I Am All In…Again: The Ultimate Bad Guy Floyd Stiles (Season 4 E18 “Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!)

I am all in again.

Let's just do.

I am all in again with Scott Patterson and iHeartRadio Podcast.

Hey everybody, Scott Patterson, I am all in Podcasts, one of them productions. iHeartRadio Media, iHeart podcast. We have a very special recap episode eighteen seams four tick tick tick boom, and we're also very special guest mister Lawrence Pressman, who played none other than the very determined or steely Floyd Styles, Jason's father and an unforgettable, albeit two brief performance. Lawrence, you normally don't watch your own shows, from what we.

Understand why we watched this several years later.

But what was it like watching your episode back this time?

It's weird, you know, when this is sixty five or sixty six years of a career and I've done a lot of TV. Most often don't watch because I came from the theater, and I think it's just something theater people have trouble with. But it was completely surprising. All I remember about it really is I knew Kelly Bishop from before we had done a pilot together, and I knew her a little bit of New York and I was a great admirer of Ed Herman's and I just remembered ed Herman and I on the golf course. That's what I remember about it about the episode, So watching it was like watching something totally new. I don't remember any of it. I don't remember being such a bastard.

I mean a bad guy. That guy I play a lot of those guys.

Was the writing right?

Well, I've known Amy for a long time. She had my son for friends, and so I knew her for years, way before Gilmore Girls.

Okay, so you've been at this many decades. What strikes you the most about Gilmore Girls.

Of all the shows I've done. When somebody recognizes me from that short brief episode in a quarter that I did, because that's basically what that was, I would say that's the most hysterical reception. It's usually young women. It's often young women who have studied Gilmore Girls in school. There are courses at UCLA about it. I was accosted by a covey of young women out of Starbucks years ago who were screaming like I thought it was a rock star.

And it had nothing to do with me, but it had to do to do with gilm workers. And I think it's it's touched.

It must have touched a real place in young women because it was, I.

Guess the first show that sort of dealt.

With feminist issues and certainly the relationship between a young mother and a teenage daughter. I mean, that's the fascinating paradigm of that of that show to me.

Well, let's get into the synopsis here. Floyd Styles makes an epic return and turns the tables on Richard Jason's new business while revealing the truth about Jason and Laurel I. Meanwhile, Dean is getting close with Rory again, and Kirk is going crazy looking for the lost Easter eggs in the town square, but Luke comes to his rescue. Director by Daniel Paladine, written by Daniel Palladino. Richard and Emily having dinner with Floyd Styles. Richard Jason are acquiring a company a man named Bob. They go golfing with him to close the deal, but Floyd comes over says hello. They decide his schedule dinner. Everybody's excited for it. Maybe it means peace between father and son, Jason and Floyd. It's

the night of the dinner. Laurel I is dressed up and the styles come over and they start the night on the patio, remembering each other's drinks and everything is complementary. It's all going well. But then the men have cigars post dinner and study and it's where Floyd says he is suing Richard because Digger, his son, broke the non compete clause. Floyd knew this because he hired a private investigator to follow Jason. Floyd storms out of the study.

The men are arguing and he tells everyone that because of the PI, Jason is dating lral I, Emily and Richard are in disbelief. To throw Jason away like that is just ruthless. Did Richard have no choice?

I think it's a gray area.

I think I think he's still pissed off obviously, and it revenge is sweet, even if it means losing a few bucks. As how, I got it when I saw it right right.

Tell us about working with that hermit, just the first time you've worked with that.

First, the first time I've ever met him. Great admirer. I've seen the Roosevelt series because it was directed by a friend of ours, John Nerman directed it, and it was a fabulous series, and Ed was the embodiment of Roosevelt.

He was just great in it.

Jane Alexander, Ed and I can't think who else was in it right now, But so I had been a long time admirer, and we just had never crossed paths, which happens a lot in this business. You know, you can love somebody's work and never work with them, or you can love somebody's work and work with them two or three times or once, as I did with Ed, which was a real pleasure. He was a very He was the kind of actor you play with. You know, there are actors who are set and you kind of there a ball and you kind of bounce the ball off the wall, and then there are actors who catch the ball and you throw the ball back and forth.

And he was definitely a ball catcher and throw her. You know, it's really a duet whenever you played with.

Him, you know, going off off the reservation here a little bit. You mentioned Jane Alexander. She was always a favorite of mine. Well, I don't really see anybody like her, since she's very unique. Tell me a little bit about working or seeing her, working with her, knowing her.

A little bit.

I knew her just a little bit. I knew her husband and Sharon much better.

I would say that there was a whole group of actors like the actresses like that.

One was a friend of mine, Kittie Wynn, who was a friend of James obviously, and very similar to that.

These were These.

Were the times when women were.

Ladies in the theater. Right, We've lost that.

We lost that probably years ago, and I think Jane was the last of that group. But she was a sensational actress and could do anything. She really I saw her many times in the theater. I knew her first husband because he worked at theater that I worked in when she was in Washington. He was in Boston with me, and they have one son, Jase. But I think that that whole area of women being ladies and and.

Sort of above the fray has could have gone.

They're just there. Isn't that anymore? For whatever the reason. I think it's partly because of women's liberation.

Well, she was just she was effervescent and all right, Well, let's get back to the show.

Jason and loralized.

Relationship has been a secret until now, and it was dramatic for it to be revealed by Floyd. Could you have imagined it going another way as far as revealing that or what.

Do you think, What do you think of that?

I don't think so, given his relationship with Floyd's dad, No, I don't think so. I think I think it was you know, I don't mean to be political here, but you know, we're in an age of political retribution, about political attribution. I kind of think that was what was on his mind, you know, from the beginning, was it was just to get him, you know, as it meant sacrificing his son and the son's relationship all the better.

Two birds of poostone. I think that's the kind of guy he is.

I don't see, you know, just because you're somebody's father, you're not gonna let your son destroy your business. There wasn't noncompete in those things. You know, they have some teeth. So you know, I don't know what Jason was thinking about in the first place. I mean, it's a it's a it's a gaping hole. You know, he walked through that door.

So picture to their father's son relationship.

You know, a son who's been the under the thumb of a very powerful guy wants to make his own turf. I can see it from the son's point of view, but also from the father's point of view. It's not allowed. As you say, it's a gaping hole. You can't do it. It's it's business business is, isn't it.

You can't do it.

You can't do it, you get into trouble that way.

The impact of hearing Jason and Laurel I dating for the Gilmore's is just complete disbelief, and everybody goes silent. As the Styles family leaves, Emily stairs at Laurel I, Jason comes back and defend himself to Richard. They try to come up with a plan. Jason as Richard's trust to figure something out, and Jason and Laurel I leave together and get drunk in his apartment. They have a few too many, I would say. Richard tells Emily it's going to be okay. Richard then goes golfing with Floyd and they work out a deal where Richards come back to the company under his own umbrella and Jason is out.

What do you think of that turn of events? For me personally, it's very satisfying storytelling. What'd you think of it?

I think it's I think it ties up. Then you know it puts the bow on the box.

Right.

Uh, it's it's correct. You're back in family uh, unity of some kind.

Uh.

And and you've forgiven the sins, which is the most important thing in a relationship, any relationship. If you can forgive the other person's perceived sins.

You you you can you can go on from there. Uh. I.

Since I since I wasn't not a television watcher, I don't know what happened eventually to that their relationship, but to his relationship with with Lauren's character, but I would guess that it made it a little bit easier on their on their relationship as well. Right, we guess all right, I can tell you you made me let you on that episode. Since I've not watched it before, you've made me laugh a lot. I just like that guy. I've known that guy before. I came from a small town myself, and I've known that guy who just says, no, you order now, or you don't get it out of my right, right.

I just love that.

That's cool, very funny.

Yeah, that's a very you know to me, he was always a very familiar Northeastern, totally post world guy. He does that there a diamond does like that out.

There exactly are you from there?

No, No, I'm from I was born in Philadelphia, raised New Jersey.

New York. Yeah, so Philly's my favorite towne Yeah, you know.

And that that is that is ah, that is just a classic uh yes, sort of male dominant, alpha, steely outside, softy on the inside.

Kind of the thing about don't want me to be bothered, just don't wanting to be bothered.

Made me laugh.

That's good, good stuff, good stuff. Well, we know one thing about Luke. He's not terribly fond of babies making noise in his diner. And then Taylor comes in with a two pay saying there's an odor in the town. Everybody says they smelled at two and other places. Kirk gets enthusiastic about the odor, but doesn't reveal what he knows.

Kirk then goes to the soda shop looking bothered. He confesses smell is coming from easter eggs he hit and can't find them again because he didn't make an egg map tailor. Taylor holds a meeting looking for Easter eggs. The residents keep coming on his two pay. Kirk fires everyone up to find the eggs with his verse and the two thousand and four Howard Dean disaster speech meltdown, which.

I'll never forget.

And Dean was doing really well at that time. That's why he was so fired up. He really thought he was going to get the nomination. But man, that was short lived. Taylor and Kirk fight that Luke Stanner. There's twelve bags left and Kirk is going crazy. Later that night, Kirk wanders around town square endlessly. Luke shows up at least twelve bags. We get the iconic Kirk line, I love you, Luke Danes all right. Kirk doing the Howard Dean speech is very current since that was in two thousand and four election and it aired in two thousand and it's so hilarious, along with the two page choke, two page jokes.

Who plays the mayor Michael Winters?

He's on the West.

Coast classical actor.

I know him, I knew him.

Yeah, he's terrific. He's terrific. So was this the levity we needed for this batic episode?

Oh yeah, you have to balance off that. I mean, the thing that happened between Ed and me and my son was extremely mean.

And darker than most shows of this.

Nature went in those days, which I think is again what Gilmore Girls must have done that was different than what was being done other places.

But yeah, I think you have to have the balance.

I mean, Shakespeare always had a balance, you know, Macbeth as a very funny scene in the middle with the drunken watchman.

You know.

I think it's a balanced thing that audiences want. They don't want it all dark, and I don't think they want it all funny either. I think that's one thing modern comedy has given us is that it can be serious and real and still funny, right. I think the one thing about about Amy and Dan that is pretty clear from that show is that the writing that episode is extremely tight and extremely funny and extremely fast.

So things are boom boom boom, boom, boom, boom.

Boom, and you don't have a chance to really breathe at any of it, which I think is a wonderful quality for a show. We don't have anything like that these days.

Well, really, it really wasn't television, wasn't It was It was really theaters more theater, or really theater or film, because I can't tell you how many times these scenes work in a mastershot where you don't really even need to do coverage because the you know, the blocking and the choreography of the scene was just so good. And you know, we would get together and you know, really because I come from theater too, and you know, most people in this cast do, and we would get in there and rehearsal and and just knock it out the way you do in a theater rehearsal. It may have taken a while, but it added hours to day, but it was certainly worth it doing, and it's the only way that I'll do it well.

I think when the writing is that good, you can relax and let the writing.

Do it for you.

And you can do that in the theater, and you can't do that all the time on television or in movies.

First of all, were at.

A time often with minimal dialogue in film too, I notice. I mean I saw the Odyssey and that has a lot of a lot of action, but not a lot of dialogue, even in that kind of epic kind of thing. But all good theater writing, I think, all good writing is rhythmic, and the Fillmore Girl's rhythms were just.

On the nose.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was remarkably easy to remember all the dialogue because of that fact, and it also had that sort of Shakespearean emotional logic to it, which made that far easier to memorize than any other large chunks of writing that were you know, you know, not a student.

Came out of a real place.

These were the Other thing that's that's really good about the writing, for my observation is that every every character had their own rhythm and that's own voice, and their own color, you know, each color kind of came in and it made it just it just these wonderful.

Portraits that to me, and I've mentioned it here on the show many many times about the uniqueness of each character and their voice and how rare that is, especially in television writing. You know, there's there's eighteen to twenty thirty distinctive voices going on, and you know, how are you going to capture that when it's not coming out of you? And I thought he did a remarkable job, even though you know he's he's not inside Amy's head.

A very very difficult task and I thought a lot of those episodes in season seven we were absolutely terrific.

Now, his season seven, the one that was still on WBM before you guys did the revivals.

Oh yeah, yeah, that was two thousand and seven and then and then we did the revival in twenty sixteen.

Right, so we.

Had a nine year sit before.

But he did the last season.

I didn't I didn't know that. I didn't remember that.

David Rosenthal did the last season as showrunner. Yeah, because Amy and Dan left. Jelsuki, Lorelei, and Taylor argue over a bookshelf placement. Well, Dean is helping to move it. Meanwhile, Lindsey comes in and gets the keys from Dean and they admire how cute they are. Dean shows up to Rory's dorm and the bookcase doesn't fit anywhere. He tells Rory's taking a semester or two offs so he can work to buy a townhouse with Lindsay, and Roy gets upset and doesn't support the idea.

They fight.

He leaves with the bookcase Dean does. Rory is in Town's lane. There at Dozie's Market, Rory fens about Dean not going to college and complains about Lindsay not working. Lindsey deuberhears it and storms out. Dean stops Rory in her car and they go into an alley to talk. He apologizes for the fight. She tells us about the stuff Dozie's Dean says Lindsay doesn't want him talking to her, but also he doesn't want that to happen. All right, things are heating up between Rory and Dean, and we see what's coming from a mile away. Should Rory respect that Dean is married and put a stop to this developing relationship?

Oh boy, kids, right, kids? I you know, it's classic.

Wrong com from the viewer's point of view. You know, people marrying are about to marry the wrong people when clearly we the audience know who the right people are.

M h, Well, a lot of people have opinions about who the right person is for Rory, and that debate rages on even to this day.

They'll be happy and the other two people probably will be miserable. So saving them from the fate worse than you know, nothing's worse than a bad relationship, God.

And bad relationship.

Yeah, but you know, I guess, uh, I guess the fans will just have to wait and wait and wait for maybe some resolution to these questions that.

Are running around the Gilmour universe, one of one of which the most prominent, more prominent, maybe not most, but is uh you know who's Who's Who's Who's the baby daddy for Rory's kid? Well, we ever going to see Rory's kid? Or we ever going to see more episodes?

I don't know.

They don't tell me anything. Do they tell you anything? Do you hear anything on the streets about a revival part two of Gilmore Girls from your sources?

No? But that you know the comeback is third comeback? Uh?

You know Lisa Kudro show, Right. I think it's possible. There's certain shows that have resonance that can continue to have resonance and continue to be current.

Some shows live.

In the in the one time, I think Mary Tyler Moore Show was a great show and I flew out.

I was flown out to do it, uh.

And it was a fantastic experience because that cast, like the Gilmore cast, was filling with different voices.

Distinctive voices.

Yes, Ted Night at Asnyeah fantastic.

It was Jim Brooks and Alan Burns and they were.

Just at the top of their game.

But that show I don't think would have residence today. Women have come too far. Mary was the beginning of what the Gilmores flowered into. You can't imagine Mary having a child with no father, or of having that child have a have a baby that we don't know who the dad is. You just get this is not going to happen in the Mary Talamoor universe. But it happens.

But I think there's a I think there's a connection. There's there's a connection that goes through them, Mary being at the beginning of it, maybe Marlowe Thomas even at the beginning of that, and then Mary and then.

The possibility of the girl Gilmore.

Girls, and then the reality of it as the as you get well, you know, nothing gives you courage like success, you know, bringing you when you start to make your points and you and you're very beloved as a show. Seven seasons is a big number. You just you just know that shows has residents. People still will think about it today here we are talking about it today.

And we're going to continue talking about it. It's going to have to be another time. Please come back. We've run out of time.

Just enjoyed it.

Fascinating insights and thank you for sharing, and remember you are the best fans on the planet. Keep those cards and letters coming. We read every one and we appreciate every single one of them. And remember, where you lead, we will follow.

Stay safe everyone.

Hey, everybody, and don't forget.

I Am All In…Again: The Ultimate Bad Guy Floyd Stiles (Season 4 E18 “Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!)

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