Sitcom September - Raising Hope with Blake Wyland (Tone Mob & Chasing Tone)

[00:00:12] Hello and welcome to Fandomentals, the podcast that explores pop culture, one conversation at the time. I am your host, Harley. On this episode I'm joined by a returning guest of the podcast, he is a host of the

[00:00:43] Tone Mob Podcast and a co-host of the Chasing Tone Podcast, it's Blake Wyland. Blake has returned with what has to be one of my favorite recent discoveries in the sitcom landscape and that is the fantastic show, Raising Hope.

[00:00:58] In fact I really owe the discovery of this show to Blake entirely as we get into in this episode. It was a recommendation from him after the last time that we spoke and when I finally got

[00:01:10] ready to watch it with my wife, I just fell in love with the show and then when I had the idea for doing this series once again, I had to include it and I had to get Blake back on the podcast.

[00:01:22] He was an absolute delight as always and we had so much fun exploring this very underrated show. We of course get into our favorite characters moments, the set up, how in some ways it's a spiritual sequel to another very popular sitcom and so much more.

[00:01:38] This leads us quite nicely into a bit of a, you could say off topic, discussion at the start of the episode but really it's very pertinent given what's going on in Hollywood right now.

[00:01:48] We talk about writers, production, what goes into making a show and how that can sometimes be quite a difficult landscape to navigate. It's a really interesting and nuanced conversation that we weave into as we go about exploring this absolutely wonderful show. So let's just get to it then.

[00:02:08] This is Raising Hope with Blake Wylond. Hello Blake and welcome back to the Fundamentals podcast. Hey, what's going on? Ah, not a lot really. It's the end of the week for me so it's kind of a nice wine down into sit down and chat

[00:02:31] with you again on the podcast. It's been too long. How long has it been about a year or thing? I think it might have been two years. Two is it two? Yeah, because I feel like we were in the throes of, of, of, povid lockdown, mania like

[00:02:46] where we were right. Yeah. Do you know what? I'm going to have a quick look at my own episode list just to check. But I think you're absolutely right. Because yeah, and that's what we were here.

[00:02:58] We were chatting music, we were chatting thrice, which the listeners can't see but you're wearing a thrice t-shirt. And I like to think that that's you're paying tribute to the book. Yeah, and not just what I wear on a daily basis. Yeah, no, no, absolutely not.

[00:03:10] No, definitely not. Yeah, we're good. Oh wow. Yeah, you're going to roll out. You are correct. Wow. Okay, that's kind of scary. Well, what's really funny about that actually is, the last time that we spoke, you offer air, I think, just randomly mentioned the show

[00:03:31] that we're here to talk about. And it lodged in my brain so much so that like a year later I think it was on Disney Plus. And I went, oh, that's the show Blake told me about it. I'll give it a watch.

[00:03:42] And then when it came around to doing this other series of sitcoms, I couldn't think of a better one to talk about and hence why we're here. So we're here to talk, raising hope. It's completely out of your wheelhouse.

[00:03:53] I think is someone who's famous for doing music and guitar, related stuff. So Blake, I'm just going to throw it over to my friend. What was your introduction to raising hope? You know, with anything lately, not lately.

[00:04:06] Anything for the last eight years, if I didn't find it on my own then it almost certainly came from my wife. Right. So she's the number one pusher of other media in my life. Nice. Pretty much these days.

[00:04:23] And so I don't remember how I feel like it was one of those things she just started watching kind of without me. And as I'd be walking in another house, I'd catch little bits of it here and there and just like what is this? What is this?

[00:04:39] And eventually we needed a show that when you get kids and they, we grew up, we didn't have kids for quite a while. And we were married for like seven or eight years before we had kids. So we were very much used to just watching whatever we wanted.

[00:04:56] And it's like, oh yeah, Scarface is playing in the background. You know, something like whatever we wanted to watch at any time. And even when the kids were really young that didn't really matter because they didn't understand what was going on.

[00:05:11] Pretty soon, he gets to a point where it's like, okay, maybe I shouldn't watch the training with my three year old. I starting to understand. Very frightened. Yeah, yeah, I told I think he was about three.

[00:05:27] I went to because it's Vincent talked really early, but I told this story on my show a few times where I was we were watching the shining because this book one of our favorite shows and she's not a horror fan.

[00:05:37] So the fact that she likes that movie is I'm like, I'll take whatever I can get because I'm a huge horror fan. And so we were watching the shining just for dinner one night and the scene where the

[00:05:46] elevator is open up and like the tsunami of blood just comes pouring out of him. And my son looks at me and he's just like, dad, why is all that blood? And I thought, hmm, he's probably too young to be watching this right now.

[00:06:03] I should have occurred to me well before turning it on, but it didn't end as we we paused it from there. All that to say is we needed something that wouldn't be just that we wanted there

[00:06:14] were entertaining to us as adults, but wouldn't just be too much for children to handle. I mean, obviously there's some off-color things in there, but they largely go over 99 percent of kids head. So it's not the craziest thing in the world. So that's kind of how it happened.

[00:06:30] It was just like, oh, we'd be sitting down for dinner and we wanted to watch something. Maybe like, let's watch raising hope. We think it's hilarious and you know, it's not too much for the kids to handle.

[00:06:40] And it's just a, and it's a really well written show as it turns out. It's hard to strike that balance sometimes between being appealing for adults and kids without, you know, being dumb. Well, it's dumb, but dumb in the right way. Yeah, hard to agree. Hard to agree.

[00:07:00] Definitely. And I think that's something that for the most part, a lot of sitcoms offer is that kind of family, friendly environment. Like, as you say, they'll be some of jokes for the adults, but for the most part, clear over the kids heads.

[00:07:14] It's just something that everyone can gather around and enjoy. And yeah, man, I got to say this is one that I prior to you mentioning it had never heard of. And then like I said, just popped up on streaming and I thought, oh, okay, I'll give that

[00:07:26] I go and absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not going to lie. This is like very quickly gone to the top of my list as one of my favorite shows. I think this will be a regular rewatch for show.

[00:07:36] Yeah, yeah, it has, it's, I think what really stood out to us was not only how funny and how good of a show it was, but it was very much like, where did the show go? Because we found it a long after it was over. Yeah.

[00:07:50] And so like, well, I was, how did this not pop off? I know, it's kind of got the, you know, might even be the same writer now that I think about it, but it's kind of got my name is Earl type of Ibe, which was a much bigger

[00:08:00] show. I don't know for some reason, maybe it's because we were new-ish parents that it resonated with us a little bit more. Which I guess we might want to explain the general gist of it for people who have no idea what we're talking about, but it's in 42. Yeah.

[00:08:19] Yeah. Basically, it's a family and they all live together. And the sun is a, I would say he's probably at early 20 something, maybe, you know, somewhere in that ballpark and then the parents had him very young.

[00:08:35] And they're what, in their late 30s, early 40s, maybe something like that. And so, and then the sun has this, this daughter with a actual psychotic person. Yeah. It's taken away to the, to the mental institution.

[00:08:54] And he's left to try to raise this very young daughter with very young minded parents as his guide, basically. And they're kind of in the red necks in the town and, you know, he's like a pool cleaner

[00:09:10] and she does odd jobs and the main character works at a grocery store. And it's just a, it's just a real odd cast of characters that they run into and they're just trying to keep this baby alive for a whole time. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:09:24] And it got to say, it's one of those even in the first episode of the pilot, you kind of immediately get the tone like it's sort of a strange balance of something that's

[00:09:35] quite dark as you say, what are given the origin of hope and her mother not whole side of it. You're like, this could easily be like a gritty drama if you just shaped it slightly.

[00:09:44] But at the other side of it is yeah, the wacky antics of the parents and you've also got their grandma hanging around who's kind of loose. It didn't seem to lie at the same time. We'll get to this. We'll get to her. Don't you worry.

[00:09:56] Yeah, it's like there's weird balance. But it really works. And I think the central premise of it being as a title suggests about hope about the idea of these people like trying to create a better life for this baby that's now just in their lives.

[00:10:13] And yeah, I met Samusima. I was absolutely hooked as soon as like kicked in. I thought, OK, I see the premise. I think we should agree. I mentioned it up top because you've hit the nail on the head.

[00:10:23] It is created by the same guy that came up with my name as Earl. OK. It makes so much sense in so many ways, which I'm just going to. Totally. Least of all the tone and the type of comedy in the characters and it definitely has

[00:10:37] the same kind of vibe. I think you're absolutely right. Yeah. Yeah. And maybe it just maybe you didn't catch on because to fans of that show, I'm just hypothesizing here. Maybe it felt like a kind of like American dad to family guy.

[00:10:53] You know, it's like, well, this is almost the same show sort of, even though it's not there's more of a difference there. But like, totally, they're American dad and family guy are almost interchangeable if you've ever set down to watch it. It's a house. Yeah.

[00:11:06] And American dad always felt to me like, why does this exist? Like, it's basically the same premise except he works for the government with the same kind of cut jokes and everything. I was like, I didn't really catch me the same way.

[00:11:21] I'm sure there's some great episodes out there. But I wonder if that was how when raising hope first came out maybe the audience felt like that. That's why I didn't last super, super long or have quite the, I don't know, quite the

[00:11:39] following that my name is Earl did. That's only theory I can come up with because it is just really well done in every way and for us, I don't know about you but like, I saw raising hope before my name is Earl.

[00:11:52] So I didn't have that same bias, I guess. So I don't know, it's just a theory. I've always wondered why I didn't take off in a stronger way. I agree with you. And funny enough, actually, on the other way around, so I watched my name as over the

[00:12:06] first time in lockdown, really enjoyed it and had that question of why did this get cancelled? Same as everybody else. The cast and crew is at turns out, which is wild and I think that hopefully one

[00:12:19] day will be its own episode on this show because it's well, well worthy of one. But yeah, I got to say when I was watching this, I was like, oh, this feels like a spiritual success. So whenever I realised it was Greg Garcia, it's okay.

[00:12:32] Yeah, that makes sense. And then you just sort of get to like members of the cast of my name as Earl popping up and basically playing alternate universe versions of yourselves. It was like, okay, I see what you're doing here. But dude, I loved it.

[00:12:47] Those episodes, those tributes in particular, like I think there's one episode in particular, which is basically a my name as all reunion within the show. I loved every second of that. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and any stir eggs and all that stuff. I'll let so much slide.

[00:13:04] You know, I mean not to go too off tangent but like I'm currently watching a soaker and when there's references to like Clone Wars and Rebels stuff that I as a nerd have seen,

[00:13:15] you can bear, I'm like sat there glued to the screen going like this is the greatest television of ever seen it isn't. But I'm like, well, the dots are connecting. So when I'm watching raising hope and that's happening, yeah, I was just like, this is incredible.

[00:13:31] You know, that plus they layer it in with a reference to almost famous. I was like, this is, yeah, this is just brilliant. And the same question was you was like, why was this not more popular? This is so clever.

[00:13:42] This is so brilliant and it's paying tribute to something that yeah, what was insanely popular for the longest time when people were really upset that they got cancelled. They're like, I don't see why this is like a spiritual successor wasn't more beloved. I'm with you on that one.

[00:13:59] I did, I don't know, maybe yeah, people thought it was like this kind of my name is zero and so maybe maybe and I'm curious. I want to look something up real quick just because we're talking about it. I actually am not sure.

[00:14:09] I have an estimate in my brain but I don't remember when this aired exactly. I got it here for you. T-10 to 2014, yeah, which is exactly what it felt like. Okay. Yeah. So by the way, just because I was Googling that, 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.

[00:14:29] So we're not alone in the love for it. Yeah, yeah, I'm on IMDB and it's like 8.4 of or something. It's very highly rated. Yeah, and I didn't even have to watch the show.

[00:14:40] I kind of did a little scattering on the internet and not the contrast of everybody's opinion on the internet, except us obviously, like of course. Of course. Of course. Yeah, you know, generally speaking, it was very popular very beloved.

[00:14:53] A lot of the comments and reviews and things I saw were just glowing. And I kind of felt the same as you. I was like, yeah, why did it's not just keep going?

[00:15:02] But at the same time, I mean, ATA episodes, that's not about innings is it for a show. That's not, you know, that's pretty good, especially for a network TV. Right. And where I was going with the time question.

[00:15:15] No, I was trying to think about that's right around the time. You got to think right smack dab in the era, or TV was really like not sure what was going on with itself as a whole.

[00:15:27] Because that's right when streaming really started, not 2010 so much, but certainly by 2014, that was like kind of the beat. There's still network television shows don't get me wrong. But sort of the beginning of the end of network TV as we know it.

[00:15:43] Right then in 2014 is when that was really, really shifting. Wow, that was a year before I started the podcast. Interesting. So yeah, it's, and that probably had something to do with it right there tightening budgets.

[00:15:59] You know, not that this show was probably insanely expensive to make by comparison to 24 or lost or something. But I'm sure they were just like, ah, they were just crunching the numbers. And it doesn't ultimately matter at the network levels.

[00:16:16] What the people love and what they don't, it's what do the numbers say. Yeah. And who's tuning in? Who can we sell these advertising minutes to? You know, and if not as many people are tuning in to raising hope as law order,

[00:16:29] then it's, it's what's going to get the eye out. I don't even know if those are on the same network. I was just trying to compare audiences. Yeah, you talk you so from the UK, I have no idea. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:16:43] And yeah, so I wonder if that had something to do with it. Of course you guys have a different set of setup over there, right? With the BBC and everything. Yeah. I mean, it's a weird one because it's licensed pay off ended.

[00:16:53] So who knows who decides what's working and what's not. And you get some advertising. Like we've got some in some channels that do a lot of that here. But even then like the closest I can think to that is on streaming services.

[00:17:08] Like all of these channels like BBC has won channel 4. It's got a popular one, but they will have advertising within their streaming services. Okay. So I don't know how much that dictates the decisions they make in terms of what gets made and what's not.

[00:17:23] Yeah, I have no idea to be honest with you, Blake. I haven't really paid attention to thresholds elevation for years because I've just kind of been on the streaming game now. So it's neither have a eye. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:34] But I'm fascinated though, the fact that something that comes up a lot when we talk sitcoms on the show, just how the streaming model like picks things up and something like a previous episode, the office, like the US office,

[00:17:50] you know, naturally would have tailed off towards the last of seasons. And yeah, that's a whole story there. Yeah. And then it moves to Netflix. And it's like one of the most stream shows ever. Right? Yeah. And it's sort of this idea. And another sitcoms get picked up.

[00:18:07] I just did an episode on the rest of development and how that kind of got resurrected by Netflix. Another favorite of mine. Yeah. Yeah, kind of mixed degrees. We talked about it. But it was just interesting.

[00:18:17] You're looking at how streaming sort of sees the value of these shows. Right? Because there's something comforting. And then nice about watching sitcoms. And if does feel like nowadays that, you know, that they're a really nice home for sitcoms, stream platform.

[00:18:35] But obviously the double edge sort of that is, and I was we've seen recently. I don't know if you've paid much attention to like what's going on Hollywood at the minute with the writers, strikes and all of those craziness. Yeah.

[00:18:45] Definitely stream streamers are a very cagey about their figures. And like, yeah, people actually watching shows. So you kind of wonder if something like raising hope got picked up, let's say, by Netflix for argument sake.

[00:18:59] It's like would it be any safer than when it was on that book television? You have no idea, right? Because you could just say, well, it's always got a home. People are going to watch it.

[00:19:08] But they're not going to be as honest about what the numbers are doing and therefore, what they continue it who knows. Which one is from NBC? Oh, that's for canceling my name is Arrgh! Eight more credits ago. I loved it!

[00:19:30] Well, and that leads to a whole which is a really fun topic sort of off the topic, I guess. But it's interesting to see what's going on with the writer's strike. Like, on the surface of it, I understand why a lot of normal people like ourselves don't care

[00:19:46] that much. Without digging into it a little bit more, it just sounds like, is it even the media around it? It's like Hollywood's on strike and I think generally speaking we all pretty much feel like

[00:19:58] Hollywood's super out of touch and like, why do we care for a bunch of rich people on strike? That's not really what's going on though. That's what it looks like because that's who they feature out on the picket line or

[00:20:08] are with these wealthy, you know, well known celebrities because that's who's going to get the most clicks for those media outlets. It's a whole different topic of conversation and then it's so deep. But the general people working there just have regular jobs.

[00:20:21] They're just normal, you know, very, very middle sometimes below middle class wage people. And that's what it's really about. It's not about the big celebrities. It's not about, you know, the guys from the office that they've been featuring. It's not about any of that.

[00:20:38] And so with the streamers being a bit unclear with the downloads, see it can go both ways, right? They don't want to make themselves seem bigger than they are or they're going to have to pay more under what these developing rules.

[00:20:55] But they also don't want to make themselves seem too small or that everyone will be like, well, I just put it on YouTube then. That's a good point. It goes both ways, right? And I know some people in the film industry,

[00:21:10] up the lower ends of things and they're trying to, they're working on some pretty ambitious projects. And that's literally the question is like, where's this going to end up? That's one of the first things they end up asking themselves, like, okay, I have this great idea.

[00:21:23] Got all these people. We've got the stuff we can do this. What do we want to do with it when it's done? Do we cross our fingers and hope that Netflix buys it from us?

[00:21:33] Do we sell for motive and kind of release it as our own thing on YouTube? And that's its own extreme challenge. How do we want to do with it when it's done? How do we want to get it in front of the most amount of people?

[00:21:51] Hollywood, unlike the music industry now, I mean, music industry still has some of this, but it's very gated. You know, there's a lot of like you got to know the guy. You got to get in the right places with the right people to get things showed through

[00:22:06] and you might work on something for five years and it ends up being the greatest thing you've ever made and it's just sitting on a shelf somewhere because that's the guy who paid for it decided that he didn't like it or it didn't fit his schedule or whatever.

[00:22:19] What's your schedule? Yeah, where it's text right off or whatever any number of reasons. And then you're back to the drawing board. So it's a very weird industry. The music industry is also that way to a degree because of things like

[00:22:34] district it and tune core and all these other places, like getting distributed to the places where people are currently listening is easier than ever. And you can you could feasibly, it's very challenging but you can post on social media

[00:22:49] and build a following and have an audience with nobody telling you that you can't. Now, that's its own challenge. Of course, I'm not trying to make it sound easier than it actually is but it is doable and we've seen examples of it. Hollywood, you almost never see that.

[00:23:04] No, like it, I'm sure there will be stories trickling out but it's rare to see, oh this person got big for their short films on social media and now is directing the next Iron Man. Like that doesn't really happen. No, yeah, it's true. It's true.

[00:23:23] Yeah, I would encourage anyone listening if you've not thought about this whole industry and what's going on like, yeah, change that. Absolutely change that. Like do yourself a favor and go and look into it because as Blake says, is you absolutely spot on my friend,

[00:23:40] it's not just Hollywood elites, rich people asking for more millions. It's everybody else around that big famous actor whose job is to make them look good. You know, whether it's lights, whether it's writing, whether it's camera crew,

[00:23:55] whatever, all these people are affected and it's something that again, I touch upon every time we talk about a sitcom is this idea of making a sort of crew like a family and I'm always fascinated when I listen to behind the scenes things right of people

[00:24:09] who are on these shows talking about their experience and just how important that is like even down to like the catering guy, you know, like they get on. They know their families, you know,

[00:24:19] everyone's there to help them have the best experience and do the best at their job. These people are really important, you know, and I always keep buying this drum almost every episode. I believe that when you are passionate about the thing you're making,

[00:24:33] I want everybody's getting on and treating each other well and feels like they're being treated fairly, you will get the best results and to kind of circle it back around. I get the impression that, you know, when you look at sort of who's involved with this show,

[00:24:48] you can probably guarantee there'll be a lot of crossover with the crew in the staff and people that would have worked on perhaps my name is O'L things that they're coming here. And the end results speak for themselves because they all work hard and they produce something that's

[00:25:00] truly, really great. And as you say, the unfortunate thing there is, you're at the mercy of studio heads and people that, you know, with all, do you respect them? Have no idea what this side of your history is like they fair enough. They understand the business,

[00:25:16] they understand how to run things and that you shouldn't discredit that. But I don't think they always appreciate the art and the craft and what's going into it and how it makes people feel.

[00:25:28] As you say, it could just be a bit of a numbers game sometimes and you kind of like, I don't know, I remember you Blake. I always feel like that's a really

[00:25:35] callous and cold way to look at things, especially when it comes to anything creative. I just think sometimes you just gotta give people a chance that it find its audience. It's really difficult. I can definitely see both sides, you know?

[00:25:49] Oh, same. Yeah. Yeah. It's a thing where if you don't look out for the bottom line and and I've talked about this at Nazio Monmonchos, but if you don't look out for the bottom line

[00:26:01] and pay attention to your business, you're not going to be able to be creative in the ways that you want for very long, you know, or at least not be doing it full time. You right? A lot of artists

[00:26:12] or guilty of wanting to ignore that, I think it's not sexy. It's not romantic to think about, you know, profit and loss on your, on your business. But if you don't think about those things and

[00:26:24] you don't take very close attention to them as an artist, the odds of you being able to be an artist full time for a long time is slim to none. Right. The people who do get to do these kinds

[00:26:36] of things long term are the people who do pay very close attention to their business. And if you go back and again, I reference the music industry, because it's where I'm from, but if you go back

[00:26:47] and hear all the artists that talk about getting screwed by so, so and so and it generally comes down to a problem with their contract, they didn't understand. Yeah. And that's, I don't want

[00:27:01] to say it's their fault, but it is up to them to try to understand it or get somebody in their corner who does and not just see, oh, millions of dollars, cool. Do you actually get those

[00:27:13] millions of dollars? Or do you owe them back, et cetera, et cetera? So this is kind of a longer rant on artists, artists needing to have their their books a little bit more tightened up. And

[00:27:24] I can be guilty of this as well. I'm not trying to say that I'm immune to that impulse, like, or compulsion to like ignore that stuff. I have to focus on it. Yeah. So

[00:27:35] you bite all that to say is you do need both. It really does take, you know, we don't, we don't get Christopher Nolan without big budgets. Yeah. Yeah. And even in this got to be a return.

[00:27:46] This got to be something and yeah, I just got to do find it wild though, even when there is a return that again, like, I'll probably get to it when I do the minor visceral episode whenever that

[00:27:54] is that yeah, it could still be wild. That even when things are popping off and are doing presumably what they need to do, it's still not safe. I find that kind of wild. But um,

[00:28:06] again, all that sort of bring it back around to this. It's like, I would again encourage anyone who's listening if you're especially if you're a fan of that show, give this one a go because yes,

[00:28:16] right in your wheelhouse. Like I said, personally, I just saw the sort of similarity straight away and was like, oh yeah, I'm going to feel very comfortable watching this and it is incredible.

[00:28:26] And what I like to do kind of late on on these episodes is typically I like to sort of go through the cast of characters. I'm the main ones just kind of, you know, go from there. So I guess there's no

[00:28:37] would a better start than with the main man himself, Jimmy Chance played by one Lucas Nath. I don't know if Lucas has done a lot in the industry, actually. I'm but looking this up at the time. You know, I'm not even his big thing.

[00:28:50] I think it's definitely his big thing. He's um, I could see it being difficult to break out of that typecast, you know, as the movie kind of, you know, goofy like a bull 20 something guy that's just

[00:29:06] trying to make it, you know, that's a, yeah, that's kind of where he landed with this role and I could see it being a challenging thing to break out of because I guarantee you if I saw him in some like

[00:29:16] really detective movie, I would only hear Jimmy Chance and my, but then you say that. And I immediately think Brian Kranston, you know, um, fair enough, yeah, you know, I immediately think oh, I mean Matthew McCannett is a Matthew Raydon. He's another one. Yeah, I was

[00:29:36] blanking on the guy that plays so good. I should know that I'm going to enter that in here. It's Bob Odin, Kirk. Obviously. Yeah, you know, it just guys like that who,

[00:29:49] essentially just, yeah, like you said it, they're known for one thing for a long, long time and then they come back. So you never know, Lucas may be in like another five, 10 years might just come back

[00:29:58] and surprise us all with like a really gritty HBO drama. I'm all like, what signed me up. I'd be here for it. I've definitely watched if I, if I saw him past his anything,

[00:30:07] it would be a, I'm like, oh, cool. Can't wait to see what he does. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he's, he's very much a guy who's sort of, he's trying to do the best he can but he's,

[00:30:17] he's sort of, he just finds himself, hey, sometimes he makes bad decisions, but also sometimes, he just has that kind of just bad luck. True. Very true. Yeah. Yeah. It's something that I love

[00:30:32] he's very good at playing that like naive kind of character that's I think that helps him and it's like ability, right? Yeah. Yeah, because never got bad intentions, you say he just got

[00:30:43] bad luck. He just kind of stumbles into these things. Yeah, exactly. I don't think he, I don't think he intended for his, the mother of his child. Well, he didn't intend to have a child, but

[00:30:52] I don't think he intended for the mother of his child to be a psychotic wanted woman. No, but she was in a, so she was exactly. But it's kind of like, you know, in fairness to him,

[00:31:05] when he's landed with this baby, he steps up, you know, and that's the whole point of the series. Is it him trying really hard to figure out how to be a good parent? And I do love that,

[00:31:15] like from the off, that's his main goal. You know, like, and like whatever else happens in the show, he never seems to lose sight of that. He's always like, no, no, what's best for hope. And I think

[00:31:25] that kind of keeps him grinded and certainly keeps us as an audience on his side for the whole journey. 100%. Yeah, every single problem. In fact, he's always the one that comes into the situations.

[00:31:35] I say he's at work or whatever, and something crazy happens. He's always the one that comes in and he's like, where's hope? And then you know, pancake batter hanging from the ceiling or whatever, you know, whatever kind of scenario he happened to run into, where his parents have

[00:31:49] done something crazy. He's always the one that's like, where's hope? What's going on? Why do you not have my baby? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I kind of, I also like that he goes through

[00:32:03] something that and I can't speak to this Blake. So I'm not a parent, but I'd love to hear your insights here. And I, because I hear this a lot in people that become parents. I feel like he gains

[00:32:13] a whole level of appreciation for what his parents have done for him, because the way they're set up at the beginning, they're kind of sort of, I guess, to use a bit of a common slang and they're

[00:32:23] kind of like trailer trash, right? They're kind of that sort of, you know, it's sort of looked down upon and they come across as a bit silly and a bit dumb and inconsiderate and all these things.

[00:32:33] But like, you very quickly through his perspective of now having a child realise, oh, actually, they're just doing the best that they can. And that's a lovely thing to watch as

[00:32:43] well as him get closer to his parents because he gains a whole new appreciation for what they went through. Again, I'm a guy of 29 out of any kids. I can't speak to this. So I'm going to

[00:32:53] throw over to you. What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I probably did a pretty terrible job at showing it growing up but I feel like I was rather appreciative of my parents, you know,

[00:33:04] when it would become like crystal clear there would be, you know, moments where I was being terrible and dad would be like, well, you can go be terrible somewhere else if you'd like

[00:33:14] this year. You're not going to do it here. And that really, I think a lot of kids don't fully grasp what that means. But for some reason, that immediately clicked for me as a teenager. It was about

[00:33:26] looking at, oh, actually, I've got it. You didn't have a dracwan to a, uh, spate in your life. No, well, yes and no, yes and no. I kept it just right on the edge there of going that far.

[00:33:44] But oh, man, that was a good reference. Thank you for that. I know where he's watching. Watch the show, everybody. Uh, it's one of my favorite gags in the whole show, but yeah,

[00:33:53] I go in. It's very relatable to people in the ballpark of our age, I think. Absolutely. Yeah. Somebody find out what he wants for breakfast and five years ago, well, I should say I was going

[00:34:14] through a phase big birthday tomorrow. Huh? 18 years old excited. I have a surprise for you. Would you get more mama? Did you get some cool way all can use? I got trampoline or a mini trampoline or

[00:34:38] something else we could all bounce on? It's a surprise. Did you hear that? Mama has got a surprise for you, Jimmy? You know that's not my name. If you want to address me, you must call me,

[00:34:49] true car, noir. Like the men's perfume, man. It means black drag and ship. So, so all that to say is like, I always did have a maybe more of an appreciation than your average teenager for some reason.

[00:35:03] I don't know why. It's not like I had any better brain than your average teenager, but all that said when I had kids, I realized it's like all the cliches are cliches for a reason.

[00:35:16] Yeah, every bit of it. I was like, I've never loved anything or anyone more than this. In fact, I didn't even know I had the capacity to have this much love in my in my soul for somebody else.

[00:35:29] See, I love my wife, but I know she feels the same way. Like, I just opened you up in a way that I did not even know was possible. And I think that made me appreciate even more than I already did.

[00:35:45] What my parents did because anybody who can look back at their childhood and say they had a decent childhood, their parents gave up a lot in some capacity to make that happen.

[00:35:57] Yeah, yeah. And I feel like that's the theme that this show picks up on quite nicely. You know, you say it's sort of when you kind of, it's the flashbacks man. A flashbacks, I think, are brilliant.

[00:36:08] There's so much fun. In any other show, you think it's getting a bit old now. But it's really lovely kind of seeing the parallels of Jimmy's journey. And then his parents

[00:36:19] Virginia and burnt like what they went through being like, as you said at the start, like kind of basically teenagers with a kid and all the sacrifices they had to make along the way. And

[00:36:29] I think it's a lovely mechanism in the writing that kind of draws all of them closer together because they're like, okay, we're going to go on this journey again. But there's that level of appreciation

[00:36:41] that develops. I think it's really, really sweet. Yeah. And I think Jimmy just develops that more and more as the show goes on. You know, he realizes like there's just little bits here in their he's when he's frustrated with his parents. So remember something, Roheil,

[00:36:55] Hill, think back like, I can't believe they would do this. And then you, he'll flashback to something and be like, oh, you know, the flashbacks are really well done. And they actually drive the story forward. And they drive the character development forward in a way that doesn't feel

[00:37:11] like a crutch. Absolutely. I was going to say, yeah, you're right. Again, it could be very tedious and frustrating in any other show. But it's it's a really well done. And well cast as well at

[00:37:21] the younger versions of themselves are always yeah, they are. Yeah. I mean, speaking of, I've got sort of here in my list. Martha Blimpton is Virginia, the mum is kind of up next and

[00:37:35] again, and that's similar to Lucas. I hasn't done loads. Like I didn't recognize it, but she's phenomenal. I got a set of it just so good. She's so so good. She's really funny,

[00:37:46] really sweet and like yeah, like the running gag of her like mispronouncing things all the time. Oh, my goodness. It's sold every time. I just watched a like a three and a half minute YouTube

[00:38:01] clip the other day of just all the things she says wrong and I'm just dying laughing. I've got the same clip ready to go. Don't you worry? Nice. It's incredible. But yeah, it's again, it's another

[00:38:11] one of like every single time it's hilarious. And a lot of that obviously is down to her delivery of that. Yes, totally. I have no idea what you're talking about. And I resent the inclination.

[00:38:22] And again, yeah. It's interesting. I don't about you. I felt like her partner in the pilot. She comes across a lot. Mina and there's a whole thing about her smoking and all that. And it

[00:38:32] kind of like, oh my initial thought was kind of like, oh, I don't know. Am I going to warm to this character? But kind of by the end of the second episode, they sort of, I think they recognize quite

[00:38:43] quickly how to get away from that and lean into her talents and make her a lot more likeable. Because she's a very likable actress. So you kind of like, accents to lean into that.

[00:38:52] Yeah. I mean, kind of similarly when I watched the pilot, I thought that she might end up being kind of a cliche character that would be that fun, you know, just sort of a white trash,

[00:39:01] chain smoking, like whatever, some bad character that I'm like, well, yeah. I mean, the show was funny enough that it wasn't going to bother me if that's what she ended up being. But the direction

[00:39:12] they ended up taking her was so much better and so much more thought out and so much more of a full picture of a person than what you kind of get in that pilot to the point where like,

[00:39:24] I told my wife knows this. She doesn't care. It's like, kind of starting to get a crush on Virginia and not going to lie. Like, yeah, you can see that. Yeah, she's pretty like, we're really

[00:39:36] sweet. Like she's a good mum. There's a whole thing, um, episode. I mean, spoiler is obviously we get further into the series and like Sabrina comes into the fold and there's like a whole

[00:39:47] arc with her, you know, with those two in the fact that like Sabrina's got a distant mum. And then Virginia just kind of instinctively picks up the slack and there's like a really sweet moment. I

[00:39:58] remember in an episode where they were just sort of sat together chatting and she kind of is like, so, Reya's like, no, you're, you're really good. You're like just naturally, really caring and kind

[00:40:07] and, you know, you're already like a better mum than mine ever was just from being who you are and it's lovely moments like that. They kind of spring-coloured and I thought really effective, really

[00:40:17] sweet. Hey. Hey. I want you to have this. No. That's yours. Hope made it for you. Jimmy wants you to have it. I was just being crazy. Yeah. Yeah, I know. That's why I'm going to keep the necklace

[00:40:41] that hope made because this one is one that I made for you. Happy Mother's Day. That's very sweet, but it's not Mother in Law's Day. It's Mother's Day. Should get that to your mother.

[00:40:55] Over the last few years you have been more of a mother to me than my mother ever was. I want you to have this. I see what you're doing and it's very sweet, but what's my favorite color? What is it?

[00:41:13] Yeah. They put in those heartfelt moments in amongst, it's a comedy. That's what it is for some foremost, but they put those moments in a way that's really, really impactful and makes you think

[00:41:28] about just people in your lives that maybe have some parallels. You know? And it's just another good example of the clever writing in the show. Absolutely. And her relationship with Bert, that them as a couple genuinely up there now is one of my favorite on-screen couples.

[00:41:48] That chemistry is just insane. It's just really sweet. I can't say, only work and describe it. Just watching them. My wife will watch the show and I'm just like, they're adorable. That's cheeky. It's still where they bind to saw each other. It's hilarious.

[00:42:05] It's great. The chemistry there with the whole cast is very apparent, but especially between them too. Yeah, because you totally buy them as like these sort of teenage lovebirds and like you said

[00:42:16] when we meet them, they're kind of in their late 30s going into their 40s and that energy is still there between them. And I think that's just really, again, really sweet, really amazing and

[00:42:27] hats off to Anne, of course, to get her a dill-hunt is just like bouncing off each other in that way. It makes me wonder and there's no way for us to really know but some of their scenes in particular

[00:42:40] feel adlibbed in a good way. It feels maybe it's not, maybe it's just the writings that that on point. But sometimes when they're going back and forth, it feels like they're just kind

[00:42:51] of going at it. Yeah, I don't know if that's true or not but it feels that way and I think that against just kind of speaks to the chemistry. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, it is actually that. It

[00:43:03] feels like it just feels like you're watching a real couple just on screen like just the way they bounce off each other and I kind of love that again, both of them absolutely love each other.

[00:43:13] Like the way they're played, it's written it. You can't deny like you could come at that kind of character, right? As like, oh, they were teenagers. They made a mistake. Like, you know,

[00:43:23] that's face it as teenagers before but in love with people that were not good for us. You know, your taste change, but it's like then you just like, oh no, they are meant to be. They all 100

[00:43:34] percent the right person for the other person, like there's just no doubt. And as you say, the way they go back and forth and it's yeah, it's absolutely perfect. And their names too,

[00:43:47] I for some reason just love their names, Bert and Virginia that just sounds so good. Yeah, it does. It totally does. It's just the way they bounce. Yeah, the way that works together. You're

[00:43:59] 100 percent right. I don't know why it just fits. It really fits. I don't know. I was speaking of Garrett. I mean, again, just as his own character. hilarious. I look at it. It's speaking

[00:44:09] to the flashbacks. I love him with his long mane. Like, I love it. Yeah. Yeah. So good. I don't know about you. I feel like it suits him. When I watch you get them, like, I could see this guy

[00:44:20] pulling this off just normally. Yeah, just going, yeah, maybe that's very, you know, Jinsie 2023 of us to say a moment back in style. But I saw a 10 year old with an impressive

[00:44:33] mole yesterday at this door. I was going like, okay, all right, Rocket Bay man, like, go for it. Like, you do you. I could never pull that off. But he does Garrett pulls it off very nicely.

[00:44:46] One thing. And this isn't really a criticism. And it sounds going to sound weird coming for me as somebody who, like, like, lifting weights and stuff. But like, I always one thing that didn't fit.

[00:44:57] I was going to make a criticism. And I would never suggest that he doesn't do this. But it's like, that dude's in great shape. And it almost doesn't fit his character. You know what I mean?

[00:45:07] Right. Like, like, like the dude's buff. Like he's not like Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilder, like that kind of buff. But he's in great, he's in phenomenal shape and condition. And I'm like,

[00:45:16] I don't know if that guy is going to be in that great condition if he's really that character. But I don't know. I don't know. That was one, if I had a criticism,

[00:45:26] and it's a really stupid one admittedly. That's that's one thing I didn't think like fit in with the, everybody else I feel like was just about perfect. And he is perfect in the way

[00:45:38] he responds his chemistry with with Martha and everything. I think it's brilliant. But I was, I always did think it was like, I never, but he's clearly, and he's clearly jacked when is he

[00:45:49] working out? Because I don't get that kind of workout. You know, I completely agree as a gym girl myself. Yeah, I felt the same way watching it. It was kind of like, okay, yeah, okay. He works

[00:46:03] a physical job. I also work a physical job. So not I get how that stops you from, you know, perhaps gaining a bit more than you want. But I say Miss You, I was like, yeah, but when

[00:46:13] he's finding time to do crunches and lift it's like, yeah, then you press this is water around the house drinking beer and being stupid like that's, you still have a fight for that. No, but hey,

[00:46:24] you know, I would never ever say that he shouldn't do that as a nurse or a nurse or a nurse. Not at all. And the guys are genuinely hilarious. A nice sort of similarity to him and the way that

[00:46:37] Lucas plays Jimmy's kind of naive wide eye optimism. You could see like, oh, that's where he gets it from. Like they sort of layer that in quite nicely. As a matter of times, but I would just say something and

[00:46:48] just says it with like complete wide eye innocence that you're just like, oh, bless you know, like, Albert. And then exactly. And they do a good job to of making him feel like a blood relative

[00:47:03] to Jimmy because he's supposed to be obviously, but he, he very, I very much buy that he's his dad. Like, I 100% I don't have any question in my mind whether that's his father or not. Because the

[00:47:14] way they act like each other sometimes, like you said, that sometimes that innocence is both there. They both are just like, what? Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. It's not mirroring the air that

[00:47:27] app. There it is. There it is. To bring their barter system to the next level, my parents went down to Lee's coffee shop and had him print up hundreds of burnt box. There's plenty to go around,

[00:47:43] trust me. This will make everything easier. Well, I'm off to my manny petty. Can you spot me if you burnt box? No. I spent my last ones on a crochet lesson from a lady Stevens so I can make this

[00:47:54] toilette see cozy. Ooh, that's going to be great in winter. If you're out of burnt box and I'm out of burnt box, and we got a problem. What if we just print ourselves some extra

[00:48:03] burnt box? I mean, that's good for everyone because the more we spend, the more everyone else will have to spend. I'm no more in buffet, but I bet that's just the thing to stimulate our bartering

[00:48:14] economy. But at the same time, Jimmy does feel a bit more with it than burnt most of the time. Like a little more, a little more aware of the general scenario where burnt seems to be a little bit

[00:48:29] more in outer space. It's nice though. Hi, absolutely. He's very much like again. Part of the whole growing up thing like we said, would Jimmy? I think that's the other side of it is

[00:48:45] he's often the catalyst for when he realizes, you should have been more responsible. You should have had it get you could say that that could be quite like a negative tone to bring. But it isn't

[00:48:59] really because at the end of the day he always learns his lesson. Yep, and that's again, same as we said with Virginia, like giving up smoking quite early on, it's like the all the characters

[00:49:08] grow and both definitely does. And like one sort of thing I thought was quite interesting in his arc is I feel like he learns to believe in himself a bit more, you know, but end of the series. He's

[00:49:19] a lot more confident and not an arrogant way at all than about you. Yeah, I think so and I think that's probably the result of having learned a lot of lessons he probably should have learned

[00:49:30] on the first go round with a child. Yes. Better late than never, I think he learned a lot of that stuff with with raising hope and being a part of that and having other perspectives thrown out

[00:49:42] and just being older and wise enough to realize that oh, you're right. I did kind of screwed up a little bit the first time. Maybe I need to do this slightly differently or, you know,

[00:49:55] I think even having Jimmy point some of these things out to him, not in a mean way, but when he would do something dumb, yeah, the other characters in the show would let him know and he was more

[00:50:05] receptive to that than I get a vibe that he probably was when he had the the magnificent main of hair. Yeah, yeah, definitely true. I'd speak in if someone else in the household,

[00:50:17] I just, I've we mentioned it earlier for me probably now one of my favorite characters in any show ever, the incredible more more played by chloro-sleachman. Oh, it's so incredible. Just absolutely phenomenal.

[00:50:34] I never heard of a product to this either, so it was just what I did like, what absolute delight. Oh, Mama is absolutely absolutely a brilliant character. I kind of love that we never fully

[00:50:49] know the backstory, but she has like clearly like she's probably killed someone, you know, it's like good. Like she's for the you know for the listeners, she's she's seen out in this in this show for the most part. She does she generally doesn't, generally speaking doesn't know

[00:51:09] where she's at, but she has flashes where she comes back to reality and sometimes that reality is not the current reality. Sometimes that is in reality from long ago and she's in a scenario

[00:51:23] that you would never expect an old lady like that to. Yeah, because she clearly think she's in doing some sort of drug deal or in some other sort of sketchy scenario where you're like, Mama, what are you talking about? She's so so hilarious. She's incredible and just like

[00:51:40] it's one of those performances that I just think credit to chloro-sleachman. I think sadly she passed away, not that long ago. But she's incredible and like clearly just game for anything.

[00:51:54] Like you gather that the writers must have just had so much fun coming up with so many bizarre scenarios for her to do. It's really disturbing or hilarious things for her to say and she was

[00:52:06] clearly just like yeah okay whatever I'll say anything I'll do anything doesn't matter and just as a result it's constantly stealing the scene in like every episode. I'm always

[00:52:17] waiting for her to come into the room and do something every time I watch it. Or even when she doesn't, you know she'll just come by and she'll she didn't do anything crazy. She just said something

[00:52:27] that makes no sense in the context of what you're watching but it's just so funny. So off the wall. She's one of the best characters and I'm really glad they thought to dream her up because she could have easily as far as the most of the story for

[00:52:48] the whole arc of their show goes. She could have been not in it and the story wouldn't have changed that much but the level of enjoyment of the journey for all these characters at at least as viewers

[00:53:01] would have been way lower without Mama. Like she's not it's hard to say like she's not a she's not a main character for sure but she but she is important in in really like driving

[00:53:17] most or a large chunk of the humor. Not so much the main storyline but just she just makes everything funnier and better and every scene she absolutely yeah I mean there are quite a few scenarios that

[00:53:30] the episodes that just start with her doing something just off the wall and then that's that's it for the rest of the episode the characters are then left picking up the pieces.

[00:53:40] Yes as you say it's like that it wouldn't have worked and fair play to them as you say for utilizing this actress because she's just so good like just again the delivery of some of the stuff

[00:53:52] I'll have to put in some more clips but a matter of time is watching this here is my wife as she would say something and I would just start crying with laughter like it would just hit me so hard

[00:54:00] I thought fair play to her like just like you said hats off to the right is for recognizing the talent fair play to clorers for just going for it but yeah I'm getting whatever let's do it.

[00:54:12] She just crushed it it was actually one of the things about watching this show that we probably should like warn everyone about it's got to be careful eating or drinking while watching the show

[00:54:22] because things will pop out and out of nowhere usually Mama and you'll do a spit take like I almost spit my drink out I don't know how many times what I'm like I got to be careful

[00:54:33] watching this show because yeah she'll come out of nowhere say something crazy and I'll want to laugh so you just to be aware don't don't have any sensitive electronics near you if you're gonna have an abeverage hard agree hard agree

[00:54:50] I'm waiting for the spin cycle. I think this is the first time I've ever seen your meat whistle brick. I believe that's true. Not a fan. And again she kind of gets similar to the rest of them

[00:55:04] I think some some lighthearted moments you know and stuff where she's she's quite sweet and quite nice and you know tries to help particularly tries to help Virginia along. This is yet the impression that she's obviously really annoyed at the whole situation and they're living in her house

[00:55:22] like the house they're in is technically owned by more more but it's that thing of like because she's in and out with these lucid states as you say they can kind of get away with just

[00:55:31] getting by and there and but they look after her as you look after them and it's never like a you know that kind of relationship they're taking advantage. Right yeah I mean she needs them to be

[00:55:42] there at the same time like they need to be there she needs them to be there it kind of works out for everybody. Yeah yeah I just remember in an episode where they send it to a nursing home and look

[00:55:51] how disastrous that goes. It's stuff like that they just slip in the yeah it's hilarious and brilliant but it sort of drives her into pointers you just said they did each other really. Yeah they do.

[00:56:02] I mean I guess it's worth noting too while we're talking about if we if we have to remind everybody this isn't network TV show they're cramming all this in in 22 minutes oh yeah yeah yeah

[00:56:15] there's so much happening it's this show each episode could easily have been stretched out to an hour and it wouldn't get boring. Now they managed to tell a cohesive story that you enjoy in 22 minutes every single time. It's really really impressive. Yeah it definitely sits in that

[00:56:33] kind of golden era of sitcoms being able to do that. Funny enough again this is part of the discussion that I would have had very recently about a rest of development when that came back in.

[00:56:43] I know the shows were like they'll put on the longer versions and sometimes you kind of like you know like you can put it cut this whereas as you say this is very much like no no we've got

[00:56:54] to put the best stuff in it and tell a story go and just fit it in that constraint works and yeah you're absolutely right they knock it out of the park with these guys every single time.

[00:57:06] I'm moving slightly on I guess from the family well she becomes part of the family I've mentioned it already Sabrina played by Shannon Woodwood I recognized her I must admit when I first saw

[00:57:15] as a sure if senior on other TV shows or things in the past but same I wasn't sure would I see Sarah and I come virtual or something like that. I've definitely seen this face before.

[00:57:28] Yeah so but her was like a love interest with Jimmy it's the kind of stereotypical thing right in sitcoms to have the will they weren't they type romance but I feel like done very well

[00:57:40] in this I got to say I enjoyed the journey I enjoyed the app and flow with our relationship and how it goes and what did you think? When I first started watching I thought it was going

[00:57:50] to be a firm won't they I figured she was gonna be not interested the whole time and the trope was going to be that Jimmy was constantly finding for this woman that was never going to return

[00:58:00] as a fiction but it takes a different turn and I mean obviously we've hinted out already enough the people get the idea so and sorry this show has been over for a long time so yeah if you've

[00:58:13] made it this far I'm sure you get the idea but they they do end up getting together and it was very unexpected for me when it happened and they agree and so it actually changed so drastically

[00:58:30] the dynamic and then Sabrina got to more develop as a character instead of like oh she's just the cute girl with that has some funny lines here in there you get to see like kind of the

[00:58:42] dark side of Sabrina come out in a good way it's a good dark side but it's a dark side nonetheless and like you get to see her more fleshed out as a full character too and see what she's all about

[00:58:54] versus just being the you know kind of almost to this is an entirely true but almost the manic pixie dream girl type of thing a little bit she's a little bit of that in the beginning

[00:59:07] but a little less manic than maybe the stereotypical version of that but she kind of it does like he does like he is like oh Sabrina like there's a little clip of him here and they're really

[00:59:21] just longing for her and she becomes so much more than that which was really cool to see because a lot of shows that's just all that's the end of it that's all that person ever ends up being

[00:59:33] is is a love interest and there's she's and she could have easily been no more than just Jimmy's girlfriend and yeah she's so much more important and so much funnier and so much more

[00:59:44] interesting of a character they like they let her blow that her blossom I agree yeah I mean like they let the crazy come out especially you know thinking about the stuff we're like the

[00:59:53] tights on her head because of the smile is like that whole thing is like oh you're properly nuts and it's kind of like a funny bit that comes quite quickly after them getting together but it almost immediately

[01:00:04] I think helps to fit into the family because as you said she's sort of like this almost seems like too good for him kind of figure and immediately is like oh no you're your dinosaur on level so okay yeah yeah you're a weirdo yes fine

[01:00:19] okay calm down I'm alright I'm fine I'm not in any day I did some research and this is the way if you're overcoming your fears once you realize that I'm okay you'll see there's nothing to be a fear you know

[01:00:38] oh okay guys I can be pleased that agreement I think you're starting to freak the spiders out a little bit what do you have panty nose on your head? I'm because Jimmy told me all about your stupid phobia and now I can't sleep without

[01:00:51] worrying I'm gonna wake up with a head full of spiders you told her you told her when I asked you not to she made me seriously because we need to keep your voices down can you sit this one up my neck stop screaming

[01:01:05] no help I can't believe you told her and they're biting they're biting me then even like her and and Jimmy kind of again going on the journey of improving

[01:01:20] and and being a parent right she has to kind of become a mum to hope and I think that's an interesting dynamic and another yes area like as you say where they let the cat to grow and

[01:01:31] come into our own and like okay what kind of mum is she gonna be and they explore that in the sort of later seasons and again I think it all works it makes her a lot more interesting to

[01:01:42] watch and more likeable too. The more crazy you see out of her the better she's just a like just a better person somehow yeah yeah yeah I like it some brain was awesome yeah yeah I

[01:01:58] also enjoy the joke that you find out that she's from a really really wealthy family at one point yeah oh okay yeah but she's working at a grocery store for some reason like what is all this

[01:02:10] what's going on here yeah that whole arc and there's some of the guests that you get in that just yeah absolutely incredible um I may speak you can offer to why it is another one similar to a lot

[01:02:22] of shows I talk about the guest cast in this surprise solid um as we mentioned earlier if you're a fan of my name as though you're gonna see a lot of familiar faces I mean just to Greg

[01:02:33] Pinkley is one of my favorite favorite comedy actors now I think the guy is just hilarious as Barney the Stormman and Jiren mm-hmm it's just the chaos that is that man's life you know

[01:02:45] yeah do you ever watch scrubs you were a big scrubs fan or oh no I never really watched it yeah it's okay I don't know if you have a soul that character Ted the sort of uh the the lawyer

[01:02:55] a little bit here and there yeah yeah it's kind of that's my kind of reference point for characters like him we're like they're just so weird and kind of sad but you sort of grow to love

[01:03:05] them as the show goes on and like every time they pop up or they give you a little hint into their backstory it just gets more and more bizarre and again but it but played to great effects

[01:03:16] you know I mean the idea of him being a Stormman as you're an also a voluntary police officer and his weight fluctuates massively in between series at different points it's all that stuff

[01:03:26] about him is just really entertaining when I say grocery you say hello is that grocery okay now yeah he's he's got that sort of he's a sad character right yes but

[01:03:45] I kind of think of him as an ear in some ways not in the way he acts or is portrayed but in that he's a very sad character that you're like oh but I love you you know exactly yeah very like you

[01:03:58] yeah it's like your life sucks but you know that's I feel for you buddy I hope it gets better absolutely yeah and yeah yeah and yeah okay quite like a boy in some ways as well and that like

[01:04:11] whenever they need something the family he's generally very reliable like always shows up and is helpful and useful to them so you're like fair enough yeah it's true and it also makes you wonder like why are you always around yeah you get the pressures very lonely exactly the

[01:04:27] job something better to do I go maybe you don't actually but I feel like it is a show again that so what you said earlier is very good at helping you to see people as more like kind of three

[01:04:38] dimensional right and grow and he's definitely a good example as his Frank played by Todd I'm going to mispronounce his name uh keep in mind uh Hane I might have to correct myself here

[01:04:50] yeah another one that on the surface could be that he's this creepy weirdo that kind of you know wonders around the store and says very creepy things to women particularly and you know like there's

[01:05:03] a whole episode I think with him and Jimmy hangin out and he's got like a model village with everybody and yes it's kind of like this is strange but again like kind of grows on you as the series

[01:05:15] goes on you sort of like I don't know right you it's sort of like characters we are like okay you're very odd but a kind of like you just sort of like another character in this time well as you as long

[01:05:26] it's one of those ones where as long as this is as far as it goes it's okay oh yeah yeah it's him and Shelley played by Kate Machuci who are just the same kind of like you're lovely but at arms think

[01:05:41] like you're just seem so chaotic that I don't want to get pulled too far that's right I'd like to just be over there but I'm glad that he exists yeah yeah yeah again they all kind of part of

[01:05:52] that family I guess and I'm just trying to think he was I mean I don't have a right so name here I'm just realizing some of the names in this cast and not good for me but I'd you fill it

[01:06:04] so please Lucy you mentioned earlier the mum fascinating and terrifying every time she's on screen she's not in very many episodes but when she does turn up oh boy I kind of wish she was in more

[01:06:19] to be honest yes I wish she really brings the chaos because well as we've talked about multiple times she's she's wanted for various crimes very violent ones and it's the story of her and Jimmy

[01:06:36] meeting is is really funny and just like of course this is of course this happened to Jim he you know why it couldn't have happened anyone else but Jimmy and she's she's interesting I wish

[01:06:48] we could have saw you know this is you know this wouldn't have fit in with the whole flow of the show but I kind of wish we would have saw a little more graphic nature of of a graphic portrayal

[01:07:00] of the things that she she had done really yeah it would have it would have it would have dead up for me but I'm weird like that it wouldn't have fit in with the vibe of the show but I

[01:07:10] I would have liked it maybe that's for like the sort of dark drama version of this that someone might remake in a few years you never know it's funny how dark her story is and how unsettling it

[01:07:21] actually is and it's just played in a way that makes you laugh oh yeah like there's that whole thing where you meet her parents and her dad's like hi across to basically psychotic and like

[01:07:31] it's just like oh this explains everything good well again all these little ways they play into these characters you say like it's really dark really weird but really funny yeah and I think even

[01:07:42] there's that I think it's like the end of a second series where she kind of threatens to take Jimmy in hope away and it looks like that's where it's going and then the last minute she like

[01:07:53] jumps out of the van like Chase has separated down the street with a knife she can't help herself and I don't know what you want she got with my wife I was like oh I did not see this coming

[01:08:05] no no but again if it's just it's the absolute ridiculous now she gets hit by a bus for anyone who's wondering like that's how the series ends like it's just yeah again sort of leans into that

[01:08:17] really dark drama of it but it's just at the same time completely wacky just on this on a flip of a coin it feels like they just kind of like and this just why not these things happen

[01:08:29] that portrayed a different way would make you cringe a little bit or go oh yes but you know like I've seen people get hit by buses in movies before that make you go

[01:08:42] ah yeah and this is just like a bit by a bus you know like it's just a pretty sure isn't driven by a character who's blind as well like this is like another level of stupidity yeah exactly

[01:08:57] no but she's fine spoilers she comes back she always comes back yeah oh yeah okay again I'm with you man I'm like should have been in more episodes for sure so it's just bring absolutely

[01:09:11] kale to it but I mean if you're like a fan of I think Americans it comes as I said that cast of my name as they're all turn up in this you've also got Amy sederis who's in my mind one

[01:09:21] of the funniest comedy actresses working and should be more stuff um as she basically plays a delilah who's I think she's Virginia's cousin and it's like constantly trying to one up her

[01:09:33] and it's so many ways like Amy sederis is really good at playing there's like over the top hysterical characters and just yeah what delight when she pops up I think as you go in I'm so gonna quick scroll Jenny Slate again they'll amazing Jenny Slate and then he

[01:09:49] Griffith Michael Mali Jeffrey Tambble we just talked about him a restaurant development as Virginia's dad yes and he's incredible and he's just kind of like yeah exactly what you'd expect

[01:10:00] once you get to know the character of Virginia a little bit more like of course this is your father yeah absolutely it's it's stuff like that that they just I feel like again it's a common talking

[01:10:11] point whenever we talk about comedies on this this podcast is like I think a good sit-com needs to know how to use its guest stars well and this one absolutely knocks those out at the park every

[01:10:23] single time I think that's something I did want to ask you uh Blake is what did you make at the finale I it's kind of weird because it was one of those ones where I obviously knew it was the finale

[01:10:39] and we'd been saving it and we'd been like oh it's not watch it yet oh it's not watch it yet which we have the luxury of doing in the this but not you know one of the show first there aired that

[01:10:50] wasn't an option but so we put it off for a while but we immediately just went back and started watching it again so yeah it kind of wasn't it wasn't as heartbreaking as it could have been

[01:11:05] but I think it left off on a good note I think it was well done finale sir always a controversial subject with any beloved show right and I I feel like this one probably isn't as controversial as

[01:11:17] some have been it was it was well done I feel like it wrapped it up pretty well what do you think I I had a I had a great man I I thought it was really understated you know it was one of those

[01:11:29] I'm kind of used to particularly American sitcoms doing the thing where they do the big wrap up yeah and everybody gets like a send off or their arcs are complete and in this one

[01:11:41] is interesting because there's a few things planted in that final season I think there's a there's a mini arc quite like there's a potential for Sabrina and Jimmy to combine their talents right

[01:11:51] because running thing in the show is that Jimmy's a really good artist like he can just he's a good illustrator he can draw pretty much anything and there's a series as an episode where they kind of

[01:12:01] toy with the idea of them writing a kids book and you and I kind of thought oh maybe they'll pick that up in the final episode and it'd be like you've got a book deal and they go off in the sunset

[01:12:10] and or it's you know stuff like that but that doesn't really happen I think the closest you get is you get a nice kind of wedding ceremony for for Burton Virginia and it's like a chance for them

[01:12:22] to have the thing that they didn't have as teenagers and you're like that's kind of nice and sweet but it's not really changing anything about the characters because it's like they they still love

[01:12:33] each other they still feel the same way their lives are still basically the same you know and as there's a handful of sitcoms I can think of with that's been the case with the final episode

[01:12:45] isn't like this big send off it's kind of just like yeah things just you know carry on as they do I think of like sign-filled and coogatarian I like to other shows I've watched where that happens

[01:12:56] well you're expecting something big and it just sort of is but and it's not a bad thing it's just kind of like okay that was on my step-as-ode and then you and as you say you can kind of go yeah

[01:13:07] yeah I can just restart this now I guess it's sort of like a loop there's no real for that it's not like it's not like the soprano's you know ending or something where it's like

[01:13:15] or it's like it's very final you know it's not we've talked about that it's not like that at all and I think that fits in with this show though because and I think sign-filled that actually is a

[01:13:26] great example of that too where the whole show is just about whatever's happening there isn't really other than they're trying to raise this baby there isn't a main thing that's going on

[01:13:37] Jimmy's not trying to become an artist necessarily he's just really good at art and trying to live his life and raise this kid that's really all the show is about as far as having a central

[01:13:50] hook or or storyline and this just allows you to imagine that that these characters are often there's any world still having their zany adventures you know like a grand that note you know nothing

[01:14:03] too crazy happens to where oh yeah like he said now Jimmy's got a book deal and he's going to he's moving to the big city and everything's different now it just kind of lets you

[01:14:13] you still imagine these characters are out there somewhere doing the weird things that they do and I feel like that's a more comfortable place to leave the show off than some sort of big sweeping

[01:14:24] change that you know now you have to wonder what what's Jimmy doing in New York City like that just seems less interesting you know they don't I don't want him to move to yeah I want him to have a good

[01:14:33] life but I don't I don't want him to get out of the the town necessarily in the same the same way that sometimes Americans that comes can have like this and now they're off to their next adventure

[01:14:44] type of thing yeah and I think you're right man and I think it kind of leans into the theme really across the show right that they have a good life and you don't have to necessarily have

[01:14:56] the big fancy job as you say in the city or whatever is like you're escape you don't have to escape this life it's perfectly fine as it is and that's kind of a running thing in the show

[01:15:08] about being content and yeah I agree it makes sense it like oh yeah that they would just sort of carry on as they are like and that's fine they're all quite happy doing that so

[01:15:20] you said why would they need to have that big grand sweeping change or something in their lives to sort of send them off like their problems have solved still not kind of show no it's not

[01:15:30] that kind of show and it's not how as much as this show does not necessarily reflect 99.9% of people's lives there's a lot of elements of real life in it and I think that's

[01:15:42] that's obviously much more true for a real person is even when you do have a big sweeping moment a big huge thing getting married or having a kid or somebody passing that

[01:15:53] that is it feels like a complete turning point in your life and in some ways this but at the same time you do just keep living you just keep going until you don't obviously we all

[01:16:04] we'll do that it's we'll expire at some point but you do you just keep going you keep experiencing things you keep having new things happen to you you keep doing things just as normal when you

[01:16:16] have a big moment like in finale's and in movies and everything there's always this wrap up especially in movies there's a big wrap up and that's the end of the story but when your story has

[01:16:29] been for 88 episodes of these people just living their lives I think you like to imagine that it continues that same way and that's how we all do things right when we sign off of this episode

[01:16:42] I don't imagine that you just disappear and that's the end of your you know like that's not the end of your existence right you go back to your wife you do things you have you know dinner you

[01:16:52] you have experiences you know for a long time and I think that show like you said when we're talking about like exploring characters and making them feel more three-dimensional and not just like

[01:17:05] there they are here for this one purpose in this one moment so bringing out really got that I think the most uh one of the show does that I think this is how you want to see it go yeah I completely agree completely

[01:17:20] agree and yeah for anyone listening where am I in the UK anyway it's on diste plus it might be the same state's where he was I think it is on Disney plus I believe yes yeah I mean if it's not

[01:17:31] there are other means but I would highly recommend just that you just go and check this out because I think as we've mentioned a number of times it does feel like a very underrated under scene

[01:17:44] kind of shows if you haven't go and check it out especially again if you're a fan of my name as a one shows like that this will 100% be the new wheel house and if it's not

[01:17:53] give it a try anyway that's kind of the motto of this show anyways all right give things a try so there it is but yeah before I kind of sign off I just want to throw the floor over to you Blake

[01:18:02] was there anything else that you wanted to mention with the conversation here? I think well he's pretty much covered it go watch the show absolutely well on that note then yeah Blake I'm just

[01:18:13] going to throw over to you my friend where can the good people find you and all of your podcasting and YouTube and all the like good stuff yeah so I do a little bit of YouTube the channels

[01:18:23] I'm I'm the tone mob everywhere I do a lot of guitar based stuff I do a lot of stuff on Instagram memes short pedal demos all whatever content I come up with in the moment is what I

[01:18:37] spit out there and hopefully people like it so that's at the tone mob on Instagram the tone mob podcasts are show where I sit down and interview people from the music world and I tend to originally I focused on their pedalboards and their gear and that signal chain

[01:18:55] and it's sort of evolved into just tell me about yourself when we'll go from there so I've had some pretty interesting guests on I've had Cal Gas from Tinationasty I've had Frank Euro from my chemical romance I've had a bunch of people you've probably heard of

[01:19:08] a lot of metal bands getting a lot of country people coming on here in the future and a lot of people from the guitar gear world that build pedals and things like that so the tone mob

[01:19:18] podcasts is available everywhere and I also do the chasing tone podcast with speaking of pedal builders Brian Wompler of one-plur pedals and Richard Oliver who lives over there in the UK as well and we just we just say insane things on the internet every week

[01:19:35] maybe tangentially related to guitar maybe so I think that's pretty much a stuff oh and if you do happen to play guitar I'm a partner in string join guitar strings and we make guitar

[01:19:46] strings in Nashville Tennessee and if you like that kind of thing we make it so I think that's all my plugs nice we've showed up at links in the show tonight's for everybody I think I mentioned

[01:19:58] before on this show that yeah it is regular lessons of mine both shows I Richard has been kind enough to guest on this podcast as well on the past days yeah definitely a big fan of what you guys do

[01:20:10] I can definitely speak as a guitarist for string join I've recently tried them out really like them so thank you yeah happy to endorse all of your things Blake and put links as I say in the show

[01:20:19] notes anyone who's listening want to go and check it out just go for it very much appreciate that thank you oh no no thank you thank you for putting in all the hard work man it's always easy to

[01:20:30] support someone when what they make and what they're involved in is just good stuff thank you yeah I do I do try so I'm glad I'm trying to say it's for some people awesome well in that case it was

[01:20:41] left to say it's just thank you so much Blake for coming back to the podcast of course thanks for the invite and there we have it thank you so much Blake for coming back onto the podcast and sharing

[01:20:51] a love of this wonderful sitcom as we said there at the end of the episode if you've not seen it just go and check it out it's available on most streaming platforms now and is well worth your time

[01:21:02] as our Blake's podcast of course if you are not familiar with Tomob all the chasing Tomob cast you should change that today I've left links in the show notes we can go and check

[01:21:11] those out I think they are both absolutely wonderful shows and they are genuinely weekly listens for me in the Tomob Blake gets to talk with all kinds of interesting people in the music industry and

[01:21:22] I personally have learned an absolute ton listening to those interviews and chasing tone features both Blake and Richard Oliver who is of course previous guests on this podcast and the in Nigma that is Brian Wompler it's a really interesting podcast actually listening to these guys talk

[01:21:39] about music gear and as he says it often goes off topic and they just have a really great chemistry so if you enjoy that sort of thing make sure that you head into the show notes as I said there

[01:21:48] are links in there for you to go and check it out and I was being genuine when I said that the stream joy guitar strings are awesome again if you're a musician listening to this you want to

[01:21:57] go and check those out links from the show notes I'm not just saying it because Blake was on the podcast they really are fantastic and they offer custom gauges which I think's really cool so if you're

[01:22:06] like me and your like alternate tuneings and all that sitting nonsense then you can just go ahead and get some made to your own specifications so I think that's pretty cool and worth checking out.

[01:22:17] If you haven't enjoyed this podcast and you would like to give me some support then please consider doing a few simple things first and foremost just tell somebody I really don't mind how you go about doing that whether it's social media, word of mouth etc it really helps

[01:22:32] to grow the podcast it is honestly the only way that this podcast can grow is for people to just recommend it so make sure that you do that you can also head over to your favorite podcast

[01:22:43] of choice and lead me a lovely five star review or rating please be sure to let me know if you have because I would love to give you a big thank you on the next episode of the podcast after all

[01:22:54] it is the least that I can do and finally if you want to throw in some money towards a podcast of course there is zero obligation but if you want to then please consider checking out the links in the

[01:23:04] show notes for the coffee or coffee I still don't know how to pronounce it anyway it's a donation page you can donate direct there or you can head over through the merchandise stores and pick up

[01:23:14] something featuring the wonderful artwork designed i1 Alex Jenkins his details also in the show notes right that's enough from me I will be back in a weeks time with a fan tastic episode to finish out

[01:23:28] sitcom September it might be a little bit delayed because it's gonna be a big edit but trust me it's worth it and it features two returning guests to the podcast so make sure that you're

[01:23:39] subscribed followed whatever it is you have to do so that you do not miss out on that until then take good care of yourselves go and watch raising hope go and check out the tone mob and the

[01:23:50] chasing tone podcasts and I will meet you right back here for the final episode of sitcom September see you there right there is the mail now let's talk about the mail when we talk about the mail please mark

[01:24:16] I'm dying to talk about the mail for you all day okay pepper is Sylvia this name keep coming up over and over again every day pepper is mail getting sent back to me pepper is Sylvia pepper is Sylvia

[01:24:24] I look at the mail with this whole process pepper is Sylvia so I said I'm a song I gotta free this guy I gotta go through something I gotta put it's mail in the guide god damn hands otherwise he's never gonna

[01:24:31] get it it's gonna keep coming back down here so I got the pepper sauce I saw what do I find out what do I find out? can you still pepper Sylvia the man does not exist okay so I just said oh my god he

[01:24:42] got a big little deeper there's no pepper Sylvia got a big hit of the I got passes full of pepper all right so I start marching my way down to Carol and HR and I'm not gonna door

[01:24:51] and I say Carol Carol I gotta talk to you about pepper was not a single god damn desk in that office there is no Carol in HR neck have the employees in this building and it made up

[01:25:07] this office has a goddamn ghost house okay Charlie I'm gonna have to stop me right there not only do all of these people exist but they've been asking for their mail on a daily basis

[01:25:19] it's all they're talking about up there Jesus Christ we're gonna lose our jobs well come down cuz here's one thing that's not gonna happen what we're not gonna get fired we're not cuz we've already been fired we've lost our jobs yeah about three days ago a couple

[01:25:33] pincslips came in the mail one but you want to miss what did I do I nailed them how tight is I be okay if we've lost our jobs that means we've lost our health insurance which means all

[01:25:41] of this was for nothing god damn it dude I'm having a panic attack I'm actually having a panic attack you said I'm down I'm another cup of coffee I am bro all right well fine you have Barney give

[01:25:50] this guy a cigarette he's freaking out who? Barney he's the guy who hit me off the pepper Sylvia Barney who the hell is Barney you don't see but oh what the hell are they you've lost your mind you've lost your god damn mind Charlie