Extra Hot Great

We're thrilled comedian Josh Gondelman could come back to talk about Fantasmas, the latest show from Los Espookys's Julio Torres, which is as hard to describe as it was for us to resist. We talked about everything from fully realized re-imaginings of Alf, to comedy that doesn't have to prove it's smarter than you, to begging the universe to let Torres make American Vandal Seasons 3 through 85. Maybe the show's not for everyone, but it's okay with that, which is part of its charm. Later, we went Around The Dial with 9-1-1, Rachel Feinstein's stand-up special Big Guy, and Sarah and Dan's Justified marathon, and Josh hoped his Killing It Canon presentation would pay off (before 9 PM, of course. Timothy Olyphant won a second time, The Morning Show found a way to lose twice, and Dave was a poet who DID know it in a rhyming edition of Game Time. Put that clear-crayon project aside and have a listen. GUESTS

FX/Hulu has taken the scandal surrounding L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling after his assistant, V. Stiviano, recorded him being racist out loud (a recording that then leaked to TMZ) and turned it into a scripted true-life drama; former L.A. resident and current basketball (not Clippers) fan David Wiebe returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through some early critique of Taskmaster Australia S02, and some soul-searching about what makes Below Deck Mediterranean so addictive. Tara makes the case for the Seinfeld episode "The Strongbox" to be inducted into the Nonac. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Non-Regulation Game Time we all hoped we'd never have to endure. Sarah has had to sit this one out, but there's still plenty of hot action to get you to join us courtside! GUESTS

Grab a fruity cocktail; we're back to let you know which new and returning summer shows you should stay inside for (plus a few you can skip), plus a very special "We're Happy For You" list from Dave. Later, we take a dip at Rutherford Falls with a listener Canon submission; declare a Winner (casting) and Loser (cancellation) for the week, and time-machine it back to 2001 for a 19 Questions Game Time. Take the plunge and listen now! TOPICS Lead Topic:

We reached out once again to our Patreon supporters, asking whomst among them had the nerve and pop culture knowledge to participate in a Listener Game Time special. Brian, Lea, and Philip were chosen from our respondents, and face each other in Meredith's game My God, It's Full Of Guest Stars, and Mike's submission, TV CVs. Who vanquishes their foes? Listen and find out! TOPICS Game Time:

For this special episode, we're contemplating three TV episodes our listeners believe are among TV's very best. Mlle. Caroline has us watching the Poirot episode "Five Little Pigs," featuring way more future Game Of Thrones stars (and offspring of future Game Of Thrones stars) than any of us might expect. Then, Larra sends us to Dropout.tv for the second-ever episode of Game Changer -- which is also the first-ever "Make Some Noise." Finally, Elenore gets dialectical in her pitch on "START," the series finale of The Americans. Pull over for some McNuggets and join us! TOPICS The Canon:

Dr. Dan Cassino is back to discuss Netflix's Sandman spinoff (of sorts), Dead Boy Detectives, a ghosty witchy horny procedural. We talked about its Gaiman (and Buffy) DNA, if it's better at being scary or horny, and which tools from the historical "magic on TV" kit it uses best. Later, we went Around The Dial with Hacks, This Old House, and Baby Reindeer before turning our attention to the UN-dead for a The Walking Dead Canon submission. Jason Ritter won, Peacock lost, and Game Time took us on a Roman holiday of sorts. No need to open a portal, just hit play on an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

As a TV host, Conan O'Brien has moved on from a nightly interview and variety show on TBS to a comedy travel show on Max; as the whole season drops, Will Hines joins us to discuss how well it fits into the genre, and what it was like doing sketches during Conan's run of Late Night. Around The Dial takes us through Dinner With The Parents, X-Men '97, and The Jinx II. Kari pitches the "Heat Stroke" episode of Taskmaster NZ for induction into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to an extraordinarily resourceful Game Time. No passport needed to listen! GUESTS

It's yet another expensive-looking and ambitious limited series from Apple TV+ -- this time, Franklin, starring Michael "Gordon Gekko" Douglas as the flatulence-forward inventor of electricity. Is this limited series focused on the wrong thing? Is Franklin as a colonial weirdo better in smaller doses? And why isn't there more farting? Later, we went Around The Dial with Loot's second season, Top Chef's Wisconsin season, and Carol & The End of the World, and then we took cover for an incoming Canon pitch about the Justified S01 finale. Cold Case won, Billy Joel fans lost, and Tara ran the numbers with us in a non-regulation Game Time. Pin a scale-model tall ship to your head and get ready for an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

Tom Ripley, a Talented character we already saw on screen in his namesake movie in 1999, is back, now in a limited series on Netflix; Dan Rogge joins us to discuss how this version compares to Anthony Minghella's film, what we thought of its use of black and white, and how it works to age up the character so he can be played by Andrew Scott. Around The Dial takes us through Monsters At Work S02, Only Murders In The Building S03, and Space Show (aka For All Mankind). Britt pitches the Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" for induction into the Canon; then we name the week's Winner and Loser and move on to a Game Time about TV therapists: how does that make you feel? Row out into the middle of the open sea and listen! GUESTS

AMC's latest prestige drama, Parish, features Giancarlo Esposito as a retired wheelman trying to do former associate Skeet Ulrich a favor, and we're thrilled Omar Gallaga is parking it on the panel to talk about the show. Does the show do anything with 2010s crime-show cliches? Who has notes on car-chase credibility? And on a scale of one to ten plastic babies, how "Nawlins" is the show? Later, we're going Around The Dial with Taskmaster's seventeenth season, Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, and how to rewatch Boardwalk Empire; and finding out whether Tara's Canon pitch for This Fool is worth one MEEELLION dollars. RHONY won, Tori Spelling lost, and we obeyed a VERY strict speed limit for Game Time -- so buckle your seatbelt for an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

Doug Liman has taken Rowdy Herrington's glorious 1989 feature Road House and remade it for Prime Video with Jake Gyllenhaal as a Dalton for the 21st century; Taylor S. Cole joins us to discuss whether it's a hard slap in the face to our memories of the original. Around The Dial takes us through Girls5eva, Lost, Homicide: New York, and Chicken Nugget. Taylor makes the case for inducting Andor's "One Way Out" into the Canon; then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we close up with a game about who's at whose throat. No throats are ripped out in the course of this episode, so feel free to listen! GUESTS

Time was, the Extra Credit segment regularly appeared in the main episode. But with the expansion of the Patreon-exclusive Friday bonus episode, a lot of them snuck over there. We also just fell behind. So we're catching up: in this very special episode, we're addressing not one, not two, but NINE Extra Credit submissions with answers as considered as they are ridiculous. Cha-ching! TOPICS Extra Credit:

Guy Ritchie's 2019 movie has spun off a vaguely related drama series on Netflix; Will Leitch returns to discuss where it ranks in his filmography. Around The Dial takes us through Animal Control, The Curse, and As We Speak: Rap Music On Trial. Sarah makes the case for the Law & Order episode "Trophy" to be inducted into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we play BALL (sometimes; sometimes not) with a sportsy Non-Regulation Game Time. Get to your club, pour some 18-year-old scotch, and join us! GUESTS

The Good [X]-verse returns to network television with Elsbeth, a procedural starring Carrie Preston's capital-Q Quirky Elsbeth Tascioni -- and Adam Grosswirth returns to EHG to talk about how the show is trying to have it both ways with the character's historical anti-establishment attitude; whether these creators should have moved this set of shows' universe off of streaming; and what exactly is in all those massive tote bags. We went Around The Dial with Love Is Blind's sixth season, So You Think You Can Dance's surprise return, and Sarah's belated finishing of The Good Fight, and then we threw Tubi's tortured new brand identity into the ring of Will Dave Hate This?. Wendy told us about Tasha Yar in her Canon pitch for a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode before Netflix won, Paramount+ lost, and we confronted time rifts of our own during Game Time. Diaphragms, double spaces, and thee: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

James Clavell's doorstop of a novel Shōgun was already adapted as a network miniseries when your three regular panelists were all kids. Now it's getting a cable and streaming take, and you know what that means: beheadings and boobs! Variety TV critic Alison Herman returns to join us in describing everything ELSE that's also going on. Around The Dial takes us through S03 of Abbott Elementary, S02 of Tokyo Vice, and the grand (or is it) finale of True Detective: Night Country. Returning submitter Francoise makes a case for the Better Things episode "Rising" to be inducted into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to The One Where We Wonder What Time It Is (it's Game Time). Put on your most sumptuous silks and join us! GUESTS

When we threw a Zoom game night over the holidays for our Patreon supporters (hop down to join them!), Dave decided one was too good to play once. So we invited three of our Patreon supporters who hadn't made it to play it again. Listen to hear Taylor, Lucy, and (Bezoar) Laura try to decipher TV theme songs slowed WAY down; then, Dave hops in for a surprise round of 19 Questions. Don't just slow down everything else in your life: put it on pause and join us for this very special episode! TOPICS Game Time:

This year, Super Bowl home CBS gambled its coveted post-game time slot on a brand-new action drama called Tracker; David J. Roth joins us for a conversation on, among other things, how it stacks up to the similarly-named Reacher. Around The Dial takes us through The Amazing Race, This Fool, Kings From Queens, and Griselda. Tara pitches the Primo episode "The Game Champ" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time located next to either a wormhole or a dolphin tank. Hop in your RV and join us! GUESTS

Mr. And Mrs. Smith is back, in TV form, on Amazon Prime, and Sarah Baker is back, in fine form, to talk about it: whether it improves on the movie, how we feel about leads Donald Glover and Maya Erskine's chemistry, how many Brooklyn landmarks Sarah D. Bunting zoomed in on for confirmation, and what the Phoebe Waller-Bridge iteration of the show might have looked like. Then we went Around The Dial with Clone High, The Floor, Fargo, and Law & Order: SVU; and Buntsy stayed in the Order-verse to declare that she's NOT a crackpot for thinking Tony Goldwyn should play his Criminal Intent character on Mothership even though that character is dead. Alan Partridge won, Alyssa Milano lost, and we all tried to guess the horndog hearts of IMDb searchers in Game Time. This time it's cake AND death in an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

With Masters Of The Air, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have, once again, teamed up to tell a story of troops in the Second World War; Jeff Drake returns to discuss whether it soars, or never quite leaves the runway. Around The Dial takes us through a midseason Married At First Sight check-in; Season 1 of The Traitors; Bluey; and an Edgar Allan Poe episode of Homicide: Life On The Street. Jeff presents the Colin From Accounts episode "Toyota Cressida" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that's fun much more than a third of the time. Fasten your seatbelt and listen! TOPICS Lead Topic: ✈️ Masters Of The Air Around The Dial:

We are off this week due to a family emergency but we bring you a couple choice cuts from the EHG Club archive. EEHG 223: Tara Forces Dave To Watch Alice S06.E10: The Wild One Remember the 70s and 80s when our greatest collective fear was that bikers would just grab a waitress from a diner and make her join their gang? EEHG 216: Dave Forces Tara To Watch Ancient Aliens S13.E05: The Desert Codes We close out our “Dry January” Forcening miniseries with Dave’s imposition on Tara: an episode of Ancient Aliens all about how desert geoglyphs were probably definitely designed by aliens as a way for humans to communicate with them. “Why?” Shut up, that’s why! SUPPORT THE SHOW