The Headgum Podcast - 139: Alf Roker (w/ Review Revue!)

Episode Date: January 27, 2023

Reilly Anspaugh and Alfred Bardwell-Evans join Marika and Geoff to discuss the new era of Review Revue, Broadway, and pop culture at large! The Pit Wall has been greenlit! Subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss new episodes dropping every Wednesday after a race. Advertise on The Headgum Podcast via Gumball.fm Rate The Headgum Podcast 5-stars on Apple Podcasts Rate The Headgum Podcast 5-stars on Spotify Join the Headgum DiscordSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a HeadGum Original. Previously on the HeadGum Podcast. And then you guys come in with these sour attitudes, and maybe it's the cash thing. So I guess my question is to you, like, should it not be for money? Because you guys seem to get upset instantly because you never get the shit right. Okay, first of all, I feel like I'm being attacked, and all I did was try to have a silly take about Jesse McCartney. You know, that was not on. I wasn't saying this segment was bad.

I was just saying that's crazy that Jesse McCartney doesn't have good quotes on whatever the, you know, bestquotes.com thing is. We weren't mad at you in this particular instance. My ex-girlfriend used to have a photo of Jesse on her childhood bedroom wall. And so when I went to go meet the parents, there was beautiful soul there. And I just was jealous because I don't look like Jesse. I don't have that musical talent.

I don't have that cash, that fame, that clout. Alfred, have you heard this show before? I think I listened to the first half of an app like a month ago. Why? It wasn't for me. Right. I wanted to see what it was about,

but then I realized it wasn't for me. It looks like you're in a spotlight, Jeff. The lighting's impeccable. Well, let's all hang on a second. No, you don't have to say that. I know you don't mean it. I look disheveled. I haven't showered in a year.

It works for you. You're... We've got Marika Brownlee on the sacks. You've got Riley on spot on the facts. You've got Alfred Barwell Evans bringing up the rear. I'm so excited to have Riley and Marika on. What the fuck? I'm just mad. I'm jealous because I showered about an hour ago and I look like

shit. I was telling Daniel before I came on, I'm like, he's like, has Alfred ever been on the pod? I'm like, no, and Jeff's going to go hog wild, because this is kind of Jeff's domain, and Alf doesn't know what he's getting into. I know, I am slightly nervous.

Welcome to Marika's world. I mean, it kind of is. It's just like you antagonizing me on a daily basis or a weekly basis. Listen, Alfred. Alfred said, I don't know if you can hear it. I don't know if Grace is going to mix it so you can hear it over the theme song,

but that you listened to half an episode and decided this show wasn't for you. Yeah, yeah. It's not for me either. Yeah, I was going to say, I don't think it's for anyone. It's not for anybody. No.

I don't even like doing it. It's popular though, enough. Popular. I'm going to close the door of our guest bathroom. Definitely. You should try it. You know.

I was in a Walgreens this morning and they were playing Because I Knew You. Okay. For good. For good. Fucking hell. Yeah, that's the one.

I'm back. Awful. I'm back. I just had to get that out before Riley put her headphones back on. What did you say? It was going to be the only thing we could talk about. What did you say? I said I was in a Walgreens and they were playing For Good.

And it was really jarring. I've heard it said. That we all go into our lives. Beautiful. Thank you. Was it a game show? None of us are on the same page. Is this like a game show?

I can't remember the episode I half listened to. In a way. This is the elevator pitch I just wrote down yesterday. Are you ready? For this show? Yeah, because nobody knows what this show is, including me. So here's me attempting to write it down into a paragraph. I like that.

One second, actually. Sorry. Yes. Apology accepted. It's fine. Don't worry. Just don't let it happen again. It is.

It's 45 minutes of chaotic pop culture discussion, mean-spirited games and quizzes, and gotcha journalism. It's ostensibly Between Two Ferns meets Taskmaster. I think that is spot on. Ostensibly between two ferns meets Taskmaster. I think that is spot on. Just to check in, have you still not watched an episode of Taskmaster? Never in my life.

I've watched a clip. So good. Oh, you like Taskmaster, but you don't like this? Yeah, it's great. I've never seen Taskmaster. Oh, season seven. That's where I'd start. Really good. Oh, episode 139.

It's pretty good. Of this show. Of this show. And it's in spite of one of the guests. No, pretty good. Of this show. Of this show. And it's in spite of one of the guests. No, there's a lot of episodes. It's because of two of the guests and it's in spite

of one of the guests. I would have heard about it if you'd make that many. How's your mental health, Jeff, after 139 episodes of doing this show? Compared to episode one? Yes.

Night and day bad. Okay. It was unbelievably positive going into this shit. What's that? Yeah. 2020, mid-2020 when we started. It was like peak pandemic. No one knew what was going on.

We were all inside. No vaccine site. And I'd never been happier. And you were happier than you are now. Yes, 100%. Okay. Let's get this elephant in the room, Alfred Bardwell Evans. What the fuck? Did you just call me? No. The elephant in the room. Uh, Alfred Bardwell Evans. What the fuck did you just call me?

No, you're, the elephant in the room is that you're wearing. Let's get this elephant in the room. Fuck you, asshole. The elephant in the room is that you're wearing a hoodie that bears your name. Yeah, I am. It's not a good look. I'm sorry. Uh, this is, was a friend of mine's father's and, uh, and, and he gave it to me as a gift.

Cause it's my name. I also have two pint glasses and a lunchbox Let's say Alfred Let's say Alfred University men's soccer on them I thought you just meant you had two pint glasses I thought you had two pints of bass ale That's a full exhaustive list Of every possession I have Alright, with you or

Not necessarily Right, that's what I was thinking about So you said there was a lot to get to or alright with you or not necessarily right that's what I was there was a lot to get to her only if I can get a word in edgewise Alfred you're the host man fuck yeah this is great um

me you're you were addressing me earlier yeah you want me to take over wouldn't be the first time oh am I right come on

fucking hell he's drowning let's talk about that how has the the transition been for y'all this has been better than ever three episodes in or four episodes in

better than ever it's been hilarious I think it's better than when I was the show before was like it's night and day it's like your mental health night and day it's like than when I was in the show before was like it's night and day it's like your mental health

night and day it's like at first I was like oh what's the point and now I'm like oh that's the point it's the thing that's most interesting

to me is the guests who are frankly begging to come on wouldn't have come with intent of the show pre January now that Jeff's gone

they're like oh now I'll guest now I'll guest yeah and you guys have been BCCing me on that, I guess bragging. I never thought Al Roker would express interest. Right after he recovered, too.

Yeah, it's like the first thing he wants to do back in the spotlight. Tell his story, you know? Yeah. Wrong avenue, I think, to tell the story. Tell the story through long-form improvisational comedy. We could do, like, weather channels or something. I saw Al Roker in Waitress the Musical.

Was he the old man? Yeah. That's amazing. Hell yeah. What about Alf Roker? I'm an old man. Alf, you're breaking up. I didn't say shit.

You're grainy and like... I'm not talking. Oh. I think that's just like interference or whatever. I actually haven't said anything for a while. Jeff, you were addressing Marika. I want to hear what you were going to say. Oh, I said, what about Alf Roker?

No, not that. We were trying to move past that. Marika, how's your 2023? I saw you on New Year's Day. We got dinner in New York City. And I was wondering how things have been going in the last 23 days. There have been ups.

There have been downs. We also saw Marika at the HeadGum Happy Hour. Yeah, I saw you a week ago. That's true, but like launching into the year, I saw her mug

over a pint of... Sorry. I don't know if... Yeah. We did have drinks, but we had... Drinks, ultimately. Mine was a snowman-shaped mug.

Which is pretty cool. And Jeff did pay for it. That's nice. Which is all I can really ask for. Jeff, shut the fuck up. You asked Marika how she is. Right. So Jeff paid for the drink.

That's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Paid for the drink. I did a nice thing. Yeah, you did a nice thing. And in that way, my year started fine. Fine.

Jeff, shut the fuck up. Really uncomfortable. I'm really uncomfortable right now. Yeah. Is this what it's always like? That'll be for the next 45 minutes. You'll be uncomfortable. I'm not.

This is like the vibe of the show is supposed to be joy and wisdom. Jeff, we're about a quarter away through this thing. How do you think it's going? It's going. I mean, people are going to love it, but I'm having a bad time. What would make you have a good time? I don't know. Getting to some of the material that

I fucking painstakingly outlined, right? Okay, what's the game? We're waxing about it and I want to hear about it. I bought you a drink on New Year's Day Eve and you said it was fine? Yeah. I said my year started off fine. What else do you want?

I thought it was a fun dinner. That's the high point of New Year's. I thought it was a fun dinner. It was a fun dinner. It was. I'm just saying that, you know, the day overall was okay. Riley and Alfred,

what did you guys do on New Year's Eve? I went to the ER. What happened? But then I'm fine and I partied with Daniel's family. I thought I had a blood clot in my leg. But did you? Why did you think you had a blood clot?

Because I felt a kind of pain like in my thigh that I've never felt before. And it was getting worse and worse. And Daniel and I are Googling. And I'm like, it might be a blood clot. And we went to the ER, which was very open. Not a lot of people there at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve in Evanston, Illinois. And they were like, it's not a blood clot. Take an aspirin.

And I remember I was in. And I'm like, hey, so obviously my health comes first. This is not a big deal. But if I'm going to a party and if I wanted to, yeah, no, it doesn't matter. And they're like, you want to know if you can have a drink with with aspirin? I'm like, yeah, but obviously health is the priority. And they're like, I'll ask the doctor. And I'm like, stupid, stupid. And then they're like, the doctor says take take an aspirin and have a drink. It's New Year's. And I'm like, I'll ask the doctor. And I'm like, stupid, stupid. And then they're like, the doctor says take an aspirin and have a drink.

It's New Year's. And I'm like, okay. The doctor's tried to kill you. Doctor's orders. Can I just have a BetterHelp sponsorship on this thing? Yeah. I think it might be fitting if you want to put it in there. You want to go to the break right now?

Just that hypochondria I think was pretty cute. Acute or cute? I'm cute. Acute. As in like noticeable, specific. Al thinks I'm cute. That's what I heard. Can we play the game? Can we play the game or whatever, Jeff?

Al, what did you do on New Year's Eve? I stayed up all night going to the different ERs and lying about having a blood clot. Shut the fuck up. All right, Jeff. Play the game, whatever the hell. Well, he didn't actually give a straight answer.

You can't just wear a sweatshirt with your namesake on it and then avoid questions on, honestly, a talk show. Riley's been coming at me, but she's been answering the questions. You've been doing neither If you let me speak I can give you an honest answer

Would you like to hear? Yeah let's hear it I was with my family And we played a board game Until about 11.45 At which point I turned on Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve on the television. Wrong title.

And we watched the last 15 minutes of that. The ball went down. That's not the final. I had a glass of non-alcoholic Chardonnay. Disgusting. In a champagne flute. That's grape juice, to be clear. No, it was worse.

It tasted really like gas. And then I was in bed by a tidy 12.15. That's beautiful. Can I ask what board game you played? Wingspan. I don't know what that is. Is that a board game where you just stretch out your arms and see who has the longest one?

Well, I would win that game as I won wingspan. It's a game about birding. Alfred, you have to relax your shoulders and entire body because your head is moving laxly. But the rest of your body looks stiff as a board. I don't know what I've done to not foster

camaraderie, joy, wisdom, and liveness. Yeah, there you go. The first shit you did when I got on the call was start criticizing. Okay. Bond of the week. Can I go first? I have to go first. Fine, Marika, go.

Every week, Marika keeps going, can I go first? That's not true at all. The past two weeks, you've said, can I go first? It's probably because you took so long to get into the segment. Okay. Who is your Bond of the Week? Joey King. Oh, my Bond of the Week.

That's really good. That's really good. That's really good. She did us all a service. And at the end of the day, that's all I can ask for. And I think she'd be a great Bond. I love that. My thing is that I don't think

she actually hooked up with him. You know? Because there's like no evidence. People just decided they thought that they hooked up. They were just doing a press tour and then they were like, oh, they fucked. I'm like, evidence. People just decided they thought that they hooked up. They were just doing a press tour and then they were like, oh, they fucked.

I'm like, I don't know if they did. Alf, are you Googling Joey King right now to figure out what... I can see... Here's the thing. I have a question. I have a question, Jess. Yeah, go ahead.

Do you ever explain segments on the show or just dive fucking in as if everyone in the audience has heard the show before? Bond of the Week is, okay, so Daniel Craig is out as Bond and so every week until the next 007 is cast, we're lobbing up our pick for the next James. So who would you cast as the next James Bond?

That was a really good elevator pitch. You could just slot that in so naturally. Riley, go because you're ready and then Alfred, give Riley the floor. Okay. T really good elevator pitch. You could just slot that in so naturally. Riley, go because you're ready. And then Alfred, give Riley the floor. Taron Egerton. That's really good. Did you watch Rocketman recently? I didn't watch it recently. I've just been thinking about it a lot in the Elvis and Austin

Butler discourse because it's just like, where are Taron Egerton's flowers? He made the best music biopic in a really long time. Yes, Jeffrey. What about Todger Edgerton like cock like the British

slang term for cock Todger is that the joke that you're making have you been yeah forget it it's like in the

Harry Harry book thank you I put it on my Todger thank you Riley my penis was oscillating between freezing cold and burning hot It's like in the Harry book. I put it on my todger. Thank you, Riley. My penis was oscillating between freezing cold and burning hot. And then he gets mad

on Colbert for him bringing it up. You wrote it. It reminded me of my mother. I'm fucking sorry, Harry. Your mom's dead, by the way. So don't invoke her when talking about your I'm sorry Alfred but for lack of a better term fang Alf who's your bond apologizing to me um my bond I guess is Is Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto. So Tom Hanks as Otto as Bond.

Yeah, Otto. Otto from A Man Called Otto as played by Tom Hanks. Can you say Bond, the name's Bond, James Bond, as doing an impression of that? Sure. Tom Hanks, famously easy to impression. Such a distinct voice. Grumpy, gr distinct voice grumpy grumpy grumpy

his name is uh James Bond that was really bad have you seen it have you seen a man called Otto I haven't but that doesn't sound have you seen the commercial no so then you wouldn't know

it just doesn't sound like Tom Hanks you guys have seen it did you think it was good I haven't seen it yeah exactly right but I've watched the trailer did it sound like him there's no way

yeah kind of Marika thank you Marika thank you this is so fucked up he's a grumpy he's right he went grumpy

and that's the move he went grumpy Tom went grumpy my bond of the week whatever man Tom Hanks what? I was just going to say, he doesn't sound the same

in every movie. Okay? Elvis? That was a choice. So you don't know that he doesn't have an accent or a funny voice

in Man Called Otto. Do you? You would be famous, my boy. Jeff, did you see Elvis? Bond! No, I didn't see him. Yes.

I know. And you know you host a pop culture show is it who's your Bond my Bond of the week is genuinely I was just gonna say when he said it was a pop culture show

I felt the same way yeah we bring a pop culture show. I felt the same way. Yeah. We bring up pop culture stuff. I don't know everything. You don't know it, but you bring it up. Bring it up. And I try to bring stuff up and you shut it down. That's kind of how it works a lot of the time.

Who's your bond? There it is. It took a while to find that one, eh? My bond of the week is Alfred Bardwell Evans. Alfred Bondwell Evans. That's really good because,

sorry, but Aaron Taylor Johnson is not the only white guy with three names who says no. What? Alf, would you like to play Bond?

Sure. Fat paycheck, I'm sure. That's the reason. That's why? What would your, would you like to play Bond? Sure. Fat paycheck, I'm sure. That's the reason. That's why? What would your... Could you do like... Could you do like martini, shaken, not stirred?

Like as Bond, like earnestly. Well, I don't think... I gotta say, Riley just saying that straight was actually pretty good. No, but like do it like you're as Bond, like as earnestly as you can.

Okay. I can do that. Camera's rolling. Crowd on set. Sound speeds, camera speeds, and action. Barkeep. Already bad. Top of the morning, my man.

Drinking in the morning? I fancy a... 9 a.m.? Breakfast martini. It's just martini. Almost Scottish. Shakenaken Not sad Oh kind of cheeky

You redeemed it at the end Not sad You added a bunch of details though That just aren't relevant to the scene To the movie Raised a lot of concerns for James doing his job As a spy Why do you think I should lot of concerns for James doing his job as a spy. Why do you think I should be Bond? He's bad at his job.

I said why you should be Bond. You're a white guy with three names. That's a pretty good reason. That's fair. I don't agree with a lot of the shit you say, but that's a pretty good reason. We do have to move on to news of the day. Oh, fuck. I opened the wrong app. Thank God.

Why doesn't anybody ever try to enjoy this show? I'm having a blast. I genuinely try every time. Okay. Well, I have a great time every time I come on. Eminem's announced that Maya Rudolph is the new face of the company after an indefinite pause hit the

classic Spokes Candies. What do you guys think of the- What? What? Did you not see this? I saw that this morning. Do you want me to read the official thing? Yes, please do.

Yes, please. All right. So obviously there's a ton of backlash to the highly sexualized green M&M or something. So here is the- They just changed her shoes. That's all that happened. That's all they did. And then like a bunch of Republicans were like, M&Ms went woke. Well, I don't They just changed her shoes. That's all that happened. That's all they did.

And then like a bunch of Republicans were like, M&M's went woke. Well, I don't want to fuck her anymore. Did you before? What happened? If she's not in heels, I don't want to tap that thing. And that, anyway. I was going to say an M&M's, forget it. America, let's talk.

In the last year, we've made some changes to our beloved Spokes Candies. We weren't sure if anyone would even notice, and we definitely didn't think it would break the internet. But now we get it. Even a candy's shoes can be polarizing, which was the last thing M&M's wanted since we're all about bringing people together. Even a candy's shoes.

Therefore, we've decided to take an indefinite pause from Spokes Candies. Even in candies? You know what my first thought was? Not everyone can agree on Rudolph? No, my first thought was not everyone can agree on Rudolph no my first thought was what is going to happen to the commercial before AMC movies where it's the M&M's as spies

and they're like I don't remember the actual joke of this commercial that I've seen a million times. I feel that. I remember the Christmas one where they find Santa. Yes. Do you want to be the peanut M&M and I'll be Santa?

Do a little reenactment? You're talking to me? Yeah. Sure. I don't really remember what they say. Well, so fuck it. Never mind. I'll do both.

The peanut M&M goes to, so they like run into Santa. Like he's like about to eat the cookies and the peanut M&M goes, he's real. And then Santa goes, they're real. My question was who is better than Maya? M&M? Be funny, right? Sorry, everything just stopped for me. So it wasn't that I wasn't laughing,

it was just it said, your internet connection's unstable, which I don't think it is. I don't think so. That's just my poison. Infiltrating fiber. I disagree. Oh, Jeffrey taking a little nap?

Yeah. Well, the sun was in my eyes, which at first was good lighting, but it was starting to get hot and harsh. Little Jacob Collier for you after that. LeBron James is an estimated nine games away from breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What record do you guys think you could actually break? Because I think I could swim around the world in 80 laps.

In 80 laps? Yeah, like... What? What do you mean? Swim. Do you mean like strokes? Swim. Yeah, freestyle, ideally. If I get tired, a little bit of breast. Ass? Swim. Do you mean like strokes? Swim. Yeah, freestyle ideally.

If I get tired, a little bit of breast. Ass. 80 laps of a meter length, whatever, 100 meter length Olympic swimming pool. I think I could make it across the whole damn ocean. I think I could genuinely break a record for how many lemon spin drifts consumed in a lifetime. In a lifetime? So you want to earn it as you die.

A posthumous Guinness World Record. That's cool. That one I could genuinely break, I think. I don't doubt you could do that. Alfred? Marika? Pretty interested in Marikas. I'm going to go Clementines eaten in a single day.

So what? What number do you think it would be? I mean, I feel like an order. Well, I think that no one's set this record. It's not. I feel like no one's set the record. It's not officially on the books. So I feel like I one set the record like it's not officially on the books so I feel like I could start low

and if someone tried to beat me then I'd have to go like non-stop eating clementines for the whole day so you think you could do like 12 and that would be fine for now and I would it won't get scurvy it's true

I will say that Riley and I shot a web series pilot years ago that never aired and I had to eat a bunch of kumquats. Oh yeah. I love kumquats and I've also done that. I had so many and I just. You got sick. I had some digestive issues obviously.

So just be careful with the clementines Brownlee. Well remember remember when obviously. So just be careful with the clementines, Bromley. Remember when my mom sent me grapes in the mail? Yeah, grapes in a box. Yeah, this year she sent me kumquats. But I did ask for them this time.

And they arrived in good condition. And in good faith. And I did eat almost all of them it was a lot a lot of the kumquats Alfred what record do you think you could actually realistically break?

Alfred looks so bored least amount of fun had on a podcast yeah that's fair X's Sean Penn and Robin Wright, seen in Los Angeles, spending more time together. The pair were married from 1996 to 2010. What's going on, guys? Do you think they're back together?

What's that? Yeah, maybe they're back together. I auditioned for a movie that Robin Wright was directing and I didn't get it. You didn't get it? Callback? Nope. That sucks. Next time.

Better luck. Yep. I watched a movie starring Robin Wright and Colin Farrell directed by Michael Mayer who directed Spring Awakening American Idiot bunch of great stuff changed my life it's a great film I recommend

by the way this is how Marika brings up pop culture so it's like how are you supposed to respond to that like the only thing you can say is oh cool no I could talk I love Spring Awakening. Yeah. Are you going to try and see

Jonathan Groff in Merrily when it transfers to Broadway? You saw it? Oh, I'm so jealous. I won the lottery. Was it as good

as I want it to be? It was pretty good. It was... Yeah. I had a good time. Do you think it's gonna last I

I do think it's gonna last um I think I mean I think it has such a big draw right now yeah right building up so much hype that I do think it's gonna last I think I mean I assume all of them are transferring

but I think they are all scheduled to transfer. I think my guess would be that Daniel goes first. Yeah. But he's so good in it. Oh, I bet. My favorite Sondheim musical. If you can believe. I can believe.

And I don't know you, but I can believe. Money? No, I like money a lot. I mean, it's better than not. Jeff Strait. I love that show, man. It's so good. Really?

What's your favorite Sondheim musical? Oh, that's a great question, Rika. And I would also love to talk the Merrily movie. I think my favorite part about what's happening right now is that jeff knows nothing that's why i'm trying to keep it and we know we know jeff's favorite sonheim musical is saturday night so we can move on from that we don't have to ask him mine is um a little night music and into the woods like it's you gotta be both of those

but i love me some little Night Music. I haven't seen a production of a Little Night Music, but I did watch a filmed version. A filmed, like a film adaptation or a stage performance that had been filmed? I really think it was just a movie.

Not a stage. Was there any actors of note in there, or was it unknowns? Let me see. It's, like, one of the older films. It's from 1973. Oh, wow. So, sort of contemporaneous to the original.

Mm-hmm. Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Rigg. Wow. Oh, wow. Jeff, you ever seen that? I think I saw that one, yeah. Oh, that one, Diana Rigg, yeah. For sure, for sure.

My favorite is Assassins. I love Assassins. TJ Holmes can't stop grinning amid affair allegations. This was him yesterday. He's holding two phones. That is true. One per affair. Yeah.

And you know what? We had a Jeannie Moose thing, but I'm going to cut it. We don't need to watch another one of those. We do have to take a break, though. Guys, taking care of your health isn't always easy, right? But it should be simple. That's why for the last three years I've been taking AG1, just one scoop and a cup of water mixed around every day, no exceptions. And it helps me feel, you know, energized, focused,

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Check it out. We do have to do it. What's that? No one said anything. Okay. We could talk more about. Do you want someone to comment on the fact that you did a German accent? I was going to start the clock on a Marika's Druthers.

So it is time for... Marika's Druthers, meaning you can keep talking about what you were just talking about. I had this scripted. That reminds me that at one point I asked you what that sound clip was from because I was spiraling down a thing where I was listening to the Sondheim musical, The Frogs. I love The Frogs. And the overture is like a fanfare that i recognized and i couldn't figure out where it was from and i thought maybe it was from this it wasn't

but it was from comedy bang bang which uh really upset me um marika do you remember in smash when i forget who in the show christian borle was dating but they were like who's your favorite song music what's your favorite musical and christian Borle was dating, but they were like, who's your favorite song in musical? What's your favorite song in musical? And Christian Borle, I'll never forget. He's like, the frogs. And I'm like, what? No. What are you talking about?

He's like, I know. Jeff, do you remember that? Yeah. Did you watch Smash, Jeff? Well, it's America's Druthers, so I'm not really supposed to talk for these segments. Oh, that's great. Yeah, that's good.

Alf, did you watch Smash? I didn't. I think I would have enjoyed it, but I feel like now it's probably too late to really get much out of it. You think it's worth the rewatch? You can go back. Yeah, I feel like people are watching Glee now, which is concerning just for the culture.

So I feel like you have a right to watch Smash if you want to Thank you for giving me that permission I loved Glee at the time Were you guys Gleeks? Seasons 1 and 2 Jesse St. James, an icon Pretty good

The Warblers Oh Jeff, sorry. Is this boring you? Yeah. Thanks for being honest. Yeah, I appreciate it. Did you guys watch any of the, like, Broadway web series that existed back in the day?

Berkeley? There was, like... I think some of them might i think some of the backstage videos or playbill videos some of them were connected to that but there was like a series so there's one called the batteries down which was done by a bunch of you mish kids uh like andrew keenan bolger and uh pasic and paul Paul were involved in it. It was a musical web series. That one's iconic. A lot of great cameos there.

Jeff's such an Andrew Keenan-Bolger head. He loves the... Bolger. Yeah, he loves Andrew's blog. Yeah. For sure. Which is also a great watch

if anyone comments on the YouTube video or the Reddit about what you're talking about if anyone recognizes this as a piece of media I'll give you $40 no one knows what you're talking about on this Zoom or in the audience

yeah I know I've recently realized that That was what you're talking about. On this Zoom or in the audience. Yeah, I know. I've recently realized that a lot of songs that I took the time to memorize in high school, early college, that were theater songs, the YouTube videos have 1,000 views. Mm-hmm. And then you think about that in retrospect

to this podcast gets 10,000 views sometimes on videos. And I'm like, what was I? What are any of us doing? It's really upsetting. What's your favorite really obscure musical? Well, my favorite musical is a musical called Lysistrata Jones Which isn't I don't know

Jeff does Jeff was in it I think Yeah Who did you play again? Jeff sing one of the songs It's like Lysistrata Jones In In this greco house

made of linen now it's like this like sort of coastal italy thing well you know yeah I think that was moving. It was moving. It was moving. With a ton of pants. Shoot out minutes more of Marika's druthers, right? I'm trying to take a back seat, and you're not really feeling the space. No, it's fine.

Well, my God. take a back seat and you're not really well my god Lysistrata Jones was about a college basketball team that hadn't won a game in 30 years so all of the cheerleaders who naturally were dating all the basketball players withheld sex

until they won a game I actually do know about this as in the play Lysistrata it's great highly recommend yeah it was on as in the playlist Estrada. It's great. Highly recommend. Cool. Yeah. It was on Broadway for 30-something days. I love it. Is there an album

on Spotify? There is an album. It's really fun. Like, poppy songs. Cool. Yeah. Glory Days, one of my other favorite musicals written by the guy that wrote this musical,

which famously closed on its opening night on Broadway. Hilarious. You hate to see it. Because of COVID or no? No, this was in 2008. Got it.

Financial crisis. Yeah. Low ticket sales for sure. For sure. Shouldn't have opened when it did openly in the season, in a bad venue,

and it was a show about boys that were going to college and facing the crisis of growing up. But, you know, I love it. If I saw it, I'd literally burst into tears. It's a great show. 59 seconds left. What are your guys' favorite musicals that are obscure musicals?

My favorite year. Do you want to give us a taste? My favorite year. And everything is linen now. That's less. Yeah. I mean, and obviously you're wasting the 59 seconds and I would have preferred to

hear what Alfred or Riley had to say. Thank you. Riley. I'm trying to think, I'm trying to think what I've been listening to lately. I've been getting back into Matilda because the movie was so good. The movie was so good. I've been getting into Ride the Cyclone.

Oh, I saw Ride the Cyclone. Did you know that US is the only country that didn't get a theatrical release of Matilda? I did. I did know that because I was very upset about it. Like, that's a shame. In Europe and stuff, they did a... We ran out of time. I saw Ride the Cyclone before Taylor Louderman left the show. I get that her song stuck my head a lot

We can move on But I had a great time Welcome to What should I even call this Review review review Okay Now i'm interested yeah i was like now it's about me all right i might be in this part give it to me what's up we're gonna laugh at no matter what i said because you thought it would be funny to start getting

on board at the last minute i feel like I've been a bad sport this whole time. That's par for the course for this show. I think that was the... If you weren't being a bad sport, you were just reacting appropriately to what you've been given. This is probably the worst show for you guys to do promo on because I feel like everyone

who listens to Review Review listens to this show and everybody who listens to this show listens to your guys' show. But at the same time, if anyone hasn't heard of it, do you guys want to soft pitch or hard pitch the show before we get

into this segment? If you're listening to this show and haven't listened to Review Review, that might be possible. The show, I think, gets a lot more listeners than Review Review does, so that's fine. Basically, we take any topic literally ever. Today we did

Cafe Nero, which is going to be coming out soon. We've done Universal Studios Hollywood, Martinelli, Sparkling Cider, anything. We read reviews of those things from the internet and then we do long-form improv face on those reviews. It's a great idea. It's a great idea. I think Jeff might have short-term memory loss

because Jeff was a co-host and we made the show together and he was only three years. And then it was only this past year that Jeff stepped down and Alfred stepped up. Alf wasn't the stepdad. He was the dad who stepped up. I've never heard that before. I love it.

Well, I mean, so I thought we could just do a mini review review segment. But Marika, since you've never been a part of the show, I don't I don't want to like trial by fire you here. So why don't we do Riley? Me and Alfred will do the segment. And Marika, you can call the scene. How about that? Great. I'd love for you to not be involved in the improv.

Yeah, that's fair. And I think for you to not be involved in the improv. Yeah. That's fair and I think all of the audience would agree as well. It's not even because Marika doesn't want to do it. Jeff just really doesn't want to do it. Oh my God. Yeah, here we go. So this, I thought it'd be fun to do a review of the show post my departure, post

Alfred's arrival. Were you listening to an old episode of the HeadGum Podcast? No, I just haven't opened the Apple Podcast app in years. All right. I guess since May 14th, 2021. Here it is.

Five stars of Review Review. This is on Apple Podcasts. This comes in from Nickname Chaos AlreadyreadyTaken. Alfred, do you want to give them a nickname? Sure. Is KS their initials?

Is that... Riley, what do you... You should facilitate this. I don't know how this works. Kevin Slime. There we go. That's good. Kevin Slime. Five stars. Title is New Host. Better than that other crooked old fart sorry I didn't read this before we

started so is this it almost sounds like oh he's a crooked old fart but he's better than the other crooked old fart yeah does that make sense I'm just kind of reeling because I didn't read the review you didn't read it before I just opened Apple podcast do you want to do the improper now

maybe if you guys start it and then I'll kind of like we could find a different review that's the only one in the last 20 days okay so just you guys fucking start the scene and once I calm down i'll enter it all right i promise i won't enter it until i've calmed down okay um honey i know that my remarriage has been a

big transition for you um you know it's like you're already at a tender age you're 14 and i know that your dad leaving and me remarrying pretty quickly has been really hard. But I brought him over today. He's in the other room. He'll come in when he's ready, when you're ready, when you're ready, because it's about you. And I just wanted you guys to get to know each other a little bit. Is that something you'd be interested in? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Do you want to let me know anything before he comes in? Like any reservations, any boundaries you do want to talk about, don't want to talk about?

You don't have to call him dad. I want to say that right now. You do not have to call him dad. Can I? If I wanted to, though? Of course you can. You should ask him that. I bet that he would love to hear that.

Maybe not today, but later. Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea. Do you want me to bring him in? Yeah. I just want to say I've really appreciated the time you and I have had together, though. It's not going to end. You're still my son. No, I

know. But I'm just saying it's been a particular vibe and I've liked it. Me too. And this will be a new chapter. So I'll bring him in. Jax! Jax, he's ready! Come say hi to Chris! Hi Chris. I heard what you guys said through the wall

by the way. I'm not a crooked old fart. I know the door was closed and it was a little muffled but that's what I heard. Jax, we were joking. It was a joke. We were like, oh he's just a crooked old fart. You know, we're kidding. Weren't we, Chris? Uh-huh. Call me dad.

Okay. You don't have to do it right now. Call me dad. I'm a crooked old fart and you don't want to call me dad. Jax, what are you doing? I'm going to bring in somebody else that's a friend of mine and they're going to tell you exactly who they are and what their whole deal is

and it's going to change the scene. Parsi. Marika, that's you. Parsi, don't be shy. Come in here, tell us your whole deal and change the scene entirely. Parsi, I don't know shy come in here tell us your whole deal and change the scene entirely I don't know anyone named Parcy before

Jax this is cool on so many levels this is not in the scene Marika it's okay to join the scene I know what I said earlier but you can improvise in the scene with us Parcy come here tell us your whole deal and make it funny as shit to change this whole deal.

It's okay. Hi, I'm Parcy. Oh, who are you, Parcy? This is a really intimate meeting with my son and his new stepdad. And I wish I had some notice before you brought a friend over, Jeff. How did you get into our house?

How did you get into our house? How did you get into our house? Honestly, I thought this was my house. Marika, you're blowing it. This is why I didn't want you to be in the scene. This is not part of it. Now back to it. Parsi, why would you think this is your house? This is so clearly my girlfriend's house.

Wife, we just got married. And by the way, you never stop dating your wife. Parsi, what's your entire deal? Marika, you have 15 seconds to change the scene. Parsi, what's your whole thing? Man. I mean, what's your whole thing? Man. I mean, now I'm confused

because I came here thinking that this was my house. Thinking it was your house? Yeah, it looks exactly the same. It's on the same street. Parsi, true or false? From what you know about me and our relationship that you haven't really figured out what it is yet.

Would you describe me as a crooked old fart? I don't know who you are, to be honest. Really, Parsi? We thought he was with you. I fucking hate this guy. I thought he was with you. Mom. You're still in charge of calling this scene even though you're now

Yeah honey What? Mom I don't want him to be dad anymore I don't want him to be anything You don't want him to be anything? Can Parsi be my new dad? I really like Parsi You don't even know what Parsi's whole deal is

No one knows No one knows what Parsi's deal is. You're a real POS, Jax. You know that? Hey! Chris! First crooked old fart, and now POS? Christopher. Yeah. What is this? Say you're sorry to Parsi and to Jax. You're sorry. You're sorry to Parsi and to Jax. Don't be like that.

No, actually, I accept that apology. That was nothing. He was imitating me and being sort of a smartass about it. Yeah, but I appreciated it shut up you rancid old so and so I'm sick of your ass Parsi Parsi can we go can we get

out of here go get a milkshake or something where the hell are y'all gonna go we didn't even get a glimpse we didn't even get a glimpse into what Parsi's whole deal is Parsi's deal is that Parsi thinks that this is Parsi's house Parsi doesn't know is. Parsi's deal is that Parsi thinks that this is Parsi's house. Parsi doesn't know any of us, but now I guess Parsi's

Chris's new stepdad. That's Parsi's deal. We're going to go get a milkshake. And you're happy with this, Chris? I'm still real enough that apology. I mean, I really fucking appreciated that. Nobody's ever taken, not only taken accountability and responsibility,

but also delivered just the words, I'm sorry without explanation and defensiveness. The only thing I'm still kind of waiting, sitting here in limbo about is what Parsi's whole deal is. Because at a certain point, by the way, Marika, you should have said something like that to change the whole scene.

And now we're back in it. Call me dad. Wait, sorry, can we pause the scene for a second, actually? Yeah. What do you mean I should have said something like that? Like you should have, because your assignment, which you obviously didn't understand the assignment was to come in as parsey say what your whole deal was and change the whole scene

i did say my whole deal and you told me that i had to call the scene and we haven't hit a good point yet we could have called it okay we could have called it when you said. She did change the whole thing because it was supposed to be like, oh, get to know your new stepdad and now it's about who the fuck is Farsi and why does Farsi think this is their house? And I was going to call it at, do you want to go get milkshakes? But then it kept going.

But then you kept going and then paused the scene. I didn't keep going. You kept going. All right. Should we go back to the scene and get to a good end point? Yeah, I'll be perfect. All right.

Back to the scene and get to a good end point? Yeah. Thank you. Perfect. All right. Back to the scene. I'm going to get strawberry. And scene. So, Riley, Alfred, where can people find you? Where can they follow the show? Where can they listen to the show?

What's a good episode to listen with? The floor is y'all's. Let's start with Riley. You can find me on Instagram at Riley and Spa. And on Twitter at Riley Coyote. You can find the show on Instagram at Review Review. On Reddit, r slash Review Review. And we have a Discord channel under the HeadGum Discord.

Review Review. Come party. I think a really fun first app. r slash review review and we have a discord channel under the headroom discord review review come party um i think a really fun first app well when's this one coming out this friday this friday um we just uh on this past tuesday the 24th we have an episode with shelby wolstein which is really fun um and i also think for the new so you listen, there's a whole shit ton with me and Jeff. Don't fucking listen to those. In fact, Marika, I've been meaning to ask you about this. Is there a way to get those taken down? No. Yeah.

You guys make money off of those now. No. I would rather we just clean slate, you know what I mean? I think it's confusing. We have one, just Alf and I called Dice, which our editor, Daniel Ramos, did a pretty amazing

sound design for a chase sequence, which is one of my favorite audio gags we've done. So, Dice, if you want a solo app. And we just had Tupperware

with Shelby Wolstein. Hell yeah. Alfred? Yeah, and you can find me on Instagram.com at AlfredInnit I-N-N-I-T Only the web browser

Only the web browser Your ghost on the app My big plea, I guess if we're doing plugs and pleas here at the end I know what you're gonna say and it gets worse every time The more desperate you are about it the least anything's gonna happen I know, but I need to say it I know a you're going to say, and it gets worse every time. I know. The more desperate you are about it, the least anything's going to happen.

I know, but I need to say it. I need to say it. I know a lot of people who listen to this show used to listen to Review Review. No, if you wouldn't mind writing some theme songs for Review Review that have my name in them, because we're steadily working through the backlog of songs that are all about Jeff's swinging ass. We recorded one today, and about Jeff's swinging ass. We don't have many left. We recorded one today and it was about your ass.

This is my impression of every Review Review theme song. Jeff's ass, take me home to the ass I belong. That's literally every single fucking one. And all I'm asking you is that, you know, people out there who've like,

they have a draft. Yes, they have a draft saved in GarageBand of some fucking song about Jeff's ass. Just go in. Hey, exactly. It's two syllables. My name in,

just take my fucking name in there. Can you feel the love tonight? And it was like, can you see Jeff's ass in chords or something like that? That's very funny to me. But yeah. So write a theme song about my ass why don't you easy can you speak to it a little bit how is your ass uh never had any complaints uh it yeah i mean i think your our asses are probably pretty comparable don't you dare say that let's

let's get a picture of your ass up on twitter And then we'll compare side by side I don't feel the need to Chase clout like that I think I'm pretty content It's not me chasing clout It's me running away from gout Like while I'm young Let's preserve my physical status You're trying to sort of

Lock a time capsule of you having an ass If you got gout Your your ankles would shatter. Yeah, that's true. Marika? Follow me on Twitter and Instagram and Letterboxd at Marika Elan. And again, if you did watch The Batteries Down, a classic musical theater web series by Jake Wilson,

please let me know so I can make $40. Thank you. And it's at Jeffrey James on Instagram, at Jeffrey already on Twitter. We'll see you guys again next week. Riley has a hard out in two and a half minutes, so we're going to call it. Candle? Watch Jeff's showcase, CBS Diversity Showcase.

It's so good. Yeah, Paramount.com forward slash showcase 2023, or dash 2023. And if you're a casting director, please give all three of us jobs. And I'm not going to say which three, but it's definitely me, Riley, and Marika for some reason. I think this improv scene was sort of a calling card,

but this whole show was Daz. We'll see you guys again next week. I hope. That was a Hiddem original.