Season 6 introduced us to Charlene’s sister, Carlene Dobber. And look, we know Designing Women fans find the latter seasons sacreligious. But. Do not sleep on Carlene. This “pie-eyed girl from Poplar Bluff, Missouri” deserves all the flowers. We’re gonna give ‘em to her because, well, she’s a ding dang riot.
Carlene wouldn’t be the delight she was without Jan Hooks’ performance, so sidebar about her with us.
Then come back Thursday for an all-new Extra Sugar inspired by Carlene’s stint as troop leader of troop #6523, Atlanta Council, Girl Scouts USA. It’s gonna be good. Scout’s honor.
Some reads and watches on the incredible Jan Hooks:
And here’s some additional resources on Carlene’s Google history:
Some legitimate information on what happens if you throw a penny off the Empire State Building
A lively Reddit post about the veracity of the “permanent record” and an article on insidehighered.com about the debate around requiring students to disclose their high school disciplinary records to colleges
Come on y’all, let’s get into it!
Or listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music.
Transcript
Welcome to Sweet Tea and tv. Is that right?
Hey, Nikki.
Hey, Salina.
And hello, y'all. Is that right? I don't know. Welcome to Sweet Tea and tv.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Salina: We're done with season seven. Can you believe it? We are at the Carlene episode
Can you believe it? We are at the Carlene episode. So two up, two down. We're done with season seven.
That's so season six.
Where are we?
That's so crazy. And just. Thanks, Salina. You didn't even want to talk about this season?
I have thoroughly enjoyed talking about it in six so far episodes.
I was thinking the other day when I was watching some of the later episode. No, maybe I was watching the earlier episodes. Going back and trying to watch earlier episodes, but thinking, how did we do this episode by episode previously? That's so hard.
Yeah, I don't. You know, and I've, One of the pieces of feedback I've gotten is like, I miss y'all doing it episode by episode. which is really sweet, but also.
Like, this is mama's tired.
Yeah, basically.
But I also think it's allowed us to focus on the episodes we like the most and really dive into those and talk about the topics, you know, because some of the episodes we talked about before, like, a little bit filler, and we weren't super excited to talk about them. So we show up and we're like, I didn't love this episode. That's not a great listen, is it?
I don't know. I mean, for me, sometimes it's a. It's just as fun to pick something apart and celebrate it, which says more about me than anything else. But I don't know that that's the entirely enjoyable to listen to. So.
Yeah.
Should fans know that Carlene is Charlene's sister by now
You know, do, you think we need to say that Carlene is Charlene's sister? Do you think people are in the know by now?
I hope they are. They're definitely going to be in the know by the time we finish recording. By the time we finish this episode today.
Should they be in the know that Carlene wasn't initially Carlene? When we got the full rundown of the expansive family back in season one.
They would have known that in my beefs with the episodes about Carlene, but now they know that at the beginning of the episode.
I mean, it's a real. Oh, sorry. It's a real sticking point for fans. So that's just kind of top of mind for me.
I mean, I think it should be that I'm so, so fascinated by some of the, I guess I'd call them editorial choices this season. It is a choice to have done an entire episode about her family. To have talked about her family on a couple of occasions. To have all these Arlene names and never have come up with Carlene or.
Why not? Arlene, you know. All right, I'm gonna grab my glasses. Grandma can't see. Hold on. This is real podcasting.
The best part was watching your face as you came through the slow reality that your glasses were nowhere to be found.
Yeah, I was wondering if you saw me. Yeah, I couldn't hide nothing.
Someone was breaking into your house or you were looking for your glasses. It was one of those two things.
One of the two. It's the same reaction either way. Either death door is right there, or.
You controlled it really well for that, so. Good.
yeah, I meant, to have them here since I'm looking at my phone, which is very small.
Yeah.
We, are virtually recording in case people just really need the behind the scenes, the bts. Sorry. Okay, that's probably enough.
Do we want to talk about the episodes that Carlene appears in
Do we want to talk about the episodes that Carlene appears in?
I think that's an excellent idea because it's. It's next in our notes. So, yeah, we have episode one, the Big Desk. we want to acknowledge that this one might fall more in Allison's corner, but it seems fair to include it on Carlene's list since the first time we met her.
so, of course, the Designing Women team named this one the Big Desk, but it really could have been called the Big Changes, because the desk is big, for sure. But so are the changes. Suzanne's gone, but don't worry, Alison and Carlene are here, but then we lost Charlene, but there was a male stripper. So there's a lot of change, a lot of stuff going on, some redeeming qualities. So that's episode one. Then we had episode four, Dwayne's World. so it's really early in the season to have just met Carlene. But we also meet her husband, her ex husband, Dwayne Dawber. who even in the early episodes, was positioned as a really big part of her backstory. so we are meeting Duane Dauber. He's meeting Dr. Smathers, who is Carlene's new boyfriend. that is Dr. Anthony Smathers, who's also Anthony Bouvier. and not, in fact, Carlene's new boyfriend.
It just sounds like a Simpsons character.
And Smathers, not to be confused with Smithers. Smithers. Yeah, those. So this one is somehow both a Carlene Mary Jo team up and a Carlene Anthony team up. So lot of Lot of Carlene in that one. Then we had episode 13, tales out of school. So we included this one on our Anthony list because he's a big part of the episode, too. But this is really a Carlene, Anthony tag team, so they both get it. So Anthony and Carlene are cramming for exams in this one. But Anthony gets the bright idea that he might be able to get a better grade from one of his law professor if he puts Carlene in a dress and teases her hair and puts her out there for old professor. episode 16, Carlene's apartment. So in this one, Carlene decided she's ready for independence. that's right. She was out of Charlene and Bill's house and into Helltown. Then we had episode 19, all about odes to Atlanta. So this one is the thing where they take an old Hollywood movie and structure a plot around it. so Anthony called it out. It was the 1950 film all about Eve. And Julia's fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride was actually an homage to that movie. but, oh, it took me. It took me a little bit to put that all together because it was the fasten your seat belt quote. I was like, that's from something. So I googled it, and it was that movie. And Anthony had said it earlier in the episode. the bones of the episode are kind of the. Similar to the bones of the movie. I won't say the same because we only get one 1996 Olympics. You know what I mean? And it wasn't during 1950. But, Carlene wrote a theme song about Atlanta for the upcoming Olympics. She submitted it to a songwriting competition. It was named a semifinalist. And then this random adoring fan who got a sneak peek at the song became their first groupie. She fawned over the ladies, helped them prepare for their big performance, but then ultimately, she was setting them up for failure the whole time. And then episode 20, I enjoy being a girl. so this one was, in my opinion, a shining moment for Carlene. A dream come to life. She becomes, the new leader of a local troop of girl scouts. But m. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be because she learned girls these days are so much different than they used to be. so actually, our extra sugar this week is all about girl scouts. She's telling Salina I was putting it together. It took me an alarming amount of time to put together. Just a long time, but hopefully.
So tune in.
I Didn't say it took me a long time to read through, just put together, you know, it's well researched. Read through, feel, feel my way through, feel it. So those are her episodes. Did I miss any Salina?
No, I don't think so. She's a lot going on.
You really would have thrown me for a loop if you had said yes. You missed 14 episodes.
Especially since we connected.
I know, that's what I'm saying. So those are her episodes. Her main plot points. Most obvious plot point to me is, well, in addition to her being, Charlene's sister, which I think I'll get to in a second, but her divorce from Dwayne Dauber, who is southeast Missouri's number one auto import salesman. That takes up of the air of her character through at least episode four, Dwayne's World. But we, I think we do touch on it a couple of times throughout the, season. Then, we kind of move on to her growth as a young woman in Atlanta. Kind of an early season, early series. Mary Jo character arc on fast forward. So, you know, like with Mary Jo we built up over a few seasons. This one really escalates in one season. She gets this divorce. She starts college. She starts dating in Julia and Rusty sitting in a tree. She moves out into her own apartment and Carlene's apartment department. So just a lot of really fast character growth. But similar to I think some of what we saw with Mary Jo.
that's true, yeah.
As a character, Carlene carries on a few traits that we came to love about Charlene, but maybe like with a sense of caricaturism about it.
Jan Hooks stars as Carlene on Nashville Bound this season
So I wanted to mention, in the big desk, there was a line cut that I think was helpful from Charlene's perspective to understand Carlene. So she says it's really hard to believe Carlene's going through a divorce. And then she says she's just so cheerful. She was born that way out of nine kids in our family. Everyone liked to torture Carlene because she was so good natured about it. My brothers hung her upside down in a gunny sack from a tree for hours. When they cut her down, she would stagger off happy as a clam. So you're making a face of violence. Well, sure there was violence, but sibling.
Violence, oh, that doesn't count.
So we know that she sees the world sort of through rose colored glasses. She's maybe a little bit simple. What we also know though is that she's not stupid. And she knows that because she was Tested in school, and if she was stupid, it would have shown up, but if it did, she didn't want to know anyway. She also carries on. I know, right? This is too late in life. She also carries on the flair for music that we learned Charlene had in Nashville Bound, which you referenced a little while ago, where we meet Charlene's whole family. But we learned she had sort of the. This love for music. Well, Carlene definitely has that, too. She writes little songs, culminating in the songwriting competition in all about odes to Atlanta. She's, a goodie two shoes, just like Charlene. but as the ladies are leading her into a tempting world of white lies and shenanigans, she really embraces the bad girl vibes a little bit, too, as the season goes on. and she loves a random story, just like Charlene. little things she saw on Hard Copy, something she read in a tabloid, a random poplar bluff tale. All sort of, Charlene carryovers. I also wanted to mention that, generally speaking, sort of thinking about everything she goes through this season, the group really embraced Carlene, sort of as a favor to Charlene, who asked them to take care of her. But then I think as the season goes on, because they really loved her, Allison is less patient with her than the others are. But by episode 10, Allison became her college tuition benefactor and also, a grade advocate, calling professors and demanding they give her higher grades. That's sort of where she is this season. Did I miss any major plot points?
I think you did an excellent job. No stone left unturned.
There's no.
Too much, because I really. I have to say, like, I just really like Carlene a lot, so she's adorable. I don't know if Charlene, like, created this good mold to, like, come in and backfill in and. Or if it's just the fact that Jan Hooks is so great, you know, that she just really shined in this role. But I was, feeling it.
She's adorable. So we're calling our Charlene. I'm going to keep slipping back into Charlene by accident.
Don't, because we're going to get in so much trouble.
We're calling Our Carlene Season 6 Adventures Carlene Variations on a Hooterville hymn.
Well, well, fasten your seat belts because it's gonna be a, bumpy, ride. And by that I meant can we. Sidebar.
It's a sidebar, Salina. Sidebar. She's got a keyboard. Looking for a reward by digging deep in the Obscure Taking us on a detour. What you got? Salina. In Salina's sidebar. That was the most delightful transition. The most delightful transition. And we haven't had a sidebar in 150 years.
Well, that's why it's gonna be a bumpy ride. I don't know what I'm doing. I was like, God, did we even talk about this sidebar to each other? Just, like, totally spring it on you.
This is. This is all new to me, except knowing you were doing a sidebar because I had the music queued up.
Yeah. So, this is about Jan Hooks. we only get, you know, jam for two seasons, and, just some foreshadowing. Also for you, there will be a, Duffy sidebar in the next episode, because we only get one season with Allison, so let's spend some time with the lady. but, you know, I think the first thing that I'll say about Jan, in my research here, is there are no fake accents. She, was actually born Indicator Georgia.
Oh, I did know this.
Yep. April 23rd, 1957. So she grew up in Georgia, and she spent summers and holidays in Cedartown, where she was also buried. So the art. One of the articles I read described it as not far outside of Atlanta. It's almost on the Alabama line. Yeah.
So super far outside of Atlanta.
Yeah. Right. So I'm like, I promise you that most Georgians would consider that a hefty distance from the city. but I think that's, I'm sure if you're just, like, looking on a map, you're like, I'm still in Georgia. That's like.
It's in, like, the right corner of Georgia, too.
So much closer than, say, California or New York or Russia. So, but, also, I thought we could talk a little bit about her career. And I usually save this sentiment for extra sugar. But please pop in Nikki, if you have any questions. I'm sure I don't know any answers. but depending on your age or, like, how much of an SNL head you are, you know, will probably dictate how familiar you are with Jan Hooks.
Salina was part of Atlanta Sketch group, New Wits in Players
So I thought we could touch on some highlights.
So touch away, Salina.
Touch away. Careful now. well, we're virtual. she was part of the Atlanta Sketch group, the New Wits in the Players. I also just want to say that it's a great name.
That is great.
I try to do some more digging on that group, especially with the Southern Connection and through some weird local boards, like chat groups and stuff. I saw locals refer to it as a supper club. I even found one of their songs on YouTube, which is. It'll be in our show notes, if Nikki will oblige. so if you want to hear it, Shock of the year, Nikki.
Linda Bloodworth Thomason first appeared on SNL in 1986
It was about traffic. and this was like, in the sixth topic.
What? Shut up. I didn't even know a thing about traffic.
Traffic. Well, we've always done a bad job.
I'm sure the infrastructure, man, it's just not built.
It's a real problem. Yeah. If you're here, you know, or incidentally come here, you know, we were in.
Miami a couple weeks ago just for a little while in a rental car, and their traffic might be. Might give Atlanta a run for its money. It was pretty bad, and there was a lot of construction going on. Yeah, it was rough sauce.
I think it's one of the top bad cities for traffic, too. So, that's good.
I'll share the crown with them.
Good that you got to experience that. so she goes on from there, and she eventually is part of the LA comedy troop, the Groundlings. So I think that's something that people are familiar with, but just in case you're not, this was like breeding grounds. Kind of a terrible phrasing, but just go with me for Melissa McCarthy, Jennifer Coolidge, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Kristen Wiig, Dax Shepard, and on and on and on and on. she had a couple of stints on tv, but the next thing that really got her notice was her turn as Tina the chipper Alamo tour guide in Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
So that seems like a good fit for her.
Well, incidentally, Paul Rubins is also a Groundling, So, I'm not sure if they. I'm not sure if they were. I guess they. Maybe they were connected before. I'm not really sure when he was in the Groundlings, but, SNL is when she. That's what she really became best known for. She first appeared on the show in October of 1986, literally within days of the premiere of Designing Women. Just gonna say that. I don't know that really means anything. But to catch, like, the date caught me. I was like, huh?
she was asked, a Hollywood career can pick up.
I know. I'm sure it didn't feel fast to her.
Surely not.
So. But she was there for five seasons alongside the likes of Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, John Lovitz, Nora Dunn, Kevin Nealon, and later Mike Myers. And this is one of the most widely regarded casts in SNL history, and they're credited with pulling the show out of a terrible slump. SNL was actually on the chopping block at the time. It's almost hard to imagine now.
Wild, given how long it's been around and how it's just like part of culture. To ever think about it going somewhere is crazy.
I know. And I guess at the time it.
Was still like, relatively new.
Yeah, relatively so.
But it had been around a decade.
Decade.
Yeah, that sounds right.
but that, you know, and I think we talked about this before, but viewership then, like the bar was much higher than it is now. But, she did impersonations of Ivana Trump, Tammy Faye Baker, Nancy Reagan and Kathie Lee Gifford. She was the first SNL cast member to impersonate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Oh, that's a funny connection to Linda Bloodworth Thomason.
It sure is. Yeah. Good, Good call. Because this is the first time that I'm thinking about that. Now that you've said it. I did pull up one of these.
Was it.
I think, I mean, it's pretty funny. I think maybe Dan, Ackroyd was like the speaker of the House or something.
Okay.
And Phil Hartman, I think was Clinton and they were fighting over the health care bill like, that she was working on like way back in the 90s. Anyways, we'll link. I think I dropped a link.
Okay.
And so that's something that folks can watch.
That's a wild, cast list. Dan Aykroyd and Bill Hartman. That's crazy.
Yeah. And I think, damn. Probably damn. Because we know each other. I think Dan Acroyd probably just came back.
It was a guest.
It's like a special appearance. Yeah, I love him. I think it's because of my girl more than anything.
Hooks was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009 and went into remission in May
Like, that's my connection. You know, it says her dad. Yeah.
I have so many connections to Dan Aykroyd. I just think he's delightful. He has SNL connection because he was in Tommy Boy. He played the, bad guy. And I always think of him saying all of his lines in that movie. We make car parts for the American working man because that's who we are and that's what we care about.
Look at you.
Love him.
You look at you. You really stay in your vein of movies, don't you?
cone heads.
It's like a 14 year old boy or something. I really, I love it. You're like an encyclopedic knowledge of like.
Movies from the early 90s.
That's all you really need. You're like the guy who. Excuse me. I mean, every man who stops at the hairstyle they had senior year. No need to update. You know, that was a great year.
Just to move past the classics, you know what I mean? No, boy.
I mean, you know, I support you 100%. So the other thing I'll say about the SNL piece is, like, it didn't make her like a, Mike Myers or a Dana Carvey, unfortunately. But in reading some retrospectives about her, she has been considered by some SNL insiders to be one of the very best. So.
Really?
Yeah, Designing, Women was next. So that's where we are now in time. Followed by some minor movie parts. I do remember her in Batman Returns. She was in Coneheads, of course. And then she also had a recurring role in the late 90s on third rock from the Sun. She was nominated for an Emmy. She voiced Apu's, wife on several episodes of the Simpsons. And then Tina Fey was a huge fan and personally asked her to play Jenna Maroney's mom on 30 Rock. it was all quite sporadic as her career wore on, but best I can tell, that was a choice. Her peers and those closest to her thought that she could have and should have done more. People thought she could have been a huge star because she just was that talented. But it sounds like there was really a lot going on there. I'm just gonna go ahead and warn you, it's not real. This is not really the happiest story, per se.
I started getting the sense that this was going sad direction.
Yeah. So buckle in, because I'm not, like. I'm not trying to, like, make, you cry. Surprise you with that. Yeah, well, I left all the saddest things you can go read yourself. But, she apparently had some pretty serious anxiety and had developed horrible stage fright. In some quotes from an old interview, and I'm paraphrasing here, she didn't like being on stage. She didn't like the circus of it all. It was an awful time, and she didn't want to be famous and she didn't want to be on tv. So that's like a, That's like rough, you know, like an.
Actor'S worst mix, you know?
She was also reportedly a heavy drinker. A close friend said she was advised to stop because of the liver damage, but she just kept on going. Hooks wasn't really working towards the end. From 2002 to 2013, according to Rip Grantland, she did four TV episodes in one film she mainly spent her final years in an old farmhouse on 66 acres in Bearsville, New York. She was first diagnosed with leukemia in February of 2009, and she went into remission in May. But in 2014, she found a bump on her throat. Ultimately, it would not respond to treatment, and her only option was a laryngectomy. Am I saying that right?
Sounds right.
Here's hoping. but that would have left her voiceless and caused some disfigurement. So she declined that option and chose to live out the rest of her days on her own terms. on October 9, 2014, she passed away with her brother by her side. Bizarrely, I read this account of her last moments, or his last. His account of her last moments in that Grantland article on October 9, exactly 10 years after she died. Yeah, like, I mean, I didn't know. I mean, at least she passed in 2014, but I didn't know the day.
You didn't save that reading for that special day?
I sure didn't. but, like, of course, I was, like, sobbing and, like, my heart split into, like, a thousand pieces while I was reading it. But, that article has a beautiful account of her funeral, so I super encourage folks to read it. I would if I could, but I just think I'd be a sobbing blobbery mess. Another tear inducer I read is her tribute to SNL castmate Phil Hartman after his untimely death back in 1998. I can't read that out loud either, but I, will say this. I like to imagine her first slow dance in heaven was with him. So sorry. I know that was a little sad. Which is why we're linking to some of her skits so that you can also maybe get some laughs in there. But comedians, man, they contain multitudes.
Nikki Hook: I think she had a Southern accent. If she was born in Atlanta
any thoughts, Nikki, before we un. Sidebar? No pressure.
I did have a thought when you were. Oh, when you were talking early on, it was a silly thought. If she was born in Atlanta, like in Decatur in the 50s, she probably really did have a Southern accent. a lot of people who are born in Atlanta today don't have one anymore. We don't have much of a Southern accent. thought about that. The other thing I thought about was just the overwhelming sadness of her losing her ability to perform and ability or willingness or whatever. I think I would be so curious to know what led to that. And was it, like, again, 86 to 91. 92 is kind of a long as five, five ish years, six issues, which is a Long time if you're living through it. But in the grand scheme of life, that's super fast. And to go from sort of like zero, like hanging out with the Groundlings, having fun, to being on national TV where you're watching ratings every week and wondering if you're resonating or not, that probably is an overwhelming feeling and something that you really have to struggle through. And I just hate to hear that she wasn't able to come out, healthfully on the other side of it if she was also battling some sort of substance, use issue.
Yeah, I think, I don't know that she did mind. I think that's what's so flabbergasting for the people who knew her. So this is what they said about like when she kind of fell off the map, might be a weird. Chose to fall off the map. It says that where she lived in upstate New York, she watched and re. Watched terrible old films. The worse the better. She loved, for instance, the Oscar featuring Frank Sinatra drank untold gallons of Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc, nicknamed Bobby Mo, rode her albino horse, also named Bobby Mo, and puttered around the property as her in her dark green 1983 Jaguar, sat rotting in the garage. Two German Shepherds, Frank and Kitty, kept her company until they died. And unabashed smoker, she purchased boxes of her favorite brand Merit on the cheap. And neighboring Pennsylvania friends say that they never heard her talk of quitting or using a nicotine patch, both of which she considered laughable. I just think she was like kind of one of those people that just had an okay time by themselves, you know, I think that the other things I read just sort of described her as like, she just did not want to play the Hollywood game. And I think that dog and pony show was just not for her. I will say what struck me is, and it always does, it's like bizarre to see these characters who were so different on a show.
And then like read things like this and see that, like that just stark difference, you know, because you really do. And I'm not saying she, I'm sure she was super warm and super loving, but like, I don't get not an ounce of sadness, you know, off of the character of Carlene and something like this. And you're like, wow, this is just how they do that. So bizarre and like brain breaking to me because I just can't be anybody but me, you know, I'm terrible at it. So I'm just Always really impressed. And it's sad how it ended, but somehow it also made me love her, like even more because she's such an individual.
Yeah. I mean, the existence alone sounds kind of nice. Like on a quiet, beautiful piece of property, hanging out by yourself. That sounds nice. I just can't help but feel like maybe there's a sadness to that because she would have built relationships doing these, improv groups or comedy troops. And it sounds like some of those fell apart. I did. You know, you and I were Talking about the 10% Happier podcast a couple weeks ago. There is an episode with Judd Apatow where they talk a little bit about why comedians tend to really struggle with things like anxiety and like, stress and just like these big emotions that are really hard for them to process in their personal life, but translate into really amazing art. it's an amazing. It was a really interesting listen. So it's worth listening to. And it kind of. There are some parallels, I feel like, to, Jan Hooks story.
That's great. You know, I want to listen to more of that, podcast. And I can't remember if I told you or not, but we'll just go ahead and talk about right here in the middle of the show because I want to. I bought his book, which is Meditation for Fidgety skeptics. And I was like, how dare you.
See me and write a book about me.
How dare you. I didn't even get a cut of proceeds. But I really, I want to say that I'm like, I think so much in, in the wellness space, there is, a lot of people who are just in it for money.
And I love that he is putting up meditations and all this information for free in different places. And I think that's so important because I'm not saying you shouldn't honor your work and know your value. But like, also it's okay to give people things for free so that they can be better people. And maybe we could have a collective consciousness and be like a better society and world, I don't know. And not charge like $1,000 for everything.
Judd Apatow is working on a documentary with Mel Brooks
So Judd Apatow said that he's been spending a lot of time with, the comedian who wrote Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks.
Okay.
He's been spending a lot of time with Mel Brooks because he's working on a documentary, I think is what he said about him. And he said that, when he asked him what his advice is for people, because, you know, he's 90. I think he said 98 years old. And like, what is your advice when you're talking with your grandkids about life? And he said, just be nice. Just be nice. And I think what you were just saying, like, think about other people so that they can then go out in the world and think about other people.
Do we need a 98 year old to tell us that?
Yes, probably. Yes. And probably like once a month, once a week, Day. yeah. I, I do know about that documentary. he's been working on that for a while. I think so. because I heard him talk about on another podcast.
Not making the round.
Chatting.
Making the rounds.
Making the rounds. M. So yeah, that's my sidebar. I don't really know how to end things.
We talk about happy things. Let's be crazy. We talk about character superlatives
how about we get into like a slightly better note and go character superlatives. We talk about happy things.
Happy things. Do we get to start with the real happy thing? The best episode?
Why not? Let's be crazy.
Let's be crazy.
I liked both Dwayne's World and Carlene's Apartment
Let's follow this document to a T. so this one was a tie for me. I liked both Dwayne's World and Carlene's Apartment. I thought they were both really cute looks at Carlene's approach to life and her personality. I ended up going with Carlene's Apartment because I think in large part because it involved the entire cast, Bernice included. And there were just so many funny little moments which when I was putting together my funniest moments, about Carlene's, entire season, so many of them were coming from that episode. And it's like this, it's not bloated in any sort of way. It's just chock full of funny, cute things. Quick writing, snappy writing, and funny shenanigans. And you know, all of the shenanigans.
Well, I mean, okay, I know that you and I sometimes differ on best episodes or our personal favorites, but Carlene's Apartment was also mine. I mean, I could write a love letter to this episode. it's just like you said, it's chock full of zingers. Jan Hooks and Alice Ghostly are absolutely cooking. The apartment itself is like almost like a character with the assortment of outdoor chairs in the living room. Everyone is having to blow up pool floats to sleep on. They can't, sleep because of the police sirens outside. You know, Anthony's accidentally. Right. Anthony's accidentally sleeping on a sex doll.
Like, you know, Carlene's like cooking on a walk on the back porch or something.
Like potpourri.
Yes. Yes. That was amazing.
Calling Queen Elizabeth in the middle of the night. I mean, you just can't make this stuff up.
And again, like it didn't feel random in any sort of way. It's this random assortment of things. But it all felt like it felt, it came together necessarily because she was in this hell town apartment.
Right. And I think most of us, if you, if you didn't do it yourself, you had a friend, someone was in a totally crappy apartment and you have sat on lawn furniture in the living room. And I'm going to tell you, I've never felt more alive.
Free at least. Right.
There is a 20 year old in me who still would just love to be on those stupid lawn chairs in the middle of an apartment up at 4 o'clock in the morning with no response. Well, responsibilities. I had bills. But it felt different.
Yeah, it did feel different for sure.
The setup to the character of Carlene was just so unnecessarily wonky
So I don't know, how about your worst episode?
for me it was the big desk. So the setup to the character of Carlene was just so unnecessarily wonky. So we talked about this a few minutes ago, like, why did they choose a new name? Why did that happen? And I have more thoughts on that under Cringiest, most obnoxious moments. But like, that seemed unnecessary. Why did they send Charlene away? Ostensibly temporarily, but then we all knew Jean Smart was going away. And you were the one that pointed out early in this season, we don't even get an explanation that she's gone. For real, for real. Like, why would you not just explain that? That feels like something to mention, like she's moving. Like, did they think she was going to come back? Jean Smart? Like, she's just going to change her mind. Is that too complex for the casual viewer? Like, I can't figure that out.
I couldn't remember if we had talked about whether or not that might have been like a Hulu cut. like just one line.
It's nothing somewhere. We did talk about that. We did talk about that. Because that was my theory. When you brought it up initially, I was like, that seems wacky that they wouldn't have explained that.
Oh, do you like how I repackage your theory as my own?
Well, no, I think it was, That's not how I took it at all. I took it as, didn't we talk about this? and I looked into it, especially preparing for this episode. I paid a little more attention to the cut lines, in the big desk and a couple other episodes and it was never mentioned. And so it's just so unnecessarily wonky. And the big desk is really the opportunity to frame up who this new character is. And I just felt like, man, you knew going into this season it was high profile. Everyone was watching because of all the drama that had just played out over the last couple of seasons. You knew the bar was going to be high. And it just felt like a fumble in a lot of ways. And I felt like that was a disservice to her character.
Or it's like, weird because fans would just be like, yeah, she moved to England.
Did she? But did she?
Did she?
People are. And so this is where I wonder if it's a distinction between, what we're doing right now, dissecting the show and watching it over and over again with, like, an eye toward inconsistencies. I just wonder if the casual fan in 1991 wasn't watching in that way. And so they didn't. They felt like that would be too sophisticated for the casual viewer to explain all that. You'll pick it, you'll pick it up, you'll figure it out, right? But to me, it was just wonky, and I think it was an unfortunate episode for her.
I'm gonna tell you what, I think I need a monocle. oh, that's what's killing me is the glasses underneath the headphones.
Duane's World was my least favorite episode of the show
so my worst, was Duane's World. Now, I want to be very clear on something, though. This is why. One, I had to pick one. I didn't. It doesn't. It doesn't really necessarily bother me. But if I was going to put, like, my most critical, hat on, I would say that the issue with that one, I think, is I wish that it had come later in the season after the cast was a little bit more gelled, because I think it was. I think it had all the right things in place. But because they didn't know each other and hadn't acted very long with each other, there were places to me where it felt a little forced.
I honor your perspective. I don't agree with it, but I honor it.
That's pretty normal, isn't it? Well, sometimes you don't even honor it.
Sometimes I say you're an idiot. No, I think that's valid. I think that's valid. I think we could have spent a little bit more building up to the character even of Dwayne, even if he is just a temporary one episode character. I think we could have built up a Little bit more to that. And then, like you said, giving the cast time to gel a little bit would have been. Wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world.
I mean. Yeah, I think. but you know what? I respect that you honor and disagree with my opinion.
I respect that you respect that I honor and disagree with your opinion.
Just so much honor and respect, isn't there?
So do we want to talk about our favorite funniest moments
okay. So do we want to talk about our favorite funniest moments? You get up to three.
My favorite thing about the way my notes are laid out on this one is, I snuck in some extras by making them sub bullets. They're examples of my overall characterization. So Dwayne's world. I loved all the little sidebar descriptions of Dwayne. all the little ways he tempts Carlene with his charms. Like she says, I will not be charmed by him. Even if he draws a face on his stomach, it makes it look like his belly's whistling. there was a whole side gag, which, to my point earlier, about watching the cut lines. It was cut early in the script, but it closes out the episode about his pull my finger routine. but that charms her, like, every time. and then there's another line in that episode, where she says, first we lied, then we stole. It's just like my grandma said. Once you move to the big city, you start running through those ten commandments. I just thought there were so many funny lines from her that were perfectly her in that episode. So that's my first one.
Your first one with eight parts.
My first one with eight parts.
Well, you know, I respect that. That's a real me move. So my first One is episode 15, Pain Comes Home. So this part made me laugh so hard both times I watched it. It's not just what she says, it's also the delivery is so good. She says, but where I'm from, you're not expected to move a thousand miles away to prove you're a grown up. When Dwayne Dawber and I got married, he objected when we moved just three houses down from my family. He said, it will cause problems in the marriage. But I'll tell you, it was real convenient having them close by. There came a time when we fought, and Dwayne was disrespectful of me. When your husband is not treating you with respect, it is real convenient to have your mama come on over and whoop him.
I had forgotten that line. That was really cute.
My delivery, not so good. You get the gist.
You get the Gist. It's been a long workday.
Yeah, please. Do you know how hard it is to pull off a Carlene accent after an eight hour workday? what's your next funny moment or slew of funny moments?
So my next one's just one. it is funny that you just used that one, which is a not one of our Carlene focused episodes. My next one is in one of our not Carlene focused episodes. Episode 14, Driving My Mama back home. When they all got stuck in the storage room with no food, no bathroom, no escape. But they did have a guitar. And she's singing. He was a hardworking man. He worked hard. He went to work. He was a man. and then I loved when she broke into busy hands or happy hands, and Allison was like, but broken hands aren't so happy, are they? And that whole interplay between the two of them, plus her stupid song, I loved that.
So this is perfect because my next funny moment is also a song. And I don't remember what episode it was, but it was her good old days song. You know, they were good. They were old. They were days.
That was really good. That was really funny. Poor Carlene.
The running gag about her having her own sitcom and theme song is so Carlene
All right, so my last one has a couple parts, but it's again, Carlene's apartment. the running gag about her having her own sitcom and theme song is just so Carlene. Like, it's silly. And normally I wouldn't have even picked up on it, but since we're talking about her, I was like, that was. I could see her walking through life thinking that actual thought.
I love it.
It's adorable.
I'm not that happy. Go, Lucky. But if you wanted to peek inside of my brain, that's the kind of.
Crap that's what's going through all the time. Just like. Yeah, it's Salina going.
I think. I think I've told you that, like, my ideal meeting is if it turned into a musical and people just popped up on the conference table and started singing, dancing, at least I'd have something to.
So you can fully identify. It was adorable. I thought that was so cute. You, might also be able to identify with this, although your hospitality is a little bit more top tier. Her hospitality from that episode was so cute. Like you said, the potpourri she made herself because the store bought stuff just isn't strong enough to the snacks. The cheese noodles and bridge mix, but notably no cocktail weenie appetizer, because that would be redundant with the hot dog she's serving for dinner. I just thought, like, it Was so perfectly her. This is so perfectly her. and then her being totally fleeced by Cheech, the block warden, who had a key to everybody's apartment. And, incidentally, a completely full apartment of his own.
Right. He wouldn't be stealing. He's got all kinds of his own.
What does he need to steal from? He's got plenty of stuff.
He's got, like, 12 stereos. My final one was her greeting card poetry. And she says, that's why I'll succeed. I would have a car deal with just that exact situation on the front. It would say, so you just had your dog neutered. Then you'd open it, and it would say something like, I know you're feeling blue, but it was the right thing to do. you went and had him fixed. Now his private parts are nixed.
I want to know so badly if there's any world in which Jan Hooks. Jan Hooks improv that. Given what you said about her being part of a comedy troupe and then being part of the Groundlings, I wonder if she improv'd any of that or if all of this is scripted. I'm gonna live in a world where it's improv.
Yeah.
Because I like that world.
I do, too.
I could improv the song about, the man, the hardworking man. I could improv that. That's about my level of songwriting skill.
I think. Good old days for me too, you know?
Yeah, they were good.
Oh, they were days. Ah.
Carlene is largely an unproblematic character, similar to Anthony
okay, so what about up to three most cringiest or obnoxious moments?
All right, so it seems like I have a caveat to this. As I'm reading my notes, Carlene is largely an unproblematic character, similar to Anthony. She's goofy. I could see where that could great on some people, but I love it because I. As we understand, goofy is my preferred personality type. but I've also shared here before that I'm glad we settled into a really defined character for Carlene. Like, with Charlene, it was unresolved for so long. How. What is she? Is she goofy? Is she not? And you can be multiple things, but we kind of need to have a little bit of a box on this show because we have so many people in the cast. So I really liked that we, settled into her character. We know who she is. We know what to expect, and it makes the watch more enjoyable. so with that said, I think my most obnoxious, cringey moments are going to stretch a little bit, but I do think they're valid.
Carlene's name just grates on me. It seems like a very poor choice
So the first one is what I mentioned earlier, which falls into that category of obnoxious, and it's less about Carlene herself and more about her character's backstory. so you mentioned season one, Nashville Bound. I won't rehash it, but it is just so unusual to me that they spent so long naming off girl names that tracked with Charlene and then did not choose Marlene, Harleen, or Darlene. To what end? And then, in. In, that same episode, Nashville Bound, they had a whole conversation about it. Mary Jo said, how is it that your parents came up with Charlene? No, I'm sorry. It was in, the big desk. How is it that your parents came up with Charlene and Carlene? Was it. Your mother just got so tired after those 26 hours of labor, she just said, let's just take the H out of Charlene's name and be done with it. So, like, there was this buildup of her name and, like, these two disconnected stories, and it just. It just grates on me. It seems like a very poor choice.
Yeah, that's fair. I'm going to tell you that I don't really have any, so.
Oh, okay. That makes me feel better.
Mine were more like, I don't have specific moments. It was just more this general thought that, like, it took me a couple of episodes to warm to her, and then on re Watch is When the Love happened.
Yeah, I get that.
Yeah. And I think some of that was parting with Gene Smart, parting with Delta Burke, those bumps in the beginning. And. And I think it's why people, you know, are so like about these seasons. But if they would just give it another shot, they might realize that there's some gold here.
I hope that by the end of this season of our podcast, we get at least one season six and seven naysayer who's like, you know what? I re. Watched it and I love it. Yep.
I'm fine to be a season six and seven apologist.
Yeah, that's what I'm doing. Kind of would be nice.
Yeah.
Carlene pushes Julia to pick between Fred and Barney Rubble
I had one other obnoxious thing, and, again, it's silly, but it was, like, buried in my 1400 iPhone notes and documents about this episode. It was episode 18, a scene from a mall. She teased Julia up to answer the question of who would she rather sleep with, Fred Flintstone or Barney Rubble? so this is on the heels of them reading the results of a survey of Americans on who they'd rather sleep with, Wilma Flintstone or Betty Rubble. And so she's pushing Julia to answer. Just come on, Julia, just answer. Just pick one. But who would you pick? So Julia's finally like, okay, if you're gonna force me to pick, I pick Fred. And Carlene goes, ew, I can't even think of him that way. He doesn't even wear pants. How annoying. If you're someone's friend and that was the conversation you just had and that was their reaction. How annoying would that be?
I would be pretty frustrated by that.
That's so annoying. But I think that's kind of her. And I think by episode 18, again, I think the idea, is that the characters had warmed to her enough, that that was charming. But God bless, I'd be so irritated.
Most socially or culturally important or relevant.
Plot, uh, oh my gosh, this one's really hard
Plot, oh my gosh, this one's really hard. It's not that Carlene is like one dimensional or anything. She's fully formed. She's this fully formed character. But she just really doesn't take on too much in terms of like, weighty subjects. I will say that her being sort of like a married, young, and now newly divorced small town girl living in the big city is probably the heaviest part of her plot. Definitely the basis of her character and the majority of situations she finds herself in and we've talked about before. It's also kind of a mirror of the Mary Jo arc from early in the series, but with a slightly different lens. Mary Jo was never really kind of like small town and wide eyed. She was just more timid and afraid to speak out. Carlene's never that. It's just that when she speaks out, she says weird stuff. so I think that's probably like the closest approximation to what I could say in terms of a, socially relevant plot point.
I think we're on the exact same wavelength. I called her our begin again galaxy. That's a, like you said, it's a perennial theme on the show, but it's a perennial theme in life. People begin over again. So, I think also these ideas, you know, going back to school, that's a real thing that people do. Putting yourself out there, like with the Olympic song, I don't know, these just feel like things that like real people can relate to. And sometimes I think we might hit on, you know, some of these, these plot lines. And you may or may not have experienced some of these things before. So I don't know. I, I see exactly what you're saying. It's like, it's not like it was her going up against, like, you know, prejudice or racism. Like, yeah, it's not. It's not exactly the same thing as that, but it is, like, it's just something that I feel like a lot of people go through, so that feels pretty socially relevant to me.
Thanks, Salina.
I'm here to validate you.
I do love it. I love the validation.
This week's creative interpretation is Carlene's Google history
Are we ready for our other segment?
Let's do it.
This. This one this week might fall in the category of it's not as good as it sounded in my head, but let's give it a go and see what happens. Technology takedown. This week's creative interpretation is Carlene's Google history. That is, what would she have Googled throughout the season, and what would she have found? so if she had had access to Google, of course, because that was not a thing when Carlene was around. but we learned fairly early in the season that Carlene carries on Charlene's gift for the random. Random distractions in the middle of a story, random anecdotes from Poplar Bluff, random shares of things she read in a tabloid or saw on tv. And that got me thinking about what her Google history would have looked like. So I pulled some fun facts she shared throughout the season. I Googled them myself, and I'm hoping to answer them for you here. I googled them all on, my own.
He did a great job.
Well, I hold that for five minutes and then tell me. So in episode 17, Maimed, she started singing Give my regards to Broadway, and then she sings Remember me to Harold Square. So she ultimately concedes that you. She used to think Harold Square was a person, but she now knows that it's a place. So I personally like to imagine how she came to that realization. so she's hearing it as Harold. Ha. When in fact, it's Harold H e. so I like to think that she was maybe auditioning for a high school musical or something. so I found a reference to the movie Bring it on, which reminded me that this is how my Google searches go. It reminded me that a male character used this song for his audition because he thought he was auditioning for Pippin. So, because I identify with the easily distracted piece of Carlene, I went down a rabbit hole in Pippin and learned that it originally debuted on Broadway in the early 70s, ending its run on Broadway toward the end of the decade. So it's feasible Carlene could have done Pippen as a school performance. And it's feasible then that she could have done Give My regards To Broadway as her audition piece. Given what we know about Carlene, it's also possible she could have ended the piece or interrupted her own piece. Her own performance, in fact. To mention how nice it would have been to have been Harold and have people wanting to be remembered all the way up to him then. Because we know she's used to public humiliation, which she shared in episode four, Dwayne's world. This could be an example of that. The people she was auditioning for die laughing, making fun of her a little bit. But she shakes it off as she does. But then she gets to wondering about it later. Now, of course, given the timeline, she would have been more likely to check an encyclopedia at the library. But suspending the realistic timeline, let's assume she had Google. I imagine she would have typed, who is Harold? Spelled H A, square, and why was he a landmark that people used for memories. Google is kind and benevolent, who judges people not for their ignorance, but instead writes, they're wrong. So Google would have immediately showed her, and I can say this because this is exactly what I typed, that Herald square is, in fact, herald square. H E R A L, d. A landmark formed at the intersection of Manhattan's 34th Street, Broadway and avenue of the Americas. She would have also learned, Salina, that wherever Broadway crosses an avenue, there's a square. So that's how we get Herald square, Times Square, and Union Square. I never knew that's what they all had in common.
Yeah, me neither.
she also.
Never cease.
I know. This is what I'm telling you. She would have recognized it immediately because it's the spot right in front of Macy's in New York City where the Thanksgiving day parade has its big moment. And something tells me she's a big parade watcher.
I think you're right. Yep.
Next up, we have another New York City reference in episode 15
So next up, we have another New York City reference in episode 15.
I gotta say something. Oh, you have earned yourself the always sunny meme that you attribute to me. Yeah, get your threads out, ladies.
You should have seen me threading. You should have seen me putting this together. I was like, looking m at Pippin, I'm like, what's going on with Pippin lately? It was a whole thing.
If you spit in really cold weather, it'll freeze before hitting ground
so episode 15, Pain Comes Home, we get some questions about throwing a penny off the Empire state building. Carlene heard that if you throw it, it'll flatten to the size of a dinner plate. And if you spit in really cold weather, it'll freeze before it hits the ground. So what does elgoog say? Well, when we enter what happens if you throw a penny off the Empire State Building? Will it flatten? We get this AI Overview. If you throw a penny off the Empire State Building, it will not flatten due to its small size and shape. It will encounter significant air resistance, causing it to tumble and flutter to the ground, essentially acting like a leaf rather than a projectile, meaning it won't gain enough speed to significantly deform upon impact. But what if you spit in freezing weather, Salina? Well, that one's a little more truthful. AI Overview says if you spit off the Empire State Building when it's freezing, your saliva would almost freeze instantly midair due to the extreme temperature difference, forming a tiny, rapidly falling ice droplet that would likely harmlessly land on the ground below, depending on the wind conditions.
I just said, please don't do that.
It's gross, right?
It's just gross.
And then it makes you think about how much spit there is in the air at all times.
I don't want to think about that.
Sorry about that.
No, that's all right. All good.
Salina asks what happens to permanent records after high school
So our last one is a reference to the runner in episode 18, a scene from the mall. Scene from a mall. What is the deal with permanent records?
What's the deal with permanent records?
So Carlene is worried about getting arrested because it'll go on her permanent record, which Mary Jo assures her does not exist after high school, which then sets Carlene on a potential path toward a life of crime. that is at least until Mary Jo reinstates her permanent record at the end of that episode. So when I went to Google to answer this question, I had to specify that I was talking about permanent records for individual people. Like, the first results I got were about like permanent records for the government. And it sent me like way down National Archives. And, permanent federal records. They all exist. Those are real things. But I want to know about individuals, people. So I saw responses falling into three categories. One, they don't exist. Unless we're talking prison records. Those are really real. And those really will show up on background checks. the second bucket was they sort of exist in one respect. High schools keep track of any disciplinary actions against you, but they don't voluntarily pass that on beyond high school. so like, the school has it, but once you leave high school, it's not a thing. and then number three, they don't exist at all was the other bucket I found. So Carlene's credit, to Carlene's credit, she was worried about getting arrested because it would go on her permanent record. And it sounds like, depending on the severity of the crime, it definitely could have made it onto a file about her for some period of time. But some of the other stuff that she was worried about, like renting a Mickey Rourke film, French kissing on the first date, running with scissors in her hands. I think she'd be in the clear on those things. so now you can say I did a good job.
You did a wonderful job.
Thanks, Salina.
I added some questions.
Do it.
Okay. These are. I didn't Google them, so sorry, I didn't take it. I didn't take it all the way.
Okay.
but just looking at the trajectory of her season, these are some things I think we will find in her Google history.
Oh, I like this.
How to make homemade potpourri. How to throw a fabulous combination dinner party slash sleepover. How much do greeting card writers make? How to be the best girl scout leader. What, do I talk about with 12 year old girls? If it were today, it would be like, what is Riz? How do I get it?
How can I be a resinator?
And how do I make my ex jealous?
Uh-huh.
And how much does an apartment block warden make?
I, like it.
So those are mine.
I like that.
The opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics attracted 3 billion viewers
I will say, I also googled something of my own, because they mentioned the opening Olympic. The opening ceremony to the, Atlanta Olympics in 1996, which was a major milestone in my life in Atlanta because it's the year we moved here.
I wish I had been alive.
I understand you have to read about it in the history books. Young and.
Yeah.
what I learned when I was looking into that is that. Did you know the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Atlanta was the most watched TV event until 2022, when the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II aired?
What? That's like a little factoid.
It was in the. I should have written the actual number down. I feel like. Like. I feel like audience numbers are hard to, like, conceptualize without context. So, like, telling you it was 3 billion viewers isn't particularly helpful, but I do think it was something like that. Wow. It was obscene. And then Queen Elizabeth ii, dethroned. it. I was gonna say unseated it. That sounds weird, but, dethroned it. And that is crazy to me because we're talking 1996 TV versus 2022 TV. I don't even know how they compare those two things. No, it's crazy town.
Interesting.
So that clears some things up for you, Salina. Any lingering questions?
I feel pretty clear okay, good, because I'll just have to look up how to make potpourri.
By yourself?
Put up my hot dogs.
so broody.
Carlene's storyline didn't really progress as the season concluded
So do we want to rate this one? What if I said this gal? I guess I'd be like, all right, well, bye.
So my rating scale is Dwayne Dauber Divorces, and I still spelled his name wrong. I think I told you earlier in this season that, I thought he had, like, a fancy spelling D A, U, B, E, R. And everywhere I've seen it's like, nope, D O, B, B. Just as simple as you'd think. So, Dwayne Dauber Divorces. this one is hard to rate in the same way that we've been able to do other characters or we've been able to do other episodes because we just really have no comparison. So this season is our baseline. so overall, I'd rate Carlene's character at a solid going back and forth. Now, I'm going to say 4. I'm going to say 4. It was a 3.5 before, but I think I've talked myself into it. I think she's delightful. I think losing Jean Smart was a real blow to the cast, but I think they were able to fill a bit of the gap with this character. She brings in the randomness of Charlene with a bit more of an over the top ditziness that I appreciate. the weirdness of her backstory is really hard for me to resolve. I'm, not going to belabor that. But it just feels like such a weird choice to make. So that was tough for me to move past. but it also felt like her storyline didn't really progress in a meaningful way as the season concluded. Like, she went on a couple of dates, but nothing really came of them. She moved into an apartment, but then moved right back out. And I don't think we really know where she ended up. I guess we know she finished her semester in school because she was doing final exams, but other than that, like, it just feels like we ended the season and she was more or less where she started the season. So thinking about how the season went for her four is probably about the best I can do. But I did bump it up to a four because I started thinking, well, I should probably, like, acknowledge that she was my. Probably my favorite character this season. Well, except Bernice.
Yeah, I'd say she's lovely. Might be neck and neck for me after next season. We'll just have to see.
Yeah, so.
So I gave her 4.8 out of 5 potpourri flavored hot dogs. M. I feel like Carlene is just a whippersnapper. She sees it, she wants it, she goes after it. We've already talked about her begin again trajectory, and she's doing it. She's Mary Tyler mooring it, if you will. She gonna make it. After all that said, she's had some false starts, so. And I think that's in the similar line to what you're getting at there. So, I mean, whether it was like, trying the whole thing with Dwayne, or, you know, not winning the Olympic song contest or getting. Getting taken by Heather the fake groupie or whatever, and I think that for her, she even admits it. She's like, well, I didn't never think I could make it in the big city, you know, or whatever she says. so I. But I guess I just love her so much. And I think in terms of, of comedy, and comedic chops, I just got to give that gal a 4.8. So.
I hear you. I do hear you.
Sweet Tea and TV podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts
So you ready for our next episode? Our next and final.
Are you.
I'm well adjacent. I am ready adjacent.
I am also ready adjacent.
Very close. We've got another. We're recording out of order this weekend. So, I'm getting ready for that one first. But we are going to talk about, our controversial new character this season, Allison Sugarbaker. so excited about that. We'd love everyone to follow along with us and engage Instagram and Facebook at Sweet Tea and TV. We're on TikTok EET TV pod. You can find all of our episodes on YouTube at Sweet TV 7371. Our email address is sweettvpodmail.com and our website is www.sweettv.com. we had a lovely listener reach out to us this last week, using the, contact us on the website. So we're so glad to hear from her. We're always glad to have people here joining us. So you can tell your family and friends that you have come here to join us and that will really help other people find the podcast or rate and review us. Like, five star ratings are excellent. wherever you listen to podcasts and then you can visit the support us page on our website to support us more.
Salina: We're working on a collaboration with Front Row Classics podcast
Okay, so then Thursday come back because we're having extra sugar. All about the Girl Scouts because that was a huge part of Carlene's, story and, a couple episodes referenced it. So I'm very excited about that. Salina, are we allowed to tease the episode we're recording this weekend that's preempting our Allison episode.
I don't think it hurts.
We can do that, right?
Sure.
We're going to do a collaboration with Front Row Classics podcast. We're, going to be talking with Brandon, who's been lovely. Reaching out to us on social media about his, memories with Designing Women. How, I think. Did he watch it with his mom?
I believe so. And hoping to tease that story out some, because you can only get so much direct message, you know, which is.
Why we've set up this whole episode. So we're going to talk to him about his Designing Women memories, talk to him about his take on the show, and then we're going to Flipsy Flopsies and we'll be on his show talking about Flamingo Road. And you can, like, hold my feet to the fire right now. And I could not put a year to that movie. But I say, like. Like 40s, 1949.
Okay.
I was going to say 47. See, I'm glad I didn't say it.
that would have been so embarrassing.
But it's pushing me, and I was going to say this earlier. It's pushing me outside of my comfort zone of early 90s SNL, adjacent comedy and pushing me into 1940s classic film. But I'm very excited to talk about it.
Are you one of the ones who's like, I don't watch black and white movies?
That would be me.
Okay. It's not just you. Okay.
Yeah.
It's also my husband.
Yeah.
You know.
Yeah.
so, I now recently talked to somebody else who said the same thing. So, I mean, it happens, I think. Can't say that now. And you also watch To Kill a Mockingbird. Oh.
So. And this is what I'm gonna say. We're gonna have to get into it with Brandon. But I think I might be changing my mind because To Kill a Mockingbird blew my mind. I voluntarily watched that multiple times. This week has been crazy. So I haven't been able to watch Flamingo Road as many times as I would like. I think I'm gonna have to do a little buffering through it and remember some of my favorite scene. But, I mean, I watched it the other night, and I was like, you know what, Nikki? Just give it 20 minutes. If you don't like it, you can turn it off and come back to it later in the week. You. Sometimes that's how I deal with something, is deal with it in 20 minute chunks. I couldn't turn it off.
It's a tight 94 minutes, if anybody wants to, take some lessons.
Honestly. Honestly. And so I was thinking it was gonna be a huge time investment. It wasn't, so I won't say much more, but I'm excited to talk about it.
Salina: It's in the offing, as they might say
Okay. Also, since you brought that up, I hope that somewhere in the back of your head, you're holding on to what you realize about odes to Atlanta and that being an old movie.
Oh, oh, oh.
lock, stock, and barrel that away.
Okay, I'm not.
You're like. I don't even know who you are.
What are you talking about? I didn't say anything about that.
Why am I trapped in this podcast?
It's in my note. It's in my notes, so I won't forget it that way.
Okay, perfect. All right, well, we'll keep everyone updated on when they connect. Expect those. I don't think we quite know yet, but we'll do. It is. It is in the offing, as they might say.
The thing that's happening. It's the thing that's happening. We're excited.
All right, well, you know what that means, Nikki?
What does it mean, Salina?
Yes. It means we'll see you, around the bend on Girl Scouts.
Bye.
Comments