Othersode #66: Bernie is Climate Change / Weekend at Bernie's

May 2, 2022 The Squad

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

That Funny Feeling: Thinking about Bo Burnham's Inside

June 16, 2021 Mary

As the world began “opening up” this year, I found myself wanting to stay inside more. Suddenly, the prospect of having to interact with other people seems terrifying. Outside of our neighbors (what’s up, Emily?), we haven’t seen many people over the past year. Even a recent trip to see family felt exhausting. It’s been a weird year and some change, and I don’t know that my anxiety will let me jump feet first back into social life, even though it seems a lot of other people are having no trouble with it whatsoever. Really, they maybe should be having some trouble with it, considering how many people in my area aren’t vaccinated.

Just as all these anxieties converged on me, Bo Burnham released Inside, his new comedy special, on Netflix. After seeing a few TikToks about it on my FYP, I figured I needed to check it out. So I grabbed Todd, settled down in a dark living room, and sat perfectly still for the entire runtime in shock.

PEN15 and Me: Reflections on Shame, Empathy, and Being a 13-Year-Old Girl

October 3, 2020 Kelli

PEN15 is a comedy series on Hulu co-created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman. The series follows fictionalized versions of the creators as 7th graders in the year 2000, and it is cringe comedy at its finest (and most unbearable). The show’s cringiest weapons are its stars: Erskine and Konkle, two women in their 30s acting as 13-year-old versions of themselves alongside an ensemble of literal 13-year-olds. It covers a wide range of classic coming-of-age tropes, and uses a combination of humor, surreality, and surprising poignancy to dig deep into some of the less-explored subjects of teen girlhood: cultural identity, masturbation, and doing whippets in some girl’s garage, just to name a few.

This show is not for the faint of heart when it comes to second-hand embarrassment. Few entries in the cringe comedy canon are quite as piercing as this show, and unless you are ready to open yourself up to intense feelings of empathy-fueled shame, steer clear. The reaction this show provokes in me is strongly tied to my own experiences, so I thought it might be fun to sort through some of them and figure out what it is about PEN15 that has lodged it so sharply into my heart.

I Love Mr. Boop, a Webcomic About Alec Robbins and His Wife, Betty Boop

September 2, 2020 Todd & Mary

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Mary: I regret to inform you, my dear readers, that I love Mr. Boop. I didn’t want to love it, and I resisted for a long, long time, but eventually I became enamored with his creepy smile, absurdist humor, and undying commitment to his wife, Betty Boop. Yes, that Betty Boop. You know, the one from the old cartoons.

Susan's #PodSquad – Newcomers: Star Wars, With Lauren Lapkus & Nicole Byer

February 16, 2020 Susan

Comedy, television and podcast veterans Lauren Lapkus and Nicole Byers have never seen a single Star Wars film. They know nothing about Star Wars except some random names, phrases, and a couple of iconic moments they’ve heard over the years. In fact, they’ve kind of avoided all things Star Wars for their entire lives. Now, these two brilliantly funny women are joining forces (see what did there?) for Newcomers, a podcast that has them watching one Star Wars film per week, in theatrical release order.

Make-Your-Own Hallmark Christmas Movie!

November 26, 2019 Todd & Mary

Maybe your Hallmark movie is about rich people.

Each year, around October or November (or sometimes even July), Hallmark begins its onslaught of made for TV Christmas movies. These films all feature similar plots, similar characters, and similar beautiful romances. The demand for Hallmark Christmas movies has become extreme because of their comforting charm. Their easy to understand plots allow for maximum coziness.

Imagine the scene: it’s a weekend and you’ve just snuggled into your blankets on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa. What to watch? A Hallmark Christmas movie will do just the thing! But there are so many—why not make your own?

Los Espookys and the Need for International Comedy

August 16, 2019 Mary

Los Espookys follows a group of three friends, Renaldo (Bernardo Velasco), Andrés (Julio Torres), and Úrsula (Cassandra Ciangherhotti)--and Úrsula’s sister Tati (Ana Fabrega)--as they begin to work as Los Espookys, horror enthusiasts who give horror to “those who need it” (as Renaldo says late in the series). The group stages elaborate horror scenarios--like an exorcism meant to make an aging priest more popular--for money, but their true joy is concocting the elaborate practical effects and make up that power their gigs.

I Think You Should Leave: The Weird Show You Should Be Watching

May 1, 2019 Mary

A few nights ago, Todd and I had a familiar conversation about what to watch while eating dinner together. He suggested a new sketch comedy show on Netflix, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and I agreed. After all, it was only about 20 minutes long, and if it was bad, we could just stop. That is the joy of Netflix after all.

But we didn’t stop. We kept watching episode after episode until we had watched the entire series. Episode after episode. For the most part, I sat with my mouth hanging open in shock.

Why We Need Speechless

October 18, 2018 Mary

I’m worried about one of my favorite TV shows right now.

Fresh Off the Boat (which I’ve written about for the blog before) and Speechless, two ABC sitcoms, are now part of the new TGIF lineup. Shows getting pushed to Friday night, when people are out doing bigger and better things, feels like a bad thing.