Telling The Truth About We Were Liars

Will: [0:13] It's obstructing the view. That looks awesome. It's gauche. Dave: [0:22] This is the Extra Hot Great Podcast, episode 567 for the week of June 16, 2021. I am Cowboy of the Sea, David T. Cole, and I'm here with Meteor Shower, Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [0:40] I'm a metaphor, but also watch your head. Dave: [0:43] Dan D. Salter, Tara Ariano. Tara: [0:45] Mmm, briny. Dave: [0:46] And Actual Normal Human Speed Water Splasher, Will Leach. Will: [0:50] Whee! Dave: [0:55] Splash! Tara: [0:56] Welcome to Extra Hot Great for another week joining us. He is a journalist, podcaster, critic, and novelist. You've heard him with us many times before. It's Willie. Welcome back, Willie. Will: [1:07] Thank you. Just so you know, I still fall asleep, even if I'm not listening to the show, to the theme music in my head. Tara: [1:14] Great. Dave: [1:15] Fantastic. Will: [1:18] And I have, I said on multiple times, sorry. Sarah: [1:20] Sorry. Will: [1:21] I say to my children all the time is the point. I'm not sorry at all. Tara: [1:26] Speaking of falling asleep, we are here to talk about We Were Liars, in which the wealthy Sinclairs, yes, they're those Sinclairs, spend summers on their private island off Martha's Vineyard. When they were little, Cadence, Emily Allen Lind, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, Joseph Zada and Esther McGregor, and their family friend turned... Johnny's stepbrother, I think, I kind of lost track, Gat, Shubham Maheshwari, ran wild over the island, getting into mischief that earned them the collective nickname The Liars. Now they're teenagers who can no longer ignore their throbbing biological urges, but that's not really what the show is about. We're probably supposed to focus more on things like Cadence's mother, Penny, Caitlin Fitzgerald, whose ex-husband hired a PI as part of their divorce fight, which Penny's mother, Tipper, Wendy Crewson, seems very concerned about. There's also Mirren's mother, Bess, Candace King, getting restless about her often absent husband. Oh, and there's also what happened to Cadence before she washed up on the beach in her underwear with a mysterious message scrawled on one hand and her grandmother's necklace clutched in the other. The show is, of course, based on the YA book series by alleged person E. Tara: [2:37] Lockhart and was adapted for television by Karina Adley McKenzie, formerly of Roswell, New Mexico and The Originals. All eight episodes of the season dropped on Prime Video June 18th. We got access to all of them in advance, but we'll be careful about spoilers from late this season if any of us got there. I guess I sure didn't. Let's do the Chen check-in. Will, should our listeners watch We Were Liars? Will: [3:00] No. Tara: [3:01] Sarah. Sarah: [3:02] No. Tara: [3:03] Dave. Juvenile existential crisis time. Dave: [3:07] No. Tara: [3:08] No for me as well. Let's get into it. Will, you have a child who is in or near the age range for YA material. Dave: [3:15] Yeah, explain yourself, Will. Tara: [3:18] I know why youths might be drawn to things like the Hunger Games and all of its knockoffs, but it feels like all the other big topics right now for teens are teens who have a terminal disease and teens who killed someone and have to keep it a secret. What happened to building bridges to Terabithia? Will, explain yourself and your children. Will: [3:36] Yeah, I'm sorry. I apologize for what they've done here. They will be punished and they will. be dealt with accordingly. Yeah, this does kind of feel like for people that, I guess for teens that need something to do while they're theoretically folding laundry. Tara: [3:52] Sure. Will: [3:53] Which of course is, my teen does not do that at all. I guess they're theoretically not picking up their clothes off the floor of the bathroom. Tara: [4:00] Sure. Will: [4:00] It's really kind of remarkable. You know, one of the things, I've not read this book series, and my wife actually claims that she has, though I have to assume she's confusing it with something else. having watched this. Tara: [4:11] There is also a book that turned into a show about teens and someone dies called One of Us is Lying. So it's possible she missed them up. Will: [4:20] Maybe. How could you not be able to pick each one of these individually apart? Tara: [4:24] I mean... Will: [4:25] This feels... The book this is based on, you can kind of tell very quickly, there's always a sign very early on that this is for the people that really, really loved the book and wanted it done perfectly, but no one else. Tara: [4:37] Yep. Will: [4:37] And that is when it comes to the voiceover narration, which is dreadful in this. And not only dreadfully put together, but like, I'm sorry, I've read the books, but sorry, potentially fictional E. Lockhart. Sorry, E. But it's not vivid or well-written or exciting or striking at all. It feels very generic placeholder-y. And so it's weird. You know you're off to a bad start from the beginning when it is treating that as if it It is the Shroud of Turin or like it's like a sacred text or something. And that was what I perhaps worried about the most out of this was the idea that like it feels like it is being very, very dedicated to something that was written in AI. Tara: [5:20] Which is a very. Will: [5:21] Very bizarre kind of way to look at it. Sarah: [5:23] He was contemplation, enthusiasm, strong coffee. Tara: [5:27] Oh, wow. Sarah: [5:29] Yeah. Wait, what? Tara: [5:31] This was barf, heartburn, and diarrhea. Sarah: [5:34] My opinion can't. Dave: [5:36] Remember the last time i heard something so overwrought it was so dumb and so early in the proceedings that it sets the tone and your expectations for the rest of the show which is arms folded and then it doesn't win you back yeah. Tara: [5:50] Sarah i mean i'm sure this obviously struck you as well give us a little type five on killing your darlings when you're doing something like this. Sarah: [5:59] I mean just kill your darlings like i think the most sort of representative moment of this is that for a while the voiceover fucks off because they're like on a party boat or whatever and then a couple of characters who have been circling the idea of kissing now that they both have secondary sexual characteristics like oh my god it is minute 42 just a fuck they finally kiss during a meteor shower and then literal stars literally fall and then the voiceover's like and now we see stars falling all around it's a metaphor but it's also literal like shut up just fuck we get it and on top of that like it was almost fun listing all the other properties that were more compelling that have broken DNA in here that it's like it's revenge of the 13 perfect couple gossip reasons, girl, why? Will: [7:04] Yeah. Sarah: [7:04] Yeah. but I was entertained by those shows. This is just like really a lot of acting firepower, actors I usually really like and respect their taste. Just, I guess, walking around whatever Canadian aisle is standing in for the vineyard, looking bee stung and sunburned. And why? I mean, I just looked up the ending and spoiled myself and was like, if you have the patience for it. That's a pretty cool idea. But there was no reason for this to be made. Honestly, it's so slow. Tara: [7:41] Yeah, the closest I could get is, I mean, you already said it, we watched the adult version of this last fall when it was called The Perfect Couple. And this is like that in so, so many ways, including person getting washed up on the beach, except that time they were dead. But remembering that and knowing that like the Pretty Little Liars books were developed because Because someone was like, what if we did Desperate Housewives for teens? And then they did. And then it became a show, too. Like, it just seems like this is the runoff. This is the process of where these things come from. Will: [8:14] Yeah, it feels a little bit like that old John Mulaney bit about how the New York Post is like if someone read an actual newspaper and tried to explain it to you. This feels like the teenage version of someone that watched one of those shows and just is like, okay, they almost kiss. I don't know. Then there's explosions. And yeah. I have to say, of the actors that I found myself feeling bad for, which is often where I land in stuff like this, like which actor, all told, Mamie Gummer, like, what everyone's thoughts about her, she has had, like, she's acting royalty in a lot of ways, and she feels like the least interesting of the sisters in this. And also David Morse, who is a actually kind of thundrous actor when he needs to be. And he feels just, it definitely feels like late Brando-esque. Just send him out there and tell him to say something and then walk off the street. Like, he definitely just looks like, he's like, what am I doing here? Okay, fine. When's lunch? All right. Dave: [9:12] You hate the boat a lot. Go. Tara: [9:15] Yeah. Will: [9:16] It's so good. I'm so glad you used that clip to start by gauche. David Morse cannot say gauche. Dave: [9:22] No. Sarah: [9:24] He was in a TV show called Hack. Also, do we, I mean, do we need this like faux Kennedy's, like there were several moments at which I felt Caitlin Fitzgerald, who is always really good. She was so good in Rectify. Like you can almost hear her pocket texting her agent. Fuck you, dude. It's just, they are trying to make it less inert, but you also have like the younger generation of actors where most of the action is. Tara: [9:56] Mm hmm. Sarah: [9:57] I feel like the two blonde girls are good and compelling, and then the boys are just seat filler, could be in anything. I don't know. I just, I don't understand why this happened, because apparently the books were good enough that they feel very reluctant to get to step away from them in any way. So why didn't you just leave the fictional story with its fictional author alone i mean i i know the answer. Tara: [10:26] Yeah prime video yeah i mean i thought maybe gummer at least seemed like she was having fun she's not one of the interesting ones but in a show like this like that's kind of winning you know like that means that you didn't kill anyone probably and david morris i assume just did it because he wanted to go to nova scotia and that he probably had a very nice time because he just seemed like he was marking all of his scenes like it was rehearsal was not his best effort. Will: [10:54] The weird thing is the idea that like, the thing I keep getting around in this is you talk about like the book, you said the book must be good enough for them to do something, but like with things, popular books get made into terrible things all the time. And sometimes they have fun with them. Like whatever your thoughts about the first 50 shades of gray, that movie like is aware that the book sucks. Tara: [11:11] Yes. Will: [11:11] Right. Like it's like, it's aware that it sucks and it's trying to, but it's second and third when they just gave up. But by the first one, they like, it's aware the book sucks and we're just trying to do something silly with it here. It treats it as if Fifty Shades of Grey was actually a literary masterpiece. And that's the hardest part about this. It feels like a degrading of the culture over the last 10 years where we're like, oh, it reminds me of before. You know, I saw recently, but they recently took down the Never Gonna Give You Up YouTube, like a copyright took it down. And I wrote a piece about it a while back where I noticed that my seven-year-old's friends were like seeing that song unironically and they were really into it. And I was like, where did you come across that song? and that song is terrible. And they said, straight face, it's not terrible. Look how many views it has. It is objectively not terrible. And so I realized I could either try to explain to them, well, there's a reason that on YouTube that has so many views, but they're raised in this idea that like, oh, if it's popular, it obviously must be good. And therefore, Sankrasek, we have to do it exactly right. That's how this feels. It feels like, hey, so many people bought this shit. I guess we just got to do it straight. And that's how it feels. Tara: [12:18] I mean, I do love that song, but that's depressing. Dave: [12:19] That's an upsetting conversation to have. Tara: [12:22] I don't like that at all. Dave: [12:23] Hey, speaking about upsetting, and I don't know how much more we want to talk about this, but there is a scene where the main two characters, as they dance around the kiss that might happen, who knows, decide to go to jump off a boat into the ocean near their house. And they're like, all right, on the count of three, here we go. And then they go three, two, one, and jump. That's not the count of three. that's a countdown from three. Tara: [12:50] Yes, it is. Dave: [12:50] Get your shit together. You're rich, Fox. Tara: [12:53] Yeah. Last thing I want to say is the only cultural resonance this may have for me ever is that there was a character in it named Salty Dan, and I'm just pitching Salty Dan t-shirt. Dave: [13:02] Yeah. Tara: [13:03] People would buy it for the holidays. Tara: [13:09] Got a lot of shows. It's a great time for shows. Dave: [13:14] All right. It is time to go around the dollar. First off, as always, Tara. Tara: [13:18] I think I brought this show up in passing a few weeks ago when I was only partway through the first season. I saved the last episode for as long as I physically could because I really didn't want it to end. But now I've watched all episodes to date of The Chicken Sisters. And I know some of you think you're too fancy for a Hallmark Plus original dramedy. And maybe you are. I don't know your life. But when I saw the cast, I was intrigued. And I'm going to rate this at the high end of better than you expect, which is not bad. In the small town of Maranac in an unspecified Southern state, they shoot it in Vancouver. There are two chicken restaurants that were born of intense strife. Generations ago, Mimi and Franny were best friends and business partners, but then Mimi got pregnant by Franny's husband and the friends split and founded separate namesake chicken restaurants. Everyone's chicken was so good that they're both still extant in the present day. But for the townspeople, pledging allegiance to one or the other is a statement of identity. Franny's girls do everything right and follow the rules. Mimi's girls have looser standards and more fun. And in the present day, Mimi's is owned by Gus, Wendy Malick, the local queer-coded, cranky old bitch. She had two daughters. Tara: [14:26] May, played by Genevieve Angelson, moved to New York and became the host of a home organizing show. And Amanda, Skylar Fisk, stayed, but she married Frank Jr., whose parents operate Franny's. Gus told Amanda on her wedding day that she was making a mistake and, spoiler, She has turned out to be right. Her husband is trash. But Amanda is very close with his mother, Nancy, who's played by Leah Thompson. And we join the whole clan just as a food competition show has come to town to pit the two chicken places against each other for $100,000. That shit gets crazy. And even though you hear Hallmark Plus and think it's going to be Walker, Texas Ranger politically, there are multiple definitely queer characters, not just Gus. because she doesn't wear makeup. And it gets into the ways that patriarchy ruins lives for everyone on all levels if you aren't very consciously fighting against it. The vibe overall is gentler than something like Good Girls, but it's on that continuum. It was a book first, and it was adapted by Annie Babain, who has written on shows like Bad Monkey and Shrinking. Other writers come from shows like Bridgerton and Glow. This is a show that does what I increasingly want shows to do, which is concern itself with grounded human drama and understand that the stakes of ordinary people's lives can be very high, even if they didn't murder anyone or have secret magic powers. That said, with a show like this, I want to go through a lot of it, like a bag of chips. Eight episodes is not enough. It's already been renewed for a second season. I hope they go the rival's route and make a lot more for season two. Tara: [15:50] You're asking where can you find this? Great question. If you are not a dirty cord cutter, you could have DVR'd it when it had a run on Hallmark this spring. You can sign up for a free trial of Hallmark Plus, watch it all in a Saturday afternoon and then cancel Hallmark Plus. Or if you know how to fly to Maranac, you can find it through methods, as some people might that are on this call. And I forgot to say it's narrated by Margo Martindale. This is narration you actually want to hear. The Chicken Sisters rules. I have nothing else to say. Sarah: [16:18] Fine. Tara: [16:20] Sarah, I think you'll really like it. Sarah: [16:22] Yeah, you said I will try it for you. Tara: [16:25] For my plug last week, I wrote about the best non-Daily Show comedic performances by Daily show anchors and correspondence. And you can find that at Cracked. We will link it in the show notes. Will: [16:37] I love that piece. I love that piece, by the way. And you got number one right. I'm very proud to say you've definitely got number one right. Dave: [16:44] All right, Will, what have you been watching recently? Will: [16:46] So going back to the theme of never going to give you up and people that weren't there when something actually happening, coming running to you, telling you, oh, my gosh, this is so exciting. Have you heard about this thing, though you dealt with it 15 to 20 years ago? Untold is the sports Netflix series that basically looks back. It's and I've heard you talk about before, Sarah. So I don't want to, I don't have to repeat too much of the ideas, but to me, it's always felt like more honest 30 for 30 increasingly, which is a less pretentious 30 for 30 and more just like, yeah, this is the, this is the shit that you want, but it's fun for me because I, I, I, I had not watched any of these until the Manti Teo one, uh, which was from 20, which was from 2022, because of course that was the site that I started Deadspin. They were the one that, that, that, that now, now Deadspin now exists as I, as I always dreamed it would be as an AI-driven site specifically promoting sports gambling. So that was the goal. Thankfully, way to go. We got there. Will: [17:43] The point is that that story was scooped by Deadspin. That was their big story. And so a ton of people who, like, again, I live in Athens, Georgia. Not many people work in the entertainment and or blog industry in the mid-aughts. So they would realize, oh, that's Will's site and suddenly come to me and have a billion questions about something that I have relived and gone through 15 to 20 years ago. This now happens regularly. Every time I look at Untold, I'm like, oh yeah, I remember covering the McNair murder. Oh yeah. There's the original Brett Favre story. Oh, look. All right. Tim Donaghy. Oh, that's great. I miss you, Victor Conti and the Balco scandal. Welcome back. And so like, it is my equivalent of, cause I, I've fought, I've fallen apart. I no longer work in the sports blog world, I'm now a chin-stroking, hmm, I wonder what this means for the larger sports conglomerate to allow me to pontificate and dramatize accordingly. Now, I'm not in the day-to-day salt mines anymore, so it's good to be reminded. One of the pieces that were in here was about... The Brawl of Auburn Hills was the first ever untold story. I did not realize I had written a Deadspin piece that they referred to in that it blew me away. It's really wild when a Netflix show reminds you of stuff that you forgot that you wrote. And have that kind of... Sarah: [19:07] There's always a Deadspin reference, but then they're usually kind of mean about it. Like in the Brett Favre one, fucking everybody catching strays for reporting. I was like, you know, Untold's whole thing is like, let's just get the subjects to talk and maybe they'll hoist with their own petard. And they have a pretty good record with that. But it's like, oh, I don't know. People did report on this story before. You don't have to be in Buzz Bissinger about it. Too soon? Will: [19:42] Yeah. Yeah, if you remember, the last thing on this was last year, there was that terrible Aaron Rodgers documentary that was on Netflix. That was another example where I found out that I was in that. I had given an interview to NPR. And what's amusing is I've written probably 20 things about Aaron Rodgers in my life, all of which are about how much Aaron Rodgers sucks in every possible way. But if you watch this Aaron Rodgers produced documentary, there's a five second clip of me being, well, the thing that people didn't understand is Rodgers was right about this. And that's what they put in there. I'm like, oh, my God, this is the new equivalent of like someone using a Roger Ebert quote saying, this movie sucks, but I've seen worse. This movie seen worse is very fun to have that happen in this day and age. Tara: [20:29] Wow. Dave: [20:31] All right, Will, where can people find out what you're doing these days online and what you're up to? Will: [20:37] Yeah, so I write regularly for New York Magazine and the Washington Post. There are still people writing for Washington Post. I'm out there doing my best to support free markets in every possible way that I can. And I also write my weekly newsletter at williamfleach.substack.com. And if you happen to find yourself in the general vicinity of a local bookstore, by all means, feel free to go by and check out my new novel, Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride. came out last month and people tend to like it though I guess they would be kind of rude to me if they said otherwise to my face. Sarah: [21:07] Can I be honest with you no you can't. Dave: [21:11] Alright what do you got. Sarah: [21:13] I'm here to talk about The Mortician, the lamb funeral home scandal in which Pasadena community pillars, Laurieann and Jerry Sconce, and their malignant son, David, did in the end very little time for a buffet of crimes, including desecration of corpses, illegal crematorium operation, illegal harvesting of body parts, embezzlement. All of that went down in the mid to late 80s. so it is not immediately apparent why HBO slash Max decided they needed a three-parter on it now. But as the owner of a true crime bookshop, I can tell you that why it got made at all is not really a mystery. It's the same reason my best-selling cases are Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer. There is a natural, I think, very human fascination with these ghoulish cases, because part of the interest in true crime is an interest in death itself, the mechanics of it, It's an attempt to know and control something that fundamentally cannot be either known or controlled. Sarah: [22:15] Fortunately, The Mortician is directed by Joshua Rofay, who is stuck with the genre's current framework darling, the three-part docuseries, but he uses it and its predictable rhythms wisely. Rofay also made a docuseries about Lorena Bobbitt that I thought very well of and that three-parter for Hulu a couple years back about some murders that people initially were trying to blame on Bigfoot. Ditto. Liked that one a lot. Rofay chooses his subjects wisely and understands where the real core of a story is. And here, it's a true crime story in which the body is central to the story, but in a much different way to what it usually is. And if you can stomach the visuals, and I'm telling you, if you're like, well, I've seen all the horrible Holocaust documentaries, and I'm prepared, you are not. You're not prepared. You're not prepared for the talking head interviews describing things. So just understand you think you're ready and you're not, but it's still worth a look. It's worth a try. The final episode of The Three hit a few days ago, and it is a well-made use of your time that is thought-provoking without standing back and being like, look how thought-provoking I am, E, the fictional author. Sarah: [23:30] They also announced a docudrama based on this case last year with Christina Ricci and Hamish Linklater attached. It's based on a book by genre stalwart, I guess, Kathy Braithield. They're both called Chop. Tara: [23:46] Oh, no, no. Sarah: [23:49] I don't care for that choice. But the guy who wrote Lovelace, which was pretty good and underrated, was also attached. So we'll see if that ever gets made. That could be a tough sell. In the meantime, the mortician is very good if you can stomach it. And if you can't, no shade. For my plug, I did write up this property for Best Evidence. That link will be in the show notes. And I don't stock that book currently at Exhibit B. And if you find it for under $100, let me know, because for whatever reason, it's rare. But Exhibit B has a literal ton of other true crime stories of all sorts, and paperbacks are on sale for the next few weeks. ExhibitBbooks.com. Dave, remind them what the cart does over there. Dave: [24:33] Exhibit B Books, where the cart does the math. Sarah: [24:37] Yes, sir. Tara: [24:38] Ah, true progress. Yeah. Tara: [24:45] Speaking of doing math. Dave: [24:47] Speaking about doing math, I want to talk briefly about The Devil's Plan Season 2 on Netflix. This is a show that we loved a lot when it used to be called The Genius way back when. And then when he basically took The Genius and decided to redo it and called The Devil's Plan, we were into it. season two still a lot of fun but i gotta say the last quarter of the season has been quite a let down some of the reasons are i think because of the production some of it is just the fate of the universe dealing you a bad hand there's been more than one game where people just get iced out of play via very boring mechanics like you know you just sort of like win a war of attrition doesn't. Dave: [25:28] Too many of these betting games in a row, not mixing it up towards the end with some of their more high concept, weird takes on Mafia or Go and stuff like that. Dave: [25:40] When it gets down to the last two, they bring all the contestants back for a pre finale reunion of sorts. And it was literally kind of felt like it was a security cam footage of them just chit chat. And there's nothing going on. And it went on forever. And nobody's saying anything real. and I was like checking my watch like seriously this is building up the finale and the other problem is and this is not the show's fault kind of is that the lowest energy contestants made it to the end and it's kind of a bummer like none of the strong personalities are there it's just a collection of people that are like I don't care who wins anymore because they're all drips yep and so while the devil's plan is structurally a fantastic show and I really enjoy it it's so addictive they really need to figure out how to tweak it to sort of like get one person at the end that actually has a personality but in that regard i think this season failed towards the end but still a good watch yeah it is very addictive and i figured out like i mean not that this is like a big secret you can't just see by watching it but like it's a tv show that doesn't end at the ending they always end in the middle of where other tv shows and that is their whole trick be like survivor tribal council was in the middle of every episode instead of at the end that's sort of how it's set up and for this show it works really well i just wish they could have kind of landed the ending there i. Tara: [27:04] Feel like they try i feel like i could see fingers in like trying to manipulate the way things ended but like it just was not there was too much momentum at the end. Dave: [27:14] For the last two people yeah and then like there was these secret much like season one there was like a couple of secret things people could discover to win big prizes. But it seems like as soon as those big prizes came into the formula, just sort of set the course of everything like yeah if you win 10 chips what do they call them pieces pieces that when you win 10 pieces and everybody else still is on two or three like it changes the dynamics what could be good but then like it changes it and they just stuck there kind of a drag that is devil's plan i say all that we're not actually quite at the end we have to stop 20 minutes before the end so i don't know who wins i got too tired we'll find out tonight All right. So coming up this Friday on Extra Extra Hot Great, we have the June 4th ending for you. We're going to be talking about Gidget. Yep, that's right. Season one, episode 20. That is available to club members. Go to extrahotgreat.com slash club to support the podcast and get that. And every Friday bonus episode, past and future. And then come back right here next week for EHG Prime. We're going to be welcoming back Jessica Morgan. And we're going to be talking about the waterfront from the crater of Dawson's Creek. So lots of Dawson Creek recapper action happening next week for your listening pleasure. Tara: [28:28] You don't want to wait, but you have to. Dave: [28:37] It is time for The Canon. Presenting this week is Tara Ariano. Take it away, Tara. Tara: [28:42] Lots of shows that had their moment a long time ago try to ride the streaming success of their original runs to triumphant revivals. Most of the time, it does not work. But the lesson of the third season of Party Down is maybe you need to do this with a show that never really had a moment in its day and that no one is streaming now. Here's my case for season three, episode one. Kyle Bradway is nitromancer being inducted into the canon. Number one, thought went into where the old characters would be in present day Los Angeles. From the start, Party Down has been a commentary on show business through the lens of the industry's has-beens and never-wheres. In season three, which dropped early in 2023, it does that again, most obviously by building the episode around Kyle's big break. The former Party Down crew member is now the lead in a new superhero franchise movie called Nitromancer. And in the kitchen at the announcement party, he has hired Party Down to cater so that he could lord it over them. He is already spouting the official line about superhero movies, clip one. The peak of an actor's craft, playing a himbo in a scuba suit from a children's cartoon. Tara: [30:06] Responsibility. An important message for your audience of unemployed virgins. Wow. So Kyle couldn't come up with that Greek myth shit on his own. He's gotten at least a little media training, just not the right kind, as we will soon learn. Lydia arrived in Los Angeles initially to manage her daughter escapade into stardom, and she has clip two. Linda! Congratulations. So I heard about your daughter's... Will: [30:30] Don't you mention my daughter, you sloppy flopped out pig's anus. Gotcha, boy, thank you. What the fuck? I expected a counter, not three rats' worth of rat diarrhea. Tara: [30:56] I'm working on being meaner. I can see why they do it. It really works. Would we say Lydia's plan worked? That it was worth it? Maybe not in a psychological sense, but we can probably agree this is what success in her field looks and sounds like. See also, Casey, who's made it so big, she's not here. At the other end of the spectrum is Roman, a genius in his own mind so allergic to compromise that he has already given up on the present day. Clip three. Casey made it big doing quips and zingers on some dumb show for boomer fascists. Kyle made it big prancing around in a scuba. Tara: [31:48] As they're reviewing my papers after I die, well, I'll be fine with that. Tara: [31:54] Saxon, Tyrell Jackson Williams, a new member of Party Down's catering crew, gets kind of snippy about his very serious work outside of Party Down, which is making content. Kyle dismisses this as little dances to Saxon's irritation, but then he can't actually elucidate what he does. As a generation of would-be writers and actors decide to make a more permanent career change, it's the Saxons of the new creator economy who are going to be taking their place, moonlighting at Party Down. Somewhere in the middle is Henry. He has become a high school English teacher. He's gotten married to someone who, based on his half of the phone conversations they have in this episode, seems very irritated that he has come to this party. And he's bought a house, so considering they live in Los Angeles, I must assume either she comes from family money or runs a crooked hedge fund, regardless. The irritable wife and presumably usurious mortgage are deftly set up here to pay off, as it were, as the season goes on. Portraying this moment accurately includes showing us capitalism at its most rapacious. Ron is on the verge of achieving his dream of owning party down. And even if we think Ron is kind of a doofus, we can at least say he's worked hard to get where he is and that he doesn't deserve for it all to fall apart just because the best lawyer he can afford doesn't know what a lien is, forcing Ron to supplicate himself to Constance, A widow so rich and out of touch that when he asks for 10 grand and she writes him a check, clip four. Ten million dollars. Ten grand, right? A grand means thousand. Really? Tara: [33:20] Well, that explains a lot. Ron's dreams of upward mobility are so pure, despite the many ways he's been smacked back down to Earth, that it's torture spending the whole episode not knowing whether this is going to be the kind of show that just sidesteps certain realities of our timeline. until clip five. It's an amazing feeling to know that. Will: [33:40] For a fact, this year, 2020, is going to be the best year of my life ever. an outbreak of what is being called a novel coronavirus. Tara: [33:51] And studio officials remain optimistic for a big holiday opening Christmas 21. Perfect. Number two, part of the show business story it's telling is the oldest story there is. Playwright Wilson Misner is most widely credited with saying, be nice to the people you meet on the way up, but they are the same people you meet on the way down. One of these people for Kyle is Chaps, played by Connor Hines, clip six. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, sure, I made it, But I'm also gracious, you know, even to, like, nobodies. I'm gonna be like. Tara: [35:01] It's like there's an order you know i deserved it i got it chaps is the one who pulls kyle aside to show him a clip that's just surfaced of Kyle's old band Karma Rocket at Constance's wedding, singing My Struggle. Is Nitromancer a Nazi? Wonders an inflammatory headline. Speaking of Karma Rocket, Kyle knew them on the way up too, and they have come tonight to celebrate him. They were about to sign a record deal when he got heartier boys, and then the band broke up, and now the closest any of them is to music is Miles, Fran Kranz, who works at Guitar Center. Saxon tells Kyle this is the kind of thing that can come out when someone's on the rise, but that Kyle can head off the controversy with a good apology video, clip seven. My mentor, Bewe, he always used to say, good or bad, right or wrong. Will: [36:14] Yo, yo, yo, yo. Ugh, Jesus Christ. Tara: [36:18] Mistakes are made a phone gets smashed kyle's good apology doesn't get posted and everyone finds out at the party that actually because of kyle's seeming nazi song chaps is going to be nitromancer and kyle is going to be canceled because miles has been waiting for this moment to leak the video and ruin kyle's life this isn't really a proportional response from miles kyle is not a nazi but he is a jerk and if you're making a show about show business today someone's life getting ruined over something wildly stupid they did legitimately do, kind of has to be part of it. Number three, the new characters feel like they are part of this world, and not in the way that some writers in You Know the Ones make all of their characters sound like they're just avatars of the same hive mind. We already heard from Saxon above, and a clip I think proves this point, but we also, in this episode, meet Evie Adler, played by Jennifer Garner. She is attending the party out of politeness, and she runs the studio that is producing what is at the start, but not the end of the party, Kyle's movie. Henry finds her smoking in the kitchen and clip eight. Tara: [37:22] I swear I wasn't eavesdropping. I went to sneak a smoke, which my boyfriend hates, and then I. Sarah: [37:51] Mancer movies? Ecomancer? Hydromancer? Cryptomancer? Manputer? Goyote? Nope. Okay. Thing with being a producer, you assume you've met everyone, so when you blank on a name, you panic. Anyway, Henry, nice. Tara: [38:04] Bad habit. Gotta quit. Gotta quit. Even though this episode does establish Henry is married, he and Evie start vibing immediately and we can tell why she can hang. Number four, they made sure we know they know we know what they're doing. The episode name drops fictional dog shit sequels like the aforementioned Hardier Boys, but also More Cats, an opening Casey attends with her boyfriend. But we get meta commentary about what we're doing here as Lydia and Constance discuss Henry and the absent Casey, clip nine. Ooh, poor Henry, right? Yeah, I mean, I was hoping they'd hook up tonight. not root against them why root for them um because they're both skinny they both have brown hair they could be brother and sister it's just so romantic she could wear. Sarah: [39:14] His jeans no problem Tiny mouths, like, ah. I think of them having sex sometimes. Tara: [39:21] The most important thing this episode accomplishes is demonstrating that there are new stories to tell about these characters in the present day. But with the jokes about bad, unnecessary sequels and the fan service people think they want out of them, this first episode of the Party Down revival underlines that it's doing something lots of other revivals don't, making a case for its existence. I hope you will agree that this is an exceptional episode and voted into the canon. If not, I will have to assume I was cursed when I went to the bathroom in that old house. Dave: [39:51] Thank you, Tara. Will, why don't you take first crack at this? Will: [39:53] Yeah, so when this is on the list of things that we could do for the canon, I was excited to do it because I loved Party Down. And this will be my last Deadspin call out, by the way, on the show. But Deadspin was mentioned in the episode back in 2010 on the episode where the quarterback on the draft day, The penultimate episode before this, it was literally the highlight. I was like, okay, well, the site was worth it. thing. It's on a party down episode. So, but that's also how long it has been since there has been the two episodes before this one was obviously 13 years ago. So I was very, but I had never actually gotten around to what I don't have stars. So I'd never actually gotten around to watching though. I'd always wanted to. So I've watched the first three episodes inspired by being able to do this. And while I will say I have so much fondness for the joke of my struggle in the last episode of the idea of the lyrics, how much you can ride the line between the lyrics of a song about Nazism and a song that sounds like stained, is actually pretty incredible. Will: [41:03] But so I felt a little bad that he was like, okay, there's got to be something worse than that, that he's been canceled for, that they can be canceled. But I think it's a good way to call back to a great last joke for the last episode. I agree. One of the things I like about this, sometimes I go back and forth on Jennifer Garner. Sometimes she seems right and sometimes she seems a little wooden or a little bit stiff. It's remarkable how on the first second you see her, she's like, oh, she totally belongs here. She absolutely belongs. She's really a part of this universe. She's looser and funnier than I've seen her in a lot of things. So I think it speaks to one of the reasons that, This show, I've watched the next two episodes. Nick Offerman shows up in one too. I'm sure there's more coming. But one of the reasons that they've always gotten such good cameos on this show is I think that A, it's people that love the show, but B, people that also probably went through this experience where they were coming up as actors and have a certain fondness to it. They always do a good job of making those people fit in the universe, even Patrick Duffy or Duffers, as he was in the final episode of the season before. so it was a not only was it a relief to me I had known, I know that I remember when the season came out I knew it generally got positive reviews which is all the more reasons I just wanted to wait to just destroy it in one setting and then thankfully nothing bad has happened in the last two years and therefore I had nothing to. Will: [42:21] That could have stood in the way of me having this pleasant experience but that's another thing that all the Nazi jokes land a little different now, don't they? That's nice but just two years later I don't think it quite gets to Steve Guttenberg levels. I think that's still like the peak episode of this series, but it is pretty great and I killed the next two episodes. I did not have time at all to watch the next two episodes directly after this and I watched them anyway because I was so excited to see this universe was still working. I'd also like to note what a great joke, by the way, that Ron because first time you see Ron, he's got little gray hairs on the side of his head and you're like, oh because of course Roman looks like really actually considerably older. Everyone else actually looks somewhat the same. Roman looks actually considerably older. And then you see Ron with the gray hair and you're like, oh, wow, I guess they're getting so older. Nope, that's a joke to give him gravitas. He dyes his hair gray. It's a great, great joke. I'm a big fan. Tara: [43:17] Yes, I couldn't get to every bit of Ken Marino physical comedy, but there's also a dislocated finger in this as well. Sarah: [43:25] Oh, God. Dave: [43:27] All right, Sarah. Sarah: [43:28] Ken Marino is one of those Paul Rudd type that like is not really aging. Like maybe he looks a little more distinguished, but not older, which is weird. This is an excellent episode. I was struck almost immediately and then throughout the episode by how elegantly and confidently they just sort of hung small lights on how long it had been. Sarah: [43:53] Where everyone would be, that this was Tara's initial point, I think is a point well taken in her pitch, because I think that there's a lot of pressure to do a revival or a reboot or whatever, like to treat the time lapse a certain way or to be in a certain place tonally. And you can tell this is the first thing they addressed, the creative team. They never put a foot wrong in that regard. Like you don't really question why some people are here and some aren't. The setup for everyone being at this party is perfect. perfect. Dialogue is so joke dense. They clearly like the second thing that they did was do this spitball this list of properties like red glare and coyote. I mean, some of it is cheap, but like there's a place for low hanging fruit. It tastes just as delicious as the stuff at the top of the tree. Good for them. You also made the point that these people feel real and that, you know, I think there is the temptation to have that Martin Starr character just be kind of wise or above it all. Sarah: [45:06] This is sort of a deep cut, but like the Anthony Geary character on UHF where it's like, he doesn't have the same concerns we do because he's literally from space. Thank you, Will, for seeming to know what the fuck I was talking about. Will: [45:18] Like the guy in the closet in Real Genius too. Sarah: [45:21] Yes, there you go. Thank you. So I really felt like that whole just humorlessly citing Toni Morrison and Proust as late bloomers, that what he really is is Joe Gould, but no one's going to point that out to him. He definitely still has a flip phone. He definitely is still correcting people on their Latin. And I was like, yeah, that's a real person. That's me. And it's obnoxious. So, yes, this seems correct and real. And that Jennifer Garner also clearly having a ball, but also has that sort of like breezy, expects people to be charmed by her-ness of certain producers that reminded me of the president of Bravo when we were there. But it was like, is she fairly easy to talk to and charming? Yes. Does she expect you to respond that way? Yes, she does, even if it's not how you really feel. Yeah, I just thought this was really confident, funny, and justified its existence almost immediately, but then continued to do it, continued to have proof of its own concept, but not in a desperate way. I laughed a lot of times. And eventually, it's one of those episodes where it's like, I can't write down every single line of dialogue, so I'm just going to stop taking notes and let it wash over me. And yeah, so I really enjoyed it and the presentation. Dave, wrap it up for us. Dave: [46:47] All right. I thought they did a really good job onboarding Saxton into the show. Usually when you have to introduce the next gen of whatever, it's a little painful. But I thought they did a really good job making him just slip in there. He's obviously not the same age as everybody, but it doesn't have that cousin Oliver danger to it. He just feels right from the get-go. So that was great. tara played the clip but i did really enjoy saxon going talking about all the big web celebs dove price t jeff and stuff cubot jazazzle how's it and grambles and you got a grambles is like really good comedy note i'm not sure why grambles works i guess it's sort of like grumbles or something but i love that there is a moment where constance who is widowed and has inherited all that money feels like she's about to say something important but what she actually says, What they don't tell you about inheriting large sums of money is the positive side. It's very freeing. Tara: [47:48] Funny. Sarah: [47:49] I know. Old C-Sponge money. Bless her heart. Dave: [47:54] The broken finger reveal I forgot about. And when it came back up, I was traumatized all over again. Sarah: [48:01] And the sound effects, just like sometimes it's not even on screen. You just hear this crinkling that's completely horrifying. Yeah. to a middle-aged person. Dave: [48:10] Ron describing the new power relationship between the martin star character and kyle bradway as this is a pay to razz situation i thought it was great but my absolute favorite moment of watching this episode uh for the third or fourth time now was ron talking about all the new foods that new his new cooks are making lobster smoke clam mist clam mist, i actually stopped the video i was laughing in my office for a while after watching that so i really enjoyed revisiting us i kind of want to watch the rest of the season now that we're we've started so uh good job good episode really funny i the only thing i wanted more of was the old bathroom shit curse thing. I feel like that ended too soon. I felt there was like a really great story behind that, but you know, it left me wanting more. Tara: [49:05] Exactly. They couldn't pursue everything. Sometimes you just get a whiff as it were. Dave: [49:10] Yeah. And just the capper at the end where, okay, we're dealing with March 2022 and it's what more will the universe pile on Ron? It was just, it was perfect note. All right, let's make this official. Let's put it to the vote. Will, what do you say here? Canon worthy or not? Will: [49:26] Absolutely. Yes. Dave: [49:27] Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [49:28] I'm going to leave my comment card on the web with a yes as well. Dave: [49:34] Me too. So. This means Party Down Season 3, Episode 1. Kyle Bradway is Nitromancer. You are hereby inducted into the Extra. Hot Great Cannon. Dave: [49:59] It's time to find out who our winner and loser of the week is. Sarah's got this week's winner. Sarah: [50:05] I do. It's General Hospital. The basically last soap standing has booked Erica Slezak after her very long running role on One Life to Live. I mean, actually, I should say roles because she was Vicky. She was Vicky's dissociated personality, Nikki. This was a huge storyline to the point where if my mother had accidentally locked the back door at like after school let out. She and that was on. I had to wait for a commercial to get the house. She was riveted. And then I think Nikki also had an alt. The woman put the time in and the 80s old heads know is what I'm saying. And so I'm glad that she's still doing it and getting joy from from daytime drama. So good for GH and good for her. Tara: [50:52] It's crazy to look up soap stars and see like, oh, OK, they were in this show for, oh, my God, 2065 episodes. Like she was on that show starting in the 70s. Dave: [51:03] Yeah. Sarah: [51:03] Yeah. Dave: [51:04] She was also great on Land of the Lost. Sarah: [51:06] Yes. Dave: [51:07] All right. Tara, who is our loser of the week? Tara: [51:09] Look, I just want to preface my remarks by saying it's only a rumor, but friend of the show, Andrea Santoro Monigal, who we've asked to come on and she said, absolutely not. Shout out, Andrea. I know you're listening to this, but she posted this yesterday. She spread the word after Blue Sky user April Wolf with an E at bsky.social posted, quote, I can't believe I had to hear it from the person who cuts my hair that Dr. Odyssey is canceled because their boyfriend was hired to strike the sets. Went on to say, I'm very sad to lose this extremely silly show at a time when we need extremely silly shows. This, if true, if we don't know, it still hasn't been reported anywhere. this is kind of a bummer but I think I've already said like Dr. Odyssey has never quite fulfilled the promise of its premise and the early especially the first episode snakes. Sarah: [52:02] Out of plane at sea. Tara: [52:03] It yeah it's kind of that yeah R.I.P. Sarah: [52:06] Dr. Dave: [52:06] Fuckboat well speaking about fuckboats yeah do you know what time it is I'm. Tara: [52:15] Scared to say. Will: [52:16] Fuckboat 30 yep yep. Dave: [52:29] There was a time not so long ago where you guys would try to set me up for that, and then you just drop Dr. Fuckfart on me. All right, this is the sixth game time of the season. Our scores currently are Tara, two, Sarah, two, value guess with one. Today, we are playing Intermittent Fasting from Mr. Dan Casino. You damn, you casino! Who earns himself an extra credit. topic of his choosing plus a free shirt from the ehg store at throughmethods.com dan writes the new hotness in streaming is fast services and the king of free ad supported tv streaming is pluto tv pluto has dozens of channels mostly devoted to genres like 80s sitcoms or westerns but some channels are devoted to just one show playing episodes of that show 24 hours a day To get that old school channel surfing feeling, Dan flipped through some of the single show channels and recorded snippets of what was playing. You have to identify the show by the audio clip. If you need more help, I can tell you how many episodes of the show might be on the channel and when they originally aired. If that's not enough, I can give you a lead actor or personality in the show. Remember, these are all necessarily long running shows when you're making your guesses. You can guess at each part of the question, Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [53:56] Thank you. Dave: [53:57] You can only seal up the last part where they're buzzed out after the lead actor. I don't think we're going to have many opportunities to use your steel mill, but that's when you can use them. All right. Let's throw it to picky to see who's going first. We will start with Sarah. Sarah, Tara, Will is our order today. We got 30 questions. We're not doing anything with the Grosworth Equalizer Challenge Zones today. Are we ready to play? Tara: [54:22] Yes, sir. Will: [54:23] Indeed. Dave: [54:23] Sarah D. Bunting, you're first. Here's your audio clip. It's a show on the fast network Pluto. abruptly disappears, help to bring him home. Sarah D. Bunting named that show. Sarah: [54:43] Oh, that's a total mystery. Dave: [54:45] That's good for three points. Tara? Tara: [54:49] Yes. Guess what I did today. What? I looked at one of those Park Avenue penthouses. Dave: [54:57] Wanted to see what it looked like. It was an $11,000 humdinger. Tara, what's that show? Tara: [55:04] Can we just pause for a second about buying an $11,000 penthouse on Park Avenue? Sarah: [55:09] I know. Tara: [55:10] That's I Love Lucy. Dave: [55:11] That is I Love Lucy. Correct. All right. Will Leach, here is your first show. Let's go up here and just very gently, barely touching here, playing a few little leaf indications. Just barely. All right. Will Leach, what's that show? Will: [55:27] Oh, it's the guy with the hair. The guy with the hair. Dave: [55:30] Yeah. But you know what the show's called. Will: [55:33] Uh um do i know what the show itself is called. Dave: [55:36] I don't know what the show itself oh this is gonna be hard for you yes. Will: [55:39] Um it's not this old house. Dave: [55:42] No it's not i'll give you a clue it's got the word painting in it um. Will: [55:48] I don't know. Dave: [55:49] All right. It was Bob Ross. You're correct. Will: [55:52] It was Bob Ross. Dave: [55:53] Yeah. So that's the last hint, but you got two more guesses. I'll let you know. There is 403 episodes of this from 1983 to 1994. It's not going to help if you don't know the name of the show, but maybe all the stalling, it popped into your head. Will: [56:07] How to paint with Bob Ross. Dave: [56:08] Oh, that's a good guess. All right. We'll put you out of your misery. What's that show? Steel Mill Opportunity, if anybody wants to take it. No takers. That was the joy of painting. Joy of Painted. Tara: [56:19] For the record, Sarah has one steel meal. I have five. Valid Guest has one plus Eric's meal for a total of two. Dave: [56:25] Yep. Back to Sarah. Frank Reagan. Councilman Welsh. Good to see you. Dodgers, I'll be back. This is Kelly Davidson, Channel 10 News. Nice to meet you. Sarah D. Bunting, what's that show? Sarah: [56:41] Uh, Blue Bloods? Dave: [56:42] Blue Bloods, good for three. Back to Tara. Something tells me he might have been abused as a puppy. That freak on Alicia's. Tara: [56:53] Boomer is a mutt, part human, part shreds of the sports section. Shout out to our friend Brian Rubenstein, who was a writer on this, Tosh.0. Dave: [57:04] Tosh.0 is correct. That has a fast channel dedicated to it. Back to Will. He had two men in his crosshairs, the ex-husband and the new boyfriend. He or the other. So you started asking the question, who's got a camera around here, huh? That's right. All right, we'll name that show. Will: [57:24] Is that Dateline? Dave: [57:26] It is Dateline, correct. Three point answer, nicely done. Back to Sarah D. Bunting. Oh yeah, through the mudslides, the earthquake. Will: [57:34] Wow, you deserve a message. You know, I don't think I'd really want to live anywhere else. Dave: [57:41] So you've already been named that show. Sarah: [57:43] Wow, a whole channel? Beverly Hills 90210. Tara: [57:45] You are correct. Yep. Five, four, three, two, one. Hands up, utensils down. Top Chef? Dave: [58:00] Top Chef is correct. Back to Will. Two end walls done. We've got a small accent window going in here, So we've got to get the header. Tara: [58:11] Mudroom right down there. So we have to get the headers and the cripples in and the wall sheath. Dave: [58:16] All right. Will: [58:17] Will. That sounds like a renovation show. Dave: [58:20] Yeah. Let me, before you answer, let me just say, I'm pretty sure you've already said the title of this show in this episode and not very long ago. All right. Will: [58:28] Oh, no. Now I feel even stupid because I don't remember. I've forgotten even what show was on. Dave: [58:33] Literally two minutes ago. Tara: [58:34] Okay. Sarah: [58:34] Yeah. Dave: [58:35] Go. Will: [58:36] Okay. This old house. Dave: [58:38] This old house is correct. Yes. Refinanced her. Nicely done. Back to the top of the order. This is for Sarah. All right. Now, where are we in the script? Well, we're just coming out of the last commercial into bit. Sarah: [58:51] Let's see. I suppose in our star set. I mean, I know it's not this, but Frasier. Dave: [59:03] This show we've got 158 episodes on pluto tv and those episodes go from 1961 to 1966. Sarah: [59:15] Dick Van Dyke Show? Dave: [59:16] Yes, correct. Dick Van Dyke Show, good for two. Nice. Tara? Tara: [59:20] Yep. So we just wrapped the investigation here at the Garden Arts Center in New London, Connecticut. telling us earlier. I was able to hear things. Steve was able to hear things. Many investigate. Oh, is this like Ghost Hunters? Dave: [59:38] Ghost Hunters is correct. Yes, three points. Nicely done. Back to Will. Oh my God. Like, yes, I do. It was really emotional. And the fact that. Sarah: [59:49] To be Angelina's bridesmaids, you just know we love her dysfunctional ass. Will: [59:55] Oh my gosh. I need the clue. Give me the years. Dave: [1:00:00] We've got 89 episodes from 2009 to 2012 and another 207 episodes in a sequel series that started in 2018. Will: [1:00:13] And when did that one run to? Tara: [1:00:15] I think it's still on. Sarah: [1:00:16] I think it's still on. Tara: [1:00:17] Too present. Will: [1:00:18] Is that the Kardashian show? Dave: [1:00:23] It's not. Your lead is The Situation. Will: [1:00:27] Oh, is that Jersey Shore? Dave: [1:00:28] It's Jersey Shore. Good for one. Yes. The sequel series is Jersey Shore Family Vacation. I guess that one is still on. Will: [1:00:35] There was a horrible thing I just did to the Kardashians, by the way, to connect them to Jersey Shore. I'm sorry. Sarah: [1:00:41] They know what they did. Dave: [1:00:42] One more before we hit our score break. This is for Sarah. In a crisis there's no time for explanations. Orders have to be obeyed without question or. Sarah: [1:00:53] Course you are. I guess this mission has brought up some old ghosts for me. Dave: [1:00:59] What's that show? Sarah: [1:01:02] Uh, NCIS? Dave: [1:01:07] Incorrect. This show on Pluto. We've got 176 episodes on tap for a show that ran from 1987 to 1994. Sarah: [1:01:25] Magnum P.I. Dave: [1:01:28] Star of this show and the voice you heard in the middle between the Terry O'Quinn sandwich is Patrick Stewart. Sarah: [1:01:35] Oh, Star Trek Next Generation? Dave: [1:01:38] You are correct. Good for one point. Tara Arianna. Tara: [1:01:43] Yes. I have one dream about a little French cafe in Paris right off the Rue de Florentine. too? Oh my god! Is that, uh, whose line is it anyway? Dave: [1:02:02] We've got 199 episodes for you from 1988 to 1999, but not approximately 40 episodes from recent revivals. Those are not available on Pluto for you. Just the early ones. Tara: [1:02:18] Okay. Um, yeah, give me a star. Dave: [1:02:23] Joel Hodgson. Tara: [1:02:25] Oh, Mystery Science. St. Theater 3000. Dave: [1:02:27] Yes, correct for one point. All right, this will take us to our score break. It is for Will. We're just married, and we didn't get a chance to go on a honeymoon. Wow, so maybe you'd take her to Nashville, huh? you'll get tons of money. You can go on many honeymoons, a million dollars at stake. You ready to play, Pion? All right, what's that show, Will? Will: [1:02:50] Give me the clue. Dave: [1:02:51] All right, we've got 234 episodes for you, ranging from 2005 to 2019. Tara: [1:02:58] Wow. Will: [1:02:58] Oh my gosh. Tara: [1:03:00] I didn't remember this was on that long. Sarah: [1:03:02] Me neither. Will: [1:03:05] Okay, I need the star. Dave: [1:03:06] Howie Mandel is her star. Will: [1:03:08] Oh, the suitcases. Jesus. Dave: [1:03:15] It's not gold case. That was from 30. Will: [1:03:17] It's deal or no deal. Dave: [1:03:21] Picked it up for one point. Nicely done. and it's time for our mid-game score break. Tara: [1:03:26] Okay. Will has eight. Sarah has 12. I have 13. Dave: [1:03:31] All right. Close game. We still got one more half to play. Let's get back to it with Sarah D. Bunting's next show. Drift, Grim, let's roll to the rescue. Wait, no. Somebody's Never mind. Let's just move out. Okay. What's that show? Sarah: [1:03:52] Archer? Dave: [1:03:54] We've got 98 episodes, Sarah. This show started in 84, ended in 87. Several hundred episodes from various sequels and reboots are there continuing to the present. Sarah: [1:04:08] G.I. Joe was there. Dave: [1:04:11] Incorrect. Tara: [1:04:12] Good guess. I think you're in the ballpark if I'm right. Dave: [1:04:15] Your star is Frank Welker. Frank Welker. Sarah: [1:04:20] Oh, my God. Yeah. No, that does not help. He-Man and the Quarters of Friendship or whatever his full name was. Dave: [1:04:29] Dancing around the right answer. Steal the opportunity here if anybody wants to use it and hasn't. Will, know what this is? No. Tara, not note takers? Tara: [1:04:38] It's Transformers, right? Dave: [1:04:39] This is the Transformers. Sarah: [1:04:40] Oh. Was more than meets the eye. Dave: [1:04:45] Back to Tara. Tara: [1:04:46] Yes. You seem to have a lot of questions about Larry. Don't you sing that he's Mr. Pure Natural. Dave: [1:04:53] 1% of charity. There's a lot of bad stuff going on around here. What's that show, Tara Ariano? Tara: [1:04:59] There sure is a lot of bad stuff going on around here. It's Murder, She Wrote. Dave: [1:05:02] Murder, She Wrote. Good for three. Back to Will. When, Michaela, and I saw Secret Advantage right at her feet. All right, Will. what's that show is. Will: [1:05:21] It the real world. Dave: [1:05:22] It's not the real world we've got 696 episodes for this show that started in the year 2000 and is still on survivor survivor is good for two yes i. Will: [1:05:35] Heard michaela and i know that she was on the real world. Dave: [1:05:37] This is question 19 it is for sarah d bunting. Will: [1:05:44] This is a good car, the only thing I've got to ask really is how much damage did you cause to it while losing to the. Dave: [1:05:51] Boy on a bicycle? Well quite a lot, but the way I look at it is this. What's that show, Serity Bunting? Sarah: [1:05:59] Taskmaster? Tara: [1:06:01] It is not. Dave: [1:06:02] We've got 328 episodes from 2002 to 2022. The Pluto channel does not include the 529 episodes that ran with different hosts from 78 to 2002, nor the episodes that ran with different hosts after the run that is featured on Pluto. So just the stuff in the middle is on Pluto. Sarah: [1:06:26] Top Gear? Dave: [1:06:27] Top Gear is the answer. Yes, two points. This is for Tara. $332.41 in Marshall's fees. All right. Sir, $2,374. You understand that? You're supposed to do the right thing. All right. This show has a dedicated Pluto channel. What is the show? Tara: [1:06:49] Oh, I'd know that bitchy voice anywhere. That's Judge Judy. Dave: [1:06:52] Judge Judy is correct. Will: [1:06:54] That is always playing in my parents' house. Tara: [1:06:56] Wow. Will: [1:06:57] They have found this channel. Sarah: [1:06:59] She just got another show. Will: [1:07:01] Yeah. Tara: [1:07:01] Yeah. Dave: [1:07:01] I'm going to, we're going to do closest to the pin bonus point opportunity here. Ready? Name how many episodes are available of judged Judy. Will you get first credit? Will: [1:07:14] 973. Tara: [1:07:15] So close to what I was going to say. Dave: [1:07:17] All right. Tara. Tara: [1:07:18] I guess I'll not be a jerk and I will say 1012. Dave: [1:07:23] Sarah. Sarah: [1:07:24] 880. Dave: [1:07:25] 880. Closest to the pin is Tara Arianna with her guess of 1,200. No, I said 1,012. Tara: [1:07:33] But I guess I was still closest. Dave: [1:07:35] But you're still closest. I'm not going to do that math because it's too complicated. The correct answer is 7,200. Sarah: [1:07:41] What? Will: [1:07:42] That's gracious. Sarah: [1:07:45] Every day. Dave: [1:07:46] It was on every fucking day. Sarah: [1:07:47] How many points did T-Bone get for that? Dave: [1:07:49] Tara got one point. One extra point. Luminol reveals dried blood. All right. Will. Will: [1:08:05] Is this CSI? Dave: [1:08:06] This is CSI. That's a three-point answer. Nicely done. Tara: [1:08:10] I wanted you to come back and say the star is Lou Manol. Dave: [1:08:16] Serity Bunting. The data suite of CBE is stabilizing. So it works. Congratulations, Doctor. I always knew you'd do it. all right sarah what's this long-running show that pluto has a dedicated channel. Sarah: [1:08:31] Can i hear the clip again please the data suites the cbe it's stabilizing so it works congratulations doctor i always knew you'd do it doctor who doctor who's correct. Tara: [1:08:46] Yes right here this is just a nightmare yeah i mean for, stop you gotta stop oh this makes my heart hurt yeah intervention. Dave: [1:09:05] We've got 238 episodes running from 2009 to 2021 260 in a sequel series starting in 2011. approximately another 100 episodes in various other sequel series all available on pluto and this channel for what show is. Tara: [1:09:24] It celebrity rehab god. Dave: [1:09:26] Your star character personality is amber portwood oh teen mom teen mom good for one point all right we are back to will will are you ready Yes. Will: [1:09:38] Sir. It's made about 1910, and it's called a googly-eyed doll. It's made. Tara: [1:09:46] Suave. Oh, all right. And they made a series of googly's. Will: [1:09:54] I remember my kids said that when I was probably James. Dave: [1:09:57] They made a series of googly's. Tara: [1:09:59] In a way, aren't we all a series of googly's? Will: [1:10:01] Yeah, a series of googly's. Is that Antiques Roadshow? Dave: [1:10:03] Yeah, you bet. Three-point answer. Back to Sarah DiBonte. okay everybody listen up the body is trapped somewhere between here and the bridge. Sarah: [1:10:13] We swim dive and surface in unison you may now take the center like a school of dolphins that used to be on night rider uh that is baywatch. Dave: [1:10:23] That is baywatch three point answer nicely done back to tarp and you've got yourself a mythical steam machine gun you know machine. Tara: [1:10:38] Existed, let alone if there are any plans, if it was ever used in battle, or if it was just some propaganda machine. I mean, I don't know what any of these shows are called, so I just have to say Mythbusters. Dave: [1:10:50] You're correct. It is Mythbusters. 300 episodes on tap. Tara: [1:10:55] All right. Dave: [1:10:56] All right. Will, here's your next show. All right. You got the theme. Theme to what show? Will: [1:11:11] Is that Perry Mason? Dave: [1:11:13] Perry Mason is correct. Three-point answer. Nicely done. And everybody has one question left, so it's time to get them scores. Tara: [1:11:20] Okay. That's pretty close. Will has 19. Sarah has 20. I have 24. Dave: [1:11:28] All right. Let's do everybody's last question. Sarah D. Bunting, here it is. Damn. I'm up. I thought she went with 80. Wow. that's it price is right price is right yep three point answer they have a separate channel for bob barker episodes good. Tara: [1:11:53] Because that was real low energy for drew carey yeah. Dave: [1:11:56] All right exciting closest to the pin answer here oh boy how many episodes of the price is right which ran from 72 to the present are available on Pluto. Tara: [1:12:10] Across both iterations? Dave: [1:12:12] It has to be if it's to the present. Tara: [1:12:13] Okay. Dave: [1:12:15] Tara, you go first this time. Tara: [1:12:17] 8,300. Dave: [1:12:19] 8,300. Sarah? Sarah: [1:12:21] 11,000 even. Dave: [1:12:23] 11,000. All right. Will, chance to pick up a point here. Will: [1:12:27] 13,200. Dave: [1:12:28] 13,200. Closest to the pin is Sarah D. Bunting is a squeaker. With 11,000, she was closest to 9,800. Tara: [1:12:38] Is the answer. Will: [1:12:41] Did Judy still got a chance to catch up? Dave: [1:12:43] All right. One more point for Sarah. And we're on to Taurus. last clip. Yes. Yeah, I was also able to get some comments from the master himself analyzing their past two battles. Tara: [1:12:56] Much on what we're all about, our traditions, rather than concentrating on how we should treat the theme ingredient. Iron Chef? Dave: [1:13:02] Iron Chef is correct. Yes, three points. Sarah: [1:13:04] Nicely done. Dave: [1:13:05] All right, last clip of the game is for Will. I'm going to go swimming and I'll be back in a little while. Ben, will you have an. Tara: [1:13:22] Oh, that's a good hint. Will: [1:13:25] Is that the love boat? Dave: [1:13:26] That is the love boat. Yes, the three-point answer to end the game. It is time for regulation scores. Tara: [1:13:33] I think everyone performed very well in this one. Will ended with 22. Sarah had 24. I'm barely ahead with 27. Dave: [1:13:40] All right, so Tara wins this one. we have a tiebreaker we'll reuse for a steel mill for future use. Will you be playing for future value guests? First person to shout out the answer and shout it out loud, if you're going to do it over the clip, wins the point. Here we go. So will I. I'm staying in the same. Sarah: [1:14:03] Same place? You mean with the waterbed? Three's Company. Dave: [1:14:09] Three's Company is correct. Got it. Nicely done. Sarah: [1:14:19] Good job, Tara. Good job, Dan Casino. Will: [1:14:21] Yeah, thank you, Dan. That was fun. Dave: [1:14:23] All right, that is it for this episode of Extra Hot Great. We splashed around with the YA adaptation of We Were Liars before going around the dial with stops at The Chicken Sisters, Untold, The Mortician, and The Devil's Plan. Tara served up a canon win for Party's Down Revival debut. We crowned winners and losers of the week, and Tara was the winner of this week's Game Time from Dan. Next up is Gidget in the Extra Extra Hot Great Forest Hitting Pool and come back here next week for The Waterfront. Remember! We're listening. I am David Teagle and on behalf of Tara Ariano. Tara: [1:15:06] We should get a shaman. Dave: [1:15:08] Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah: [1:15:10] It's obstructing the view. Dave: [1:15:12] And Mr. Will Leach. Will: [1:15:13] I have tattoos all up and down my left hand. Dave: [1:15:16] Thanks for listening we'll see you next time right here on extra hot grit. Tara: [1:15:27] An important message for your audience of unemployed virgins. Sarah: [1:15:35] Shut up just fuck we get it.