A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our panel of resident CPU! MASHed Potatoes and fans of wartime dramedies – including moderator Nick, Sarah, Michael (K), Jenn (K), Josh, Mary, and Chief Couch Potato Kylie – reconvened Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at Seasons 8-11 of M*A*S*H. This is the third and final part of a three-part CPU! Retrospective podcast series in which Couch Potatoes Unite! reflects upon one of the most lauded, most well regarded, and most highly rated situation comedy-dramas in television history. This third episode was recorded in August 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of M*A*S*H – if that is even possible – be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “M*A*S*H” is an American war comedy-drama that aired on CBS for eleven seasons, from 1972-1983.
What: “M*A*S*H” follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the “4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
SYNOPSIS
Developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, M*A*S*H is an ensemble situation comedy drama revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–53). Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several narrated by one of the show’s characters as the contents of a letter home. The show’s tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the civilian draftees of the 4077th – Captains Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda), Trapper John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers, Seasons 1-3), and B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell, Seasons 4-11), for example – who are forced to leave their homes to tend the wounded and dying of the war – and the “regular Army” characters, such as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan (Loretta Swit) and Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan, Seasons 4-11), who tend to represent patriotism and duty, though Houlihan and Potter could also represent the other perspective at times. Other characters, such as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, Seasons 1-3), Major Charles Emerson Winchester II (David Ogden Stiers, Seasons 6-11), and Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger (Jamie Farr), help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward Army life, while guest characters also help further the show’s discussion of America’s place as a Cold War participant and peace maker.
When: The show aired on CBS from 1972-1983; Season 8 aired from September 17, 1979, to March 24, 1980, with a total of 25 episodes; Season 9 aired from November 17, 1980, to May 4, 1981, with a total of 20 episodes; Season 10 aired from October 26, 1981, to April 12, 1982, with a total of 22 episodes; and Season 11 aired from October 25, 1982, to February 28, 1983, with a total of 16 episodes.
Where: The show is set in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
Why: Listen to Episode One of our Retrospective Series, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found M*A*S*H.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!– THOUGHTS
To listen to Episode One of this Retrospective, covering Seasons 1 through 3, and Episode Two, covering Seasons 4 through 7, click the embedded links below:
Seasons 1-3
Seasons 4-7
Panelists Sarah, Michael (K), Jenn (K), Josh, and Mary return to the Water Cooler this week a final time as a panel to conclude our Retrospective M*A*S*H discussion, along with your friendly neighborhood Chief CP participating as a regular old panelist as well as the famous (or infamous?) Nick moderating our discussion, as we celebrate the quality writing and unprecedented longevity of this wartime satire, one of the most highly requested shows by our Couch Potatoes, Couch Potatoes adjacent, and by some of our listeners – of all CPU! time. Our panel of so-called “MASHed Potatoes,” therefore, reconvened “Around the Water Cooler” to move forward with our Look Back at a show with a legacy that has only expanded as the years have passed, particularly when one reflects upon how ahead of its time it was in light of some of the subjects that it addressed.
Tonight’s episode is the third and last part of a three-part miniseries in which CPU! Looks Back at M*A*S*H. In this episode, our panel reviews the final four seasons, Seasons 8-11, when the main cast remains stable and unchanged through the rest of the series. Also, have you heard our Patreon teaser for this month’s Tier 2/Tier 3 Bonus Content yet?
Plus, M*A*S*H constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of M*A*S*H’s Best Of!:
#25 on TV Guide’s list of 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
#8 on TV Guide’s list of 60 Best Series of All Time
#47 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2016
#13 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
TIME Magazine’s All-Time 100 TV Shows
#16 Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
In addition, M*A*S*Hranked #5 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in August 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points, situations, sight gags, and jokes of Seasons 8-11 (and really the whole series) of M*A*S*H! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and/or blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our DCTU Series panel returns once again to the CPU! Water Cooler to conclude their annual marathon of Arrowverse (or “CWVerse”) recaps and reviews by discussing Season 5 of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, publishing just in time to celebrate the Season 6 premiere, which will air on May 2, 2021. Stay tuned for the next round of DC-related snark from CPU!’s spiciest panel!
RECOMMENDATION
M*A*S*H – if you haven’t already watched it – is recommended to anyone who hasn’t somehow seen any portion of it in the over 40 years since it first premiered and who enjoys well-written, well performed, well directed, and thoughtful situation comedies, and/or anyone who considers themselves a TV connoisseur, because one could hardly adopt such a label without taking a look-see at one of the longest-running, “quintessential” comedies with the most watched series finale of all time, an honor that has never been surpassed in the Nielsen ratings. M*A*S*H, in many ways, pioneered and perfected the ensemble comedy formula that has become a staple of everything from Cheers to Friends to The Office to Modern Family, but that also elevated its own contribution to the craft by injecting satire and piercing social commentary into the usual slapstick and farce situations that made for contemporary popular television. As we discuss in this podcast series of episodes, M*A*S*H clearly influenced so many other comedies and dramedies to follow, not to mention spin-offs of its own, though none of them could match the success of the parent show. M*A*S*H continues to be a timeless, engaging fusion of ensemble cast chemistry and poignant social subtext that no doubt managed to push the boundaries of network censors. Further, the panel unanimously agrees that this series holds up “amazingly” well because the show is already something of a period piece but also because its strength is in its focus upon the people and characters that staff the 4-0-77, not to mention the fact that the producers and writers were never afraid to tackle salient social and cultural commentary that has only resonated throughout the decades to follow as society continues to grapple with the same issues. Plus, in contrast to another successful situation comedy from the same decade, All in the Family, M*A*S*H manages to walk the line of irreverence without stumbling headlong into language and attitudes that have only become dated and too offensive to be funny when measured against today’s social mores. If you love trying something new, and if you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for M*A*S*H. The panel universally “seems to really like this show,” as Moderator Nick observed in Episode One, and can only imagine that others, of any age, generation, or sensibility, would probably feel the same if they gave the show a real shot – gun, rim, or otherwise.
All eleven seasons of M*A*S*H are currently available to stream on Hulu. In the meantime, from our Swamp to yours, thank you for listening to our M*A*S*H Retrospective, which has now officially ended. To discover other shows discussed by CPU!, check here. For now, we bid you adieu!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our panel of resident CPU! MASHed Potatoes and fans of wartime dramedies – including moderator Nick, Sarah, Michael (K), Jenn (K), Josh, Mary, and Chief Couch Potato Kylie – reconvened Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at Seasons 4-7 of M*A*S*H. This is the second part of a three-part CPU! Retrospective podcast series in which Couch Potatoes Unite! reflects upon one of the most lauded, most well regarded, and most highly rated situation comedy-dramas in television history. This second episode was recorded in July 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of M*A*S*H – if that is even possible – be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “M*A*S*H” is an American war comedy-drama that aired on CBS for eleven seasons, from 1972-1983.
What: “M*A*S*H” follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the “4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
SYNOPSIS
Developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, M*A*S*H is an ensemble situation comedy drama revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–53). Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several narrated by one of the show’s characters as the contents of a letter home. The show’s tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the civilian draftees of the 4077th – Captains Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda), Trapper John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers, Seasons 1-3), and B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell, Seasons 4-11), for example – who are forced to leave their homes to tend the wounded and dying of the war – and the “regular Army” characters, such as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan (Loretta Swit) and Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan, Seasons 4-11), who tend to represent patriotism and duty, though Houlihan and Potter could also represent the other perspective at times. Other characters, such as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, Seasons 1-3), Major Charles Emerson Winchester II (David Ogden Stiers, Seasons 6-11), and Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger (Jamie Farr), help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward Army life, while guest characters also help further the show’s discussion of America’s place as a Cold War participant and peace maker.
When: The show aired on CBS from 1972-1983; Season 4 aired from September 12, 1975, to February 24, 1976, with a total of 25 episodes; Season 5 aired from September 21, 1976, to March 15, 1977, with a total of 25 episodes; Season 6 aired from September 20, 1977, to March 27, 1978, with a total of 25 episodes; and Season 7 aired from September 18, 1978, to March 12, 1979, with a total of 26 episodes.
Where: The show is set in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
Why: Listen to Episode One of our Retrospective Series, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found M*A*S*H.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!– THOUGHTS
To listen to Episode One of this series, covering Seasons 1 through 3, click the embedded link below:
Seasons 1-3
Panelists Sarah, Michael (K), Jenn (K), Josh, and Mary return to the Water Cooler this week to continue our Retrospective M*A*S*H discussion, along with your friendly neighborhood Chief CP participating as a regular old panelist as well as the famous (or infamous?) Nick moderating our discussion, as we celebrate the quality writing and unprecedented longevity of this wartime satire, one of the most highly requested shows by our Couch Potatoes, Couch Potatoes adjacent, and by some of our listeners – of all CPU! time. Our panel of so-called “MASHed Potatoes,” therefore, reconvened “Around the Water Cooler” to move forward with our Look Back at a show with a legacy that has only expanded as the years have passed, particularly when one reflects upon how ahead of its time it was in light of some of the subjects that it addressed.
Tonight’s episode is the second part of a three-part miniseries in which CPU! Looks Back at M*A*S*H. In this episode, our panel reviews the middle four seasons, Seasons 4-7, when Colonel Sherman Potter (Morgan), Captain BJ Hunnicut (Farrell), and, eventually, Major Charles Winchester III (Ogden Stiers) arrive at the 4077 to participate in all of the requisite and beloved hijinks and shenanigans, while Colonel Blake (Stevenson), Captain Trapper John McIntyre (Rogers), and, eventually, Lieutenant Walter “Radar” O’Reilly (Gary Berghoef) and Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville) depart the long-running series. Many of these seasons aired before any of our resident panelists were born, though one panelist (who shall remain nameless) entered the world roughly during the run of Season 6. In addition, we have some cool surprises planned and attached to subsequent episodes in this CPU! series that we hope to be more generationally all-inclusive.
Plus, M*A*S*H constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of M*A*S*H’s Best Of!:
#25 on TV Guide’s list of 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
#8 on TV Guide’s list of 60 Best Series of All Time
#47 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2016
#13 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
TIME Magazine’s All-Time 100 TV Shows
#16 Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
In addition, M*A*S*Hranked #5 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in July 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points, situations, sight gags, and jokes of Seasons 4-7 of M*A*S*H! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next week, our Outlander panel re-gathers at the CPU! Water Cooler to continue a five-part Catching-Up series with Episode Two, in which we discuss the second season of the wildly romantic historical Starz drama. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
M*A*S*H – if you haven’t already watched it – is recommended to anyone who hasn’t somehow seen any portion of it in the over 40 years since it first premiered and who enjoys well-written, thoughtful situation comedies and/or anyone who considers themselves a TV connoisseur, because one could hardly adopt such a label without taking a look-see at one of the longest-running comedies with the most watched series finale of all time, an honor that has never been surpassed in the Nielsen ratings. M*A*S*H, in many ways, pioneered and perfected the ensemble comedy formula that has become a staple of everything from Cheers to Friends to The Office to Modern Family, but that also elevated its own contribution to the craft by injecting satire and piercing social commentary into the usual slapstick and farce situations that made for contemporary popular television. As we discuss in this podcast episode, M*A*S*H clearly influenced so many other comedies and dramedies to follow, not to mention spin-offs of its own, though none of them could match the success of the parent show. M*A*S*H continues to be a timeless, engaging fusion of ensemble cast chemistry and poignant social subtext that no doubt managed to push the boundaries of network censors. If you love trying something new, and if you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for M*A*S*H. The panel universally “seems to really like this show,” as Moderator Nick observed in Episode One, and can only imagine that others, of any age, generation, or sensibility, would probably feel the same if they gave the show a real shot – gun, rim, or otherwise.
All eleven seasons of M*A*S*H are currently available to stream on Hulu. In the meantime, the CPU! M*A*S*H Retrospective Series panel will return next month with the final episode, Episode Three of this miniseries, in which we talk Seasons 8-11. Until then!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our panel of resident CPU! Trekkers – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Nick, Sarah, Kyle, and Michael – reconvened Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the ninth part of a multi-part CPU! podcast series – the biggest multi-part series we have ever undertaken – in which we venture into space, the final frontier, by covering each season of each series of the entire Star Trek franchise (the movies too)! This ninth “Star Trek 50+ Series” episode was recorded in January 2021, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of Star Trek, TNG or otherwise – if that is even possible – be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Sprague Keyboard: Kels Sprague Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” an American science fiction series created by Gene Roddenberry, which aired in syndication from 1987 to 1994 for seven seasons.
What: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” follows the adventures of the star ship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) and its crew. The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it is the second sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series.
SYNOPSIS
Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet star-ship, the USS Enterprise-D, in its exploration of the Milky Way galaxy. The Next Generation features a new crew: Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker, Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Commander Worf, LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, and Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, as well as Denise Crosby as Lieutenant Tasha Yar in Season 1 and Wil Wheaton as Ensign Wesley Crusher in Seasons 1-4.
When: The show aired in syndication from 1987-1994; Season 5 aired from September 23, 1991, to June 15, 1992, with a total of 26 episodes.
Where: The show is set in “space the final frontier,” in what is allegedly the 24th Century, though it should be noted that calculating star dates as quoted during “Captain’s Logs” on the show is an exercise that seems to be more logical in this series than in The Original Series but does not seem to correspond to our present-day time measurement system. Then again, there is probably an explanation in some fan encyclopedia somewhere. We’re not going to worry about that right now, though, gentle listener.
Why: Listen to Episode 5, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Star Trek: The Next Generation.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!
In 2017, Couch Potatoes Unite! appeared live at Grand Rapids Comic-Con in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where we engaged in one of our spicy “Vs!” debates, specifically the debate entitled “Star Trek v. Star Wars: Battle of the Stars!” During that special, our second most involved panelist, the infamous Nick, gave an impassioned speech in favor of the Star Trek universe, of which he is undeniably a huge fan. In light of Nick’s passion, then, and of his subsequent repetitive bouts of subtle encouragement dedicated to starting this series, we here at CPU! triumphantly continue our biggest – no, really, this will be our biggest – Retrospective Looking Back series of podcast episodes to date. Listen to previous episodes in this series here:
The Original Series: Season 1
The Original Series: Season 2
The Original Series: Season 3
The Animated Series: Seasons 1-2
The Next Generation: Season 1
The Next Generation: Season 2
The Next Generation: Season 3
The Next Generation: Season 4
Our panel of CPU! super-regulars and resident Trekkers – specifically Nick, Sarah, Kyle, and Michael – continue our likely “five year mission” to boldly go where (probably) no one has gone before with this eighth episode of our “Star Trek 50+ Series.” In this feature, we are taking a critical Look Back at a franchise that, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, perseveres, despite occasional periods of dormant but simmering popularity and attempts to regroup in an effort to generate new entries in its over five-decade saga. In each episode of this multi-part series, our panel will Look Back at each season of each series of the Star Trek franchise and will consider how this universe has not only withstood the test of time, while simultaneously becoming timeless, but also continues to rank among the panelists’ personal favorites, not only as a series of television programs but as a favored fandom among many, while remaining one of the most nationally and internationally acclaimed series of television shows of all time.
In this ninth episode of CPU!’s “Star Trek 50+” series, our panel discusses Season 5 of The Next Generation (TNG). We discuss our favorite and least favorite episodes in Season 5 as well as our general impressions of the long-term success of the series as a whole.
Plus, Star Trek: The Next Generation constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of TNG’s Best Of!:
#46 on TV Guide’s list of 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
#37 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2008 and #30 in 2016
#55 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
In addition, Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the most celebrated cult TV shows, as the show ranks at #8 on Entertainment Weekly’s Top Cult TV list from 2014. Plus, Star Trek: The Next Generationranked #79 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in January 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points and episodic stories of Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our M*A*S*H Retrospective Series panel triumphantly returns to the Water Cooler to Look Back at Seasons 4-7, i.e. the seasons featuring the arrivals of Colonel Sherman Potter and Captain BJ Hunnicut and the departures of Lt. Colonel Henry Blake and Captain Trapper John McIntyre as well as the subtle but notable shift from comedy to comedy drama in the long-running, all-time acclaimed series. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Star Trek: The Next Generation – if you haven’t already watched it – is recommended to anyone who hasn’t somehow seen any portion of it in the over 30 years since it first premiered and who enjoys well-written science fiction stories because, as much as Star Trek: The Original Series pioneered good science fiction television in so many ways, not the least of which includes quality stories underlying each of the show’s imaginative episodes, TNG took that sensibility all that much further 20 years after TOS started the trends. As we discuss in all of the TNG podcast episodes, TNG, like its progenitor show, clearly influenced so many other science fiction and fantasy genre programs to follow, not to mention further spin-offs and sequels in the Star Trek universe. To wit, Star Trek: The Next Generation continues the Star Trek tradition of being a timeless, magical fusion of ensemble cast chemistry and out-of-the-box creativity. Indeed, TNG, like TOS, has a bit of everything, and, if you love the genre and/or if you love trying something new, and if you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for Star Trek: TNG. The panel universally agrees and predicts that even if a potential viewer estimated that they would struggle with the aged quality of special effects and performance/presentation of The Original Series, The Next Generation would allay those concerns and would become the gateway Star Trek series worth watching to experience the magic of the universe and the richness of characters and stories it produces. Though, as one of the actors of this particular cast is fond of saying, and to paraphrase, you don’t have to take our word for it!
All seven seasons of TNG are currently available to stream on Netflix, Prime, Hulu, CBS All Access, and maybe some other services of which we are not aware. In the meantime, the CPU! Star Trek 50+ Series panel will return later this year with Episode 10 of this series, in which we talk Season 6 of TNG. Until then!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in July 2020, our panel of Actives who are anything but asleep – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen, Sarah, Spencer, Selene, and Kallie – convenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, in Canceled Corner, to Look Back at the erstwhile Fox-produced but quickly canceled (after two seasons) high-concept, science fiction thriller, Dollhouse. As always, if you have not watched any of Dollhouse, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Dollhouse,” an American science fiction series created by Joss Whedon that aired on Fox for two seasons, from 2009 to 2010, until it was canceled.
What: “Dollhouse” depicts a corporation running numerous underground establishments (known as “Dollhouses”) around the globe that program individuals refer to as Actives (or Dolls) with temporary personalities and skills.
SYNOPSIS
Wealthy clients hire Actives from Dollhouses at great expense for various purposes, including heists, sexual encounters, assassinations, expert counsel, and all manner of unique experiences. The series primarily follows the Active known as Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, on her journey toward self-awareness.
When: The show aired on Fox for two seasons from February 2009 through January 2010. Each season consists of 13 episodes.
Where: The show is primarily set in Los Angeles, California, and surrounding areas, though the Dolls do travel quite frequently when the mission or task suits whomever employs them. The time is contemporaneous present day at the time of the show’s first run.
Why: Listen to this episode, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Dollhouse.
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
It’s no secret that we have several fans amongst our sack of eager Couch Potatoes – yours truly, the Chief Couch Potato, among them – of the works produced by a certain television creator who has, of late, become something of a persona non grata due to allegations of on-set harassment and abuse by several people who have worked with him over the years. While we at CPU! acknowledge that the man is not the paragon of virtue some might have made him out to be (and we certainly never advocated as such in the past), he has made good TV, even though it seems he did so in an, at times, unprofessional manner. As we also have the ability to compartmentalize and contextualize creations, not as extensions of one creator or producer but as an overall work produced by hundreds of people, from writing and directing staffs, to performers, to work crews, we persist with publishing this recording, which we recorded during Quarantine Summer ™ anyway. Plus, since we’ve covered every other property created by the man but for a “Sing Along Blog” – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD – it seems only right that we round out the list, since it is not likely to be growing anytime soon (except for The Nevers, but we’re keeping our eyes on that one, as there has been some effect on that show as well).
Thus, we embarked upon convening a panel, which features our most involved panelist and a member of our moderating team, Kristen; our third most involved panelist and a member of our moderating team, Sarah; our seventh most involved panelist (prior to this week) and a member of our moderating team, Spencer; our tenth most involved panelist and one of our Associate Producers, Selene; and panelist Kallie, who is active on our American Horror Story panel and has also appeared on our “BuffyVerse Series” panel as well as Looked Back at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. All panelists have since watched or re-watched the series at hand and take time in this episode to reflect on the (unfortunately) unrealized potential of the two seasons of this high-concept, topically complex science fiction thriller.
Our one-time Dollhouse panel, then, gathered Around the Water Cooler, in Canceled Corner, to Look Back at a series for which our panelists express the kind of passion that only fans of the TV creator in question seem to share for the related properties over the years as well as the inevitable regret and/or elation resulting from the series’ end as orchestrated by the network. Whatever else might be said, this series also clearly made an impression on our panelists, which they dissect in the episode linked below.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in July 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points and important twists depicted throughout the entire series of Dollhouse! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next week, a new panel gathers at the CPU! Water Cooler to begin a four-part Catching-Up series, wherein we take a First Look at the first season of wildly popular NBC family drama This Is Us, a highly requested show for Couch Potato-led discussion here at the podcast. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Dollhouse is enthusiastically recommended by our entire panel to anyone who enjoys complex/high-concept science fiction vehicles, such as Altered Carbon, Sense8, Person of Interest, and Fringe; to fans of the TV created by the guy who created this show; and to fans of the individual cast members, some of whom have become famous as a result of working for Mr. Whedon and some who agreed to work on this series, quite possibly due to Mr. Whedon’s past successes. The panel sees Dollhouse as a perfectly-contained 26 episodes of escape television that, though flawed, provides reasons to think while being both engaging and entertaining. Our panel especially praised the cast, with the most accolades heaped upon Dushku, Enver Gjokaj (who played Victor/Tony), Dichen Lachman (who played Sierra/Priya), and the guest turns by Amy Acker (Whiskey/Dr. Saunders) and Alan Tudyk (Alpha). The panel further unanimously lauded the overall writing, with appreciation for the intricacy of the narrative, even as the ending felt rushed and unearned, as well as somewhat unsettling and strange, due to the pall of cancellation that hovered over this show for most of its run. As we discuss in tonight’s podcast episode, Dollhouse managed to maximize the impact of its short on-air stay, as it offered completely shocking twists and turns with the rapid pacing and keep-you-guessing thrall of actors who were able to play different versions of their own character for much of the show’s two short seasons. The direction was also thoughtful; aside from the first four to six episodes of the series, which are devoted entirely to table-setting and the need to establish many of the “ins and outs” of this world, the two seasons of Dollhouse feel evenly paced and ultimately satisfying, though our panel did disagree somewhat on whether including the first Epitaph episode, the unaired first season finale, in the streaming version is a good choice since the exposition it offers is too confusing and disconnected to the previous narrative to be worthwhile to new viewers, even as it provides more detail and backstory for what becomes the series finale, the second Epitaph, in the end. All in all, though, we can confidently offer a CPU! Official Endorsement ™ for Dollhouse. Though Mr. Whedon might be someone whose real-life choices are worth examining in terms of how he treats/treated people vis-a-vis and especially in light of the premise of this series, the art his ideas seeded still remains engaging television, even if Dollhouse is not as beloved by our panel as, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Firefly. If you watch Dollhouse, which is currently available to stream on Hulu, know that the art is more than the man who started it, and that Dollhouse is a fulfilling two seasons of television, despite its ultimate and regrettable cancellation (thanks again, Fox).
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our newest panel of enthusiastic breakers of bad – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Nick, Kyle, Hilary, Julianne, Nate, and Devon – gathered together Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at the final two seasons of all-time acclaimed drama Breaking Bad. This is the second part of a seven-part CPU! podcast series in which our panel of morally ambiguous Couch Potatoes delves deep into the crystal blue purity of all shows and properties within the universe of Breaking Bad, beginning with a two-part Retrospective focusing upon the titular series that started the whole shebang and moving into a Look Forward at prequel series Better Call Saul and the Netflix sequel film El Camino. This second “Breaking Better Series” episode was recorded in October 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of Breaking Bad, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Breaking Bad,” an American neo-Western crime drama series created by Vince Gilligan, which aired on cable network AMC from 2008 to 2013 for five seasons.
What: “Breaking Bad” tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid and dispirited high school chemistry teacher who is struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime, partnering with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), by producing and distributing crystal meth to secure his family’s financial future before he dies, all while navigating the dangers of the criminal underworld.
SYNOPSIS
Breaking Bad follows Walter White (Cranston), a meek high school chemistry teacher who transforms into a ruthless player in the local methamphetamine drug trade, driven by a desire to financially provide for his family after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Initially making only small batches of meth with his former student Jesse Pinkman in a rolling meth lab, Walter and Jesse eventually expand to make larger batches of a special blue meth that is incredibly pure and creates high demand. Walter takes on the name “Heisenberg” to mask his identity. Because of his drug-related activities, Walter eventually finds himself at odds with his family, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through his brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), the local gangs, the Mexican drug cartels, and their regional distributors, putting his life at risk.
When: The show aired on AMC for five seasons: 2008-2013. Season 1 consists of 7 episodes, Seasons 2-4 consist of 13 episodes each, and the final season Season 5 consists of 16 episodes and aired in two parts.
Where: The series is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the time spans the years between and including 2008 and 2010.
Why: Listen to the episode linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Breaking Bad. Word of mouth and critical acclaim consistently factored highly here.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!
Tonight, Couch Potatoes Unite! continues our Looking Back Retrospective discussing one of the most highly requested shows by our Couch Potatoes, Couch Potatoes adjacent, and by some of our listeners – of all CPU! time – given that it is also one of the most highly lauded series of all actual time. The show is Breaking Bad, and tonight’s episode continues a new Looking Back to Look Forward Series panel, which, naturally, a TV show of this caliber, an undisputed classic, certainly merits and which will also explore the universe begot by this noted example of so-called “Peak TV.” We launched this series last week when we dissected the pure chemical essence of the show’s first three seasons in Episode 1 of our “Breaking Better Series:”
Looking Back at “Breaking Bad,” Seasons 1-3
Your friendly neighborhood Chief CP moderates the Breaking Bad portions of this multi-part series, after which one of the panelists will take up the moderating reins, eager to suggest we Better Call Saul. To that end, panelists Nick, Kyle (our future Better Call Saul moderator), Hilary, Julianne, Nate, and Devon – our most recently constituted panel of breakers of bad – reconvened “Around the Water Cooler” to Look Back at the final two seasons one of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time as well as one of the most masterful exercises in television creation ever to grace the small screen – and you know we don’t say that idly.
Tonight’s episode is the second part of a seven-part miniseries in which CPU! Looks Back at Breaking Bad while Looking Forward toward El Camino and Better Call Saul. In this episode, our panel reviews Seasons 4 and 5 of the series that started it all. We discuss our favorite and least favorite episodes in these seasons as well as our general impressions of the long-term success of the series as a whole. In addition, as we frequently do with our Retrospective series, the panelists present their individual Top 5 Best and Bottom 5 Worst episode lists of the series, though it should be noted that the panelists proved reluctant to identify “worst” episodes because all panelists enthusiastically and unanimously agreed that no singular episode of Breaking Bad is, in fact, bad. On the contrary, some episodes might just be slightly less enjoyable than others. Listen to tonight’s episode to hear how each panelist landed with respect to their respective episode rankings.
Plus, Breaking Bad constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of Breaking Bad’s Best Of!:
#9 on TV Guide’s list of 60 Best Series of All Time
#2 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2016
#2 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
#3 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
In addition, Breaking Badranked #13 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in October 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of Seasons 4 and 5 of Breaking Bad! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, a new one-time Looking Back panel of veteran panelists gathers at the Water Cooler to reminisce about the show Dollhouse – this episode was recorded around the time that Ray Fisher’s allegations against Joss Whedon surfaced and long before the recent echoes of similar allegations emerged from the casts of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Though the man might be not the paragon of virtuosity that we all once believed, the works live on because they are products of hard-working and creative production staffs, casts, writers, and crews who did their jobs and made the art along with the guy who started it, regardless of any behavior he might have exhibited, good or bad. Let us remember this as we talk about Dollhouse next week. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Breaking Bad – if you haven’t already watched it – comes highly and unanimously recommended by our “Breaking Better Series” panel to anyone who loves crime dramas particularly but also to anyone who can appreciate well crafted TV. In case you haven’t heard the general pop culture buzz to this effect, this series is one of the more “perfectly” executed serial dramas of all time, worthy of its hype and acclaim, and certainly represents some of the topmost tier of “peak TV” of the last couple of decades. In fact, this series probably fueled that “peak TV” moniker, in that it’s well written, masterly performed, and beautifully directed, with a clear, meticulous attention to detail; a devotion to well observed continuity (where earlier developments and introductions play into later events, sometimes several seasons on, seamlessly); a notable and intriguing music selection; breathtaking cinematography (has Albuquerque ever looked so good?); and even clever costuming, given that each character sports a consistent color palette or set of palettes signifying the persona or arc they follow or experience throughout the show’s five seasons. As we discuss in tonight’s episode, Breaking Bad clearly influenced so many other television series, especially serial dramas, to follow, not to mention the also highly critically acclaimed prequel spin-off Better Call Saul and sequel film El Camino. Breaking Bad, then, represents a timeless, magical fusion of ensemble cast chemistry, out-of-the-box creativity, and excellence in the crafting of television. The program has much to offer, even as the subject matter is graphic, intense, and can be dark to the point of being off-putting – indeed, our panel acknowledged that Breaking Bad might not be for everyone, but it should, based upon the quality of its production alone, provide some genuine appeal to most television fans, regardless of any individual fan’s personal predilection toward genre or type of TV. If you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for Breaking Bad – provided that you can stomach it. Our panel advises watching the first six episodes before making your final decision regarding whether or not to continue/finish the series, and, if you, gentle listener and viewer, are prone to feeling squeamish, bring a blanket or pillow to cover your face during the more graphic parts of the proceedings. It is worth muscling through even the most grotesque and disturbing scenes to reach the gut-wrenching and masterfully executed payoff of this superb series.
All five seasons of Breaking Bad are currently available to stream on Netflix. In the meantime, the CPU! “Breaking Better Series” panel will return later this spring to react to the Netflix-produced sequel film, El Camino, and we will be doing it via one of our livestreamed-on-Facebook events. Stay tuned for upcoming details!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our brand new panel of enthusiastic breakers of bad – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Nick, Kyle, Hilary, Julianne, Nate, and new panelist Devon – gathered together Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at the first three seasons of all-time acclaimed drama Breaking Bad. This is the first part of a seven-part CPU! podcast series in which our panel of morally ambiguous Couch Potatoes delves deep into the crystal blue purity of all shows and properties within the universe of Breaking Bad, beginning with a two-part Retrospective focusing upon the titular series that started the whole shebang and moving into a Look Forward at prequel series Better Call Saul and the Netflix sequel film El Camino. This first “Breaking Better Series” episode was recorded in August 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of Breaking Bad, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Breaking Bad,” an American neo-Western crime drama series created by Vince Gilligan, which aired on cable network AMC from 2008 to 2013 for five seasons.
What: “Breaking Bad” tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid and dispirited high school chemistry teacher who is struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime, partnering with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), by producing and distributing crystal meth to secure his family’s financial future before he dies, all while navigating the dangers of the criminal underworld.
SYNOPSIS
Breaking Bad follows Walter White (Cranston), a meek high school chemistry teacher who transforms into a ruthless player in the local methamphetamine drug trade, driven by a desire to financially provide for his family after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Initially making only small batches of meth with his former student Jesse Pinkman in a rolling meth lab, Walter and Jesse eventually expand to make larger batches of a special blue meth that is incredibly pure and creates high demand. Walter takes on the name “Heisenberg” to mask his identity. Because of his drug-related activities, Walter eventually finds himself at odds with his family, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through his brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), the local gangs, the Mexican drug cartels, and their regional distributors, putting his life at risk.
When: The show aired on AMC for five seasons: 2008-2013. Season 1 consists of 7 episodes, Seasons 2-4 consist of 13 episodes each, and the final season Season 5 consists of 16 episodes and aired in two parts.
Where: The series is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the time spans the years between and including 2008 and 2010.
Why: Listen to the episode linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Breaking Bad. Word of mouth and critical acclaim consistently factored highly here.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!
Couch Potatoes Unite! has existed in podcast format now for almost six years, and while we are not gangbusters huge, like, say, Michelle Obama’s podcast, we are holding our own enough for listeners to find us, join us, and/or request series and shows for us to cover in our proprietary panel format. One of the most highly requested shows by our Couch Potatoes, Couch Potatoes adjacent, and by some of our listeners – of all CPU! time – is one of the most highly lauded series of all actual time. The show is Breaking Bad, and tonight’s episode launches a new Looking Back to Look Forward Retrospective meets Water Cooler panel, which, naturally, a TV show of this caliber, an undisputed classic, certainly merits and which will also explore the universe begot by this noted example of so-called “Peak TV.” Your friendly neighborhood Chief CP returns to moderate the Breaking Bad and El Camino portions of this multi-part series, after which one of the panelists will take up the moderating reins, eager to suggest we Better Call Saul. To that end, I am joined at the Water Cooler by requesting CPU! panelists Nick, our second most involved panelist as well as a member of our Moderating Team; Kyle, our fourth most involved panelist, most likely to be found on our superhero adaptation panels and TV nerdy fare of all types and who will be moderating the Better Call Saul portion of this panel; his wife and my sister Hilary, who appears on many panels with Kyle but who also appears by herself on noted entries like our Friends series; Julianne, who is active on our Altered Carbon panel and who also contributed to our Mr. Robot panel; Nate, who is active on our Riverdale panel; and one brand new panelist! Our newly constituted panel of breakers of bad, therefore, gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to Look Back at one of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time as well as one of the most masterful exercises in television creation ever to grace the small screen – and you know we don’t say that idly.
Tonight’s episode is the first part of a seven-part miniseries in which CPU! Looks Back at Breaking Bad while Looking Forward toward El Camino and Better Call Saul. In this episode, our panel reviews the first three seasons of the series that started it all. We discuss our favorite and least favorite episodes in these seasons as well as our general impressions of the long-term success of the series as a whole.
Plus, Breaking Bad constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of Breaking Bad’s Best Of!:
#9 on TV Guide’s list of 60 Best Series of All Time
#2 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2016
#2 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
#3 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
In addition, Breaking Badranked #13 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in August 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of Seasons 1-3 of Breaking Bad! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our “Breaking Better Series” panel returns to the Water Cooler once again for Episode 2 of our series, in which the panelists discuss Seasons 4-5 of the show of the moment, Breaking Bad. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Breaking Bad – if you haven’t already watched it – comes highly and unanimously recommended by our “Breaking Better Series” panel to anyone who loves crime dramas particularly but also to anyone who can appreciate well crafted TV. In case you haven’t heard the general pop culture buzz to this effect, this series is one of the more “perfectly” executed serial dramas of all time, worthy of its hype and acclaim, and certainly represents some of the topmost tier of “peak TV” of the last couple of decades. In fact, this series probably fueled that “peak TV” moniker, in that it’s well written, masterly performed, and beautifully directed, with a clear, meticulous attention to detail; a devotion to well observed continuity (where earlier developments and introductions play into later events, sometimes several seasons on, seamlessly); a notable and intriguing music selection; breathtaking cinematography (has Albuquerque ever looked so good?); and even clever costuming, given that each character sports a consistent color palette or set of palettes signifying the persona or arc they follow or experience throughout the show’s five seasons. As we discuss in tonight’s episode, Breaking Bad clearly influenced so many other television series, especially serial dramas, to follow, not to mention the also highly critically acclaimed prequel spin-off Better Call Saul and sequel film El Camino. Breaking Bad, then, represents a timeless, magical fusion of ensemble cast chemistry, out-of-the-box creativity, and excellence in the crafting of television. The program has much to offer, even as the subject matter is graphic, intense, and can be dark to the point of being off-putting – indeed, our panel acknowledged that Breaking Bad might not be for everyone, but it should, based upon the quality of its production alone, provide some genuine appeal to most television fans, regardless of any individual fan’s personal predilection toward genre or type of TV. If you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for Breaking Bad – provided that you can stomach it. Our panel advises watching the first six episodes before making your final decision regarding whether or not to continue/finish the series, and, if you, gentle listener and viewer, are prone to feeling squeamish, bring a blanket or pillow to cover your face during the more graphic parts of the proceedings. It is worth muscling through even the most grotesque and disturbing scenes to reach the gut-wrenching and masterfully executed payoff of this superb series.
All five seasons of Breaking Bad are currently available to stream on Netflix. In the meantime, the CPU! “Breaking Better Series” panel will return later next week with Episode 2 of this series, in which we talk Seasons 4-5 of Breaking Bad. Until then!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our panel of resident CPU! Trekkers – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Nick, Sarah, Kyle, and Michael – reconvened Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at Season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the eighth part of a multi-part CPU! podcast series – the biggest multi-part series we have ever undertaken – in which we venture into space, the final frontier, by covering each season of each series of the entire Star Trek franchise (the movies too)! This eighth “Star Trek 50+ Series” episode was recorded in November 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of Star Trek, TNG or otherwise – if that is even possible – be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Sprague Keyboard: Kels Sprague Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in June 2020, our panel of vengeful revenge artists – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Samantha, Jeremy, Eddy, and one brand new panelist: Brittany – convenes around the CPU! Water Cooler (nowhere near the Hamptons) to Look Back at the erstwhile ABC four-season prime time sudser Revenge. As always, if you have not watched any of Revenge, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Revenge,” an American drama television series created by Mike Kelley that aired on ABC for four seasons, from 2011 to 2015, until it was canceled.
What: “Revenge” stars Madeleine Stowe and Emily VanCamp and is inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
SYNOPSIS
Emily Thorne (VanCamp) moves into a beach house in the Hamptons next door to the mansion of a wealthy family, the Graysons. Emily is actually Amanda Clarke, whose father was framed by the Graysons for treason when she was a little girl, and the beach house is her childhood home. After a lengthy trial, he was imprisoned for life and then murdered in prison by associates of those who framed him. Amanda was separated from him and spent most of her time in a juvenile correctional facility, only to find out that her father was killed six weeks before she was released on her eighteenth birthday. She returns to the Hamptons as an adult to get revenge on those who wronged her father and her. Her primary target is Victoria Grayson (Stowe), matriarch of the Grayson family, who loved and betrayed Amanda’s father. The show focuses on Emily’s plot to destroy every individual who played a role in her father’s imprisonment. Along the way, she discovers various facts about her father’s past, which change her plans many times. As the series progresses, Emily involves other individuals as allies, but as she executes the stages of her elaborate plan, she finds remaining emotionally detached to be difficult. She struggles to identify her true motivations and examines how her actions change her sense of identity. As she enlists trusted friends into her schemes, she worries how their involvement will change their lives and how she will proceed after she exacts her revenge.
When: The show aired on ABC for four seasons from September 2011 through May 2015. Each season consists of 22 episodes except the fourth season, which is comprised of 23 episodes.
Where: The show is primarily set in the Hamptons (Southampton/East Hampton), Long Island, New York. The time is contemporaneous present day at the time of the show’s first run.
Why: Listen to this episode, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Revenge.
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
Years ago now, Revenge came to the Chief CP’s attention during one of my annual teaser/trailer reviews for upcoming shows. I cannot (and I repeat this in tonight’s episode) for the life of me remember why I was drawn to such a show; it’s very much out of my wheelhouse of eclectic, often nerdy, TV fare, but ABC advertised the heck out of it at the time, a present day that also happened to be the year that ABC aired the first season of CPU! favorite Once Upon a Time. Also, the Revenge cast does boast some pedigree, given its two leading ladies. Eventually, when I launched CPU! as a blog, I felt compelled to write review(s) about this series, given the juicy, soapy, “guilty pleasure” nature of the deeply twist-laden events of this 24 meets Dynasty sudser. I watched the whole thing, for which I am really proud of myself, and especially in light of the Season 3 into Season 4 twist, which would have typically turned me off in a heartbeat but for my penchant for completionism. After some years, however, some friends mentioned the show randomly as one of their highly enjoyed or at least modestly entertaining TV viewing adventures while talking about when and what might be discussed in the future on the podcast, and I was again reminded of Revenge and its role in the early days of Couch Potatoes Unite! Thus, we embarked upon convening a panel, which, today, features Samantha, who is active on our Grace and Frankie; The Crown; Full/er House Series; Westworld, and Outlander panels and who has Looked Back at Gilmore Girls, Marvel’s Agent Carter, Friends, Jane the Virgin, and The Americans; Jeremy, who is active on our Supernatural, Stranger Things, Westworld, and Charmed Series panels and who has Looked Back at Six Feet Under, Will & Grace, and Mr. Robot; Eddy, who is active on our American Horror Story series panel and who has Looked Back at True Blood, Desperate Housewives, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; and one brand new voice! All panelists have since watched or re-watched the show and were surprised to discover that others did as well – we did describe the show as a “guilty pleasure,” yes?
Our one-time Revenge panel, then, gathered Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at a series for which our panelists express the kind of passion that only the guiltiest of said pleasures can inspire as well as the inevitable regret and/or elation resulting from the series’ end as orchestrated by the network. Whatever else might be said, this series also clearly made an impression on our panelists, which they potentially vengefully dissect in the episode linked below.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in June 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points and important twists depicted throughout the entire series of Revenge! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, one of our holiday surprises will appear in conjunction with our holiday hiatus – two are coming this year, one next week, and one the week following. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Revenge is somewhat tepidly recommended by only some members of our panel – primarily Samantha and Brittany – to anyone who enjoys prime time soap operas, i.e. ilk like Dynasty, Dallas, Beverly Hill 90210, and Melrose Place; “trashy summer TV;” and murder mysteries that contain a level of intensity with a soupcon of tongue-in-cheek quippy dialogue to keep the whole guilty-pleasure essence of the series, or entertainment vehicle in question, a snappy, fast-paced tale of adventure, intrigue, and romance with no small amount of sexy times heating up the proceedings. Though our panel was, by and large, complimentary regarding the cast, particularly when reflecting upon the performances of Van Camp and Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross, the panel could not unanimously praise the writing choices, which started out tight and twisty in the first two seasons but landed, in the final two seasons, with an upending twist that seemed to negate the entire premise of the show, leaving over half our panel, including your friendly neighborhood moderator and Chief CP, stymied in our individual, respective abilities to identify any reason why we might have chosen to watch the series (or to stay invested in it) to start. As we discuss in tonight’s podcast episode, Revenge is plagued by a plethora of writing pitfalls, even as it leans into its soapy nature, with high-fashion costuming and all of the on-set opulence associated with those who can vacation in the Hamptons – and vacation well. Even those panelists who enjoy the show, from its Dynasty-evoking beginnings to its “Jerry Springer” infused endings, recommend a total commitment to suspension of disbelief when considering some of the “bananas” and “bonkers” character and storyline choices employed by the series’ writers over the show’s twisty four seasons. Still, Revenge offers the kind of “turn off your brain” entertainment best enjoyed by those who seek television of this type, and even those of us who liked it less felt that it didn’t miss all of the marks, fail us entirely in the end, or feel like a complete waste of viewing hours, especially by the surprisingly safe and satisfying series finale. All in all, though, this CPU! Official Endorsement ™ is qualified at best. If you watch Revenge, which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime and on Hulu, know what you’re getting into as you sit down to start it – or you might find yourself reaching for the remote in no time.
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our panel of resident CPU! MASHed Potatoes and fans of wartime dramedies – including moderator Nick, Sarah, Michael (K), Jenn (K), Josh, new CPU! panelist Mary, and Chief Couch Potato Kylie – gathered Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at Seasons 1-3 of M*A*S*H. This is the first part of a three-part CPU! Retrospective podcast series in which Couch Potatoes Unite! reflects upon one of the most lauded, most well regarded, and most highly rated situation comedy-dramas in television history. This first episode was recorded in May 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of M*A*S*H – if that is even possible – be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “M*A*S*H” is an American war comedy-drama that aired on CBS for eleven seasons, from 1972-1983.
What: “M*A*S*H” follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the “4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
SYNOPSIS
Developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, M*A*S*H is an ensemble situation comedy drama revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–53). Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several narrated by one of the show’s characters as the contents of a letter home. The show’s tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the civilian draftees of the 4077th – Captains Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda), Trapper John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers, Seasons 1-3), and B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell, Seasons 4-11), for example – who are forced to leave their homes to tend the wounded and dying of the war – and the “regular Army” characters, such as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan (Loretta Swit) and Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan, Seasons 4-11), who tend to represent patriotism and duty, though Houlihan and Potter could also represent the other perspective at times. Other characters, such as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, Seasons 1-3), Major Charles Emerson Winchester II (David Ogden Stiers, Seasons 6-11), and Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger (Jamie Farr), help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward Army life, while guest characters also help further the show’s discussion of America’s place as a Cold War participant and peace maker.
When: The show aired on CBS from 1972-1983; Season 1 aired from September 17, 1972, to March 25, 1973, with a total of 24 episodes; Season 2 aired from September 15, 1973, to March 2, 1974, with a total of 24 episodes; and Season 3 aired from September 10, 1974, to March 18, 1975, with a total of 24 episodes.
Where: The show is set in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
Why: Listen to this episode, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found M*A*S*H.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!– THOUGHTS
Couch Potatoes Unite! has existed in podcast format now for almost six years, and while we are not gangbusters huge, like, say, Michelle Obama’s podcast, we are holding our own enough for listeners to find us, join us, and/or request series and shows for us to cover in our proprietary panel format. One of the most highly requested shows by our Couch Potatoes, Couch Potatoes adjacent, and by some of our listeners – of all CPU! time – is one of the most highly lauded series and situation comedy/dramas – of all actual time. The show is M*A*S*H, and tonight’s episode launches a new Retrospective panel, which naturally a TV show of this caliber, an undisputed classic, certainly merits.
In addition, as Chief CP Kylie watches a lot of TV around this here couch and Water Cooler, and while I am always interested in watching TV that other generations found to be the bees’ knees, I think I lack some passion for this situation dramedy, at least as compared to tonight’s moderator, who has decreed M*A*S*H to be one of his favorite shows. Therefore, frequent panelist and Moderator Team Member extraordinaire Nick, who abounds in some passion of this nature, returns to the Moderating Microphone ™ for this series.
For now, your friendly neighborhood Chief CP participates as a regular old panelist to celebrate the quality writing and unprecedented longevity of this wartime satire. Nick and I are, in turn, joined at the Water Cooler by requesting CPU! panelists Sarah, Nick’s wife and our third most involved panelist as well as a member of our Moderating Team; Michael K, who most famously appears on our Star Trek 50+ Series with Sarah and Nick but who also is currently active on our Stranger Things panel and whose podcast forte most certainly resides in Looking Back and Retrospective episodes, since he’s also appeared on our Futurama, That 70s Show, Glee, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend panels; Jenn K, who is currently active on our Supernatural and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina panels but who has also Looked Back at Galavant and Sabrina the Teenage Witch; Josh, who is currently active on our Schitt’s Creek panel; and one brand new panelist! Our newly constituted panel of so-called “MASHed Potatoes,” therefore, gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to Look Back at a show with a legacy that has only expanded as the years have passed, particularly when one reflects upon how ahead of its time it was in light of some of the subjects that it addressed.
Tonight’s episode is the first part of a three-part miniseries in which CPU! Looks Back at M*A*S*H. In this episode, our panel reviews the first three seasons, otherwise known as the Colonel Blake/Trapper John years, which aired long(ish) before any of our resident panelists were born. Fortunately, we have some cool surprises planned and attached to subsequent episodes in this CPU! series that we hope to be more generationally all-inclusive.
Plus, M*A*S*H constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of M*A*S*H’s Best Of!:
#25 on TV Guide’s list of 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
#8 on TV Guide’s list of 60 Best Series of All Time
#47 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2016
#13 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
TIME Magazine’s All-Time 100 TV Shows
#16 Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
In addition, M*A*S*Hranked #5 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points, situations, sight gags, and jokes of Seasons 1-3 of M*A*S*H! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next week, a new panel gathers at the CPU! Water Cooler to begin a five-part Catching-Up series wherein we take a First Look at the first season of wildly romantic historical Starz drama Outlander, a highly requested show for Couch Potato-led discussion here at the podcast. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
M*A*S*H – if you haven’t already watched it – is recommended to anyone who hasn’t somehow seen any portion of it in the over 40 years since it first premiered and who enjoys well-written, thoughtful situation comedies and/or anyone who considers themselves a TV connoisseur, because one could hardly adopt such a label without taking a look-see at one of the longest-running comedies with the most watched series finale of all time, an honor that has never been surpassed in the Nielsen ratings. M*A*S*H, in many ways, pioneered and perfected the ensemble comedy formula that has become a staple of everything from Cheers to Friends to The Office to Modern Family, but that also elevated its own contribution to the craft by injecting satire and piercing social commentary into the usual slapstick and farce situations that made for contemporary popular television. As we discuss in this podcast episode, M*A*S*H clearly influenced so many other comedies and dramedies to follow, not to mention spin-offs of its own, though none of them could match the success of the parent show. M*A*S*H continues to be a timeless, engaging fusion of ensemble cast chemistry and poignant social subtext that no doubt managed to push the boundaries of network censors, at least in the early years we Look Back on tonight. If you love trying something new, and if you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for M*A*S*H. The panel universally “seems to really like this show,” as Moderator Nick observed, and can only imagine that others, of any age, generation, or sensibility, would probably feel the same if they gave the show a real shot – gun, rim, or otherwise.
All eleven seasons of M*A*S*H are currently available to stream on Hulu. In the meantime, the CPU! M*A*S*H Retrospective Series panel will return later this winter with Episode 2 of this series, in which we talk Seasons 4-7. Until then!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our panel of resident CPU! Trekkers – including moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Nick, Sarah, Kyle, and Michael – reconvened Around the Water Cooler to Look Back at Season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the seventh part of a multi-part CPU! podcast series – the biggest multi-part series we have ever undertaken – in which we venture into space, the final frontier, by covering each season of each series of the entire Star Trek franchise (the movies too)! This seventh “Star Trek 50+ Series” episode was recorded in September 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of Star Trek, TNG or otherwise – if that is even possible – be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Sprague Keyboard: Kels Sprague Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” an American science fiction series created by Gene Roddenberry, which aired in syndication from 1987 to 1994 for seven seasons.
What: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” follows the adventures of the star ship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) and its crew. The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it is the second sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series.
SYNOPSIS
Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet star-ship, the USS Enterprise-D, in its exploration of the Milky Way galaxy. The Next Generation features a new crew: Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker, Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Commander Worf, LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, and Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, as well as Denise Crosby as Lieutenant Tasha Yar in Season 1 and Wil Wheaton as Ensign Wesley Crusher in Seasons 1-4.
When: The show aired in syndication from 1987-1994; Season 3 aired from September 25, 1989, to June 18, 1990, with a total of 26 episodes.
Where: The show is set in “space the final frontier,” in what is allegedly the 24th Century, though it should be noted that calculating star dates as quoted during “Captain’s Logs” on the show is an exercise that seems to be more logical in this series than in The Original Series but does not seem to correspond to our present-day time measurement system. Then again, there is probably an explanation in some fan encyclopedia somewhere. We’re not going to worry about that right now, though, gentle listener.
Why: Listen to Episode 5, linked below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Star Trek: The Next Generation.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!
In 2017, Couch Potatoes Unite! appeared live at Grand Rapids Comic-Con in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where we engaged in one of our spicy “Vs!” debates, specifically the debate entitled “Star Trek v. Star Wars: Battle of the Stars!” During that special, our second most involved panelist, the infamous Nick, gave an impassioned speech in favor of the Star Trek universe, of which he is undeniably a huge fan. In light of Nick’s passion, then, and of his subsequent repetitive bouts of subtle encouragement dedicated to starting this series, we here at CPU! triumphantly continue our biggest – no, really, this will be our biggest – Retrospective Looking Back series of podcast episodes to date. Listen to previous episodes in this series here:
The Original Series: Season 1
The Original Series: Season 2
The Original Series: Season 3
The Animated Series: Seasons 1-2
The Next Generation: Season 1
The Next Generation: Season 2
Our panel of CPU! super-regulars and resident Trekkers – specifically Nick, Sarah, Kyle, and Michael – continue our likely “five year mission” to boldly go where (probably) no one has gone before with this seventh episode of our “Star Trek 50+ Series.” In this feature, we are taking a critical Look Back at a franchise that, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, perseveres, despite occasional periods of dormant but simmering popularity and attempts to regroup in an effort to generate new entries in its over five-decade saga. In each episode of this multi-part series, our panel will Look Back at each season of each series of the Star Trek franchise and will consider how this universe has not only withstood the test of time, while simultaneously becoming timeless, but also continues to rank among the panelists’ personal favorites, not only as a series of television programs but as a favored fandom among many, while remaining one of the most nationally and internationally acclaimed series of television shows of all time.
In this seventh episode of CPU!’s “Star Trek 50+” series, our panel discusses Season 3 of The Next Generation (TNG). We discuss our favorite and least favorite episodes in Season 3 as well as our general impressions of the long-term success of the series as a whole.
Plus, Star Trek: The Next Generation constitutes another entry in our “Best Of!” series. To wit, herein be the list of TNG’s Best Of!:
#46 on TV Guide’s list of 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
#37 on Empire‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” in 2008 and #30 in 2016
#55 on The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite TV Shows”
In addition, Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the most celebrated cult TV shows, as the show ranks at #8 on Entertainment Weekly’s Top Cult TV list from 2014. Plus, Star Trek: The Next Generationranked #79 on The Writer’s Guild of America’s Best Written TV list in 2013, as it is also considered one of the best written (scripted) television series of all time.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in September 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points and episodic stories of Season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday is the day before Thanksgiving, so CPU! is going on holiday, even if it’s a pandemic-laden one! As such, we plan to re-run our How to Get Away with Murder “Shark Jumpers Anonymous” episode from 2018; though CPU! jumped the shark on HTGAWM, the series finale of which aired this past spring, co-moderator Eddy will soon return to the Water Cooler, all by his lonesome, to offer you his Final Thoughts, as he is the only erstwhile panelist to have completed the entire series. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Star Trek: The Next Generation – if you haven’t already watched it – is recommended to anyone who hasn’t somehow seen any portion of it in the over 30 years since it first premiered and who enjoys well-written science fiction stories because, as much as Star Trek: The Original Series pioneered good science fiction television in so many ways, not the least of which includes quality stories underlying each of the show’s imaginative episodes, TNG took that sensibility all that much further 20 years after TOS started the trends. As we discuss in this podcast episode, TNG, like its progenitor show, clearly influenced so many other science fiction and fantasy genre programs to follow, not to mention further spin-offs and sequels in the Star Trek universe. To wit, Star Trek: The Next Generation continues the Star Trek tradition of being a timeless, magical fusion of ensemble cast chemistry and out-of-the-box creativity. Indeed, TNG, like TOS, has a bit of everything, and, if you love the genre and/or if you love trying something new, and if you have somehow missed this series, you should make time for Star Trek: TNG. The panel universally agrees and predicts that even if a potential viewer estimated that they would struggle with the aged quality of special effects and performance/presentation of The Original Series, The Next Generation would allay those concerns and would become the gateway Star Trek series worth watching to experience the magic of the universe and the richness of characters and stories it produces. Though, as one of the actors of this particular cast is fond of saying, and to paraphrase, you don’t have to take our word for it!
All seven seasons of TNG are currently available to stream on Netflix, Prime, Hulu, CBS All Access, and maybe some other services of which we are not aware. In the meantime, the CPU! Star Trek 50+ Series panel will return later this year with Episode 8 of this series, in which we talk Season 4 of TNG. Until then!
Who: “Charmed (2018)” is an American fantasy drama and reboot of the 1998 series of the same name, which previously aired on fall to spring Fridays on the CW; it is currently on extended hiatus (due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and will be moving to Sunday nights when Season 3 premieres.
What: Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin, Charmed (2018) is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, which was created by Constance M. Burge and which originally aired from 1998 to 2006 on the CW and its predecessor network. The series follows the lives of three sisters—Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz), and Maggie (Sarah Jeffery)—who, after the death of their mother, discover that they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, destined to protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces. Each sister has an individual magical power, which is noticeably stronger when all three sisters work together as the “Power of Three” to defeat their enemies. The sisters are aided by a Whitelighter, Harry Greenwood (Rupert Evans), an advisor who protects and guides witches.
When: Season 1 aired from October 14, 2018, to May 19, 2019, on the CW with a total of 22 episodes.
Where: In Season 1, the show is set in the fictional college town of Hilltowne, Michigan.
Why: Listen to the podcast episode linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Charmed (2018).
How – as in How Was It?
The pilot/premiere rating scale:
***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES!
**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing. I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.
*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens. There are things I like, and things I don’t. We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.
** – I will give it three episodes. Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together. No matter how unlikely.
* – Pass on this one, guys. It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.
Charmed (2018) = 2.7, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
The series begins with sisters Mel (Diaz) and Maggie Vera (Jeffery) living with their mother Marisol, who is attacked and killed by an unknown dark force. Three months later, Mel and Maggie discover that they have an older half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Mantock), who was kept a secret by their mother for years but who recently moved to Hilltowne to accept a new job at the local university. The sisters unexpectedly start exhibiting new magical abilities the first time they are together in the same room: the eldest Macy receives the power of telekinesis, middle sister Mel can freeze time, and the youngest Maggie can hear others’ thoughts. Soon afterward, their Whitelighter Harry (Evans) gathers all three sisters together and reveals to them that they are witches, as was their mother, and that Marisol bound her daughters’ powers when they were each born to protect them and to let them live normal lives but was in the process of unbinding their powers on the night she was murdered. The sisters ultimately accept their new destiny as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, who protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces.
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for awhile now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A couple of years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. We Looked Back at Charmed (1998) last week. To catch up on that episode, listen here:
The Charmed Series, Part One: Looking Back at Charmed (1998)
This week, in keeping with the spirit of Marcel’s original suggestion and in light of Charmed controversially undergoing the reboot treatment, our Charmed Series panel – namely Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and Michael – returns to the Water Cooler to continue its magical journey. Tonight, however, we start our Look Forward “Around the Water Cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the second episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, wherein we recap and review Season 1 of Charmed (2018), in all of its messy, slow-to-start, and somewhat awkward glory. Because the “OG” Charmed might be gone but is never forgotten, in this episode, our panel also engages in a semi-formal debate, CPU! style, wherein we compare characters, story lines, and other elements of the original Charmed to those of the rebooted Charmed in one of our spicy “Vs” discussions! It’s the kind of talk that is sure to resonate with the many vociferous Charmed fans out there, of then and now, since our panel’s opinions vary so widely among the five of us alone.
This podcast episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points of the first season of the rebooted Charmed series. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, we’ll return to our Charmed series “Around the Water Cooler” a final time for the year when our magical Charmed panel returns to discuss Season 2 of the CW’s 2018 Charmed reboot (because the panelists actually all kept watching). Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Charmed(2018) is not recommended by any member of our panel currently, at least upon finishing the first season. Most of the panelists see the rebooted Charmed as an entirely inferior product compared to its predecessor; the more forgiving of our panelists, namely Jeremy, stated very clearly that he needed to see more of the recent incarnation before he could affirmatively and definitely recommend it. Four out of five of our panelists adamantly believed that, to the extent that Charmed can be recommended to anyone – and it would have to be the type who generally enjoys the magical, the fantastic, and the formula so often found on shows produced for the CW – the original Charmed was the only way to go in good recommending conscience, even as all five panelists appreciated the modern context and the inclusive casting and concepts underlying the reboot. Panelist Sarah, easily the most vocal naysayer of our five, indicated that she would only likely recommend this series to someone if she “didn’t like the person” – or, at least, to someone who generally likes CW shows who has little to no expectations about the quality of what they are sitting down to watch.
Further, the panelists unanimously observed that this reboot suffers from some drastically uneven performances, with some players (Mantock, Evans) being more convincing than others (Diaz); from inconsistent writing; from poorly executed special effects; and from poor story pacing, to the point that the first fifteen episodes of Season 1 felt like needless filler, while the real story, or the most engaging parts of it, kicked in around Episode 15 or so. Still, like the show from whence it rebooted, every one of our Charmed panelists views Charmed(2018) as more of the same pure candy fluff representative of the superior original version. With the problems presented by the reboot, however, in terms of the production and performance quality as well as an unusual number of growing pains for a show that was controversially rebooted from another established series that ended relatively recently, our panelists are not so sure that this new iteration of the Power of Three will set you free. Take that for it’s worth, gentle listener, even if what it’s worth is but a casual mention in your personal TV-related Book of Shadows.
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
The CW renewed Charmed (2018) for a third season, which is slated to premiere in January 2021 due to a delay in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though an official third season premiere date has not yet been announced at the time of this publication. CPU!’s next Charmed Series episode, which will focus on Season 2 of the reboot, will be published next week! Until then…stay tuned!
As a footnote, and unfortunately, contrary to what I, your Chief CP, said at the end of tonight’s episode, as of this month, the original Charmed was removed from Netflix, given that its contract with the streaming service elapsed. The rumor is that it will be moving to NBC’s streamer, Peacock. If it’s there, give us a shout, or say a little spell.
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our magical panel of TV-watching witches and warlocks – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and new panelist Michael – by recommendation of viewers like you, gathered together to launch a new, ongoing CPU! panel, one in which we start by Looking Back at and reminiscing about a cult-favorite supernatural fantasy from the WB’s heyday, Charmed (1998). This is the first part of an ongoing CPU! podcast series examining the various iterations of The Power of Three; this episode will connect to ongoing “Water Cooler” coverage of the reboot CW series in subsequent episodes. This particular episode was recorded in May 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of the original Charmed, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Charmed,” a supernatural fantasy drama that aired first on the WB and then on the CW for eight seasons (1998-2006).
What: Created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, the series follows a trio of sisters, known as The Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches of all time, who use their combined “Power of Three” to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons and warlocks.
SYNOPSIS
Each of the Charmed sisters possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve, while they attempt to maintain normal lives in modern-day San Francisco. Keeping their supernatural identities separate and secret from their ordinary lives often becomes a challenge for them, with the exposure of magic having far-reaching consequences on their various relationships and resulting in a number of police and FBI investigations into their lives throughout the series. The story initially focuses on the three Halliwell sisters: Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). Following Prue’s death in the third season finale, their long-lost half sister Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan) assumes her place within the “Power of Three” from Season 4 onward.
When: The show aired for eight seasons from 1998 to 2006 on the WB and then, following the WB’s merger with the UPN network, on the CW.
Where: The show is primarily set in San Francisco, California. The time is present-day (relative to time of airing).
Why: Listen to the podcast episode below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they came to watch Charmed.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!
Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for awhile now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A couple of years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming controversial reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. “Controversial” might also be putting it mildly; we recorded these episodes during the spring/summer COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, long before members of the two Charmed casts starting taking pot shots at each other on social media and, therefore, in the press just this week.
Anyway, we are only too happy to take requests from listeners, my friends, which includes from you. It might take us awhile, though, to produce some episode discussions because requests around here tend to percolate for a variety of reasons, and when it came to Charmed, we had to wait and see how the new Charmed would fare before we could start comparing it to the much more beloved original version. Before we knew it, though, two seasons had already gone by (because the CW keeps renewing it…), a third season is upcoming, and so, therefore, we decided it was high time for the Power of Three to set Couch Potatoes Unite! free.
In light of Charmed controversially undergoing the reboot treatment, a few of our resident Couch Potatoes and Couch Potatoes adjacent join us for this magical journey, one in which we begin by Looking Back at the program the started it all while looking forward “Around the Water Cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the first episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, which we at CPU! are calling our “Charmed Series.” Yes, the name is probably less than magical, but there is nothing like being direct and to the point, right? Speaking of direct and to the point, staffing our magical panel of united Couch Potatoes is our third most involved panelist Sarah, who is also part of our moderating team; Jeremy, who currently appears on CPU!’s Supernatural, Westworld, and Stranger Things panels and who recently appeared on our Mr. Robot Retrospective panel; Jessica, who appears on our Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina panels; and a brand new panelist!
This podcast episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points throughout the original Charmed series. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, we’ll return to our Charmed series “Around the Water Cooler,” when our magical Charmed panel returns to discuss the first season of the CW’s 2018 Charmed reboot. Stay tuned for all of the spicy, witchy comparisons!
RECOMMENDATION
Charmed is not universally recommended by our panel in the sense that any one of our panelists truly believes that there is a wide audience for Charmed, no matter how much a couple of the individual panelists might wish there existed such an appeal. To wit, some panelists feel comfortable with the notion of recommending it to viewers with similar television-viewing tendencies – who enjoy the magical, the fantastic, and an occasionally soapy hue, such as is offered by this Aaron Spelling produced vehicle – while others see the potential for a broader connection, even as they acknowledge that Charmed, in any of its forms, might not actually be suitable for or enjoyed by all viewers. While none of our panelists engaged (yet) in a comparison to the reboot in this episode – stay tuned for that! – all panelists agree that the original (OG) Charmed offers heavy nostalgic appeal and a great, intimate main cast of big real-life personalities, since they famously have periods of not getting along with others in their immediate spheres or even with each other at times in the real and present world. It should be noted, however, that none of our Charmed panelists commented upon the expert or artisan-level production value of the show. Instead, every panelist agreed that Charmed is pure candy fluff, for the eyes, the ears, and the hearts, even as it bears an empowering, feminist message and produces a decidedly cult fervency in its fandom that has only become more vociferous in the wake of the creation of the (too soon?) recent reboot. Our panelists further agree that the Power of Three will set you free – oh, and that Rose McGowan wore very skimpy outfits on the show. Beyond these unanimous observations, the CPU! Charmed panelists proffer that Charmed will appeal to different viewers differently, given the series’ cast rotation and evolution – and that it is what it is, whether you like it or not.
Unfortunately, contrary to what I, your Chief CP, said at the end of tonight’s episode, as of this month, the original Charmed was removed from Netflix, given that its contract with the streaming service elapsed. The rumor is that it will be moving to NBC’s streamer, Peacock. If it’s there, give us a shout, or say a little spell. It was this move that prompted a couple of the OG cast to throw darts at the new series, which is currently on Netflix, with an ensuing few rounds of volleyed barbs and backlash to follow. We told you it was soapy – on and off camera, apparently.
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, a new one-time panel of some of our most musical couch potatoes – including moderator Sarah, Kristen, Michael, Eddy, Kallie, and Chief Couch Potato Kylie – gathered Around the Water Cooler to take a First Look while Looking Back at four-season, bubble-riding yet critically acclaimed musical CW comedy-drama Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. This episode was recorded in September 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is an American romantic musical comedy-drama, which aired on the CW for four seasons (2015-2019).
What: Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, the series stars Bloom in the lead role as Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer who moves from New York City to West Covina, California, to pursue her high school boyfriend.
When: The show aired on the CW for four seasons: Season 1 aired from October 12, 2015, to April 18, 2016, with a total of 18 episodes; Season 2 aired from October 21, 2016, to February 3, 2017, with a total of 13 episodes; Season 3 aired from October 13, 2017, to February 16, 2018, with a total of 13 episodes; and Season 4 aired from October 12, 2018, to April 5, 2019, with a total of 18 episodes.
Where: The action is primarily set in West Covina, California, though the narrative takes the characters to other locations, including New York City, from time to time. The time is present day (relative to time of airing).
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It?
The pilot/premiere rating scale:
***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES!
**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing. I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.
*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens. There are things I like, and things I don’t. We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.
** – I will give it three episodes. Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together. No matter how unlikely.
* – Pass on this one, guys. It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend = 3.9, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
Rebecca Bunch (Bloom) is a Yale- and Harvard-educated real-estate lawyer who works for a top New York City law firm. When offered a promotion to junior partner, she panics, flees the building, and happens to encounter Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III), her boyfriend from summer camp who she has not seen since she was a teenager. Josh tells her that he has found that life in New York City does not suit him, and that he is moving back to his hometown of West Covina, California. Rebecca decides to follow Josh to West Covina in search of happiness while telling herself that Josh had little to do with her decision to move. Arriving in West Covina, she gets a job at Darryl Whitefeather’s (Pete Gardner) West Covina law firm, rents an apartment, and flushes all of her depression and anxiety medications down the sink. She becomes friends with the firm’s paralegal, Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin), and her neighbor, Heather (Vella Lovell), and begins an on-again-off-again relationship with Josh’s best friend Greg (Santino Fontana, Seasons 1-2), all while trying to reconnect with Josh.
In the second season, Rebecca begins a romantic relationship with Josh; meanwhile, the wealthy, amoral Nathaniel Plimpton III (Scott Michael Foster) becomes a partner at Darryl’s firm. Hoping to cement their troubled relationship, Rebecca and Josh plan to be married, but Josh leaves her at the altar. In the third season, Rebecca’s emotional state hits rock bottom. After attempting suicide, she receives a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. She attempts to take better care of her mental health and to take responsibility for her actions; meanwhile, she begins a long-term, casual, sexual relationship with Nathaniel. In the fourth season, as all of the characters become more mature and emotionally healthy, Rebecca feels pressured to choose between Josh, Nathaniel, and Greg (Skylar Astin, Season 4) in order to define her future (romantic) happiness.
THOUGHTS
By popular request – though notably by some of our most established and musical CPU! panelists and couch potatoes – Couch Potatoes Unite! is pleased to present this Looking Back episode in which we discuss the zany, cringe-worthy, earnest yet ultimately messy erstwhile CW comedy-drama Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Requesting CPU! panelists include Sarah, the panel’s moderator, who is our third most involved panelist and a member of the moderating team; Kristen, our most involved panelist; Michael, who has Looked Back with us at Futurama, That 70s Show, Glee, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and who is currently on our active Stranger Things and Star Trek 50+ Series panels; Eddy, who has Looked Back with us at True Blood, Desperate Housewives (which he moderated), and who is currently on our active American Horror Story Series panel; and Kallie, who has Looked Back at The Buffy-Verse (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) with us and who also currently appears on our American Horror Story Series panel. Kylie, the Chief CP, also joins this panel as a regular panelist, happy to cede the moderating microphone to Sarah once again, as we all parse through some strong feelings about the crazy (it’s in the title, but it’s actually a lot more nuanced than that) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
In tonight’s CPU! episode, we gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to take a “First Look” while “Looking Back” at this musical comedy, which ended its four-season run in April 2019. In so doing, we ruminate in-depth upon the humor, the songs, the dances, the social commentary, the overall performances, and the laudable if clumsy attempts to tackle serious subjects, such as female health, wellness, and empowerment; mental illness and associated stigma; and sexuality in the context of a sometimes raucous, sometimes raunchy musical parody format.
This particular CPU! episode was recorded in September 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points, jokes, sight gags, and other aspects of all four seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend that might be best enjoyed on a first watch! Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, a new panel convenes Around the Water Cooler to begin a new “Looking Back to Look Forward” series covering the original version of a show where the Power of Three set us free in addition to its controversial reboot, which further celebrates the strength of sisterly support. The shows in question, Recommended by Viewers Like You, are both entitled Charmed, and next week, CPU! Looks Back at the revolving cast and enduring magic of the Original Charmed. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Our zany bunch of Crazy Ex-Viewers ™ of erstwhile Crazy Ex-Girlfriend unfortunately do not universally recommend this musical comedy-drama to a wide audience. All of our panelists, more or less, felt that this show, with its reliance on musical parody and cringe humor, would only appeal to a specific subset of viewers and not even to all viewers who love musicals or musical theater because of the type of comedy pastiche utilized. After all, in some ways, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is no different than comparable fare like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt but for one stark contrast: the likability of the main character. Various members of the panel struggled with the Rebecca Bunch character, as she did not offer universal appeal depending upon whether or not an individual panelist believed that the series was always trying to tell the story of a mental health realization and journey to self-care and self-help. Some panelists felt that the show, at least initially, reached only for pure parody and a romantic comedy-like send-up of romantic comedies, set to music, without being more purposeful about the main character’s struggle with mental illness until the third season (especially since several of the supporting characters also struggled with mental health concerns of their own whilst maintaining a more consistent and enjoyable connection with the viewing audience, as evidenced by the panelists’ individual reactions). While those two conceits could potentially overlap – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend certainly made the attempt to do so – discussing serious topics like mid-life abortion, borderline personality disorder, suicidal ideation, surrogacy, sexual fluidity, the complexity of feminism, and other serious topics with which society as a whole struggles as a larger, social paradigm, all while set against musical comedy, makes for a messy, cringe-worthy watch that will really come down finitely to a specific set of viewer preferences, which may explain the show’s bubble status for the length of its low-rated run. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend can be lauded in a deserving way for tackling topics typically reserved for darker melodramas scattered across the television landscape, and this vehicle certainly provided lesser known faces, namely stage and voice actors as well as YouTube sensation Rachel Bloom, the opportunity to shine via an earnest if risky premise, but the marriage of silly to serious in this comedy often felt forced and disjointed to the point of dissatisfaction, such that the show did not land squarely for some of our more ardent viewers and panelists.
Panelist Michael, however, adores this show; he views the originality of the premise, the feats of creativity of the show-runners and overlapping songwriting team (all containing Bloom) to be something like lightning in a bottle because of the combination of comedic, dramatic, and musical elements inter-playing throughout this series. Chief CP Kylie and some of the other panelists, on the other hand, felt that the presentation was often haphazard to the point of being off-putting because watching an unlikable main character with only scattered attempts to ground her story, while juxtaposing that character against a stellar cast of far more entertaining, enjoyable, and likable supporting players, left some of our viewers feeling as if something was missing. In fact, the panel spent some time discussing the shift in tone from Season 2 to Season 3, as if the decision to pivot the whole show toward the concept of being a musical within a meta-musical, “Kiss Me Kate” style, was made late-game, which contributed to some resistance from several panelists as far as being able to enjoy the show more. Plus, the musical realism technique interspersed throughout the four seasons of the show often proved inconsistent while rendering the introduction of the serious topics previously mentioned frequently superficial and ham-fisted and/or unrealistic, especially when, perhaps, more balance should have been employed, given the musical comedy backdrop and even if the show could be praised for taking on the heady topics in the first place.
All in all, though, the panelists seemed to form consensus around the idea that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is not for everybody (no matter how much Michael wishes it was), even as the premise and presentation – not to mention the sheer volume of songs written as homage and parody – are inarguably creative, even occasionally impressive. CXG certainly provoked a robust discussion in tonight’s Look Back, whatever else might be said of it, a characteristic that shows that this earnest little four-season musical comedy that could can’t be all bad in the end. If contemplating a viewing, though, gentle listener, note that it’s not all good either, no matter how catchy some of the songs might be. In fact, whatever else can be said of CXG, it’s the music that proves to be the show’s true crowning achievement. If you don’t believe us, take a listen at the compiled playlist below.
THE MUSIC OF CXG!
Want to sample the soundtrack before making a viewing commitment to this “crazy” cringe comedy? Spotify user Brian O. Jackson has got you covered having graciously compiled the four-season soundtrack for the type of musical theater lover who needs to hear the music before watching the stage show. Take a listen here:
REUNIONS!
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend cast members have been spending their respective COVID-19 quarantines entreating loyal fans to reunion appearances. Watch below.
Who: “Mr. Robot” is an American drama thriller, which aired on cable network USA for four seasons, 2015-2019.
What: Created by Sam Esmail, “Mr. Robot” stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder and clinical depression. Elliot is recruited by an insurrectionist anarchist known as “Mr. Robot,” played by Christian Slater, to join a group of hacktivists called “fsociety.” The group aims to destroy all debt records by encrypting the financial data of E-Corp, the largest conglomerate in the world.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Elliot Alderson (Malek), a young man living in New York City who works at the cyber security company Allsafe as a cybersecurity engineer. Constantly struggling with social anxiety, dissociative identity disorder, and clinical depression, Elliot’s thought process seems heavily influenced by paranoia and delusion. He connects to people by hacking them, which often leads him to act as a cyber-vigilante. He is recruited by a mysterious insurrectionist anarchist known as Mr. Robot (Slater) and joins his team of hacktivists known as “fsociety.” One of their missions is to cancel all consumer debt by encrypting all the data of one of the largest corporations in the world, E-Corp (which Elliot perceives as Evil Corp) and which also happens to be Allsafe’s biggest client.
When: Season 4 aired on USA from October 6, 2019, until December 22, 2019, with a total of 13 episodes.
Where: The action is primarily set in New York City, New York, though the narrative takes the characters to other domestic and international locations from time to time. The time is present day (relative to time of airing).
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode covering Seasons 1 and 2 via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
To listen to Parts One and Two of this series, covering Seasons 1 and 2 and Season 3, respectively, click the embedded links below:
Seasons 1 & 2
Season 3
Panelists Jeremy, Amie, Julianne, and our two esteemed guest panelists – specifically co-host Erinn and producer Dave from fellow podcast Mr. Rewatch, which analyzed each episode of Mr. Robot as the series was airing – return to the Water Cooler this week to conclude our Retrospective Mr. Robot discussion. In tonight’s CPU! episode, we cap off our “Look Back” at this cyber-thriller, which ended its four-season run in December 2019, by reviewing and recapping the final season, Season 4, with all of its emotional reveals, twists, turns, and lingering questions. In so doing, we resume ruminating in-depth upon the production values, performances, and disturbing dystopian images of this gritty, trippy, twisty commentary on the pervasiveness of technology in our society and its interrelationship with power constructs like corporations, with greed, and with identity, coupled with its deeply intimate look into the lives of its primary players, particularly the mind of the intelligent but mentally unhealthy main character.
This episode is the third part of a three-part Retrospective miniseries in which CPU! reminisces upon this critically-acclaimed cult-favorite show. In this episode, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 4 of Mr. Robot while also commenting upon the series as a whole.
This episode was recorded in March 2020, the last episode that Couch Potatoes Unite! recorded prior to the onset of the global pandemic in the United States, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fourth and final season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and now on Amazon Music(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, a new panel convenes Around the Water Cooler to take a First Look while Looking Back (hey, sometimes we’re complicated around here) at a quirky musical romantic comedy-drama which aired on the CW for four low-rated but decidedly cult favorited seasons: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. This upcoming panel features some of CPU!’s most musical resident Couch Potatoes. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
The esteemed members of our “Who Is Mr. Robot?” panel, including our friends from the Mr. Rewatch podcast, universally recommend this show. The present panelists remark upon a number of positive attributes associated with Mr. Robot, including the series’ fresh, creative story punctuated by a bold, dark undercurrent; enigmatic and nuanced performances; thoughtful direction and cinematography; outstanding editing; and an intelligent use of music, both originally composed for the show and compiled for the eclectic soundtrack, the latter of which appeals to all of our member panelists. If the panelists offered any criticisms of this program, such critiques centered mostly around writing choices – particularly with respect to characters and their motivations or with respect to a lack of table-setting for some of the more intriguing supporting cast – and pacing, depending upon whether or not each individual panelist subscribed to the pastiche of a show that largely focuses the storytelling through main character Elliot’s considerably unreliable and distorted narrative lens. Still, all of the panelists seemed to form consensus around the idea that Mr. Robot has something to offer any viewer, provided that the dark and gritty nature of the show itself initially appeals to the would-be viewer in question. In any event, Mr. Robot is a highly layered, thought-provoking drama that certainly provides a journey laden with questions demanding the search for answers. The most important question, however, that a potential viewer ultimately needs to consider when evaluating their interest in watching this series is: Who isMr. Robot? Here, we shall say no more. After all, this series contains so many provocative twists, specifically related to that question of all questions, that it would simply be rude of us to spoil any of them here…
THE MUSIC OF MR. ROBOT
In tonight’s episode, panelist Julianne indicated that she was determined to curate her own Mr. Robot-inspired playlist. She did not ultimately do so because Spotify user Stephen Butler did a pretty good job of curating one for all of us, including selections from Mac Quayle’s score and a song list that seems to be thoughtfully organized in order of the presentation of the songs and musical underscoring on the actual Mr. Robot series. Since music proved to be an important element of the show for most if not all of our panelists, we are happy to link this playlist here for your consideration and review. Hello, friends.
couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com 