0:00:00capacity ninja theme on
0:00:11the incomparable podcast number 94 jun
0:00:19welcome back to the comfortable podcast
0:00:22on your host Jason Snell and in this
0:00:24edition we are going to talk about
0:00:28it's a little bit of a departure I guess
0:00:30from us we like all things kiki here but
0:00:32there's a genre that is not
0:00:33traditionally thought of as a place for
0:00:34Kiki stuff that's the sitcom television
0:00:36situation comedy and yet there are many
0:00:39sitcoms that are either let's run
0:00:41through it there either a they are sort
0:00:45of genre like science fictional they are
0:00:48featured geeky type people or they
0:00:51feature story lines and concepts that
0:00:53appeal to Kiki type people and we are
0:00:54going to talk about that tonight
0:00:57this is a topic suggested by our very
0:00:59own Lex Friedman i'd like to introduce
0:01:02Lex Friedman to you now but wouldn't you
0:01:06but he couldn't make it so thanks likes
0:01:09for the idea and then joining me to talk
0:01:11about this instead of lex joining me i
0:01:13have fine guess I have been more and I
0:01:17dan I just and I'd like it to be known
0:01:19that I'm better than Lex in every way we
0:01:22we already knew that but thank you for
0:01:24saying it
0:01:24that's so we're clear your honor it also
0:01:27serenity Caldwell Iran high and Scott
0:01:30McNulty is here as well hi Scott
0:01:32hello I also and disappointed that I'm
0:01:35not Lex Frieden also joining us is andy
0:01:38anarcho Andy hi hello thank you for
0:01:42joining us so systems I i think what i
0:01:45said in my note to everybody about this
0:01:47episode was to come prepared to talk
0:01:50about something that you are you
0:01:53consider to be a geeky saw the comment i
0:01:56assume in praise of it although you know
0:01:59there are also many honestly there are
0:02:01many more that we could condemn then
0:02:02praised i was looking wikipedia actually
0:02:04has a page called the list of science
0:02:06fiction sitcoms just looking at it is
0:02:10not a good list maybe we should start
0:02:13Alf alphabetically Alf the OM about a
0:02:16puppet alien is it comes in first first
0:02:20in your hearts and first enlist on
0:02:22wikipedia alphabetically
0:02:24he's from the planet melmac he enjoyed
0:02:26about cats first first on the list on
0:02:28wikipedia is a great name for out and
0:02:30tumblr blog episode
0:02:33i'm watching Alf and I was a kid and
0:02:35enjoying it
0:02:36homeboys in outer space oh my god wow
0:02:40that ring back
0:02:41UPN sitcom all man i want to come over
0:02:45so that it was terrible terrible as a
0:02:48bad show
0:02:49I don't consider this be animated I
0:02:52don't think the animated one should
0:02:53count futurama the jetsons yeah invaders
0:02:57zoom is it also reduces artisan kinds
0:03:01really sitcoms however me go which is
0:03:06that is
0:03:07isn't that the the bronson pinchot was
0:03:10an alien
0:03:11well yes yeah that's that's actually
0:03:13what you said junior broadsides show
0:03:16that's actually just like I like Bronson
0:03:18Pinchot is actually an alien a Mork and
0:03:21Mindy my favorite Martian
0:03:23wow yeah that's a classic that students
0:03:26that's valid that's that's not bad that
0:03:28none of those ones that i was going to
0:03:29bring up though I mind my favorite
0:03:31Martian podcast maybe a little too old
0:03:33of a of a demographic there
0:03:36so who would like to bring up a and
0:03:39presumably praise a geeky sitcom who me
0:03:42meanie
0:03:43ok dad he's gonna do mine for I am
0:03:45because it's my favorite to come of
0:03:46olive oil so i get this Hannah this is
0:03:48like the reason that you're on the
0:03:49podcast so pronounced it is no it's at
0:03:51least a phrase
0:03:52small wonder it's it's it's Matt Matt
0:03:55she's hope you like a mash because I'm
0:03:57any like classic what I loved about
0:03:59small wonder was how they made the girl
0:04:01speak Vicki the robot soon realistically
0:04:04in that Jay spoke like this but she was
0:04:08fantastic manager would you make it
0:04:10you'd make an immaculate robot that
0:04:12looked exactly like a human being
0:04:14acting stiffly and many acres and then
0:04:17you'd make her voice sound like this
0:04:19doing technology it's it's the
0:04:22definition is the definition of the
0:04:25uncanny valley
0:04:26I don't want to take that away from you
0:04:27Dan though so go ahead and talk thanks
0:04:28chase and I I appreciate what I'm gonna
0:04:30talk about small wonder now or what they
0:04:33want swinging on a star you see that one
0:04:36out of this world how this world that's
0:04:39why this week and start with the theme
0:04:40song
0:04:41no I'm not a great i believed and more'n
0:04:44I know what he's gonna pick and
0:04:47I know that he loves it and so we're
0:04:48going to go to him with the with the
0:04:50choice of the I know he wants to talk
0:04:52about space right
0:04:53yes the the seminal simon pegg nick
0:04:57frost vehicle which began their lot
0:04:59they're long collaboration with director
0:05:01Edgar Wright as well as a jessica hynes
0:05:05nay Stephenson fantastic british sitcom
0:05:09that began airing and I believe either
0:05:1399 or 2,000 because I first watch this
0:05:17when I lived in the united kingdom which
0:05:21was briefly in college and friend of
0:05:23mine who had been there longer than i
0:05:25had said oh you got to watch the show
0:05:28and it was the second series of it or
0:05:31season you prefer the American
0:05:32nomenclature i said i'll check it out
0:05:35and and i watch the show and I felt
0:05:37deeply madly truly in love with it and
0:05:42went and bought the the region two dvds
0:05:45of the first season so I could catch up
0:05:46on all the stuff that I'd missed and it
0:05:50is i think it would be hard to find the
0:05:52sitcom that is that is quite quite as
0:05:55geeky as space is in terms of just the
0:05:57number of references sort of per minute
0:06:00in fact in the DVD releases i have they
0:06:03they have a what they call an homage
0:06:06ometer where they put in the subtitles
0:06:09of the bottom of the screen
0:06:11what they are referencing at any given
0:06:13moment and that might be like three or
0:06:16four different things at various times
0:06:17and I tried to catch them all in there
0:06:20but there are some of them are are so
0:06:21obscure or so particularly British in
0:06:24some ways that i just had never heard of
0:06:25them but obviously you get a lot of the
0:06:28big references you get star wars is a
0:06:31huge huge part of it in fact is a is a
0:06:33major plot point in the second season
0:06:35how much Tim played by Simon pay hates
0:06:38the Phantom Menace is it Star Trek
0:06:42references because it's the early two
0:06:44thousands you there's the obligatory
0:06:45matrix episode just chock-full of geeky
0:06:50references and what makes it so so great
0:06:53is that they weren't necessarily defined
0:06:57by being geeks they weren't geeks in the
0:06:59way that you might see
0:07:00beyond you know some of these sitcoms
0:07:03now the purport to focus on geeks but it
0:07:05was clear that the film that the needy
0:07:07people writing and directing the show
0:07:09who you know obviously included to the
0:07:11people who started the show were huge
0:07:14geeks themselves because the kind of
0:07:17references they put in there weren't
0:07:18sort of like no nudge-nudge wink-wink to
0:07:20like you know the sort of the mainstream
0:07:22audience about how silly these people
0:07:23are they were deeply personal moments
0:07:27that reflected not only the characters
0:07:30were but who the the actual people
0:07:31portraying them at writing this works I
0:07:33i love this sitcom with so much passion
0:07:36and it has led me to follow the career
0:07:38of a simon pegg and nick frost and edgar
0:07:41wright we've gone on to do a number of
0:07:43excellent things including shaun of the
0:07:47dead hot fuzz us Edgar Wright directed
0:07:50scott pilgrim and they are making yet
0:07:53another third and what they call their
0:07:55blood and ice cream trilogy called the
0:07:58world end which they're starting
0:07:59production on this fall and of course
0:08:02Simon Pegg has gone on to to revitalize
0:08:04the role of Scotty in the latest Star
0:08:06Trek movies directed by JJ Abrams so
0:08:09certainly a deep bench of geek cred
0:08:12there
0:08:13yeah I I cannot express how much i love
0:08:16these shows i own i still own on my
0:08:17shelves region two dvds of both the
0:08:19first and second seasons and have
0:08:21maintained a region to region free DVD
0:08:24player for many many years just for the
0:08:26purpose of watching those I in fact
0:08:27though I do own a region one copy it has
0:08:30been on extended loan to one of my
0:08:31cousins so i need to reclaim it one of
0:08:33these days
0:08:33ready 1 2 cosine about about spaced I
0:08:37know you're sad that I'm not really sad
0:08:40because dan has much more geek cred on
0:08:42space than I do
0:08:43since I've really i've only watched
0:08:45space through about twice and having
0:08:48arisen that it is still number two on my
0:08:51list of all time TV shows last for me
0:08:53mhm what's number one but a sports night
0:08:57of course but yeah I mean I when I first
0:09:01started watching space it was actually
0:09:03on tail end of another sitcom it can't
0:09:06really be called geeky but still is very
0:09:09intelligent which is arrested
0:09:10development and
0:09:12after having watched the season of
0:09:14Arrested Development my friends are like
0:09:15oh if you like Arrested Development you
0:09:18are going to adore spaced and I'm like
0:09:21okay and I start watching it and of
0:09:23course it's it is it is fun and is witty
0:09:25and has things that call back but the
0:09:27the extra sort of geet I and what really
0:09:30sold it for me and the fact that it's
0:09:31like oh they're portraying you know
0:09:33they're portraying geeks as human
0:09:36figures who happen to also like you have
0:09:40you have the point the the episode that
0:09:42always sticks out in my head is the
0:09:44mortal kombat episode then can you like
0:09:47elaborate on this and this episode
0:09:48because I can only remember visuals but
0:09:51it's something was not fighters only
0:09:53students and like a KO situation
0:09:55well no it's just it's it's the kind of
0:09:57show for all the other having they have
0:09:59an argument
0:09:59oh yeah it's it's not necessarily mortal
0:10:02kombat I think it's a I think it's a
0:10:04different fighting game but they're
0:10:06havin they're havin like an argument and
0:10:07as each of them scores a point or so in
0:10:09their argument it's sort of reflected in
0:10:11a video game until the one of them makes
0:10:14the you know the sort of defeating
0:10:16argument and then you get the KO Gail
0:10:18Gail I always think of the scene where
0:10:20he's playing he's playing tomb raider
0:10:22after his that between tomb raider after
0:10:25his girlfriend has broken up with him
0:10:26and he's not actually playing tomb
0:10:28raider he's just having laura croft jump
0:10:30into water and just drowning her because
0:10:32he's so angry
0:10:33yes there's a little ton of video game
0:10:37references a ton of comic book
0:10:38references in fact that i believe as I
0:10:41recall his last name so the character's
0:10:44name the character of Tim is a is a
0:10:46cartoon areas a comic book you know LS
0:10:49illustrator and his last name tim is Tim
0:10:52bisley and I believe Simon Bisley is a
0:10:55fairly well-known illustrator who I
0:10:58think did some sketches including for
0:11:00like the space cover and stuff like that
0:11:01so and then I'll there's a later episode
0:11:04in the second season where Tim finally
0:11:07gets a chance to sort of draw for one of
0:11:09like that the comic-book labels that he
0:11:10loves so there's there's some comic
0:11:13stuff there's a lot of geeky movie and
0:11:15television stuff and the highlight for
0:11:18me is that there's actually a lot of
0:11:20stuff about high brow art and theatre
0:11:23which is kind of sprinkled in because
0:11:25one of the characters on
0:11:26spaced if you haven't watched it is they
0:11:29all live together in this apartment
0:11:30building and one of the tenants in this
0:11:32apartment building is a shut-in artist
0:11:34named Brian who is a who is a special
0:11:38creature likes to paint in a couple
0:11:41different flavors i watched a few
0:11:43episodes and I must bit it was humorous
0:11:45but i did not make me want to watch the
0:11:47whole thing so i stopped that's at sad
0:11:49Scott and makes me it makes me hurt my
0:11:51heart region
0:11:52I'm sorry the first six to eight
0:11:54episodes are a little cerebral to get
0:11:57through especially if you have never
0:11:58watched british comedy before I know
0:12:01when I was first watching it I'm like
0:12:03this is fun but I mean the first 16
0:12:05episodes of the first season
0:12:06yes I know who that's what it's only
0:12:08like 14 episodes already short-handed
0:12:11british sitcoms in general and I I
0:12:14recognize that it was good it was just I
0:12:16just it was not for me where they're too
0:12:18many Star Wars references for you that
0:12:20may have turning slightly so yeah we
0:12:25have we have many too many things to
0:12:27talk about my I think they're a couple
0:12:28shows that we're going to inevitably get
0:12:30to but I I thought we would ask friend
0:12:33do you have a favorite you want to throw
0:12:35out their discussion let's see i have a
0:12:37couple of the one i will mention though
0:12:39is the one that I feel like I think I've
0:12:41mentioned on the show before was a show
0:12:44that ran I want to see on ABC a couple
0:12:47years back and unfortunately got
0:12:49Smackdown right in the middle of the
0:12:51writers strike so didn't really get a
0:12:52chance to take off and that was better
0:12:55off ted which is pseudo pseudo geeky
0:13:00pseudo pseudoscience half-hour sitcom
0:13:04that just had some really really funny
0:13:06moments and I think that is actually
0:13:08available in its entirety on netflix and
0:13:10I urge anybody who like who really enjoy
0:13:13is sort of it's a it is a cut above most
0:13:16sitcoms I won't say it's necessarily
0:13:17best like all-time epitome of what a
0:13:20geeky sick comments to me but it had
0:13:23really great characters who again it's
0:13:25it's bridging the the people who look
0:13:30outwardly like geeks to r22 what we
0:13:33stereotype is a geek
0:13:35with you know the people who are
0:13:37actually like the people who are North
0:13:39technically normal in the show like Ted
0:13:41and his will will they won't they
0:13:44girlfriend but not actually girlfriend
0:13:46the other people pitched as normal here
0:13:49and in reality i'd say they kind of end
0:13:53up being the geekiest because they end
0:13:54up happening like secret hobbies and
0:13:56plans and things like that but and that
0:13:58and that show we've got the characters
0:14:00who are in the lab coats are the
0:14:01scientists and they're funny and there
0:14:03they are very funny in the stereotypical
0:14:05very nice dynamic but you also have the
0:14:07overarching premise which is that this
0:14:08company that they work for radio
0:14:10dynamics is essentially a supervillain
0:14:12corporation and they are constantly
0:14:14inventing horrible things that Ted is
0:14:17supposed to find ways to market in some
0:14:20way and Portia de Rossi is his terrible
0:14:21boss who is essentially a super villain
0:14:25in that she's got her job is to promote
0:14:28this terrible company and they're
0:14:29horrible murderous products and and yeah
0:14:32it's that's a great show better off ted
0:14:34it's it's lonely i love the little of
0:14:37Veridian dynamics commercials as a
0:14:40personal yeah but if you're watching it
0:14:42for the first time you have no idea that
0:14:43it's fake commercial until it's obvious
0:14:45we're talking about you know liquefied
0:14:46cows or something
0:14:48yeah I don't think this is a real
0:14:49commercial there's always a fake for the
0:14:52dynamics commercial Lena and every
0:14:54episode of better off ted that is it as
0:14:56an excellent show and again another one
0:14:58that was cancelled far too soon but I
0:15:00yeah i really i really want bitch i love
0:15:02that they're always coming up with tears
0:15:04in their whole episode where they have
0:15:07like an after-work club that's basically
0:15:09like like hitting each other with swords
0:15:11or something like that and then they
0:15:14invite a bit because they they like him
0:15:16and they want to like approval but it
0:15:17gets like to competitive and like to
0:15:19joke like almost and all the games going
0:15:21now we will now we don't have any fun
0:15:23with it
0:15:23yeah it's it's a it's a really fun
0:15:28little show it only ran four what if it
0:15:31was uses two seasons yeah but we're both
0:15:33thirties was another like 13 episodes
0:15:35yeah yeah i think that burned off the
0:15:37rest the the end of it but it was a very
0:15:40good show that was a that's a
0:15:42I think the same guy who did andy
0:15:43richter controls the universe yes yes
0:15:45their brother very good show yeah
0:15:47everything in a similar vibe to it very
0:15:50much
0:15:51yes yep paget Brewster and portia de
0:15:54rossi not that far apart in those
0:15:56character isn't you know
0:15:58no I'm pitching it to people i often say
0:16:00it's kind of like a geeky arrested
0:16:02development with ridiculous commercials
0:16:04smack in the middle and seems to
0:16:07describe it more or less yeah of course
0:16:11Victor fresco was also known for his
0:16:15work on net about you and evening shade
0:16:17starring burt reynolds now that science
0:16:19got to get that booty had to get that
0:16:21Burt Reynolds references
0:16:22I never gonna leave that Helen Hunt
0:16:24would marry Paul Reiser so I consider
0:16:25that also science fiction
0:16:27haha they were mad I they were out he
0:16:32generally literally insane you have
0:16:34actually it turned out in the final
0:16:36episode
0:16:37yes I Scott is there a sitcom you would
0:16:41like to speak of positively or
0:16:43negatively
0:16:44well I think we should accentuate the
0:16:47positive
0:16:47ok so I'm going to talk about that
0:16:49something is not actually a sitcom but
0:16:51you know screamin rules down that's
0:16:55that's not goes job over it go ahead
0:16:58Scott going as i'm sorry the gods i
0:17:00define sanity for the rest of the
0:17:02universe but continued all right there
0:17:03I what mystery science theater is that
0:17:06this is not a sitcom I suppose but it is
0:17:08it is one of my favorite shows and how
0:17:10could I say no to mst3k you cannot
0:17:13resist a crow T robot and Tom server so
0:17:17since it is clear no one on this podcast
0:17:19is heard of mystery science theater
0:17:20no let me have it really not already a
0:17:24try to kill me with oracle it
0:17:27olay I'm sorry just broken through like
0:17:29a whole ball of like means i have not
0:17:32reused like 10 years observed gotta hold
0:17:34I got abused my microphone i was it's
0:17:36stayin out from Cal Manos the hands of
0:17:40torgo's technically that translate that
0:17:43hands hands of faith
0:17:45so mr. sighs there clearly is a beloved
0:17:49show that we must talk about and for PBS
0:17:52not know what it is a a all five of them
0:17:55it is a younger crowd might not mean now
0:17:58it's only on the
0:17:59be back in the day every Saturday it was
0:18:01on first Comedy Central and then on the
0:18:04SyFy channel that's right and a movie as
0:18:07well yes and there was there was one
0:18:09movie and it there are all on DVD and
0:18:11many of them are on netflix now
0:18:13yes so you should you should really
0:18:14watch somebody way so the basic premise
0:18:16a guy is shot into space on the set of a
0:18:20ship called the satellite of love you
0:18:23cut its kinda like you're asking us all
0:18:25to like sing the theme song is this
0:18:26instead of that is classic theme songs
0:18:28that sets up the entire premise for the
0:18:30show
0:18:31it's true industry
0:18:39and the not too distant future next
0:18:42Sunday ad there was a hole and I thought
0:18:48into different from you would be working
0:18:51for your studies on it is dude just
0:18:54another kid okay that suit he did a good
0:18:58job picking up the pace but it was
0:19:01positive and i will send the GZ movie
0:19:09whatever you two really can't right now
0:19:12and have to sit and why them all and
0:19:18will bother to is mine now you la no
0:19:23skid in Milan Joel character role and
0:19:26the movies begin or and because he used
0:19:30those special heart robotic Fred a robot
0:19:36roll call camp i bought from tipsy Tom
0:19:40servo grow if you're wondering how he
0:19:44eats and breathes and other science
0:19:47facts just repeating yourself 5000 know
0:19:52I should really just 3 lakhs for Mystery
0:19:56Science Theater 3000
0:20:00that is this that is the furthest off
0:20:06track this podcast has ever gotten in 93
0:20:09episodes and and off he well that's all
0:20:12the time we have tonight and wash my god
0:20:15you're not getting this one this is all
0:20:17just a premise for them to watch
0:20:18terrible movies and make fun of them
0:20:20though that is that is correct so that
0:20:22they watch a very cheap movies that they
0:20:24could gain the rights for cheaply and
0:20:26mock them mercilessly and then cut them
0:20:28up with a skits in the beginning they
0:20:31would do things called invention
0:20:32exchanges where Joel would have to show
0:20:35his evil overlords invention and they
0:20:37would in turn show him an invention
0:20:38which you really make any sense but they
0:20:40did it they did away with that part it's
0:20:43just it's a lot of fun i watched it in
0:20:45college
0:20:46it started off on a public access TV
0:20:49show people would circulate videotapes
0:20:52so that other people could see hit this
0:20:54is before they encouraged it in the
0:20:57credits a dip circulating the tapes
0:20:59that's right and there's even there's a
0:21:01great uh if you could find it an
0:21:04authorized kind of mst3k a spoof of
0:21:07assembly spoof it's an homage that does
0:21:10star trek five if you can find that you
0:21:14probably can't on the internets it is
0:21:16fantastic
0:21:16they have everything on the internet
0:21:17radio but yeah and and Tom servo is
0:21:21really a role model of mine and how I
0:21:23want to live my life as a with a number
0:21:26and Shakeology yeah
0:21:28yes I had in college I was not very
0:21:31popular and I had a giant Tom servo
0:21:33poster on my door I don't think those
0:21:37two things are related but the thing
0:21:38that always got me about that show was
0:21:40that a certain point after watching it
0:21:42you started to wonder looking at the
0:21:44silhouettes whether they were looking at
0:21:47the movie or looking at you because you
0:21:50can tell they're two-dimensional just
0:21:52like looking into the ability yeah I
0:21:54remember that came to me at some point
0:21:56when I was like look at it like oh my
0:21:57god wait are they watching me
0:21:59ah that is a really disturbing outlook
0:22:05on life and mst3k that I never thought
0:22:08about dan thanks
0:22:08that now you won't be able to unsee it
0:22:10like the arrow no logo
0:22:12well it's kind of a reflection back on
0:22:14the television show because if they're
0:22:16you know if they're commenting on the
0:22:17terrible movie but they're also looking
0:22:19at you and you're watching them
0:22:22commenting on the to my mind was just
0:22:23blown i love the I mean the premise of
0:22:26it by having the silhouette to do to do
0:22:27riffing on movies was not not really new
0:22:29but to do it and come up with this
0:22:33premise so that they could do initially
0:22:35the this the comedy sketches that would
0:22:37be the episodes were ways for joel
0:22:39hodgson to do his can prop comedy bit
0:22:42and but those so those are strange and
0:22:45funny on their own and then when they're
0:22:46in the movie with the silhouettes you
0:22:48always do when you're flipping around
0:22:49that it was mst3k cuz you can see the
0:22:51silhouettes and what I really like is
0:22:52that they would try to do little bits
0:22:55where they interacted and I always loved
0:22:57it when Joel or later Mike would get up
0:23:00and reach up and stand like tried to
0:23:03scratch the cheek of somebody in a
0:23:05close-up
0:23:06I always thought that was hilarious too
0:23:07so it was just such an inventive premise
0:23:10and and you know it was to our in a two
0:23:13hour long show too so there was a whole
0:23:16lot in it and the thing that you always
0:23:18had to sort of remind people of when
0:23:20you're trying to get them hooked on this
0:23:21show is that no no it's not like being
0:23:23at the movie theater in those that were
0:23:25really stupid 11 year old kids keeps
0:23:26like things like you did your top of
0:23:29lady you've got big knockers
0:23:32it's it's actually a writing team that's
0:23:34like far more than three people who
0:23:36watches this movie time and time and
0:23:38time again and develops a script in
0:23:40which every singles available second is
0:23:43filled with some sort of joke and their
0:23:45hit to miss ratio ratio is incredibly
0:23:47high and the references that they have
0:23:50are incredibly good and they'll be
0:23:51really was teenagers from outer space
0:23:54there's like this big huge like round
0:23:57saucer spaceship landing on a landing on
0:23:59a thing and I think Joel says hey look
0:24:02it's it's it's Audrey Hepburn's had some
0:24:04definite breakfast at tiffany's coming
0:24:06in for a landing
0:24:07like that's a very hip reference if you
0:24:10don't like a joke there's another one
0:24:11coming right behind it
0:24:13of course several of us in several of us
0:24:15in in the comparable participated in a
0:24:18brief spoof right we did that the
0:24:20Phantom and the Phantom Empire
0:24:22and unless I can't believe we're talking
0:24:23about mst3k without Steve let's hear
0:24:25since he has been like he's like a big
0:24:27rifftrax guy and his met mike nelson and
0:24:31but I mean the thing about that is andy
0:24:33says like you know we we did about a
0:24:3520-minute episode and that was hardly
0:24:38was writing that is really different
0:24:40model harder than you think it is it see
0:24:43all your jokes and threw away most of
0:24:45the jokes and then and do them three or
0:24:48four times they stop being as funny
0:24:50sometimes because you've seen how three
0:24:52or four times and you telegraphed all
0:24:53the jokes are used but you still have to
0:24:55deliver them like they're funny and
0:24:56react to your friends lives occasionally
0:24:58like they're it's super no nothing gave
0:25:00me more of an appreciation for ms 333 k
0:25:02been doing that rifftrax little short
0:25:04and realizing just how like kind of
0:25:07brutally hard it was to do it and how
0:25:11much just you make the jokes you think
0:25:12that's kind of funny i make it look like
0:25:14i said something funny while we were
0:25:15watching TV and then you try to actually
0:25:17do it and no no those just got ninety
0:25:20percent of them you just run away right
0:25:21away just that now
0:25:22not good and on top of that are you guys
0:25:25like being it's like I don't think a
0:25:27week or two goes by without my suddenly
0:25:30thinking about it mystery science
0:25:31theater joke at least one so even a joke
0:25:34that I've just they haven't heard like
0:25:35okay I got my friends and I have like
0:25:37you know recurring ones that we always
0:25:39talk about my never forget there's a
0:25:40some short i don't know what the exact
0:25:42shortage but it's got like a guy rocking
0:25:44out on a chair on the porch like an old
0:25:47guy you start swatting at the air in
0:25:50front of home and that they don't get
0:25:51visible
0:25:52oh yeah they're back at that one that
0:25:56one comes up all the time I loves it
0:25:59shorts so does everybody is it before we
0:26:02knew it we can't stand mst3k forever
0:26:05although maybe we should come back into
0:26:06a two-hour episode where we up a
0:26:08favorite if we do maybe maybe maybe the
0:26:11mist maybe they'll be like friends with
0:26:12us and the like come on the show we can
0:26:14get my Nelson on the show you given he's
0:26:16got its new uh anybody have if you've
0:26:19got favorite episodes of a favorite
0:26:21favorite mst3k now would be the time to
0:26:24mention it
0:26:25I'll go first my favorite episode of
0:26:27mst3k it's time of the Apes which is
0:26:31fantastic because it is like Planet of
0:26:34the Apes except it's it's a japanese
0:26:36movie and the logic is that they people
0:26:41are frozen in suspended animation and
0:26:43they go into the future and then of
0:26:44course Apes rule the earth and there's a
0:26:47little kid little kid who every time you
0:26:49say terrible things will happen if he
0:26:50doesn't listen to you he says i don't
0:26:52care which is nice running gag but the
0:26:55but my favorite part is the plot
0:26:56resolution at the end when they've done
0:26:58movie length of apes they think how will
0:27:01I end this now you know we can't do the
0:27:03statue of liberty or anything like that
0:27:05was done by the movie we're not going up
0:27:06so what they do is they go back to the
0:27:08cryo chamber and they freeze the people
0:27:10back in the crowd cheering but i thought
0:27:12well this is an interesting choice but
0:27:13they're going to go further into the
0:27:14future and yet somehow the cryo chamber
0:27:16takes them back in time to the present
0:27:17day I don't know how that how could it
0:27:20be any way of time of the apes that is
0:27:22my favorite all-time and misty 3k it's a
0:27:25it's a close tie for me between Mitchell
0:27:29and perhaps one of general last episodes
0:27:34and of course my my my my my my my God
0:27:39we're gonna rip off the end of Key Largo
0:27:42Mitchell up to 35 miles per hour
0:27:46um it's a milestone episodes and jewels
0:27:48last as Giants absolutely escape
0:27:50satellite of love in a box of em dinners
0:27:52and a close tie between that and one of
0:27:57my favorite Christmas movies ever
0:27:58santa claus conquers the martians oh
0:28:00yeah yes that's an excellent young p
0:28:03Isadora an excellent episode I'm going
0:28:05to go by myself a Golden Globe my
0:28:10favorite uh that just popped into my
0:28:12mind is overdrawn at the memory banks
0:28:14with raul julia features the line mom my
0:28:19nuts they say that to me know very
0:28:23recent and it becomes a ship
0:28:26Wow Andy ever i have i have to go with
0:28:31maroon because it's it's it's it's
0:28:35really you normally the the movies that
0:28:37they got to riff for geez he's like
0:28:39american international really really
0:28:41horribly low-budget pictures this is the
0:28:43first 1i think where they got an
0:28:45actual like major studio release that
0:28:48got lots and lots of big-budget i think
0:28:50actually was nominated for actually won
0:28:53an academy award for best the best
0:28:55visual effects and it started gene
0:28:57hackman like at the right road shortly
0:29:00after after his breakthrough so that was
0:29:03the premise of the movie was like an
0:29:05Apollo like 19 mission prep star like a
0:29:08Skylab type mission like things start to
0:29:10break down so they try to like bring the
0:29:11astronauts back down with their
0:29:12malfunctions and the entire movie is all
0:29:14about how we rescue these three
0:29:16astronauts so it's actually and actually
0:29:18saw the original movie which was not a
0:29:20terrible movie but when they get this
0:29:22going to get something that's actually
0:29:23enter twitter when you take us to me
0:29:25start with a movie that's actually
0:29:26entertaining to begin with and then you
0:29:28add like eight comedians spending two
0:29:31days trying to make it even funnier
0:29:33that's pretty good and also and also
0:29:35that makes they talk about callbacks
0:29:37that just fill the rest of your life
0:29:39there's so many lines from history
0:29:41science 3000 that could good i could
0:29:43fill a great one hour seminar valuable
0:29:46seminar in filmmaking and one of them is
0:29:48just when Thompson it's a running gag
0:29:50retirement with we're at times keep
0:29:52saying gene hackman is always good that
0:29:56will deliver like that its beginning the
0:29:58movie it's like like okay artoo
0:30:00pressures at one-point-five percent
0:30:01Oh gene hackman is always get it's true
0:30:05gene Hackman is always good that's that
0:30:08that would be my favorite Mitchell would
0:30:09probably if I thought eventual first I
0:30:11probably would have been cursing for
0:30:13taking Mitchell first I didn't think
0:30:14Mitchell first ran ru ru deep in the
0:30:17knowledge of the mst3k or not very deep
0:30:20in the knowledge of mst3k i am when i
0:30:23will at college they had like a weekly
0:30:25mst3k night which I would swing in and
0:30:28out of I'm trying to remember some of
0:30:30the film's I mean manos was the first
0:30:33mst3k episode I ever watched and that I
0:30:37mean to protect that's like yeah that's
0:30:39a classic mostly because that film is
0:30:41unwatchable without the right I had a I
0:30:44had an orgo screensaver 1.0 i have a
0:30:47screensaver you
0:30:48yeah that's the guy that's dating us
0:30:50there and you said you didn't have
0:30:52friends
0:30:54I had to work on what I actually ya know
0:30:58there's actually a movie that I i had
0:31:00seen um I i had seen before it was mst3k
0:31:05did called the unearthly with John
0:31:08Carradine and Tory Johnson and that's
0:31:11and to this day actually my wife and i
0:31:13quote a line from that movie that that
0:31:15is what the little tag that they did at
0:31:17the end of the credits in fact when they
0:31:18didn't mess 383 t3k which is it learned
0:31:22too late
0:31:23that man is using creature top time for
0:31:26go to bed
0:31:27Oh for Johnson the idea and the in the
0:31:32feature film itself
0:31:33mst3k feature film was actually pretty
0:31:35good as well this island earth person is
0:31:37under greediness as everyone with yeah I
0:31:41feel like we've just created like a mini
0:31:43episode of inside inside this other
0:31:45episodes or bonus episode we see the dmu
0:31:48mcnoltey i'm sorry i felt it had to be
0:31:51said it didn't have to be so because
0:31:54otherwise we'd be talking about the big
0:31:55banks sorry it's not it's not it's not a
0:31:57sitcom
0:31:58so you lose definite no points for
0:32:01McNulty no no no negative points
0:32:05Andy did you come bearing a show that
0:32:08you would like to talk about
0:32:09yes alt i'll name the two finalists
0:32:14before talking about the one I chose I
0:32:17at first thought I was gonna go deep
0:32:19catalog and talk about square peg Lou
0:32:21you're talking about
0:32:23no whoo that's that such a nicer yo I
0:32:26didn't even think of that square pegs
0:32:28yeah it's a nice deep catalog selection
0:32:31it was more about more about geeks and
0:32:34nerds because we're talking about the
0:32:36the central characters were like it's
0:32:38takes place in we high school social
0:32:41outcast or try to become part of the
0:32:42part of the popular clique and it really
0:32:46was plug if you were like in high school
0:32:48in the eighties either you were one of
0:32:51the four central characters here or you
0:32:53knew one of the four central characters
0:32:54were trying not to be one of the four
0:32:56central characters in this thing because
0:32:59they the the prophetess Iike it was
0:33:03produced by and beats was a former
0:33:05writer on Saturday Night Live so they do
0:33:07you get things like
0:33:08Estep suggest episodes with Bill Murray
0:33:10devo played one of the characters bar
0:33:13mitzvahs during an episode so it any
0:33:16sitcom that has Divo as a guest star
0:33:18ok that's gonna that's gonna be a great
0:33:20one I was thinking about clerks the
0:33:23animated series also pretty brilliant
0:33:25446 episode run
0:33:27yeah and I was pretty shocked that they
0:33:28got candy i think what they aired one
0:33:30episode and then didn't air like any of
0:33:32this is they produced that was gonna be
0:33:34a hard show itself that's true because
0:33:36if it really was like the flag that
0:33:38clerks the movie you know the original
0:33:40movie all those characters they expanded
0:33:42they expanded the show by having like a
0:33:45Leonardo the evil like land developer
0:33:47who runs the old town we are two girls
0:33:50in corozal 22i know Alan Rickman don't
0:33:53know I thought I don't overthink it
0:33:56because he had that wonderful voice and
0:33:58it's also it's also a good one to pick
0:34:00up not only because it's kevin smith for
0:34:02production but also every city there are
0:34:06voluminous commentary tracks on every
0:34:09episode so it's sort of like everyone is
0:34:11where there's a smart cast with your
0:34:13arms also watching a cartoon while
0:34:15you're listening to the smodcast but i
0:34:18really felt as though I couldn't
0:34:20although i was prepared to defend big
0:34:22bang theory I don't get it if we're
0:34:25talking for talking about Kiki sitcoms
0:34:27you really have to start in the list
0:34:29with futurama I don't think there's ever
0:34:31been a television show as geeky as
0:34:34futurama in terms of how deep a lot of
0:34:39these references go where bender the
0:34:41robot drinks old a bear called old
0:34:43fortran they have an entire episode
0:34:46that's based on what if the future and
0:34:48the universe was done as a 32-bit or
0:34:518-bit video game so all the animation is
0:34:53done like an 8-bit graphics there is an
0:34:56entire episode so I had a I had to go
0:35:00look this up so let's let the record
0:35:01show that i am a consulting reference
0:35:04for this but they did an entire episode
0:35:07that you've seen you've seen the idea of
0:35:11a body swap like sort of a sitcom plot
0:35:14before like in science fiction and stuff
0:35:16like that
0:35:17this one to the the joke here is that
0:35:19all the cast of characters keep like
0:35:20doing body swap to get
0:35:21I was little jams until like they don't
0:35:23know how to end that there's a
0:35:25limitation on the machine where once
0:35:26someone has been swapped once they can't
0:35:28swap again to someone who's already been
0:35:30swamped and so because one of their
0:35:32riders and here's more Greek credibility
0:35:34greater credibility one of the writers
0:35:36is actually a PhD mathematician he came
0:35:40up with an entire mathematical proof
0:35:42proving that under the limitations of
0:35:44this machine there is never any point
0:35:46under which it is impossible to put
0:35:48everybody back in their original bodies
0:35:50using a maximum number of bringing into
0:35:53people from the outside who have never
0:35:54been swapped before and this actual
0:35:57proof they don't think that's not like
0:35:58that's not like a joke element of the
0:36:00plot it is an actual worked out proof
0:36:03that actually is actually displayed on a
0:36:05chalkboard so if you are a PhD
0:36:07mathematician you would look at that
0:36:08chalkboard and say gosh darn it that it
0:36:11that does actually work out a freeze
0:36:13frame that on my blu ray/dvd I've wasted
0:36:15two days of my life confirming it but
0:36:16yes I'm willing to kind i'm willing to
0:36:19judge this paper and and Ben and and
0:36:22certify the UN fact our doctor but on
0:36:25top of all the really like cool and
0:36:28funny surface references i sometimes I
0:36:32i'm a big fan of the show and sometimes
0:36:34I have a hard time convincing myself
0:36:36that there's ever been a better animated
0:36:38series ever because in terms of the
0:36:41quality being consistent for episode
0:36:43episode also in terms of the writers the
0:36:46producers never shying away from doing
0:36:48something the really really hard way
0:36:51where you can see we're family guy they
0:36:54would do do is really stupid obvious
0:36:56retreaded joke and get out of there with
0:36:58the simpsons still a funny show i'm
0:37:00still a fan but they would figure out
0:37:02that oh man we really don't want to get
0:37:04involved in this do we so let's just
0:37:06pursue this for five minutes and find a
0:37:08way to abort and go on to the next thing
0:37:10futurama with my favorite episodes of
0:37:12future of not just futurama but any TV
0:37:15sitcom ever a TV show ever was a
0:37:17so-called God fellas where the joke is
0:37:20that bender the robot gets shot out into
0:37:21space like towards the Sun and he's been
0:37:24the the Planet Express crew feel so he's
0:37:27lost forever because he's just been shot
0:37:29way the hell of a deep space that they
0:37:30don't know where he is and I know how to
0:37:31get back to him
0:37:32and meanwhile microbes on his robot body
0:37:35have started to like grow and evolve
0:37:37into sentient like tiny tiny microscopic
0:37:39beings and they regard bender as a god
0:37:41and that's a good setup for about 5-10
0:37:43minutes of jokes about okay well bender
0:37:45the most selfish creation of the entire
0:37:47worth of course he's going to have the
0:37:48load while I'm where I am your god I
0:37:50demand that you build a brewery so that
0:37:52I can have beer to drink while I'm lost
0:37:54in space but they go through all those
0:37:56sort of sort of things but then they pay
0:37:58off to the end where the colony sort of
0:38:00kills himself because divided into
0:38:03factions because i don't think they
0:38:04don't agree on how best to worship
0:38:05bender and he realizes that arm and I
0:38:08tried to like rescue them i tried to
0:38:10save them nothing works then he finally
0:38:11winds up almost at the end of the
0:38:13universe confronting it incidentally
0:38:16confronting feature that creature that
0:38:18may or may not be God and this creature
0:38:21toxin binary code so was a bender can
0:38:24understand them and they have a Congress
0:38:25and obviously he's been in this God
0:38:27business a lot longer than vendor has
0:38:29and as well you know yeah I know you
0:38:31tried but sometimes the best thing to do
0:38:32is if you use a light hand and sometimes
0:38:36if you if you know if you know you've
0:38:37been doing your job well they'll even
0:38:39questioned even exist to begin with and
0:38:41at the end of the end it by the end of
0:38:42the episode you realize that my goodness
0:38:44this is like a whole year course in
0:38:46theology and this is everything this is
0:38:49everything investment because like every
0:38:52single heavy discussion about the nature
0:38:53of God and why it's not necessary to
0:38:56know that there is absolute proof of God
0:38:58to suspect that a God exists
0:39:00you know what what is that what is the
0:39:02sort of God that you would believe in
0:39:03what you believe that there is a God
0:39:05that simply doesn't want to get involved
0:39:06it is very much a a day instead of a
0:39:09theist version of God the fact that i
0:39:11know the difference between days and
0:39:12theism can use them in this episode
0:39:13demonstrates how much work they put into
0:39:16like actually prosecuting every idea to
0:39:18its fullest so from surface level stuff
0:39:2124 found turn off the TV and wonder
0:39:24about the existence of it all stuff I
0:39:26really don't think there's ever going to
0:39:27be no the TV show that can at least top
0:39:29it so we're going i will promise this to
0:39:33the great incomparable listing onions we
0:39:35will do a whole episode about futurama
0:39:36at a later date and Glenn's Fleischman
0:39:39is crying somewhere that and he just
0:39:42spent all this time talking about
0:39:43futurama and Glenn's not on the podcast
0:39:45because
0:39:45his favorite show so we will do a whole
0:39:47we were talking about futurama episode
0:39:50and now I'm i found somebody else who
0:39:51could be a guest at haha are also i
0:39:54should say that I i previously
0:39:56disqualify the animated series and
0:39:58therefore i would bring down the hammer
0:39:59and disqualify any here except i have
0:40:01with allowing Scott to talk about mst3k
0:40:04which isn't even a sitcom not completely
0:40:06lost control of the podcast so I give up
0:40:08great and thank you for picking futurama
0:40:10so i wanted to talk about their to
0:40:13sometimes I want to bring up one is the
0:40:14one that I'm going to I'm going to
0:40:15promote here and then I think I think we
0:40:17we do need to actually discuss the other
0:40:19one before we go so community
0:40:23yeah I have to bring up and of course as
0:40:27we all know now community has a we got
0:40:30the one-two punch of community being
0:40:34renewed for a fourth season to get it up
0:40:37to a more syndicated below number of
0:40:40episodes and as a part of that they also
0:40:43fired the Dan Harmon who is the creator
0:40:45and showrunner and sort of the madman
0:40:49who made that show presumably made that
0:40:51show what it was and replaced him with
0:40:53some other guys who I'm sure going to
0:40:56try their very best to make a funny show
0:40:58but are not the guy who essentially made
0:41:01it was so yay and boo but I regardless
0:41:06of what happens in that fourth season of
0:41:08community we have the first three and
0:41:12this is a show that on one level is I
0:41:15mean it is a geeky show in that it
0:41:18always had popular culture references
0:41:20from day one the first episode is the
0:41:23breakfast club references especially
0:41:25come fast and furious and so it always
0:41:28had a referential nerdy kind of approach
0:41:31but and of course the character of our
0:41:33bed is from the beginning a giant media
0:41:36nerd and and makes lots of cultural
0:41:39references himself but over the course
0:41:41of the three years this is a show that
0:41:43did one of the very best depictions of
0:41:46dungeons and dragons in television
0:41:48yes in the episode advanced dungeons and
0:41:51dragons as every episode is named sort
0:41:54of like a college course what else do
0:41:57they do they did remedial chaos theory
0:41:59the third season which is the episode
0:42:01where the rolling of ass excited dye
0:42:03leads to seven different timelines from
0:42:07the darkest timeline where I had and
0:42:11horrible garden gnome is eaten by one of
0:42:15the characters while it's on fire and
0:42:17somebody's arm gets cut off and people
0:42:19are burned and it's terrible
0:42:21all to just did to the one that ends up
0:42:24becoming me with the real time line at
0:42:27the end which is much nicer timeline
0:42:29because Joel McHale character is sent to
0:42:31the pizza guy instead of everyone else
0:42:33going to the piece of pizza guy great
0:42:35fantastic episode don't forget the 8-bit
0:42:398-bit video game episode right with you
0:42:42a game episode
0:42:43yeah so good so unsurprisingly out of
0:42:46nowhere good and cribs its plot from
0:42:48ready player one
0:42:49yeah things you actually about indeed a
0:42:52better a better depiction of ready
0:42:54player one only one who like that
0:42:57ready player one sorry I seasons of
0:43:00paintball fighting the ball and first
0:43:02one of the greatest action movie oh ma
0:43:04jizz ever ever done
0:43:06yes my generation pass christmas special
0:43:11my dinner with Abed yeah yeah the
0:43:13recurring Inspector Spacetime which is
0:43:15it about as loving a doctor who
0:43:18oh my gosh as one would ever expect to
0:43:20find on mainstream american television
0:43:22and of course the Dreamatorium which
0:43:24makes all things three-minute Orion
0:43:26which is the holodeck is a room painted
0:43:28like the next generation holodeck where
0:43:30Troy and Abed I have their own imaginary
0:43:35playtime and then there's the episode
0:43:38where any and all better in the
0:43:41Dreamatorium right that he's which is
0:43:43one of those last episodes so you know I
0:43:46I don't know they're so so much
0:43:48there is so much because it is their
0:43:50individual episodes that go over the top
0:43:52and then sprinkled throughout just
0:43:54incredible number of of funny references
0:43:57a never never get the sense that the
0:44:01show is full is laughing at the
0:44:06nerdiness as much as embracing it and
0:44:08loving it and it and it's a show with a
0:44:12with a
0:44:13a good heart or at least as good a harsh
0:44:15a show can have when Chevy Chase is on
0:44:18it 00
0:44:21the thing I really like about this show
0:44:23is that at its heart you basically have
0:44:26a bunch of archetypal characters
0:44:27I mean you get them flushed out to a
0:44:29certain extent but I episode to episode
0:44:32the theme of the group was more or less
0:44:34the same already did
0:44:35there are these people who have come
0:44:37together by sort of uh unwilling means
0:44:40and have developed sort of a community
0:44:42and if hey and a friendship from that
0:44:45and and I when I first started watching
0:44:49the show in the back of my head first
0:44:52thought was I do not understand how this
0:44:55show keeps on being on television but i
0:44:56love it and then the second thought was
0:44:59basically they're just taking these
0:45:01characters and throwing them into the
0:45:03wackiest different situation they can
0:45:06per episode and if you look at it almost
0:45:09as like a you know
0:45:11clapping clapping characters in
0:45:13different situations and be like alright
0:45:14play with this see how this goes
0:45:17let's have fun it's it's not as if this
0:45:19sitcom it didn't work as a sitcom there
0:45:22are episodes that are very much more
0:45:25mainstream because they went off format
0:45:27a lot but they also stayed on format
0:45:29alot and those episodes are good too and
0:45:31have funny interesting and I'm kind of
0:45:33geeky things to talk about to so it
0:45:35wasn't as if this is a show i'm talking
0:45:37about in past tense it you know it it's
0:45:40it will be back without Dan Harmon but
0:45:42it wasn't fair it's more like the fourth
0:45:45season of coupling but that was actually
0:45:48often actually did the fourth season of
0:45:49coupling so I don't think we can say
0:45:51that I what I thought mentioned coupling
0:45:53to anyway so so but the show it didn't
0:45:56just work when it when it did the crazy
0:45:58weird episodes i think i think that the
0:45:59characters were strong and and for a
0:46:02show with seven a sitcom with seven
0:46:04characters one of the amazing things
0:46:06about community is that I think you can
0:46:08draw a line between all any of those two
0:46:11characters and seis if you watch the
0:46:13first three seasons and say something
0:46:14about the relationship between those
0:46:16characters that it's not as if you know
0:46:18those characters are dynamic and they
0:46:20they have an interesting interaction
0:46:21with every other member of the ensemble
0:46:23which is hard to do i think especially
0:46:25in a
0:46:26sitcom with as many wacky things in it
0:46:29and I appreciate the that as israel says
0:46:31you know the love these characters
0:46:32started is kind of you know archetypes
0:46:34are shades if you want to be less
0:46:36generous personally my favorite
0:46:39character but i think is involved the
0:46:41most since the beginning is Troy who
0:46:43started out as very much sort of the
0:46:44jock character yeah he was the captain
0:46:46of the football team right go to contend
0:46:48and that is you know you see how that he
0:46:50develops through three seasons and
0:46:52especially when they get him to the
0:46:53point where he and Abed basically become
0:46:56you know best buddies and the
0:46:58relationship between the two of them
0:46:59ends up being I think one of the sort of
0:47:02at the heart of the show in many ways
0:47:05trying to bed in the morning
0:47:09it just it is a it is a fantastic show
0:47:11so if there's anybody out there who has
0:47:13not seen community just go I i believe
0:47:17that the first season's I don't know if
0:47:19it's on netflix the first seasons on
0:47:20itunes for cheap the other two aren't
0:47:23cheap but the first one super cheap and
0:47:24it's great great show you do you think
0:47:27the bizarreness sometimes because it
0:47:29makes it hard to find an entry point for
0:47:30the series because that was the problem
0:47:32i had with that I don't think it's a bad
0:47:34series at all it's just that I think I
0:47:36might have seen like you know how it is
0:47:37like you just see cats like the last 10
0:47:39minutes of something with the last five
0:47:40minutes or something while you're like
0:47:42you know because your DVR with a little
0:47:43bit too long or whatever or you just got
0:47:46you know nothing to do on thursday
0:47:47nights you have to catch what happened
0:47:48to catch and it just never just never
0:47:50got into it because I really couldn't
0:47:52understand what I was seeing so i didn't
0:47:55i didn't make any sort of a judgment on
0:47:56it but it really made it more difficult
0:47:57for me to say oh I really get that go
0:48:00that's a really cool character wow I
0:48:01really like how unpredictable that twist
0:48:04was I just didn't figure it out enough
0:48:06to want to see the next out so i think
0:48:08that's one of the problems with the
0:48:09show's accessibility I think that's one
0:48:11of the reasons that number has had great
0:48:12ratings and I i think as great as those
0:48:14off format episodes are they
0:48:17I don't know how accessible they are
0:48:19they they they benefit greatly from you
0:48:21knowing what the characters are and and
0:48:23they can be quite bizarre and and the
0:48:25first season has many more on format
0:48:27episodes I do feel like at the end of
0:48:30the first season they did the the
0:48:31paintball episode and I felt like that
0:48:33was a turning point in that they decided
0:48:35this was great and they were going to do
0:48:37more like that and the good news is
0:48:39they're off format episodes generally
0:48:42were great and not bad but they were
0:48:44weird and off off the format you know it
0:48:47could have gone really wrong where they
0:48:50just decided in the third season there's
0:48:51a point when they went on hiatus where I
0:48:53feel like they just said they didn't
0:48:54care anymore just gonna go too far as
0:48:56far off the the plot as they as they
0:48:59could and they wouldn't care but I think
0:49:01that's a lie i think that harms its
0:49:03accessibility to to have these kind of
0:49:06bizarre tangential episodes but uh if
0:49:09you if you start from the beginning I
0:49:11think you would be rewarded it's a very
0:49:13very very smart and funny show
0:49:15I'm suddenly cursing myself because
0:49:17talking about this way maybe suddenly
0:49:19remember chris elliott and get a life
0:49:22haha
0:49:23because that which would be a good pick
0:49:25for a blitz not getting so that's
0:49:26another like half hour and of itself but
0:49:28it had the exact same problem i love
0:49:30that show was a wonderful show it was so
0:49:32hard for
0:49:34if you didn't know the chris elliott
0:49:35character and also if you also didn't
0:49:37know like bees the son of bob elliott
0:49:40who he himself like it's part of Bob and
0:49:42Ray if you didn't understand the whole
0:49:44premise of bobbin raise comedy it's hard
0:49:47to really get into it understand why are
0:49:49these two guys to radio guys just having
0:49:51a conversation about light bulbs why is
0:49:53this so hysterically funny why are you
0:49:55laughing at this you could you don't
0:49:56understand is Bob and Ray there's
0:49:58totally deconstructing this that ad you
0:50:01laugh about like by-the-numbers sitcoms
0:50:04but they really do make it easy for you
0:50:07to figure out
0:50:07orient yourself and figure out okay I
0:50:10know what they're doing here
0:50:11ok this is actually good for us for what
0:50:12they're doing I remember stumbling on an
0:50:14episode of get a life and and it was I
0:50:16mean I knew Chris Elliott was from david
0:50:18letterman bedroom it's an episode where
0:50:20at the end he's sitting waiting for
0:50:22somebody like outside of gate and and it
0:50:24should show that keeps dissolving and he
0:50:26gets old and then he's a skeleton at the
0:50:28end of the episode he's dead he died the
0:50:31idea about what two-thirds of the
0:50:32episode yeah the crazy so so should we
0:50:37talk about the big bang theory because I
0:50:39but I feel like it's the elephant in the
0:50:40room that therein in the chat room we
0:50:42have people saying i can't wait for them
0:50:44to to tear apart the big bang theory and
0:50:46I i don't know i mean it is the show
0:50:48that's about geeks and and geek culture
0:50:51it is a sitcom
0:50:53where the the four main characters four
0:50:56of the five main characters i guess we
0:50:58should say or 47 now are our geeky
0:51:03gentlemen and and so I you know the
0:51:09pilot i'll say this the pilot of the big
0:51:11bang theory is maybe the worst sitcom
0:51:13pilot I've ever seen ISIL I saw although
0:51:17I saw the original pilot I they may have
0:51:19actually shot some of it by i saw at the
0:51:21summer the summer before it went on the
0:51:23air i saw the original pilot was very
0:51:25bad and yet I have to say having watched
0:51:30a guy i think a tune back in later in
0:51:32the first season after heard some people
0:51:33praising it actually like the show I
0:51:35actually think it's a perfectly good
0:51:36serviceable CBS films in front of a live
0:51:41studio audience
0:51:42you know mainstream ish sitcom and I
0:51:46don't think it I i I'd think it has more
0:51:50love toward nerdiness and then it then
0:51:55it it sort of makes them out to be the
0:51:59butt of jokes i think there's more
0:52:00affection too and i think it humanizes
0:52:02them i think and i think there are lots
0:52:05of very funny nerdy references in the
0:52:08show which wouldn't I if this was
0:52:10something that was a sanded down
0:52:12no smart references just really using
0:52:16these guys is as geeks to laugh at I
0:52:18would feel differently about it but I
0:52:19actually think for what it is which is a
0:52:21very mainstream CBS sitcom I actually I
0:52:25I like I I still watch it i have seen
0:52:27every episode of that show i will i will
0:52:29say I'm on I'm on the flipside only seen
0:52:31like two episodes ever and mostly things
0:52:34I just caught by accident
0:52:36do not do not recall laughing at
0:52:39everything much anything I saw in there
0:52:41and also I don't know I i did not feel
0:52:44that the show seemed as affectionate to
0:52:45me in some ways not that it was mocking
0:52:47doesn't like lead and well it's
0:52:49impossible but it felt a little bit like
0:52:51felt a little bit like ready player one
0:52:53in that he was well I mean in that it
0:52:56was kinda geeky and clearly the people
0:52:58writing it had some you know had some
0:53:00fondness for the subject matter but the
0:53:02same time just trying too hard
0:53:04I think
0:53:05well it has it has the problem of the a
0:53:07lot of seconds by the producer in that I
0:53:10know there's gonna be at least five
0:53:12crotch jokes i'm just not going to enjoy
0:53:15it all
0:53:16we just sort of see that drone coming
0:53:17and saying oh god is going to be a
0:53:19premature ejaculation joke here we just
0:53:21get it over with let's move on to
0:53:22something more from but i I've heard a
0:53:25lot of complaints that it makes fun of
0:53:27geeks instead of like making making
0:53:29jokes from within that community and i
0:53:32honestly believe that if you feel as if
0:53:35you feel as though a geek can't take a
0:53:37punch
0:53:38stay inside on your comforter with your
0:53:41inhaler and just being protective little
0:53:43bit you that it's I think it's a
0:53:45positive thing that it's okay to make
0:53:47fun of this part of humanity that were
0:53:50that were that much a that were there
0:53:53that the prominent member of society
0:53:56that we can be made fun of just like you
0:53:59know the the just like the job can be
0:54:02made fun of just because just like the
0:54:04the elite rich snobby made fun of and
0:54:07also i really do think that mostly humor
0:54:08does come from a good place where they
0:54:10will go for some of the cheap jokes from
0:54:12time to time but at the same time you
0:54:16know let's deliver the Leonard is really
0:54:20the emotional core the intellectual core
0:54:22of the entire show in that he you know
0:54:25he does he does have a problem digesting
0:54:27digesting dairy products but he's also
0:54:29the guy who really will reach out to
0:54:31other characters and help them along
0:54:32he's the guy who is it's not just oh I'm
0:54:35an area i can't have I will Pyun after
0:54:37the blood across the room across the
0:54:38hall but I will never be able to cook do
0:54:40follow through anything because i'm such
0:54:42a nerd
0:54:43no he actually you know goes through
0:54:45what he thinks his weaknesses are he
0:54:46also defends himself for his strengths
0:54:50army with he was proud of the fact that
0:54:51he will argue about our argument a movie
0:54:54or argue about certain complex character
0:54:56and I i just and it's just a lot of
0:54:59really good smart humor and top of it
0:55:01the the scene that could the scene that
0:55:03really really got me that really got me
0:55:05hooked was an opening opening episode
0:55:09black up before the first commercial in
0:55:11which they've all got the whiteboard out
0:55:12there trying to solve the problem of
0:55:14which will how can all fall for them
0:55:17find a movie theater that can says that
0:55:19as the movie movie they want to play the
0:55:21right THX sound system the right kandi
0:55:23the right everything so that everything
0:55:25all these variables can be conglomerated
0:55:27a solution to be found and announcements
0:55:29diagrams are being discharged being done
0:55:31and then suddenly letter just said look
0:55:33at the port says you know there really
0:55:36is only one solution to this problem and
0:55:38need silence CSC Sheldon another three
0:55:41of them leave and leave them behind
0:55:42realize that Sheldon is the reason why
0:55:43they can't figure out how to do that so
0:55:45as as the audience is laughing and
0:55:47shoulders watching the retreat he looks
0:55:48back to the board and he just says
0:55:50you're absolutely right there for this
0:55:51really was the only solution available
0:55:53yet you know it's and the show is
0:55:57evolved to I the the characters are are
0:56:03not kind of encased in amber like yet
0:56:05like different of the word season one
0:56:06yesterday that they've evolved except
0:56:09for shelter but you're right but that's
0:56:10his deal and even even he has evolved to
0:56:11a certain extent but it's you know it
0:56:14it's an interesting dynamic the adding
0:56:16the other women characters and i think
0:56:18is actually a I'm fascinated by a short
0:56:21I sort of feel like they've created a
0:56:23parallel show within their own show with
0:56:26a with the the women characters
0:56:27interacting with each other as well as
0:56:29the men and the women and their
0:56:31relationships together that it's it's
0:56:34really taking me by surprise because
0:56:35like i said i saw the pilot I thought it
0:56:36was bad
0:56:37I for whatever reason heard that it
0:56:39wasn't may be so bad and tuned in and
0:56:42have been witnessed it evolved you know
0:56:45again I don't want to give it a
0:56:46backhanded compliment by saying it you
0:56:48know it's a mainstream to come it is in
0:56:50that format and yet within that format i
0:56:52think it does a lot very well and is is
0:56:55you know generally respectful the the
0:56:58references they make are right the
0:57:00things that the the characters care
0:57:03about that are geeky whether it's comics
0:57:06or TV or or video games that you know
0:57:09there are things that that geeky people
0:57:11actually do care about and to argue
0:57:14about and they don't resolve them
0:57:17incorrectly there there are like with
0:57:19futurama where there are insanely nerdy
0:57:23things that are right like what
0:57:24including diagrams on a chalkboard big
0:57:28bang theory
0:57:28we you know it feels like it gets that
0:57:30stuff right and it it and a it would be
0:57:34very easy to not care and get it wrong
0:57:36and go for things that were incredibly
0:57:38broad and wrong because we're really
0:57:40just laughing at these people and it
0:57:42doesn't do that so so much to my
0:57:43surprise I have to say it is and you
0:57:46know continues to be a pretty a pretty
0:57:49good show i think it may be the only
0:57:51completely standard multi-camera sitcom
0:57:55show that i watch in family at this
0:57:57point i would start just throw out a
0:57:59corresponding one which is also a CVS
0:58:02multi-camera I'm that i would argue is
0:58:04fairly geeky which is how i met your
0:58:05mother
0:58:06yeah it's it's like it's it you know
0:58:11what I think how i met your mother is
0:58:12geeky because it's a sitcom with
0:58:14continuity
0:58:14well it's also how I mean to be fair
0:58:17they had an entire episode that's about
0:58:19watching that's about watching the Star
0:58:21Wars trilogy
0:58:22I'm sorry entire episode about that they
0:58:24have many many episodes only marriage
0:58:25like Star Wars so well I mean but like
0:58:28that that make an appointment to watch
0:58:30it every three years and they mark their
0:58:33life I've ever what happened every time
0:58:34they watch the Star Wars trilogy and at
0:58:36one point Ted like wants to break up
0:58:38with a girl who hasn't seen Star Wars I
0:58:40mean you know it's not super geeky but I
0:58:42think there are a lot of geeky
0:58:44references in you know and it in some
0:58:47ways it some more
0:58:48it's a less stereotypical version of
0:58:51geekery which is to say they do geeky
0:58:53things but they are not necessarily
0:58:54defined by their geekery right although
0:58:56actually a real Patrick Harris character
0:58:59although he has a lothario and he has a
0:59:01stormtrooper he's a gigantic nerd is
0:59:03underneath it all
0:59:05this is true those the two shows on CBS
0:59:06that I had that I want Lincoln with a to
0:59:08lincoln with Andy's a comment earlier
0:59:10chris elliott also appears as a
0:59:13recurring role as alyson hannigan's
0:59:14father not to mention back several
0:59:17character you know several actors in
0:59:19that show who are well known for being
0:59:21on extremely geeky television shows such
0:59:22as Neil Patrick Harris alyson hannigan
0:59:25jason segel you know right that's a
0:59:28lotta there's a lot of geek tie-ins with
0:59:31that so I I think you could make a
0:59:34strong case for yes Jason Segel who is
0:59:35in freaks and geeks would be although
0:59:37not a sitcom a fantastic show with the
0:59:39other i think my other favorite dungeons
0:59:41and dry
0:59:42hands now reference Carlos work it yes i
0:59:46am the designation for me about Kiki
0:59:49sitcoms is really if you were to remove
0:59:52the geeky elements from the sitcom would
0:59:55still be an enjoyable show and would you
0:59:58still go out of your way to walk
0:59:58still go out of your way to walk
1:00:00jet and foremost every one of them on my
1:00:02list i could say yeah you take out i
1:00:04mean these elements are fun and they
1:00:06enrich the experience but you take the
1:00:09geek out of community and it's still a
1:00:11show about interesting characters who
1:00:13happened to have interesting things you
1:00:15take the geek out of space and you still
1:00:18have you know a group of friends who
1:00:21loves each other very much and get into
1:00:23shenanigans whether or not they begin
1:00:25influence to nature you take the geek
1:00:27out of like big bang theory i don't know
1:00:30i don't know
1:00:31yeah well if you take a geek out a big
1:00:33bang theory you have a sitcom about a
1:00:36blonde woman from Nebraska who lives in
1:00:38an apartment across the hall from an
1:00:40empty apartment the less interesting
1:00:43have but probably funnier isn't a little
1:00:46bit like saying taking taking the army
1:00:47out of mesh the worst was the worst
1:00:51episodes to master the ones word really
1:00:52became hey lets it looks like we work at
1:00:55a brewery let's challenge the other
1:00:56brewery to a bowling match and
1:00:58everything they really did an episode of
1:00:59my favorite episode of I Love Laverne
1:01:01and Shirley what wide appeal
1:01:03Mazel a big bang theory is awful by the
1:01:06way so fast haha i want to say yes but
1:01:09now let it out Scott let it out let it
1:01:12all hang out so i cannot say this
1:01:14scientifically since I've only sat
1:01:16through four episodes because I felt
1:01:18that as a geek I should watch the big
1:01:20bang theory which i think is their
1:01:22twisted way of getting me to what's
1:01:26wrong
1:01:26shame on them it is it is shameful and
1:01:28it I you know I have no I think it's a
1:01:30authentic right they get the geek stuff
1:01:32right
1:01:33I was I didn't have any nerd rage about
1:01:35you know great lanter doesn't wear that
1:01:39ring out in when it's al Jordan know
1:01:41that was off the table and you didn't
1:01:43feel a hey they're making fun of me no I
1:01:46just felt like just offended by the
1:01:47comedy
1:01:48this isn't a joke is absolutely right
1:01:50and make a little happy that you had to
1:01:52kill it
1:01:53except this is this is a choc Lori
1:01:55sitcom people it is not good television
1:01:59he's related to half man half degree
1:02:01here that I have your chocolate factory
1:02:03just does not only make bad shows he has
1:02:05made good shows too but he invited
1:02:08monetary batches and he is not a good
1:02:12sitcom
1:02:12maker and I think he should be stopped
1:02:15yeah he is he has made good sitcom he
1:02:17has made good shows and here in the end
1:02:19he has made successful shows but he's
1:02:21very rarely made both at the same time
1:02:23there are you say he is very successful
1:02:26people like it i don't know why but I i
1:02:29think those people haha that's why
1:02:32you're on this despite your headache
1:02:34that's why I wanted you want this to
1:02:35denounce any positivity about the big
1:02:38bang theory the big bag theory is not
1:02:40and like I said I we need it gets all
1:02:42the facts correct
1:02:44I it just is not funny we were just in
1:02:48that's very subjective so obviously if
1:02:50you think it's funny that that's fine
1:02:52you're wrong but you can be my heart if
1:02:54you like you just lost more points got
1:02:56oh man you're now in the negative
1:02:59what else should we before we go what
1:03:01else should we mentioned a lot of people
1:03:03I I thought we were going to talk about
1:03:04the IT crowd which i guess i should
1:03:07mention the English sitcom which is
1:03:09funny about a latin american version
1:03:12oh I I haven't seen the american version
1:03:14I I steer clear of American versions of
1:03:17English sitcoms but they the english
1:03:20version which i think is on netflix is a
1:03:22is very funny about a an ID helpdesk was
1:03:26not largely helpful in its broadest
1:03:28range and and and funny I don't know
1:03:30anybody has seen besides me and it's
1:03:33kind of only like borderline key but
1:03:36there's a british sitcom I saw last year
1:03:38called spy know which is about it kind
1:03:42of hapless guy who works in like a
1:03:45computer shop and decides you know what
1:03:46I'm going to quit my job and he goes in
1:03:48for what he thinks is a job interview
1:03:49and accidentally ended up interviewing
1:03:51at a basically like mi5 mi6 or something
1:03:54like that and accidentally become a spy
1:03:57it's a cute little half hours to common
1:03:59ground for like six episodes but i don't
1:04:03know maybe think of it because he is
1:04:04kind of a hapless geeky guy who just
1:04:06happens to end up as a superspy never
1:04:09said it comes we are we have a title yet
1:04:11for the with young ones coat because
1:04:13they were all other away their pump so
1:04:16that was it that was that was going to
1:04:18go and aired on mtv in in the u.s. that
1:04:22that is a great great show i have fond
1:04:25memories of the n1
1:04:26them in true English tradition i think
1:04:28they were like nine episodes of that
1:04:29show right but what is this bizarre idea
1:04:33they have about ending a sitcom before
1:04:34it starts to stink
1:04:36yeah rik mayall and who else is in that
1:04:39Alexei Sayle have it out actually think
1:04:42that was very much like that community
1:04:45in the sense that they were put or or or
1:04:48get a life where there's bizarre like
1:04:50Alexei Sayle was various characters and
1:04:53when he appeared he sort of didn't make
1:04:54any sense and was it was non sequitur
1:04:57she was almost Monty Python like levels
1:04:59of non sequitur asian the middle of
1:05:01these these sitcom plots involving these
1:05:04penniless college students living in a
1:05:07completely did when they just squatting
1:05:10and like an abandoned house
1:05:12I'm not bitter at student that student
1:05:13housing is that they have a landlord mr.
1:05:15velovsky also played by alexei sayle I
1:05:18i'm reminded of the other show that I
1:05:20meant to I meant to mention and didn't
1:05:22which is red dwarf which is the only
1:05:24real sci-fi Space sitcom I think that
1:05:27ever had any success at all and it's
1:05:30bizarre and it got bad as it went along
1:05:33and they're still making them i think
1:05:35now again but but I I i watch that with
1:05:39a lot of skepticism and I actually like
1:05:41the first few seasons of red dwarf it's
1:05:43a very strange broad kind of thing but
1:05:46you know I actually kind of like red
1:05:48door and get out like two spaceships and
1:05:51and made it is a spaceship outer space
1:05:55sitcom it is unabashedly a sci-fi to
1:05:58come and and Crichton the android played
1:06:02by robert Llewellyn who you might also
1:06:03know from junkyard wars if you remember
1:06:06back in the day LOL i will mention i
1:06:08think i mentioned it on our episode
1:06:10about shows that got cancelled too fast
1:06:12the cartoon show clone high which I
1:06:16would argue is also fairly ki-i-i-ng
1:06:20anything that out of respect for Jason
1:06:22no animation role that anybody I blonde
1:06:25the lids off
1:06:26I'm sorry but there was not in the
1:06:28document that I was presented with as
1:06:30the interns for this show clone clone
1:06:33high is a good one of the tick is the
1:06:36tick an excellent choice animated and
1:06:38live-action yeah and the live action
1:06:39even if we take the no animated real the
1:06:41live action that was a that was a
1:06:43half-hour superhero comedy what's Eric
1:06:48Andre's that men will that my wealth and
1:06:52yes an arthur and the tick later mass no
1:06:56well but yes i know i love that I love
1:06:59deflator mouse in a cartoon and yet
1:07:01batmanuel is also excellent Nestor
1:07:03Carbonell is diamond well now with the
1:07:07fact that the the look well even though
1:07:10was just a pilot start Adam West was
1:07:12written by conan o'brien with that
1:07:13qualify that as a geeky sitcom was it a
1:07:17comedy
1:07:18oh hell yeah okay it was Ireland had no
1:07:22idea it was a pilot have actually aired
1:07:24and it was probably the of the most
1:07:26hilariously funny pilot of any sitcom
1:07:29that happen to catch i was i was
1:07:30actually disappointed that find out that
1:07:32was the only one that they would ever
1:07:34actually make BB that funnier than heat
1:07:37vision and Jack which is my favorite
1:07:39pilot that never be that that i guess-
1:07:41is the disadvantage with that what is
1:07:43that it didn't live up to the it got so
1:07:45much hype but to me before I actually
1:07:47saw it that didn't live up to it
1:07:49Dan Harmon from community brought that
1:07:51yes indeed alright well this has been a
1:07:53crazy and sometimes quite tangential
1:07:58walkthrough many funny things but i
1:08:00thought this was great i thought we
1:08:02covered a lot of a lot of ground and so
1:08:05i'm going to say that we have had enough
1:08:08for this episode and i would like to
1:08:10thank my excellent guess for being here
1:08:12fighting through a headache so that he
1:08:15could share his love of of of mystery
1:08:18science theater and so that he could
1:08:20share his hate of the big bang theory
1:08:21Scott McNulty thank you for being here
1:08:24I think hate overcame my headache so
1:08:26let's go to the lesson to the kids
1:08:29I'm glad you're feeling better be
1:08:30covered by the haight provided clarity
1:08:33in your head that that really is a great
1:08:35epitaph for anybody's tombstone he was
1:08:38generous and love and generous and hate
1:08:40it's true
1:08:43ok my hate will ensure that i never dies
1:08:46throw the heat keeps you alive it does
1:08:48yeah i thought was your hey sweating you
1:08:54now and I could thank you for being here
1:08:57thank you for having me you are enjoy a
1:08:59treasure traces still thank you i
1:09:01appreciate you coming on and sharing
1:09:04your your love for funny funny things
1:09:07even if they were animated Dan Morgan
1:09:09thank you
1:09:10let's never play again I mean it's great
1:09:13to be here Jason yeah and serenity
1:09:16called well thank you very much for
1:09:18being thank you
1:09:19it was lovely and I will close with
1:09:21perhaps the weirdest line from spaced
1:09:24rabbits rabbits rabbits rabbits rabbits
1:09:26rabbits right i guess i need to watch
1:09:29more space yeah you did it
1:09:31I've only seen at halftime so who I made
1:09:34a reference that no one got eyewitness
1:09:36podcasts dad got it i think i got it you
1:09:39don't count
1:09:40well that's true I'm used I'm used to
1:09:42that but me
1:09:44well in the forest and nobody understood
1:09:45it was still hip
1:09:47yes I say yes right and I'd like to
1:09:51thank our audience for listening and I
1:09:53hope maybe we turned onto some new funny
1:09:56stuff that you didn't know about before
1:09:58until next time I am Jason snow ghost
1:10:02being comfortable thanks for listening
1:10:08[Music]