#173 Crossing The Streams Is Drop Dead Gorgeous (Bonus Ep34) – Great TV binge watching suggestions!

CTS Announcer 0:01

Looking for your next TV show or movie to binge? Well buckle up, grab the remote and settle into your couch for this special edition of crossing the streams. We're here to help you tune in and get the most out of those 50 monthly streaming channels you're currently paying for. So without any further ado, here's your host of crossing the streams. Jeff Dwoskin

Jeff Dwoskin 0:30

Hey, oh it is it Jeff Dwoskin in your house from crossing the streams now bringing you this amazing bonus episode polled from our live show crossing the streams. What is crossing the streams crossing the streams answers the ultimate question what should I be binging on TV next? You're done with one thing you ready for another? You need a list of stuff to get you through the week? Well, you have come to the right place crossing the streams. We have over 90 hours on our YouTube channel. You can check us out there for full episodes. This bonus episode pulls segments from various Live episodes. This one pulls from Episode 2175 and 84. We're going to talk about taskmaster. Drop Dead Gorgeous and Shadow and Bone. We're gonna kick things off with friend of the show Mike White, who talked us through taskmaster, take it away, Mike, let's go to taskmaster.

Mike White 1:28

taskmaster. It's kind of a game show, but not really. It's much more of a comedy show. So it's been around since 2015. It's there's Greg Davies and Alex Horne and Alex scoring is the taskmasters assistant, Greg Davies is the taskmaster himself, really, Alex Warren runs the show. And he's the one that comes up with a lot of this stuff. He's the guy who came up with the idea, but he plays a character who is very put upon and they've been doing this for they're now in their 13th season. I think the another episode drops tomorrow night. And they've switched networks a bunch of times, but they are now I think I'm BBC Four, and 13 seasons, five comedians each season. Basically, they record them doing all of these absolutely ridiculous things. And then they have them back in the studio and review how well they did on these tasks. And these tasks can be just some of the weirdest things that you've ever seen, like, draw a picture of the taskmaster while you are on the back of this horse, or here is an egg, try to throw it from the highest distance without a cracking and who gets the highest distance is the one that gets points. And Greg is the one that decides the points. Sometimes it's based on how well they actually do and other times it's just his attitude. And he just says, Okay, you, you get 123, or some of my favorite is when he's just like, well, I know who's going to be in last place. Now just because somebody might piss him off. It is so funny, I've been doing a rewatch of it for the last gosh, probably about three months now I've seen every season except for the 13th one, and they have had off shoots in, I'd say more than half a dozen countries, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, a bunch of other places. But the for whatever reason, the the Scandinavian countries, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have had the longest running versions of it. And then there's an amazing version from New Zealand. That is, some of the tasks are the same. But the contestants obviously are all completely different. And so the way that they approach these things is just amazing to see how different people try to solve different tasks.

Tony Berardo 3:53

That's wicked. How many seasons? Is

Mike White 3:55

it? 13 so far?

Bryan Green 3:57

Yeah, I'm sorry. Someone's gonna drink. What platform is this on?

Mike White 4:00

It is available. So you can watch it on, you can pay for it on Amazon Prime. Who wants to do that you can watch it on Pluto. And then they actually have their own streaming platform, which I'm such a fan that actually paid for the platform. I think it's called Super Max is what it's called. But yeah, if you go out to taskmaster.tv They've got all the information out there. But yeah, I frickin love the show. And you can see almost all of it too. On YouTube. They have a really active YouTube channel. And that's for the longest time. That was the only place that you could see it over here in the States. Yeah, it's fun. For sure. They had a US version for one season and it failed spectacularly. They'll probably never do it again. I feel

Bryan Green 4:46

like I remember this one was the

Jeff Dwoskin 4:48

channel was it on in the US? I don't

Mike White 4:50

remember which channel it was. But it was a weird mix of people. You know, I talked about how it's comedians that are doing this right. Freddie Highmore was one of the country's essence, you know, the kid from the young doctor or I can't remember what that one is called. But Finding Neverland. The good doctor. Thank you. Oh, yeah. What's Why is he he was okay. But the reason why I think the show failed was two words, Lisa Lampanelli. But she was just not funny and not fun to watch at all. But I mean, they even had Alex Horne as the taskmasters assistant on it. They brought him over from the UK. But they couldn't recapture that magic. It wasn't as bad as when they redid coupling, but it was still pretty darn bad.

Jeff Dwoskin 5:35

Alright, so if it was the Lisa Lampanelli that was in 2018. I just happen to click on it there. It made it eight episodes. Outside Ron Funches, who is pretty funny, but yeah. Cool. All right. Well, I will check that out. Pluto is kind of phase I don't know when Pluto showed up. It just kind of is on my Amazon Prime stick, but tons of stuff you could watch for free on Pluto,

Tony Berardo 6:02

please just be like a website. And like only. So it's

Bryan Green 6:06

pre loaded onto my television that I have here in studio Pluto is as a part of, I don't know what it is. But anyway, it's pre loaded onto the television. It's completely free as long as you can connect to the internet. And they have whole stations that are dedicated to just one television show and there are hundreds of them.

Jeff Dwoskin 6:26

Great job Michael White. Check Mike out on the projection booth podcast as his awesome podcast. He's a frequent visitor to the show. Up next front of the show, Jeffrey Calhoun, this is his first appearance in Episode 21, where he takes us through Shadow and Bone. It's also a masterclass on script writing, enjoy. Jeffrey, let's keep keep you going. We're gonna go to shadow Warren road and Netflix original series

Geoffrey D Calhoun 6:57

funny is how I read it in my head to Shadow and Bone is in original IP based on a trilogy of books that was written by a young woman that was very popular, it takes place and a alternate reality. It's not based on our history at all, in this kind of original realm. It seems to be very influenced by Russian and Viking culture, and some Asian culture as well. But magic is real. And in particular, people are blessed with magic. And it's a bit taboo. So they can be looked at as a separate from others. And there's a whole lore there and mythology, which is great, because it's really good to build out a show. But what it centers around is this big void in the middle of the world that separates a country and within the Void is these creatures that kill you. And so the country is divided. So there's a civil war brimming between both sides of the country because the other other end of the country now wants independence, because they can't really cross the void without risking death. So there's some political intrigue there. That's very interesting. And the magic users are now a wing of the military. And they have a lot of social influence and power, but that's being threatened by the invention of the guns. So that's also like a fun little subplot. Now, the fold as they call it, this big, shadowy dark area that that's full of evil was created by a character named the dark heretic who was like an evil wizard. And he's been gone for centuries, right. And then the the lore is that somebody will be born called the sun cast or whatever. And they'll be able to close the fold. Right? So that's the whole thing. And then by mid and by mid pilots, you discover the main character that we had been following who was an Army recruit, and pretty much a nobody is that person that can harness the sun. So it's pretty cool. I think it's worth a watch. It's definitely fun to binge.

Jeff Dwoskin 8:57

Sounds cool. All right. It's and that's the number one show so if you watch it, too, right, Zach,

Zack Wiseman 9:01

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I actually liked this thing a lot. It is. It's a why a fantasy novel. So it does have that young adult feel to it. But I felt like once like a second episode got going, the store was actually really cool. And it really got churning. Ben Barnes is in it from he's the bad guy from the Punisher series. He's also in a lot of the Narnia movies. He does an amazing job in this. I'll say the the show is very, very well cast very diverse, and it's pretty faithful to the books. I liked it. I thought it was pretty it was very entertaining it it turned along pretty well. It started a little slow. It is a little cheesy, because it is why a but for the most part, it was pretty entertaining. And it was one of the most fun things I've watched on the top 10 In a while outside of the circle.

Geoffrey D Calhoun 9:45

I'd say that one of the big ya aspects of it is that whenever there's dialogue between two characters, they just hang on each other. Yeah. And like, okay, they're kissing this guy. No. Okay, they're not going to agree. See? mean? Like I'm gonna start talking to people like

Jeff Dwoskin 10:07

Jeff and let me ask you a question. So this can be for the past movie too. So as a like an avid screenwriter and in somebody who you know, writes books about screenplays and all that kind of stuff, sure, when you watch the movie, does it frickin just I mean, does that like, just drive you nuts? Can you enjoy a movie? Like knowing Oh, they made this mistake, they did this error. Like,

Geoffrey D Calhoun 10:29

you know, that's funny that you asked that my wife had called me out on this like, right before I started really getting into and she says you'll never enjoy movies the same way again. And she's absolutely right. So I do I break down everything. And it's really for me, it's a test of might if you're gonna use a Mortal Kombat, right? What it is, is if I'm watching a film, and I don't go into analyzing it, that's a hell of a film. Because it can take me out of my brain, and I can really enjoy it. And it does not happen often.

Mike White 10:58

It happened with Legally Blonde, I'm sure. I've been absolutely joking. Um, yeah, it got me.

Zack Wiseman 11:07

What was the last movie? You remember that

Geoffrey D Calhoun 11:09

happening? Actually, when I just watched yesterday, because we're we are analyzing a movie. I do. I do on my podcast every Wednesday and every Wednesday analyzing a film. And so I sat down to analyze this film, I ended up getting lost in that then I got frustrated. But it's called infinity chamber. And it's on Amazon Prime. And it was done on a micro budget, but it's really cool. It's about a guy stuck in a prison. And he's forced to relive a same instant over and over and over again. And that was it for review.

Jeff Dwoskin 11:37

Sorry. After one of my high school reunions, connected with a buddy of mine hadn't seen and we started writing movie scripts. They didn't go anywhere, but like, but I started reading books and stuff and like, and how to write it. And it was like, oh, you know, 10 pages in we are the things Yeah, yeah, inciting incident that if it didn't happen, the rest of the movie wouldn't be occur. 25 pages and you know, like, yeah, it's like, it's so methodical, you don't even like learning that you realize, like, everything is is manipulated.

Geoffrey D Calhoun 12:10

Structure story has a structure where I

Jeff Dwoskin 12:13

know but if you don't realize you're like getting sucked into this, it's like when you realize, oh, there's a pattern to this, I'm being walked through a pattern that is over and over again. And this is why I feel the way I feel and react the way I react over and over again, it was just it was just interesting to me.

Geoffrey D Calhoun 12:28

Yes, we are. storytellers are the best manipulators.

Howard Rosner 12:31

But it also you can also watch and you know, you hear about this after the fact a lot you can also sit down to watch a TV show or more so TV shows and movies, I would say you can see where it's, you know, like a rock, you know, that gets weathered down by outside influences, you know, you can see where a studio or you know, just the climate, you know, of the time can start to change a script and the screenplay from what it could have or should have been and spin it in different ways or water it down or soften it. And there's nothing more frustrating when you can see a screenplay start great. I always call it what I now deemed the the SNL skit philosophy now, which is there's so many last 10 years where you're watching it you're going this is hysterical. And then it just there's nothing well how to end it. And I often feel movies that are like that. Now, you know, it starts off so great and promising you then oh, it just fizzles at the end of

Geoffrey D Calhoun 13:34

it. The big myth, I think are misunderstandings a lot of screenwriters are that they think they'll write a screenplay and that it will be well received. And then a director will come on or producer will come on and they'll make this screenplay and then they'll have this movie, it's 100% does not work that way. You write the screenplay and then the director comes on, they give you notes for the rewrite then the producer comes on they give you notes for the rewrite then another producer gives you notes for that rewrite then an actor wants his part rewritten because he doesn't like the dialogue. So you know everybody has to have their sense on the script and so it does it changes over time and and you have to kind of go along with that.

Zack Wiseman 14:11

But I agree when you when you kind of fall into a movie and you don't see the seams and then you like finish a movie and you're like wow, they really just they took me and I'll say for me the last movie that really did that for what was parasite the boundary home movie when I watched that like once the movie started, I'd never like I just I might as well just blacked out but I consumed it but there was never a point where I was like this is the writing thing. This is when they introduced this this is where this part goes. It was just like a straight up beautiful story. So I do like when you could just fall in this yeah not see any part of it.

Howard Rosner 14:45

For me it was Porky's.

Jeff Dwoskin 14:52

What a great review and conversation that it's routed. I love the little tangent conversations that always happen and great info. mation just comes out so that's good information there. Jeffrey Calhoun, successful screenwriter podcast. Check him out as well. We got one more for you. This one's mine. I'm bringing you drop dead gorgeous. One of the best dark comedy cult movies around. Here we go. All right, not to one up that review but we're gonna do drop that gorgeous cool movie. Who's seen this movie? Okay, so drop dead gorgeous. is to me one of the funniest movies ever. So first of all, let me let me preface by saying a little background 1999 brought this gem to us. It's an American satirical black comedy. The mockumentary film about a small town beauty pageant, directed by Michael Patrick Janney was a cast member of the slate and it stars. You ready? This is who starred in this movie and 99 Deny Denise Richards Kirsten Dunn's and bargain Alison Janey Kirstie Alley. Mindy Sterling, Brittany Murphy film debut of Amy Adams. Okay. Ooh, whistle. All right. And then will Sasso is in it you'd recognize and if you saw her, he's in a lot of fire thy brother stuff. And Sam McMurray you'd recognize for if you're a friend, I have friends fan, he was Chandler's boss. So this movie takes place in Minnesota.

Tony Berardo 16:37

So the accents are great.

Jeff Dwoskin 16:39

Yes, mouth rolls Minnesota. They're doing an American teen Princess pageant. Now when I tell you the cast in this movie, I think the funniest they are. This is Allison Janney at the funniest and best of Alison j&j as she went obviously, to do the West Wing. She won a, I think an Academy Award for the Tonya Harding movie. I mean, Allison Janney is a force to be reckoned with she stars and mom now a TV show. But I'm telling you drop dead gorgeous is her best performance. Ellen Barkin is never been funnier. She is so funny. She plays Kirsten Dunn says, Mom so the whole idea is that in this high school, they have a teen Princess pageant sponsored by Sarah rose cosmetics. If you win this regional event you go on to like the Nationals and stuff like that. So they're all competing by the one by one contest and start dying. Now Denise Richard plays Christie Ali's daughter Kirstie Alley, Gladys Lehmann was crowned Miss Teen Princess way back when so this is very important for her for her daughter to be also crowned. And so anyway, they keep dying one by one by one and let me also say for those who are rushed out right now to already start watching it. This is the most on PC film. By today's standards. This movie would never be made because they never allow this to be captured on film. But it's it's hilarious if you're allowed to have hilarity and non pcns This is like the perfect movie for that if you understand they are aware of it. It satirizing exactly what is on PC. I mean everything about it is is just brilliant. Now just to be fair, okay, just to be fair, on Rotten Tomatoes have already seven critic rating. This has been panned over and over again. It is never gotten. It never got its do in terms of reviews. It was just horribly destroyed. Nothing of that would ever say to you, Jeff, why are you calling this funniest movie you've ever seen, but I'm telling you, it is the funniest. When I first watched Napoleon Dynamite, I said I don't get it. And they're like, no, no, that's it. And I rewatched it and I'm like, this is the most brilliant movie ever. If you watch, drop dead gorgeous, knowing the lack of PC it is holy, the horrible things that they're saying. And like, that would just piss you off view. It's a mockumentary. Okay, they're making fun of all this. There's nothing politically correct about this movie. And that's the brilliance of this movie. Okay, this is Kirstie Alley. Forget whatever you think about her political illness Kirstie Alley when she's a funny comedic actress. There's nobody better than curse. Yeah, okay. She's top dog there. Okay. And she's full Kirstie Alley here. And this is great, so I won't kind of give it away. Mindy sterling is great and that she's in this movie hot off of Austin Powers. And so you know, they all I think do these awesome little accents. So anyway, that follows Kirsten Dunn's Kirsten Jones is sort of the main character and you know she wants to follow in the footsteps. Diane Sawyer and so small girl trailer park Dreams. And so you know follows her. So at the end of I won't say how who wins the American teen princess, but I will say that that's sort of like part one of the movie then there's like a whole, it becomes almost like a whole different movie, as they move to the semifinals. And there's this and then the finals. And there's just I can't even describe the scene because I don't want to give it away because it's so amazing, Sinead, what happens, and but I'm telling you, oh, now here's the thing. This used to be on Hulu, and I don't think it is. So I don't think it's streaming anywhere. But I'm telling you that 299 Or whatever it cost to watch it on Amazon is 100% worth it. And I know that's not usually what we do here. And you know, this is only a 90 minute movie. So it's a perfect like comedy length. I think it was 10 to 15 million budget. When you think like with that cast and for that budget, Amy Adams, by the way is unrecognizable. Like that's how young she is in this movie. If you watch this movie, you're like, that's it. I think that might be Amy Adams, you're like, because you know, she's obviously now still looks amazing, but just you know, anyway, so there's only made $10 million in the box office. It was pretty much a flop. But I'm telling you, you will love this movie Ed is hilarious. And it was never I think only up until like a few years ago wasn't available anywhere. And it was on Hulu. And last one I looked the other day because I ended up actually own a copy of this. And I rewatched it recently couldn't find it on Hulu, so I don't know if it's still there or not. I'm sure people were letters. Anyway. Zack, you got you've seen this?

Zack Wiseman 21:32

Oh yeah, absolutely. At 99 which is obviously the best year for movies. That was my prime time for like just absorbing everything. I mean, you have things like you know, American Pie, like everything else that came out the same year. So there's no it's not like surprised that it didn't do too well in the box office. Because there were some bangers that came out 99 especially over the summer, but yeah, drop dead gorgeous. Very, very cool. kitschy movie. I was working on Blockbuster Video 99 So that was part of my employee pick wall. Occasionally. My top five so yeah, very clever, clever movie.

Jeff Dwoskin 22:10

Tony. You've seen us?

Tony Berardo 22:11

Oh yeah, great movie. It's again it's one of those things where you looking back on it now you appreciate how funny it was? I think you know it was funny at the time. But now you look back and like that's a really funny movie. It's better than good. It definitely makes fun of that that whole industry but it doesn't know when you know if it wasn't in Minnesota I don't know if it would be as funny because that really does take take the movie The fact that they're in Minnesota and and the accents and it's just great

Jeff Dwoskin 22:39

to go see job take or just pay for it if you have to buy it at a used something store or rent it from your library, but definitely worth a million laughs so check it out.

Zack Wiseman 22:50

Did you see this in the theater?

Jeff Dwoskin 22:51

You know I don't know if I did or not I just remember at some point maybe seeing it on cable or something my wife and I just couldn't stop watching this movie it was

Zack Wiseman 23:00

remember like remember back then you would just go to the theater and be like I don't know what I'm going to say and you just kind of look at all of them like but do remember that like that doesn't happen anywhere near anymore but like I remember just go into like the theater and be like what's out? I have no idea but if you were to go out to see drop dead gorgeous when it came out. Here's the other movies you had to choose between you have American Pie Big Daddy Lake Placid, Wild Wild West Star Wars Phantom Menace. The generals daughter Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me South Park bigger, longer and uncut, and Muppets in space as long as the Blair Witch Project. So this is like crunch time for just cool, cool movies. But I saw this in a theater and I had a good time.

Jeff Dwoskin 23:43

All right, drop dead gorgeous. From episode 84 taskmaster from 75, Shadow and Bone all the way back to Episode 21. Lots of great binge watching suggestions for you. So since you got so much homework, I'm not gonna keep you any longer. I'm gonna just send you over to your couch, find your comfy spot, grab your remote, cross your own streams, and we'll see you next time.

CTS Announcer 24:09

Thanks for listening to this special edition of crossing the streams. Visit us on YouTube for full episodes and catch us live every Wednesday at 9:30pm Eastern time. Now turn this off and go watch some TV. And don't forget to tell your family yeah, I'll be busy for a while.

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