charming. There is some layers there that I think, again, sort of more Western product would make it a little bit more obvious as to what we're supposed to think about him. But I like that there's a little bit more sort of room to feel him out as the series goes on. Tara: [10:08] And Taylor, when we invited you on and you've already mentioned him, you were excited to talk about the work of Scott Frank. Knowing his credits, was there anything that you were particularly hoping for here from him that you got? Guest: [10:18] So Scott Frank is, to me, kind of like James Mangold. He's a master of what I call regular good, where things can be good, but there's no one super element that's elevated or a tourist or has some super unique take or stylistic thing. He is just like the epitome of B-plus workmanlike adaptation. Tara: [10:39] Yes. Guest: [10:40] Feel that way about much of his work, particularly like the screenplays for Out of Sight and Minority Report, I think are sort of the high watermark of what I think of for Scott Frank. And for this also being an adaptation like those and The Queen's Gambit before it, to me, it's just this is just absolutely by the numbers, but as good as by the numbers can be in terms of taking an existing story with existing characters and putting it into, you know, a filmed format. Tara: [11:03] Yeah. Dave, you've already sort of talked around this, too. As soon as I saw the author's name in the credits, I felt like I could see the Scandinaviosity coming through, even though the show is set in Scotland. And you specifically called out something when we get to the main crime involving Merit Lingard made you think, oh, yeah, it really is coming through here. Dave: [11:20] The big, let's call it torture set piece, the thing in which somebody has to endure is something that runs through Nordic Noir. We had somebody in a, there's a submarine storyline in one of them that we watched. The bridge has some pretty gnarly stuff that people have to go through. So when the twist in the first episode where you discover that the timeline is being messed around with in regards to this lawyer, and that what you thought was happening currently is actually in the past. And now somebody has trapped her in this hyperbaric chamber inside of some abandoned or whatever industrial complex. And she's been there for four years. You're like, okay, now I see the bones of Scandinavian noir here. This is definitely a conversion of something that started life over there. And I'm going to be honest with you. It loses a little something when it's not set in Scandinavia for me. because there's something about that wintry, brisk feeling that you get watching one of those that is lost here. But if you're going to set it anywhere else but Scandinavia, Scotland is probably your second choice. Tara: [12:28] I have that in my notes as well. I, you know, I'm not in a position to say Scotland is the Denmark of the UK, but everyone's in sweaters. It's always overcast. You have like narcissism of small differences, beef with the neighboring country and so forth. then all of that comes through. Sarah, did you want to talk about the sweaters? Because I know this is always something you look out for in something like this. Sarah: [12:48] It is that they sort of matched Matthew Goode's sweaters to like the blue chill of the gels or the light. I was impressed by that. And it made up for having to care about his stupid kid, because that was one of my nitpicks. Sorry that it was like, I don't know, take one thing off. I mean, some other reviews said that it took too long and should have been like six to eight episodes instead of how long it is. And I'm going to keep watching it. And I don't I don't have to know every single thing, maybe fewer subplots. But this is always a complaint of mine that it's like taking it personally. Who cares? Dave: [13:26] Yeah. Nordic Wars are always engaging red herrings, too. So by nature, I think they're a little padded, you know, from a sort of no nonsense detective show. Like, it's never the first or second thing. It's always, you know, the thing introduced halfway through. I mean, there's a formula, but I kind of love the formula. Tara: [13:43] The formula's good. Sarah: [13:44] Yeah. Tara: [13:45] But even, like, looking after stepchild of departed ex-partner is, like, that came up in Deadwind, too. Dave: [13:51] Mm-hmm. Tara: [13:52] Same as here. Sarah: [13:53] Yeah. Guest: [13:54] I know, Tara, you mentioned sort of petty differences with surrounding countries and communities. One of the things I did like a lot about this series is that Mork, the Matthew Good character, is an Englishman, but working in Scotland. And those sort of like minor cultural differences are a great flavor to the series. It's not the whole text, the way that it kind of felt like it was in Mare of Easttown with her sort of being this outsider, but also trying to solve this crime. But then the way that that, you know, with Merritt being from this island of Moor, also having the sort of outsider status was, again, a thing that it's a good. Yes, there's a lot of different subplots and kind of this deep lore that keeps spinning out through it goes, but as it goes, but it always felt more like flavor than the whole meal, which I enjoyed from a kind of propulsive perspective for the larger mystery they're spinning. Dave: [14:35] Speaking about appreciated nuance, I like the fact that Detective Mork, Nanu Nanu, doesn't dry swallow his pills. He takes two pills out of his bottle and he makes the effort to go to the Dixie Cup machine and get a nice little glass of water. And then he takes his pills like a normal human. So, you know, he's serious about his work. Tara: [14:54] Okay, but they could have renamed him like Detective Morgan, like calling him Mork as an English person. Like not to say that he couldn't have Danish heritage. Of course he could, but it's weird. Dave: [15:04] Detective Dick Solomon. Tara: [15:06] Sure. Exactly. Dave: [15:09] Is that right? Did I get it right? Is that the character from Third Rock from the Sun? Tara: [15:12] Yeah, that's John Lithgow. Yeah, you did. Dave: [15:14] Yeah, thank you. Memory. Still working sometimes. Tara: [15:18] You nailed it, Dave. Good job. A slight tangent on the enmity between British and Scottish people. I was at the ATX TV Festival last weekend. There was a panel on Andor, and of course, I think that mostly shot in England. and Tony Gilroy told a story about one of the actors going ham with their Scottish accent and the director calling being like, you need to give him the note that he needs to tone it down. And Tony's like, you're there, you give him the note. And the director was like, I can't, I'm English. These are the differences we don't necessarily appreciate from this side of the ocean. Anyway, is it possible to take a villain seriously when they speak in a Scottish accent? because every time they were talking to Merit on the mic, I was like, did we hurt your wee feelings? It was just very over the top. Dave: [16:06] Yeah, but that was like the couple from, what was that nuclear disaster cartoon? Like the wind in the willows or whatever it was called. No, it was a cartoon about two old people. There was a nuclear blast in Britain and they're like very slow to protect themselves. They don't really understand what's going on. They die of radiation poisoning. It's super famous. It's like got the word wind in it or something. the. Tara: [16:28] Gnome when the wind blows. Dave: [16:30] When the wind blows yeah if they felt like the couple from when the wind blows they're just a cute old couple but they just are bent on terrible revenge just by my god. Tara: [16:40] So we've already talked about Matthew Goode as Mork. When Moira, in I think the second episode, says he could have shaved for his big press conference, I was like, she's right. Let's see those dimples. I feel like they wanted more Matthew Goode. Guest: [16:52] I like him, again, sort of used as a kind of larger piece of the tapestry. One of the things I did enjoy about the series, in addition to his performance, was that it does inhabit this larger world that keeps spinning bigger and bigger as it goes, which means you have to have less good as it progresses. But by the end, it does enough feel about sort of linking around and back his character and, you know, sort of the team he's put together. Like the most satisfying element of the story, you know, even though for me is the putting together of this team as it goes. And by the end, you know, you can tell that it's something that's based on a series of books. And it's setting up that these four people who are kind of, you know, inhabiting this super well production designed basement by the end of it are going to have further adventures together. And while I'm not necessarily clamoring for Department Q season two, this is perfectly, you know, fine period on the sentence by the end of it. I did like the sort of putting the group together aspect of the series. Dave: [17:44] If I may, slow reindeer. Sarah: [17:47] There it is. There it is. Guest: [17:49] There it is. Tara: [17:49] Yeah. We also get Kelly McDonald as Dr. Irving, as I mentioned. And I know shrinks aren't allowed to smooch their clients, but I feel like we should just make one exception in this case. But Sarah, I know you were probably annoyed by the tropiness of like, oh, it's a cop who has to go to therapy and he's not going to participate. Sarah: [18:05] Yes, I'm annoyed by the tropiness of that, but also like it's a trope. At least we didn't really have to do the cop's wife failed to apprehend that she married a cop until cameras started rolling nonsense. Like that's my least favorite. This was fine. And I like these two actors enough that they were clearly the characters were sort of enjoying trying to solve each other. And then the actors also were clearly enjoying themselves. And I love both of them. So I thought that was fine. you know, a bowl of tennis balls on the table of your therapeutic office is pretty cool. I'm a little surprised we don't see that more often in pop culture. Tara: [18:47] We've got Alexei Manvalavasalim. I'm concerned about where the show is ultimately going to come down on what is clearly a background in torture, but I'm going to choose to hope for the best with that regard. And Taylor, you've watched ahead. You can probably let us know. Guest: [18:59] It doesn't get as explicit about his backstory as it would if this was a one and done in terms of the series. The whole thing does leave a lot of threads not pulled to completion, and his background is definitely part of it. But I do like, again, like I say, putting the team together, I think that's an interesting character for sure who is kind of more than just a sidekick with a haunted past. He feels like he has a little bit more identity and agency and reality to him than you often see in those sort of, you know, new sidekick characters. Yeah. Tara: [19:32] Mm-hmm. Finally, I'll just shout out Mark Bonner, who we know from Catastrophe as Stuart Burns, the Merritt's boss. You can't make a show in Scotland without him. It's in the Constitution. And they did not want to pay the fine. So they cast him. And for as much as we've seen him so far, he's great as always, I thought. Dave: [19:49] All right, I'll wrap up. I got a few shows for Taylor. Guest: [19:52] Oh, yes, please. Dave: [19:53] All right, so we got my favorite, The Bridge, and there's four seasons of it, a.k.a. Braun in Swedish or Danish, whatever. There's another great one called Trapped. It takes place in Iceland, and there's a murder that needs to be solved as a winter storm closes in in this tiny little fishing village. Nobody can leave. Very atmospheric. There's, of course, Forbidelson, which is almost the granddaddy of all these. That is what they turned into the killing in America. Don't hold that against it. And there's a weird one called The Investigation, which is the submarine one I was talking about earlier, which stars the very unique looking dude from Porva Delson as a investigator. And that one's pretty good, too. Tara: [20:31] It is, but it's the most different from all of these. Dave: [20:33] Yeah. Tara: [20:33] I would say watch that one last. Dave: [20:35] Yeah, definitely. Tara: [20:40] Got a lot of shows. It's a great time for shows. Dave: [20:45] It is time for around the dial first stop as always tara. Tara: [20:51] So you know how toward the end of succession it got a lot less funny because it was too real what if the feeling that last season gave you got refined and processed down from multiple episodes of tv to a pill you could take that would make you feel awful that's mountain head so this hbo movie which aired on saturday it's on max now as well. It's basically Jesse Armstrong's version of an emergency podcast. Tara: [21:13] He was alarmed by how things are going in the world. So from conception to delivering it to your screen only took him six months. And if that already seems alarming, hold on to your butts. It's about three billionaires and a 500 millionaire meeting up to play poker at the poorest guy's gigantic house in Utah. And he is called the estate Mountainhead. And don't worry, someone else makes a fountainhead a joke minutes into the movie, and you can decide which real-life billionaires you think best onto the characters. The one played by Steve Carell has terminal cancer, but has decided not to believe it's actually going to kill him because he's going to live long enough to upload his consciousness to the grid. The one played by Corey Michael Smith, his second world-class asshole performance in the past few months after playing Chevy Chase on Saturday night, runs a social media platform for which he has just launched stunningly powerful AI tools that users around the world are using to create fake videos of various atrocities that have inflamed people to commit real violence that he refuses to accept are authentic. The one played by Rami Youssef has built a filter that can identify AI-generated content. Naturally, the US government is very interested in having access to it, but fake Elon Musk wants to buy it so he can control it instead. And the one played by Jason Schwartzman is the poorest one, and he keeps stealth pitching the other guys on coming on to his wellness app, even though the rule for these get-togethers is No deals, no meals, no high heels. Tara: [22:34] As things around the world start unraveling extremely rapidly, the billionaires start convincing each other that they should use the chaos to take control of a little country like Argentina or Paraguay and run it properly as an example for the rest of the world. One of them is not on board with this idea, so the other three start hatching a different plan. without him. And I won't spoil it in case anyone actually is going to watch it, but if you've listened this long and thought, I sure do not want to watch an alleged comedy movie about how arrogant billionaires are taking a huge shit on the world we all supposedly share. Listen to your instincts. This is not what you need right now. Watch Animal Control on Fox instead. Speaking of which, Animal Control was one of the shows that had a panel last weekend at the ATX TV Festival, which I attended. We put a link in the show notes to my author page at Cracked, which is where you You can find all of the newsy posts that I wrote about the various panels I attended. Also my review of Mountain Head. But for real, you do not need to watch Mountain Head. Dottie, you lived it. Dave: [23:29] All right, Taylor, what have you been watching recently? Guest: [23:32] All right. This is going to come off like a manic rant. But at the end, it ends with a question slash request. So get ready. I am angry about the rehearsal season two. And I'm also angry about the fact that I'm angry about the rehearsal season two. because maybe Nathan Fielder wants me to be angry and I'm playing into whatever antagonistic game he's playing with his audience. And while I should have probably quit after the second episode of the second season out of being fed up with whatever smug version of reality Fielder is presenting or inviting me to question, I am a nervous flyer who often faints on planes and have had a long-held fascination with Chesley Sully Sullenberger and the miracle on the Hudson. So the aviation safety element or what he might conclude or want us to think he's concluded was just compelling enough to make me finish the season and then be largely unsatisfied on that front. Guest: [24:18] And even though things that are supposed to be funny in the season often did make me laugh, he keeps calling out that any actual comedy in the show undermines the actual points he's trying to make. So then my frustration with his continual self-important navel-gazing is also just me navel-gazing about my own relationship to the show. So I feel like personally assaulted by the storytelling in the show, which is maybe the point. And then if that is the point, I'm angry again for having realized that and still watch through to the end. I am generally a non-competitive person But I had this continual feeling that if I just quit watching, I would somehow lose the non-existent battle that I am fighting with Nathan Fielder. And then it made this weird comparison in my head that somehow I have become the Cyril Karn to his Cassian Andor. And that caused me to shame spiral even further. Guest: [25:02] Anyway, I won't go on, but I'm going to solicit you and the ExtraHawk Great listeners for a new piece of terminology. What is this type of viewing called? It's not a traditional hate watch, but some other kind of blank watch. What is that blank? Tara: [25:15] I mean, it's sort of spiteful. Spite watch, maybe. Dave: [25:18] But it's also based in insecurity. Guest: [25:21] Yes, insecurity is exactly the right. Sarah: [25:23] Like neurosis? Neurose watch? Dave: [25:27] I mean, I think you might have buried the lead here. Did you say that you faint on airplanes? Guest: [25:32] Yeah, like three times in the past two years, I fainted on airplanes. Dave: [25:35] Can you control when you faint? Because that's the dream. Guest: [25:38] No, it just... I know how to combat it. it's just to make sure I have snacks to keep my blood sugar high enough if I start to feel lightheaded. But there have been like just in the recent past, there'll be times where I'm on planes and all of a sudden my vision starts to go. I get dizzy and just conk right out. It's very weird. Dave: [25:55] I mean, I say this in jest, but that sounds kind of like a travel superpower. I would love to knock myself out and wake up when we're landing on a plane. I'm not a good flyer either. Guest: [26:05] It's not like falling asleep. It's like you go into like a scary cold sweat and feel like you're yeah so but yeah yeah i. Dave: [26:12] Fainted a couple times in my life. Guest: [26:13] Somehow okay yeah yeah not a follow-up for dave did. Tara: [26:16] You just say aeroplane yeah. Guest: [26:18] Aeroplane sure okay all right jeff mangum over here how. Dave: [26:23] Do you spell aeroplane it's got an o. Guest: [26:25] Right in it a. Dave: [26:27] E r o aero yeah. Tara: [26:29] Like we all say. Dave: [26:30] 23 skidoo. Guest: [26:32] Anyway good job taylor. Tara: [26:34] This show did not beat you. Guest: [26:35] Yeah it's great if you want to hear me getting less worked up about things that i am watching The G&T podcast is still happening, available wherever you get podcasts, me and my pal Greta, talking about movie double features. And then in the next couple months here, I will also be appearing on This Head Oscar Buzz, Demi, Myself, and I, and Muppetergy. All podcasts you should listen to even when I'm not on them, but I will be on those in the near future. Dave: [26:57] Great. Fantastic. Dave: [27:00] All right, Sarah D. Bunting, what have you been watching recently? Sarah: [27:04] I went back to the beginning of The Last of Us. After last week's canon presentation, I went back to the beginning and started it. I had never played the game, so nothing was going to suffer by comparison for me. And overall, I think it lived up to the hype. Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, of course, both brilliant. Ramsey specifically striking a really compelling balance between realistically annoying, know-it-all, wise-beyond-her-years dystopia teen and sympathetically overwhelmed child at times. I went back to read about some of the casting overlaps with the game. That was fascinating. We'll see how I feel about season two, but at least in the first season, some of the things that I was afraid were going to turn me off because it was going to be Walking Deadsy, like main characters having unrealistic plot armor, plotting flashbacks, non-credible speechifying. None of that was really an issue. Not that the writing wasn't doing those things at times, but they felt justified and they were paid off by the performances in a way that The Walking Dead never managed, even in the pilot episode. I was like, oh my God, what are we doing? Sarah: [28:10] The production design of The Last of Us is so brilliant. Just the very particular ways that various kinds of structures and disused technology have fallen apart in different places and scenes. The way that various communities had revived utilities and which ones and how. It was fun occasionally to pause or skip back a minute in an episode and just observe the game slash show's idea of how nature would have reasserted itself. I mean, I'm that weirdo who not only was obsessed with that History Channel show Life After People, but put it in the canon presentation list. Hmm, wonder why no one's picked it. But yeah, that kind of world building in projects like this is like my favorite part. Anyway, The Last of Us is very good, doy. Dave: [28:58] I got a question for you before we get off The Last of Us, which is what did you think of the mushroom lover's kiss in, I think, episode two that ends Anna Torv. Sarah: [29:08] I mean, I just... Dave: [29:10] It's so gross. Sarah: [29:12] It's so nasty. And even she... I think Anna Torv, over the years, has gotten unfair amounts of shit for her acting or wooden, you know, crappy American accent, whatever. Like, she, I think, was perfect on Fringe and she has never bothered me. But she was really good in that scene because you can see her and the character both trying not to Ralph. Like, I'm sure it was CGI, but still. It's just like, oh, fungal fronds going into your mouth is the last thing you experience on this earth. Pasadena. Dave: [29:47] I don't know. I think she's great. I really liked her in the newsreaders, too, which is the Australian 80s. Sarah: [29:52] Yeah, I gotta watch that. Dave: [29:54] Yeah, it's good. And there's three seasons. We haven't watched the latest season yet because of the volume of television. But yeah, check that out if you like her. Sarah: [30:00] She was a badass in mind hunter too all right yeah she's. Tara: [30:04] In the new show nautilus coming up on amc. Sarah: [30:06] Is it about the machines it's. Dave: [30:08] Just her working out for an hour every. Sarah: [30:10] Episode just her doing tricep curls got it anyway last of us is good um i think it's not for everyone though it's pretty unstinting on death and grime although this is another thing i appreciate about it like it's a realistic amount of this is how grotsky everybody's clothes would look but if you like me cannot really deal with a credible post-apocalyptic lack of chapstick that you know that can wear i wouldn't be watching more than one episode at a time the shortest episode is maybe 50 minutes i get why people would ankle it but if like me you did interact with last week's canon presentation and loved that episode but you weren't sure the rest of the season was going to be enough like that or enough sort of unlike the walking dead for you i mean it is different but i think it was really great and well done. Dave: [31:00] Exciting new entry in the Sarah lexicon, which of course I am building over the years. Grotsky. Tara: [31:04] Oh, you've heard that before. Sarah: [31:06] Oh, you've heard Grotsky before. Dave: [31:08] Like Wayne Grotsky? Sarah: [31:10] Or Leon Grotsky. I have referred to things as Wayne Grotsky and also Gribsby, Ontario. You've heard that one many times. Dave: [31:17] All right, so what do you got to plug? Sarah: [31:19] I would like to plug your local foster pet organization and or TNR organization. That's Trap, Neuter, Release. That's trying to sort of control animal populations in your area. I would urge you, if you have a couple extra bucks, to support them. And if you can't find one near you, in the show notes, I've put a link to the Instagram of the foster coordinator for my current, quote, foster cat. He has now been here four months. His name is Cookie. He is black and white. If anyone would like to adopt him, he is here on my lap right now. So say nice things because he's listening. Instagram account of Bookstore Cats. She is overwhelmed right now. It's kitten season. I mean, it's like always kitten season. with the economy, people are streeting dogs and cats. It's tough out there, and if you can help out these people who are trying to help out the four-legged friends, that would be really great. Link in the show notes. Dave: [32:17] All right, coming up... All right, coming up... All right, coming up Friday on Extra, Extra Hot Grade available to club members. We'll be talking about the Owen Wilson show, Stick. Tara, after watching Sticking Stick, can you tell us if Club would have been a better title for this golf sitcom? Tara: [32:39] I don't know. Stick is the guy's nickname. Dave: [32:42] Yeah, I know, but his nickname should have been Club. Tara: [32:43] Well, John. Dave: [32:44] If you want to hear more about that show and what a tantalizing preview that was, go to extrahotgreat.com slash club for more info and to sign up and get us over that next milestone. Guest: [32:57] You mean extrahotgreat.com slash stick. Dave: [33:01] That's right. Don't say that. I think we have to go there and get a 404. And then come back here next week for an exciting development, for an exciting coverage of a TV show. And of course, I've guessed to go with that TV show. You know what? It's good. I'm not even going to bother saying what it is and who it is, because I think we all know. And that's that. Tara: [33:24] Yeah. Dave: [33:28] Things might've fell through. Tara: [33:30] Well. Dave: [33:34] It is time for the extra hot great canon presenting this week live to tape it's taylor cole in keeping with one of the great through lines of season one episode two of apple tv's the. Tara: [33:51] Belabored metaphor that i could bring back at the end a bookend if you will, But after several hours of stewing on what that bookend would look like, I abandoned the idea. Dave: [36:05] Suit, I might not have spotted you. Follow me. Stupid fucking suit. Just hold up a giant sign that says, I sign your paychecks, you hogs. As if the president of the studio visiting wasn't distracting. Tara: [40:40] Old convertible, custom plate, STD head. It's studio head, not STD. Oh, shit, it's both. Guest: [40:47] Fuck, it's mine. Are you fucking serious? Why are you even still here, Matt? It's not my fault! Greta asked me to stay, okay? I'm trying to support women. I can't support women if I'm not here. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Are you explaining supporting women. Tara: [41:29] They didn't get it. Fuck! Guest: [41:31] For an episode of TV with a lot of moving parts, dramatically, comedically, and thematically, it all still comes together for an. Tara: [41:54] Thank you, Taylor. Sarah, why don't you go first? Sarah: [41:57] I would love to. Thank you so much for bringing me back to this episode. I had seen it before, but this time I got to watch it looking for the seams, like you said. I think your point that this could have worked as the pilot or maybe should have been the pilot is well taken. I think this great one-act farce is exactly that. It put me in mind of noises off in certain places, but also put me in mind of other sort of meta materials like John Gregory Dunst's. the studio was like the original book sort of about this, this whole scene. Sarah: [42:32] This whole world. But I also thought about Project Greenlight. I thought about Truffaut trying to direct a kitten eating off a room service tray in Day for Night. Even the soundtrack that they used put me in mind of like Truffaut things where it's like there's just random jazz happening and piano players running down side streets. And this is what these characters and the studio head in particular are dreaming is going to happen. And it doesn't work out. Sarah Polly's disintegration from just like briskly like, aha, like sort of doing what she has to do to like get out of the conversation to just like screaming at him is brilliant. And I can't think of a better person to cast as a heightened version of themselves than her to do this. I think this was an extremely ambitious idea for this show to do. And the layers of meta, like a delicious bloomin' onion, are really brilliant in it. Everything is timed so perfectly. Sarah: [43:32] The one-act farce, it is absolutely that. And receiving it as such is a delight, but then receiving it as an extremely well-thought-out comment on the conflict between art and commerce and the conflict between trying to give the studio what they want and trying to do what you want. It's really well thought out, but it's not too proud of itself, even though it justifiably could be extremely proud of itself. So excellent presentation. I, too, love a bookend. And yeah, thank you. Dave: [44:04] Just before we move on, Sarah, I have a question for you. I think the next Greta Lee project that she has to leave the next day for, I think this is how it works in the episode, is a... Sarah: [44:15] Right. Is it Jack the Ripper? Dave: [44:17] Jack the Ripper, directed by Nolan, with a female Jack the Ripper. Say everybody bunting, good idea or not? Sarah: [44:24] I mean, if Greta Lee's in it, it's Bunt Nip, and I am there opening day. So, yeah. I mean, no, not a good idea, but Bunt Nip. Dave: [44:34] All right, Tari, you want to go next? Tara: [44:35] Yeah, I'll go next. I feel like I didn't read it in anyone else's review, but every scene in this show is a one-er. This is just the longest one, and the one that made me really realize, and then go back to the first episode and go, oh my God, they're doing this this whole time. I mean, is a one or is presented as one? Of course, there could be tricks, like you said. But I feel like, and I wrote in my review, that if you don't like this episode, you will not like this show because it's, I mean, I don't necessarily think you could launch right into it if we had zero grounding in like Matt's character. But I take your point that it's certainly a stronger episode than the pilot is for sure. I love how it, takes what is essentially like you know a movie is a big deal but it's also kind of silly and you know the people that are making this show know that and nevertheless the longer you go on like by the time he trips over that table i was like free i think i had my hands over my face like it's so uncomfortable to watch and they're so good at building that tension not just with matt not knowing where he's supposed to be on the set but also like the underlying tension like you said of every person's interaction with him because of his status and how that contributes to the disaster that is happening. Dave: [45:46] But I mean, he's so oblivious to the whole workings of the set. And the first real thing he does that starts to screw everything up is he talks to Doug, the, I don't know what you call him. Tara: [45:56] PA. Dave: [45:56] Yeah, the PA. And Doug is coming over to him to basically ask if he wants anything from craft services. And Matt sends him down from the top of the LA hills to get him some complicated starbucks order so he's out of the game for like an hour and that just like sets the tone and with all that and with that jazzy drum beat behind everything you start to feel like you're going a little mad. Tara: [46:19] And it. Dave: [46:20] Really doesn't stop until. Tara: [46:21] The episode ends yeah it definitely it creates the sensation that you need to have to watch this episode where you you can feel the stakes heightening with every fuck up and i'm so glad that you you clipped the moment where he's just keeps interrupting sarah polly trying to give her ad or whoever that is their notes like just over and over and over like no one there can say shut up and even the people that try to that have enough status to like step to him which are sal and patty like he still has more than they do and can and just ignore them i. Sarah: [46:52] Meant to note that rogan's performance does not cheat any of this at all like his just blundering obliviousness is pitched exactly right. Tara: [47:02] And And so. Sarah: [47:03] Is Polly's like increasingly clipped, like she has a stock rotation of like responses, but they're getting shorter and shorter as it goes on. Really well done. Dave: [47:13] Especially when, you know, she's Canadian and it's against her nature. Tara: [47:15] Yes. Guest: [47:16] Yes. Tara: [47:16] And his as well. He's also Canadian. Dave: [47:19] That's right. Tara: [47:19] Yeah. I think this is a great, I won't say first of many, but certainly the perfect first episode to talk about for canon purposes of the studio and excellent presentation. Great job. Dave: [47:29] Yep. Guest: [47:30] Thanks. Dave: [47:30] I agree. Taylor, if you bring us one more one canon presentation, you have a trilogy. We've got One Way Out, we've got The One-er, and what's next? Guest: [47:38] That's right. Dave: [47:39] The One-Taylor canon trilogy. Guest: [47:41] I hadn't thought about that. I now also have two Thomas Barbuska canon entries. That's true. Tara: [47:47] A Wet Hot American Summer. Yes. Guest: [47:50] And this, so. Dave: [47:50] Three jokes that nobody's mentioned that I really enjoyed. They set him up at some point with his own little video village away from the director. And Sal comes up to him. He's pointing. Link, you got your own little video village. It's great. You got your own raisins. Guest: [48:05] Yeah. Sarah: [48:07] Yeah. I wrote that down. Dave: [48:08] There's a point where Matt has to go to the bathroom in between takes. Guest: [48:13] Yes. Dave: [48:13] And he has to pee very fast and he's holding his dick and he's like, pee faster, you stupid shit. Which I really enjoy the idea of a stress-filled urination where you have to really just make everything go faster. And let me tell you, there's a maximum level that you can pee. And after that, there's no going faster. It's like you reach the speed of pee light and you just physically cannot go any faster than that. And then when he actually trips and knocks over the ice bucket, somebody says, can you believe how hard he fell? Yes, it was really funny. Tara: [48:47] That's Fred and Sarah. Guest: [48:49] Yeah. Dave: [48:50] So I thought it was great. But this episode is just so good at that escalation ramp. And then sort of the release right at the end, right at the end where you clip it, where they're driving back down the L.A. Hill. And there's a text that Sal gets, oh, we didn't get it. And immediately Seth Rogen has Matt said, fuck! And he's got a great voice for yelling fuck. I mean, I didn't think of Seth Rogen as one of our great pop culture yellers. But after this, I'm sort of after this show in general, I am sort of on board for that. Tara: [49:21] Well, we've been watching him in Platonic, too. And he does a lot of good yelling there as well. Dave: [49:25] Yeah, that's a good show. I didn't watch that when it came out, but I'm also enjoying him in Platonic. So, yeah, great presentation. Great episode. I absolutely agree, Avatar. if you didn't enjoy this one skip the studio but this is exactly at my comedy wheelhouse i love this sort of cringy comedy when it's done well, Yeah, and I think this has done really well. All right, let's put this to the vote. Sarah D. Bunting, the one-er, canon-worthy or not. Sarah: [49:54] I'm very glad that we got through the whole thing without talking about Ray Liotta's dick, R.I.P. And get it, P? But yes, yes for me. Dave: [50:03] All right, Tara Ariano. Tara: [50:04] Oh, you mean the one who had a package like a caramel leather sofa, that guy? Sarah: [50:08] Yeah, but that's beside the point. Tara: [50:10] Yes, great job, Taylor. Yes, for me as well. Dave: [50:12] Yeah, me too. Great presentation. Guest: [50:13] Woo-hoo! Dave: [50:19] All right, The Canon, The Studio, Season 1, Episode 2, The One-er. You are hereby inducted into the Extra Hot Gray Canon. Dave: [50:32] Americans love a winner. Yep. And will not tolerate a loser. Nope. It is time for the winner and loser of the week. Who is our winner, Sarah? Sarah: [50:43] We have two winners. Anthony Boyle and Julia Garner have been cast as Sam Beckman-Fried and Carolyn Ellison in Netflix's series about FTX, The Altruists. I'm not sure I would be in for a whole series about these toadstools without these two, but Garner has been so good in genre properties. She was so good in Dirty John Mark 1. And Boyle is also extremely good in a couple of true crime properties, Say Nothing and the John Wilkes Booth Lincoln assassination thing that were maybe not quite up to his level all the time say nothing was quite good actually in any case it's good to see the barfer from that air force show that we watched whose name i can never remember it's not this i believe thank you these. Dave: [51:27] Things i fly. Sarah: [51:28] These things i fly that it's good to see him getting work in this genre it needs him can. Dave: [51:34] I just say remember this moment put a pin in it tara who is our loser. Tara: [51:39] We've been following the slow motion death of late night TV over the past while a few weeks ago, we talked about CBS canceling after midnight because they presumably couldn't throw enough money at the host to make her stay. And so now we find out they're not going to develop a new show to go after the late show with Stephen Colbert. Instead, they are going to give that time slot to Comics Unleashed, barely a show hosted by byron allen and a panel of comedians where he essentially is just sitting there giving them the setups for them to do bits from their acts and it's real grim uh good luck to. Dave: [52:17] Isn't that show like 25 years old by now yeah and it's. Tara: [52:21] Usually on in syndication at like. Dave: [52:23] Three in the morning yeah and it shows and it shows it's. Tara: [52:27] It's fine for that you know but not for this so. Dave: [52:30] Byron allen is a weird stealth tv mogul though like he's so rich so much he owns the weather channel he owns the parts of television you're like oh yeah right that exists but he owns so much of it that it all Dave: [52:42] works out and he makes oodles of cash yeah good for him yeah uh speaking about winning oodles of cash asterisk no do you know what time it is game time, Let me just say, Taylor, it's really nice to have you in the game environment again. And now the tables have turned. Guest: [53:10] Yes. I am hosting. Dave: [53:11] You are playing. Guest: [53:13] Oh, no. Dave: [53:14] This is, no, this is the fourth game time of the season. Sarah is leading with two points. Tara right behind with one value guest. Taylor still looking to get on the board. Today, we are playing three more of these from Erica, who earns herself an extra credit. topic of her choosing, plus a free shirt or whatever from the EHG store at throughmethods.com. I will give you two TV-related things in this game that share a commonality. If you can guess this common trait at this stage, I will give you two points. If you get it wrong or you just need a hint, I will give you a third thing in that commonality, after which a correct answer is worth one point. So if I said something very simple like Bart and Lisa, you could say they are Simpsons. Of course, yes, very easy example, but that is how the game is played. Sarah D. Bunting, just to reiterate, you can guess at both stages. Sarah: [54:09] Thank you. Dave: [54:09] At the end of the second stage, you haven't gotten right. We are doing something a little different today. Whoever is in last place will get a chance to steal it. And if we're tied for last place, they steal it and they get to split the points. Yes, we may have half points. we may be dealing with fractions. Just accept it. Let's throw it to Picky to see who is going first. We will start with Sarah. All right, we'll go Sarah, Tara, Taylor today. 18 questions, no equalizer challenge zones today. Are we ready to play three more of those? Tara: [54:46] Yes. Guest: [54:46] Yes. Dave: [54:47] All right, Sarah D. Bunting, I'm going to give you two things from television. You try to figure out what they have in common. If you don't get it, we'll move on to a third thing. Your two things are Flynn Carson and Mr. Ambrose. Flynn Carson, Mr. Ambrose. Sarah: [55:06] Mr. Ambrose, Flynn Carson. They're both butlers. Dave: [55:11] Your third item in the same list is Rupert Giles. Flynn Carson, Mr. Ambrose, Rupert Giles. They all have something in common. What is it? Sarah: [55:25] Flynn Carson, Mr. Ambrose, Rupert Giles. Dave: [55:29] Flynn Carson is not from Downton Abbey. You were thinking of Mr. Carson, but he's not Flynn. Tara: [55:35] His first name is Mr. Dave: [55:37] Yep. Sarah: [55:37] They were all in punk bands when they were young. Dave: [55:41] Close. All right. So everybody's at zero. So Taylor and Tara, you get to confer. And if you answer correctly, you will both get half a point. What do you think? Guest: [55:52] Guessing librarians? Tara: [55:53] That was my guess, too. Dave: [55:55] You are correct. Flynn Carson is the librarian from The Librarians. Mr. Ambrose from Bob's Burgers. and, of course, Rupert from Buffy. All right, so we have half points right out of the gate. I'm so happy. Tara: [56:08] Great. Dave: [56:09] Tara? Guest: [56:10] Feels like quiz show days again. Dave: [56:11] Yep. Warden Leo Glynn and Ed Stevens. Tara: [56:18] They were both in the Air Force. Dave: [56:21] Adding to those two, Dr. Mark Green. Glynn Stevens Green. Tara: [56:28] Well, it can't be that they're bald. Dave: [56:29] If you get it wrong, we go to Sarah for the one-point pickup. Tara: [56:32] Yeah. Um, they all had cancer. Dave: [56:37] All right, Sarah D. Bunting. You can pick up a point and get into the lead. You can tell me what Warren Leo Glynn, Ed Stevens, and Dr. Mark Green have in common. Sarah: [56:49] Brady Teenage Daughters? Dave: [56:53] All right. No points, but Taylor, do you have any idea what we're talking about here? Guest: [56:56] They all died in the eighth seasons of their shows. Dave: [56:59] These are characters from shows with two letter titles. Sarah: [57:05] Oz, Ed, and E.R. Dave: [57:07] So no points. Tara: [57:09] Oh, Ed Stevens. God damn it. I was thinking Ed for fucking For All Mankind. Dave: [57:13] Taylor, here comes your first pair. Figure out the commonality. Honey and Porthos. Honey, Porthos. Guest: [57:23] Well, they're Steels. I don't want to say too, too much. They are all single members of famous groups of three? Dave: [57:33] Honey, Porthos, and Snoopy. Guest: [57:38] Oh, they're all dogs. They're all beagles. Dave: [57:43] All beagles. Bluey is where Honey is from. You've got Star Trek Enterprises, Porthos, and, of course, Snoopy from various peanut specials and series. Tara: [57:53] For one point, right? Dave: [57:54] For one point. Back to Sarah D. Bunting. You've got Kristen Ritter and Larry David. Kristen Ritter or Larry David? Sarah: [58:03] Kristen Ritter and Larry David. They're both Sagittarius. Dave: [58:11] Kristen Ritter, Larry David, Bob Odenkirk all have something in common in the world of television. What is it? Sarah: [58:25] They well no that's not true, yeah I don't know. Dave: [58:32] Alright who's in last place please Sarah I am oh alright you get another guess I guess why not I. Sarah: [58:40] Mean why not I don't know if they're all in prequels then. Dave: [58:44] Alright we were looking for stars of shows whose titles contain advice Better call Saul for Odenkirk Don't trust the bee in Apartment 23 For Ritter and curb your enthusiasm Tricky one Aaron Paul Elizabeth Berkley, Aaron Paul, Elizabeth Berkley, both have something in common in the universe of television. What is it? Tara: [59:12] They both did speed. Dave: [59:15] Adding to those two is John Stamos. Oh, Taylor knows. Tara: [59:22] Taylor knows. Oh, no. Guest: [59:23] I do. I got it. Dave: [59:25] Taylor has an age advantage here, I guess. Tara: [59:30] Oh, they're all Greek. I don't know. Dave: [59:35] All right, who's in the last place? Sarah still, I guess, right? Sarah: [59:37] Yes. Dave: [59:38] Any ideas here, Sarah? Sarah: [59:40] It's Aaron Paul, Elizabeth Berkley, and John Stabos. Guest: [59:43] Stabos! Sarah: [59:45] Stabos! Oh, gosh. They all started out on soaps. Dave: [59:50] All right, Taylor, let us know what the commonality is. Guest: [59:53] I believe they've all played TV characters named Jesse. Correct. Tara: [59:56] Oh, God. Dave: [59:57] Breaking Bad, Saved by the Bell and Full House. Back to Taylor. You've got Young Royals and Wednesday. Young Royals and Wednesday. Guest: [1:00:10] They're both... Is Wednesday a prequel series? Not really. I don't know what Young Royals is, but it screams prequel. That's the best I have. Those are two prequel series. Dave: [1:00:23] Young Royals, Wednesday, and The Facts of Life. Guest: [1:00:31] Shows about girls at some kind of boarding school. Dave: [1:00:35] Correct. TV shows that take place at boarding schools. That was close enough. We'll give that to you. I don't know what Young Royals is. Sound like they're Young Royals at a boarding school show. Sarah: [1:00:44] Apparently. Dave: [1:00:45] All right. Nice pick up there, Sarah D. Bunting. You've got Sherlock Holmes and the Robot Devil. Sarah: [1:00:54] Neither of them is in my kitchen. Dave: [1:00:56] Yeah. True, but not what we're looking for. Adding to those two is Lieutenant Commander Data. Sherlock Holmes, the Robot Devil, and Lieutenant Commander Data. Sarah: [1:01:11] Uh, cyborgs in animated series. Dave: [1:01:16] All right. Who's in last place, please, Tara? Tara: [1:01:18] Sarah. Dave: [1:01:18] All right, Sarah. One more crack at it. Sherlock Holmes, a robot devil, lieutenant commander Data, all do this. Let me give you a little hint there. They all do this at one point. Sarah: [1:01:30] They all do this? Dave: [1:01:33] Yeah. Sarah: [1:01:33] Uh, play chess. Dave: [1:01:35] Oh, they definitely play something. You're looking for all play. Yes, Taylor Cole's mining at the violin. Tara: [1:01:44] Oh, okay. Dave: [1:01:45] Sherlock Holmes, of course, from Sherlock. Futurama, where we see the robot devil play the violin and Lieutenant Commander Data from Star Trek. Next generation. Tara. Tara: [1:01:55] Yep. Dave: [1:01:55] We've got Napoleon Solo and Phil Coulson. Tara: [1:02:01] Okay. If I knew who Napoleon Solo was. Dave: [1:02:04] Oh, you do. You just need your synapses. Tara: [1:02:07] Okay. Okay. And the second person is? Dave: [1:02:10] Phil Coulson. Tara: [1:02:10] Phil Coulson. they were thought to be dead and then turned out to be alive. Dave: [1:02:16] Napoleon Solo Phil Coulson Hawkeye Pierce. Guest: [1:02:22] It's a good third one. Dave: [1:02:23] It's a good third one taunts Taylor. Tara: [1:02:26] Great. Dave: [1:02:26] Playing his emotional mind games. Oh, that's an easy one. Tara: [1:02:31] They're all named after world leaders. Dave: [1:02:35] All right. To Sarah again. Solo, Colson, Pierce all have this in common on television. Sarah: [1:02:43] They were all army doctors. Dave: [1:02:46] Do you know this, Taylor? Guest: [1:02:47] I believe they all work for acronym organizations because Napoleon Solo is the man from UNCLE, Phil Coulson ages in S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hawkeye Pierce from M.A.S.H. Dave: [1:02:56] You are correct. Tara: [1:02:57] Dave was right. I didn't know who that was. Dave: [1:02:58] Characters from TV shows with acronyms in the title. All right. This will take us into our score break. It is for Taylor. You've got John Munch and Frank Lapidus. John Munch, Frank Lapidus. Name the commonality for two delicious points. Guest: [1:03:15] I know who both of those people are. Dave: [1:03:18] We have not had a two-point answer yet. Guest: [1:03:22] They are both conspiracy theorists. Dave: [1:03:26] You are correct. Guest: [1:03:26] That is our two-point answer. Dave: [1:03:29] Melvin Frohicke was our third choice. That was John Munch from The Munchiverse. Tara: [1:03:35] Yeah. Dave: [1:03:35] Frank Lepidus is from? Guest: [1:03:37] Lost. Dave: [1:03:38] That's correct. And Frohicke from X-Files or his own show, The Lone Gunman. Nicely done. All right. Two-point pickup as we go into our score break. I need them scores, please. Tara: [1:03:48] Okay. Taylor has four and a half points. i have zero and a half points sarah. Dave: [1:03:53] Has zero points all right love them half point, all right i'm gonna build a game around crazy fractions one of these days you're gonna have to really know your common denominators to keep score sarah debunting are you ready for your first question of the second half. Sarah: [1:04:09] Apparently not but let's go ahead. Dave: [1:04:11] All right you've got blood and detective. Sarah: [1:04:20] Shows that also have true in the title or titles that go true. Dave: [1:04:24] Show titles missing true. Can you guess what the third one is given the fact that I asked you to put a pin in something earlier? I know this much is. Tara: [1:04:35] Is our third question. Dave: [1:04:38] I don't blame you for not remembering because we all know the true title is these things, I believe. Okay, back to Tara. Two point pickup there for Sarah. you've got Kang and Kodos and Mike Wazowski. Tara: [1:04:53] Characters that are green and have one eye. Dave: [1:04:55] I'll give that to you. Characters with one eye because our third clue was Leela from Futurama. But first two, in fact, are green. Nicely done. Another two point pickup. That's from The Simpsons. Monsters at Work is how we bring in Mike Wazowski for television and Futurama. Taylor, you've got Louise Belcher and Siobhan Roy, a.k.a. Shiv. Guest: [1:05:19] Only daughters with multiple... No, wait, that's not true. Dan Mintz is Tina. That doesn't work. Youngest? No, because Siobhan's not the youngest. What is this? I will just say daughters of who are potentially going to inherit their father's business. Dave: [1:05:41] Your third clue is michelle tanner so you got louise belcher shiv roy michelle tanner. Guest: [1:05:49] Is shiv younger than roman i'm just gonna say youngest children in a family. Dave: [1:05:57] Youngest siblings yes you are correct shiv is the youngest of the succession siblings i don't think. Tara: [1:06:03] I ever knew that. Dave: [1:06:04] I had to look it up while taylor was thinking about it because taylor It seemed so confident that it wasn't. That is a one-point pickup for you. On to Sarah D. Bunting, we've got Daniel Stern, Anthony Mendez. Those are your clues. What do they have in common? Daniel Stern, Anthony Mendez. Sarah: [1:06:25] They're actors who narrate series as their older selves. Dave: [1:06:29] They are narrators on television. We also had Ron Howard from Arrested Development in the mix. The first two, of course, Stern from Wonder Years and Anthony Mendez from Jane the Virgin. Two points. Nice. Tara. Tara: [1:06:42] Yep. Dave: [1:06:42] Deferro Wunatai and Colby Smothers. Tara: [1:06:46] Colby Smulders? Dave: [1:06:47] Colby Smulders? Colby Smulders? Sarah: [1:06:50] Colby Smulders. Guest: [1:06:51] She was the Smothers sister to Tom and Dickie. Dave: [1:06:54] Colby. Sarah: [1:06:55] Colby. Dave: [1:06:55] Colby like the cheese. Tara: [1:06:57] No. Dave: [1:06:57] Smulders. I know it's not. I know now. Tara: [1:07:02] All right. Dave: [1:07:04] Kobe Smolters, what do they have in common besides being cheese names, I could go over some cheese right now. Tara: [1:07:18] Both their fathers wanted boys. Dave: [1:07:22] Your third clue. Tara: [1:07:24] One got one, yes. Dave: [1:07:25] Your third clue is David Duchovny. I was all of history's great acting robots. Acting units 0.8. Tara: [1:07:35] Thespomat, David Duchovny. I'll play characters with animal names. Dave: [1:07:41] Actors who play characters whose first names are animals. We got Bear Smallhill, Robin Scherbasky, and Fox Mulder. One point pickup. Nicely done. Back to Taylor. You've got Justin Bieber and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Guest: [1:07:57] Are these people Kate McKinnon portrayed on Saturday Night Live? Dave: [1:08:00] Two point pickup. Third clue is Hillary Clinton. Nicely done. Sarah: [1:08:05] All right. Dave: [1:08:06] Everybody has one question left, so I would like the scores, please. Tara: [1:08:09] Okay. Taylor's in the lead with seven and a half. Sarah D. Bunting in second place with four. I'm in last place with three. Dave: [1:08:17] All right. It sounds like mathematically Taylor has already taken it, but let's see if he can expand his lead or people can close the gap here with your last question. Sarah D. Bunting, you're up first. Harry Van Der Spiegel and Dick Solomon. You know who Dick Solomon is now. Thanks, Dave, who forgot it was in the quiz. Sarah: [1:08:39] Thank you sarah who already forgot what we were talking about. Dave: [1:08:42] And i'm just gonna say i we also mentioned the third one while we're at it. Sarah: [1:08:46] Oh great yeah, rich dudes on teen shows rich fathers had teen shows. Dave: [1:08:54] Okay rich dudes on teen shows is incorrect harry van der spiegel dick solomon and morgue Oh, and morgue yeah more i mean i'll give you the fact that you probably have no idea who harry van der spiegel is but dick solomon and morgue i think you can work on. Sarah: [1:09:20] Uh can i though. Dave: [1:09:22] Um people are screaming at you right now in their cars aliens aliens yes correct henry van der spiegel the alien from resident alien third rock from the sun is where we find dick solomon and morgue from morgue and mindy they are all aliens i. Sarah: [1:09:38] Am overthinking these but it doesn't matter now. Dave: [1:09:40] Tara. Tara: [1:09:41] Yep. Dave: [1:09:41] John Waite, Nancy Burtwistle. Tara: [1:09:45] Next. Dave: [1:09:46] The most British name I think we can conjure today. Joining them is Nadia Hussain. Tara: [1:09:54] Okay. I feel like I do know who that is. Spies. Dave: [1:09:59] Who's in last place, please? Tara: [1:10:00] Me. Dave: [1:10:01] All right. You get another crack at it. Tara: [1:10:03] British people. Dave: [1:10:04] We need more information. Guest: [1:10:06] Every British person is a spy. Tara: [1:10:07] That's what I'm saying. That's the joke. Dave: [1:10:09] All right, anybody know this one? Guest: [1:10:11] No idea. Dave: [1:10:12] They are winners of the Great British Bake Off. Tara: [1:10:14] Oh. Sarah: [1:10:15] And spies. And spies. Dave: [1:10:18] That's how we know so much about the inner workings of the Great British Bake Off. Tara: [1:10:21] Right. Dave: [1:10:22] Intel from those three people. All right, last question, Taylor. Dr. Beverly Crusher and Grace Adler. Guest: [1:10:31] People with annoying children. Sarah: [1:10:35] That would have been my answer. Dave: [1:10:38] What's the third clue? Does Adler have a kid? Tara: [1:10:40] It depends which version of the show you're watching. Dave: [1:10:42] I see. Tara: [1:10:43] In the original, yes. In the reboot, no. Dave: [1:10:45] Oh, okay. Something tragic happened. All right, your third clue is Dana Scully. Crusher, Adler, Scully. Sarah: [1:10:52] Oh. Guest: [1:10:53] Doctors? I don't know. I don't know who Grace Adler is. Dave: [1:10:56] Grace Adler is from Will & Grace, joining Beverly Crusher from Star Trek Next Gen X-Files, Dana Scully. They are all... Tara: [1:11:04] Redheads? Dave: [1:11:05] Redheads. Sarah: [1:11:06] Redheads. Dave: [1:11:07] All right, that is regulation. I would like to hear the scores, please. Tara: [1:11:10] Okie dokie. I finished with three and a half. Sarah in second place with five. But our victor today is Taylor S. Cole with seven and a half. Sarah: [1:11:20] Nicely done. Dave: [1:11:21] We'll take it. That is pretty good. All right, I got a tiebreaker. Let's all play it for a future Steel Meal. Taylor, you'll be playing for future value guests. All of the characters I'm about to read, and there's a bunch of them, have something in common. I'm going to read them one at a time. First one to shout it out wins, you get one guess per name each. Here we go. Dr. Avery Ryan. D.B. Russell. Mac Taylor. Raymond Langston. Horatio Kane. And finally, Gil Grissom. Guest: [1:12:16] CSI leads. Sarah: [1:12:17] Head to the CSI lab. Dave: [1:12:18] Taylor got it first. CSI leads of the respective crime labs in the CSI franchise. Nicely done again, Taylor. Sarah: [1:12:28] Value, yes! Valued guest. Valued guest. Dave: [1:12:33] All right, guys, that is it for another episode of Extra Hot Great. We headed down, down, down to Department Q before going around the dial with stops at Mountainhead, The Rehearsal, and The Last of Us. Taylor recorded his successful cannon pitch for the studio in one go. We crowned winners and losers, and Taylor was the winner of this week's Game Time for America. Next up is Owen Wilson in Club on Extra Extra Hot Break. And come back here next week for an exciting episode, which, whose topic we're so excited about, we just don't dare announce it right now. We don't want the internet to blow up. Remember, we're listening. I am David T. Cole and on behalf of Tara Ariano. Tara: [1:13:24] Are you explaining supporting women to me right now? Dave: [1:13:27] Sarah D. Sarah: [1:13:27] Bunting Slow down, these pants are too big And my son. Guest: [1:13:32] Taylor Cole Thanks, Evan Sorry, I screwed that up We gotta start the episode over, do it as a true wonder No cuts, just start it over Trash the old one Thanks everybody. Dave: [1:13:42] And we'll see you next time. Tara: [1:13:42] Right here on Extra Hot Great, They didn't get it Fuck! Guest: [1:13:56] I would.