The Worst Idea Of All Time - AJLT S02E06 w/ Greg Davies

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

In this week's episode of the show, the gals are inexplicably joined by a Bomb Cyclone! While in this week's episode of the podcast Tim and Guy are inexplicably joined by comedy titan, Greg Davies! Greg runs the lads through his discovery of and relationship to Sex and the City, with some surprising similarities to themselves. This conversation covers Greg's genuine disappointment at the show finding its feet, the exciting possibilities of a Che Diaz spinoff, some fascinating visual choices in how to represent a snow storm in Manhattan and why Herbert Wexley may be emerging as the season's villain. There is also a food comparison and much discussion as to how and why ‘And Just Like That…’ is like an occasionally delicious but wholly unpredictable, ever changing sandwich.Intro theme: Brendan LottOutro theme: SterlingSupport us via our Substack for access to premium content Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What we just watched shouldn't exist in the world. Honestly, I enjoyed it. It feels like groundbreaking talent. Kind of man, intrigued, and back to age three again. It's a great opportunity to catch up with the old ragtag bunch. What's the worst idea you've ever had in your entire life? What I said was, I'm not in Wales. Well, and that is a fascinating piece of data. Oh, I asked.

I see. There's been two references to me being Welsh and being in Wales, and I'm not in Wales. And I just think, for the sake of the podcast, it shouldn't be a running theme about me speaking to you from Wales. Okay. Well, what's that huge dragon flag in the background of your frame then? That's just my Welsh heart.

Well, so long. Look, so long. We're here to talk turkey. Welcome along to the podcast, everyone. It's the worst idea of all time, doing And Just Like That, season two, episode six, and it's not just Tim and I. Today, this evening, we are joined by comedy royalty in the form of Greg Davies. Greg, it's a pleasure to have you.

And it's really a pleasure to be speaking to you here Here in Wales In some ways, Greg Davies I feel like you take Wales wherever you go So when are you not in Wales? You're sort of like a personal embassy in that way It's in my blood and I carry it with me proudly If anyone latches themselves to your giant

frame you have to stamp their passport is this true that's true that's not myth that is true yeah I carry one of those little rubber stamps with me that's all you've got in your pockets in one you've got a little ink pad and in the other you've got a your pockets. In one, you've got a little ink pad, and in the other, you've got a rubber stamp. It's an interesting thing to think about because I guess then you've got diplomatic immunity no matter what you do because wherever you are, there you are. I have. I have, and I shake diplomatic immunity

like in Lethal Weapon. Or... But in a Welsh accent. But in a Welsh accent. Makes it all the better. better look this is quite an interesting situation because we've all watched and just like that up to this point but you we haven't released any of the episodes before talking to you greg so you've got no idea the sort of journey that we've been on i would love to hear a little bit about the journey you've been on with this show i was

reflecting this morning how when you start out in comedy there are things you can predict and the things you can't predict and me speaking to two new zealanders about a sex in the city spin-off i i could have guessed for a hundred years It wasn't on the bingo card? It was not. It was not on the tick list. Do you want me to tell you about my Sex and the City journey? I think so. From the beginning.

Also, I'm aware that we've sort of glossed over the fact that you're on the podcast at all, which is not outside of the realm of possibility for our listeners, but it is somewhat unlikely even to us. So just to... Here I am. Yeah. So the journey began, I think, last year or the year before when the first season came out.

I was using formerly Twitter. I feel like you're leaning forward a lot. That's to block the reflection. It was a cunning visual ploy. Oh, fuck that. No, it's okay. But I was on Twitter. I'm certain you two are drunk.

No, no, we're just excited. I was on Twitter and you followed me. And I thought, well, this is an error. This is when you're hovering over the button and you accidentally click follow. Oh, there is that other guy, Montgomery who is hilarious killer and so i immediately sent you a message and i said greg what are you doing here and you said i'm enjoying the podcast and uh yes someone put me onto it and i became obsessed with it because because i i weirdly started listening to and just watching and just like that. Yeah.

And it felt like I was just screaming into a void. And then I mentioned it to someone and they said, well, there's this podcast that will help you. Like almost. That will help you. There's some boys I want you to talk to. They can help out. Cope with this show.

Like it's a problem to be solved. This thing you're choosing to do i mean is it so so i guess we were we're grateful for the referral so prior to that how did you wind up independent of us watching and just like that in the first instance it it was it was kate who referred me just to name check her she'll be all right she'll be here that reference hell you okay um i see my sex in the city journey started years ago one of the first jobs i got um was was doing voiceover for a popular comedy channel and i and i only got the job because my my friend uh was doing it and he gave it up so he managed to talk them into I had no no one knew I was at all and I started just doing the the VOs between common I'm not going to say the channel in case I get in trouble but it's fairly obvious what it is

in between shows I was doing the VO and they just gave me free reign to say what I wanted and I'd never watched an episode of sex in the city and they kept rerunning it over and over again and I just started slagging it off having never seen one episode just just for I mean just for something to do and I was saying terrible things just to try and get a reaction it's pathetic i was saying things like i'll carry in her friends striking of the blow for feminism by sleeping with loads of men but this was based on this was the station's promotion of the show this was the big teaser to hook people in to make sure they're watching yeah i know but as a result i got bollocks i got of course told off i got a missive

from on high saying stop stop saying bad things about sex in the city but i didn't know anything about the show i just i just knew it was called sex in the city so i started saying you know what with the wisdom of hindsight things are quite inflammatory inflammatory about it. And I got told off, so I stopped. And then I had nothing to do with the show for years. But you regard, wait, so you regard you slagging it off in between, as interstitials on television, as you having something to do with the show. That's a connection. You're promoting it.

It's the seed. It's the seed from which the oak tree blossomed. They regard you as part of the Sex and the City family. You go to the cast reunions and stuff. You're at the rape parties causing a ruckus. I think they'd be pleased that I showed a keen interest. But I do, with the wisdom of hindsight, I sort of regret the content of my links.

Oh, man, it was a different time. Different time. We've all moved on since then, thank God. And then years and years, like maybe 10 years later, bored one Sunday, I watched Sex and the City 2, which is your starting point, right? Yes, it is. It's our entry point to the universe as well yeah movie

so before i'd watched any of the theories i watched the second movie was the first thing i watched and i was just and of course it was years after it had been out so it was not no one was talking about it anymore and i was just like talking to friends and going have you seen this film it's the it's the worst thing ever made it's the worst thing ever committed to film yeah and everyone you know understandably just went why are you talking about it because it was years i don't know when it came out but it was it must be five years after it came out that i watched it and wanted to talk to everyone so you you are you're sort of so close to the experience that guy and i have but it's just struck me that if only one of us was doing it it would be um very scary and quite maddening and you're right this sort of um analogy of yelling into the void like you've seen something

you desperately want to grab passers-by the street, shake their shoulders and say, have you seen this movie Sex and the City 2? Have you had a load of that? But you couldn't really. I did do that, but everyone was over it. Like people couldn't even remember the plot anymore or, you know, Samantha's throwing condoms at people or all the magical things that happen

in that movie so I do think there's a degree of fate with us because I really was alone alone in my so I got furious with the film and no one wanted to talk to me about it

and eventually you know family listen to you more than other people so my sister talk to me about it and eventually you know family family listened to you more than other people so my sister engaged with me about it and she said yeah but the series was really important you know the the the tv show you slagged off for years and years i'd been slagging off without having watched a single episode and she said you, you know, how much she loved it. And I get on very well with my sister, so I took it a bit more seriously as a show. And then I went and watched some of it.

And I thought, I sort of get it. I think it's... Because you haven't watched the series yet. We consider the series to be non-canon, but you have carte blanche to talk about it, of course. Okay, well, I sort of understood why it was a hit when I watched it. I've maybe watched three episodes. I've not gone down there.

This is like a breech birth, because you started with Sex and the City 2 and then got word that actually the original source material was quite important, but you're watching it sort of, I assume about 20 years after it first came out so it sort of lost all of its currency and context hey the whole

experience is fucked up make no mistake it sounds like it had real resonance with you it's become a big part of my life since I ever dripped of course and now it's brought us together in a very cosmic sort of a way. And then you find yourself – okay, so then you've watched three episodes of Sex and the City.

You're like, I get it. Yep, feminism. Roger that. I get it. All right. Yeah. Clocked it. It's quite well done.

And I know – I can see why my sister got something out of it. Yeah. You must be a big hit at the wrap parties when you wax lyrical about your relationship to the show. You know it. But then it all sort of came full circle when Just Like That came out because that sort of justified my voiceovers to me because I couldn't believe it and i couldn't stop watching it

yeah and did you have a friend in the cave with you was there anyone else you were watching it because this now is modern day you're watching it as it's coming out you potentially could have allies in this i i had a i i had my ally kate who uh uh you know who told me about your podcast yeah that was my ally because again i was going around going to anyone who'd listen jesus christ have you seen have you seen them just like that and no one that i know was watching it so again it was like a a second wave of madness yeah well it Well, it's kind of – so just to retrace the steps, Sex and the City 2 once, three episodes of Sex and the City, and just like that.

Bang. Yeah. You have sort of organically, as far as anyone we've spoken to, most closely mirrored our relationship to the universe of this show and the characters contained therein. And you wonder why I followed you on Twitter. Well, you know, I didn't just assume all of this once I saw you followed me.

I was like, oh, I know what will happen there. I get it, I get it. Started with the voiceovers, saw three episodes of the series, second movie first, and then just like that that of course that's what the follow is all about that's what that notification means okay so you you traipse through the first season alongside us we have a wonderful time and then the second season starts

yeah we don't have any correspondence outside of the how did you get here i'm enjoying the podcast because the second season starts and you you message me and you say you guys have to cover this i'm not doing it alone that That's right. That's quite funny. Yeah, because I watched late night. I got back very drunk and watched the first episode and thought, oh, God, here we go again. You know, here we go again. Actually, I imagine it'd be quite fun to watch drunk. It'd pair well with being pissed.

No, it doesn't. If anything, it's a real buzzkill. Oh, no. Okay. What is this? I mean, I guess I can't really sit here and speculate or pretend I don't understand, but what is this cosmic connection you have to the show? What is it that pulls you in and makes it so sort of undeniable,

unmissable in a sense? I mean, it's genuinely like my version of some kind of religious experience because I can't explain it to you. I can't explain my interest. I can't explain the contradictions that go on within me. So I guess it's as close as I've ever come to spirituality, I guess.

Because most things in my life I can explain, you know. Is it as a direct line as sort of martyrdom or self-flagellation or is it a more complex relationship than that? I mean, you know, I'm a comedian, so I hate myself, obviously. It goes without saying. I don't know if there's a direct correlation between my self-loathing and my interest in this show no that's what i'm saying i i've looked for a logical reason there is no logical reason yeah i actually don't want to prod

too much i know that because i feel like greg davies will unravel before our eyes and i don't want to be responsible also sort of no not at all if anything it anything, it's a welcome distraction from the difficulties of life. It's my church of comfort. You've boiled it down to a sentence there. It is interesting to consider because there's obviously a balance between the more groundbreaking components of the original TV show, which you downloaded and understood in just three episodes, and the sort of arguably more poorly executed

and infuriatingly sort of compelling and just like that. You're drawn to the bastardized version of what the original show was trying to be well yeah and i i and i think the the madness the madness is the jump from a hugely successful show to to to a show i'm going to get too serious analyzing it now but the no no it's it's good the jump that they had to make was so huge from that original show because of the you know the premise of that show and the importance of the age group of those women and the lives they were leading the jump that they had to make especially as one

of the cast members isn't speaking to everyone else and i've believed me i've got obsessed with that relationship as well. Fantastic. The jump that they had to make to make this show in any way relevant or to not alienate this sort of army of fans, I mean, it's not a job I'd like to have taken on, but I'd argue it's a job I'd have done just as well. Well, because I have to make a revelation to you greg davies and that is that in the last episode we recorded guys sort of i think worn his heart on his sleeve both with the first and second season there's aspects he doesn't enjoy and i hope i'm not mischaracterizing your relationship

with it but i feel like you are very connected to it somehow i i am i every episode i look forward to you genuinely excited to watch it and in the most recent episode the show had has also somehow against all odds won me over last episode well that's what i was going to say to you is it is that what I felt, and I've watched all six because when I spoke to you, I hadn't had a chance to watch any of them. But I have in the last 48 hours watched all six. Oh, boy.

And I think that the most profound feeling I have is one of great disappointment that they've sort of got their shit together. Yes, exactly. There's a frustration there. It does feel like it's still spotty in patches where it's like it dips back to the mess that it has been on the way here. Oh, there's absolute car crash moments. But as a whole, it is starting to form its own identity.

And I felt nothing but crushing disappointment. Well, I also thought that as I was driving here to your place, Tim, is that this is a slightly weightier, you know, like some episodes they skew really light and silly. In the context of In Just Like That, they're actually confronting actually confronting i mean like the fact that the sex in the city and and just like that universe is now confronting the idea of racism inside of the confines of like the most wealthy people you can conceive of in new york is you know it's crazy they're introducing storylines that i feel and i've had such an easygoing relationship to shitting on this entire thing because of like

the entry point being sex and the City 2. It's like, well, you've just missed. Everything's a miss. And now they're opening up themes where I'm like, oh, I don't want to touch that. I'm not going to stay clear of that. I think I wrote that down as a note because I think they, so Lisa Todd Wexley.

You got it. I'm getting their names. Is being honored at MoMA for her documentary about three fantastic You got it. actually pretty fucking cool scenes where she's like um doing her hair and she and and she has this steadfast uh dedication to getting well actually they did lose me a little bit in the fact that it's snowing all episode there's a blizzard out and her well for me it's it's well i'm sure we'll come back to it's the big problem with the whole episode is the convenient blizzard um the blizzard does a lot of heavy lifting came out of nowhere and then everything revolves around the blizzard suddenly i know it's a source

of and it's great irritation as it's like they were using different cameras or a different dop and all the blizzard stuff felt like it was like from a whole different cinematic universe yeah it was all like it had a different lens on it and like the score was completely different. It was just like Shackleton traipsing their way across Manhattan. Yeah, it wasn't snow in Manhattan, was it? Because there was also a phone conversation

that was happening between Carrie and Charlotte and Charlotte is screaming to be heard down the phone and Carrie is talking quiet as a mouse but you hear them both perfectly fine. It was so disorientating. Yeah. But anyway, the Lisa Todd Wexley stuff, I was like, I ain't touching that.

Yeah. That's not for me. That's not for me and Guy Montgomery and Greg Davies to dig into with a red line tonight. It's actually the scene where she... We can acknowledge that they take on worthy subjects. Absolutely. And I did think they did pretty well with that stuff.

And we are, you know, with greater or lesser extents of success, but they take on worthy things. That's right. You can't... That's part of the show, finding your feet, isn't it? Yeah, you can't knock it for ambition.

What we and our single listener to the podcast is wondering is, how would you have handled discussing that in one of your iconic links between episodes? What sort of throwaway observations would you have made? Like someone being recognised for her documentary? Yeah. I'm not sure I would have taken that on in an early link you wouldn't have done a vo about the um beautiful moment of recognition intergenerational recognition in the women's room at the museum you know guys i've made it very clear i regret those

links really does feel like we're trying to paint you into some sort of corner now greg it's just a fun little game we play us boys like to play when things get a bit serious on the show It really does feel like we're trying to paint you into some sort of corner now, Greg. It's just a fun little game we play. Us boys like to play when things get a bit serious on the show. I regret those and they display the youthful ignorance that I distanced myself from. Where were we? I'm so much more curious about what we're saying. There's a lot happening in this episode and we can dive into all of that. But the thing I would be – I need to bring it up early in the conversation because it's important to me that we get into it.

You've missed that train, mate. You are an outstanding stand-up comedian, and the character to whom I'm the most fascinated across the entirety of the end, just like that season, is, of course, Shea Diaz. I take great sort of – you know, there's a car crash element to their storyline across both seasons where i just cannot i cannot look away i cannot get enough every joke every utterance like the stand-up sets are phenomenal the comic asides the sitcom story arc um the

cameos the cameos the cameo the cameo that was some of the craziest behavior both work for us yeah i'm not sure is it chay or still not sure i'm gonna call it chay go for it chay chay chay let's go on let's focus on chay well okay so i'll just present my overarching pencil theory is that they've worked so hard to incorporate them into the world of the show and it's been such a fascinating sort of, you know, story arc and also creative exercise. I think behind the scenes I can really see, you know.

A hundred monkeys at a hundred typewriters trying to make this character work. I've sort of wondered because there's an instinct that i've had to you know and i'd like to think that it's nothing to do with um me but you know me shutting out people who are different but like your transphobia yeah exactly a temptation to dismiss shay is a pain in my ass and i'm sort of watching this and the cameos in bed obviously just insane behavior and say what what happens there because it's funny yeah yeah so miranda and shay are having a hard time and

they're both exhausted and they're getting into bed yeah and miranda's sort of giving her a cuddle to make her feel better because they're sitcom bombed or them they're them better because they're sitcom bombed and shay says i'm not really in the snuggle zone or something. She's one of my Paddington beer. Yeah, exactly. Too tired. I actually wrote that down that close. I'm not in the snuggle zone. Yes, give it to us straight.

So then they turn and we assume it's a good night. Everything is pointing to no more talking. It's just two people lying with their eyes closed. I know exactly where you're going and then i mean this is just some of the most out the gate behavior i've ever heard or seen shay takes their is this is this the clunk the clunky crow borrowing of cameo certainly i think i mean greg you know what i'm describing why don't you tell us what happens no no please i sincerely would love to hear your interpretation of events and presentation of them.

Well, Che just starts doing birthday cameos for people. And it's that, it was one of the things that interests me is that I think the character of Che, they dialed right down this season and and and i'm sure you've discussed it there's a previous episode where it's quite quite meta references to yeah to audience is not liking che which i'm sure it's been covered absolutely guys convinced their watch sorry they're listening to our podcast and responding to it in season two now but they really they really have dialed them down yeah chay dang um and i felt that the cameo her going i'm just doing some cameos was was a sort of flashback to the chay of old

yeah where yeah yeah and i delight I squealed with joy when she started doing the cameos in bed. Generation one. That's the Che I remember. Lonkly crowbarring in cultural references. I found Che to be the most believable this episode when they were just massively stoned and depressed because they were sort of delivering the same writing of lines but with no energy whatsoever and i was like now now we're cooking well i've

met that comic yeah i i'm friends with that comedian yeah my belief was that the show was even maybe going to be so bold as to in some respects villainize shay and actually make them sort of reveal the selfish core that lives inside of every stand-up comedian. Right. I really thought you were going to say trans person. No, no, no. Shea's not binary.

But instead it feels like through Shea's breakdown, it seems to have activated, Miranda's lost her power in this season. It seems to have activated like a fire in Miranda, where Miranda finally stands up for herself and says, fuck this, you know, I'm trying to help you. This is bullshit. Basically, standing up for herself across the board.

And then also, on the other side of that, when Shay breaks through that night, we get to see this also where they go to the WidowCon, which, by the way, is a fantastic night. I couldn't even get to that. WidowCon is a funny thing to say. WidowCon, the whole event was an absolute sensation.

But the idea that that event exists just delighted me. The B-plot for this whole episode is Carrie is reading, doing a reading of her book at a convention for widows. Yeah, but you can't call it WidowCon. And the convention is run by Rachel Dratch,

who has a character called Carrie as well. And honestly, it was such a delight to see them arrive on screen and really passive-aggressive towards Carrie. Really nice to see someone needling Carrie in a way that I was like, yeah, fucking get in, get under there. Yeah, it was nice. I was so thrown away, that sort of, their history.

It's just such a, it's such a writer's room idea. What if they've got this history that we just, that she needles Carrie with and she's changed her name to Carrie. And it feels to me like it's a writer's room idea that everyone just went, yeah, maybe. And then it just made it through.

Because it was never going to, I knew that idea was never going to play out. That's one of the things I love about the show in a way, is that they'll sometimes raise a thing, but then not carry it through so i knew that once that that history between the two characters came up you expect there to be resolution of that but there isn't it's just sort of forgotten about that and and it's not as is often the case it's forgotten about it in a triumphant moment for carrie yeah yeah carrie carrie

you're so right it's like the show has opened a window because carrie's such a fucking universally annoying character and so self-centered and self-obsessed and uh you finally every now and then they'll give you this little window a little opportunity for the viewer to be represented by a character in there. And you're like, oh my God, are we going to get some self-reflection that Carrie has been a horrible person the entire franchise long?

No. It's just one conversation. You get a little taste and then they abandon it. You get a taste, Matt, but then that character is swiftly turned into an idiot. Yeah. Just the thing, what you're describing to him is a toxic relationship. The person who's offering the criticism is always in the wrong. Yeah.

And what you're actually describing to him is a toxic relationship that you have with Carrie, where you are, in spite of the overwhelming body of evidence, you're expecting growth or you're expecting some sort of of display of you know a quality which you have to accept i'm still waiting i'm still waiting for change and well it's sort of convenient we're at widow con because carrie sort of draws shay out of their depressed hovel and says i need your support here it's a public speaking event and before carrie speaks there's another person and carries the keynote speaker or something at this widow convention

and it's sort of like this I think she actually described them as the Don Rickles of widows she was great doing roasts of her dead husband I guess did she say the Don Rickle of widows

yeah and Carrie's you know Carrie's bricking it. Carrie's saying, oh, I can't follow this. I don't have any gags. And Shay starts workshopping material. Their side of stage. And honestly, I say this with total sincerity and no irony. Shay's work in crafting gags for Carrie on the hoof,

I was like, that is the closest to an act. There's the core of an act there's a there's the core of an actual inside of the character there is a comedic muscle that is being advertised to us that you have suppressed through a special through a sitcom pilot through all of these sets i've never seen you actually advertise the idea that shea could be a functional comedian or writer. Until now. Did anyone else feel that? Yeah, there's no hint in all of season one that Shea has ever written a joke.

It's always such a fun thing in a show, isn't it? Because good storytelling is show don't tell. So you would display Shea's amazing comedic abilities, but instead they just keep telling you Shay's a comedian and you just have to take it on your face. She's a comedian. She's got a special. She's got a sitcom.

Why not give, I mean, you sort of feel for the actress really. Why not give Shay some jokes? Let her prove it. They even showed in the last series a hint of a stand-up special where I don't think she said one. She didn't say one joke. She wasn't given one joke to say. No, it's all feeling.

And honestly, that introduction of a character and then the refusal to make them good while their career accelerates in the world of the show is one of the hooks, I think. It's one of the pieces of special sauce that they've put on the end, just like that sandwich,

that keeps you coming back for another mouthful. Because what is happening here? You think, what's happening here? This is incredible, this flavour. I hate it, but I'm compelled to go back for more. I've never tasted anything like it. And you haven't. And you haven't.

And no one's ever made a sandwich like it. And then in the second season all of a sudden you're in a you're in a review room where they're discussing the sandwich they made being like we're sorry about some of the parts of the sandwich but you got to admit it's a pretty interesting sandwich you want another sandwich it's the it's the MSG of television. My taste buds are open. They've been forced open. Absolutely.

I do think Shay is a victim of really bad writing. And as you say, Greg, it is almost frustrating to see the show find its feet in this last couple of episodes so in this episode we got a few strands going on carries carries creeping and i actually felt i actually felt i really felt for shay at one point i i wrote i can't remember when but there was a moment where i went oh well they are highly depressed and they're just sort of trapped in their apartment. And as their career is imploding and their relationship is hitting the bricks, it's a bad scene. Yeah. We've all been there.

But I never felt, I didn't think I'd ever empathise with Shay. No. On anything. I thought I'd only feel animosity towards Shay. Greg, as a fellow professional comedian, you didn't feel that kinship? That professional camaraderie? That's my point.

This episode I did. I bought it. I think the shared livelihood is... Maybe it all revolves around the fact that she made up that dildo joke and now we've accepted her into the comedic fold.'s it's honestly you're not a

mile off i think the fact i think sharing a vocation with shay is what's driven a wedge for that's been my theory with you yeah because i think they are close enough to you in the life that you're leading and and your aims are aligned with their aims but you're like it's the uncanny valley it's the uncanny valley. Is that right? It's the uncanny valley of it. This is close enough, but it's not quite right, and that's why it's so hideous.

You're not going to believe it when you hear this, Greg, but I have for a long time had a spec script where Tony Danza plays my Italian father as well, and to see it sullied. Of course. Frustrating for you, wasn't it? Well, it's not even, you know, my one was real.

I would love to see that. The reverence for Tony Danza really, mate. I really enjoyed the reverence for Tony Danza as well. It is an amazing decision of the show and I kind of get it because it's like, it's television. So who's the king of television? It's Tony Danza.

And he is. He's worshipped as a deity in this series. Honestly, I can't stop thinking about the spinoff possibilities of... It's like Fraser was born of chairs. Yes. What Shay's output covers... The Shay-niverse? Yeah.

The Shay-verse? what shay's output covers the shaynaverse yeah the shay the the shape it's like what i would give to watch the full comedy concert special where the entire audience is standing while shay delivers no jokes what i wouldn't give to see the youtubes of those of those sets that we see at the comedy store up what i wouldn't give to get my hands on that uned pilot the bomb like all of that stuff if they actually released that is you know used to be bonus features and directors commentaries and stuff on dvds and blu-rays wouldn't it be incredible you're sick in the head mate no this is a this is a you this is a come with come with me greg what do you think would you watch it all i think i think it would have an audience of three currently speaking.

And we just have to have regular conversations. But yeah, I would love to see the expanded Shea universe. It seems like a lot of work for the three of us. They ruined it for me by making me care about them. I can't believe they made me care about them. I felt such animosity. There's another important storyline that I want to get to in this one and that is lily is going to have sex god is her witness charlotte's daughter her baby girl age probably 17 i think 17 she she's decided time is now she's going to have sex

I considered that storyline and Charlotte's part in it and I've said this earlier in the season I said that I think there's a bit of a reclamation project with Charlotte

she's advertising growth she's growing as a person it was in the same episode where you said well we did just see her don't you know who I am to a retail worker and so obviously

there's a bit of light and shade there Charlotte's not perfect but her storyline correlative to her daughter Lilyly in this episode losing her virginity is an is another like example of and sorry to interject something but to greg's point earlier about the show consistently throwing things in the air and refusing to see where that ball lands is like in the last episode it was almost a cliffhanger that she was going to rejoin the workforce at an art gallery where the fuck did that go nowhere that's gone never mentioned because because her daughter wants to have sex that's gone forever you know what it's like some days

you're ready to get back into the art world other days you're traipsing through a blizzard it was put such a spotlight on it was so important and it's such a spotlight on it. It was so important. It's such a like milestone. Traipsing to a place for condoms. Yeah. And there are so many things that happened. So many things happened around this condom storyline that I delighted in. I enjoyed Carrie Bradshaw giving her no advice whatsoever

whilst dressed in a duvet. I know. And they really wanted to evidence it. She was of no help. They had either a drone or a crane shot so you could absorb the full depth and width of the duvet. It was a bizarre thing.

It is singularly my favourite shot of the whole episode. The duvet shot is right up there the crane shot presumably down on her in a duvet do you know what that dress is nothing significant's happened her friends weirdly said i need to get my daughter condoms can you help me and she said she said no and then there's a very expensive top shot of her in a duvet that's right because that's the end of gary's been put into it but then yeah my my favorite shot of the whole episode is they go back to the crane they obviously were getting their money's worth with the crane and when charlotte um inexplicably delivers cond delivers condoms to her teenage daughter

so she can have a fuck, I guess, there's a crane shot from on top of Charlotte that goes up. She looks up into the snow and the crane pulls away as this sort of, I presume, a great piece of symbolism about losing her daughter. I literally wrote in my notes a Hitchcockian shot of Charlotte looking up at the tower where her daughter is about to lose her virginity. It sticks out a mile away from the rest of the year. You can almost latch thematic purpose to that.

But the initial one where it's of Carrie, it's like they're in control of the story here. So they've chosen, this is the part of the story they're telling us. And then all of the emphasis just goes on the shot. Absolutely bizarre. I do want to just circle back. And I don't know as an actress how she would,

I don't know how she approached that scene what was she what did she what feelings did she internalize when the crane was was being pulled away into this into the snow riven sky i guess i think i'm losing her right I'm losing her I guess that's what it's trying to transmit but it was so odd the whole thing was so odd

Carrie's dress let me say this there is a James Bond movie I can't remember which one it is where Q gives him a suit where if he gets caught in an avalanche he can pull a tab and it will inflate around him and encase him and Carrie Bradshaw's dress

in the snowstorm looked exactly like that life-saving avalanche jacket. Maybe It was like an inflatable walnut surrounded him. Maybe I think it was live and let die Maybe Mr. Big was a big Bond fan, bought the

suit at some sort of movie auction and then was just mucking around at home, pulled the tab, it all got out and then they couldn't get it back in. No, and now it's a

real piece for Carrie. Carrie just slipped into it on a snow day. It's horrible. Some stuff it's like, that's interesting fashion. That thing was like, she's wearing a weird

sleeping bag. I have to accept it's part of the magic. To thing was like she's wearing a weird sleeping bag it's it's it is i have to accept as part of the magic is it's because to my eye and i'm sure that they'd look at some of my outfits and say it's a miss but i'm watching this and carry consistently it's just miss after miss the most sort of exciting piece of fashion fashion yeah some of the but i guess the show's hoisted by its own guard in that regard. You know. Yeah. The pigeon purse is still a highlight for me. They've got to keep rolling out new outfits.

And after a while, you know, it's going to get absurd. It has to get absurd because there's only so much you can do with some pieces of material, right? So it has to get absurd. But I love it when it gets absurd. Yeah. We haven't seen samantha yet and i am regretful that i know this information but the internet foisted this intel upon me that at some point well samantha jones is involved in the show yeah and i would love for her to take on this role that we saw this brief taste of

in the form of other Carrie, who used to be Karen, to just come and yell at Carrie and tell her what a horrible person she's been the entire time. I don't know how selfish she is. Yeah. Yeah. And how happy she is now and what a fuller person she is outside of the friendship.

There's a push and pull to whether that might happen. Why do you think she agreed to come back, and what a fuller person she is outside of the friendship. There's a push and pull to whether that might happen. Why do you think she agreed to come back, given the animosity between the two actors? Well, it was noted that she has her own series, which came out on the exact same release day as this season, on a competing network. And I can't remember what it's called. Oh.

So it's a cynical promotion yeah which i love good on you i that's a it's a trojan horse of a move i love it there's a why not i mean the because the show has become a little bit more self-reflective and meta in this season it's not entirely outside of the realm of possibility that they would get some at the back and we would see at least an allusion to or you know they might glance past a point of tension that exists not just between the characters but also you know off off camera something to suggest because you know obviously it's going to happen late in the season and obviously they'd want to suggest i assume they're going to go for a season three they'd want to suggest that, you know, Kim might be a part of that third season. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

They want to dangle that carrot. You know, like even in this episode, there's actually quite a lot of story happening relative to the season. Because in this episode, we see Miranda and Steve have a huge explosive fight that actually opens up the conversation quite nicely. Yeah.

Yeah. Steve has been a hero of mine. I thought it was quite subtly done i i thought that her her regaining of power from steve real she realizes that steve has has moved on from the relationship and she was able to yeah to take back power and and wash out the guilt i thought it was quite nicely done i know and when, because when they're having the, look at the, through gritted teeth,

Greg Davies admits a win for this episode. Well, because just to, a few wins in this season. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. Yeah. The broad strokes is that Miranda and, Miranda's told basically that she'll have to tell Steve she wants a divorce

because in the first season, Steve's talking with Carrie when they're painting a house or something and says, I'm never going to take off the wedding ring. So Miranda goes and she's sort of ready to have this conversation. And she says, when are you getting an apartment? He says, I lied in therapy. This is my house. She says, the mortgage is in my name.

And he says, this place is a shithole. I built this house. I built this house. He basically says, so fuck you. They villainize Steve. They do. To their credit, actually. And then Miranda goes this house and he goes so he basically says so fuck you they villainise Steve they do and you know to their credit actually

and then Miranda goes to leave and he says no no no don't leave like that don't leave like that and then the next shot we see them they're spooning on the bed

and they're sort of talking it through you don't believe there's going to be I am sad that you no longer do the Steve voice when you're doing Steve fuck you Miranda

he has aged his voice has aged remarkably yeah it has yeah and they yeah it's insane his voice is insane yeah it's softened that can't be how the actor speaks right i'd say so yeah i'd say there's something going on because there's a reference to the character being hard of hearing and maybe that's something that's going on with um i forget his name but yeah so he so then they're spooning and it sort of well miranda starts finding a power and then they're spooning and miranda sees a con i mean this is i guess steve didn't see it coming but it's reckless of steve you know while obviously you want if all

the characters have equal footing and get what they deserve steve's leaving unwrapped condoms on the bedside table blow up where he's spooning and he's blind. And he's blowing up. And then Miranda says, what's this? Well, the whole problem is that Miranda's been doing the cooking, the cleaning, looking after the house, looking after Brady because she thinks that Steve is a broken man. Compromising her relationship with Shay in the process. Absolutely. You get closer to camera when you're making a sincere point.

Confession cam. Years of experience. You can take the man... You can sit in the bar occasionally. Take the man off TV. You can't take the TV out of the man. Well, it's in me. It's in me, boys.

But so they're having this conversation. Suddenly it's revealed. The sort of power dynamics have flipped because Steve isn't this victim who's been wallowing in his own depression. He's been out getting his end off. He's been playing it so well. He's been basking.

He's been getting all of the glory. That's not the turn of the phrase. Is it getting his end away? No, that's what you say. He's been getting his end away. And then all of a sudden, he's like, I thought you were a victim. And he's like, I'm not a victim.

And then you're like, oh, Steve, you lost your power, brother. You lost all your power. And, you know, the whole dynamic's gone. But what I loved is there's a moment where they stay on Steve and Steve's facial expression sort of goes, fair enough. Yeah. Yes, I love that too.

It's great. It's really good. And he's doing a pose in the beach. And in that expression, it's good work by the actor because i think in that expression you go he's gonna be okay as well you know yeah absolutely it's really it's everyone here is gonna be okay it's a beautifully played but it's like steve realizes how much rope he gave miranda yeah and he's like oh it was too much rope. My bad. But it was a dozen kip. My bad. But it's like this.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you got me. Fair enough. Let's both move on. Good. This has worked out. I guess we should do our shining lights of the episode because we're at about an hour now.

That feels like a pretty good length to be talking about one episode and just like that season two. It really does. Before we get into it though um greg is there any sort of have you got any aside from the showing like any miscellaneous thoughts stray things you jotted down or anything you have to get off your chest yes i have i i feel that my um the new villain of the show for me is herbert wexley i just wanted to get that. Oh, that's interesting. And I'm not quite sure. I'm only forming this

opinion now. But I find Herbert... When Herbert gets sexual as he often does, I find it sickening but i think that might reflect on it you know it's very british of me i don't like

i i don't like to see couples you know like there's a moment where where shay and miranda haven't seen each other for a day and they just start necking in front of friends in this episode. And that sits very uncomfortably. I was with you. That was great. Herbert is always looking for an opportunity to sort of slime all over his wife. And there's a moment in this episode,

which is my highlight of the whole episode in many ways, where he says i can give you a lift to your to your incredibly important interview i can give you a lift in the car and rather than talk about the sort of you know massive significance of the talk that she's doing and the subject matter he says he he homes in on the fact that the car that he's offering up has got heated seats and then he means it really closely to his wife presumably of many years and goes and i know how much you like those heated seats so he has to make it a sort of gross he has to make heated seats a gross sexual reference and it does it slides out of the mouth doesn't it it's it is um he's but you know it's just

it's sort of the it's sort of the modus operandi of the show this season i feel like is they're like we're gonna make everyone horny and we're not you know we're not to make everyone horny. And we're not going to shy away from it. Everyone's horny, you know? He's the horniest. Herbert's the horniest. He is the horniest. Horny Herbert. Horny Herbert finds a hoot. I actually quite like this line where she says,

how much pain you in now? And they're having a conversation. He gets his penis trampled on by one of the kids. And they've got these conflicting stances. He says, how much pain you in now? And he says, penis three, fundraiser 10. And I thought, it's not not funny. I actually missed that line.

That's quite good. The penis injury is really thrown away, thank God. I know. The way that the actor played it, I was like, this guy. I thought that was going to be a runner. I thought that was, in this universe, it's entirely feasible that that would run for a whole episode. Absolutely.

I was thinking, because I was running scans on potential storylines for the episode, and I was like, we just spent a whole episode with Harry doing Kegel exercises because he's firing nothing. We're not going to go straight back to the dick doctor, are we? I wouldn't put it past them, but luckily they did.

Although I did like the dick doctor. I'll bet that storyline was filmed. I bet Herbert's damaged dick is in a vault somewhere. I will note that this episode was I think 26 minutes shorter than the last episode. No. They're doing whatever they want in this show.

It's the last episode over an hour. I think it was an hour 11 and this one was 46 minutes, if I remember correctly. That can't be true. They're all 45s. Are they? They're all 45s. Maybe the last one felt that long. I'm going to look that up while you talk.

I mean, I'll tell you guys my shining light because we've missed it completely because it was kind of throwaway. It's a storyline. It's interesting how hard they're making it for Carrie to promote her book. It's like a real consistent returning point. It's like Carrie's really grinding out book promo.

No one wants to talk to her about this book. I guess because it sounds fucking boring. Who cares what a billionaire in Manhattan has to say about grief? But know at the start is she a billionaire no she's you know i mean we heard it from um candace burge in the last episode due to tragic circumstances her pockets did just get pretty deep but she's uh yeah she has to give that hundred thousand right yeah that's right for the photo with gloria stein or whatever or to get in the newsletter but at the start of the episode she's

setting up i mean i knew first of all that her macbook was a goner as soon as they had the the the cd player on the computer in focus i was like what's carrie bradshaw doing with that yeah she's setting up for the zoom with an influencer who's going to interview her about her book. And I thought whoever the actor was who played the influencer smashed it. She was such a daft fucking pain in the ass. Man, I hope that wasn't a cameo of someone playing themselves. But she was such a cartoon character, though. I loved it.

Do you know what? I wrote down, boys, when I was watching it last night i wrote down what the influencer said go on i can't find it no oh she said um what she got bored of talking about grief within 10 seconds yeah and uh and change the subject by saying what shades of lipstick are you effing she says that thing not fucking yeah what shades of lipstick are you effing loving right now it was so good it's after it's after she's been like to carry i haven't read your book it goes like it's about grief it's about my husband dying and there's this beautiful long silence and then well first off

she goes that's hilarious no what's it really about I just I just I like you know I liked it there's such a grab bag of stuff being

grabbing my notes every episode one second um alright he's grabbing his notes there's so much stuff happening that

occasionally something like that a stray thread or something that is totally throwaway comes in and when it connects you're like

this is you know it's another flavour it's like if you're like this is you know it's another flavor it's like if you get a subway if you get a subway sandwich and you ask for jalapenos and there's like you know there's one at the top and there's a long bit with no jalapenos and you're like well i thought i asked for jalapenos and then all of a sudden yeah you'll be in the back third and there's another jalapeno they're constantly as as you eating, they're constantly tossing new toppings in. And sometimes just taking them away again. But they let you have a bite and then they take them away.

Why have you scraped the jalapenos off? You're having a sandwich and they're just coming over when you're not looking. And just putting more shit in. coming over when you're not looking and just putting more shit in. I like it. I like it. I like the analogy so much. Oh, no, I like those. I like those jalapenos.

They're nice. Hey! oh no i like those i like those jalapenos they're nice hey good god i mean i wrote down as my shining light that it's just the concept of WidowCon. I love it. I love it. It's really good. A convention where, I mean, conventions have always been quite a fascinating sort of a thing to me. I don't think I've ever been to a convention in my life and I find them very fascinating.

And I think that'd be a lot of fun if you were into anything and i guess that's the point it's about community it's about your passions your hobbies your interests um there's something that you really identify with and enjoy and you get together with like-minded people to share in your enthusiasm for it to grab that medium and turn it to people whose linking attribute is my husband died is funny to me and I want to know if it's a real thing

because I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand that this exists and I hope to go one day it's a damn shame they didn't get Betsy Von Miffling on the scene at WidowCon she would have crushed I would have loved to hear what she's got to say about the whole thing. Yeah.

Yeah. Can you hear me? Yeah, we got you. Yeah. I'm just looking at WidowCon. No. No, it's not a thing. The internet can sustain both the conversation with us

and the quest for WidowCon concurrently. It's one or the other. How hard are you searching? With all the resources. Right. It's time to land the plane, everybody. All right. It's been such a delight.

It really has, Greg. Thank you for coming and joining us on this journey. What a pleasure. I really feel like you've taken a weight from my shoulders. Oh, it's honestly, it's been a pleasure to share it with you. And, you know, most unlikely of connection points, I guess, but it's been fantastic. And obviously we're a lot smaller than you,

but is there anything in the world you'd like the people who listen to this podcast to know about, to point them towards? What do you mean? In terms of my stuff Your oeuvre. No. He's got a fantastic sitcom called... You can watch my show. You can watch The Cleaner, if you like.

My BBC show. I think it's on something over there. It's been on Netflix here. It's fantastic. And also watch You Magnificent Beast, the stand-up special. Yes. Why not? Yeah.

Five stars from me. Yeah. Put that on your poster, Greg. He says he's sexually squeamish, but he talks a lot about fucking a bear. Yeah. And I'm in the house where I fuck that bear right now. Good times.

And that beautiful piece of trivia, like the Greek hero who has to, is it Sisyphus or something, who has to keep running up the hill with the boulder? But there's three of us now with the boulder. I see. That's a nicer feeling. I thought Greg having sex with the bear

was the Sisyphean challenge, but no, it's more of the just like that. There's more to go, and we look forward to taking it on. The bear is Greg's penis pump from the last episode. Oh, my God. The penis pump. There's so many things that I've...

I mean, honestly, I could probably do another two hours. Well, Greg, maybe we'll get you on for another episode. You're right to stay within the realm of one episode, I think. All right. I really don't like Seema. That's how I'm going to end. And just like that It's the worst idea of all time

And just like that They're at it again And they're having such a gay old time And just like that They're back Got Montgomery and Timothy time And just like that, they're back Got Montgomery and Timothy back And just like that, it's the worst idea of all time