102: My So-Called Life (1994-1995)

Introducing our lost episode! Three years ago, we started prepwork for a rewatch podcast about the groundbreaking 90s teen series, MY SO-CALLED LIFE, which ran on ABC-TV from 1994 to 1995. The plan: record and bank a few episodes before committing to the launch. Then life happened…you can guess the rest.

Just in time for the 30th anniversary of the series, here is Episode 1 of our MY SO-CALLED LIFE rewatch. Join us as we dissect the Pilot, share our connections to the show, and get reacquainted with introspective 15-year-old Angela Chase (Claire Danes) as she navigates the ups and downs of adolescence and a painful crush on Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto). 

MY SO-CALLED LIFE was an anomaly in the mid-90s when glossy teen soaps like 90210 reigned. Quiet, introspective, and sometimes dark, MSCL was the first TV series to focus on the subjective experience of a teenage girl, and later in its run, the first primetime series to show a teen coming out on-screen.

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#61: Moonlighting – TV Series (1985-1989)

Thirty-five years is a long time between viewings of a former hit TV show, especially one that leans heavily into “battle of the sexes,” as Dave discovered with his pick this week, the 80’s screwball detective series, MOONLIGHTING, which ran from 1985-1989 on ABC. Starring Cybill Shepherd and rising star Bruce Willis as bickering partners in the Blue Moon detective agency, Moonlighting was once must-see TV, but now is mostly forgotten. Will Ashley be able to see beyond the very dated gender politics to appreciate the weird charms of this very unusual show? Maybe.

See: 10 Episodes That Highlight Moonlighting’s Eclectic, Boundary-Busting Brilliance (AV Club).

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#58: The Adventures of Pete & Pete (TV Series)

This one’s for the millennials raised by Nickelodeon, and anyone else who enjoys good things like songs with unintelligible lyrics, golden autumn light, endless summers, and personal superheroes. This week Ashley’s pick is 90’s television series THE ADVENTURES OF PETE & PETE. Dave is struck by the wonderful oddness of the world inhabited by two brothers named Pete. Ashley is just happy to be able to share such an important part of her childhood.

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#50: Things That Bring Us Comfort

Our 50th episode just happened to fall during a global pandemic that has upended everything everywhere, so we decided to talk about what brings us comfort, hope, and a little laughter in scary times. We’re listing our top five(ish) comforting things, which are *mostly* movies. Spanning from the 1930’s to last Tuesday, Film Noir to YouTube, we hope at least one will soothe your troubled mind, or at least distract you for a while.

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#49: Mr. Show (1995) – TV Series

Part of the magic of college is that you get to learn a bunch of new stuff, not just from your professors, but also all the weird stuff that you get introduced to from a jumble of friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends that you meet. A visit to someone’s trashed out apartment can introduce you to something that could change the course of your life. For Ashley that something was David Cross and Bob Odenkirk’s MR. SHOW, which aired on HBO from 1995-1998. This influential comedy sketch show is a must watch for anyone who enjoys comedy. Can Dave and Ashley manage to talk about a sketch show without just summarizing the sketches? Find out on this week’s episode of Shut Up and Watch this. Terra-da-loo!

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#39: The Good Girl (2002) / Enlightened (2011)

People are complicated, neither wholly bad nor good; they make bad decisions, they hurt people they love, and yet they are also capable of great kindness and laughter. They long for things: to be better, to be different, for connection with others. Writer Mike White is able to capture that humanity in characters that are simultaneously the best and worst of us. Ashley’s picks, THE GOOD GIRL (2002) starring Jennifer Aniston and HBO’s ENLIGHTENED (2011) with Laura Dern, showcase White’s unique gift. Dave is along for the enjoyable, if somewhat uncomfortable, ride.

Mike White Interview (Off Camera w/ Sam Jones)

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#37: Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Some films become so much a part of who you are that you can’t remember a time that they were not part of your life, and so it is for Ashley with this week’s pick, the 1995 BBC miniseries PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Staring Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, this is the definitive adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, and it has been beautifully restored for the Blu-ray release. Dave was too busy with fencing lessons, brooding near fireplaces, and other man things to see the series before. This oversight has now been corrected.

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#25: Party Down (2009) – TV Series

Are there times in your life when you’re more open to a particular show or movie? We find out when we revisit a series that Dave just couldn’t get into the first time Ashley brought it up, long before they ever started dating. PARTY DOWN was Rob Thomas’s (the writer-director, not the singer of “Smooth”) follow-up to VERONICA MARS. The series follows Adam Scott as a washed-up actor and his co-workers at a second-rate catering company in LA as they work disastrous parties and events, while trying to figure out their careers, or lack thereof, in and around the fringes of the entertainment industry. The humor is dark, sarcastic, and frequently silly, so it’s right in Ashley’s wheelhouse. But will Dave come around?

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#24: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (TV) / Gallifrey One 2019

This week we’re talking Slartibartfast, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Ford Prefect. No, we aren’t advertising for some weird diet shake, an odd new laundry detergent, or a car that ceased production in 1961…it’s just a few of the interestingly named characters from the 1981 BBC TV adaptation of THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Ashley, a huge fan of the book series, wonders if one needs a live action version of a near perfect story. For Dave, who knew the story from books, radio and the series, his pick is pure nostalgia. Will it stand the test of time? Speaking of time, we’re recording this episode live-ish from GALLIFREY ONE 2019, North America’s largest fan-run DOCTOR WHO convention. We’ll rundown some of our favorite moments from the conference so far, plus give a brief history of how Dave and Ashley got into DOCTOR WHO in the first place.

01:50 – Dave’s Pick: Hitchhiker’s Guide
37:05 – Gallifrey One 2019

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#23: Anne of Green Gables (1985)

It seems everything gets a gritty remake these days, but did LM Montgomery’s classic book series ANNE OF GREEN GABLES really need the Batman Begins treatment? Disapproving of the recent remakes, this week Dave and Ashley review the original, Kevin Sullivan’s 1985 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (yes we realize there is a 1934 film as well). Ashley tries and (perhaps) fails to be somewhat objective about her pick and one of her childhood favorites. And Dave waxes poetic about the joys of watching Anne (Megan Follows) find her chosen family and make a place for herself in the world.

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