The Lazy Genius Podcast - #2: Television Cheat Sheet with Nick Flora

Episode Date: May 12, 2016

Ever wish you had a television cheat sheet? Everyone keeps talking about this show and that show, and you simply don't have the brain cells to keep up. Today, Kendra and her pop culture brother Nick Flora are here to help. They break down the most popular television shows and give you all you need to know, including mic drop lines you can throw into a conversation even if you've never seen an episode. It's television Cliffs Notes at their finest, so you're welcome. Plus, they take a surprising tangent down early 90s Christian culture memory lane, so have fun if you fit that demographic. Where to find Kendra: Instagram @thelazygenius The Lazy Genius Collective Where to find Nick: Twitter: @nickflora Instagram: @nickflora His music, tour dates, podcast, and all of it: nickflora.com This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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But Laura shopped on Amazon and saved on cleaning spray, countertop wipes, and fly traps. Hey, fruit flies, your baby boom ends here. Save the Everyday with Amazon. Hey, lazy geniuses. I'm Kendra Adachi, and you're listening to the Lazy Genius Podcast. Here, we help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. This is Season 1, Episode 2, and my guest today is. my pop culture brother, Nick Flora. Nick is a singer-songwriter from Nashville, a Twitter funny man,

and my pop culture doppelganger. He loves movies and television, like more than I do, which is saying something. So when I got a question from a lazy genius reader asking me to explain the basics of a lot of the popular TV shows so she could keep up in conversation, I knew that Nick was the person to talk to. But first, we go on a surprisingly thrilling tangent about growing up in 90s Christian culture. This is a fun one, and I hope you get a laugh. Hey, Kendra. Not much. We should do the entire podcast talking like this.

Thanks, to have me over. Wait, are we, are we, some podcasts want to have that, they want to have that illusion that we're in the same room. We are not in the same room. We are in different states. We're different states. We're in different time zones, which I did not realize until I went to Nashville, that Nashville is in a different time zone. It's really dumb.

We shouldn't be. We're like, I mean, just a few hours away. It seems so weird. Yeah, it's really dumb. Like literally, maybe 90 miles east is the line. I don't know who came up with that, but it's messed up. Whoever came up with it was not paying attention that day. Because if you go from here to Chicago, it's a straight shot, straight up, but you go through

two different times zones. It's so. Indiana is eastern. It's so weird. Which makes sense. Doesn't make sense. So, yeah. Is this the Timezone podcast? Is that, am I the right one?

Yeah, that's what it is. Time zones. We're in a new time zone. The theme song is just a ticking clock. Like, that's all that. That's 60 minutes. That's all. That's all.

That's right. I thought I was being like super original. The new idea. The ticking clock is copyrighted by by old people. By old people. By old people. By 80. Rudy.

Someone said recently, don't you love it when people start a conversation with, someone said on Twitter. because it really doesn't matter. You know, like, no one cares. You can just say somebody said. Somebody said, actually, our mutual friend, Jason Windsor, said something about, like, stop asking me how cute your baby is. All babies look like Andy Rooney or something.

It's so true, though. And I thought, oh, my word, that is 100% true. All babies are completely Andy Rooney until they're like a solid three months old. Yeah, easily. Just a bunch of Andy's. I heard a guy say once that he saw a baby so fat. It looked like he had a job. And that made me laugh so hard.

That's the funniest description. I don't even, okay. I don't even know that I know what that means. I know, but that description, because he just looks like a, like a big guy. He was so chubby that he looked like, he looked like a fully formed mental.

And also there's a comedian that has a Tommy John again. He has a joke where he said that he, a fat babies just look like John Goodman, but from far away. Nice. Force perspective. Which is another description. All right.

Oh, my word. So now we move from the Time Zone podcast to the Fat Baby podcast. All right. Fat Baby podcast. Now we'll move. We could sing Amy Grant's Fat Baby. Did you sing that song when you were like eight years old? Fat Baby.

What is that? Amy Grant. It's not Baby Baby, but. No, not Baby, baby, baby. It's called Fat Baby. It's called Fat Baby. Okay. Now I need to come up with this song.

It's like. Like he's just a fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat little baby. This isn't real. Yeah, it's totally real. It's 100% real. She performed it live on a live VH, a live concert VHS that I owned for years. She had super frizzy hair and a black and white striped shirt and red pants. And Gary Chapman, she wasn't married to Gary Chapman yet.

And he had a curly mullet. And they sang Fat Baby. And she did the thing with her hands, you know, where I don't know what it's called. But you know, when you bring your knees together and you like, do your your hands over it. So it looks like your hands are crossing your knees. Like the Charleston? I guess.

I don't know. I don't know. That's what they do. It's a wonderful life when they do with the Charleston. They do that. They do the knee thing. Well, she did the knee thing while she was singing fat baby. I'm going to have to find this for you.

This is amazing. Is that why Christian's boycotted her? Probably. I don't know. When I was eight, I thought it was fly. I thought she was the coolest shit around. A lot of stuff totally flew when you were eight that are not cool now.

No. So many things. Including everything having to do with Amy Grant. Everything. Bad baby. Although. Is this pre-baby baby? Oh, way pre.

Oh, this is pre like lead me on. I mean, this is like first. This was like when El Shidae was like a new song. Oh, remember those days? Remember those days? And you heard those keyboard strings and you were just like, oh, something's about to happen. The Lord is about to speak. She was my first concert.

Really? Amy Grant was. My first concert was. for him. Nick. Like we're the same person. Nick. My first, my first, okay, we're the same person.

Okay, Nick, we're not going to talk about anything that we were going to talk about. It's fine. That's important. This is like a bonus episode. Okay. So I'm making a square with my fingers because everyone can see me. When I was, however long ago I got as my first CD player for my room, which was a big deal. You know, when you get like, oh my gosh, like my own CD player.

And so I got my mom took me to. them all to buy my first CD. Sam Goody or what are we talking about? What store was it? It was like a Christian bookstore. Of course. Of course. Yeah.

Because I was not cool enough. I was not cool enough to know that there was music that existed that was good that does not include Jesus in it. I didn't know this. So my first CD that I bought myself was for him's first CD. Yeah. Wait. First first one?

Their first first first one. We had it on an album like a record. Oh, wow. But I was like, no, this is like a big moment. And I need this as a CD. So I bought the compact disc with the one with them in their Cosby sweaters with it all lined up. I have that CD.

I own it now. I have it now. Have you listened? Okay. So a while back, my sister was stuck in my house during a snowstorm or something. And we just decided to open up iTunes and play samples of every single four him songlisted. It was one of those magical evenings of my entire life.

I have two questions. Number one, why was I not invited to this? I didn't know you then. That's it. Number two. Number two, what was hearing for him now after having perspective in a lot of years? I mean, what was that experience like? That experience was something that I could probably write a book about, which reminds me of,

I want to be a man that you were right about. So we were listening to We should just do the whole podcast And for him lyrics Because I remember every single lyric Like I couldn't believe the song would start And it was like I became a different person And I knew like all the little like runs that they would do

Remember the guy who I sang hi? I don't know the names But the guy who always sang hi There was Joey Johnny DJ Frank I don't know But they all had curly mullets That's all I remember

I'm super Cosby sweaters. But like, but there was once like there was, it was really kind of interesting actually because they were a little bit ahead of their time lyrically. Let me tell you why. Okay. Maybe not in every single song. But maybe in this one particular song. In the song, now see, I can't even remember the name. But it was like a, oh, this is falling so flat because I can't remember the name.

I didn't do my for him research because I didn't know this was going to happen. Your foresearch. My form search. Yeah, I didn't do my forum search. So, but it was like songs, they were talking about like how we're getting all judgmental about things that we don't need to and that we just need to love each other. And like they were, I mean, they really were kind of ahead of their time in that. It was really kind of a lovely thing. I don't think they were.

Counter-argument. Maybe for that one song. I was like, oh, wow, good job, guys. Can we please? start a new podcast where we just go through Christian CDs and tapes we loved as a kid. That would be amazing. And we just play something for me. Oh, yeah, girl.

I wish I was wearing big headphones now. This was my least favorite guy. That was my least favorite guy. I'm trying to see. Yeah, that's fantastic. That's the one. That's the one. I'm going to have to put a picture on the thing. Oh, the guy with a leather jacket is fantastic.

There's a guy on it with a leather jacket. Which one had it? Was it the one with dark, dark hair? No, he's the one that looks like Corbyn-Bernson. Oh, really? Right. That cat can sing. Like, his voice can move. All right. New podcast. Let's cast the For Him movie. Oh my gosh. Seriously, this would be, because we grew up at the same time.

I need you to pull up this picture because this guy right here, this guy right here is, this is Nathan Philean. Uh-huh, totally. Yeah, it is. It is. He's Nathan. This is, this is Corbyn-Bernson. I feel like the one in the purple cardigan. Yeah, who is that going to be? John C. Riley? Oh, that's a little bit of a left. I like that. Yeah, maybe he just can he sing, I don't know. And then this guy right here.

And then the curly-haired guy. That's Zachary Quinto. Nice. Very nice. Okay, we're going to have to put this. Just past the forehead movie. Oh, my gosh. This is the most specific, most specific audience ever.

Okay. We should like talk about what we were going to talk about. For the love. But no joke. If I was not about to have a third child and didn't already have a another podcast and like a house and things to take care of. I would start this podcast with you. Wouldn't that be amazing?

It would be so fun. Pick an album or a band a week and we just point of grace. We could do some. I saw them perform on the double words when they were nominated for best new artist. And I was like, Harmony Heaven, everybody. Where has this been on my life? I don't want a name drop, but my dad is the reason that they're a group. Shut up.

Like legitimately? Yes, because because short, long story is super short because we're not here to talk about this. But they grew up in Oklahoma, three of them. And it was, my dad was the music minister at that church and they were in high school when I go to college and he was about to move to Arkansas

to Washington to Washington University to work there and he was like, you guys should come here and go to the school. And they did and they met the fourth girl and then formed. Wow. One of Grace. So sort of kind of. Origin story.

Origin story. My dad would definitely, my dad would be played by Paul Giamati. Every dad is played by Paul Giamati. Whatever, whoever the guy who gets the band going. But then he ends up being evil. Right. Totally terrible. That's my dad.

That's my dad. Oh my gosh. Well, we might, we might have to figure out a way where like maybe we find a couple of days. We're like, I got an hour here. I got an hour here. I am on board. record like a mess of episodes and talk about all the albums and then we release a season of Christian music. I have never been more on board. This is such a fun idea. Okay. I've never. It's the it's the

Christian music recovery podcast. It is. We're in recovery from that's what it is. 90% of the people listening right now are like these people are idiots and the other 10% are like yes please. Well it's just such a specific subculture we could do the whole we can do McGee and me we could go straight into We could do some straight up 90s, like 80s, 90s Christian subculture, pop culture stuff. Did you listen to GT in the Halo Express? No, but I knew who that was. Okay. Yeah.

Okay. Well, I feel that maybe that's a good place to stop because if that, if we had both listened to GT and the Halo Express and we started singing songs as like hip hop angels. I knew salty. Well, of course. We knew salty. Oh my gosh.

Okay. This is, I need like a drink. I'm so overwhelmed by what just happened you're pregnant you can't drink I know I can't drink it's so sad everything I want like this is what happens when you can't have something I know that's all you want and so I can't have sushi I can't have wine and those sushi's my favorite food and wine like I drink sometimes but now I'm like every day I'm like can I please have all this yeah as soon as you learn you can't have it it's all you want it's the worst it's the chick-fil-a sunday sunday syndrome right totally What do you guys want after church?

Always chicken. Even when I don't know it's Sunday. I'm like, you know what that's good? Chick-flare. Oh, no. Oh, yep. Can't do that. Okay.

Well, let's talk about what we were officially going to talk about, which sadly, I was super excited about and still am slash. I feel like it's going to be a letdown because of what just happened. But that's okay. There is a 90% chance that you and I only enjoyed the first one. It might not even make it. I might not even keep it. No, you have to. It's beautiful.

It's wonderful. Okay. So, um, okay, so first thing I'm going to ask you before we get to our topic for today. Okay. Is, so this is the lazy genius podcast. You are Nick Flora and you are my guest on, you are actually the first person I'm interviewing for this podcast, by the way. So this is super fun. Um, I know, right?

So I want to ask you. I prefer co-host, but that's fine. That's fine. I know. No, I can do co-host. What do you call a co-host when you have one, a different one every week? A guest co-host? Yeah, that could be a guest co-host because we, because you gave me, I feel like an interview is sort of like, I don't know what to expect, but you gave me stuff to prep for and I feel like that's, we're steering the ship together, Kendra. Teammates, got it. There you go. Okay, so you're my teammate. You're my first co-team. I'm a genius guest co-host. So can you, so the idea behind this podcast in general is that we want to help people be a genius about the things that matter.

matter and lazy about the things that don't. And that can run quite a gamut, which is my favorite thing. But let me ask you, like, what in your life, like, where are you a lazy genius? Like, what's something that you used to be like, other than Christian music? That you used to be, like, super obsessed about. And you were trying to be a genius at. And then you were like, wait a minute. Why am I wasting my time? What is going on? There are two things. One leads into my career, which is a musician, which is being creative, but I used to really, really want to be

like Jim Davis or Gary Larson who drew comics. Right. Like, I was obsessed with the Farside and Calvin and Hobbs. Like, I wanted to do that. But that's sort of like, that I can easily say that led into, I gave that up, drawing and everything, because I, when I found that music, it's more my speed. But honestly, I thought I was going to be a baseball player. I wanted to be, I was obsessed until I was like from age five to 15, which is 10 years for you math majors out there.

Right. And I, I, and that's what I thought I was going to be. I was convinced. And I remember, like, being in my, my dad built me this whole rig so I could pitch to like a, you know, in a net and it would bounce back and go back to me so I didn't have to have a friend. Wow. Paul Giamati is on top of things. Oh, Paul Giamati was good. And he was sitting at the window like, I'm going to reap the benefits of this one day. And it didn't happen. So were you good? Were you good at baseball?

Or were you good for like a 12 year old? I was pretty good for like a 12 year old. Okay. But then once it got into like, you know, high school or junior high, like when it got really competitive. Yeah. I was like, oh no, this is very bad. It's like when somebody tries out on American Idol and they're like, you know what,

that was really good. I never heard Leanne Rhymes's blue sound like that. And then they're actually up there having to sing for millions of people and being coach by Usher or whoever. So weird. And you're like, oh, this person isn't very good. Yeah, they're not very good. They're good for like, you know, Dubuque, Iowa.

Do you remember in season one of American Idol, which I watched religiously every week, Jim, the guy whose parents were, were they blind? Yes. He was terrible. Oh, my gosh. Like, if you go back and listen to videos or like of him singing. Yeah. He's like a back. wedding, like he's so bad. I don't even know, understand. He was like number six, I think. Yeah. Yeah. Like I voted off. Nobody can beat Kelly, though. Nobody. That first season, they used to replay, remember the TV guide channel? That doesn't exist. I do. I do. But before everything was on DVR and you can look at every, you know, every cable provider now comes with its own TV. There was a TV guy. Totally. There was a TV guy channel. And they, I remember a couple years ago. They replayed the first season of American Idol. Like, like, all clips on the thing. Right. I remember that. Yeah. And. And. And. And. And. And. And.

And it's amazing how bad a lot of those people are. Because they didn't know what the show was. Right. Yet. That's why Kelly Clarkson, who is amazing. Amazing. But that's why she stuck out so much because she was good. You know who almost won that?

Justin Guarini. Although he is, I follow him on Twitter. He's a funny dude. He's a funny guy. And we need to blow everyone's minds here for a quick second. Do you know that he is the Dr. Pepper guy, a little sweet? Wait, what? That's Justin Guarini, everyone.

I'm 100% serious. You know what? Good for him. I know, right? He's leaning into it. He's like, you know what? I'm not going to try to be serious. I'm just in Guarini.

I'm just going to be a little sweet with Dr. Pepper. See, that's why I, see, if I was Sanjaya or somebody like that. That's what I would do. I would be like, you know what? I'm effing Sanjaya. This is my life. This is what it is. You know, I feel like William Hung did a good job of that.

Going back to the, yeah, I was really in America. It was like my bachelor before the bachelor got here where people hate watch that kind of, you know. But I watched it and I was like, I kind of loved it. Yeah. This is so far from where we were. I know. I'm sorry. You were you good at baseball?

That was my thing. I was pretty good. I was good at baseball until I wasn't. And then I was like, I got to find something else because this is just. And it was heart. I mean, it's heartbreaking for me to say, I'm not going to do this anymore. But then I found church softball league. And the best person in actual baseball or the like the worst person in actual baseball is the

best person. Church softball. Because Nancy, the secretary of the church plays for the league and your team. And she's terrible. Right. So you're going to be just fine. I was like All-Star. So that, you know, that's what you got to do. You got to any people out there, you got to find the thing that you're like pretty good at and then find people who are worse who are trying to do that thing. and you're amazing. You're amazing at it. I took, I kept score for the church softball league. I didn't play, but I kept score. So I colored in the little bases and that was super fun. Did you get to play like for him music in between the innings? Oh my word. I wasn't in charge of that. I just remember eating fun dip and being 12 and crushing on like 40 year old plumbers because I didn't really know what else was happening.

Like I kept score. I ate fun dip and I was like, he's super. cute. I wonder when he's up to later. Except he's 40. Please write a memoir called Fun Dip. Wait, what was the second thing? Just keeping score. And then the 40-year-old.

Having a crush on 40-year-old. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And my good, in my really good late 80s, early 90s fashion. Yeah. I was on top of it. In my mind, you're wearing the Charlotte Hornet's earrings.

100%. The, what was the other? You wore some other sports. Yeah. It was a Carolina Panthers, extra, extra large t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up a million times, tucked into white denim shorts that were also rolled up.

I'm pretty sure they were pleaded. Like, they had to be, right? It was like 1990. They had to be pleaded. How are you not on the cover of every fashion magazine in the 90s? And my black Reeboks.

That's what should have put me there. It was all that white and black rebarks. So it was like, and I'm not. I mean, you know, you've seen me in person. I'm not an olive-skinned person. No, I would never describe you that way. No, I'm not at all.

So, like, that kind of outfit really does not make someone like me look like a healthy human being. So it was just bad. But yeah, I just ate all the fun dip. I was the same color as the fun dipstick is what I was. So there's that. What an amazing image. I know. So good.

I will say that when you first ask that question, and I think about in my life that I'm terrible at, like, getting my oil changed. Like, that's what I'm lazy about. Right. Like, I will put that kind of stuff off forever, but I will not rest until I've seen, you know, every episode of making a murderer. Right.

Like, that's, like, it's the weirdest. I don't have my priorities in line. Or you do. Depending on who you ask. Depending on who you ask. I think I'm doing, I think I'm doing great. But when tax season comes around... The taxes is,

you might want to pay attention to. The oil, it's like, I mean, your car's going to stop and then you'll fix it. Like, it's fine. I always just think that the little sticker they put on the oil change is like, it's like a suggestion. It's like the date on the cheese. It's probably fine. Just scrape off the green part and underneath is totally good. Yeah. Just eat around. It's good. Yeah. Okay. So you are, the reason I wanted you to be on for this particular episode, I got this question from a reader named Melissa. What up, Melissa? How Malissa? I'm going to go back to that voice. You just turned into like Napoleon Dynamite's brother. Oh my gosh. Okay. So here's her question.

She says, here's the deal. I don't really watch television. Oh, no. Sorry, Melissa, you're out. I thought that at first too. But she writes really well and she's funny. And so that makes me think that she is not one of those people. So here's what she says next.

That was the thing that had to go to make room in my life for creative stuff. I'm totally cool with the tradeoff. And that's fine, to each his own. I'm not going to begrudge anyone for making room in their lives for what makes them happy. Sure. She says, but it means that sometimes everyone else is talking about the thing they're watching, that is the best show ever. And I can't really follow along. So here's what she wants us to do.

She wants us to create a television summary of shows, what I really need to know to pretend I know more than I do. Oh, so does she want talking points? that she can spit out? Well, I don't know that she wants talking points. I think, because here's what happened to her. She said that someone was talking about an episode of Down Abbey, and she actually thought it was a show about someone named Abby. Well, that's just embarrassing. Right. You can have a general knowledge without watching anything. Exactly. And so that's what we're, it's called a subscription to Entertainment Weekly. That's what. But then she has to read, she might as well watch the show if she has to read a magazine. They're like two, they're like two

paragraphs each. I know. They're so short. But see, we're going to make it even shorter. Okay. Let's do it. We're just going to steam through some shows. And so this could be for people who maybe they do watch television, but like there are certain shows that they just don't have time for. They can max three shows and then they're done. And so we are going to give just the basic overview so you don't feel like an idiot when someone is talking about Mr. Robot and you think it's like an inspector gadget remake, which

it is not. So it is a shame. So this is what we're, this is our plan. You ready? Yes. Boom, boom, boom. Okay, so we've got a couple of categories here. We have to kind of give homage is not the right word because I don't particularly like these shows, but there are popular shows that neither of us really watch.

Right. But we understand that they are totally part of American culture. Yeah, undeniable. We need to give them their due. Number one, Big Bang Theory. Okay. So can I reference other shows when I'm referencing these shows? because that's all my reference points

or other television. Like if I say this actor was in, you know this actor from so and so. Totally. Are they going to know what that is? If they don't, then that's okay. Some will, some won't just... I just need to know my guidelines. Write it out. Go for it. I will stop you. I have like a horn if you say wrong games. Big Bang Theory is essentially

I mean, I want to make fun of this stuff, so it's really hard. We have to be careful to not do that because some people love these shows. I know. I know. I want to say is it's what America thinks nerds are. It's like, Okay, four stereotypes live next to a fifth stereotype. Right. It is very stereotypical. It is.

So stereotypical. And I am a self-recllaimed nerd myself, and I don't like this show because for the same way that, like, musicians don't like watching the show Nashville. Because you're like, that's not real. Right. Right. But you know what I mean? Totally. Totally.

We're not here to do this. No, we're not. So the Big Bang theory is it's two guys and then their friends are always there. Do all four of them live together? See, I'm not, I've seen like 10 seconds of the show at a time. I've never seen a whole episode because I don't really know the dynamic. I've seen a whole episode because I wanted to make sure that I was giving it its due before I said, nope, this is not my scene. Yeah.

And I was correct. I wanted to be respectful of the show. So I did watch one episode. It's just, it's just not my favorite. Part of it is I don't like multi-cam comedies. I don't like audience laughing. They're hard. They're hard.

They're hard to get behind now. As soon as Friends was over. Oh, it was done. Yeah. Done. That was it. They buried it. It's the only one that could do it.

It's four nerds who dress like Muppets. Totally. They all dress like Bert Nernie. And then a hot one. A hot blonde lives across the moves in across the hallway, an apartment across the hallway. Right? Right. And then hilarity ensues.

Right. And she's like, hilarity in quotes. She's like dumb, but social. And they are awkward around her. And they need each other. They need each other. They do need each other. Because she needs to be a three-dimensional person, I guess.

I guess so. That's what you have to do with women and show. Maybe she needs like, maybe she needs like a cross-ed- crossword puzzle done. I don't really know why she needs them, but they use her to sort of be acclimated to society. Right. And vice versa. Beyond Star Trek references.

Right. So, and this is the one with Sheldon. So everybody will talk about Sheldon. And doesn't he, he has like things, he says, right? Is he the Bazinga guy? Buzinga. So if you hear someone talk about Sheldon or say Bazinga, Big Bang Theory.

That's what they're talking about. And you can get cool credit points by saying that Johnny Glecki was in Roseanne as the boyfriend. He's now... He was, wasn't he? He was Darlane's boyfriend and Roseanne. I totally forgot about that. He just looks like it doesn't age.

Right. He's the same person. So you can say like, oh yeah, that's... Yeah, I really like how Johnny Galecki's getting a lot of work after Roseanne. I don't know. I'm just trying to help. I think that's really good. I feel like that sums up Big Bang Theory pretty well. Yeah. Well, there is no depth to it. So that...

It seems like there's not. But how do you say the Blossom? girl's name. Ma'am Bialik. She's like actually a brilliant nerd. She's like, she's like a nuclear physicist or something. She has actual nerd credentials. Yeah.

So, but she's in it and like they all have girlfriends now. I guess that has to happen when you've been on. I think that like, yeah, I think they all have girlfriends. Is one of them with the blonde girl? Yes. Johnny Galicki. I feel like. I feel like Johnny Galicki's with a blonde girl.

I don't like it. I think I'm, I'm pretty sure they might have just gotten. married in the show in the show in the show I don't want to watch it anymore anybody gets married it's over I don't I don't I don't want to see like people who work unless it's Chandler and Monica I don't really want to see them work like see how they're going to be a newlywed couple unless unless we're gonna we're gonna segue okay in a in a way that we didn't plan to an old favorite parenthood unless it's parenthood oh yeah well that's the point of that show though they're already married

The point of that show is like how does this family blossom with every change that comes its way. Right. It's not, let's see, four nerds, you know, get girlfriends. That's not interesting to me. Right. So if you are at work and you walk past a co-worker's desk and she's crying and saying something about like Sarah, she's crying over Sarah, you can, or, or, what's the blonde? Christina. Oh, my word.

Christina. Yeah. So like if you just hear like Sarah or Christina or especially if anybody starts talking about Adam Braverman. Because he he is he is the person that you want to be your dad, your husband, your brother, your boss, your neighbor, all of them. It's so awkward. He's like the Stanley Tucci. He and Stanley Tucci fit in that category where you don't quite know how to approach them. I'm on board with the Stanley Tucci.

I have a love-hate relationship. with Adam Braverman though. Really? What is the hate part? Sometimes I feel like he's a little bit overbearing. Sure. I enjoy that he plays, because Peter Crossa is a really cool guy as an actor and everything. I've seen him at other things where he's like really cool. And he does do the nerd dad really well where he's trying to dance and he's really nerdy.

And it's very endearing. But sometimes I feel like I just need him to chill out a little bit. That's why my go-to in those all, like boyfriend has been, whatever you said, brother. Right. Cousin. Plummer. I don't know. Although, is Joel.

Joel is my rock. Yeah, Joel is everything. He should be everyone's rock. Joel is who I want to be in life. I look for him for fashion choices. I want to call that. I want to tweet that actor and ask him his like workout regimen. I'm like, I want to be Joel.

Like, Joel's my rock. He's amazing. Totally. He's supportive and selfless and he's an amazing dad and so accepting. And, you know, they had some rocky stuff, but you know, who doesn't? Who doesn't? Who doesn't get drunk? go into a supermarket and just eat a cake in the middle of the grocery store.

Who doesn't do that sometimes? Wait, Joel did that? He did. What season was that? That was towards the end when he and Julia weren't doing so well after he had dinner with the boss, remember? That's right. Yeah, and they kept having with with Penny from Lost. He had drinks with Penny from Lost.

Penna. Penne. So somebody's crying about the Bravermans. That's parenthood. And that's a show. How would we get this person to stop crying? To communicate. with this. You could just say

like, it's just so real, isn't it? And then walk away and they're going to feel understood. Hey, God bless and keep you always. Yeah, and you're going to be okay. You're I was trying to quote the theme song and I'm like, wait a second, what is it?

May I blessing keep you my ways. Mea which is all can't you. May you always do for others, what others do for you. And they'll turn around and just hug you because that song is all they need. That's all that name. So much of a certain.

And you can also say, oh, here's another thing is you can say, isn't it great, though, that Lauren Graham and Peter Krause are together in real life? Yeah. That can give them hope, pass because the show's over. Siblings. Right. They did play siblings on TV. They're crying about the show being over for sure. Yeah, that's something you can give them.

Yeah, they're a family. They're still family. It's good things. Okay, so that's a show that people still talk about, even though it's not on the air anymore. It's so good. Okay. So let's, we have to go faster. So let's go back to popular shows we don't watch.

Okay, so you said you tried scandal. I don't watch Scandal. You said you tried it. But you don't watch it anymore, correct? I gave it like, I gave it two or three seasons. And then when the season came back around, like I was just not interested anymore. Got it. Got it.

Well, I feel like you're not quite the demographic for scandal. I could be wrong. But I also, I really need. I feel like here's the thing with, I don't want to crap on these shows that are really popular because I know they serve a purpose. Because as much as I feel like we watch a lot of really good television, there are, there are, there, There is television out there that serves the purpose of you can turn your brain off and watch it. 100%. And you can know it's ridiculous while you're watching it.

And that's what I feel like a lot of people are like, my parents, they enjoy a lot of these shows. I have friends that are like, you know what? I like Big Bang Theory at the end of the day because I know what's going to happen. I don't have to overthink it. I can laugh at the dumb jokes and it makes the animal part of my brain, the caveman part, happy. Because I don't have to like think, okay, what's Walter White doing now? is this a and I get that because I have those shows too and for me I needed one of those and scandal fit the profile

and it was one of those where I was just like this is so dumb next episode right that would never happen next episode but I feel like when you binge on a candy like when you binge on cotton candy or like skittles for too long which is what scandal is you start getting to the point where you're like I need to I need to go for it I need to go for a jog

and eat a freaking salad and that's what a lot of these other shows, I feel like, that are a little bit deeper are. So I always equated to food. So I understand why people always go, like, they love and scandal is like their show, especially if they have a really stressful job or a life that they just need to shut down and they need to watch their stories. Yeah. 100%.

So I am not the demographic for it. But it fit. I was sick one weekend and I just watched scandal a lot because I was like, I need something that isn't going to make me like have a, like make me move off the couch. Yeah. You do not need a visceral reaction when you're sick. No. I don't need, yeah, something like Breaking Bad or Fargo

or something that has, you're, you're just clinched the whole time because you're, so. That's not helpful. Scandal is essentially, all people need to know for scandal, is there's a woman who fixes problems in Washington, and her name is Washington. That's right. Carrie Washington.

But she fixes all these scandals. And that's basically, it essentially in the first five minutes tells you everything you need to know about it. Her name is Olivia Pope. Her clothes are baller. She has an excellent wardrobe. She has never been seen eating anything but popcorn and wine. Right.

That's the true statement. She only eats that. Which is why she's so skinny, I guess. So does she, and doesn't she say things like, I'll handle it? Yes. Right? That's like her thing. So if you hear someone, like, I feel like I hear a lot of people pull in Olivia

Pope and they're like, I'll handle it. Like as a joke. And then, but like, if you don't want. watch scandal and you don't understand and someone says that to you in that voice and you don't know they're joking. It's a little threatening. It's like, what is happening? Something goes down at work and they say, we need Olivia Pope on this. Right.

That's what she's talking about. Or use it as a verb. We need to Olivia Pope this. It means they're going to get stuff done. For some reason, she has like a Mary Poppins bag of tricks and contacts and people. And at the 42 minute mark of every episode, she's going to pull something out of the bag. It's fixed. And it's, and it's going to fix it.

And it is a procedural in that way. but also she has her own flaws, which we're supposed to believe are hidden, but like everybody knows about them. Right. So it's almost like they're just, she's like the child that's overly excited about being, you know,

really great at piano, but she's not very good at it in some ways because she will say, everybody's like, oh, Olivia Pope's amazing. We'll get her on the phone. But she's also sometimes not great at her job. Nice.

And she also is sleeping with the president. We didn't say that. Right. That feels like an important platform. So they're on again, off again. And sometimes people, find out and it gets bad and then she has to Olivia Pope herself. Right.

So that's all you need to know. It's the same thing over and over again. Every season is the same thing. Right. And she has daddy issues, which, you know, join the club. Every flawed heroin does. Every shonda rhymes character does. Every single one. Okay. So one more popular speaking of Shonda is, is Grey's Anatomy because you'll hear people say Greys. Did you see Grace? Did you see Grace? I think the thing I just, I realize, because I have a friend who watches Grace, My sister watches Grays. It's one of those like they watched it from the beginning. It's like you kind of have to write it out at this point.

You've invested so much. You might as well keep finishing. Do you? Well, you know, to each his own. It's totally fine. But like, so it's in a hospital like you're all doctors. Gray, it's Meredith Gray. She's like the lead person.

But everybody that I know from that show mentally, like if you run through the Rolodex of characters that you know of Grays, did you know they're like all dead? They're either all dead or all gone except for Meredith. And like one other doctor. Yeah. Is McDreamy dead? McDreamy's dead.

Are you serious? McDreamy's dead. Uh-huh. Yeah, he died like last season or something. I only know reference points from like the first few seasons. Exactly. And like we obviously, Catherine Hegel is gone because she's taken the movie industry by storm.

She is crushing it in the directed DVD sales. Crushing it. And then like the little guy who looks like a hobbit. George. He is gone. I think he died. I don't know. Like a lot of people are gone.

I know. Is he gay on the show or in real life? I think he's getting... Well, no, I don't think he's getting on the show because I feel like he and one of the girls had a thing. Oh, he was in, yeah, he was in love with Catherine Heigel. I think so. And then they're both gone. Anyway, the point is, I feel like Greys is, it's on its end, right? I mean, have they said when it's going to be over?

It'll never end. It'll never end. Unless Ellen Pompeo, who is Meredith, has a film career. She's set at this point. Well, basically... They wanted it to be, they wanted it to be, ER. It's like a sexier ER. Right. Don't even try it. Don't even try to make ER different than what it is. This is uncalled for. Yeah. ER. Don't mess with the formula of ER. Don't mess it. Don't mess with it.

ER is everything. But if you hear someone talking about Greys, you need to know Meredith Gray is, is the gray. And then pretty much everyone's dead and she just lost McDreamy. So you can like pat someone on the back. I'm so sorry about McDreamy. Can you believe about McDreamy. That's all you have to say. And then they will talk the rest of the time. And it may even be like, you could say like, oh, but what if they're in season three and he hasn't died yet? If you say, can you believe it about McDreamy? They'll have an answer. They're because something's always going on with them. There's something going on.

You're going to be fine. Okay. So let's get to popular shows that we do watch. My favorite. We have three that we both watch that a lot of people watch. Right. One is is, has been off the air, but is coming back on to Netflix, Gilmore Girls. all the praise hands, we get some more Girl, More Girls.

Aw isn't something we need to travel for. It's something waiting for us in everyday life, whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dacher Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. how do you let me ask you this really fast though how do you feel about the fact that um Melissa McCarthy has not signed on to come back Kendra i'm not gonna lie to you i'm not happy about it right this bothers me because she has such an integral part of the show so much i it bothers me

more that she wasn't asked she wasn't asked that's what she has said because there's a whole thing where Amy Sherman Palladino who's the creator said you know we just couldn't fit everybody in and blah blah blah and then Melissa McCarthy tweeted hey everybody stopped tweeting at me I wasn't even asked to be a part of it I wish them all the best of luck and that

that's what breaks my heart like why wouldn't you try to like it seems from a business standpoint one of the biggest movie stars right now put her in the show I have no idea what's happening she said she would have loved to do it but just wasn't asked and that's how it works sometimes like Jackson is going to be in it

Like her husband, her television husband Jackson is going to be in it. Why would you have Jackson and not Suki? I would be fine with like Jackson Skyping in and Suki being in the whole thing. Like I don't need I don't need Jackson stressing out over his cabbage. Like it doesn't matter. Over his zucchini. I don't need him. As much as I love every quirky character on that show.

I don't need. Jackson stresses me out. See here's the thing. Here's what you need to know about Gilmore Girls. Everybody is quirky. Everybody. Everybody. There's not a single character without quirk.

Never. But they're all super, super likeable and lovable. But it's, it's, they live in Stars Hollow, which is this little town in Connecticut. Everyone's quirky. It's the kind of place you're like, I would love to live there, but really, we would all hate living there. Like, do you want everyone to know your business all the time? I don't think so. You also wouldn't be able to get your job done because everybody that's trying to do their job keeps getting interrupted by the quirks. There's so many quirks. You know, I have a Gilmore Girls theory that I would love to make happen and I think you would be on board with. Let me hear it. I want the end of this series to be, this new series, I wanted to pan up

and we see Stars Hollow as a whole to finally get like a view of this town, birds eye view. It goes back a little bit more and it's the island from Lost. Because I would explain why they're all and they're all just a little bit insane. That sounds amazing.

Just have like the last, you think it's the last shot. It's like, it's like Lou. Okay, so it's a La La La La. It's the Lorelai, the Caroli and Rory. It's a mother who had a daughter when she was 16 and so they're like best friends really not as much mother and daughter and then laurelize's parents are like rich and snobby and judgmental and then rory goes through a series of boyfriends and so does lorlie and all the things so it's like it's kind of predictable in a way

it's like a quirky soap opera it's so lovely but it's it's like a warm blanket oh it is it's the best you're friends with these people oh 100 but like wouldn't it be great if you think the show's over and it's like Lorelai and Rory like at Luke's having pancakes and then all of a sudden Sawyer walks by and then it pans up and you're like wait what's happening? What's happening? Blow everyone's mine. Right?

Okay, so that's So Gilmore Girls, you just need to know everyone's quirky. So if anyone is talking about a girl more girl's character it's not going to sound normal. You just need to be prepared that it's not going to sound like a normal person. Just say, memorize this sentence. Oi with the Poodles already.

Oi with the Poodles already. Just say that. memorize it, write it on your hand, say it to somebody, and they will hug you. They're so excited. Or if you don't have a memory to contain that many words, copper boom. Copper boom. Copper boom. You can also say, just walk it.

If someone's talking about, go more girls, just go over and be like, copper boom and leave. This happens to me a lot because I'm not a big sports fan, and so I have a lot of people who feed me lines about what's going on in reference points. So I'm going to do that to this person now. All you need to say, if you want, if you don't, if you feel caught in a Gilmore conversation, all you have to say or post on Facebook or, you know, in the in the comment thread or whatever is, wouldn't you love to eat the way Rory and Laurela do and never gain weight? Because they don't. And they eat amazing, horrible food. Horrible food all the time.

It always looks great. And they, they don't gain a pound. Like the healthiest thing they eat are like, like, Tostito's pizza rolls. Or Tostino's pizza rolls. It's like freezer food. It's so funny. But Gilmore Girls is coming back for four 90-minute episodes that are correspond with the seasons. So it's going to go through like one full year. Which is great because Gilmore Girls is, I feel like does seasons really well. So well. Yeah. The snow episodes and Gilmore Girls are just so good.

Okay. So another show that we both watch is The Walking Dead. Yes. Okay. Here is what you say because I think most people know that the Walking Dead is about zombies. But here's what you say. But it's not really, though. That's what you say.

It's about the survivors. It's about the story. It's about the people. It's about the lives. The zombies, it's just a setting. Just like ER, the setting is just a hospital. It's not about a hospital. It's not about a hospital.

Just like lost. Well, Lost is a little bit about the island. But at first, it wasn't about being stranded on an island. It was about the people. That's what you say about walking dead. And then you like drop the mic and walk away.

You don't need to know anything else. Oh. And you're like, and all you have to say, you're only with the poodles line. Just all you have to say is, um, they better not touch Daryl. They better not touch Daryl. They, that's all you have to say. Just if they touch Daryl, I'm out. And everybody will ever, you'll be the, you're going to be elected mayor of your office.

So everybody's going to be like, yes. Are you as attracted to him as I am? He's the best. Yes. He's amazing. He is my Joel of that show. Right. Every show has a, has a Joel, Daryl.

Yeah. good. Although here's the thing is I also am a little, they better not touch Glenn. And they're totally going to touch Glenn. Like, it's inevitable. He's going to die. Are you caught up at all? I'm 100% caught up. Okay. I don't think they're going to touch Glenn because they messed with us with that for a while. I think he's safe for a while because they messed with us. I think he is, I think he will not be in next season. Okay. That's my, that's my prediction. And I'm going to cry. I'm mentally prepare myself. I'm going to cry about it a lot. It's a weird show that makes you love characters and also makes you at the same time

sort of pull back a little bit. You detach yourself at the same time because you're like, okay, am I going to be okay if this is how it goes down? You know, if we lose, because it's similar to a Game of Thrones, which I think we're about to discuss. We are. Which I don't watch,

but like apparently don't get attached to anybody. Because everyone, like people can die at any moment and they do. That's just the reality of the show. It's just what happens. And so, yeah, I feel like Glenn's going to go, which is hard for me because I'm basically,

married to Glenn. Like my husband is like he's he's straight up Glenn. Not to wait, you have to tell me a characteristic that is not just the Asian thing. Oh, there's so many things. Because I feel very racist to be like, yeah, he is. He's Asian. They're only from different countries. That's like me saying like you're like Maggie because you're white and a girl. Right. Um, oh my gosh, cause and I need to go is Glenn and Maggie for Halloween. Why have we never done this before? Why have we never done this before? I can't even believe And have your kids be baby walkers. I can't believe that this has not happened.

Someone invite me to a Halloween party, please. So I can go, it's Glenn and Maggie, because that is happening. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, so, yeah, he's, my husband is, like, how Glenn is the hope of the show. You know, he's the heart of the show. Like, he always believes the best in people. That's totally my husband. My husband's a middle school counselor.

Are you kidding me? Like, you kind of have to see the good in people to be a middle school counselor. That's very true. So, but yeah, he's Glenn. And so when Glenn dies, I'm, I told, I told cause, I was like, okay, I think he's going to, I think he's going to die soon. And I need you to understand, I'm, I'm going to shed so many tears. Please don't look at me judgmentally. I'm going to mourn your death.

I'm going to happen. Okay. Okay, so let's hit on Game of Thrones real fast. Yeah. Neither of us watch it. No. I tried. Did you try?

Yeah. I consider myself a pretty, I can go to some dark places. And you're a fantasy person too. I do. I really love fantasy. I love like kind of historical thing. But it seems like if you're into fantasy, you'd be into this. Yeah. Yeah.

So, because it is. It's like, it's all these kingdoms and there are dragons and torture and incest and all these things. And I, like, all the things are into. But like, I just couldn't, there was no one to root for. Like, I couldn't find any trace. except for like a couple of characters and anytime a character is good on Game of Thrones, they die. And so I couldn't really find any kind of ounce of redemption to balance out all of the depravity

that you see in that show. I just could. It just, I didn't feel good about myself. I don't mean like, like, how dare you watch the show. It was more like, I just felt like, like, like, ooh, like a salad. Like I needed to, I needed, except it was like I was eating like old peanut butter and it was like sticking in my mouth. And I'm like, it wasn't worth it.

It wasn't good. It just wasn't worth it. So, but I know a lot of people, obviously, people love Game of Thrones. Love Game of Thrones. So here are two things I'm going to offer for people who hear Game of Thrones talking, people talking about it. One is if you're talking to someone who's like, you know, I kind of said what I just did, like, I really want to like it.

Like there's a lot about it that I really want to like. suggest Vikings suggested then the show Vikings you don't have to know anything about it but Vikings is kind of the tamer cousin of Game of Thrones it's it's not fantastical but it's like it's like Norse mythology type stuff it's the story of Ragnar Lothbrook

who is a descendant of Odin so it's like super violent it's still really violent and there's still like it it kind of feeds the same hunger yeah it's just not as gross What is Vikings on? It's on the history channel.

Believe it or not. There you go. I do believe it. That sounds like it should be on the history channel. Season four just started last week. Are you kidding me? There are four seasons of Vikings. There are three seasons.

They're on Hulu and Amazon Prime. And then the fourth season just started. And if you have like Apple TV or even a Roku, you can get the history channel app. Yeah. And they have the shows there. Yep. How is this helping people if they're stuck in a Game of Thrones conversation, though? If the person is like, I really want to like Game of Thrones, I just can't do it anymore.

You are giving them a lifeline and say, why don't you try Vikings instead? Why don't you try Vikings? I feel like that would be a good thing. What's something that you would say to, if you're stuck in a Game of Thrones conversation? Walk the other way. Just get out. I've never felt more judgment as a TV. I'm an avid TV lover and have been for a decade at least.

And, you know, and I feel so judged when I tell people I don't who love Game of Thrones. that I don't watch it. I know. I feel like it's a very specific type of show, though. And even people who love it who are like three seasons in, they can't, because my big thing is like, I watched four episodes and I still didn't know people's names. And they're like, oh, I'm four seasons in and I still don't know people's names. And I'm like, well, I can't.

I can't do that. And they're like, yeah, I have to watch it with Wikipedia open or I have to watch it with. And I'm like, this, I don't want a homework assignment. I want to like sit back in and know the world that I'm entering into. It is the absolute opposite of scandal. Like you have to do work to keep up with it. And I feel like Lost was that way too, which I enjoyed.

I enjoyed that though. But also if you wanted to have a soap opera thing, you could watch Lost and also enjoy it because there were like romance stuff happening. Well, and they had names like Jack and Kate. You can remember and pronounce those names. Not like names like Calisi. Yeah. Like I don't know what they are.

Yeah. And isn't that, that's not even like her full name. It's like Denari. Denarius or something. She rides a dragon. That's all I know. I don't know. She raises them.

All you have to know, if you want to fit in is just be like, don't. Or somebody references like, this business meeting is going to be a red wedding. Yeah. Red wedding is a thing because that was like a, it's a slaughter. If someone said something's a red wedding, then please run for cover. Let's red wedding this PowerPoint presentation. Right. That means it's going to be a slaughter.

I actually haven't worked in an office. Ever. I love how everything we have referenced is office conversation and neither of us work at offices. Never. And I never have and I wouldn't fit there at all. I worked in an office for a year and a half, but it was at a church. So I feel like that wouldn't come up as much. In my mind, the scenarios are like, you know, in the break room or whatever with your coworker. When you're getting your coffee and your crackers, right. But these are things that people reference all the time.

They are. Especially like a show like the office or whatever. Like a lot of references happen. And I feel like a lot of stuff if you don't have a base knowledge of what it is will make you feel so dumb. So dumb. The other thing you can say about Game of Thrones is you can be like John Snow, right? Right. And it's the same sort of Mr. McDreamies kind of thing. No matter where they are, there's something to say about John Snow. So Red Wedding and John Snow, those are like your lines. Write this on your palm. There you go. Um, away with the poodles already. Um, okay. So we have way, like we have enough shows that we could talk for five hours. And I think that that can't happen. So, um, if we find, let's let's hit true detective for a quick second, quick second. Because I feel like that is part of conversations a lot. Yes. More so season one. Because season one was good. But people have a lot to say about season two because it was terrible.

Because it was terrible. Right. True Detective is the show that it was kind of, I was going to say it was making a murder before making a murderer. That's not true. But everybody watched it. Right. Religiously. Like you wouldn't wait a minute once the episode was released. Like you wanted to see it, all that kind of stuff. It broke HBO Go. Like legitimately broken?

Remember? Do you remember that? No. I think the finale, HBO Go didn't have enough bandwidth and it broke it. Like, it shut it out. So many people wanted to watch it live. Because I binged it. Like I, it was on demand or something and I just like went through eight episodes. And so I was so ready for that finale. And yeah, it broke. It like shut down. And a lot of people were mad about it. I can see why. Because it's an anthology show. So it's 10 episodes in front to back. It tells a complete story. And then the second season is another story. Different actors. Different actors, different stories. Everything is completely. different. The thing to know

about True Detective, I feel like, is this is what made us actually talk seriously about Matthew McConaughey. Yeah. Because he was brilliant in it. He was amazing. 100%. But then he started doing those weird Lincoln commercials and he went back. Like, what happened? But the Lincoln commercials

in his defense is every what he's saying in that is everything that we loved about Rust Cole, his character and True Detective. He just didn't stop acting like that character. He's just, Tom is a flat circle. Like, he just turned into that guy again. That's the line you need to know, by the way, for true time is a flat circle. Time is a flat circle. And also making beer cans into little people. Right. Didn't he do that? He did do that. Yeah. Yeah. He would break open. Yeah, he would, like,

tear apart the metal and, like, form it into little people. I'm, I'm so happy for Matthew Connoe, though. Like, he really, like, made deliberate choices to not be, you know, a joke. Right. And he showed the, oh, yeah, he's really good. He's really good. He's really good. He was really, really good in that. And then the second season has Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights in it. I can't he catch a break. I don't know. I feel so bad for the guy.

Like, he's always going to be only Tim Riggins and everything else he does sucks. I don't understand. I hate it for him. You know what? You know what? My theory is he cut his hair. That hair was Samson. His Samson power.

It was. You know what? I'm hanging out with Minkie Kelly all the time now. I'll ask her what she thinks of them. Oh, we have to tell that story. It's not really a story. It's an anecdote. You're an Uber driver.

Yes. And one day... It's something I do. It's not my identity. You sometimes drive for Uber. I occasionally drive for Uber. Yeah. And one day you were doing a pickup and who got in your car?

Minka Kelly. Mika Kelly. From Friday Night Lights. Lela. Lila. Lila. Lila Garrity. And then she was also in Parenthood.

She was also in Parenthood. Two of my favorite shows ever. Yeah. And I played it the coolest you could possibly play it until the very end. I was wondering how you did. No, it was completely fine. She was on her phone most of the time. We had a very light conversation.

She was very sweet to the point where I was like, you know what? I think if I ask her if I get a, can I get a picture really quick? She's not going to be like, you know, rude about it. Sure. Which I've never do that. I'm very, every time I see a celebrity,

seeing them out in the wild is enough. I kind of just, I would rather than be my friend than get a picture with them. Right. Right. Totally. I want them to be, you know. And so this was my,

at the very last second. And before I dropped her off, I was like, you're Minka Kelly, right? I'm not crazy. And she was like, no, I am because she doesn't live here in Nashville. So, and that's, yeah. So, and I was like, is it super lame if I asked for a picture? And she was like, it's a little lame, but I'll allow it. And I was like, you're the best.

Nice. I don't like your character in front of night lights, but. No, she's the worst. The worst. But now I kind of, now that I, I spent this 15 minutes in the car taking her to the airport, I feel like I should vouch for her. Totally. You're friends now.

which we are absolutely 100% not friends okay so let's hit these are ones that neither of us have seen that we want to eventually there's just too much television but people talk about a lot so we need to hit this fast House of Cards

everybody loves House of Cards is he a president I think he becomes the president over the course of the show yes okay he's like a senator or congressman people are yelling at their iPods right now they're so mad at us what I guess

there? Are they married? Well, I know it's Kevin Spacey. Princess Buttercup and Kevin Spice. Like the ageless, amazing Princess Buttercup, Robin Wright. How is she so beautiful? Like, I don't even understand. It's amazing. The crush I had on her in 1987 continues to this, to this day, this day. As it should. So, but that one is like a political thing, but they're, they're not good people, right? Aren't they like pretty terrible people? They're the, it's the, classic sort of thing that's popular now with the anti-hero where you're rooting for them but in real life you wouldn't right in real life you would hate them like Walter White or Don Draper

you're sort of not supposed to like these characters but you also want them to succeed in their evil doings right another one is Homeland everybody still talks about Homeland that's still on the thing that stops me from watching Homeland as much as I love Claire Danes and don't get me wrong I love Claire Danes is that she has like mental issues her character does and I have a hard time watching a show,

especially a main character who's struggling with with like mental breakdowns and stuff. Gotcha. It stresses me out. Right. But yeah, she is essentially Homeland Security. It's scandal, but on another level because she's actually solving, like, you know. She has clearance and training.

Counterterrorism. She's actually like, I think anyway that she's actually like, you know, keeping terrorists from coming in this country. It seems like there's a lot more at stake for her than for Olivia Pope. I could be wrong. Yeah.

But the show has Mandy Potemkin. And Mandy Patink and another, I want him to do my dad. Oh, my word. It's pride. So good. So good. So we don't have any lines or anything for Homeland or for House of Cards because we haven't watched it yet. But that's kind of the gist of what the show is.

Yeah. It's like they're everything, everything. You can probably be safe assuming that almost every single show exists in one of four settings. government, medicine, yes, some sort of dystopian apocalyptic world. Yeah, that's true, yeah. Or like, like a sorority house, like a mean sorority house. Like that, like pretty little liars and like scream queens and like all of these like ones that are driven by girls who all look like Selena Gomez.

is. Those are kind of are safe in those four categories. Is there a show that you watch? Because we have a list of ones that we both watch. Is there one that you're like, more people should be talking about the show. And I want everybody to know about it. I mean, I'll always go to Fargo because that's the, but I feel like everybody knows about it now. Now that it's two seasons in, I feel like a lot of people are like, oh, I need to make time for that or they're starting to make time for that. Is that the same as true? Because I haven't done that one yet. That's on my list. It's the same as true detective. So it's like one story, one season.

You don't have to watch both. You can watch either of the seasons and in whatever order, it doesn't matter. But season two is a flashback. It has a couple of the same characters from season one. But season one is present day. And there's an older character

who used to be a cop. And he tells a story in season one. this older wise character who runs a diner in season one about something that happened to him in the 70s and they took that story that he told in an episode and made a whole season out of it

for season two Kirsten Dunsts right? Yes. Is she good? And Jesse Plymins, she's amazing. Really? And I like Kirsten Duns and a lot of people don't she has won everybody over with this role.

She is fantastic, you'll love her. This is her Matthew McConaughey true detective thing. 100%. She's going to get so many roles from this because she just showed how she's not Kirsten Dens. You don't think you're watching Kirsten Dense when you watch it. She's this character.

Nice. Cool. Do you have some? Let's see. I really People aren't watching. That people aren't watching. Well, I'm currently watching Vikings and I feel like that's just a really great show. But it is, a lot of people don't like violence and it's super gory. I mean, they have like human sacrifice. Like, it's a little much sometimes. But it's really good.

Is it? It really is. Like, I really have really enjoyed it. a lot. Is the production value good? Because that throws me off. It's fantastic. It's beautiful. The settings are beautiful. The sets are beautiful. It does have like the one thing I will say about it is I had to get clarification for my sister who's been watching it since the beginning. They all speak in English. But then when different groups like the Vikings like invade England, like they go and take over Wessex or whatever and then they're talking to the people who live in Wessex, then all of a sudden everyone is talking in different languages. They're talking in like Norse and then like Canterbury Tales language or whatever.

And then they turn into the brother scrim. They do. And then the thing that confused me is the person who is the translator, he's speaking in English. And I'm like, why don't you all just speak in English? Like I don't understand what's happening. But then my sister explained to me, she's like, it's kind, I didn't watch Star Trek. She's a Trekkie. But like it's kind of like how English is sort of the viewer's universal language.

Like everyone speaks English until they're together. And then you're like, oh, wait, none of these people actually speak English. But if they spoke the way they spoke, we would just be reading subtitles all the time. And that's no fun. Yeah. Nobody likes to do that. Nobody wants to read. So that's why you're watching TV in the first place.

It's because you don't want to read. You don't want to read. Did you also have this problem when you saw the 1992 Disney reboot of Three Musketeers? And Chris O'Donnell. And Chris O'Donnell didn't have an accent at all. He sounded like he was from Iowa. He was not French. He was not British.

He was nothing. He was just. I remember being a kid and being like, way, way, way, way, way, wait. Well, none of the did. Kiefer Sutherland didn't have one,

right? He had an American accent. No, he didn't either. But Oliver Platt and Chris and Charlie Sheen. Can we just pause? We just said those four names. Let's just remember the people that were in that show.

And wow. And Tim Curry was in that show. What a cast. And Tim Curry, who crushed. Yeah, he was great. He was super creepy. Yeah, but none of them had accents. And they were like to speak French.

It was so weird. Oliver Platt had the sort of like, American actor doing a Shakespearean play. He kind of had the like, what do you think should happen here? Like he kind of had that bravado. But you're right. But I wonder if that bothers you in this show or if that bothers you across every platform.

It didn't. If they don't speak English or dialect or anything. When people don't have a proper accent, like if you're playing like a friend, count and you don't have a French accent that bothers me like you don't have to speak French but at least like sound French yes Vikings like they speak English but they all have different accents like they have they have accents to their English and then when they're together the the Norse and the whatever it is they're speaking like they sound legit like it's really it's really quality I feel like you might I think you

might really like it but here don't do what I did don't do what I did because it was on Amazon Prime and I did my first episode that I I watched. I accidentally watched the first episode of season three instead of season one. Oh no. And my sister was like, the show's so good. You're going to love it so much. And I texted her after I finished the first episode.

And I was like, I'm just really confused. Like, everybody seems to know what's going on. And I don't really know. And then I realized it's because I missed two entire seasons of the show. So start at the beginning. I feel like that's a good tip. Okay. You know, that's a good tip.

Pro tip. Don't start in season three of any show. Start at the beginning. Oh, my gosh. And then, okay, so I think two more, because these are names that come up a lot in conversation that people need to know. You already said them, Walter White and Don Draper. People need to know, they need to know how to traverse the conversations with Walter White and Don Draper. Let's start with Don Draper and Mad Men.

Yes. Because that's, I watched three, three-ish episodes after he got with the nanny. Megan, is that her name? Oh, so you watch Seasons. I did. I watched a couple seasons. Okay, you said, you just said episodes. I watched a few, oh, sorry. I watched a few seasons and I just...

Okay, so you watched a season four then. Okay, is that what it was? And then I just, I don't know. I just got kind of like, bored. I got bored. Well, here's the thing. It is inherently a quote-unquote boring show. Mm-hmm.

I don't like that term because it's not. It's just slower than other shows. And it's more, it's character-driven, it's not plot-driven. So if you don't care about these characters, bounce. And I didn't. I mean, I didn't really like anybody. I love everybody on that show. And there are a few that I love, hate, that I'm sort of, and also, after that season,

they really do show that this ridiculousness that a lot of them have been going on in the duration of the show doesn't hold up. And it lands a lot of them in trouble. A lot of the actors, like a few of them gained weight. like a few of them like started dealing with like they actually like a lot of the you know drinking all the time doing whatever they want for landering started to catch up with them and it really shows and it shows growth and they showed growth so uh but i mean essentially it's an ad agency in the 1960s that people don't know and don't know and don draper is like this wonderkind of of of like he's he has everything going for him he's the most handsome so handsome that's really why i started watching because john hand in a suit with his hair slush back it's too much he's he's got the dark brooding thing down, but not in an annoying way. But he also, he just is a man who is a slave to his past.

So if you hear people say, because he's also not who he says he is, which is not a spoiler at this point. They let you know in the first season that he has a past where he's, his birthday is Dick Whitman. So if you ever hear anybody say, you know, reference Dick Whitman, it means somebody that is hiding something from their past. There's your line. There's your oil with the poodles.

There it is. Absolutely. So, I mean, it even happened in like 30 Rock. episode where Jack McBrayer's character, Kenneth, right before he passes out, he says, I'm Dick Whitman and he passes out. And like, there's just those references that like, I have permeated our culture now. You know, that's my favorite show of all time, right? It's the best. 30 rock. It's the best show ever. It's 30 rocks. I'm my mom now. Is there a sequel, 31 rocks? Mom, get out of here. Um, no, 30 rock and Parks and Rec are my, they're equal in my mind. That's, well, you know, Tina and Amy.

Tina Amy. Okay. So, so that shows brilliant. So Mad Men is, it's over now, right? Or is it about to be over? It's over. It's over now. It just in it last year, yes. Okay. All right. And it was the show, I feel like that, if you watch award shows at all, or you hear people talking about award shows, Mad Men was always nominated. Always nominated. And never won. It was a bridesmaid all the time until last year, right? It won the first year, which they love to do that. They love to award something like girls right off the bat and then never talk about it again, which is really annoying because a lot of these shows, Lost got nominated and won its first year, never again, but it only got better.

So it's weird. It is weird. Yeah, but at the end, John Ham finally won an Emmy for Don Draper. And I cheered. He's so good. Yeah, he's so good. You love him. He's a perfect human being, and I will never hear anything to the contrary.

But that's basically what you need to know for that show. There's not a lot. I mean, there's... There's no story. There is story But you have to like really pay attention It's not one of those you can just put on and leave the room And come back and be like now what? It's happening now?

Yeah Because they never reference They never Talk to the audience like Nobody talks what's the the trope that the writers use? Exposition There's never exposition in the show To where they're like oh you remember that one time that we went down to that diner

And you saw that girl and then later the girl shows up And you're like I'm glad we have this exposition So we know who this is. This girl is, you just have to remember that, like, oh, that's the guy. And in my snobby TV viewing experience, I love that because it makes me rewarded for remembering something and not being handed something. It kind of makes you part of a club a little bit because, like, I know this. It feels good. And Madman is my favorite drama.

Is it? Nice. I love it through and through. And I've seen it five times all the way through. It's just, it's nothing crazy happens in it. It's like, it's almost like the good version of a sleeping pill where you put it on and you know you can go to bed to it. Because nothing crazy is going to happen. All the other dramas I watch, I get so emotionally invested in the relationships like parenthood or a lost or breaking bad or something.

I can't, you can't go to sleep after watching that. No, you can't. Because you're, well, first off, at parenthood, you're crying. You're crying. Or if you're watching Breaking Bad and you're my sister, you're legitimately afraid that drug dealers are going to break. through your front door and murder you and your sleep. Well, they make it, I mean, they do introduce suburbia to this other drug world. So it's not completely.

So we'll finish with Breaking Bad because I feel like of any show that I can really remember in my lifetime other than lost. Not saying the loss was more, but like there are very few shows that the viewing audience is so unbelievably invested in the story and in the people that like you. can't think of anything else. You will not feed your children. Like, you will call out sick from work. Like, you'll do all these things because. And when you find somebody else that's watching it in real time, you're your best friend. You grab them and you're like, we have to talk. I only have one real time walking dead friend. Just one. And I'm so glad I have her because we text her in commercials. Basically just like all caps expletives because we don't know what just happened. And a bunch of emojis. Yes. So many emojis. The blue, the face that's like blue with the hands, you know, the scare face. That's the walking dead image. That's the walking dead face. So, but yeah, so Breaking Bad is is definitely in the top tier of those shows where if you find somebody who, and that's why it's hard to go into a conversation with someone who's talking about Breaking Bad if you don't watch it because you're like, why are they crying or why are they so like, why are they shaking in this moment? It doesn't make any sense. about, what do they cares so much about a weasel drug dealer kid? Because I can't explain to you my affection for Jesse. I love Jesse so much.

And I do. My heart just immediately. I know that he wants, he knows the right thing to do and he just gets to get, I mean, it's amazing and it's been talked about to death, but Walter White and Jesse's journey is flip-flopped. It is. You start out, carrying about one and hating the other. And then by the end, you're like, nope, not in.

interested in you anymore. But Walter is the good guy, quote, unquote, who is trying to do bad things just so he can do essentially. It's the wrong reason. You know, he does something for the wrong reason. The good, the right, the wrong thing for the right reasons. So here's, here's the breaking bad. Jesse's the other side of the other side of the other way. Right. So here's the thing with breaking bad. It starts out Walter White and that's the name you'll hear. Such a good name. This, this show is full of good names. Okay.a Heisenberg. Walter, yes, Walter White is, is a high school chemistry teacher. who gets diagnosed with cancer. And he's like, they don't have a lot of money. They live in New Mexico, right? Yeah, Albuquerque. They live in Albuquerque. And so the setting is really cool because everything is just like brown and dusty all the time. It is.

It's totally the desert. And so he gets diagnosed with cancer and he can't pay, he can't pay for it. Like he can't get treatment. And then he realizes that he could make meth, he could cook meth. He goes on a ride along with his DEA agent, brother-in-law, and finds out how much money there is in making meth. And he's like, I'm a brilliant chemistry teacher. I know how to make me. I know how to make the best meth.

Right. And he teams up. He makes the best meth. And he teams up with a former student who's a dropout, but who's a drug dealer. I mean, even now saying the premise out loud, I'm like, this is a brilliant show. It's so good. What an amazing idea for a show. Yeah, it's so good.

And then it goes. And then it goes on from there. And it's all this, you know, Breaking Bad is a term used for like a slippery slope as soon as you make one bad decision, a bunch of them follow. And you really get to, and it doesn't really sound like it can sustain for six seasons. But, oh, man. It goes some amazing places. It's not my favorite show. It is the best show, I think I've ever seen.

Best made show. Well crafted, well-written, well-acted show I've ever seen in my entire life. It's unbelievable. But here's the thing. If you watch Law and Order and Law & Order. makes you queasy, breaking bad is not for you. Yeah. If ice cube. If that's your level of danger.

So ice tea, sorry. If ice tea understanding or learning about sex crimes makes you queasy. Yeah. Don't watch Breaking Bad. But if you're saying that these little girls got molested, I'm iced tea. Yeah. It's just the same things. Oh my gosh. But it's, it's, it's, is it possible to have a show. And see, here's maybe the thing that you can say, even if you've not seen Breaking Bad,

is you could sort of speak in these like abstract generalities and sound like Russ Cole and say things like, how is it possible to have such a dark, intense show that's also so beautiful? Yes. Because it is. It's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, I want to go watch it again, right? This second because it's so amazing. So like, but, but you can just be like, yeah, Walter Wright. Yeah, blue meth. The meth is blue. It's like icy blue. But you can just sort of be like, man, that's just one of the best shows. Like no one will argue with you if you say anything complimentary about how dark it is, how intense it is, how well written. There's nothing wrong. There's no flaw in the show. Well written. It's like the thing that keeps there. Yeah, there isn't. There isn't a even like all the little characters that come in, you know, the drug dealer friends or everybody is perfectly casted. It's not a. Yeah. And I wonder.

if it's one of those things that over time it's going to start showing its applause or it'll just be the thing that forever holds up I think it's going to I think it's going to be like the poster child of the perfect show for a long time I think so too yeah it's so good this is the same way I feel about Arrested Development Sands 4th season where Arrested Development isn't my favorite comedy of all time but I can but it's darn near perfectly written

it is like it's probably note for note the funniest show joke was and how the meta levels and stuff like that. But preference-wise, I would rather go for a Parks and Rec or an Office or something like that to watch all the time. But like, I can appreciate and love Arrested Development. Don't get me wrong. You know what I mean? And I say the same thing. Yeah, the same thing for for Breaking Bad. Like it just is that show. And if you're not a TV watcher, that's another sort of general conversation point you can throw in. It's like ask the question.

Like, are there shows that you appreciate their excellence, but maybe they're just not your actual favorite? And then really all you need to do is if you, feel lost in a conversation about television is just ask a question and get that person talking because clearly based on what's just happened between the two of us, people who like TV will talk about liking TV for a really long time. They won't stop. Like, they're not going to stop ever. So all you have to do is get them talking. And so hopefully, I'm hoping what has happened in the last little bit is that you, dear listener, who maybe you do watch TV, but you don't watch like this one show that your cubicle person co cubicle person watches you got just enough

of a little like okay i can enter in and then i can escape um to not feel like a stupid person because you're not no one is no one is stupid for not watching certain shows or for not watching at all like there's no judgment here for that everyone is completely different um but it is nice to kind of know what people are talking about so you don't feel like you don't feel like George Michael Bluth, walking away with his head down. With the Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown's not playing. Yeah. Yeah, that's the heartbreaking thing about our culture and society is it's so much

habit has permeated that it can make you feel left out if you're in any kind of social situation. And it makes you not even want to go into a social situation. So hopefully we have done some good today. I hope so. I really hope we've helped people feel like geniuses about TV a little more than they already did. Okay.

So let me ask you this real fast. Tell me something that you currently love, something that you need and something that you hate. I love Oscar season. Nice. This is a really nerdy thing and kind of snobby thing, and I know it's popular to not like the Oscars, but I love it because it makes me very intentional about the movies I watch. Every year for the last 10 years, I've tried to watch every Best Picture nomination. And it's just a fun thing when you're caught up and watching the Oscars when you've seen all the movies. is an amazing feeling.

It's what we are talking about with this episode where if you've watched every TV show and then you can have a conversation with anybody about whatever they like. But movies are shorter and the conversation doesn't go on as long

because there's less to discuss. But I love Oscar season because I go through and watch all these movies and I find movies that I normally wouldn't have seen that get highlighted or whatever or I'm like, I saw a preview for that but I didn't really know if it was good. Oh, it is good?

That's like the Revenant was that way for me this year. Like, oh, I didn't really know if I was going to watch that. but now I watch it and I loved it. So I love Oscar season. I love all the hubbub about it. I will watch all the red carpet stuff.

I am in it. I make giant bowls of snacks and I just sit and I just let it wash over me. And as soon as it's over, I don't want to watch a movie for like six months. As soon as it's over, I'm done with it. I'm sort of like, I don't want to hear about, you know, Birdman again for a while. But I just enjoy. I love movies so much and I love watching it being celebrated and watching actors. and watching actors, like, interact with each other

and knowing that they were, oh, they were in this movie together and they were in this, oh, look, they're sitting next to each other they're talking, their friends. That's why the internet exploded at the Golden Globes when Leo and Kate talked. You know, it's just like... Exploded. It feels...

We watch so intensely that we feel like we know these people, so when they interact with each other outside of the confines of how we know them, it's the greatest feeling. It is the greatest feeling. So, I love Oscar season. Well put. Yeah, absolutely. I've thought a lot about this, obviously.

What I need... Uh, tax returns. Because, uh, straight up broke after the holidays and just got tax return and I'm a big fan. Nice. Nice. Well done. No need to say anything else about that. I think a lot of people can, can tweet some praise hands emojis.

Yeah, lots of air high vibes on that one. Yeah. What I hate, uh, winter. I'm so ready for winter to be over with. This winter has been the worst. Is Nashville, I feel like Nashville winter isn't a pleasant winter. It's just like cold and wet, right? Like, I feel like you don't get anything fun.

We don't, we occasionally get snow and ice, but it's mostly almost snow and ice that just turns into wet cold, or cold wet, whichever way you want to put it. Either way is bad. Nobody wants that. Being cold and wet are two of my least favorite feelings. And I'm so, and I'm so excited for spring to get here. I'm like, I know it's such a cliche. Everybody, you know, complains on Facebook and Twitter about how the cold is annoying. But it is so annoying and I'm so done with it.

So that's what I hate. I can't actually hate a thing that will hurt somebody's feelings. I don't think I'll hurt God's feelings by hating winter. It's funny because whenever this comes out, like right now, like the Oscars are Sunday. They are. And it's currently wintertime. When this comes out, neither of those things will be relevant anymore. So I'm sad for you that Oscars.

I was going to say, I'm sad for you that Oscar season will be over. But I'm so happy that when you listen to this, you're going to be in like the spring. It's going to be beautiful and wanting sunny. Future me will be so happy. So happy future Nick, Flora. Oh, my word. Okay. Well, I'm sad to say we should probably stop, but we really should because we've talked,

we said many words. And I'm, I'm for real. I'm not going to be able to let this whole Christian music recovery podcast idea go. Put a pin in it. This needs to happen. I feel like it needs to happen. So maybe we'll see each other again in that context. and we're going to just blow that little niche.

I'm an amazing person. I'm coming up with podcast ideas and never going through it. But this is one that I feel like we should make happen. Well, I'm really good at not necessarily coming up with ideas, but making an idea happen. Are you serious? Yeah. Who's the unicorn in the artistic world? Because that doesn't happen.

This could be the thing. This could be the thing that like maybe we make this happen. So for those of you who are listening to this particular episode and then one day, you're going to be like, I heard when. the origin story of Christian Music Recovery podcast. Yes. And you're going to be so proud. You're going to be like in the Mad Men cults where you're rewarded.

You're rewarded because you were there. You were there. Oh, man. Well, thank you for joining me. Thank you, Kendra for having me. I'm so glad. I'm so glad it was for me too. And we will talk soon.

Thanks guys for listening to the Lazy Genius podcast. Thanks guys for listening. You can connect with Nick on Twitter. He's very funny there. Nick Flora. He also tours the country on occasion doing house shows. We've had him at our home for a Christmas show and it was so great. So file that away like for your next party or just for any sort of occasion. Make us really great to have in your house to do a little concert for your friends. We'll be back next week with Meg Dirkson talking about raising teenagers. Y'all, it is a rich

episode and I can't wait for you to hear it. And if you enjoy listening to this podcast, thank you. you, thank you, thank you. You can show us even more support by leaving us a review on iTunes and making the iTunes gods very, very happy. Thanks so much for being part of the lazy genius collective. We'll see you next week. Have you ever felt like you were living just a B or B plus life? It's so dangerous to live that more dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A-plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.