202: One Moore Episode

0:00 Hey, hey, hey, watch, watch Hey, hey, hey, watch, watch Hey, hey, hey, watch, watch Hey, hey, hey, watch, watch Hey, hey, hey, watch, watch You're watching Podlandia.

0:33 Hi, I'm Keri.

0:34 I'm Fred.

0:35 And this is a rewatch.

0:37 A Portlandia rewatch podcast.

0:39 Welcome. How are you?

0:41 I'm good. I'm very excited to talk about this episode.

0:45 Me too. I want to quickly acknowledge that we were wearing these clothes for the last podcast episode. One, I mean, I've You know me. I like to wear the same thing. I don't want to create a high bar where people think that I have so many clothes that I'm just going to change them all the time. I want to just be comfortable. Same.

1:07 I just wish it was just like a uniform.

1:09 A uniform. Eventually, we will settle on a uniform.

1:12 Yes.

1:13 For now, we will just do some repeats.

1:15 Yes.

1:16 Some comfort repeats.

1:18 And this is twice in a row we've done this one.

1:22 Twice in a row.

1:22 Yeah.

1:23 We didn't do laundry in between.

1:25 That's right.

1:26 Never.

1:27 I mean, not never, but no. No laundry in between.

1:29 Yeah.

1:30 And this is the second time we've worn it. This is season two, and this is episode two. So two is the magic number today.

1:38 This episode, we were just saying before we started recording, but we'll repeat it. One of our all-time favorites. Yeah. Truly, I think if I was going to show someone Portlandia, And they, and they asked me what episode, where should I start? I might have them start here. This would be one of five episodes. I would show them. Same. Yeah. Uh, it's very satisfying. I just, yeah, just creatively artistically. This feels very satisfying to me. A lot of things that we were trying for feel like we were able to pull them off in this episode, particularly with the wraparound, which again is the three-part sketch. the through line, and this one to me is one of the most satisfying ones we did, most successful.

2:33 Yes, I'm glad how we, I'm happy about how I was executed as well. Yes. Like we really.

2:40 That we were able to pull it off.

2:41 Yes. Yes. Because there's a lot. And what would seem like a nonsensical tangent is very logical. It all works.

2:49 Yes.

2:49 Towards the end. the idea of the sketch itself. The main one being one more episode.

2:56 Yes.

2:57 That's the name of it.

2:58 But before we get to that, we will start with the cold open. Before we dive further into this episode that now we're really raving about.

3:06 Yes. I know. We apologize. I'm sorry to rave about it, but where an episode didn't work as well for us, we'll make sure to address that as well.

3:15 We've talked about the stuff that we don't love. But also, I just want to say, One false modesty can be obnoxious, but more than that, we truly enjoyed making this show, which is one of the reasons we're doing this podcast, because we're still friends. We were friends before Portlandia. We've been friends since Portlandia. And we are proud of what we've done. And I would rather approach it as like, hey, we're proud of this than when we are actually proud of something. Anyway, onward. The cold opened. Allergy parade.

3:51 That's right. Allergy pride. Parade. Allergy pride parade.

3:56 Yeah.

3:57 The idea that we're proud of our allergies, which I think people are. I think people do kind of embrace the specialness of their allergies.

4:06 The specialness of anything that just, you know, sets them apart, you know, yeah, from someone else. I mean, I think this is something we discussed a lot in the writer's room. Just when something that's, uh, a trait or a preference becomes an identity, right? It crosses over from, you know, just a mere, you know, a description or characteristic and really becomes an identity. I think that's something that we just dwelled on a lot and discussed and there's different iterations of that idea. It's one of the things I would say that we were exploring and critiquing about culture a little bit, just like throughout the whole show. Yeah. And, and what is that? Not just again, not other people, but what is it about ourselves? You know, that what

4:54 it is about me that like take something and it's like, no, this needs to be what I'm known for. This is my identity. We've talked about that a lot with, with music. And, um, you know, that, that just becomes, you're taking it so personally. And we certainly observed, um, this with some people's allergies.

5:13 We both have, Yes.

5:15 And it is kind of, I do.

5:19 I'm sorry. Just even the way I said that was like, just so you guys know, I also, I understand I have an allergy. I'm so annoyed. If I was like, I wish I could take a cane and remove myself from the stage right now. As if I need to justify, like, just, you know, I really understand. I also have an allergy.

5:34 I have this affliction. But there is something about like at a restaurant, there is, I think everyone feels this way. Where it's not like, oh, what a bummer that I'm bringing everyone down about my allergy. It's a little bit like, you know what? This is part of me.

5:48 Yeah.

5:49 I'm allergic to avocado. Those words kind of like, it's like real estate. At this table.

5:54 Oh, it's so commanding.

5:56 It's like, this is my world.

5:58 I heard you say it the other day.

6:00 It's true.

6:01 Yeah. And the reaction. It's like we've all been trained to just be like, oh my God. You know, like I, let me create some space for your allergy. Yes. Yeah. And now it's absolutely normal at a restaurant. I went, I think it was for my birthday this year and I have, you know, friends with allergies or dietary preferences and there were separate menus. There were like three or four menus, you know, and that's, yeah, it's just part of the way we operate now is to just sort of you know, cater to those differences. And yeah, I, am I just because I feel like you shared. So no, I have to share what my allergies are. Um, soy, it's very specific kind of soy allergy. And this makes me extra special. Um, it's an exercise induced allergy. So

6:59 it's called exercise induced anaphylaxis.

7:01 Stop laughing.

7:02 And, um, I didn't know I had a soy allergy because it only like happens, manifests when I exercise and it's like I sweat and my heart rate goes up and the histamines just go crazy. So I would eat soy or tofu or soy sauce or whatever and be fine. And then every once in a while, every couple of years, I would like go to the gym or sometimes I, a couple of times it happened. I would perform with my band Slater-Kinney on stage and I'd be sweating, jumping around and I would have these terrible allergic reactions. I would have covered in hives, but it happened so rarely that I wasn't able to pinpoint when it was. And then eventually it happened kind of in quick succession. And, and this was the worst reaction that I've ever had. Um,

7:56 my face, I mean, my eyes were swollen, swollen, shut, um, Um, I, every time, by the way, I end up in the ER, like it's, Oh, it's that serious. Yeah. And, but this time it was, it was getting worse, but also I was like, Oh, it had just happened a month before. And I sort of put two and two together, but also at the ER, you know, they were like, well, you should get, you know, get tested. Um, cause before I didn't, I thought it was just from exercising or sweating or something. And they were like, it might be related to food. Um, or something you're ingesting, and yeah, those are just soy. So for years, I just, if I ate anything with soy, yeah, I wouldn't exercise afterwards or sweat in any way. But I still eat soy.

8:41 But I just don't do anything active. I just sit on the couch afterwards.

8:45 Good.

8:45 Yeah. So my allergy feels a little more special than yours.

8:50 It definitely is. The lightness of my allergy is what makes... Mine feels special. Mine is that my mouth just gets itchy.

8:58 That's a con a contact allergy.

9:01 And I like the lightness of it. It's a little bit like, cause then I've got to tell a story. So when they're like, Oh, we'll make sure that I'm like, no, no, it's okay. If there's some avocado in here, right. I won't die.

9:11 That's true. That is part of your story is reassuring. I feel like you, yeah. You have to reassure people that like, it's actually not life threatening.

9:17 Yeah. It's like, I bring them in and then like, Oh yeah, I'm going to, you won't be responsible for my death. So it's both. It's a few things at once. Yeah.

9:27 I'm also allergic to hazelnuts, by the way. But the contact allergy part.

9:31 Okay.

9:31 Yeah. So it makes my mouth a little itchy.

9:34 I'm also allergic to apples, by the way.

9:37 Well, I have another one, too, if you want to hear it.

9:39 All right. Let's hear it.

9:40 Pitted fruits. Okay. So, I mean, keep going. What else do you have? Walnuts. Really?

9:49 Yep.

9:49 Okay.

9:50 Same thing. Just itchy mouth.

9:52 What about environmental stuff? Do you get hay fever?

9:55 Hay fever, yep.

9:56 Oh, you have a big one. Dogs. Yep.

10:00 Dogs where if I pet them or they lick my skin, I get little hives.

10:06 No, that's a real one. And I am such a dog person. And you have befriended two of my dogs. My current dog is a little antisocial, but my two previous dogs, R.I.P., Toby and Cricket, loved you and you, to your credit, loved them and pet them. And then you would just go wash your hands. Yeah. Which to me is the best version of being, I mean, obviously some people just can't even get near them, but you were able to like hang out with them.

10:32 Yes.

10:33 Yeah. Which I appreciated. Um, this is a good example of probably how the writer's room went, which is just us telling these stories and then creating a sketch with a, um, about analogy pride parade, where we played the, um, parade, um, hosts.

10:49 Or commentators, commentators, correspondents.

10:52 Yeah. Um, yeah. And people are going by on floats and.

10:57 And it's well, I like the way it was shot. Like I like, it feels like a parade. It's like little floats going by and it really spells out the idea that, you know, everyone's sort of singing their own song or whatever, doing their own chant.

11:11 Yeah.

11:12 Um, my character is named after, My mother's husband.

11:18 And mine's named after my mom. Yeah.

11:21 So very parental there.

11:22 Very parental. And then my character actually eats something with an ingredient she's allergic to, dextrose.

11:31 Yes.

11:31 And then passes away and joins the parade in a hearse.

11:35 Yes. She's at the end.

11:37 Yeah. Yeah. That's the ending.

11:41 Good, solid, cold open. Yeah. We had an idea and then. Yeah. it made sense on screen.

11:48 Yeah, exactly. All right. Now we get to this wraparound. So, so very, in a very, this was felt very zeitgeisty. Like people, this was kind of the early stages of binge watching, like people, you know, in the, it was like, streaming era, also people binge watch DVDs too. So obviously DVDs like these, you know, a show would end and you could buy like a box set of a show.

12:23 And so even just the term like binge watching, this is like as it's starting to like happen and people are talking about it and it's kind of a phenomenon. And so we wanted to like write a sketch, write a piece about that, you know, how like it's hard, you don't even want to return to your regular life.

12:44 Like I remember having saying this exact thing that we were talking about six feet under, which I think was one of the shows. So we'll get to this, but there were many, we needed to get permission from whatever show we chose. And so we had like a list of shows and we're fans of all these shows. And I remember saying that when six feet under ended, I missed Nate. with one of the characters. And we just talked about that feeling of like when a show ends and you, it's almost like you're grieving the end of it.

13:14 You are so immersed in these characters' lives. You feel it's that parasocial thing. You just, you feel like you know them. You feel like they're your friends. And then they're gone. There is no more story to tell. Like you know how their life, their story ends. And there's something very heartbreaking about that. Cause you're going on without them essentially.

13:38 Yeah.

13:39 Which is what it feels like when someone dies and it's, it's a very real thing. And we wanted to capture that, like figure out a way of just writing about this thing as, as fans, mostly just as fans of great TV.

13:54 Yes. And we all had our different experiences with shows that we've loved that had ended or that we were still watching. And I remember the wire came up a bunch.

14:06 Of, Why are Sopranos six feet under Breaking Bad maybe?

14:11 Something in there.

14:13 Including Battlestar Galactica. Right. And then there's always when you're writing and you're borrowing from IP, real life intellectual property, you have to get permission. You can't just throw that into the show, whether you're using an image, a likeness, a song. So we needed, we had to sort of have our business affairs legal people go and find out who was willing to sort of let us do this.

14:42 Yes.

14:43 And we were very fortunate that the folks at Battlestar Galactica said, yeah, okay. Yeah.

14:49 And there was a sort of, I remember at the time also, just people were talking about that show, even after it had ended.

14:59 Yeah.

14:59 I remember- Patton Oswalt had something about it in his standup. There was a, it was definitely like a good reference. That was a good one to pick.

15:06 Yeah. And it had to be a show that had many seasons and that once the show had stopped airing that you could binge it, you know, that you could just waste hours, days, weeks of your life. And, you know, and I remember doing that with various shows, you know, just lying in bed or sitting on my couch, just unable to stop bingeing. hitting play. And yeah, this is more of the DVD era than it was streaming, which obviously it's just like autoplay. You're sort of even more at the hook or on the hook and at the mercy, but you know, but this sort of required a little more, like it was a little more tactile, but still it was, it was a lot. Um, anyway, so this is the introduction of Doug and Claire who become another duo that

15:55 we write for, um, again this year. And then in the remaining seasons. This is our intro to them.

16:02 Yeah.

16:03 And Claire is, she's kind of wears the pants in the family in terms of like, she's the breadwinner. Doug is a little more of a slacker, stay at home guy, kind of maybe like prolonged adolescence.

16:16 Yeah.

16:16 You know, but he's like, Claire's like a little all business at the beginning. Yeah.

16:22 And it's good for the sketch in that she really is going to a dinner party.

16:27 Yeah.

16:27 A birthday dinner.

16:28 Yeah.

16:29 And in a way that's like, it can't just be a couple that like just ends up watching TV. She actually does have something important to do.

16:35 There's a ticking clock. It's that it's a very classic, like storytelling, you know, sort of method. It's like, okay, there's here to the stakes. Like we've got to get to this dinner. Doug has, you know, friends keep telling him about the show. Actually Claire's like, Oh wait, someone mentioned this show to me. It feels very grounded premise. Like, okay.

16:55 And you know, it always seems like sure we'll just do one who needs to be to this you know on time to this thing we can show up a little later yeah like it's a nice like this is another one of one of our many couples who really like hanging out with each other and it's just like oh that would be fun I'm trying I'll do something that Doug likes and then he'll come with me to the dinner kind of classic couple compromise so you pull out the the box set season one episode one and we watch it we get into it And we're like, wow, that was good. We should watch another one.

17:29 Yeah.

17:31 And suddenly it cuts to it's morning. And we've been up all night.

17:37 And you've already texted the people at dinner. Happy birthday. Yeah. And the way you send the text is very sort of like an errand.

17:45 Yeah.

17:45 Okay. I said happy birthday and. Right.

17:47 Well, very quickly, the rest of our lives becoming unimportant.

17:52 Yeah.

17:52 You know, it's like this is like moving into like pole position, like, OK, everything else is kind of receding. Soon, Claire loses her job. Bills are stacking up. I mean, right. It escalates very quickly. It's getting we're just watching episode after episode, not getting up from the couch. We're, you know, not eating.

18:13 The lighting is changing. It's just, we're looking more disheveled. I think we do something also with our, we're both sounding more tired. Yeah.

18:22 I'm wearing like a really, like a threadbare pajama shirt, you know, everything we, we go from like, you know, a clean living room to, yeah, very slovenly. Like we only have one thing that we live for and that's this show.

18:36 Yes.

18:36 And then at the end of this sketch, what happens is we finish the show. We get to the last episode and we're devastated. In fact, I scream.

18:48 You scream.

18:49 I scream.

18:49 A very real scream. Yeah.

18:52 By the way, you know I love screaming.

18:54 Yes.

18:54 It's a thing that we do a lot on the show.

18:56 Yeah.

18:57 I love to scream.

18:58 It's a real.

18:59 Very cathartic.

18:59 Yes.

19:01 But appropriate in this setting. So it's like playing into the horror of like, oh my God, this has been stolen from us. We don't know what to do.

19:10 It's unacceptable.

19:10 It's unacceptable. I mean, we have nothing else anymore, but the show.

19:15 So we see that the show is created by Ronald D. Moore.

19:18 Yeah. And we are like, where does he live? Why don't we have the creator showrunner writer of the show? He needs to write more episodes.

19:27 Yeah. Like we're, we're like, this is a problem.

19:29 Yeah. We need more. We need more. We need the fix.

19:32 So we looked at the phone book and there he is. Ronald D.

19:35 Moore.

19:35 He lives in town.

19:36 He lives in Portland. Yeah. Um, But that's just, then we, that's the end of this.

19:41 That's the cliffhanger.

19:42 Yeah, that's the cliffhanger. We realize the creator of our favorite show that we are now addicted to lives in Portland and part.

19:49 One ends yes now we go to the Knott's store Artisan Knott's and Jeff Goldblum is our guest star.

20:00 He's the proprietor of the Artisan Knott shop you're playing a character that comes back but not usually with partnered with me yes Gavin right yeah Um, a great wig, ginger kind of ginger hair.

20:15 We got it from a photo reference. There was an article, I think in the New York times or something.

20:19 Of that guy, of the guy.

20:21 Um, of something about artisan something. And there's a guy with that hair and that mustache. And we put it up on our, in the writer's room on the bulletin board of like this guy we have to do whoever this is. I think he even had that sweater. I can't remember what the article was, but.

20:39 Yes. There was, I, I kind of remember that, but I also remember the artisan not thing, just an era of artisan, whatever, you know, that if, if you just put the word artisan in front of anything that was pedestrian or ordinary, all of a sudden you could like create a whole store around it. Yeah. You know, a market for it. You could jack up the prices. It's, you know, a little bit in the put a bird on it. Like how, you know, it's feels a little bit like a racket. You're like, Oh, okay. Really? Artisan knots. Like, I can just tie it on, right? Like, but no, this is something more elevated than that.

21:12 I wonder if in general retail was just different back then. Cause I feel like that happened. People would just open shops.

21:20 Well, I mean, I think for one thing, like real estate was more affordable, you know? So you have a spirit of entrepreneurship and experimentation and people, you know, not that these are all successful business models, But I think there was a proliferation of those stores in like certain neighborhoods.

21:38 It was also a big sign of gentrification, right? Like, you know, all of a sudden, you know, locksmith goes out of business or a shoeshine place and it's replaced by an artisan knot store. You know, so like to me, it was also a shorthand of you're like, oh, wow. Like that's when, you know, this neighborhood is shifting and people are being displaced because now there's this shop that has like a futility to it almost. You're like, wow, the other shop actually served a real purpose.

22:03 And this?

22:04 And this serves very little purpose. So it's an interesting sort of story of a city as well. It's like a story of gentrification and then also a story of just more affordability in general where people just had the opportunity to sort of take these chances, you know, even if like, yeah, now none of it exists, right? Not only were the first wave of people, you know, pushed out, but now the second.

22:29 Wave is pushed out and now it's... Buildings are empty, really.

22:32 Yeah.

22:35 But Jeff Goldblum is so, he's fantastic at this and he's really enjoying doing it.

22:45 He relishes things. And I mean, that's just Jeff in general. He very much lives in the moment. He's very present as a scene partner and as a person. He's a wonderful listener. He's immensely curious. He's very smart.

23:01 And also somehow comes up with a character. There are things that are the way about this, the way that this character was speaking that might not have been him. There's one thing I noticed he did, which some people do, is when we're asking him questions, when someone's sure of something, they do this thing where he goes like this, nope, yep.

23:23 This immediate, like, he's just sure.

23:27 Mm-hmm.

23:28 Of his answers.

23:29 And it also gives you the feeling that he knows what you're going to say before you say it, which is very disarming. Yes. And it almost makes what you're saying seem pointless.

23:38 Yeah.

23:38 He's like, just let's get to the part where I actually lead this conversation. And also you don't know what you're talking about.

23:45 Yes.

23:45 Yeah. So it's a little bit of a power move, which I think he's very good at playing.

23:51 Yes.

23:52 But in a way that's like kind of like deceiving because, you know, he's sort of, couching it in niceness but there's just a little bit of an edge to it and I mean that's just him being a great actor but he really brings all of that again to a short sketch and that's we were so fortunate so many people who come in shoot for hours but everything is reduced to like two and a half minutes were able to bring like some depth and you know layer to these characters which he did and Jeff is someone who comes back year after year after this.

24:27 Oh so so great and the premise of this one is that we're buying we're going to a dinner party so we've got to bring a gift yes and so we're trying to bring.

24:36 A knot yeah and also there's that these characters they definitely have that feeling like we are going to be the ones to bring a really special gift and a classic thing that we've all fallen prey to i read an article about it oh i read about this like yeah you know and i still do that I'll yeah. And we specifically say, I read about this in the New York times.

24:58 Yes.

24:59 You know, you go to check it out. So there's just, again, that's that sense of like, I don't know, just that we're doing the right thing. We're doing something. We're sort of special and we're at the special store. And anyway, then a very, despite looking at all these knots, we can't find the right thing. We just can't settle on it.

25:17 And he thinks he has the perfect thing for us. And he goes into the back and and comes out with a knot, but it is made of iPhone, yeah, Apple wired headphones. That are tangled.

25:37 And they're under glass.

25:38 And a cloture or whatever that.

25:40 Is, yeah.

25:41 And yes, so we had talked about this, like basically your Apple, any wired headphones, are always in a knot anyway. I mean, I still spend a lot of time untangling. Sometimes I prefer my little wired AirPods. I do too.

25:59 I keep them in my car.

26:00 Yeah, to the wireless ones. Anyway, but I am always untangling them. So we buy this overpriced piece of art that's essentially just headphones. And we bring them to the party.

26:16 And many other people at the party have bought the same thing.

26:18 Yeah, that's sort of the reveal.

26:19 Yeah.

26:20 Our friend accepts the gift. with kind of a sigh and we realize that everyone's read the same article and purchased her the same gift and most of them from the same store.

26:28 Yes.

26:29 So.

26:32 After this, we've got Fire Pit.

26:37 Okay. This one, this is Malcolm and Chris again, which we talked about in episode one. I'll call them the Seattleites.

26:42 Sure. Maybe slightly older.

26:45 A little bit older than some of our other characters. I have gray hair and I remember Jessica Needham she gave Chris, her signature lip color was a burgundy, which is very different than, none of my other characters had burgundy. And it always gave me, it was a very specific aesthetic, like this gray hair burgundy. To me, it was like a little bit of a shorthand for like someone who likes art. You know, just like, you know, enjoys a good gallery opening. Yeah. So this kind of sketch is one that we do, we repeat. It's the kind of sketch where, we imagine one thing. There's sort of the physical version of something, like the literal version of something.

27:30 And then there is the imagined version of something. And that disparity is where the humor comes from. And I think that is a very real thing. This sense that an object has the ability to change your life. It's just like, we always think like, oh, if then, you know, if I had this, then I would be happy. If I had this, I would be more exciting. We kind of talked about this. So we will get to this later with motorcycle.

28:04 Yeah.

28:05 And even later with van life.

28:08 That's right.

28:09 But this is sort of the first version of that. But I will say that this becomes a kind of sketch that we do. Yeah. And I think something that we've all in the writer's room had experienced.

28:18 Yeah.

28:18 Just really like, imposing upon an object, like a lot of just like hope. Yes. This transference of hope and like a life-changing ability. And so it's a very simple setup and a way of shooting a sketch, which is your Malcolm is just literally putting together a fire pit in the backyard. Yep. Really simple, not even that fancy one.

28:48 And as you're building it, you're imagining what a fire pit brings to you. Yeah. How it would transform you.

28:57 Yes. And it is a underworld.

29:02 Bacchanalian. It is absolutely like it's, it's full like orgiastic leather daddy ball gag. Like there, I remember, so we're literally shooting half the sketches, In an afternoon in someone's backyard.

29:22 Yeah.

29:22 The other part, the part that we're imagining, you know, that we cut to. Yeah. Like sort of Malcolm like looks off into the distance and then we cut and we shot this other thing. We shot it after Ayo River. We finished out at the river and we waited till it got dark. And then we shot this scene.

29:44 Wow.

29:44 I didn't know that. And everyone is dressed. So the background are truly just in like SM gear.

29:51 Yes. I remember when they showed up too. They were... Because I think they're the real deal.

29:55 It's the real deal. And... To me, that's very intimidating. And this happens a lot on the show with background. And it was part of the fun of doing the show is that our background extras casting would go and just say like, hey, we need this group of people we know you do this in real life. We'd rather just get you guys than, you know, take a bunch of people who have no experience with this and put them in costume. Like you kind of get to show off your thing.

30:22 Yeah.

30:23 And this was an example of that. And they were really enjoying it. I mean, it was, it was night. We built a huge bonfire and there, you know, there's like people with collars and leashes and, you know, spikes and whips and weird. We're in character as Chris and Malcolm with a little bit like you have maybe a shirt on with like flames on it or something.

30:46 And also the sounds we're making are demonic.

30:50 Animalistic, demonic. Yeah. Just fully hedonistic. And I remember there was. So then Chris comes out in the movie. like more grounded version of this, she then has her own fantasy. You know, she looks at the pit. Malcolm first has it and you're out with these people. And then in my fantasy, there is a man in a leather mask and I'm licking his face. And I was like, I remember just that level of like having to surrender to a scene, you know? And like, I feel like this is, one of those instances where when you're writing something versus when you're performing it, there's a huge gulf, right? You don't, I don't think as we're, you know, writing this and talking about it that, oh, there will be a time

31:38 in the near future where I will be like down next to someone's crotch, you know, and very close to it. And it's just like a little leather, you know, bikini bottom and you know, then I'm looking a person's face who's wearing a leather mask. Like it just, there's something really exhilarating about it. And then there's just something absolutely nerve wracking.

32:01 Yeah. And these are strangers.

32:02 These are strangers and you have very little time. Again, this is not like, Hey guys, how's it going? I'm Carrie, you know, I'm playing, there's no like, and this is what the scene is. You just, I mean, obviously like our AD had said, you know, like give, given some direction, but there's not, like one, there's no intimacy coordinator, which now there would be for a scene like this, you know, well, what are you comfortable with? Um, she's going to bend down and wrap her hands around your upper thigh or, you know, um, and I'm not even saying I would have needed one, but I'm just saying it is definitely like a headfirst dive into something that can just be very jarring. Yeah. And you, you don't have a lot

32:42 of time to be like, Oh, I'm not ready for this. And again, I was not uncomfortable, but it is just, it's like a cold splash of water to the face. You know, you're just like, here we go.

32:52 And it didn't feel like, to your point, like actors in costume. It actually felt like.

32:59 No, they were really enjoying it.

33:00 Yeah. And there's something about them in general, their whole.

33:03 They're really engaged in. Yeah. In this.

33:05 This is what we do.

33:06 Yeah. Yeah. And, like, the costumes were very comfortable for them, which really helped, actually, that it wasn't just like, hey, and we'll need.

33:14 You to put on this.

33:15 Yeah. So I just remember when I was watching this, I was remembering that night and how earlier in the day I was playing Kath and we were doing, you know, AO River, and then I switched into Chris in this, you know, sort of... like crazy orgy. And then also there's this real bonfire, giant.

33:37 That's right.

33:38 You know, and we have talked about certain elements of the show being lawless. We did actually, we had, you know, people there that were in charge of the fire. We had fire department there and that was actually all, you know, following regulations and rules, but it was really hot and it was a real fire. And yeah, that was... it's a funny sketch, but I really brought me back to that night and just like all just sort of wandering through this field of a bunch of sort of SM folks and just, and being in this like little gray wig.

34:15 Yes.

34:16 Just sort of feeling both as Chris, but also as Carrie a little out of my element.

34:21 Yeah.

34:22 Yeah.

34:23 And then the sketch ends, um, kind of quietly, which, well, I mean, I guess the very last shot might be screaming, but like, I think.

34:33 No, no, it does. Oh, right. You're right.

34:35 For a second. But I think, but we're sort of like, I think I almost get burnt.

34:39 Well, you drop your glasses.

34:40 Yeah.

34:41 And you're, you sort of like, yeah, that thing where you sort of shatter the illusion.

34:45 Yeah.

34:46 Which, you know, we were talking about that in the last episode with mixologists, like how this big wraparound ends with you and Andy just kind of doing that little thing. I think that's another. sort of part of the Portlandia vernacular is like, instead of just heightening, heightening, heightening, we sort of revert to like a small moment.

35:05 Yeah.

35:05 And I think that detail is sort of where the show lives. You know, like instead of just like making the explosion bigger, it's like you pop back to the source for a second.

35:14 Yeah.

35:16 All right. But I will say, I really enjoyed watching this sketch.

35:20 Same. A-L-L One more episode, part two.

35:31 One more episode, part two. Also one of my favorite sketches of the season, but maybe.

35:37 Of the show.

35:38 Of the whole run. So we, as Doug and Claire, go to Ronald D. Moore's house. We think he lives in Portland. And so we go to his house. Yes.

35:49 And it's a Ronald D.

35:50 Moore.

35:50 It is Ronald D. Moore. But not the writer. Not the writer Ronald D.

35:54 Moore. Right. It's not the writer of Battlestar Galactica. galactica but we think it is yes and um this guy answers the door or does his wife answer the door i think his wife.

36:05 Answers his wife is uh cutting plants edges yeah that's right and she shouts for him.

36:12 She shouts for him and then he comes out and he's like yeah i'm ronald d moore Um, now these actors, um, one of them is Henry Cottrell who went by Chico. He becomes, he comes back every season after this. And, uh, the other one is, um, Evelyn Murrah. She also comes back a couple of times. Yeah. Um, but they're great and they're so good in this.

36:31 So good. Yeah. And yeah, perfect. And they're not lying about, he's not lying about who he is.

36:40 No. In fact, he keeps saying like, oh yeah, I did some writing when I was a kid. Yeah. And so we're both operating like both Doug and Claire and Ronald are just, we're, we're all believing in the same. We're all believing in a reality, but there are two different realities and we never acknowledge or are even aware that they're conflicting in any way.

36:58 Yeah. I remember Seth Meyers describing these moments to someone else and I felt good about it. Just that in his description of us looking through the phone book, you know, the logic of that.

37:13 Yeah.

37:15 I liked that. And also as I'm watching it too, we both do seem very excited. Like when we're talking to Ronald D.

37:23 Moore. Oh, I mean, we're both like, also we're like honored to meet him. We're like in the presence of, you know, a genius and the writer of, this show that we're obsessed with. And so we get to work. We ask him like, please, we need one more episode.

37:39 Yes.

37:40 And he's like, sure. I, you know, and so we get to work in his kitchen. Meanwhile, his wife just is like, what is going on?

37:47 Yeah.

37:48 She's sort of the voice of reason. She just sort of can't believe like, like, why are these strangers in my house? Yeah. Why are you writing a script?

37:57 Yeah.

37:57 She keeps kind of telling us to move. And actually we stay there so long that she gets into bed and we're writing in the closet in their bedroom. Yeah. Yeah.

38:08 And she's trying to get to sleep and we are still moved. We're moved. We're like, come on, we've got to do this. We have a mission.

38:15 We're like, we're pitching ideas, Ronald's pitching ideas. And I mean, we're sort of, we're literally writing a script, a television script.

38:23 Using references, like real references from the show.

38:25 Yeah.

38:26 Yeah.

38:27 Um, Yeah.

38:29 So we're at the house and this is, it's a really good middle part. Yeah. We're going to write this thing.

38:33 Yeah.

38:33 And it seems like hard work.

38:34 And that's where, where that ends. Yeah.

38:36 Now the next, so this next one.

38:39 Bad tattoo.

38:40 Yeah.

38:41 Based on a real story. I remember telling you guys about living when I, I went to college, um, in a small town in Washington state, Olympia, Washington. It's where I formed Slater Kinney and it was, yeah, really vibrant music scene, uh, especially in that era, like Nirvana played some of their first shows there. There was a lot of like indie record labels. It was just, it was a real, like kind of avant-garde slash punk indie Mecca. And, um, yeah, it's kind of definitely like my formative years were there and there was a guy there, uh, like he, no one really was into in this community, into like conventional attractiveness.

39:25 You know, it was like UBU, like, you know, whatever, everyone was like doing their own thing. There happened to be a guy that was definitely conventionally attractive. Like he could have, he was attractive in New York or London, you know, one of those guys. And he, you know, and he would come to shows and you'd see him and it was like, it was conspicuous because everyone else like sort of had their little, like, weirdo thing going on and we're attractive in their own ways. And he would kind of float in like this model. Like, Whoa, like you all, you sort of remembered that we were like, did live in like, like, Oh, the world does not just exist in Olympia. He sort of reminded you of that.

40:04 And one night I was at the Capitol theater, which is where we saw a lot of shows and it was summer. And he had like a t-shirt or a little like, um, sleeveless shirt on. And he had a Red Hot Chili Peppers tattoo. And I was like, whoa, like, it ruined it for me. I was like.

40:24 No offense to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, just.

40:26 I mean, yeah, sure. Like, I mean, this is like the most offensive thing I could say about the Red Hot Chili Peppers set.

40:33 Like.

40:33 We've talked about it in this podcast and I don't want to go into it again, but you know, this is like the height of like my sort of punk era music. Everyone's a music snob, right? We would think of them as mainstream stream, you know, like even though they also came from like a Southern California punk scene, you know, I knew I don't want to over explain it.

40:50 If you imagine my 22 year old self. And I see a guy with the red hot chili pepper symbol in the middle of like a really like underground punk scene. It was like, forget it. This guy was like, he's no way. Deal breaker. Literally tattoo as deal breaker. So I, you know, I'm telling the story. And so we were talking about like, let's write a sketch about me going on a date with a really amazing guy. Yeah. And everything's going great until I realized he's got this bad tattoo. Yeah.

41:21 And in the sketch, it's kind of like this, it's Fred and Carrie. I'm telling you that I've met this guy. It's, he's played by Scott Green who, um, Scott was like a early, like Gus Van Zandt collaborator. He's actually in my own private Idaho. He's a stills photographer as well. I think he did stills the first season of our show or did some, some of it. Yeah. Um, behind the scenes photography for us, but he's, uh, plays my boyfriend in this sketch and he is, he's a, he's a cute guy, handsome man. And, Anyway, so we're on these dates and I'm telling you about it. And as I talk to you about it, it flashes to these dates.

41:56 And I realize that he has an Eddie Vedder tattoo. Yeah. And it's Eddie Vedder playing, holding two tambourines.

42:04 Yes.

42:05 A tambourine in each hand.

42:06 Yeah. Yeah.

42:07 And I just can't get over it. I just, I can't see past the tattoo. In fact, there are scenes like where I keep covering up the tattoo, like putting my hand over it. Yes. Or we're bicycling and I keep, riding around to the other side so I don't have to look at that tattoo I mean it's very ridiculous and the.

42:23 Music they choose is first of all we couldn't get we couldn't afford real Pearl Jam music so they find a sound alike which is works perfect perfect for this and in that bicycle scene it's nice it's.

42:37 The Sort of like rom-com music, like, right?

42:41 Yeah, or it's for his, it's like that fake Pearl Jam.

42:44 Yeah.

42:44 And then when the bicycle goes down the other side, it's like rom-com sweet music.

42:48 Yeah, and then every time that tattoo comes in, it's like, I see Pearl Jam. And some context for Pearl Jam. So Slater Kinney opened for Pearl Jam in 2004, and we did a whole tour with them. I became very close with the band and Eddie Vedder in particular, and This is an example of in the show, Carrie as a character says to Fred, like, I mean, I liked Pearl Jam in high school. Like I'm a little bit dismissive of that. Yeah.

43:18 Yeah.

43:19 And I say that only because it's another example of a band or people we know like being able to make fun of themselves and their reputation because as this sketch continues, I end up on a date with Eddie Vedder.

43:38 Yeah.

43:39 Um, and Ed came down to Portland and in the way that he is so game and so generous and so aware of just, yeah, he's, he's fine with it. He got it. He totally got the whole thing. And so now I'm on a date with Eddie and I'm laughing and it's just like, Oh my God, I can't believe it. And then he reaches for something like there's a little picnic spread and I see a little ink on his arm. I'm like, what is that? And he's like, it's a tattoo. And I'm like, is it a bad tattoo?

44:10 And he's like, yeah. And it's Ani DeFranco.

44:13 Yeah.

44:14 With what though? She has like, it's.

44:16 I think he mentioned that she has nose ring.

44:18 Yeah. Ani DeFranco with a nose ring. Yeah.

44:21 And, and, and, and the sketch even more sketchier. There's like the Warner Brothers cartoon.

44:30 Looney Tunes.

44:30 Looney Tunes thing. Yeah.

44:32 Yeah. Like I'm like, yeah.

44:33 Yeah. But it's just a great, I just love this one.

44:39 It's a very, like, it's a very satisfying story. Like, I feel like it really operates as like a good, weird sort of dreamlike story.

44:49 And they animated that tattoo.

44:51 And they animated the better tattoo. Because it speaks to you. Because I'm going to, yeah, Scott and I are falling asleep. We're in bed together and he falls asleep and the tattoo is talking to me.

45:00 Yep.

45:01 And sort of taunting me. Yeah.

45:04 Yeah. When I was watching it, I was like, the Eddie Vedder tattoo speaking. I was like, is that my voice?

45:16 Oh, maybe.

45:17 I don't know. I don't know. But I was like, I couldn't tell.

45:21 Yeah, it's definitely not Eddie.

45:23 Yeah.

45:23 Yeah. But yeah, this is one of my favorites. One, because it is... I do love when we are in that blue sky period or just any part of the writer's room and we're sharing stories from our lives. And you get to see that come to life in a way that's heightened and exaggerated and silly. And then to then actually have Eddie Vedder be in the scene. Yeah.

45:50 It's sort of a dream. You feel... like the luckiest person alive. It just, it's like all the things at once. And, um, it just makes me really happy. And it was so like, I'm such a fan of Eddie and Pearl jam and everything he's done for music. And so admiring of the longevity of that band that, yeah, it was just a real privilege. Sometimes on the show, I just felt it was just for lack of a better word, just feel lucky and, and privileged. And that was, Just one of those moments and it was fun to rewatch it.

46:23 Yeah. That brings us to one more episode, part three, which is the table read.

46:31 The table read.

46:33 And we've got some guests from Battlestar Galactica.

46:37 Yeah.

46:38 Including the real, the writer, Ronald D. Moore.

46:40 Yeah, who's in the sketch introduces himself as a local actor.

46:45 Yes.

46:46 Because we think we're with him. the creator of Battlestar Galactica, our Ronald D. Moore, played by Chico. So the actual Ronald D. Moore guest stars as a local actor, but we also have James Callis and Edward James Olmos, which is, he is another actor that I literally just kept looking over going, I can't believe we have Edward James Olmos in this house. Like, again, by the way, we're just shooting we talked about it before on location.

47:14 Yeah.

47:14 Just in someone's house. Like, and here, you know, I just, sometimes I would just look at actors that have had flown in and just be like, I wonder what they thought when they got on the plane.

47:26 Yeah.

47:26 You know, and, but again, everyone was super gracious, super game. And again, and they're, you know, poking fun. Like so many people sort of willing to just zoom out and just have fun with who they were. what their work was like that to me is like, I like, I want art to be serious and I want the role of art in culture to be taken seriously and valued.

47:52 But I also really like when people can also see the, the ways that it's frivolous and the ways that it is joyful or funny or just, you know, like can just kind of like take the, you know, find it a little bit, take a little of the air out of it. Like to me, that contrast is really satisfying that both can exist. Like it's not just like there are other things in life and that it's always a good feeling when that happens. When you watch someone else able to do that, someone you admire able to do that.

48:24 And then also seeing the show creator, Ronald D. Warren, like just seeing him act.

48:32 Yeah.

48:33 So for his experience, you know, he created this show. I like that in his life, Then he had to play someone who was doing a table read.

48:44 Of a script that three novices wrote.

48:46 Yes. I like that in his life that he was like all of a sudden acting. I'm like, well, you created this thing. Now you're an actor in this.

48:53 Yeah. So these three actors are, yeah, they do a table read of this sketch that Doug Clare and the local Ronald D. Moore write. A full table read. And they're a little bit like perplexed, you know, but they do it.

49:08 And it's poorly written.

49:09 Yes.

49:12 And the original Ronald D. Moore, not the show creator, his wife is coming home.

49:20 Yes.

49:20 And so he's like, we guys, we have to finish this table read.

49:23 Yeah.

49:24 Please.

49:24 She has had enough. She has definitely had enough.

49:26 Yeah.

49:27 And she does walk in. We are not able to, he's not able to clear us out before she gets back. She walks in the door and there's this, it's very tense.

49:35 Yes.

49:37 And then James Callis recommends a solution. He has a solution for this, which is that we watch something.

49:46 And we watch Doctor Who.

49:48 Doctor Who. the reason he recommends it is because there's like 18 seasons. Yeah. And so that will just never run out of episodes. And it also just, as I was watching, it just sort of has this message of like, Oh, TV is going to bring us all together. It's going to be sort of this like antidote. And so it cuts to us all sitting together, like a little family all smushed in on the couch and on the floor.

50:12 And the first, you know, episode of Dr. Who ends and, ronald d moore the local one says one more episode.

50:21 And he sort of has the remote yeah and there's something about it i think we might may have used it for a poster yeah where he just clicks it there's something about it that's sweet yeah and it just makes me feel good about the whole season and the whole show just one more episode.

50:38 Yeah it it ties up very nicely and I agree. This is definitely one of my favorite Portlandia episodes.

50:49 Same.

50:51 Good job on it.

50:52 Good job, you.

50:53 All right. Well, that concludes our rewatch of one more episode. And we agree, this is one of our favorites.

51:00 And, yeah.

51:02 So, thank you. Rewind.