Extra Hot Great

Austin HQ had a water pipe burst on record day so we celebrate with two EEHG about other bad things in your house. EEHG 094: Dave Forces Everyone To Watch The 1974 Made For TV Movie Bad Ronald Bad Ronald lives in a hidden room in the house you just bought. What a weirdo! EEHG 096: Tara Forces Everyone To Watch Crawlspace When the search results for Bad Ronald included another TV movie called Crawlspace, Tara decided we had to stay in the "'70s paranoia about a dude living in your home's secret places" genre. But is Richard another (Bad) Ronald? Plus! Tara gives her report on Bad Ronald: the novel. Spoiler: there is toilet strat!!! TOPICS Lead Topic:

Fametracker's own Adam Sternbergh (oh, also the New York Times's but whatever)(hee) is back to discuss The Equalizer, the perfectly acceptable re-imagining of the '80s classic. Whom on the panel did the new verzh win over with casting coups, origami tradecraft, and similarities to Leverage and Blindspot? Who called it the three-camera sitcom of cop shows? And is anyone setting their DVR to watch more of it? We went Around The Dial with Framing Britney Spears, Married At First Sight, GBBO, Big Family Cooking Showdown, and Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel before finding ways to Defund The Police Shows in an Extra Credit from Francoise. Succession tried to ascend to the Canon throne; comedy both won AND lost; and we may have flunked out of electoral college during Game Time. Settle down in front of your only-on-TV massive monitor bank for an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

With our intended guest and Firefly Lane expert LaToya Ferguson forced to bow out (we'll re-book her again ASAP!), your co-hosts muddled through on Netflix's new middlebrow book adaptation to the best of our ability. Around The Dial takes us through the late Quibi sitcom Mapleworth Murders, Hulu's Canadian import Jann, HBO Max's Danish import The Investigation -- and Borgen, with which it shares approximately half its cast -- the just-announced Black Panther show coming to Disney+ from Ryan Coogler, and Syfy's Resident Alien. Tara presents the A.P. Bio episode "Teacher Jail" to The Canon. And because the Loser is VERY dark, we name the Loser THEN the Winner this week, rather than send you home on a downer. Freshen up your Aqua Net and join us! TOPICS Lead Topic:

Our esteemed colleague, "Pot Ledom"-ologist, and Long Island native Dan Rogge returns to analyze Edward Burns's thoroughly mediocre Bridge & Tunnel, about the post-college lives and loves of six suspiciously hot high-school friends...none of whom can seem to master the accent. A huge music budget (and equally large commitment to the sex scenes) can't make up for stilted dialogue, anachronistic argot, and Burns's Lena Dunham-esque estrangement from the real-world problems of his characters. We went Around The Dial with Perfect Life, Walker, an America's Next Top Model book, Everwood, and 9-1-1 Lone Star before contemplating our ideal 2024 presidential tickets in an Extra Credit, and then Dan proposed burning down Riverdale's fourth-season musical episode "Wicked Little Town" in his Nonac presentation. Jane Lynch won, Seventeen lost, and none of us had perfect 2020 vision in a mash-up Game Time from Dan Cassino. Chuck that EZ-Pass tag out the window: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

Marvel Studios has kicked off its slate of TV series with WandaVision, a sort-of spoof of classic sitcoms starring a couple of Avengers. What's actually going on? We don't know (though Dave has theories), but Caroline Framke is here to talk about the two-part premiere! Around The Dial takes us through The Good Lord Bird, Call Your Mother, Season 2's new Batwoman, the Premier League of football (or soccer, if you will), The Challenge, and Superstore -- specifically, the voice Mark McKinney is using to play Glenn, and whether it's worse than jazz. Suley presents the Steven Universe episode "So Many Birthdays" for The Canon. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that takes it to the bridge. Grab your nearest nosy neighbour and listen! GUESTS

The regular panelists had to forge ahead without esteemed colleague Kathryn VanArendonk in our discussion of Dickinson's second season; that's the bad news. The good news is, we all like Apple TV's imagining of poet Emily Dickinson's life and loves with lots of swearing and twenty-first-century slang. How DOES the show balance the demands of historical fact with flights of fancy, and not take itself too seriously? And are Season 2's creepy [character spoiler redacted] the key to its success? Later, we went Around The Dial with The Masked Dancer, Everything Is Going Great, Cheers Season 5, Mr. Mayor's debut, and Lupin and other "Pringle mysteries." A new detective franchise won, an old HBO franchise lost, and we continued the episode's verse theme with the Tara-crafted Tube Tunes VII. Pass Nobody an earbud for an all-new Extra Hot Great. TOPICS Lead Topic:

We're off this week but we've glued together three episode forcening, uh, episodes from our Patreon supporter bonus podcast Extra Extra Hot Great. EEHG 076: Listener Forcening: The Big Bang Theory Patreon supporter Sharon Johnson had us watch The Big Bang Theory S07.E03: "The Scavenger Vortex," writing, "While I'm aware that it's not well thought of among the EHG family, BBT is one of my all-time favorite television shows," and this episode a fave among faves. Did this selection make us come around? Listen and find out! From Aug 21, 2020. EEHG 083: Dave Forces Everyone To Watch Matlock We watch the second season episode "Network" in which all the late-80s stars of NBC shine as talking heads on "Entertainment Today." ALF is among them. We have questions. From September 29, 2020 EEHG 085: Co-Host Forcening: Shangri-La Plaza After Michael Darling eulogized the ill-fated pilot of Shangri-La Plaza in Los Angelesmagazine this August, Tara made a mental note to expose her co-hosts -- and our Pat

To help get you through our holiday break, Tara wrote a special festive version of her fan-favorite (...is it?) Non-Regulation Game Time: it's Wrapping Paper Tube Tunes! Some original holiday songs from TV shows; some covers; all comfort and joy. Please enjoy this gift from us to you, and don't try to return it. TOPICS Game Time:

Stephen King's 1978 novel has already been turned into a miniseries once, but it's time for this generation to get its own, apparently? So CBS All Access has made one, and Roxana Hadadi is joining us to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through The Flight Attendant, Celebrity IOU, TKTK, The Wilds, and Season 2 of The Mandalorian. Mlle. Caroline presents the Parks & Recreation episode "Recall Vote" for induction to The Canon; then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that defies categorization. Make yourself a nice cup of Thera-Flu and join us! GUESTS

First-time guest Kamille joins us for a conversation about Tiny Pretty Things, Netflix's new Center Stage-with-teens ballet thriller (?), and while she watched the whole thing, neither she nor the fulltime panel thinks it's good. But aside from the wretched VO, suspect acting, unwelcome parallels to 13 Reasons Why and decided un-Frenchness of cartoon villain Lauren Holly, is TPT a good time-waster? Not to worry: we found you some definite time-wasters when we went Around The Dial with The Wilds and 12 Dates Of Christmas, panned Deliciousness, and helped you cut down that HBO-documentary backlog with a watch-skip index of recent prestige true crime. We couldn't help but wonder if Sex & The City's fourth-season premiere was the Canon's soulmate. Boots Riley and Jharrel Jerome won (for now), Ellen and Ellen lost (again), and Suley wassailed us with a TV/Christmas song Game Time. Don't let the dorm mother catch you listening to an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

Hulu and Canada's kids' broadcaster YTV have brought the world a new adaptation of the nearly-100-year-old boy detectives Frank and Joe Hardy, and we've enlisted Adam Grosswirth to join us in discussing it! A super-sized Around The Dial takes us through Selena: The Series, Nurses, Jingle Jangle, Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square, the original '70s version of The Hardy Boys, and Gangs Of London. After Joe M. uses his Extra Credit topic to have us write a character-revealing power ballad into an otherwise un-musical show, Adam makes his pitch for the "Fair Is Foul And Foul Is Fair" episode of Slings & Arrows to be inducted into The Canon. We crown the week's Winner and Loser, and close out with a Game Time perfectly tailored (heh heh) to our interests. Get your flashlight and your VERY loud walkie-talkie and listen in! GUESTS

The panel is contemplating three user submissions for the Canon this week, starting with the extremely highly rated, extreeeeemely looooong series finale of MASH. Lindy makes a fascinating parallel between [waves hands vaguely] All This and the world MASH portrayed, but is the episode's status as a historical reference enough to earn it a medal of honor? Next, we're sampling a first-season Strangers With Candy episode submitted by Tim (and the second in which a chicken figures heavily). Does Amy Sedaris's satirical take on The Best Little Girl In The World -- and a solid comedic turn from one Ellen Pompeo -- have what we'd call a debater's body? Finally, Mlle. Caroline files a support ticket for The IT Crowd, which pits Matt Berry and a great PSA parody against suboptimal pacing and an intrusive laugh track. Try turning it off and then back on again: it's an all-Canon Extra Hot Great! TOPICS The Canon:

After 15 seasons on two networks, Supernatural has finally hunted its last monster, and our French friend Caroline Lefloch is joining us to bury the series finale in an unmarked, shallow grave. Around The Dial takes us through I Hate Suzie, Peacock's sequel to Saved By The Bell, Agatha Christie's Poirot, and new looks at the D.B. Cooper case in both History's Greatest Mysteries and HBO's The Mystery Of D.B. Cooper. Kimberly challenges us to Fleabag-enize a show by adding a hot clergy person to it; then it's on to Guy's submission of the Perfect Strangers episode "Just Desserts" for induction into The Canon. Finally, after crowning the week's Winner and Loser, we end on a Game Time with a little Gallic flair. Load up the vintage Impala and join us! GUESTS

It might not be Olivia Colman's highest-profile streaming series this week, but Apple TV+'s Becoming You, which explores how the first 2000 days of our lives shape our futures, is perfectly on-brand: expensive, gorgeously shot, and not quiiiiite essential. Omar returns to the guest chair to talk about the series' limited concept of diversity; whether the show made him miss his kids' first years; and what a visual subtweet of Brooklyn parents looks like. After that, we moved on to Colman's other big gig in Around The Dial as Tara talked about The Crown (plus Candy Land, and alas, there's no crossover event there...yet) before the rest of us made stops at The Animal Rescue Show and SVU's odious season premiere. Suley asked us to script a Jack McCoy rant for Extra Credit, and then Tara Talked To Us about a first-season Joe Pera Talks To You episode about The Who ("second base!"). Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammer won; COVID production shutdowns lost; and we curled up with cozy murders (and gardening ghosts) in Gam

Perhaps you feel the 2020 holiday season should start a little earlier than may be strictly traditional? So does Netflix, as it brings us all Dash & Lily, in which a pair of adorable teens who've never met use a red notebook to challenge each other to dares all over New York City. Internet Boyfriend taxonomist Esther Zuckerman jumps over from Thrillist to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through A Teacher, B Positive, Ted Lasso, The Reagans, and the maddening episode numbering of Disney+. Andrea pitches the Barry episode "ronny/lily" for induction into The Canon. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that you should thank for its service. Make yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate and join us! GUESTS

EHG's Dave and Game Time veteran Dan Cassino along with host Taylor Cole welcome Tara, Sarah and Mark Blankenship for a special crossover episode with The Great American Pop Culture Quiz Show! Tara, Sarah and Mark battle it out in TV trivia modelled after a typical Extra Hot Great episode! We'll open with a new release for the week, go Around the Dial with a game about shows that change networks, and play The Canon where our contestants must separate great works of literature from TV favorites. It all comes down to a contentious lightning round to determine the Winner and Losers of the week! GUESTS

What if Big Little Lies, but in New York City and with no point? That's kind of how Emily and the regulars all felt about The Undoing, the latest Nicole Kidman-David E. Kelley collaboration for HBO; we admired the workmanship, while not really understanding what sets it apart from BLL (besides the quality of the wigs), or buying Kidman and Hugh Grant's chemistry. Will any of us be successfully cliff-hung into watching all six episodes? Later, we investigated Around The Dial with stops at Archer, the new Supermarket Sweep, Revolutionary Girl Utena, The Morning Show, City So Real, and The Queen's Gambit, before location-scouting "Domestic Survivor" for Don's Extra Credit. Emily hoped the signal-to-noise ratio of a fourth-season Halt And Catch Fire episode would be good enough to connect it to the Canon. Stath Lets Flats won, Quibi lost, and Game Time proved a severe insult to the brain (and other things). Quick, look hunted! It's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

Netflix's new import is a miniseries set in Franco-era Spain and revolving around a just-returned college grad and his Mexican ballerino friend. How does Lázaro's arrival tear the community apart (with lust)? Will Ellis joins us to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through Social Distance, The Conners, Selling Sunset, Australia's Next Top Model, and HBO's A West Wing Special. Will presents Naomi Campbell's visit to The Tyra Banks Show for induction to The Canon; then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we close things up with a Game Time that has spirit(s). Settle into your favorite wing chair at the Shooting Club and join us! GUESTS

Disney+ and NatGeo decided to remake beloved '80s Mercury-astronauts epic (and earlier Tom Wolfe book) The Right Stuff as a series...and Adam Moussa decided to talk about it with us, a choice he may regret, because the four of us struggled to care. We struggled even to tell various astronauts apart, even, when we weren't wondering why this needed to be made, whether we should recommend For All Mankind instead, and where various actors would be in the Twink Taxonomy. Then we splashed down into Around The Dial with stops at Connecting, The Good Wife, Dark Side Of The Ring, and Rise Of Empires: Ottoman, we ordered some bangers and Smash with a Canon presentation on RuPaul's Drag Race UK. AppleTV+ won, Max Ehrich was a giant loser, and we were absolutely horrified by the wordplay in Game Time. Strap in to the vomit comet: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

Showtime's latest docuseries is a deep (maybe too deep) dive on L.A. comedy club The Comedy Store, and first-time guest Brandi Brown -- herself a comic -- is joining us to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through Emily In Paris, Polar Bear's Café, and Paramount's doc I Am Richard Pryor. CoreyAH challenges us to cast the Hallmark Christmas movies of tomorrow, today! Then, after her successful pitch of "Senegal," Françoise goes back to the Parts Unknown well to pitch us the "Houston" episode. We crown the week's Winner and Loser; then it's on to a Game Time that takes place in front of an unadorned brick wall. Join us -- but just so you know, there's a two-drink minimum! GUESTS