On the pod, the guys revisit Sweet Dee's Dating a [Redacted] Person from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 3, Episode 9.
Charlie Day: Here's the interesting thing.
Rob McElhenney: Mm.
Charlie: So, people are commenting on the coasters.
Rob: Mm.
Glenn Howerton: Yeah.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: They like this-
Rob: They love the coffee table. They love it. It-
Glenn: That is an awesome coffee table.
Rob: They're very upset that there were no coasters.
Glenn: Oh, that-- oh, okay.
Rob: We weren't using coasters.
Glenn: So, is that why we have coasters now?
Rob: Um, well, Tim Hale says, "Maybe there's no table and that is just a really big coaster."
Charlie: That I like-
Rob: He's d-- he's doing jokes.
Charlie: -I like- I like, that's funny.
Rob: He's doing jokes.
Charlie: I like that joke. That's good.
Glenn: That is- that is how a coffee table is.
Rob: Des kinda wants to hit coasters. Savages.
Charlie: Idiot savages.
Glenn: Who said that?
Rob: Uh, Des.
Glenn: Oh, Des.
Rob: Smash Adam says, "Where are the coasters? What the fuck?"
Charlie: Right.
Glenn: Wow.
Rob: ZG says, "They keep the humidity at 0%, so they don't have to worry about condensation."
Glenn: [chuckles]
Rob: Nice.
Charlie: Nice.
Glenn: Yeah, we keep it nice and dry.
Rob: "Also, it's why Glenn's lips are so dry." [laughs]
Glenn: [laughs]
Charlie: [laughs] Right, all right.
Rob: Okay, all right.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We did- we did sort of talk about my dry lips on the last one.
Charlie: [inaudible 00:01:07]
Rob: Jojo Star wants to know, "Do we e-- do we even respect wood?"
Glenn: Yeah
Charlie: Do I respect wood? [chuckles]
Rob: Jo-
Glenn: That's a--
Charlie: Are you-
Glenn: -that's one thing about fancy things she can say.
Rob: Jo, you opened up a can of worms, I tell you.
Glenn: -yeah, that's-
Charlie: Are you serious? Like, are you really like-
Glenn: Here we go. Here we go.
Charlie: -serious right now?
[music]
Rob: Megan's working.
Charlie: Yeah, Megan's working.
Rob: And now, it's just the bros.
Charlie: And you almost weren't here.
Rob: Yes.
Charlie: But here you are.
Rob: Here I am.
Glenn: He almost-
Rob: I'm literally in the wardrobe of Mythic Quest.
Charlie: So you're like straight there.
Rob: So I'm gonna go right from here on the scene. Yeah.
Charlie: That's exciting,
Glenn: So your guy dresses not dissimilarly to the way you dress.
Rob: Well, the sneakers I-I basically,-
Glenn: That's what caught the eye.
Rob: -commandeered. These are-
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: -yeah.
Glenn: Eye and--[unintelligible 00:01:52]
Rob: Okay son of a, it's sort of like a cult leader look.
Glenn: Oh, that is a very cult leaderly look.
Charlie: Yeah, and cult leader probably have their own type of sneaker.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: Right?
Glenn: No, what- what was the Heaven's Gate?
Rob: Yeah the Heaven's Gate.
Glenn: Heaven's Gate guys, they all wore Nike high tops, didn't they?
Rob: Yeah, it-it was similar to these.
Glenn: Yeah, that was part of getting into the-- through the gate.
Rob: I guess.
Glenn: You know, when they were all lifted to heaven, you know-
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: -somebody caught you with a pair of Adidas on, they'd be like.
Rob: [laughs] No
Charlie: [laughs]
Glenn: You know, and we-- and you know what the funny this is? We act like that's ridiculous. As if all the other funny hats and weird shit that people wear for other religions that have been around for thousands of years aren't equally relig- ridiculous.
Charlie: Yeah, at least they had good shoes. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Glenn: Yeah, exactly. [laughs]
Charlie: Like, there that like hard-
Glenn: Their God want them--
Charlie: -hard dress shoe of a lot of religions where it's like, "Make sure you wear a hard dress shoe and a very thin sock."
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: You know, like [chuckles]
Glenn: Right, right.
Rob: A thin sock, what's with the thin sock?
Charlie: What's with the thin sock, man? People are gonna freeze to death.
Glenn: Mm-hmm. Somet--
Charlie: Their-their-their toes are gonna fall off.
Rob: Yeah, yeah. For God.
Charlie: Lot-lot of cold countries here where they're demanding the thin sock.
Glenn: Mm-hmm, thin sock, and a thin shoe-
Charlie: Or-or just cover yourself in fabric just be draped in fabrics and fabrics. Why did God want you so fabric covered?
Rob: He definitely wants you bedazzled-
Glenn: Oh, he loves that.
Rob: -with lots of jewels and such.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Certainly the once-
Rob: The hats, on your hands.
Glenn: -the leaders.
Rob: The leaders. Certainly the leaders. [laughs]
Charlie: Well, some Gods want you covered in jewels and some Gods want you in no jewels and just sort of drab-
Glenn: Meek.
Charlie: -robes and yeah.
Rob: Well, the followers, yes.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Rob: Clear.
Glenn: Can somebody explain, I-I don't really understand this Bible verse, and you-you did-- you went to, uh, a school where you-
Rob: Off on the Catholic school?
Charlie: Sure.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah you guys studied a lot. And I went to church a lot, but I didn't actually study it in school. Um, "The meek shall inherit the Earth."
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: That's a good--
Glenn: I would've thought that it would've been, the rich shall inherit the Earth, the meek are gonna do great in the afterlife.
Rob: Mm.
Glenn: Because I thought that was the whole thing.
Rob: 'Cause I think it's like also a part of the promise when the meek, the one, the meek were like, "Wait a second, we got the numbers" and then-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -the-the-the-the strong were like, well no, the people in power were like, "No, you have the heaven." And then- and then they were like, "Okay, that's good." And that worked for a while, and then the meek were like, "But can we have it here, too?" And they were like, "Fuck, all right. Let's just promise it to 'em."
Charlie: Yeah, yeah. I-
Glenn: Right, let's tell them that difference.
Charlie: -it's a great way to stay rich is to tell a poor person that the best thing you can be is poor.
Glenn: Meek. Yeah.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: Stay meek, and you will eventually inherit the Earth.
Rob: Not today.
Glenn: No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Charlie: Not today. Down the line.
Glenn: I say, we're working on it. Down the line. Tomorrow.
Charlie: Down the line. Maybe after you're dead. Um, maybe-
Rob: Well-
Charlie: -generations from now.
Glenn: Yes, your meek grandchildren.
Charlie: Um, but the problem is inheriting the Earth, that's like-- that's some serious wealth and then you're no longer meek so it's a-
Rob: Isn't it also a lot of responsibility?
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: Yeah
Rob: You know?
Charlie: Like how does that work?
Glenn: How does that work?
Charlie: How does that shake out?
Glenn: Once you've already inherited the Earth, you're no longer meek.
Charlie: It's my prayer. I used to be meek, but I have the whole Earth now.
Rob: Yeah,
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: -and now I can't not-
Charlie: And it's tough to stay meek.
Rob: And I can't go to heaven, so I'm-- I gotta, should just give it back.
Charlie: Bro, are you still meek? Oh man, he sold out, he ain't meek anymore.
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: He sold out. [laughs]
Charlie: [laughs] He's got the Earth and shit.
Rob: Yeah. That's-- I feel, we were meek before Megan made us do the ads, and now we're strong. We're-
Charlie: We've inherited the Earth?
Rob: -we've inherited the Earth.
Glenn: Now, we have inherited the Earth. Um, another very manipulative one where the rich people are like, "Hey, listen. I know it looks like I've got everything going for me, and I do, but it's gonna be really hard for me to get into heaven."
Rob: Yeah. [laughs]
Glenn: "You know, once I die, that's where this whole thing falls apart for me and everything is, you know, great for you. So my advice to you-"
Rob: You-you-you-you stay there.
Glenn: "-my advice to you would be 'stay under my shoe'." You know what I mean?
Rob: [laughs]
Charlie: Yeah, yeah. You basically just figured out religion.
Rob: I like that you, it's hard to figure out which part's, um, metaphor and which part's literal. And that's the fun of the Bible, it's that like,-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -it was all-- when it was written, it was all literal, and then slowly over time, slowly over time they go, "That part's metaphor."
Glenn: Clearly.
Rob: Clearly.
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: Where the Bible land on ghosts? I was having a conversation about ghosts the other day.
Glenn: Well, the ultimate ghost, right is, I mean, He's part of the Holy Trinity.
Charlie: The Holy Ghost.
Rob: Sure.
Charlie: They straight up called the man Ghost.
Glenn: [chuckles]
Rob: They used to call it the Holy Ghost.
Glenn: Yes.
Charlie: I got a thing about ghosts. So you know,-
Rob: Oh, okay.
Charlie: -a lot of people believed in ghosts and that's fine, but like-
Glenn: That's fine. [chuckles]
Charlie: [Chuckles] That's fine, you know like it's be-- to each their own. But, they only believe in like human ghosts, right? People aren't like, "Man, I saw the ghost of a worm the other day and it freaks me out."
Glenn: [laughs]
Charlie: You know what I mean?
Rob: Don't hear a lot of that.
Glenn: The ghost of a worm. Now, is your point why is it that only humans have ghosts and why is there not the ghost of a worm?
Charlie: Isn't there a certain kinda arrogance there, I think? And maybe kinda blows the whole theory up that like there are only-only human souls can be trapped and walking around. Maybe people are like, "Oh, I saw the ghost of my cat." Yeah, like- like, maybe. But like at what point did they stop? It's like, "I killed a fly, and then an hour later I saw the ghost of that fly.
Glenn: [chuckles]
Charlie: And it came back to be like, "I wasn't ready to die. A tragedy happened." You know, like, you never get that,-
Glenn: There's a great idea in this, and I love it.
Charlie: -you-you never get that.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah. This seems like a good, uh, Pixar film.
Rob: Save this for the writer's room. I don't know if we could put it in Sunny. [chuckles]
Charlie: This could segue into some fun- fun thing.
Rob: I came in and I saw a ghost.
Charlie: I saw a ghost.
Rob: Your grandfather, your great-grandfather?
Glenn: Who-who- who was it?
Charlie: Yeah, who was it, huh?
Rob: It was the tapeworm?
Glenn: It was the tapeworm?
Rob: [inaudible 00:07:02] [laughs]
Glenn: [laughs]
Charlie: [laughs] He's back. Well, he's not in me, but he's not in me, he wants in.
Glenn: He wants in.
Rob: [laughs]
Charlie: He wants in, but he's upset.
Rob: He says [laughs]
Glenn: And you know, I guess he's in purgatory, you know? We-
Charlie: Yeah, yeah. He can't pass the other side until I make peace with this tapeworm.
Rob: [laughs] Yes.
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: Y-yes. That's a storyline.
Charlie: That's a good jump off point.
Glenn: Okay, all right.
Charlie: And then you get the whole like paranormal people, which are fascinating. And they're-
Glenn: Yes, you're right.
Charlie: -trying to get, like, you get a little inside peek in their world. And-
Glenn: It's also great to call them in and then reveal to them once they're with all their equipment, that it's a- that it's a tapeworm they're looking for.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Glenn: And they're like, "W-wait what?" And then they have to explaining that it's only humans.
Charlie: And then they find it, and then they have to confess like, look this while this was kind of fraud, but now I'm not so sure, 'cause I-I saw Jerry-
Glenn: I'll be honest with you, the only ghost I've ever actually seen is, was this tapeworm that you spoke of.
Charlie: [laughs]
Glenn: Yeah, they have to admit it. Yeah.
Rob: I've-- Guys, I've heard-- segueing a little bit, I've heard from a number of people out on the street, or even people at work at this other show that I do, um, or on the weekends. I was in Disneyland this past weekend. Uh, I do another show, yeah, on Apple called Mythic Quest.
Glenn: Oh, shit, that's exciting.
Rob: It was on the [inaudible 00:08:15]
Charlie: How was Disneyland?
Glenn: Congratulations, man.
Charlie: Disneyland was a good time?
Rob: Uh, Disneyland was amazing.
Glenn: You went to Disneyland?
Rob: I went to Disneyland.
Glenn: Okay.
Rob: Yes, with some friends and it was amazing. And there were so many people there, obviously, it was Disneyland. And I heard over and over and over again, loving the podcast.
Charlie: Good.
Glenn: Okay.
Rob: And I always ask people what it is that they like about it, just 'cause I'm interested in it?
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: Uh-huh.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: And 90% of the people say that they listen to it on the way to work.
Charlie: Mm.
Rob: I hear more listeners than, uh, than I hear creeps, but I know you're out there because we see the numbers. You're watching.
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Rob: Um, people listen to us on their way to work and on their way home from work, and it feels like they're hanging out with their friends.
Glenn: Hangin’ out with their buds.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: And I like that because I feel like I'm hanging out with my friends.
Charlie: Well, we are.
Rob: I have more fun on the podcasts having conversations like this, 'cause I feel like I'm talking to my friends as opposed to talking about the episodes themselves.
Charlie: I know, but-
Rob: I recognize the fans do like that we're talking-
Charlie: Yeah, yeah, and it is interesting. And, boy, this-this one, uh, is a heck of an episode.
Rob: [laughs]
Glenn: Yeah. [laughs]
Charlie: And, uh, how do we talk about it?
Glenn: How do we, yeah, well-
Rob: Well, we can sa- oh, I-we can say this, again, making sure that this podcast has not become an a-a-an apology tour, because that's just gonna get boring, and-- but there's no need for that either, but we have recognized that, at the time, we truly felt, um, that that was a word that was used commonly and that made sense.
Glenn: Well, well, but it was also a word that was abused by people who, you know, are awful people.
Rob: Yes.
Glenn: And our characters are awful-awful people.
Rob: Yes, but this was one of the episodes-
Glenn: Yes.
Rob: -where it-it deviated from the characters to the way that we were using it so casually, to me made it feel like the filmmakers, us, at the time, were not conscious of what we were saying and how painful that could be for people-
Glenn: That is correct.
Rob: -because it is a derogatory term.
Glenn: That is correct.
Rob: But we didn't know that at the time.
Charlie: Well, I mean-
Glenn: That is correct.
Charlie: -it was much more commonly used at the time-
Glenn: Yes.
Charlie: -let's face it. You know.
Rob: Oh, yeah.
Charlie: And then I think over the, what has it been? A decade? More?
Glenn: Way longer.
Charlie: Yeah. Since that-- since we did- since we did that, it's become--
Glenn: 15 years.
Rob: 15 years, dude.
Glenn: 15 years.
Charlie: Yeah, it's become-- we've, as society said, "Let's- let's get rid of this term."
Rob: Yeah, let's not do that anymore.
Charlie: Um, but by the way, if you recall, we weren't even gonna have person in the title. We were gonna say Sweet Dee Dates the-
Glenn: Yeah, yeah.
Charlie: -and R word.
Glenn: Yeah. It was almost like, yeah.
Rob: But then what we- what we realized was, at the time, that was the derogatory and we did use it-- and the character did use it in the episode once, uh, which was the abbreviated version of it, but when we-- but we thought--
Glenn: But to title it that is different 'cause that's the filmmaker's titling something, right?
Rob: Right, but then-- but what we thought at the time was that the full word was something that was acceptable even in the community-
Glenn: Right.
Rob: -as being--
Glenn: Right, right. That is that-
Rob: -and it wasn't until later where we realized that that was not the case and I think culturally we-- it was accepted as well, so it is what it is.
Charlie: But ultimately, the pare-- characters get their comeuppance for-
Rob: Totally.
Charlie: -using the word so liberally and-and asking, uh, Little Kev [chuckles] and then he eviscerates them.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Yeah. Well, and yes, and that's why continually when we're asked, "Hey, how do you get away with this," or whatever. The-- we recognize that our audience can watch something and recognize that it's of a time and place and that they know where we stood at the time and where we stand now and that's how we "get away" with it.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Glenn: We say it a lot in the episode.
Rob: Oh, yeah.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: Each time I-- Yeah, me too. Just cringe.
Glenn: Just cringe a little bit, right? Like, just feel it go up your spine.
Rob: And yet there's so much great stuff in the episode.
Glenn: Yeah, it's super funny.
Charlie: Yeah. [crosstalk] It's a really funny episode.
Rob: It's really funny.
Glenn: I mean, Kyle though-
Rob: Kyle's amazing.
Glenn: He's amazing.
Charlie: Can you imagine anyone else playing that part?
Glenn: No.
Charlie: I mean, Kyle completely nails that role.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: He was like a skateboarder and he had something with his eyes. He's blind in one eye, right? Like he'd had an accident-
Glenn: Oh, something, yeah, I don't remember what it was that happened, but yeah.
Charlie: -and he just dove into that character and nails it, walks that fine line of you can't tell if he's--
Glenn: Yeah, if there's something going on there or not.
Charlie: Something going on or not.
Glenn: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Rob: Well, the whole episode was born out of us always never wanting to make fun of people with, uh, developmental disabilities, but it was to make fun of, uh, rappers who had that affected-
Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the affectation.
Rob: -especially white rappers that had that affectation.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: And we had heard a few-- and I love Eminem. It wasn't really Eminem, it was a couple of, like, low-grade Eminems that were coming out around the time, and you couldn't understand what the- what the fuck they were talking about, in interviews and things like that. We were like, "Oh, they sound--" It does fill in the word and so let's go-- let's have a go at them.
Glenn: Yeah. What if- what if there was someone like that and we weren't sure?
Charlie: I mean, it's one of those premises.
Rob: And then Dee -- and Dee's gold-digging, clearly gold-digging through the whole- through the whole episode, which is a lot of fun.
Glenn: I also do love like that- that I say that he really is-- you know, I don't wanna use the word, that-that he really is, you know, and then later I'm like, "Okay, fine, he was-- he's not, he's not." And she's like, "Why would you do that?" And then she leaves and I'm like-- And you guys are like, "So he wasn't, so he's not?"
Rob: And then you said--
Glenn: And I'm like, "Oh, no, he is."
Rob: Yeah. Yeah. No, he definitely is. He definitely is.
Glenn: Oh, no, he definitely is. Yeah. Yeah.
Rob: Well, that's- that's funny.
Glenn: That was a good joke.
Rob: What are you gonna do?
Glenn: That's a good joke.
Rob: That's funny.
Charlie: It's super fucking funny, and I think it's okay, like, if we had to do it now, you know, we-- the characters would dance around the usage of the word and it would be just as funny, and, you know. So those are the adjustments you make-
Glenn: We would also just--
Charlie: -but like the characters would-would be like, not wanting to say the R word, but that was the intent and you can make a joke out of that, but--
Glenn: Yeah, or we would have, you know, a character amongst the group who was like, "That's not-- please don't use that word." You know what I mean? Like there would be an opposing view, right? I mean, I think you can still, like, you know, we have to still be able to tackle these kinds of subjects and-and-and everything, but, uh, you know, again, I think we're a little bit more conscious of making sure that it's clear that we, the filmmakers, are not, like, biased, but--
Charlie: What's also interesting and what's so damn funny is the other storyline, you know, with everything from starting a band to this band X, to the Dayman song, like, and do you remember when we cut it together? Where like-- we were like, "Well, we dropped the ball on this one."
Rob: We blew it.
Charlie: It doesn't-- why did we feel that way?
Glenn: I can't remember why we felt that way.
Rob: Well, there is-- As opposed to the one we just watched, uh, two ago, “The Gang Sells Out”, uh, which I feel like totally holds up. I feel like this one, even just narratively is so silly, whereas “The Gang Sells Out” is silly in the way that Sunny is, but you understand everything and why it's happening and all makes sense. This is clearly us in the writer's room being like, "You know what, let's just justify them getting into a band."
It makes no sense at all that we-- that my motivation, for example—Mac's motivation, for example, is we don't need to learn how to play instruments at all, let's just get up here and look cool and get a crowd in here, and like, I kind of buy that, but it's also just bullshit.
Charlie: I don't know, that-that didn't- that didn't hit my bullshit meter. You know how like some things-
Rob: Yeah, yeah, sure.
Charlie: -do, some things don't. I'm like, that sort of fell within the arrogance of the characters for me, where I'm like, "Oh, they're just cocky enough and dumb enough to think that they can do it." Like, I think a lot of people see any kind of, like, whether it's acting, or music, or, you know, juggling, stand up, whatever the heck and think, "Yeah, I could do that if I just tried," and it's like, yeah, but you have to try for 30 years. You know, 'cause like you're- you're going up-- and so I think to me, it falls within the way these characters might think, which is to be like, "Yeah, I can make a band," like, how good do you have to be?
Rob: That scene where Charlie has got the, um, blanket over his head [chuckles] and he's clearly been huffing paint the entire time and you come over to his house. I remember that-- shooting that scene.
Charlie: It was the first scene-
Rob: It was the first scene.
Charlie: -we'd shot of Season 3.
Glenn: That's correct.
Rob: I remember it so vividly, and I remember me laughing hysterically. I remember nobody else laughing, which is-- like in the crew, which is always a great sign because for whatever reason, I-I don't know why sometimes there are things that are very specific to what we're trying to do and-and out of context, a lot of the crew doesn't read the scripts, so out of context. It's just like, "What is happening?" and you have no idea what's happening, and it was so funny to me at the time.
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: I remember-- You know, so Rob Rosell and Scott Marder wrote that episode and they came up with those lyrics for the song and it was “Dayman, Fighter of the Nightman, Champion of the Sun, Master of Karate and Friendship for Everyone.” And you're like, "What the fuck?" Like that's so funny and random and we had a little Casio keyboard in the office that, you know, you could put on the setting that it fills in the chords, you know, so I just like-like press that one key and was like [unintelligible 00:07:14].
Rob: I like that, just amazing, then it's just, I like that.
Glenn: I like that.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah, and then I just started singing the melody and you started singing the “ah-ahs” and then there was--
Glenn: That is exactly what happened. Like, we were like, "Let's- let's- let's see what we can figure out or whatever," and you were, like, tinkering with the keyboard-
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: -and then you just started kind of singing the thing and then I did the ah-ahs and I also--
Rob: Isn't that from the Queen song?
Glenn: Well, yeah, so--
Charlie: Flash Gordon was the thing.
Rob: The Flash Gordon??
Glenn: Yeah. At the time, um, I was, so my buddy, Sam Whittler, who's a musician, um, wanted to do some live performances from an album that he-- his self-published album that he had put out. And, um, you know, so me and some other people were like, we put like a band together and we were just like, we, I don't know, we only did like, maybe eight shows or something.
We were called The Crash Tones, and the thing that we opened every show with was the Flash Gordon theme song, Queen's Flash Gordon theme song from the 1980 Flash Gordon. And, um, it was, like, inspired by that for sure, like, it felt- it felt like Dayman was like, you know, like a superhero, so it- it kind of felt like it-it tracked in that, or like, it, I don't know, it made sense to me at the time.
Charlie: It's funny how music can be like something's working, something clicks right away and grabs you and is catchy, and then you find one other little element to add to it, like the “ahs” and it puts it over the top and it makes the whole thing work, like, uh, you see the documentary on the backup singers?
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: Like the- the woman who-- for the Rolling Stones.
Rob: Yeah. It's like “20 feet from Stardom” or something like that.
Charlie: Yeah, and they call her at like 4:00 in the morning and- and they're like-- it's like, "Can you come in? Can you sing these lines?" And she's like, "Okay." [sings] Rape, murder, it's just a shot away. And you're like, "Well, there's that song."
Glenn: Yeah. Yeah.
Charlie: You know, like--
Rob: It just-- Yeah, and then, in fact, in that song, her voice cracks at one point.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: And she thought, "Well, there's no way they're gonna use that." Like, "Let me do it- let me do it again where I- I do it right," and Phil Spector was like, "No, that's the one that goes in." It's amazing.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: Just recorded like 20 minutes or something.
Charlie: Yeah, the creative process is a crazy, mysterious, elusive thing.
[music]
Rob: Well, we've gotta do another ad because Megan has to pay her rent. She has sent instructions that we must do this.
Charlie: Okay, all right.
Rob: So you don't like it, blame Megan.
Glenn: No, let's do it. I'm not gonna have a problem with that.
Charlie: Here it goes.
Glenn: Uh, guys, we'd like you to know that this podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp Online Therapy.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: BetterHelp is pretty fantastic. If you have not heard of it, it is a secure online therapy service that offers video, phone, and live chat sessions with a licensed professional therapist.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: Life is fucking hard, you guys.
Rob: Yes, yeah, life is hard.
Charlie: It's hard [laughs].
Rob: I'm-I'm very happy that we're sponsored, um, by BetterHelp, uh, online because mental health is a very important part of the-the-the worldwide discussion.
Charlie: I agree. I think therapy is essential for people. Like you go to the gym, you work on your muscles, you, uh, go to the dentist, you fix your teeth, and sometimes you need to help your brain too and there's no shame in that game, you know?
Glenn: No. No.
Rob: No way. I feel like just being here and being able to talk to you guys is a form of therapy for me. Um, and so I-I would like to implore people out there if you're struggling with grief, relationships, stress, anxiety, I'm seeing a lot of anxiety in the world.
Charlie: And listen, I understand sometimes it sucks to go sit in a waiting room.
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Charlie: That's an uncomfortable situation waiting for someone else before you finish and then they come out, then you're there. They see you. It's a whole-- You know, it's an awkward thing.
Glenn: Yeah, no, but you don't have to do that here because BetterHelp, uh, assesses your needs and pairs you with a therapist in less than 48 hours. It's really hard to find a therapist that quickly, guys, unless you're--
Rob: And then if you don't vibe with that therapist, you can switch for free.
Charlie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rob: That's huge.
Charlie: You know, it's also more affordable than tra-traditional online therapy. That's a big perk, you know, because they're being cheap.
Rob: And guys, Always Sunny Podcast listeners get 10% off their first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/SUNNY.
Charlie: Mm-hmm. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com/SUNNY. Again, right? H-E-L-P.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Yes.
Glenn: So if you guys don't know how to spell help, then you've got other problems.
Rob: Well, if for the creeps that are watching, they can see it right there because we're gonna put it on the screen.
Charlie: Okay. [crosstalk] [unintelligible 00:21:45]
Glenn: I don't think we're gonna put a [unintelligible 00:21:46] cover on there.
Charlie: No.
Rob: Yeah, we're gonna put a cover on there.
Charlie: Okay. Listen.
Glenn: Well go check it out and you know, tell them we sent you.
[music]
Glenn: Hey guys, you know what I don't get asked enough?
Rob: What? [chuckles]
Charlie: No. No, what's that?
Glenn: Whether or not I shave my balls.
Charlie: Really?
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Not getting that question very often.
Charlie: No one ever asked you that like in an interview or anything?
Glenn: No, no, like--
Charlie: At dinner?
Glenn: And I'm always like, "When is someone gonna ask me about my-my balls and whether I shaved them or not?" And it's always like, "Oh, is Dennis a psychopath?" You know, what's the waitress's name?
Charlie: Right? Right. Well, you're in luck, my friend because I think we're gonna get to talk about your balls for at least a minute right now.
Glenn: Oh, good.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Glenn: Oh, good. Yeah, yeah, thankfully, our new friends at Manscaped, the global leaders in below-the-waist grooming, uh, are sponsoring this podcast and they have just the thing to keep your weeds properly whacked.
Charlie: It is the ultra-smooth package, okay? A specialized groin shaving kit to help you buff, shave and protect your nether regions. You know, it's a sensitive subject to talk about, but it's the most important decision you could make today.
Glenn: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, mostly gentlemen, uh, direct your attention to manscaped.com and use the code SUNNY for 20% plus free shipping on the Lawn Mower 4.0.
Charlie: Yes.
Glenn: A brand new, ultra-smooth package. Don't you want to be smooth?
Rob: Smooth.
Glenn: Do you want to be a bear? Or do you want to be an otter?
Rob: I want to be an otter. I want to be-- I don't want to be a seal I don't want to be skin, I want to be trimmed.
Charlie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rob: Which I think is fair. So we can all[crosstalk] it's amazing.
Charlie: You're gonna have the chance to get that good ball shine with the ultra-smooth package. You know that's-that's-- If you're into that package, if you want ultra smooth, you can get it down there. And then you can use the Crop Exfoliator all over.
Glenn: Mm-hmm, yeah.
Rob: So, but let me ask you something. Are you guys shaving your-your actual ball sack or just the top?
Glenn: Yeah, I get- I get it all.
Rob: You get all of it.
Glenn: I get it all, yeah.
Rob: Yeah, because there's some-sometimes there's errant hairs from--
Glenn: Yeah, you don't want it. Yeah, you don't want that situation down there to be-
Charlie: Well, there's a lot of moving pieces down there you know but that Crop Exfoliator can help soothe clear and just get and-and just get-- And keep your-your groin skin refreshed.
Glenn: You know what it’s actually great at? Is reducing ingrown hairs.
Charlie: Is that right?
Glenn: Oh yeah. [crosstalk]
Rob: That's not where you want an ingrown hair.
Speaker: No, no, no, no.
Glenn: You don't want hair growing into your balls.
Charlie: You do not want this. No, you want the hair to grow out and now only, and then you wanna take it off with a manscaper.
Glenn: Yes, you want to remove all the hair.
Rob: And finally, boys it's shaving time. The Crop Shaver has three precision blades with extra wide lubricating strips and a pivoting head so no man gets left behind-
Charlie: Okay.
Rob: -when you hang dong.
Charlie: All right, you get 20% off plus free shipping with the code SUNNY at manscaped.com. That's 20% off plus free shipping with the code SUNNY at manscaped.com
Glenn: And say hello to your new sweet Dee.
[music]
Rob: You being Bob Dylan.
Charlie: Oh, yeah.
Rob: And singing those lyrics.
Charlie: Oh, yeah.
Rob: Which that-- Okay, so as-- and maybe I'm- maybe I'm misremembering if I am, please-please correct me. The whole idea of the Nightman, creeping into your house coming inside you and you becoming him.
[laughter]
Not only were you making all of those lyrics up at the time, but just the concept of that happening. That was not done in the writer's room, that happened live.
Charlie: That is- That is true.
Rob: There was a camera pointed at you and you were just riffing.
Glenn: Yep.
Rob: But-- So not only was that really funny, and incredible to come up with in the moment like that, but then we took that lore that you created-
Charlie: Yeah, and made a whole-
Rob: -in that song and made a whole musical out of it.
Charlie: -musical out of it. Yeah. Yeah. No, that was-- I remember we just kind of cameras roll. And I had the keyboard it was like you-
Glenn: No, you spec-- Well, you specifically requested. You were like, "Let's do-- Let me just do a couple. Just-just let the cameras roll. And let me do my thing. And let's just see what happens. Let's just see what happens." And one of those takes was that.
Charlie: Yeah, I remember that was like, first time Adams Kline our cameraman who we've had since season one was like shaking and laughing--
Rob: Laughing. I had to back up out of the frame. I fucked it all up. [crosstalk]
Glenn: Yeah, you guys-- Yeah, you-- I remember we had to cut around your laughter like in[crosstalk].
Charlie: 'Cause it's really dumb and really funny. It's so stupid but so funny.
Glenn: Yeah. Yeah.
Rob: So funny in the way that you were- you were free flowing and rhyming it all the way through was-- There was no way you had thought about that-
Charlie: No.
Rob: -before you step up on that stage.
Glenn: That, I-I don't know. Had you?
Charlie: I don't-- I can't remember.
Rob: Sharing each other like loving brothers. No, way. And will be--
Charlie: No, no, no I don't- I don't think so.
Rob: And that shot of [laughs] Danny-- of Frank at the end, which like just ends- ends the scene is so funny.
Charlie: [laughs] Yeah.
Glenn: That look on his face [laughs] Yeah. Yeah, I [crosstalk]
Charlie: Yeah, I don't know. That was a ton of fun. I mean, that was one of the-- like, what a-a great thing we were getting to do, right? Like, we-we made this show. And we sort of were finding our feet and then we would create these scenarios for ourselves to be like, "Okay, here's the scenario. Here's a funny situation. We know this is going to be lyrics gone wrong, and go free." And-and to allow ourselves the freedom for each one of our characters or performers to come on the show to be like, "All right, just, I don't know, turn your brain off and let it rip." And we've gotten so much good stuff out of doing that, you know.
Glenn: Oh, yes. Just letting it rip. Yeah, no, I--
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: Well, people ask us still all the time like how much of the shows improv. And it's not really improv as much as it is like a lot of ad-libbing and stuff but there are certainly moments of improv. And it's one of the benefit, like, you know, for people who are not in the film and television business, they may not realize like, most things-- I mean, like if you're doing a play you're doing Tennessee Williams, you don't change the-- those words like they're-they're-they're perfect and they are the way they are. And they're sacred in a way.
And so you know, you say them exactly as written. TV and film, there's usually a little bit more leeway depending on the writer and the director, right? Like if it's Quentin Tarantino, he's probably like, "No, say it the way I wrote it." And he's right.
Charlie: The Coen brothers or Aaron Sorkin or somebody.
Glenn: Coen brothers, right.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: Who-who just are like pretty word-perfect. Right? You gotta be pretty word-perfect with those guys. Although it's hard to believe that Jeff Bridges's performance in Big Lebowski there weren't some moments where he wasn't riffing a little.
Charlie: I've heard him talk about it. And they're like, "No, it's all-all scripted out to the "um" and the "uh".
Glenn: That just- that just shows you how incredible the Coen brothers are. And how incredible Jeff Bridges was that it- that it sounds-- That is, that it sounds like, you know, ad-libbing and improvise. But--
Charlie: And John Goodman, I mean in that- in that movie.
Glenn: Yeah, John Goodman.
Charlie: So unreal, like, where he's about to blow up and then he catches himself like many times.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, but like, it's one of the privileges of getting to do this show is that because we write it and we are the creators, we don't have to-- you know, usually with another show, like I would go-- Out of respect for the writer or the or the showrunner, I would go and I would say, "Hey, I'm-I'm thinking of like, messing with this a little bit like, can we do one where I just kind of like riff a little bit, you know." And I would do that on A.P. Bio all the time. And we eventually got to the point where Mike would just kind of let me, you know, do my thing sometimes. But--
Rob: What's A.P. Bio?
Glenn: That's a-a show that I did on NBC for two years and then on Peacock for two years.
Charlie: Four years?
Glenn: Yeah, we did four seasons.
Charlie: Sounds cool. Depending on the movie, depending on the style of comedy, sometimes you can just open it up and sometimes you can't. For our show, it really worked well. To act in a similar style to how we shoot it, right? And the Coen brothers, it's very structured shots, you know, almost, um, Hitchcockesque in terms of like, these are very stylized, the camera's not-- Well, the earlier movies, the cameras moving around a bunch, but, um, with us, it's cross-covered, things are dirty.
They shot over the shoulder, the characters seem connected, it's loose, and you want the comedy to be spontaneous and loose. And it creates a really good illusion of reality. You kind of really believe these are real people. This is how they talk.
Rob: Yeah. And that you're sitting in the room with them.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: Right? Where- where, um, this show on Apple that we do called Mythic Quest, we--
Glenn: Mister?
Rob: Mythic Quest.
Glenn: [unintelligible 00:30:01] you're saying Mister with a lisp. Mithter-Mithter-Mithter Quetht. That's the show?
[laughter]
Rob: Mithter Questht.
[laughter]
Rob: Anyway, we have these very composed sort of cinematic shots every once in a while. And what you realize is people adlibbing or improving in those shots doesn't work for a number of reasons. And sometimes it's subconscious where you-you can kind of feel that they're making it up-
Glenn: Oh, like the shot-- like the shot's clean but the dialogue is messy and it doesn't work.
Rob: Yes. But when we go to say steady camera, what we do on Sunny, which is handheld and kind of rocky and shaky, then it feels like, "Oh, I'm a fly on the wall. I'm not watching a cinematic piece. I'm sitting in the room with those people," and then it works. I don't know. I don't know if it's a conscious thing or a subconscious thing.
Glenn: Well, I do know that-- I do know that when we first created Sunny, one of the things that we were pretty adamant about was cross-covering, right? I mean, it was very inspired by the-- by the-the British Office and by Curb Your Enthusiasm. I was convinced that-- I was like on Curb, I mean, they're improvising. They've got to be shooting five cameras at the same time. I still don't, to this day, really know how they shoot it. But you know-- So that was always the idea from the beginning. It was like, okay, this is gonna be scripted, but I just-- I want it to feel like the actors don't even know what they're gonna say next.
Rob: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: I wanted-- I just wanted it to feel really spontaneous. I wanted it to feel improvised, even if it wasn't. Um, and, you know, hence the-the cross coverage and the bad eye lines and the shitty cameras and-
Rob: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: You know. But, uh, the benefit of that was that we got to, you know, do something a little different. I mean, you know, some people say that the show is just us yelling over each other and they're not totally wrong.
Rob: They're not totally wrong. That first scene, that opening scene. Any time in the early years when you had all five of us in a room at the same time, we're just talking over each other, filling in each other's lines, filling in the gaps. There's no silence. [unintelligible 00:31:51]
Glenn: No. No, God forbid. God forbid.
Rob: We got better at that as it went along.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: But the sce-- I think-- I think so. The scene, uh, between the two of you when you find the song-
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Rob: That was clearly covered by at least two cameras, or maybe three.
Rob: I think three on that.
Rob: Because there's-there's like kismet that happens where you find the clap. You-you get into the beat and then you find the clap at the exact right time.
Rob: Yeah, which was-
Rob: And I remember it being so satisfying at the time. Satisfying in the edit and then, now it's been 12, 13 years since I've seen it again, it's still satisfying.
Rob: It all feels very-- It all feels weirdly real. I mean, clearly, it isn't 'cause it's so heightened and so strange, you know. Although, I-I bet most people would think that that song that you made up on the spot was-was-was also not-not improvised. But it-it was, which is just crazy.
Glenn: I also think, going back to the improv thing for one second. Like, you know, we-we never improv. Like I think improv-- The idea of improv is like an audience full of people and someone says uh-
Rob: Here's a situation.
Glenn: "Peanut butter jelly and taxes." And then they go up on stage and they create a situation about peanut butter and jelly and taxes.
Rob: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: Like, that-that's never what we're doing. Not only do we know the scene, we know what our characters want within the scene.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: We have it perfectly scripted to the point where there's no improv necessary. By perfectly, I mean like, in our minds, you know that this is good enough. We don't want to be in a situation where we have to improv. And even if I'm doing a song like that, I'm sure I have- I have- I have a few ideas going into the scene about what's gonna be funny.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: It's not so incredibly spontaneous. Not to take away from some good improv. But like it's really-
Rob: Yeah, some touch points that you wanna hit.
Glenn: It's structured improv. It's like-- I don't know, it's like we really have a sense of what we want and then we open it up and say, "What's the funniest way to get what we want?"
Rob: But again, think about what a privilege it is to-to-to do that. And-and I know that-- Like we've all been in-
Glenn: And have the time to do it because we shot in a way that's so fast and furious. You know, you haven't had a-a two-hour lighting setup because you have a crazy dolly move, you know. Like-like, here's the cameras, go.
Glenn: Can you talk about that? So, on-on Horrible Bosses say, for instance, right? Where clearly you guys were riffing and having fun and all that kind of stuff. And it's a very different shooting environment where you probably weren't cross-covering a lot. Maybe occasionally, I don't know? I mean-- But when you've got-- Like I-I don't-- I mean, again with my-my Peacock show, my very successful four-season Peacock show, A.P. Bio, you know, we would shoot one side at a time. Uh, it's okay, I'll-I'll send you the-- I'll send you a link.
Rob: A.P. Bio? That's such a weird title.
Rob: Advanced-
Rob: Horrible Bosses I know.
Glenn: Yeah, that was a-
Charlie: That was a huge hit.
Charlie: By today's standards. It was a big hit.
Glenn: It was a big hit, yeah. And the second one-
Charlie: Yeah, not so much.
[laughter]
Charlie: [unintelligible 00:34:44] by today's standards.
Rob: The money was right though. Um, no. Uh-
Rob: Actually, I enjoyed the second one.
Glenn: I did too.
Charlie: It was all right. Yeah.
Glenn: Anyway, um, you know, where you're shooting one side at a time.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: And then, you-you know, you're shooting one side of a conversation and you're riffing, you're improvising, right? And then you've got to stop, turn everything around, which takes 20 to 30 minutes to turn all the lights around, come back on the other guy, then you hope- you hope you've got a really good script coordinator, uh, or script supervisor.
Charlie: Who's written down a funny improv that-- so you remember to redo it.
Glenn: Who's written down some of the better improvs. 'Cause then you got to do it on the other side where it's-
Charlie: It's much tougher to do it that way.
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: I think with Horrible Bosses, if I remember correctly, we did a lot of three shots, you know, and two shots where all three of us were in the frame.
Glenn: Yes.
Charlie: Or it would be like, you know, we're getting interrogated by a police officer. The police officer says the same thing every time.
Glenn: Yeah. But you guys are all-
Charlie: And-and we open up our end a little bit. So, um, I think they did a good job of-of where-- to let us dirty up the dialogue and-and where to keep it clean. But yeah, it's much tougher. 'Cause I'd done a movie-- The first feature movie I got to do was Going The Distance and that was my first time on a set where, uh, where we were doing that. Where we would improv a ton. You know, me and Sudeikis and Justin Long, and then we would have to remember what we did to turn around and try to-
Glenn: Yeah, 'cause we don't do that on Sunny.
Charlie: No.
Glenn: We just shoot it all at once. And-and-and if we improvise something, you know, we'll-we'll usually build on it or do something different the next time. But either way, you know, if you and I are improvising something, we're both on camera at the same time. So when you get in the edit, you get to cut together a scene with all the actors in it.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: You don't-- You're not-- You know what I mean? You're not like trying to piece together as-- I mean, we do piece things together, but you-you don't have to do it as much on our show.
Charlie: On-on, uh, Mythic Quest, um-
Glenn: That's Mithter.
Rob: Mithter Quetht.
Charlie: Mithter Quetht. Um, do you-- Yeah, how are you balancing that when you-- when-- 'Cause obviously you're shooting it much more like a movie uh, and here's a complete, uh-- This is an admission that I have nothing to do with it. I've said it before. Um, uh-
Rob: You have every-- Uh, we've established this.
Charlie: A million times.
Rob: You had everything to do with it. You wi-- You've created the characters that launched it.
Charlie: Then I walked away and then you guys have been doing it. Um, but, uh, how are you balancing that? Uh, sort of like, I'm sure you're letting Hornsby riff and cut loose. So then when he comes up with something great and you've shot one side, do you have your, uh, script-script coordinator writing down the improvs and then-?
Rob: We do. But because, um, because David has so much experience, I have so much experience, we all in this room have so much experience, you kind of remember what works and what doesn't. But sometimes we'll say, "Okay, remember to get this." We do- we do have certain scenes that we realize we have to cross-cover because the improv is important. And then we have actual-- We have other actors too, who aren't as necessarily comfortable. And it doesn't mean they're not great. It's just not-- They're fantastic on the show. They just--They just would rather stick to the script.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: And if you throw out something, they're happy to say it, but their-- It's not their first instinct to do so.
Charlie: Here's an interesting thing. How do online comments affect you guys personally?
Glenn: Uh, I love-- I-I-- Look, I think-- I have no problem-- Like I'm not one of those people who's like, "No, no, I don't ever read reviews of stuff that I do."
Charlie: Sure.
Glenn: You know? Some-some-some actors are just like, "I can't read that stuff. It's too toxic or whatever," uh, whether it's good or bad. Um, I-I'm not that way. I-- It's like I weirdly want the feedback. I like the feedback. I-- Now look, I will admit-
Charlie: Okay. But if someone-- if someone said something that got under your skin, does it sit with you for a few days or like what-
Glenn: No, no, no. It will sit- It will sit-- Uh, it could sit with me for a couple of minutes, but then it's gone, you know. Now, I will admit however, if-if after we did an episode-- after an episode of Sunny aired or whatever, and I-- if I went on Twitter and the vast majority of the comments were negative-
Charlie: Sure. That-that's gonna mess up anybody up.
Glenn: -that would- that would fuck with me. That would fuck with me. But, you know, most of them are really good. And then there's the occasional, you know, somebody like, "Man, your show has not been good since Season 6." you know.
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: You're just like, "Thanks for the feedback, man. Appreciate it."
Charlie: Yeah. Yeah. What about you, Rob? You seem unfazed by these kind of things.
Rob: Um, no, I think I'm actively unfazed. Meaning like, I'm doing work to make-
Charlie: Right. It's a practice.
Rob: It's a practice, yeah.
Glenn: Yeah, I would a-- same, same.
Rob: Yeah. Yeah. It never feels good to have somebody criticize you in some way, but I think you just look at who it is that's doing so. So if you were to come in and say, "Hey, I don't think what you're doing is good." I would listen to that because I value your opinion. Uh, but-
Glenn: What about me?
Rob: -if it's just some-- Sorry, I meant both of you, but I was looking at Charlie. [laughs]
Charlie: You looked directly at me and subconsciously ignored you.
Rob: He asked the question. He asked the question.
Glenn: Okay, all right. All right.
Charlie: Okay, we'll let that slide.
Rob: But if both of you guys because this is what we do all the time. If you came to me and said, "Hey, we either see this creatively, or your behavior or whatever it might be, or we have a professional issue with you," which we've navigated over the years, uh, then I take that very seriously because I value your opinions. Um, but if I look on Twitter and it's just some random dickhead who wants to chime in, I don't give a flying fuck.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Mostly because I just simply don't-- I don't know who they are-
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: -so I don't value their opinion.
Glenn: Right.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: And then if-- In terms of criticism, the only time I get, 'cause I do read reviews for new things that come out. I haven't read a Sunny review in forever, but-but I- but I do read reviews, say for Mythic Quest. And, uh, the only time, which are all very good. The-the only time I get upset is when I feel that they're lazy.
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Rob: Mm. Yeah.
Rob: That they're- that they're not understanding what it is we're trying to do because they- they're stupid and lazy. And sometimes we'll get criticism where I bring it to Megan and David and I say, "I think they're right." But this is somebody who's taking the time to actually look and try to understand what we're doing. They have an opinion about it. And then regardless of what their opinion might be, if-if they point out that, "Oh, I believe the show was going for this and they failed, and here's why,"-
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: -and they're right from my perspective, I'll bring it to them and say, "Hey, I think we can be better."
Glenn: Sure. I think that's valuable. Well, any-any feedback that allows you to make something better is-is-is valuable.
Rob: Yeah. And that's different from trolling, which is just-
Glenn: Very different.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: Yeah. Very different. Um, uh, you know, I-I-I've often been frustrated and we've talked about this, you know, off camera many times, but, uh, by reviews of Sunny, even positive reviews of Sunny, where they talk about the show in a way that makes it sound unappealing to people who might be turned. You know, they're like- they're like, "These guys are so funny. They-they-they cross the line and it's so gross and they're disgusting and," you know, "they're perverts," and all this kind of stuff. And it's like, if you don't know the show and you're reading that review, you're gonna go-
Rob: Totally.
Glenn: -"This is not my type of show." I read-
Rob: So somebody just sent me an article yesterday that we were on a top-10 list of-- I-- There were two shows that I am a part of that were on a top 10 best office comedies of all time. Sunny was one of them and Mythic Quest was one of them. This is said of all time. The Mythic Quest piece started like this, we're like number five in the list. Mythic Quest isn't for everyone.
Glenn: Yeah. Great start.
Rob: That was the first thing that it said.
Charlie: God damn, man, yeah it is-- it's so-
Rob: I'm like, "Wait-wait a second. You just-"
Glenn: And this is a positive review?
Rob: Oh, it's a positive review.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: But you're saying it's almost like you're hedging.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Like the person that wrote it is saying, "I believe that this is a great show, but you might not. And I wanna make sure that I have a healthy distance by saying,-
Rob: Yeah.
Rob: -"Well, it's not for everybody. I warned you. I warned you. Now here's my opinion." Fuck off.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Charlie: It's like the comments in the reviews. If they hit something that you have a personal insecurity about, ah, then it stings. Right? Like, I think for me, if it's like something about my voice or whatever, or like your looks or whatever, like that-that shit. You're like, "A, fuck. Ouch. Why did I read that?" You know, um, the other side of it is like, fuck you. If I sound like an [unintelligible 00:42:52] I'm aging. What do you want? You know, like, but it's- it's hard to like build that up when it's about the-the work. Yeah. I don't know. It all sucks. Fuck everybody.
[laughter]
Glenn: You heard it- you heard it here folks. Fuck everybody.
[music]
Rob: We'd like you to know that today's episode is brought to you by HelixSleep.
Charlie: Ah, HelixSleep makes some of the absolute best, most comfortable mattresses out there and they come to you right in a box. And I know what you're thinking, how good can a mattress out of a box be? Uh, pretty freaking good.
Glenn: Okay. Well, listen, guys, sleep is very, very important to me personally. Um, especially considering that, uh, I actually struggle with sleep. So I'm very happy, uh, to have a brand new Helix mattress to sleep on and that they gave it to me for free 'cause that's cool.
Rob: Yeah. But they won't give it to them for free.
Glenn: Oh, sorry. That they-- that I paid for-
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: -and sleep on.
[laughter]
Rob: Helix has an online quiz that matches your body type and sleep style to the perfect mattress for you. Well, I know for me, I sleep, uh, I run hot.
Rob: You run hot.
Rob: I run a little hot. And Helix mattresses are very specifically designed to account for people like me.
Glenn: That's right. Yeah.
Charlie: I've had my Helix mattress for about a week and I gotta say I love it. You know what else was awesome? The unboxing of it.
Glenn: You-- Oh, you enjoy the actual process?
Rob: You enjoy the unboxing.
Charlie: Yes. That's an important criteria for me in any mattress. And, you know, it's soft enough, but it's also firm enough.
Rob: Helix is offering up to $200 off all mattress orders and two free pillows for our listeners @helix.com/sunny.
Glenn: That's right guys. Go get yourselves the number one best overall mattress of 2021 from GQ.
Charlie: Oh yeah.
Glenn: GQ said that. Okay. And Wired Magazine and the mattress many leading chiropractors and doctors of sleep medicine use as their go-to.
Charlie: We're talking about a super fantastic mattress situation. Who's not gonna want that?
[music]
Charlie: To what degree can you say the wrong thing now? Like how--
Glenn: To what degree?
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: I think it depends on probably who you are and what that thing is, but, uh--
Rob: And what you- and what you said and what your intention was.
Glenn: What your intention was. Hopefully-
Rob: I think that does matter.
Glenn: -it should, it does--
Rob: Sometimes it doesn't matter in the immediate- the immediacy reaction to something, but then over time-
Charlie: Right. You can walk up and smack someone in the face and yell at them. But if you do it at the Oscars, it's gonna-- you're gonna have some blowback. If you do it at the after party, you're probably- probably gonna be fine.
Glenn: [laughs] He should have waited till the after party is what you're saying.
Charlie: Of course.
Rob: I think the audience recognizes what we're doing, who we are, and what we're doing in terms of the television show. I don't think we've done or said anything here today.
Charlie: No. I think in this day and age, more than ever, you know, you- you're-- you have a lot more coming at you and a lot more to sort of dance around and think about, but to some extent, you also have to just kind of press on.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: You know?
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: I-I worry for our kids, like growing up in a social media world. Like I- like I- like,-
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: -you know, obviously our children aren't famous people, but you're famous within your school. Right? You're famous within your circle. Like your, you know, Mikey of-of the three Mikes in fourth grade or whatever.
Glenn: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Charlie: -like. And you know, the group of kids like tweeting or anything goes around. Mikey shit his pants and then-
Glenn: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Charlie: -and then it gets like posted and it goes around like these. How do-- how are people navigating it?
Glenn: And that's-
Rob: Well, in the same way-- I mean, at least the way we're navigating it would be this in a similar way, just on a larger scale. But it's the same thing, which is creating an armor essentially that-that is impenetrable but not-not able to--
Charlie: But I don't wanna walk through my life in an impenetrable armor. Right? Like that's- that's like some crazy shit.
Rob: Well, that, I don't mean it from like a- like a sociopathic way. Um, cause, you know, like sociopaths walk around and they have an impenetrable armor that you can't actually get to them because they don't feel anything. I mean more about your own value, meaning that you have a sense of self and who you are and what your value is to yourself and how much you love yourself, and there's nothing that can penetrate that. Now that's active work. That's not something you just feel.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: It's something you're constantly reminding yourself of, and I think that's fair. And I think from there, you can allow people in, into your heart through that armor if you so- if you so choose to. But if they try to come at you and you don't want them, that's what the armor's for.
Glenn: I think-- Yeah. Look, I mean, I-I think it comes from your parents for the most part. It comes from, you know, having parental support. I-I really do believe-- I mean, I know that's what it is for me. You know, anytime I've ever, you know, come up against, um, sort of like, you're not good at this or you can't do this thing, you know, I-I personally believe that, you know, my parents' belief in me and their unconditional love,-
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: -um, has helped-
Rob: But ultimately, don't you believe that what that created in you is not a need for parental love? 'Cause oftentimes that's what can happen.
Glenn: Right.
Rob: Where if you're still looking for external validation, which we all are to a certain extent.
Glenn: Sure.
Rob: But-but it will hit a wall where it-- you can't-- you can no longer look-look to that. You have to look inside.
Glenn: That's right.
Rob: Right. And but-but because you had that-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -and you felt safe at an early age,-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -you started to create that-that self-worth that you take.
Glenn: Yeah. Well, it's almost like you-you-you ultimately, you can go out into the world and be brave and make mistakes and screw up and not do things right much more easily if you know that there's a place where you can go back to if you had to, where you are loved and accepted for who you are.
Rob: Yes.
Glenn: Um, if you don't have that love and acceptance anywhere, um, I think it's extraordinarily difficult because it's hard to go out into the world and take risks without being- without being-
Rob: I feel that way about you guys. I feel that way about this show. So I feel so confident about going out and doing whatever it is that I do. Mythic Quest or a movie, or another TV show, or a business, whatever it might be.
Glenn: What movie?
Rob: Because I know-- [laughs]
Charlie: Doing a movie without us?
Glenn: It's a theoretical. When has he ever done a movie?
Rob: I-I haven't and I don't plan to in the future. But the point is that if I were to, I wouldn't-
Charlie: It's frustrating to me.
Rob: -I wouldn't be afraid. I'm not- I'm not as afraid to fail because I know I have a home that I can come back to. And that you guys love me unconditionally, but you put me in check. Right. There's boundaries and there's discipline to our relationship. But at the end of the day, I know you love me, I know you value me, and because of that I can go out and do other things. And if they fail, I go, "Fuck it. I got my guys."
Glenn: Yeah. No, you're right. I feel that way too. I absolutely feel that.
Charlie: There's a- There's a great film called, um, oh shit, I think it's called The Great Beauty. It's an Italian movie. Ah, I think it won Best Foreign Film a few years ago. Um-
Glenn: Oh, you told me about this movie.
Charlie: Yeah, uh-
Glenn: I never saw it.
Charlie: -uh, a spoiler here. This is a spoiler. So plug your ears if you plan to watch Italian films, uh, which I think most of our fans aren't,-
Rob: [laughs]
Charlie: -but there's this old like nun character and, uh, she looks like a 170. I mean, I don't know. It's probably makeup, but she looks very old. She's only got a couple of teeth and she's always liked eating roots. And, uh, there a- you know, some character says, "Oh, she always eats roots."
Glenn: [chuckles]
Charlie: And then at the end of the movie, the guy says to the nun, he's like, you know, he's like, "Sister, why are you always eating roots?" And she turns and she looks at him and she goes, I don't speak Italian, but so they like, "[Italian language]", you know, because roots are important. Uh, and it's a really powerful moment in the film where you like, oh yeah, fuck. If you're not rooted in something then yeah, then the, all the comments and all the- all the noise, all the fucking noise, the fuckin mower outside, whatever it is, it all comes at you.
Rob: Mm.
Charlie: You need to be grounded and rooted in something, which I also appreciated that I feel like I've gotten from you guys and this-this show.
Glenn: You know where it doesn't come from?
Charlie: Where?
Glenn: Eating root vegetables.
Charlie: [laughs] Eating roots. [laughs]
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: They're nasty.
Glenn: That's, uh, yeah, um-
Charlie: Um.
Rob: Almost done.
Glenn: Well, guys, I'm almost outta coffee. And, uh,-
Rob: I gotta go to work.
Glenn: -I'm sure that everyone is out of patience. So-
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: -why don't we wrap this up?
Charlie: We talked heavy.
[End Credits]