Is Rooster A Cock-A-Doodle Doo Or A Cock-A-Doodle Don't?

Dave: [0:13] This is the extra hot great podcast episode 605 for the week of march 9th 2026, i am first edition warmth and peace david t cole and i'm here with key bender tara ariana and academic authenticity advisor, Bobby Krut. Bobby: [0:37] I want to teach a class about Bad Bunny too. Tara: [0:49] Welcome to Extra Hot Great for another week. We don't always discuss shows about English professors, but when we do, we call this guy. He is a poet and a college level English instructor you've heard with us many times. It's Robert Crud. Welcome back, Bobby. Dave: [1:05] Welcome back, Bobby. Bobby: [1:06] Hi. Hi, everybody. Dave: [1:08] Students call him Bobby K. Bobby: [1:10] They do. How did you know that? Tara: [1:13] We are here to talk about Rooster. and in Rooster, Greg Russo, Steve Carell, is a successful author of breezy comical beach reads in the style of Carl Hiaasen. He accepts an invitation to read at Ludlow College because his daughter Katie, Charlie Clive, who teaches there, is going through a breakup with Archie, Phil Dunster, a fellow prof. Ludlow president Walter Mann, John C. McGinley, is eager to install Greg as writer-in-residence, but Greg doesn't think his work is fancy enough, plus he has no teaching experience. But when things with Katie and Archie reach a new crisis point, Greg may reevaluate his position. The show was created by Bill Lawrence and his frequent collaborator, Matt Tarsus. The two of them adapted Carl Hyasson's work into the Apple TV show Bad Monkey, so he is an inspiration for the character here. The show premiered on HBO March 8th. Only one has aired so far. We got access to the first six, but we will be careful about spoilers. Let's do the Chen check-in. Bobby, should our listeners watch Rooster? Bobby: [2:16] Sure. Tara: [2:17] Dave? Dave: [2:17] Yeah, sure. Tara: [2:19] Yeah, sure. Is that how I feel, too? It got better as it went, but if you feel like you can't take another one of these, it's fine. You're fine to skip it. Dave: [2:30] You can't take another one of these. Tara: [2:32] Well, Bill Lawrence has three shows on the air right now. It's a lot. Dave: [2:37] I don't disagree. I just love the way you put it. Another one of these. Tara: [2:41] Well, but it is. It is another one of these. Dave: [2:43] It is another one of these, yes. Tara: [2:45] Let's get into this. I know why TV creators like to center their college shows on people who teach in English departments, even when the creator's own college experiences ended in the 1990s, if there were one thing you could get all of them to stop doing, Bobby, what would it be? What do you hate to see in a college TV show or movie? Bobby: [3:06] Affairs with grad students. I mean, I know it's not presented as like, it's a good thing, but it's just such a trope that we've seen 8 million times before. And I feel like they're very lightly okay with it on the show in a weird way. Not to be a wet blanket on the show, but it did strike me that way a little bit. But any college show, I realized at a certain point, it reminded me of when I was little, and I used to love courtroom dramas, and somebody who was a lawyer saying, you know, that's not really what court is like. All of these colleges, they're a fantasy. They're not real college day-to-day things. So if you can just kind of sit back and roll with that, that it's a fun world to live in for a little bit, there's something to be said for that. Tara: [3:48] Yeah, we should say the prof and the grad student are Archie, Katie's soon-to-be ex-husband, question mark, and then a grad student named Sunny. I guess they sort of get around it because they're not in the same department. She's in science or something. Bobby: [4:01] Yeah. Tara: [4:02] In keys of Russian studies. But still, it's not cool. Bobby: [4:06] I think it would be frowned upon even. Maybe not fireable, but frowned upon. Tara: [4:11] Yeah. Did Rooster surprise you by getting any aspect of its setting especially right? Bobby: [4:17] The camaraderie between Steve Carell and Daniel Deadweiler, it reminded me of the best sorts of hangouts with other teachers. When you remove all the scaffolding, those are my favorite scenes of the show, was them just kind of talking. And I feel like the camaraderie between the teachers felt very real to me. Tara: [4:36] How often are you seeing your university president shirtless and glistening on a Tuesday? Dave: [4:42] Yeah. How long is that? Bobby: [4:43] Not frequently. Yes. Well, that was one of the things. And now I admittedly have taught at large state schools for my entire career. I've been at UCSB for 22 years. And before that, I taught at Georgia State. So I've never taught at one of these kind of like small liberal arts schools. So I don't know. Maybe it's like that at those schools. The thought of the president just strolling around having conversations, apart from being shirtless, seems not real at all, but maybe at a school like that it is. But again, that was just something I decided to roll with, but I don't know that I've ever seen the president of our university. Dave: [5:14] Maybe John C. McGinley, being the age he is and having the body he does, is like, well, I'll go into your show, but I want to be sure to listen a lot of the time, please. Bobby: [5:24] I hadn't seen him in a while, and it was fun. I enjoyed him. And sadly, some of his comments and behavior I have heard in real life from other administrators slash teachers over the years. So I did strangely find some of the things very realistic on that front. Tara: [5:39] Is this a better show if it's a period piece? Like, this is what I always wonder about shows in this ilk. Lucky Hank was one from a few years ago in the chair and stuff where it's like, clearly the people who are writing these are not people who have been anywhere near a college, like as a student for a long time. And I know it's more expensive to do that. But is it a better show if you excise all the stuff about like, Zoomers are too touchy? Dave. Dave: [6:02] It is trying. There's an episode after the first, the second or the third, where he goes through a series of mishaps. He gets called into HR because it's political correctness, run amok. It's one of those. And I just like, I didn't need any of that. I never need more of that because all that tells me is your writing room is old and out of touch. Tara: [6:21] Right. Dave: [6:22] If that's the stuff you're complaining about or putting up on the screen as comedy, because even if that was funny, there have been, and I'm not even joking, 20,000 things before you did it in the past 10 years. And we're just like, no more. So that part is trying and connected to that is Steve Carell. I just hate Steve Carell doing these types of roles where he's just sort of like the real him is always like slightly buried under something and that's his mission in the movie or show. to like dig himself out of this shallow grave of not being himself. I just don't care for him in that role. I just never buy it. He always seems like he's acting and not really living in the character. Like it really seemed like this was Steve Carell on the marquee in the background of all this, all these shots of this whole show. So that bothered me. I think I would have liked this show more if it just wasn't led by Steve Carell. Cause I just thought like he is the lead, but he is the one that sticks out to me as sort of not living in the world that everybody else is living in. Bobby: [7:24] It's interesting. I'm just taking it in because I love him so much. There's certain shows, maybe four seasons I didn't really watch. I don't know how he's on that. But on this, I actually like him on this a lot because there's enough moments where he just seems so natural. The clip at the beginning was one of my favorite parts, the nuts scene, where it's just him seeming like himself or later in the episode when he's with the daughter and she says, will you stay a little bit longer? I don't know. Maybe I'm a sap, but there's something about the sound too corny. His eyes. There's something about him where I feel like he's a real person in there. So, I mean, I get why maybe somebody wouldn't connect it, but for me, I did like him in this. Tara: [8:02] Yeah. I get what they're trying to do with Greg as a character, but I agree with Dave. He's too put together to be convincing as an awkward weirdo. He looks like a guy from the Lavazza coffee campaign to me, regardless of what he does. And so the moment where in the first episode when he goes to Katie's classroom and she's like, if you want an extension, go make meaningful eye contact with my dad and tell him you really love him. It's like, I don't buy that that would bother Steve Carell at all. You know, like he's not selling that enough. He seems like he wants to give everybody a hug. So like that part of it is he's not enough of a kook. Dave: [8:37] Yeah. Bobby: [8:37] I wonder if they were going to amp that up in future episodes or not. Dave: [8:41] But all the characters are sort of like that. They're sort of, they're trying to ground them within like this dramedy universe they've created. Then they have these sporadic, crazy bits that really ramp out of nowhere and then come back down. That's sort of the writing across the board. Like all the major characters have this. So I don't know if that's just the energy they're trying to bring to the show or they're just not smoothing out that ramp enough and it makes it seem kind of jarring. It's not like, you know, suddenly they're teaching and they pull out an ax and stick it in somebody's head. But there are moments that are quite heightened that you're like, oh, that came out of nowhere. And once in a while that works when somebody, say, destroys something very valuable. And then sometimes it doesn't work where it just feels inauthentic to the moment for those characters in the scene. Tara: [9:25] Mm-hmm. Dave is a staunch opponent of the ironic porn stash. It must have felt great to you to feel represented in the premiere with that little reference to the tour guide's bad mustache. Dave: [9:36] Oh, God, yeah. I mean, not to get on my soapbox and stay there for two hours, but I love all you millennials, but millennials that decided to adopt the porn stash from the 70s never, never stops cracking me up. It just looks so ridiculous. Flibbity flu, where's my poppycock? Like, just the look of it, it just so, like, I understand fashion is cyclical and you look back, we were doing fucking stupid 50s shit in the 80s, so who am I to talk? But also, I kind of wonder if you're also the person that's grousing about not being able to find a job and you're going for lots of interviews and you have a porn stash and somebody my age very well is probably doing the interviewing. What they see is an untrustworthy pornographer. Tara: [10:22] And now we've said it I. Bobby: [10:23] Think you need to write a. Tara: [10:24] Show, But Dave, you do know who Bad Bunny is, right? Unlike Greg. Dave: [10:30] I know he was at the Super Bowl, and obviously, therefore, I know he's a singer, but I couldn't tell you anything that he's done. I will admit, there was one moment last week where they mentioned Bad Bunny in sort of this nebulous context, and I thought for a second it was that movie everybody was mad at, Brown Bunny. It was different, different things. Tara: [10:49] Yes, quite different. Dave: [10:51] Quite different. Bobby: [10:51] We are all very Generation X, aren't we? Tara: [10:54] Yeah. Bobby: [10:55] That's the reference. Dave: [10:56] Yeah. It's not that I'm unwilling to learn. It's just that in order to learn, it has to be shoved in my face against my will, and then I will learn it. Otherwise, I don't seek it out. Yeah. Tara: [11:06] Well, when you knew about the David Harbour scandal when he came up in our last extra, extra hot grade, I was kind of surprised that that came across your desk. Back to Rooster. Dave: [11:14] All right, fine. Tara: [11:15] This is partly a me problem because no one is making me watch all of them. But having three Bill Lawrence comedies currently airing, which is this, The New Scrubs, and Shrinking Season 3, is really highlighting the writing tics that I assume his staff have picked up from him. You'll get a construction of joke line, another character, really? And then the first character, no, the opposite of what I said. Or the variation of joke line, negation of joke, sheepish confirmation, where it's so many times in every episode. Dave: [11:44] Do you want to give another example of that? And right at the end, they'll give you a scrub stinger. Go ahead. Tara: [11:50] I can't wait to go out today. Dave: [11:53] Yeah. Tara: [11:55] I feel like you could just let some of these jokes stand. You're not getting paid by the word. Like, relax. Especially in something like this, where it's sort of a handsome dramedy and not a wacky joke a second show like Scrubs. Bobby: [12:06] I, not out of any kind of taste or judgment thing, just for whatever reason, I don't watch any of those shows. So it's interesting watching this one kind of free of that context. And what I've gathered is that, oh, this seems like what people have described the other shows as. But it's just so fascinating when there are these creators, whether Tim or I'm going to mention Tina Fey, Am I Around the Dial or whoever. You know, people who have kind of a universe of shows that you start to see those patterns. It's kind of fascinating. Tara: [12:34] Yeah. From the Why Do You Hate Women department, this is a question that one of these students asks Greg at his reading. Is Katie too much of a sad sack, perhaps? Dave: [12:44] Well, I love women. Bobby, you want to take this one? Bobby: [12:46] Oh, absolutely. I do have a question though, because I didn't do any kind of like background research on the show. That actress, I like her in this, you know, she is a bit of a sad sack, but warranted. And I do like some of her actions and stuff, but I don't know that actress. And I thought that she was, I liked her with Carell. Is she from something else? Tara: [13:06] She's new to me as well. I believe she is English. Dave: [13:09] When I saw her name, I thought she related to Clive Owen. No, different places for those Clives, their name structure there. That's not the way it works, Dave. Yeah, she brings a sort of undercurrent of madness that I thought I wanted to see out of some other characters. When she snaps, and she does snap a few times in the first few episodes, I kind of believed it. But there was a comical madness to it that she sold. So that was good. I mean, I was complaining about the quick ramp ups. I thought hers seemed the most genuine out of the leads. Tara: [13:42] Yeah. When she's talking to Greg on campus and saying, everyone knows about my scandal. And he's like, surely everyone doesn't. And then just a random student she clearly doesn't know is walking by. She asks him and he's like, uh, she's like, it's okay. You can say it. Like, yeah, I know all about that. That was one of the funnier moments of the pilot, I thought. Dave: [14:00] Yes. Tara: [14:01] And I agree. The sweetest moment was her sort of being like, do you want to hang out? And him being so grateful to just stay and like do whatever. The two of them have a nice father-daughter chemistry, I think. Dave: [14:11] Mm-hmm. Tara: [14:12] This is now the second Steve Carell show in two years where a guy's much younger girlfriend gets surprise pregnant, although at least this time the guy's not old enough that he should have had a vasectomy, so I'll give them that. It was so clear that that was what was coming at the end of the first episode. You could see it driving down the road, do you? Bobby: [14:29] I agree, though. You do see that. The minute that scene starts, you know what's happening, even when they have her going to the dentist, quote-unquote, earlier. There's a vibe in that scene where there are certain things in any show where you're like, okay, I know this is leading to, it's either pregnancy or death. Tara: [14:47] Right. Bobby: [14:47] Not to compare it unfairly to four seasons, but I went to a screening of the finale of that one. And I guess I can talk about how that show ended. But there's a scene at the beginning of the finale of that where you're like, he's dead by the end of the episode. You know that that's going to happen. Tara: [15:00] For sure. Bobby: [15:00] It didn't bother me, but you do see it coming. Tara: [15:02] And it's clear in the scene where she's going to the dentist, she gets on her bike and he goes, Archie says, a big shove for a big girl. It's like, okay, your girlfriend is too young. Like, this is not okay. And it's clear that you're getting sick of this and, you know, thinking this is a bad idea. So, of course, there has to be, for conflict's sake, something that's going to glue you together, potentially forever. Dave: [15:24] But I felt like that character was better drawn than most in that situation. The girlfriend, yes. The girlfriend, sorry. She did push back on a lot of the stupid shit that her boyfriend slash Katie's husband was doing. So I did at least appreciate that part of it where she just wasn't like, and now I'm pregnant. Bye. Tara: [15:42] I agree. Rory Scovel also appears in this as a local cop who's sort of getting in everybody's business for reasons big and small. First comes on the scene when he catches Greg having bought beer for an underage student. Dave: [15:57] Classic. Tara: [15:57] Classic. Rory Scoville is so funny. I feel like he deserves better than this show. Anyone else have feelings about him? Dave: [16:03] There is a moment in the second episode or maybe the third episode where he is interrogating somebody back at the police station and he misuses a word and everybody in the room is like, no, that's not a word. That's not a whatever. You can't use that as a verb or something like that. And he's like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. It's like going on his phone and typing and everybody's like, what are you doing? You looking that up? No, I'm just seeing if my Amazon package arrived to see one moment. And then he just like goes silent. It was a really good scene. Joe could have used more of them, frankly. I don't know how they could make that work and still be plausible. But the amount we get, I was happy with. Tara: [16:39] Yeah. Bobby: [16:40] Yeah. You kind of wanting a little bit more of that character, but he was funny. I love seeing Annie Mumolo in there. I don't know if she has more to do, but she's one of the funniest people around. Yeah. So I had a feeling she would. It felt like a lot of actors who their next thing, they'll be the lead. And then I just read that Daniel Deadweiler is going to be in the X-Files reboot. Dave: [16:58] I think she's playing Mulder or Scully. No, I meant like they're mold. Tara: [17:02] Right. Dave: [17:03] Is she the skeptic or the believer? Tara: [17:05] I feel like she's more of a skeptic type. Dave: [17:07] Okay. Tara: [17:07] Personally but i feel like she could do either yeah yeah alan ruck also shows up in the second episode as the dean of faculty is like playing him as a total asshole he was also really good and i should also shout out to all my fellow chicken sisters fans out there the chicken sisters if you will the chicken sisterhood the second episode was written by annie mbain who created that show it's not gonna blow your socks off i feel like at least the first few it's. Dave: [17:32] Like 70% the way there. Tara: [17:34] Yeah. Dave: [17:35] Almost there. But then like some of the characterizations just, they needed another few minutes in the oven. Tara: [17:41] I feel like all Bill Lawrence shows, Scrubs maybe is the exception because it's more of like a procedural, but they all sort of like sort of glide toward the mean of like the Cougar Town hangout show where it's like everyone is friends, nothing really happens and it's fine because you just enjoy spending time with these characters. Dave: [17:57] Closing thought. But where's the university film where you're going to university and you're at one of those, like the university me and Tara went to that was established in the late 60s or early 70s, where all the architecture was just brutalism and it's just concrete and weird stuff oozing out of the sides of the walls. Where's that depiction of university? All the same things can happen. It's just, there's no walnut wood to be found absolutely anywhere on campus. Tara: [18:23] The show I'm about to talk about around the dial is shot at the campus of U of T that's in Mississauga. And it is exactly like that. Dave: [18:30] Oh, okay. Anyway, I knew that and I was setting you up for a transition. Tara: [18:34] Thank you very much. Dave: [18:35] My segues are without equal. Dave: [18:48] All right, it's time to go around the dial, starting with Tara and her mystery show. Tara: [18:52] Yes, I also watched the other show about an English professor that premiered within the last week, which is Vladimir. And full disclosure, before I get into it, Julia Mae Jonas, who adapted her own novel for the series, is a friend of ours. She is married to past and future guest Adam Sternberg. The book is about a 58-year-old woman. She's the narrator. She doesn't get a name, who becomes sexually obsessed with the titular Vladimir, who is a 40-year-old new prof. Dave, please stop. Who starts at her school, which is in the brutalist style, was shot on the campus of U of T in Mississauga. Dave: [19:26] U of T is brutalist, but they also have the library that was made to look like a Canada goose, which cracks me up every time I think about it. Tara: [19:32] Vladimir is 40. He's a new prof. He moves to town with his wife and his young daughter. He arrives on campus right around the time the narrator's husband, John, is on leave from his post as chair of the English department after complaints from past students, all consensual at the time, none of them underage, who had sexual relationships with him. And John and the narrator had an open marriage and she also had sexual relationships with other men. And broadly, this is also what the show is about. But the book has the narrator spending a lot of time telling the reader that although she is very well preserved for her age, she's very aware of the changes to her skin and her body. And then the show cast Rachel Weisz. And I think we all agree that's fair. She's a famously unfuckable crone who grosses all out. Tara: [20:12] I mean, the character in the book is supposed to be sexy, but like not that sexy. But anyway, they've aged the leads down. Vice is 55. Leah Woodall, who plays Vladimir, is 29. But just as a thought experiment, I looked up actresses who were 10 years older than Vice or around there, and they're all still hot. Like, Marissa Tomei is 61. Julianne Moore is 65. Annette Bening is 67. All of them could still get it. To find a professional actress who looks like a normal person who's 58, like Ann Dowd, who is 70, like, I don't know what you're going to do. But anyway... The vice casting is an issue for some critics based on the reviews that I've read. I felt like the show was doing something different than the book in terms of how unreliable the narrator is. Because not being solely in her POV means the show can zoom out and show us things like the privilege that she and John, who is played in the show by John Slattery, who's great, as always, might take for granted. For example, when he's grocery shopping and his checkers and adjunct in his department who works at the store, because unlike the university, it gives her benefits. The narrator also does not attend John's Title IX hearing in the book, so she's not present to hear what we see in the show, which is the former students that John slept with telling their own stories, which gives a different cast to her attitude of no relationship is purely equal. The power imbalance is part of what makes it hot. All of these women were consenting and the show is sort of like, well, maybe she's wrong about some of that. Tara: [21:32] It does some of the same stuff that Rooster in the Chair and Lucky Hank and After the Hunt all do, making some students look like sheltered crybabies. But Vladimir balances that with a notable student character who's got her shit together and who legitimately is victimized with regard to her academic career by the narrator's self-involvement and carelessness. Tara: [21:51] I don't want to be a gender essentialist about perspectives on what college campuses are like today, but Vladimir is the only one of the above that comes to us from a female author or creator. and it was interesting to see the ways that felt legible in the show. It's an eight-episode season. They're around a half hour each. I watched the whole thing in an afternoon. It was a delight. So check it out. Support our friend Julia and also read the book, which is scandalous and very horny and fun. Dave: [22:14] How do they kill Vladimir in the end? Tara: [22:18] In a fire, surprisingly. Dave: [22:20] Fire? Wow. Does that kill vampires? Tara: [22:21] Yeah, I think you can burn them, right? Dave: [22:23] Yeah. Tara: [22:23] Anyway, for my plug, I'm still recapping Love Story, the now very controversial Ryan Murphy show about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Dave: [22:33] Do they kill him in the end? Tara: [22:34] We're not at the end yet, so I don't know. Maybe it'll be a shocking twist. Dave: [22:39] Maybe it'll be like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's like, nope, they lived. Yay. Tara: [22:44] That would be shocking. Dave: [22:45] That would be kind of awesome. Tara: [22:47] Actually. Dave: [22:47] Just shows the plane going down and then comes back up and lands in the airport. End of show. That wasn't in poor taste. You're in poor taste, dear listener. Dave: [22:58] is that it yeah all right bobby what do you got for us. Bobby: [23:03] Two real quick ones before I get to my main one. One is, I mentioned when we were talking about Rooster, different creators who have kind of universes. And years ago, I realized that the Tina Fey, Robert Carlock multiverse, that's my sweet spot of network shows. And the new Tracy Morgan show, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, it takes an episode or two to kind of get off the ground. But at this point, the first show in a long time, I'm laughing out loud at. It's so funny. We just watched last night, and it's fantastic. We did, too. So I definitely want to encourage people to check that out. Dave: [23:34] It was weird they put the first episode after the Super Bowl, because I thought the first episode was really uneven. Or was it the first two? Tara: [23:41] It wasn't after the Super Bowl. It was just after a game in the run-up to the Super Bowl. Dave: [23:44] Oh, okay. Playoffs or whatever. Okay. Tara: [23:46] Yeah. Dave: [23:46] It was just not there. I was like, ooh. But yeah. What is the latest one? Three? Four? Tara: [23:53] Four. Bobby: [23:53] Four. Dave: [23:54] Yeah. I thought that one clicked. The one before, it was a lot better in the first two as well. So, yeah, I see where you're coming from, Bobby. Absolutely. Bobby: [24:01] It's so interesting because some shows it's like incremental increase. And I feel like that one, the first two episodes were such place setting. And then on the third one, it just hit the ground running. It was so, so funny. Tara: [24:11] Yep. Dave: [24:11] I do enjoy it, but I still don't know what Harry Potter's doing there. Just not bringing enough to the mix yet. And maybe that's going to change throughout the season because there is an arc and they are telling more of his backstory and his position in Hollywood. would, but I just thought if you're going to get Harry Potter, you're going to do more with him. And I was surprised they haven't yet. Bobby: [24:31] I read a piece and it didn't get into specifics, but talked about the arc of his character over the season. And I think there's some fun stuff coming with that character in a couple episodes. That might just be PR that was put out there, but I'll be curious to see where it goes. Bobby: [24:46] And then the other quick one I just wanted to mention is Chris Fleming's HBO special. If you're not familiar with his standup I think it was during lockdown, my wonderful life partner and frequent contributor to the show, Sarah Baker, started showing me clips of him online. And it was the funniest thing. We finally have seen him live now, and there's no one doing what he's doing. So I encourage people to watch his stand-up special that's on HBO. Tara: [25:10] I'll also say, if you live in LA, he has a regular show that he puts on, I think at Largo. So you should go. Because I was just listening to a podcast. In fact, this morning, that was from a few weeks ago, where one of the comics who hosts it was saying they were on Chris's show. And also on that night was Conan O'Brien doing his Oscars monologue to rehearse it and see how it plays and stuff. So I was like, all right, sounds like a good show. So check that out. Bobby: [25:35] He and Conan are simpatico. And Conan produced the stand-up special. Tara: [25:39] Yep. Bobby: [25:39] But his shows at Largo, that's where we saw him somewhat recently, too. He gets such an amazing mix of really well-known people. Like when we went, Patton Oswalt did a set. But then he also gets some up-and-coming people. If you're in LA, go see him at Largo. It's fantastic. Bobby: [25:54] Oh, but my main thing, and I'll try not to ramble on and on about this, was I've been wanting to say this on the podcast, even though you all have talked about it so much, but The Lowdown, now it's on Hulu, is my favorite show of the past year, easily. If you are not familiar, it's from Sterling Harjo, who did Reservation Dogs. And I remember when that show, which is one of my all-time favorites now, was wrapping up. I listened to a podcast with him where he talked about his favorite movie being one of my favorite movies, The Long Goodbye, Robert Altman's Elliot Gould movie. And I thought, God, if this guy ever did that kind of project. And that's exactly what The Lowdown is. I mean, it's so much in that vein. So many great actors on it. Ethan Hawke, I mean, it's the part that he was, I mean, this is corny to say, born to play. Tara: [26:35] Totally. Bobby: [26:36] It's really the most I've ever liked him in something. But the whole cast is... Fantastic. We have one or two friends who are on there. And almost every week after the episodes, I would message them saying, so when this happened, what was that like? What was it like to eat those? And they're very gracious about indulging my obsession with the show. But if you have not watched The Lowdown, all of the episodes are on Hulu now. And I'm very happy that they're doing a second season. I think they've started filming or they're about to start filming the second season. Tara: [27:03] They've definitely started casting because we're going to hear more about that later in this episode. Bobby: [27:07] Yes, fantastic. Tara: [27:08] Anything to plug? Bobby: [27:09] Well, I have a couple books. My newest one came out in the fall, and so they're all available online. Maybe I could put my website up there. But I'd rather use my time to give a shout out to Sarah Bunting, who's not with us today, who is, A, I got to meet in person because she came to the book release for the last book in New York, and that was a real thrill. But I wanted to give her the plug of this Dirty Talk documentary that's on i think it's on abc and on hulu where she is a talking head i just we recorded it because it seemed kind of interesting and obviously we knew sarah was on uh she's great she's so her comments are fantastic but the show is really interesting too way more i didn't realize i would be so fascinated by the ricky lake show as i am watching it but it's great and sarah's fantastic Bobby: [27:53] on it so if people want to check that out i think that's on hulu yep as well okay thank you. Dave: [28:01] All right, I have two shows to talk about in my British People and Jaunty Capps edition diptych for Around the Dial. First one is we saw the Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man. It's playing in theaters right now before it hits Netflix in 10 days on March 20th. Dave: [28:18] Spoilers heading your way. I'm not going to do mega spoilers, but I'm going to do minor spoilers. So if you don't want to know, you don't want to know anything before you're walking out of the room. Okay, here we go. So I thought it was a pretty good, not super great, amazing capper. We were having discussion whether this was the end of it a little while ago or whether there's going to be another season. This seems to replace the idea of a last season because there's a finality to a lot of characters in this one. And I don't know who would be willing to stick around for Peaky Blinders, the Atomic Age edition or whatever they're doing next. It seemed right that they were sort of wrapping up storylines because this one takes place at beginning of the Blitz in London. So it's 1940. And I just can't see these characters in a post-war universe. Like they just seem like they're not of the modern age. So this one, as I said, takes place in 1940. So the Blitz is here. England's getting bombed to shit. Tommy is, Tommy, that's the lead character, is swirling away in his decaying mansion that was so nice in the series, but now it's a shithouse. And then there's a German baddie. He's played by Tim Roth. He's back in her eyeballs, Tim Roth. And he is sent to England with like a kajillion dollars in counterfeit English notes. Tara: [29:36] I think he's English. He's just a Nazi. Dave: [29:38] Right. Sorry, I meant German sympathizers. Tara: [29:40] Yes. Yeah. He's just a Nazi. You know, just that. He's English and a Nazi. Dave: [29:44] Nazis could be anybody. Tara: [29:46] They can, sadly. Dave: [29:48] So he wants to do this. It's supposed to throw the economy out of whack, and therefore it'll be easier to invade. It seemed like the budget for this wasn't as big as two episodes of the series. There was something about this that felt like it was at a smaller scale. Like, I was done with the movie, and I realized there was like only one scene with what you could call a gang. And it was just them chasing people around and punching them right at the start of the movie. And I was like, oh, yeah, that's why it feels like smaller and more intimate, which isn't a bad thing. But there wasn't a lot of Peaky Blinders in this Peaky Blinders movie. So if you wanted those big brawls, they're not really here. Most of the movie is about Tommy just being really sad, you know, because he's still got problems. He was never able to get over them. And then his asshole son, Duke, who we met in the series now played by Barry Keoghan. Keoghan. Thank you. I thought he was good. Like he plays a guy that you don't like very well. I know, Tara, you're not a fan, but I thought he fit the bill really well. And they both have sort of like pronounced eyes and faces. So I kind of bought. He's his son from way back when that he didn't really know about until further on in his life. There are some appearances or rather lack of appearances that I can't tell whether the actors weren't available or they weren't needed for this movie. And by not needed, I mean not wanted. There is some real workarounds, obviously not having the actor on set that I was surprised by. I'm talking about Arthur in particular. What do you think, Tara? Tara: [31:15] Well, you said there's only the sort of the one brawl scene at the beginning, which is true. But there is a good scene at the garrison where it's like that scene brings back sort of the magic of like, oh, shit, this hard man is at the pub and shit's going to go down. And then it does. And it's very satisfying. Dave: [31:31] Oh, sure. And then like the fight at the end in the warehouse was good, too. But, you know, it didn't have that, my whole body's a gun. Tara: [31:38] Yeah. Dave: [31:40] Kind of vibe to it. Sorry, I stole that joke from somebody. That's not my joke. Dave: [31:45] Next up is Amazon Prime's Young Sherlock comes from Guy Ritchie. And this is not a prequel to his movies, but it is about Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes, The College Years. It's going to be a theme for this episode, I guess. Tara: [31:58] Yeah. Dave: [31:58] Sherlock is not a student, though. He's what they call a scout, which is basically a staff gopher at the school. He meets his good pal Moriarty as they bond over living and breathing and learning at Oxford. And after what I would call the 250% extreme Guy Ritchie-esque cold open, the show does calm down into a fun ride. I was really wary after watching that cold open. I was like, oh, boy, here we go. I'm like, what is going on here? Yeah. Does settle into a season-long mystery arc, which is fun. Usually when there's a season-long mystery, I'm a little wary because, like, do they have enough going on in the show that will carry you through, which is going to be a slow drip sort of story as far as the mystery goes. And I think they do. The leads are very winning. They're putting them a lot of fun situations. The actual grounds of the university and all their old this and that's that they live in are really fun to look at. And the whole show just has this great playful energy. It never really gets too dark. They got Colin Firth there being a scumbag academic, so that is fun as well. It just moves fast and is fun, which is nice. If they could just do that for the whole season, that'd be great. I didn't need it to go dark. Obviously, there's going to be some characters that are going to turn at some point in this series. We know Moriarty's not a great guy, not a hero of the story. But I was really surprised by how much I was digging it. Tara: [33:26] Yeah, I feel like they can, because it's based on a book series, it's very possible that like Moriarty and Sherlock are friends for a while before it goes sour for them. They have a number of different antagonists, but the main one is like super compelling. And the longer it goes on, the more interested you are in that story. And that's all I'll say without spoiling anything. Dave: [33:45] Can I just tell you, when they do a big reveal in, I don't know what it was, episode three, episode four, I was like, shit, I was going to say something at the time that A and B didn't make sense. It seems something seemed off about that. And then like, they bring it up like, fuck, I'm not going to get credit for it. Tara: [34:02] I believe you. Dave: [34:05] So anyways, Peaky Blinders, pretty good. Young Sherlock, I'm going to say a little bit better, a little more fun. Tara: [34:11] I agree. Dave: [34:11] Yeah. All right. Here's what's coming up soon to the Extra Hot Great Universe. We are going to be taking some time off, but we're still going to bring you stuff. Extra, Extra Hot Great Episode 400. Is it a ham or is it a cheese? It's Scarpetta. And then 401, same show. We got Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat. On the one after that, we're talking about the David Letterman Show series in our February 4th setting. The very first-ish one of those. That is the morning show he did, not his late show. Tara: [34:44] Yes. Dave: [34:45] EHG 608, probably, most likely. Almost locked in, but not quite. Obviously, we have to talk about it. It's Space Show, otherwise known as For All Mankind Season 5. five. A show that gets more and more ridiculous and better and better for it is for all mankind. And then we have some things we're going to be digging up from the vault as we figure that out for the main feed. So look for all that. If you're not a club member, but you want to be, we're going to go to extrahotgreat.com to sign up. And for my quick plug, I just want to plug what just came out today as we're recording on Tuesday. It is the first three of these that is for our club supporters only. The theme this year is British sci-fi shows from the 70s I have not heard about until now. And the first one is Doomwatch and it's all about killer rats. So it was pretty fun. Listen to that if you are a member and if you're not a member, become a member. Tara: [35:39] Yeah. Yeah. Dave: [35:46] It is time for the Extra Haunt Great Canon presenting this week. It is Mr. Bobby Crutt. Take it away, Bobby. Bobby: [35:53] Hi, everybody. It's not lost on me that this is the second time I'm appearing on Extra Haunt Great, thanks to my role in academia, one I will always gladly exploit to appear in my favorite podcast. This career path and area of expertise may imply a level of intelligence and high-mindedness toward TV programming, never mind the fact that I watch Big Brother every summer, something that may influence my Canon pitches. In the past, admittedly, I have chosen shows and episodes of what one might consider highbrow TV, like last time when I, successfully I may add, pitched Atlanta's The Woods. In that presentation, I even explored how the show overlapped with lyrical poetry and discussed pedagogy in the presentation. How very academic. With all of that in mind, it would be insufferable to listen to me monologue about some perceived prestige program yet again. No lengthy discussion on the use of poetry in Breaking Bad here, no exploration of the philosophical implications of severance, no breaking down the sociopolitical implications of the wire. Instead, I want to take a hard left and go into the most ridiculous, bonkers, dare I say wonderfully dopiest show that inhabits a space in my brain and viewing habits, 9-1-1. Tara: [37:03] Woo! Bobby: [37:05] Today, I would like to pitch an episode that displays all the ways that this show goes over the top, And then over that, New Top offers insane plot lines and also drapes layers of cheese five layers deep over every line of dialogue and character. Season one, episode seven, Karma's a bitch, forgive my language, does all of these things. Lest we feel too removed from our academic start here, I have used a formula to create my list of supporting points. In honor of the show name, I started with nine, subtracted one, then another one to wind up with seven. So here are the seven reasons why this particular episode belongs in the canon. Number one. In a typical episode of 9-1-1, there are one or two emergency cases. They are usually wild enough to warrant the plot line, of course, but occasionally they cross into the sublimely insane. In this episode, we get four of those. In my personal favorite, the team arrives at a gym to find its manager trapped in catatonic in the tanning bed. When they pry the machine open, they find his body looking like something between an overly roasted duck and a piece of pepperoni from the top of a well-done pizza. Dave: [38:08] I was going to go egg roll. Bobby: [38:10] Yes. There's so many things that's so wonderfully gross. The sight is disgusting, but too ridiculous to be truly repulsive, of course. The sounds are worse, though. Listen here in clip one as they try to perform CPR on him and pull their hands away only to peel off a layer of skin. Starting compressions. Bobby: [38:38] The sound. It is network TV body horror in the highest degree, somewhere between David Cronenberg and John Waters. Number two, in another of the emergency cases, the team is dispatched to the LA Zoo, where a jerk has been throwing pine cones at a tiger so his nephews can get good pictures of it. We can tell instantly he is a jerk by the way his polo shirt is tucked into his jean shorts as he taunts the animal. Needless to say, the tiger escapes its habitat, and while the rest of the visitors get away in time, our pal finds himself in a game of cat and jerk as heard in clip two. Bobby: [39:59] While this plot line isn't as graphic as peeling skin off a dead body we do see his body parts being put into plastic biohazard bags after the tiger has had its meal number three in another more convoluted case the team is sent to a farm and by the way as a longtime la resident i can't tell where in their jurisdiction this would be but we don't need to worry about the details where a guy is on the ground with a bullet in his chest long story short the guy is an abusive monster, and after attacking his wife years ago, she tries to shoot him, but hits the tree. Failing to kill her tormentor, she is later found hanging from the tree. Admittedly, this segment is tonally a little dark for such a frequently goofy show, and the 118 comes out for the case way back then. Later, the tree the wife hit is dying, so the guy wraps it in C4 and shoots it at a distance to set off the explosives. In the height of special effects, we watch his bullet fly toward the tree, literally hit the bullet his wife had lodged in there years earlier and ricocheted back at him, hitting him in the chest. As he carefully laid out Rube Goldberg machine of a case, again reaching the heights of ridiculousness and glory. Number four, speaking of these three guys, this episode is canon-worthy for being a sterling example of one of the show's longest-running tropes, the bad guy getting his. Bobby: [41:11] I mean, this episode is, of course, titled Karma's a Bitch, and it says one case isn't enough. Your Sunday doesn't need one scoop or two, how about four? In the interest of time, I haven't even gotten to the fourth case, which isn't quite as bonkers as the rest. The three idiots in these cases are all terrible human beings written so obviously they might as well be twirling their mustaches. With the bullet tree guy, he looks like he was pardoned for January 6th and speaks like a hypnotized serial killer. Tell me the person wouldn't immediately be a suspect in a murder case here. Clip three. Bobby: [41:56] Just that I loved her. I mean, he sounds like a serial killer right there. The tiger meal guy is revealed to have been a big game hunter who was caught killing an endangered lion on safari. Yes, it is a little on the nose, but it should be for this show. And who just generally gives off the vibe of someone who tells everyone else at the zoo that this place has gotten too woke. And the gym manager, the one who turned into a crisp lunch meat is horrible to his employees, like the one who tries to save his adorable dog from being baked in his truck. Clip four. Bobby: [42:52] These three are emblematic of something the show does over and over again, presents truly over-the-top medical emergencies to people we not-so-secretly want to see suffer. In other episodes throughout the series, we see a bus literally flying to a high floor of an office building to crush a sexist lawyer, and an Elon Musk type getting swallowed by a whale, and yet he is still able to call his company from inside. These are over-the-top, you-must-pay-the-rent types, and this episode has three of them. Oh, and bonus points for two of these tools getting their comeuppance for animal cruelty, of course. number five and if a show has metaphoric devils it has to be equally wildly in the other direction to give us halo headed saviors this episode is a prime example of the use of captain jesus bobby nash as the epitome of all that is good and holy in the city of los angeles a man with a dark past who is now a shining beacon of light for all around him they literally make his blood healing in this episode this doesn't mean i don't love the character i do because this is not a show for subtle nuance. Like its cases, the good and bad are drawn in huge broad strokes as is warranted in this context. I won't bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say, Bobby never donates blood because he's scared of it. And from one Bobby to another, I understand. But when Chimney pressures him into doing so, he learns that he has a rare condition in his blood that will save thousands of babies if he donates once a month. As the joke goes, get off the cross, we need the blood. Bobby: [44:17] Number six, watching Peter Krause work through this plot line reminded me of another one of the aspects that is a blast about watching the show. watching truly gifted actors deal with this insanity. Krause is a good actor, and here he uses those skills for broad stroke characters again and again. And I say this again without snark. This is what the show is, and this is why it works. Why they killed him off last year? By a biohazard-wielding serial killer, no less, is beyond me. Other than the money, I guess, in production. But Lover Hate, the character. There has been a void in the show since he left. And Angela Bassett, when they announced the show, I remember thinking, Angela Bassett is doing this kind of show? Now, as the industry continues to constrict and get weird in a million ways, she seems like the smartest one in the room, of course, as she always appears, naturally. Watching her deal with this ludicrous plotline is glorious. And Connie Britton is there, sort of, for a few lines. Watching this group in this bonkers show is like watching a chef make a plate of McNuggets. And sometimes at 1 a.m. on a Saturday night, a value pack of McNuggets is just what I want. Bobby: [45:20] Number seven. And finally, it all comes back to the writing itself. I am no screenwriter, so I can only admire from afar the levels of cheese that are draped over not only the plot lines themselves, but the dialogue that holds it together. Whether it's a line that states the obvious about a case, for example, early in the episode, the team essentially tells us what we just witnessed with the bullet tree. Overwrought dramatizing, like the scene with Bobby in the church, or just the cherry on top of hearing the title of the episode spread throughout the hour. They just couldn't leave well enough alone, as we hear in clips five through seven. Tara: [45:53] Oh! Bobby: [46:05] You know what karma is a bitch, and if the script stating the obvious over and over again isn't enough the show demonstrates that somehow they have an unlimited budget up for on the nose musical needle drops in this episode about karma we get no joke karma chameleon by culture club instant karma by john lennon round and round by rat and you ought to know by alanis morrison it's like the show is sitting on the couch with us, putting his arm around us and saying, do you get it? You want to hear rat while a guy's skin comes off? It's beautiful. In all of these ways, Karma's a Bitch is a quintessential episode of 9-1-1. Bonkers cases, ridiculous dialogue, justified medical trauma, network-approved body horror, and of course, soap opera level personal plot lines, but those never feel like the point of the show, and I tend to zone out during those. When I say that this is the opposite of the more prestige, award-worthy shows I've pitched in the past. I don't mean to imply any condescension at all. It's just a different kind of show with different parameters. I'm working on not viewing things I love as guilty pleasures anymore, but just as pleasures. And if watching some tool who shot a lion get eaten by a tiger or a steroid receptacle of a misogynist get turned into a six foot piece of Chris bacon isn't a pleasure, I don't know what is. Dave: [47:20] Wow. Tara: [47:21] That was delightful. Bobby, thank you so much. I'll go first. I totally agree. I've watched every episode of both of the spinoffs. 9-1-1 the first season, we started it and then we skipped to season two because it seemed like it was getting bogged down in those personal stories early on. But maybe we should go back because it took a while where Dave was like, oh, I don't think we've ever seen this episode. And we hadn't. This was our first time watching it because of the way we consumed it initially. And you're right, it takes a very special episode to have so many bonkers cases that they counteract two of the most melodramatic personal stories of the main cast members. One is Bobby and his blood, and he has to tell us a story of he's keeping this ledger of trying to save as many people as he killed in capital T, capital F, the fire. Dave: [48:16] Bobby and his blood is the children's book about giving blood. Bobby: [48:20] I don't know. Tara: [48:22] Basically tells Jim, like, my plan is to get to this number and then die by suicide. And it's like really ridiculous because no one believes he's actually going to do that. And, you know, finally he is brought to see one of the babies that he's saved. And it's like, it's OK. You can save more people if you just get over yourself and join this rare blood club, whatever it's called, the program. Dave: [48:44] The rare blood club. Tara: [48:45] Yeah. Dave: [48:45] That's the YA version of Bobby and his blood. Tara: [48:48] It was funny to revisit this character at this point in his development, I guess. This is before he marries Athena. And in the later seasons, he's so much more Captain Jesus than now. Here he just seems like he still has some conflict and personal demons that he's dealing with. And by the end, he's just so secure and strong and whatever that he was an emotional flatline all the time. Dave: [49:15] Also on the Captain Jesus tip, he also is the chef. So he's always bringing loaves and fishes. Tara: [49:21] That's true. He is. Bobby: [49:23] Oh my God. Tara: [49:24] Anyway, that's one personal story. The other that you didn't talk about him rightly so is Athena's marriage to Michael breaking up, which we find out in the series premiere that he has come out and wants to date men. And they make some kind of asinine arrangement where he's going to continue to live in the house. and they're going to like fake it for the kids until finally the kids in this episode are like, we know what you're doing and it's worse than if you would just live separately. And so finally she gets a divorce lawyer and they decide to break up. She is, of course, as you said, Bobby, giving so much more to this storyline than it deserves. And her scene partner is like a C plus maybe. Like that Rockman Dunbar is also, and we've talked about him in loser of the week context in the past because he's an anti-vaxxer and you can look him up. Tara: [50:11] All of that said, the four cases are so great. All of them are winners. Even the one that you didn't talk about, which is the Porch Pirate, played by Jennifer Aspen from Glee. Incredible, just absolute nutcase. And when they're like, she doesn't even live here. She lives in Van Nuys, like as if they said she's, you know, came straight up from hell to rob your packages off the porch. And then when she doesn't even keep them, she just like, it's the thrill of opening them and having them. and she needs to go to rehab for it, but they don't take her insurance. All of it is great. The fact that they made the lion killer also a dentist, like the real one in the case that they ripped it from the headlines. Like he could have made it anything like he's a chiropractor. But no, they had to make sure you knew exactly what they were referring to. They are not counting on their audience being able to perceive any nuance in any of these. Dave: [51:04] Yeah, from the zero levels of abstraction rulebook. Tara: [51:08] Yes, I love this episode. It's great. It's exactly what you want from 9-1-1. And anytime an episode is not at this level, it's a bummer. So well chosen. Dave. Dave: [51:18] Yeah, it really reminded me of the Volcano episode of 9-1-1 Lone Star, where it was just like, what the fuck is going on? This is great. This is wall-to-wall stupid, and I'm here for it. We don't get a lot of these, but I really do enjoy when we get a canon pitch for objectively stupid TV. Like we've done, like Beverly Hills 90210 is in the canon. Like, is it great art? Like, absolutely not. But it's in the canon. I would actually say the same thing for some things like Game of Thrones episodes that we've done. It's like, this is great art? No. But it's satisfying on a bloodlust level? Yeah, it was. And that's why we put it in. So this is sort of similar, which is this is such a great turn off your brain and have fun hour of television. And the conceit is like right there. It's like, well, karma is a bitch. How are we going to do it? Like, how about four examples of how karma is a bitch? And we're really going to go for it. everybody's gonna die terribly the guy who looks like an egg roll in the tanning salon and then like they're doing the compressions and her hands come up like cheese on top of a casserole you know what i mean like this is like oh disgusting and i was like all right strap in here we go we're in for a a good time by the way that guy the gym owner slash cheese chest he looks so much like the sham wow guy i was like did sham wow guy bulk up is that what this is for his big congressional run. that he's doing in Texas, which I assume he won somehow already, right? I'm not sure. ShamWow guy is our representative. Bobby: [52:47] Wait, what? Dave: [52:48] ShamWow guy is running for office here in Texas. I'm sure he didn't make it through whatever primary just happened, if that was the case, but. Tara: [52:55] No, he lost. Dave: [52:57] Oh, that's a shame. The tiger guy's fate, where there's just chunks of him all over the sidewalk here, the enclosure where he got eight. I was like, all right, that's great. Just a bag of him being put on a stretcher. Great. You're like, why go for just killed? Why not dismembered and then half ate? Because that's what we're here for. The tree was absolutely ridiculous. The years-old bullet that gets ejected from the tree to shoot the guy in the chest was just like, I was just cackling. It was so dumb. And just the fact that this guy puts a ring of C4 or whatever it was around the tree to bring it down was stupid. But also, I kind of wanted to be there to see that happen because that looked like a lot of fun, to be honest with you. Dave: [53:44] Dumb, dumb, dumb. And then the Captain Jesus of it all is just like, you know, and he's like having a hard time with it. They're not the same. They don't equal the same savior points. All these babies and real people that are trapped in fires, I guess, until he comes around to that. This as the beginning of that, the serious beginning of that trajectory for him is a little sad, but it's so overwrought. When you write like that all the time, then it works. If you just do one of those things and then you try to have like a realistic show about firefighters and first responders, it does not work. And that is when this show works, that's what it's doing. It's just like, well, this is stupid. No, the guy comes in, the showrunner says, just slaps him in the face. No, this all the time. You cannot get serious. Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap. We want volcanoes and mini putts. Tara: [54:37] Yeah. Dave: [54:38] Fantastic pick. I really enjoyed it. And I'm glad we were able to visit this because, as we say, we missed the first season. Tara: [54:44] Yeah. The egg roll boss in the tanning bed getting his skin peeled off by revival attempts walked so that the frozen guy on 9-1-1 Lone Star getting the paddles right through his chest could run into insanity. And also another connection to our lead topic, everything's interrelated this week. Connie Britton also shows up in later episodes of Roosters playing the Steve Carell guy's ex-wife. Dave: [55:09] Good for her. Tara: [55:09] Something to look forward to. Dave: [55:10] All right, let's put this in the official vote. Tara, Ariana, what say you? Tara: [55:13] Of course. Dave: [55:14] Yeah, this was maximum enjoyable dumb, and I am here for it. So... All right, that means 9-1-1, season one, episode seven. Karma's a bitch. You are hereby inducted into the Extra-Hawk. Great kid. Dave: [55:39] Americans love a winner. Yep. And will not tolerate a loser. Nope. It is time to discover who is our winner and who's our loser of the week. I have this week's winner. It is Bobby Crutt, ears up. The Lowdown. Get this. Betty Gilpin's coming in for season two of Lowdown. That's exciting. That's sort of an immediate watch whenever she's in something. So look forward to that. Tara, who's our loser? Tara: [56:05] Our loser of the week is Carrie Underwood on level one because she criticized an American Idol contestant's original song on the show last week and people got mad and booed her and she was, I guess, decided to lean in and try to be the Simon Cowell on the show. So people were yelling at her on Twitter and she was like, I don't care, boo all you want. And I just feel like this is part of a sort of stealth SEO takeover plan because she sang at Trump's second inaugural and people were mad at her about that. So I wonder if this is something where she's like, I'm going to change the search results for Carrie Underwood booed for the next time she does some stupid shit so that this American Idol contestant comes up instead of other stuff. Dave: [56:52] That's a good conspiracy theory. I like that. Tara: [56:53] It's completely unfounded and yet plausible, right? Dave: [56:57] Absolutely. Bobby: [56:58] Seems very plausible. Dave: [56:58] Speaking about completely unfounded, but plausible. Do you know what time it is? Tara: [57:02] It's game time. It's game time. Bobby: [57:04] Yeah. Dave: [57:16] Welcome back to Game Time. Of course, this is and continues to be non-regulation Game Time time. And today we are playing Teacher Appreciation Week, keeping the teacher theme going. It is from Meredith, who earns herself another extra credit. Topic of her choosing, plus a free shirt from our store at throughmethods.com. The object of this game is to guess the TV teacher or adjacent role and the show they are on. I'm going to read you the character's position, grade, or subject that they teach, and the school in which they teach. Answer there, or if you need more information, I will give you the names of two students who attend said school. You can only guess once. Tara: [57:59] Okay. Dave: [58:00] You will get one point if you can name the teacher and one point if you can name the show. Tara, I need a steel mill situation, please. Tara: [58:08] All right our steel meal situation is i have four valued guests has one plus eric's meal for a total of two all. Dave: [58:17] Right let's throw it to pinky to see who's going first, All right, Bobby's in the hot seat, Professor Crutt, and then Tara will go second. Again, I'm going to give you what they teach or what their role is, and then the school in which they work. So here's an example. We have music teacher at Riverdale High School. So you want to name the character and the show. I think the show is pretty obvious. It is. Tara: [58:45] It's Riverdale. Dave: [58:46] It's Riverdale. Stay at a Riverdale. Bobby: [58:49] Stay at a Riverdale. Dave: [58:51] Anybody know the character? Tara: [58:53] Do not. Dave: [58:53] Yeah, it's Miss Grundy. Miss Grundy hates super friends. Tara: [58:57] Sure. Dave: [58:57] All right, that's how you play. So, Bobby, here comes your first. We have the headmistress from Our Lady Immaculate College. Headmistress, Our Lady Immaculate College. You only get one guest, so if you're not sure, ask for a clue. I'll give you two students. All right, you have Erin and Claire. Erin and Claire. Bobby: [59:20] I am going to I have no clue so I'm just going to throw a Hail Mary pass Is this Dairy Girls? Dave: [59:27] It is a Hail Mary pass Nice to done Yes, that is Sister Michael from Dairy Girls Dairy Girls Yes, nice Tara Yes Biology teacher from Whitlock High School. Tara: [59:39] Uh, that's Jack Griffin from AP Bio. Dave: [59:42] That is good for two points. Yes. Tara: [59:44] I was like, who's the biology teacher? Oh, right. Dave: [59:48] Do they even have a biology teacher on that show? Tara: [59:51] Yes and no. Dave: [59:53] All right, Bobby, you got Spanish teacher at Greendale Community College. Who is that? Bobby: [59:58] That is community and Senior Chang. Dave: [1:00:02] You are correct. Two points. Back to Tara. Tara: [1:00:04] Yes. Dave: [1:00:05] English teacher from Rosewood High School. Tara: [1:00:09] I think Rosewood is The Vampire Diaries Shit Who's. Dave: [1:00:16] The teacher from the show you don't know. Tara: [1:00:17] Oh I won't say the show I guess because Bobby could guess But I obviously don't know who that is. Dave: [1:00:23] Bobby do you know this Do you want to use the student here. Tara: [1:00:26] It's Pretty Little Liars right That was Mr. Dave: [1:00:29] Fitz Married to Mrs. Startz I. Bobby: [1:00:33] Never would have got a liar. Dave: [1:00:36] Terrible joke Back to Bobby, cheerleading coach from William McKinley High School. Bobby: [1:00:44] The students. Who are the students? Dave: [1:00:47] Quinn and Santana. But not like that Santana, I'm going to guess. Comes into the classroom playing guitar. Bobby: [1:00:55] Just based on the clue, I'm going to just guess that this is that new stumble show. Dave: [1:01:01] It is not. Tara: [1:01:02] No. Dave: [1:01:03] Tara? Tara: [1:01:04] It's Glee, but I can't remember what the Jane Lynch character's name is because it's been too long. Dave: [1:01:08] Sue Sylvester. Tara: [1:01:10] Sue Sylvester, of course. Dave: [1:01:12] All right, back to Tara. Tara: [1:01:13] Yes. Dave: [1:01:13] Another English teacher. This one from Parkmont High School. Tara: [1:01:17] Hint. Dave: [1:01:18] Callie or Kaylee. I'm not sure. C-A-L-L-I-E. And James. Tara: [1:01:23] Nope. Got nothing. Dave: [1:01:25] All right. Teacher is Luann Johnson from Dangerous Minds. Tara: [1:01:29] Okay. Dave: [1:01:30] Bobby. Chemistry teacher from J.P. Wynn High School. Bobby: [1:01:34] I'm going to guess that that's Breaking Bad. And... Oh. I have to admit publicly, I never watch Breaking Bad. Dave: [1:01:44] We had this conversation before we started rolling. Bobby: [1:01:46] Brian Cranston's character's name is Walter White. Tara: [1:01:49] Walter White, yes. Cultural osmosis. Dave: [1:01:53] Back to Tara, Shakespeare teacher at Constance Billard School. Tara: [1:01:59] Okay, well, that's Gossip Girl, but I don't know the teacher. Dave: [1:02:01] The teacher is Rachel Carr with two R's. Tara: [1:02:04] Okay. Dave: [1:02:05] Back to Bobby, guidance counselor at Dillon High School. Bobby: [1:02:08] The only guidance counselor that I can think of is from freaks and geeks so I'm gonna say freaks and geeks, Freaks and Geeks. Dave: [1:02:19] Probably not going to know the teacher, so it doesn't buzz you on that one. Bobby: [1:02:22] No, no. Dave: [1:02:23] Tara? Tara: [1:02:24] She's back again. That's Connie Britton as Tammy Taylor in Friday Night Lights. Dave: [1:02:29] That's correct. Bobby: [1:02:30] Yes. Dave: [1:02:31] All right, Tara, here's your actual question. Tara: [1:02:33] Yes. Dave: [1:02:33] English teacher from Chilton Preparatory Academy. Tara: [1:02:38] Okay, that's Gilmore Girls. And I think you're probably referring to Max Medina. Dave: [1:02:45] You are correct for two points. Bobby: [1:02:47] Yes. Dave: [1:02:47] All right, this will take us into our score break. Be ready with the score break. The score break is coming up. But first... Tara: [1:02:53] Got it. Dave: [1:02:53] Bobby, you've got math teacher from Edward Tilghman Middle School. T-I-L-G-H-M-A-N. Who knows how to pronounce it? Nobody. That's who, except the people on this show and this teacher on the show. Bobby: [1:03:06] Oh, my goodness. Who are the student names? Dave: [1:03:09] We've got Duquan and Randy. Bobby: [1:03:12] The only math teacher in popular culture that I can think of was from the movie Stand and Deliver. So maybe they did a TV show of that. So I'm going to say Stand and Deliver. Dave: [1:03:22] That's not correct. Any guesses from the other side? Nobody's used to steal meals yet. Tara: [1:03:26] I looked it up, so I won't guess. Dave: [1:03:27] Okay. What is it, Tara? Tara: [1:03:29] It's The Wire. Dave: [1:03:30] It's The Wire. And who is it? Tara: [1:03:32] Prez. Dave: [1:03:32] Yeah. Prez Beluski. This will take us into our score break, Tara Arellano. It is history teacher from Flat Point High School. Tara: [1:03:41] Oh, my God. It's so familiar. Flat Point. I can't believe I need a hint. Give me. Oh, no, I don't. What's the class again? Dave: [1:03:49] History teacher from Flat Point High School. Tara: [1:03:51] Okay, that's Strangers with Candy. And the history teacher is the Stephen Carell character, but I don't remember his name. I don't remember his name. I mean, not Carell, Colbert. Dave: [1:04:03] Yeah. It is Mr. Chuck Knoblet. Tara: [1:04:06] Knoblet. Bobby: [1:04:07] All right. Dave: [1:04:08] Now it's time for a score break. Tara: [1:04:10] It's so close. Bobby has five points. I have six. Dave: [1:04:15] All right, back to it with Bobby. You've got the guidance counselor from William McKinley High School. Bobby: [1:04:22] That's Freaks and Geeks. Dave: [1:04:24] That is Freaks and Geeks. Who is that guidance counselor? Bobby: [1:04:27] Is it Calso? Dave: [1:04:29] Very close. Tara: [1:04:30] So close. Dave: [1:04:32] Mr. Russo. Yes, the guidance counselor. That hippie. Bobby: [1:04:36] Tara. Tara: [1:04:37] Yep. Dave: [1:04:37] Debate teacher, Bronston Alcott High School. Tara: [1:04:41] Hint. Dave: [1:04:42] Cher and Dion. Tara: [1:04:44] Okay, that's Clueless. Dave: [1:04:46] Clueless. And the teacher is? Tara: [1:04:49] I know the actor's name, but not the character. Dave: [1:04:52] For Mr. Hall. Tara: [1:04:54] Oh, I didn't know the actor either. Dave: [1:04:55] All right, Bobby, you've got the librarian from Sunnydale High School. Bobby: [1:05:01] Oh, well, that's Buffy. And then it's another show that people liked that I never watched. But I feel like the name, is it Giles? Dave: [1:05:13] Giles is correct, yes. Rupert Giles is the correct answer. Bobby: [1:05:17] What is taking up space in my brain? Dave: [1:05:22] All right, this is for Tara. You've got an English teacher from Liberty High School. Tara: [1:05:27] That doesn't tell me anything. Hint. Dave: [1:05:29] This will Angela and Ricky. Tara: [1:05:31] Oh, sure. That's my so-called life. Dave: [1:05:34] It is. Tara: [1:05:35] The English teacher? Dave: [1:05:36] English teacher. Tara: [1:05:37] Mr. Katimsky. Dave: [1:05:38] Yes, Mr. Katimsky is correct. All right, this is question 17. Tara: [1:05:44] Spread eagle. Dave: [1:05:45] Thank you. Bobby: [1:05:45] Oh, spread eagle, sorry. God, how could I miss that? Dave: [1:05:48] Bobby, we're looking for the professor of paleontology from New York University. Bobby: [1:05:53] Oh, well, that's Ross from Friends. Dave: [1:05:57] Yes, two-point answer. Nicely done. Back to Tara. The sixth grade teacher from Jefferson Elementary School. Tara: [1:06:06] Hint We. Dave: [1:06:07] Got Corey and Topanga. Tara: [1:06:10] That's Boy Meets World Yes And his name is Mr. Feeny Mr. Dave: [1:06:15] Feeny is correct, nicely done Alright, this is Squat Tide, Bobby, fourth grade teacher from Springfield Elementary. Bobby: [1:06:28] Oh, Simpsons Krabappel. Dave: [1:06:31] Krabappel is good for two. Yes. All right. Everybody has a few questions left. Let's see. Okay. Tara. Tara: [1:06:37] Yep. Dave: [1:06:38] Teacher individualized honors program from Millard Fillmore High School. Tara: [1:06:44] Oh, is this head of the class? Dave: [1:06:46] It is. Tara: [1:06:47] And it's Mr. Dave: [1:06:49] I'd be very impressed if you get this. Tara: [1:06:52] Mr. Howard Hessman. I don't remember the teacher name. Dave: [1:06:56] Mr. Charlie Moore. Tara: [1:06:58] Okay. Bobby: [1:06:59] Literally watched this like last week, and this has been in my back pocket since the game has started. Dave: [1:07:04] Everybody has three questions left. Tara: [1:07:07] So let's get a score break. But we are all tied up. Dave: [1:07:08] Score break is done. It's all tied. Nice. Tara: [1:07:11] Yep, 12 to 12. Dave: [1:07:12] Back to Bobby, eighth grade teacher, John F. Kennedy, junior high. Bobby: [1:07:21] Oh... Students, please. Dave: [1:07:24] Zach and Lisa. Bobby: [1:07:28] Oh, God, I have no idea. Hannah Montana. Dave: [1:07:33] Incorrect. Do you know this one, Tara? Tara: [1:07:35] Saved by the bell. What teacher? Dave: [1:07:37] It's not saved by the bell. Tara: [1:07:39] It's not? Zach and Lisa? Okay. Then I don't know. Dave: [1:07:41] I think this might be a trick question. Tara: [1:07:42] Okay. Dave: [1:07:43] Because it's eighth grade. Tara: [1:07:45] Okay. Dave: [1:07:46] This is good morning, this bliss. Tara: [1:07:48] Oh. Dave: [1:07:49] Yeah. Tara: [1:07:49] Right. Dave: [1:07:50] Yeah. Tara: [1:07:51] Right. Bobby: [1:07:51] I don't know what that is. Tara: [1:07:52] That's the show that preceded Saved by the Ville. Bobby: [1:07:55] Okay. Dave: [1:07:56] Tara. Tara: [1:07:57] Yep. Dave: [1:07:57] Law professor, Middleton University. Tara: [1:08:02] Hint. Dave: [1:08:03] Wes and Laurel. Tara: [1:08:05] Is this How to Get Away with Murder? Dave: [1:08:07] It is. Tara: [1:08:09] And her name is... I'm so sorry, everybody. You love this show. I don't remember. Dave: [1:08:22] Bobby, do you know? Tara: [1:08:23] Keating. Dave: [1:08:25] It is Keating, yes. Too late. Tara: [1:08:27] Okay. Dave: [1:08:28] Teacher, Avonlea School. Bobby: [1:08:30] Oh, I'm going to need the student names. Dave: [1:08:33] Ann and Diana. Bobby: [1:08:35] Oh, God. Arrested Development. Dave: [1:08:39] What if I told you it was not spelled A-N-N, but A-N-N-E? Bobby: [1:08:45] Ann of Green Gables. Dave: [1:08:47] Yes, there you go. Bobby: [1:08:48] Oh, wow. What a professorial mind that I went to Ann from Arrested Development instead of Ann of Greengate. Dave: [1:08:56] Yeah. All right. No points there. That was Miss Stacy. All right, Tara. Tara: [1:09:01] Yep. Dave: [1:09:02] Teacher, Walnut Grove School. Tara: [1:09:05] Walnut Grove is Little House on the Prairie. I don't remember the teacher's name. Dave: [1:09:09] Miss Beetle. Sure. All right. Everybody's last question coming at you. This one is for Bobby. the remedial education teacher at James Buchanan High School. Bobby: [1:09:20] Cool. Students, please. Dave: [1:09:23] Vinny and Juan. Bobby: [1:09:25] Um... Dave: [1:09:28] Not a lot of TV characters named Vinny. Bobby: [1:09:30] Oh, Sopranos? Tara: [1:09:33] Good guess. Dave: [1:09:35] Kind of talks like Sopranos. Tara, who is it? Tara: [1:09:40] That's Mr. Cotter. Dave: [1:09:42] Mr. Cotter. Bobby: [1:09:44] Oh, my God. Dave: [1:09:45] Vinny Barbarino. One of my favorite shows. All right, Tara, last question. Tara: [1:09:49] Okay. Dave: [1:09:50] Professor of Architecture, Columbia University. Tara: [1:09:53] That's fucking Ted from How I Met Your Mother. Dave: [1:09:56] Bosby, how I met your mother. Who wants to hear a song from Josh Radner? Tara: [1:10:02] It's happening whether we want to or not. Dave: [1:10:03] No, it's okay. I'll have pity on you today. That is regulation. I need the scores, please. Tara: [1:10:09] We both finished well, I think. Bobby had 12. I had 16. Dave: [1:10:14] All right. Nicely done. High scoring game. Here is the last question. It was our tiebreaker. We'll use it for a steel mule for future use. It is the substitute teacher from an unnamed suburban high school. Any wild guesses? Tara: [1:10:31] Kids in the Hall? Dave: [1:10:32] Incorrect. The students are Denice and A.A. Ron. Tara: [1:10:40] Oh, Key and Peel. Dave: [1:10:41] Key and Peel is correct. Tara: [1:10:42] Mr. What's-His-Name. Bobby: [1:10:43] Mr. Dave: [1:10:44] Garvey. Mr. Tara: [1:10:45] Garvey. Dave: [1:10:45] Mr. Garvey. All right. Nicely done, everybody. But today, Tara takes it. Bobby: [1:10:51] Great work. Tara: [1:10:53] Great work. Tara. Dave: [1:10:55] Tara. Tara. And that is it for another episode of Extra Hot Grade. We discuss whether or not Rooster deserves a passing grade before going around the dial with stops at Vladimir Blah, Blowdown, Reggie, Dinkins, Chris Fleming, Peaky Blinders, and Young Sherlock. Bobby put the cosmic payback rich 911 episode Karma's a Bitch into the canon. We crowned winners and losers of the week, and Tara was the winner of this week's Game Time from Meredith. Next up, is it a ham or is it a cheese? Oh, it's Carpetta. Remember. Bobby: [1:11:41] We're listening. Dave: [1:11:44] I am David Teagle, and on behalf of Tara Arian. Tara: [1:11:47] I think I outsmarted it. Dave: [1:11:49] And the absent Siri debunting, and of course, Mr. Bobby Crutt. Bobby: [1:11:52] I'd like some warm nuts, please. Dave: [1:11:55] Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time right here on Extra Hot Great.