On the pod, the guys revisit The Gang Gets Whacked: Part 2 from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 3, Episode 13.
Rob McElhenney: Hello, everybody.
Charlie Day: *Noises*
Rob: Welcome to the podcast. It's so good to see you.
Charlie: Oh man.
Rob: I'm so happy to see all your faces. Everybody's here. It's exciting.
Glenn Howerton: God, you were a goddamn mess the last time I saw you, buddy. You were just- you were puffy-faced, and, uh, but mostly you actually didn't look that bad. You mostly, which I'm just not used to-- Not that I've never seen you like that, but like you're not usually that sort of, I dunno, self-conscious is that the right word? Yeah. Self-conscious like about-about the way you look. I feel like for the most part--
Charlie: I feel like you looked exactly the same, except-
Glenn: Pretty damn--
Charlie: -your lighting was worse.
Megan Ganz: Ooo, burn.
Glenn: Yeah, your lighting was worse. Also, you were just rubbing your eyes a lot.
Charlie: Maybe you were a little tired, like a morning tired, but that's, you know.
Glenn: A little puffy.
Charlie: Your face- your face was the same face.
Glenn: Same face.
Rob: I have a-- I do- I do have the same face, yes. Yeah. Week to week doesn't change that much. Year to year, sometimes it changes.
Glenn: Oh yeah, God.
Charlie: Year to year, it changes for sure, yeah.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: No, yeah, I was, uh, yeah. I don't know. I was feel-- I was just off a jet. Remember I was- and I was complaining about that and I was just feeling a little off, I think. But you know, we all have our-our bad days and I appreciated all the support and I've been getting a lot of support from people, um, about, uh--
Glenn: What people? What-What do you mean? Like people have been coming on and-and telling you all sorts--
Charlie: “Hey, Robbie. Don't worry about it.”
Megan: [laughs]
Rob: It was an interesting response that I saw, uh, on social media. Just about people, uh, I don't know. I think- I think that they-they-they were saying it was okay. It was okay to have a down day.
Charlie: “Hey, man, it's okay. I get tired too sometimes.”
[laughter]
Charlie: You get tired, I get tired, man. You guys get tired ever?
Glenn: All I ever am is tired.
Charlie: That’s true.
Rob: If I had nose clams. At the time, if I had like, just like one bag of nose clams.
Charlie: Sweet and delicious nose clams.
Rob: And do you-- Okay, so now we're talking about The Gang Gets Whacked Part 2, and I was watching it last night with my beloved spouse. Oh, by the way, I'm just gonna throw this out there in terms of staying current. Kaitlin broke her foot.
Glenn: Okay, so, I saw this.
Charlie: I texted her. I saw- I saw her Instagram thing. I was like, "Did you break your foot?" And she said, "The doctor said it wasn't officially a break. It might have been a sprain." It feels like it's broken, she said.
Rob: Well, she's walking around in a boot and, um--
Glenn: Yeah, good as-- Good as.
Charlie: Oh man.
Rob: We counted. This is the sixth-sixth bone that she's broken since we've been together.
Charlie: How'd she do it this time? Did she put her shoe on or did she--
[laughter]
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: God, she breaks easily, but she never gets sick. It's such a weird thing, right?
Rob: It is crazy. She has not--
Glenn: Little as all hell.
Rob: She has not gotten sick in years. I haven't seen her have a cold for years.
Charlie: I think I would trade-- I think I would still take getting sick over breaking that many bones.
Rob: Oh yeah.
Charlie: Right? Like if someone said, "Hey, you could never get sick for years and years. Like not a head cold, nothing, but you're gonna break a bone like every six months." I'd be like, nah, I'll take the cold. I think.
Rob: Agree. Agree. I mean, what kind of sick are we talking about? If we're talking about a cold? Sure, I'd take it.
Charlie: What kind of sick? Yeah, sure. Yeah. You're gonna get lupus every month. I mean, what–
Glenn: Right.
Rob: [laughs] No, she's broken her foot and she's hobbling around like a jerk, but she's a trooper and she'll get through it like she's gotten through the last 20 bones that she's broken.
Glenn: Now, were you there when she- when she- when she broke-broke it?
Rob: No. Um, I just--
Glenn: To hear the screams?
Rob: No-no, I just--
Megan: [chuckles]
Rob: I just saw her uh, walking out to the backyard and she was limping and I just shook my head as she approached. And I said, "You broke your foot, didn't-didn't you?" And she said, "Yes." I just knew the look. I knew the look, and I already have-- I have a whole section of a closet- of a closet that we have in the house called the Kaitlin section. And it has boots, full boots, um, those, uh, like leg cast boots, a cane, and two sets of crutches. And we just keep them-- We just keep them.
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: We just keep them around because we might need them again. And-and, in fact, we do.
Glenn: Why don't you just set up-- You've got-- I feel like you have enough room in your house to just set aside a whole room that's just for triage? You know what I mean?
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: Like, just a– just an emergency room.
Charlie: Get your own little ER.
Glenn: Yeah. Your own little ER, you know, you have like uh, a guy that's on call and when he shows up, you know, he's got his little doctor bag, but you- you've already got it all set up for her, you know, you've got an x-ray machine in there. You've got, you know, whatever equipment that he would need so she doesn't have to, you know, go hobble to the--
Charlie: You could also, invest in some sort of bubble boy suit. You know what I mean?
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Mm–hmm.
Charlie: Just some sort of like just bubble-wrap kind of thing.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: You can bubble-wrap Kaitlin every single morning before she leaves the house.
Charlie: Yeah. Yeah.
Glenn: You know, really keep her safe. You promised, I'm sure-
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: -when you- when you got married, you probably promised to keep her safe and all that kind of stuff, so.
Megan: [laughs]
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: I think it makes sense.
Charlie: I think of playing with cars sometimes. I'm like, why are cars not like just giant round rubber balls?
[laughter]
Charlie: You know? Like why didn't we do that? So like, it's like, "Ah, sorry, I ran into you. Good thing we just bounced off each other."
[laughter]
Charlie: You know?
Glenn: The way your brain works is amazing, dude.
Rob: I wanna see that. I wanna see that.
Charlie: I feel like, you know–we can put a man on the moon, we can't make a car a big, round, um, safe, rubber ball? I don't know.
Glenn: Yeah. It's like you're sitting- you're sitting in, in, in the middle of the ball and the ball rotates around you, but it's clear so you can see out. You know, you can see 360 degrees. I think it's a great idea.
Charlie: And you got wheels, you got an axle but you gotta–
Megan: And what powers the ball?
Glenn: Oh.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: What powers the ball? No. Yeah, you got an engine. You have all that stuff, but there's so much rubber, safe, foamy, soft, rubber around everything that, you know, when you slam into someone, it's just nice, good bounce, you know?
Glenn: Yeah, you just bounce around.
Megan: It’s bumper cars.
Rob: But-but-but wouldn't that bounce you with such force that it would break your neck?
Charlie: No, because it's just rubber on rubber. It's a good sort of, you know, you have a seatbelt and you have to have an airbag, but you don't have all those hard angles, and metal and glass everywhere. I don't know what the windshield is, but like--
[laughter]
Glenn: You probably have a- you probably have a, you know, some-- something, well, something that you wrap around your neck so that your neck can't really, you know what mean?
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: So when you do bounce around, you're just like bouncing around like this.
Charlie: Yeah. Just keep everybody safe.
Rob: But if it was rubber hitting rubber, you're on the 405 and you smash into somebody, uh, you-you-- It's gonna shoot you to Pacoima.
Charlie: That's fine.
Rob: I mean, you're gonna be airborne.
Charlie: That's fine. I'll hit a bunch of other rubber things along the way and everyone will be fine.
Glenn: That's right.
Rob: It'll just be an earth full of- full of those like rubber bouncing balls that you have as a kid?
Charlie: Yeah. You take like two lacrosse balls or whatever, I don't know. Some kind of like, you know, massage ball and you shoot it at full speed at one another. They're gonna, the balls are gonna be fine. Yeah, they're gonna shoot everywhere. But the balls will be fine and stuff inside the balls will be fine.
Glenn: You end up in Pacoima, so be it. You know what I mean? You're like- you're like--
Charlie: So, you're in Pacoima.
Glenn: That's the first time I've ever been in-- been in Pacoima, let me grab a bite to eat and then I'll just bounce right back to wherever the hell I was supposed to be going.
Charlie: I'd rather be in Pacoima than Caitlin's triage room.
*THEME SONG 7:05*
Rob: The Gang Gets Whacked.
Charlie: Is funny.
Rob: It's-it's wild. It's both. It's so funny. It's so cartoony, but it's, uh, it's very funny.
Charlie: It's pretty cartoony.
Rob: And do you remember, the thing that popped out to me the most was, do you remember why we made it so that we're not-- Nobody is snorting the cocaine, everybody is rubbing it on their gums?
Glenn: No.
Charlie: No. Is that a standards and practice thing?
Rob: That was a standards and practices thing.
Megan: Oh my God.
Rob: They told us that we could not actually see somebody snorting a line of cocaine in the episode, which is odd.
Glenn: On FX- On FX. Sure.
Rob: On FX, yeah.
Charlie: TV has changed, man. TV has changed.
Rob: Yeah. Yeah-- Yeah, so-so we, uh, we pivoted- we pivoted to the gums, which is so much funnier anyway.
Glenn: Yeah. Every time they give us something like that, uh, I feel like whatever we come up with is 10 times funnier than what we originally intended anyway. [chuckles]
Charlie: Yeah. Because then they're not, they don't have the intent of getting high and it sort of starts happening accidentally, which is a funnier sort of engine for story than just like, they want to get high.
Megan: People online were interested in knowing, do you guys remember what that was that you were eating Charlie, the cocaine? Was it- was it powdered sugar or--
Charlie: I think it was like flour. I think it was like probably just mounds of flour.
Megan: Ew, really?
Glenn: Mm, gluten. Gluten.
Megan: So many glutens.
Charlie: Yeah.
Charlie: A lot of gluten.
Glenn: So many-- so many glutens.
Megan: It's probably worse glue than cocaine is. I mean the carbs alone.
Charlie: Probably not. Probably not.
Rob: We shot a lot of the episode in Philadelphia. In fact, in Kensington.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: We shot a lot of the episode in Kensington. And Kaitlin remembers it being one of the hottest days she's ever felt on the planet Earth.
Charlie: Oh, I remember it being really hot. Cricket thinking those trash cans are kettle drums is like one of my favorite things--
Rob: It's-It's so great.
Charlie: Of the whole season.
Rob: In that scene, you guys are walking up to Cricket and she said- she's wearing a pair of jeans, she said- she said they had to cut the jeans off of her. They couldn't pull them off of her. They cut them.
Glenn: What, because the sweat combined with the tightness of the jeans?
Rob: Yes-Yes. She couldn't- she couldn't get them off, and they were like pulling them and pulling them and pulling them. Finally, wardrobe just came in and cut them off. She was like, it was triage. Like she was-- Maybe she had broken something. I don't know.
Glenn: Right. Do you think they had those-those kind of, those-those like scissors where the, like, the one that touches your skin is like, you know, like nice and-- What's the word?
Rob: Flack.
Charlie: Yeah. I do think they actually, I do think the wardrobe department has those.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: In case they need to cut a performer's clothes off of them because they have sealed them with sweat. I'm big a fan of the-the ass play conversation with Danny when he's eating out of chalice.
[laughter]
Charlie: Like, “I never ordered any ass-play.” And the woman sitting at the counter is amazing.
Rob: The thing that jumps out at me most in watching this episode is how all of us- all of us are doing gymnastics, like trying to be- try-- just really-- because we're actors and we're trying to be funny in each scene. And we're just doing anything and everything we can to milk every single moment. And we're working so hard and it works and it's funny, but it-it took a lot of effort. And Danny just walks onto the screen and is so casual and he doesn't look like he's doing anything 'cause he’s barely- he barely is and he's so fucking funny. He's just taken us all to school. He's so funny.
Charlie: He's pretty amazing. I mean the, yeah, the ass play conversation. And then the scene where-where we're playing, was it Two of Hearts?
Megan: Oh yeah.
Charlie: Yes. Where he’s stripping.
Rob: Two of Hearts.
Megan: Yes, it is.
Glenn: Yeah. Yeah
Rob: Sus-Susie Q?
Charlie: It was pretty great.
Glenn: [laughs]
Megan: And the, um, when-when he shows, uh, Dennis the ad, the Body Work by Dennis ad.
Charlie: Oh, Body Work by Dennis.
Rob: Yeah.
Megan: And then he goes-
Rob: Well, that was based on real-- those were real ads.
Megan: -you know, you can have rules, “it says no rules.”
Glenn: “It says right here, no rules.”
Charlie: “It says no rules.” Now, wasn't that photo just a still shot from you taking your shirt off for Margaret McPoyle in the hostage episode? Like we basically just--
Rob: Screen grabbed this.
Charlie: So, did we create that in the editing room or do we have that on set or someone just like made it?
Rob: No, we had- we had that in the paper, yeah.
Glenn: No-no that was- that was the set.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: It was in the paper. That was the prop, the prop, uh, they took a picture-
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: -from me being all sweaty and shirtless and-
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: -yeah, just put it.
Rob: This is how old this television show is. That-that was based on real ads that we would see in newspapers, weekly newspapers-
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: -or-or even the LA Times where you'd get to the classified section and then there would be a-a whole area that would say massage and-
Glenn: Bodywork.
Rob: -bodywork, really.
Charlie: Bodywork.
Rob: So if you specialized in bodywork, you could call Ramon. You could call Jimmy, you could call Carla-
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: -you could call Tatiana, and they'll show up and they'll work your body. No problem.
Charlie: If you call-- like who's showing up if you call one of those numbers? Somebody scary. And then somebody with--
Glenn: Somebody-somebody sca-
Rob: Somebody.
Glenn: -somebody really scary comes in first and introduces you to the person that you'll- that you'll be working with.
Charlie: Yeah-Yeah-Yeah. Somebody really scary shows up and says, you know-
Glenn: -you'll be working with Tatiana, but I need to have a little-little conversation with you first, you know.
Rob: Yeah. Now, she's gonna work your body. She's gonna work your body-
Glenn: Oh, yeah.
Rob: -don't worry about that but work-- bodywork will be done, um-
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: -but, um, a cert-- a different kinda body work is gonna occur if, uh, if-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -we're not satisfied-
Glenn: If I don't get-
Rob: -financially.
Glenn: If I'm not satisfied financially, yeah. Yeah.
Rob: Yes. You're gonna be satisfied-
Glenn: We're gonna work your body- we're gonna work your body in a totally different way.
Rob: -and I'm gonna be satisfied.
Charlie: You don't want- you don't want-
Rob: The only-
Charlie: -me to work your body, bud.
Rob: No, yeah.
Charlie: -let's put it that way.
Rob: You'll be satisfied and I'll be satisfied. There's only one person that won't be satisfied in this equation and that's Tatiana.
Glenn: That's Tatiana, but we're not, you know-
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: -let's not concern ourselves with that.
Rob: Let's not concern ourselves with that right now.
Glenn: If you were concerned about that, you never would've made that phone call, to begin with.
Rob: Yeah. We're-we're-we're-we're both a part of the same hypocrisy, sir. Now, get in the room.
Glenn: Getting all philosophical and shit.
[laughter]
Glenn: Don't give me that look, sir. You're-you're just as much-
Rob: Well, that's-
Glenn: -a part of this as I am.
Rob: That is kind of what's happening in the episode where he-he- we-we-got you–Frank gets all pissed off because we got Dennis thinking for himself again-
Charlie: Yeah-yeah.
Glenn: Yeah-yeah.
Rob: -after all the work he's put in.
Glenn: Yeah. Yeah, well, that was- that was part of the fun of-of creating that episode it was like what? Like sort of accelerating the process of-of grooming, you know, and-and getting someone to completely submit to your will [belching] by just totally manipulating them.
Rob: [laughs]
Glenn: Um, what?
Rob: I like that you made no effort to not burp directly into the microphone. No effort. Just a quick second of just maybe, you know, just looking away and then coming back. No effort.
Charlie: It was very Howard Stern of you.
Glenn: What? I gotta put on airs? I gotta put on airs for you guys?
Charlie: I gotta put on airs just 'cause we're talking on the internet?
Glenn: Just cause millions of people are gonna watch this, I gotta put on airs.
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: Anything else?
Rob: I love the addition of, um, the line, so you say, "Uh, no-no-no ass play on this one." And-
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: -he says, "Well, you-- No, you don't need to do anything with the ass." Well, the last one, it got weird, and he says, "Don't worry about it." And you said, "We might have to go to the hospital-
Charlie: Go to the doctor, right?
Rob: Have a doctors appointment just inca-- just to be safe."
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: What does that mean? I mean-
Megan: [laughs]
Rob: -what's the implication? I don't know but it made me laugh.
Charlie: Yeah-Yeah-Yeah. There could still be something in there or something might have torn.
Rob: Sure, just- but just to be safe. Just to be safe, we'll set up that.
Charlie: Or just some itching, and you should get looked at.
Rob: And then instantly you-you know exactly-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -what's gonna happen in the next scene when he says-- he-he's just laying there reading the magazine and he says-
Charlie: “I never ordered- I never ordered any ass play.”
Glenn: He'll-he'll do anything with the ass.
Charlie: Ass play. Just the term ass play is really fucking funny.
Glenn: [laughs]
Charlie: [laughs]
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: Like that's-that's--
Glenn: Yeah, and just to show how far-
Rob: What’s she doing?
Charlie: What's she doing?
Rob: Yeah, what's she doing down there?
Glenn: Just to-
Rob: What kind of play is it?
Glenn: Well, you know, she's-she's just having a look around, exploring-
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: -a little bit is my guess, you know what I mean? I don't know if she's pleasuring herself for me, but either way, it's pleasurable for her.
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: Uh, just doing- just doing some work.
Rob: But you're the one doing the work. You're-You're doing the bodywork. It's bodywork by Dennis, so.
Charlie: Yeah, but he's also providing a body. Um--
[laughter]
Charlie: And that's-that's part of the work.
Rob: It's more--
Charlie: That's part of the work.
Glenn: I'm providing a body to work with. I'm-I'm doing bodywork.
Charlie: I do body yeah-yeah, I'll do some bodywork, but I'll provide a body for you to work.
Rob: And play 'cause that's the fun of it, is that- is that you're both-
Charlie: 'Cause that's what it's really about-
Rob: -working- you're both working and playing at the same time.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: Let's not forget that this is supposed to be fun, you know?
Rob: Honestly, ass play is better than ass work.
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: Yeah, ass work seems like there's some more heavy lifting involved.
Rob: Ass work seems -
Charlie: The wordplay seems right.
Glenn: Heavy lifting.
Rob: Wow. Whoa.
Charlie: You don't want it to be work, you want it to be play.
Glenn: Yeah, you want it to be play. Yeah, ass work sounds like, um, you-you know-
Rob: Serious.
Glenn: -someone's gonna get some pleasure out of it for sure but, yeah, you're gonna be burning a lot more calories.
Rob: [chuckles] Yeah.
Charlie: I have a fond memory of my grandmother coming to set, you know, 'cause she lived in Philly and, um, we were shooting the scene where we find Cricket on the street and he's homeless and she found it very amusing that he was a- playing a priest and, uh, but also just being like, so he's uh, "We're on cocaine Grandma."
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: And just trying to like explain it.
Glenn: [chuckles] Yeah-yeah.
Charlie: Just sitting there with the earphones, like listening to the scene and just.
Rob: But she enjoyed it?
Charlie: Yeah. And then, uh, two seasons later, we put her in an episode as one of the red hat ladies, she's sitting with me-
Glenn: Oh, yeah.
Charlie: -playing the piano.
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Charlie: Uh, and then she passed away shortly after that. I mean, she was like 96 or something, um, but she would continue to get checks for the performance 'cause it would air, you know, like little $5 residual checks. And I remember my aunt being like, "Can you cancel these 'cause it's like a pain for us to like-- we-we can't process it." And it was a whole thing. I don't know.
Megan: Oh.
Glenn: Yeah, just a stack of checks that only amount to about like $98 total.
Charlie: Yeah, if you're lucky. Yeah.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: We've talked about the stack of checks, right? The stack-- we've talked about Charlie's stack of checks on the podcast?-
Charlie: My stack of checks?
Glenn: No-no, not on the podcast. I don't think so.
Rob: Okay. Okay. All right.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: Let's get into that just 'cause you brought up a stack of checks and it's-
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: -it's just-
Glenn: I had the same thought.
Rob: -un-unbelievable. Yeah, I don't know. I hear the word stack of checks and then I hear that it's like a pain in the ass and I remember Charlie lived in this real shithole apartment, um, that we shot the original Sunny in, but we loved it.
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Rob: We would spend a lot of time over there. And-
Charlie: I was so psyched on that apartment coming from New York City, I was like, we have-
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: -a little balcony that we can-
Glenn: It's huge.
Charlie: -smoke on and like yeah. [chuckles] yeah.
Rob: Uh, so, um, I was so broke and Glenn was not, he was never broke. He was always working but, um, I was--
Glenn: Yeah, I was- I was-
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: I was always successful, yeah, go ahead.
Rob: Yeah. So you've been successful from the day you graduated from the Julliard School.
Charlie: Glenn and I, uh, started working and getting paid-
Rob: Almost immediately.
Charlie: -the second we tried to be an actor, but go ahead. Go ahead.
[laughter]
Glenn: You were saying-- so you were saying.
Rob: It's all true.
Charlie: You were struggling, which makes sense.
Rob: Oh God, yeah, struggling-struggling-struggling in so many ways and, um, emotionally, uh, as well. When I would walk into your apartment and I would see this, I saw a stack of checks-
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: -and I'm not exaggerating. Glenn, like this thick.
Glenn: I remember.
Rob: I remember it was.
Glenn: Yeah, they-they I just-- for some reason, I remember them always being like-- in my memory, they were sitting on top of his keyboard.
Charlie: They were on top of my keyboard.
Rob: Always-always on the keyboard.
Charlie: That's where I always kept them.
Rob: He had this big giant Casio keyboard.
Charlie: You would walk in the door, I had a keyboard and a bed and that was probably about it.
Rob: That was it.
Charlie: And a pile of checks.
Glenn: And a pile of checks.
Rob: And-and-and-and empty Yoo-hoo containers everywhere because that's all the--
Charlie: That's all Jimmi.
Rob: That's all Jimmi Simpson's.
Charlie: That's all Jimmy Simpson's. Yeah.
Rob: He would just drink Yoo-hoo all day and eat macaroni and cheese and smoke cigarettes. I mean, that's the best part of being in your- in your early 20s.
Charlie: The man liked his treats.
Rob: So, I look at this- at this stack of checks-
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: -and I'm like, "Can I- can I look at this?" And you're like, "Yeah, sure." And I'm looking at them and they're-they're these payments.
Glenn: Like hundreds of thousands of dollars, right?
Charlie: No-no-no-no-no-no.
Rob: No, I mean, not that much but like but-but even-even hundreds of dollars.
Charlie: But maybe I- maybe I had like 4,000 or 5,000 sitting around right there.
Rob: Yes, it would be like a check for $300, a check for $600, a check for 50 cents, a check for 75 cents, a check for 2,000. And I'm looking at them and I ask him, "Have you cashed these?" And he says, "No, that's why they're just sitting there." "How long have you had them?" "I don't know, they just keep coming and I just-- it's such a pain in the ass." I'm-- and I say-
Glenn: It's such a pain in the ass.
Rob: -"It's a pain in the ass to do what?
Charlie: Well, I, you know what?
Rob: Well, you gotta turn them over, you have to sign them-
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: -that was what you had to do. You had to sign it and then you had to walk it to the bank. And then in exchange for that, for all of that work, the bank would give you money. It would give you cash for the checks. And--
Charlie: That's not what it was. It was that I didn't wanna walk down to Wells Fargo every time I got a $7 check. I waited for like a month and I collected all the checks from the month. And then I brought them all down and I-I put them all. I didn't cash them. I didn't walk around with a briefcase full of money. I had what-what they call a bank account.
Glenn: Wow.
[laughter]
Charlie: And I-I put them into the bank account. But, yeah. I mean that was the Independent Film Channel. That thing was a cash cow, man.
Glenn: Ah, I mean, yeah--
Rob: It was a check cow. That's for goddamn sure.
Glenn: For a guy in your--
Charlie: Can I sto-- Yeah.
Glenn: Well, I was just gonna say, for a guy in Rob's position-
Rob:*Noises*
Glenn: You know, he's--
Rob: *Noises* [laughs]
Charlie: And then I would- I would record those at Buzzy's. And I went down to Buzzy's that one day and there was someone else in there recording, and they had fired me but they'd forgotten to tell and they had, like, double booked. And I went down, they're like, "Oh yeah-yeah, we replaced." They were trying to replace me for, like-
Megan: Oh.
Charlie: -three years. And they just couldn't do it. But [inhales] it was a good three years gig.
Rob: Why would-- Why-why would they-
Megan: Right. Why would they fire you?
Rob: -replace the person that's never cashing your checks?
Glenn: Yeah.
[laughter]
Rob: I mean, -they're just basically paying you. They're not even paying.
Charlie: This guy is working for free.
Rob: This guy's working for free. He doesn't even know it.
Charlie: I cashed the checks.
Rob: By the way, if you give them Yoo-hoo-- He's happy if you just give him a Yoo-hoo and a bag of Funyuns.
Charlie: Well, the whole thing with that was that I was like, I-I bought a house. I, like to-- um, put a down payment on a house that I couldn't afford with the money that I had saved up from the Luis Guzmán Show and, uh, the IFC money. And I-I, uh-- And I was like, "Okay, I think I can swing this." And the day that I, like, bought that house was the day I got fired from that IFC job.
Glenn: [chuckles]
Charlie: But, like, the next week, we sold Sunny. So, it all worked out. I thought I was gonna have to, like, rent the whole place out.
Rob: Your life, you just--
Charlie: It worked out. What can I say?
Rob: You just--
Charlie: Step in shit.
Rob: You just step in shit left and right. Everywhere you go, people just wanna hire you. Now, no, you don't step in shit.
Charlie: Step in shit.
Rob: But you're just-- That-that shows a lot of how--
Charlie: I did a lot of struggling at first.
Rob: Yes, you did.
Charlie: Not a lot.
[laughter]
Glenn: Not a lot. Not a whole lot.
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: Like a year.
Megan: Why didn't you just hire Rob to forge your signature on the checks and walk them to the bank for you and give him just like a cut of those checks?
Glenn: 5% or something.
Megan: That would've been a good job for him.
Rob: I would've done that for 2%. You could have done it for 2%.
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: Let's make one thing clear. There was no issue here.
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: I just was saving them up. And then I would go once a month with all my checks. This was- this was a sensible practice.
Glenn: 100%. No, but for a very--
Rob: Yes.
Glenn: Uh, for a very broke man as Rob was at the time-
Charlie: Well, yes.
Glenn: -um, it was like-- He-he would've been living-
Charlie: How's that my fault, Rob?
Glenn: -paycheck to paycheck.
[laughter]
Glenn: And literally lived--
[laughter]
Glenn: Wait, what?
Charlie: I said, how's him being broke my fault?
[laughter]
Charlie: Um--
Megan: By the way, speaking of cuts, I have to say, I love Charlie that moment when you see Cricket on the street and you're talking to him. And then you say he can stay at Dee's place and then you reach into his little, um, cup and take a few coins out.
[laughter]
Charlie: Well, I gotta take a cut.
Rob: I gotta take a cut.
Glenn: We’re workin’ together now.
Charlie: Workin’ together now.
[laughter]
*AD BREAK 22:46*
Glenn: Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, it's not cheap to produce these things, you know.
Charlie: Mm.
Rob: Yeah. I mean, look at the lighting kits we have to afford.
Charlie: Yeah. And then I-I like to look at the sun wash me up. But then I-- you know, that's not reliable, because they don't know whether the sun's gonna be shining, you know? So, it's tricky.
Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we can talk about how you guys are constantly struggling to find good lighting and how I've never had a single issue later. But, uh, first I'd like to shout out to our friends at, uh, Vuori who are helping us pay for those light kits.
Charlie: You know, if you aren't familiar with Vuori, you should be because they make the most comfortable workout/lounging apparel on the planet. It's a new perspective on performance apparel.
Glenn: Are you guys sick and tired of traditional workout gear?
Charlie: Mm-hm. Oh, yeah.
Rob: It's been-
Charlie: Absolutely.
Rob: -pissing me off. It's pissing me off.
Charlie: You can say.
Glenn: Okay. Well, look, you know, the first thing is to realize that you're-you're not alone.
Charlie: Oh, good. I thought I was the only one on the planet who was concerned about it.
Glenn: No, no, no, no. Actually, uh, many more people than you-you would think are sick and tired of their traditional workout gear. But Vuori has the shorts, the leggings, and joggers for us. I mean, everything is designed to work out in. But it doesn't-- they doesn't look or feel like it.
Rob: Now, these shorts are so comfortable you-you will wanna wear them all the time whether you're sweating or not. And they look great too which, of course, is 90% of the appeal of wearing anything, because we're all vain.
Glenn: Yeah. But they are made to work out in so that you can look great when you're not wearing anything too, you know, which is 90% of the appeal of exercising. Right?
Charlie: So, altogether, we're talking like a 180% appealing. You know, that's-that's pretty good.
Rob: That's a lot of appeal. And Vuori is offsetting 100% of its carbon footprint.
Glenn: Yeah-Yeah. That's another great percentage. A hundred. Uh, do you really need any more reason here?
Charlie: [laughs]
Glenn: I mean, Vuori is an investment in your happiness. For our listeners, they are offering 20% off your first purchase. So, get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at vuori.com/sunnypod. That's V-U-O-R-I.com/sunnypod.
Charlie: And not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any US orders over $75 and free returns. Go to vuori.com/sunnypod and discover the versatility of Vuori clothing.
*AD BREAK OVER 25:06*
Charlie: You know what, Rob? I had a funny thing. I-I-I decided-- I don't know why I was-- I listened to a screenwriting lecture, um, by Paul Schrader. And then I got flooded with memories at that time where I had a pile of checks and on a keyboard and we were making a home movie that turned in to change our lives. But I remember that you had been working with Paul Schrader on a script or something or, like-
Rob: Mm-hm.
Charlie: -was he guiding you on-
Rob: I– it was the first--
Charlie: -on how to write a movie?
Rob: The first-the first script that I wrote. And we-- I wound up optioning it to a company called Propaganda Films. And then Propaganda Films, they optioned it for, uh-- No joke. Uh, I think it was a thousand dollars, which was so much money. But after taxes and commission, I couldn't stop, you know, working at the restaurant. And then Paul Schrader signed on to direct it. So he-
Charlie: Oh interesting.
Rob: -and I were working together on a draft of this movie t-t-that I wrote that he was gonna make. And then--
Charlie: What's it called again?
Rob: Then the company went bankrupt. It was called Those Invited In.
Glenn: Oh, right.
Charlie: It's a good title.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: That is a good title. Good, keep going. Keep telling us the story.
Rob: And, uh, it was not funny. It was not funny, it was a dra- like super-dark drama, the kind of movie that Paul Schrader would make for the audience. Paul Schrader wrote Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, and directed some-some really amazing movies bu he's a- he's quite a character and the whole thing fell apart and just- and that was a huge impetus for me to never wanna go through that process again. In the end, I had a draft that I didn't really love because Paul wanted to take it to directions that I wasn't into but I was just listening to him. Um, and I thought, "Well, if he wants to go in this direction, then I should write that." And then at the end of the year, he- the movie fell apart. He went on to direct a movie called Auto Focus and then something else.
Glenn: Good movie.
Rob: I had $1,000 that I had made from it and I thought I never wanna do that again ever. So when we- when I wrote the original, original Sunny, and brought it to you guys, the thought was always to make it ourselves so that we don't have to do that again.
Charlie: I mean, I was in a similar place from, you know, doing- testing constantly for TV shows and never getting the part then finally getting the Luis Guzmán show and then, you know, seeing that kind of go over the cliff and feeling like I could do so much but give me an opportunity to more and then just kind of being like I don't wanna- I still kinda feel this way where, you know, I hope the phone rings and sometimes it rings with something interesting but most of the time I read it I'm like, uh, I don't know. Let's just do our own thing. Maybe and then you read something great. There are other brilliant people out there if you can't wait for them to- you can't wait forever for them to call because most of the time they don't.
Glenn: Yeah, and there's-there's also no replacing working with your friends provided your friends are talented. I mean, there's nothing better than that. I mean, that was the thing that excited me from the very beginning about all this was-was--
Rob: [laughs]
Glenn: Stop it, Rob. Yes, I'm burping, goddammit.
Rob: I mean, you-you held back two burps, and then you just let one release. Why don't you- why don't you just burp right now?
Charlie: Get your burps out.
Glenn: No, no, no, no, but it's only when I start talk- it's only when I start talking. That's when [imitates burp] then I stop.
Megan: [laughs]
Rob: Oh, it's-it's the jinx. You've got-- Have you murdered someone?
Megan: [laughs] The burping.
Rob: The burping.
Glenn: No. No, I've never- no, I've not murdered someone.
[laughter]
Glenn: Um--
Charlie: But you can’t murder Canadians, it's too easy.
Rob: [laughs] For the listeners out there, Glenn is going through a crisis for conscience right now because, I don't know, let's listen in.
Charlie: He's doing a bit but he hasn't fully committed to it.
Rob: I know.
Charlie: Like I can tell that you kind of are like, oh, do I wanna do this? Do I wanna do this?
[laughter]
Charlie: You know what I mean? I see it. I see what's going on. You're kinda like, oh, do I do, uh, I murder people bit.
Glenn: [laughs]
Charlie: Then your mind was like, "I'm kinda tired of it, and maybe it's inappropriate."
Rob: 100%, that is so accurate. That’s so perceptive.
Charlie: I know.
Glenn: It's-it's completely accurate. That was exactly the thought process. It was exactly the thought process.
Rob: Meg, we have to rewind it for the Creeps and-and even the listeners should go back and watch this on the Creep channels because you-you can see exactly what Charlie just explained in-in his own eyes.
Glenn: He walked you through my thought process.
Rob: He was gone for it but then didn't, but then- but then stopped.
Glenn: No. No, I've never- no, I've not murdered someone. Um--
Charlie: You bailed on the bit, which is totally within your rights.
Glenn: Uh, what were we just talking about though? We were talking about, uh-
Rob: Well, making stuff with your friends and your family.
Charlie: Making stuff with your pals.
Glenn: Oh, that's what it was. Yeah. Yeah. No, I-I-I mean, that was what excited me the most-the most from the very beginning was just the-the thought of like, getting to make something. I'd never made anything. I'd-I'd only ever, you know, been pawn in somebody else's game. Uh, you know, whether it be, uh, Tennessee Williams or-
[laughter]
Glenn: -uh Bill Shakespeare, you know, Bill Shakespeare or, uh, you know, any one of those, uh, playwrights.
[laughter]
Glenn: Uh, David Rabe or Dave Mamet, you know, what have you. Um, and I just thought, uh, well, you know what it also was, it was coming off of-- it was coming off of that '80s show and not being fully satisfied. And part of- part of that was my fault because I was- I was, um, too deferential, you know, I think it was deferential to a fault. I felt like, you know, this is-- I don't really know what I'm doing and everybody here knows what they're doing. I had comedic instincts, I had instincts about the scripts. I had instincts about how I felt like it should be executed. But I thought to myself, what-what the hell do I know? I don't know shit. You know, these guys have been making That 70 show. They've been making all these, you know, great things for years. So they clearly understand, you know, how to- how to do it. And, you know, um--
Charlie: Also, you're a young guy. You're coming into a network show, which is a big machine, right? Like us, our show was not a big machine. It was lean and mean, and just us figuring it out as we went along. Like, there's that feeling of like, whoa, man, they're putting some money in this. And who am I to say how to do it? You know, when you're starting out there. Also, no one's gonna fucking listen to you 'cause you're like, you're just the actor, you know?
Glenn: Yeah. I mean, I just, uh, I look, I-I have a very specific memory. Um, this was a real turning point for me, uh, when we were rehearsing for an episode of-- and-and, you know, for-for those folks out there that don't know how, like, so with a multi-cam, which a multi-cam is generally, I think defined by, there's multiple cameras shooting at the same time, usually in front of a live studio audience, or it's at least, uh, portrayed to be that way. Um, and That '80s show was a Fox Live, or a, uh, yeah, like a live multi-cam show. So you'd rehearse for a week and then do the show live. Anyway, we were in rehearsals and we were rehearsing a scene that I thought was really, really funny. I thought it was really well written and I was enjoying it and, you know, but I was coming from theater, so I wasn't-- I-I would-- I-- my process like, I was a little slower to make strong choices, right? I-I was like, we've got a week to rehearse this, so like, let's rev up into it, you know, I'll figure it out as we go, and then I'll be ready, you know, when it's-when it's game time, you know? But we were-- so-we were doing this scene and it-it just wasn't, it wasn't fully working, you know? But I knew there was a way to make it work. Um, but, you know, the director just kind of jumped to like this-- He was like, "Oh, you know, this-this scene, this just-just not working. Uh, it-- it's-it's not working. We should just, uh, cut it or rewrite it or whatever." And I was like, well, whoa. And-and I finally did speak up. I was like, "Well, hold on a second. I-I actually do think it's-- I-I think it's funny. I think we just need to rehearse it, which is what we're here to do, to-to like try to figure out how to make it as funny as possible, you know?" And he was like, "No, it's just not working." And, you know, and I remember in my mind thinking, this fucking guy doesn't get what's funny. He doesn't know what's funny. He-he doesn't get-- he-he thinks it's not funny 'cause he doesn't get it, but that doesn't mean it's not funny. And I was like- I was like, Can you just-- I was like, "Hold on. Can-can we just-- I have an idea. Can I just try something?" And I distinctly remember the director sitting like this and, you know, and-and I could see his thought process. His thought process was-was, "This is a waste of my time. Why is this fucking kid trying to tell me how to do my job? But he's the lead of the show, so I have to just let him do what he wants." So he was like, "Um, yeah, okay, action." And then just like looking at his watch, like, you know, which of course, sapped-sapped all my confidence. And so, you know, whatever it was that I was planning to do, I just completely blew it 'cause I had no confidence. And then from that point forward, it was really a little like-like, something's not sitting well with me here this-this doesn't feel right. So, you know, um, it was moments like that that made me realize I had strong opinions about how-how things should be executed. And so when we started making this, it was- it was, I-- it was an opportunity to test-to test that.
Charlie: I think that machinery is what goes so wrong in so many TV shows, certainly of that era too, where like, it's, the-the way it's done is locked down and-and the power dynamics are so locked in and, you know, there's-- I-- I've been around, you know, those sort of multi-cams too, where the writers are-are one camp and they're like, we're the writers and-and these actors don't get it and the studio doesn't get it. And it's just like, if-if everyone's not working together to make this thing as best as it can, it just sort of falls apart.
Glenn: Yeah, totally. If an actor comes in to our show and says, funnier shit than we've put in the script, great.
Charlie: Yeah, the best idea's gotta win like this and everyone has to--
Rob: But there's still a curative process there has to be-- but there's a curator there, right?
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: Who's deeming whether something's funnier.
Glenn: Right.
Rob: I'm sure there have been actors on our show over the years who've come in and truly thought that what they were saying is funnier than what we wrote.
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Rob: That's happened before. Um, even we've done versions of that before where we've written something and then maybe I've said the line differently and I thought, "Oh, that's-that's making this particular moment better." And then Charlie's like, "No, it's not." And then I ask you and you say, "No-no, it's better on the page." And then you go, "Oh, okay. I trust the- I trust the curation process.” But there's gotta be, because otherwise, it's just everybody's sort of comedic point of view.
Glenn: Yeah it can't be a free for all.
Rob: It can't be a free for all.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: And there-there are those other dynamics that go on too, which is somebody is protecting-- they're protecting their position. And if I'm the writer and that's what I do and that's what I bring to the party and you're changing that, then-then that is, uh, that-that is something to me that that's potentially damaging.
Charlie: What'd you guys do, uh, one season of that?
Glenn: We did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we did 13 episodes of it. Um, I had a great time. I-I really enjoyed it. It was-it was extremely formative. I-I needed to do that before we-- I could have ever done, uh, It's Always Sunny. I needed to get that outta my system, I think.
Charlie: Mm-hmm.
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: I remember you had a-- we-we may have discussed this in the podcast, but maybe not, but Glenn, you had a pilot offer. You had a pilot offer. So we had- we had made Sunny and we weren't sure if we were going to-- we-we wanted to go make it, but you had this real-world offer in-in front of you and you were-you were trying to figure out whether or not you were gonna take it or test for this show.
Glenn: I do remember there was-there was this one sitcom that I had tested for or gone in for that they-they really liked me for. And, uh, you know, this is back in the day when I think you guys know that I used to do this but, um, before auditions, like if it was something where I wasn't like, you know, auditioning is hard and you're a little self-conscious and-and I mean, this is a real-- it's a- it's a dangerous habit to get into, but it worked for me, especially with comedy. With comedy, in particular, I was like, I need to be able to go in there and be loose and free. So what I would I- what I would often do is I would- I would show up with my, you know, thermos of coffee and maybe have like one shot of whiskey mixed in there, you know? But then I realized, I'm like, Well now I gotta drink the whole coffee to get the shot, so that doesn't make any sense. So then I started bringing-- so I'd bring like one of those like little airplane bottles, you know what I mean? And I'd be like, just one-one little thing, you know, kinda like the priest does before he gets up and gives a sermon.
[laughter]
Glenn: You guys didn't have priests like that? Um, and-and it worked. It worked. It would be like, you'd get a little loosey-goosey, you know what I mean? And I remember for this one-this one, uh, that I did there-- this happened actually a couple of times, so I'm not gonna lie, where like, I didn't have the airplane. So I like just kind of poured it into a, like a-a container and then brought it to the audition. And then I would, you know, just, [pew] you know, right before the thing. And then there were, you know, a couple of occasions where it was like, oh, [pew] and I'd be like, "Oh, that was, nope, that was not one shot. That was like two or three." And, uh, you know. And I remember, uh, one of those things that I was up for at that time. I, they called me in and I'd just been sitting there kind of looking at my lines, and then-- and when I stood up to go into the audition, I was like, "Oh okey dokey, uh, shit." And then I nailed it.
[laughter]
Glenn: I absolutely fucking nailed it. And they wanted me to do the show, but I said, "No, I've got my own."
[laughter]
Glenn: Just like that. Um, but now luckily, I'm-I'm comfortable with myself and I don't-I don't have to-- I don't feel the need to do that anymore in auditions. So the end.
Rob: Have you been drinking today?
Glenn: Uh, no I haven't. No, I'll probably start at like 3:30, 4:00.
Rob: Great. Wow.
Glenn: It's my day off, you know what I mean? I'm gonna get it on.
Rob: Okay.
Charlie: Not worried about puffing up for the picture. Getting that puff.
Glenn: Oh. All the better. All the better.
Charlie: You wanna be a puffy guy?
Rob: You're counting on it, you're counting on the puff.
Glenn: You know, he's, uh, I'm playing a guy's a little bit of a miserable fuck in some ways. So, uh, so-
Charlie: He'd have some puff for sure.
Glenn: Well it's great because I, you know, I show up to set every day cranky, and I'm like, well that's great cause this guy's cranky too. So here we are you know, works.
Charlie: Lean into the crank.
Glenn: Just lean into the crankiness just a little bit more than I already feel and, you know, the anger, all that, it's all there. It's all there. Um, anyways, uh, did you guys never do the-the whole like have a little shot-- shotty poo before going into an audition?
Charlie: Oh, I did, yeah, I-I remember, uh, auditioning to get into the Williamstown Theater Festival and, um, I took the bus into New York City. I was still in college and I was like so nervous before the audition, just so nervous, you know?
Glenn: Yeah.
Charlie: And, uh, was just being like I got, uh, I just went across the street. Just had like a beer. Maybe I probably only had one and just take the edge off. [chuckles]
Glenn: Yeah, exactly. It helps.
Charlie: For sure. That's why--
Rob: And that's why- that's why I didn't get any of those jobs. That's why, it's not 'cause I wasn't a good actor.
Charlie: Yeah, you were too sober.
Rob: It was because I was too sober. That was the problem.
Charlie: Too square, man.
Rob: I-I should have been drinking. If I was drinking--
Charlie: Didn't you learn anything from Paul Schrader, you shoulda’ been like “so you gotta get all fucked up and write your things.”
Glenn: Haven't you learned anything from the greats?
Rob: He kept a gun on his desk.
Glenn: Sean Penn?
Rob: Paul Schrader kept a gun-
Charlie: Oh, awesome.
Rob: -a fucking gun.
Charlie: That's great.
Rob: He had a- he had a, uh, an office--
Glenn: In case what, like he gets mad at his computer and he wants to shoot it? Like what the fuck does he have a gun?
Rob: I-I-I didn't ask. I don't a-- I didn't ask. I just noticed it. I clocked it. I recognized that it was in the room and I let it go.
Charlie: I think it was like a souvenir from like Taxi Driver? Was it like one of like Travis Bickle's guns?
Rob: Could have been. It wasn't displayed in any way. It was just sort of res-- it was in resting mode.
Glenn: It was sort of-- just sort of an implied gentle threat to whoever comes into the room. You know what I mean? To like-- It's sort of a power dynamic thing.
Rob: Yeah. Although I found him to be lovely. I mean, he was-he was strange.
Glenn: I'm sure he could be. He had a gun on his desk.
Rob: Yeah, that's true.
[laughter]
Rob: He was very-he was very kind and courteous, and-and he was I-I-- but it was-- ultimately, it was not a great experience, but not because of our interactions in any way. And the gun never-never came into play.
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: Maybe it was like a Chekhov thing. Isn't that like a Chekhov thing? I don't know. You-you theater nerds.
Glenn: Well, that's no-- The-the Chekhov thing is if you're gonna show a gun, then it's gotta pay off.
Rob: Oh, it'd better go off. Got it.
Megan: Gotta go off.
Glenn: It needs to go off at some point, otherwise, what was the fucking point? So that was Chekhov.
Charlie: Otherwise why did we see that gun? That's--
Glenn: Yeah, exactly.
Megan: Well–We saw a lot of guns in this episode and none of them went off, um, not to bring it back to the episode, but that was-
Glenn: Oh.
Megan: -that was a-- [laughs]
Glenn: Oh.
Megan: Enough with the ohs.
Charlie: Enough to make you come up with this scene now.
Megan: Um, no, but it is very funny that you all end up with guns at the uh, at the end. but-but, uh, at least Charlie and Dee I think end up with guns and Frank's always got one and--
Glenn: Yeah, it's great that it's like-- it's kind of like oh, “that was, that was close.”
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: That was a close call.
Charlie: Yeah. And then we ran that horse down.
Megan: Yeah.
Rob: Yeah, Broad Street.
Glenn: Yeah, what was that?
Megan: Talk about that.
Glenn: What was it? What street?
Rob: Broad Street.
Glenn: What street was it?
Charlie: Broad Street.
Glenn: Broad Street, right? Yeah.
Rob: 'Cause it's either Broad Street. It might have been Market, actually. It may have been Market Street.
Charlie: I think it was Market.
Glenn: Market. I think it was Market.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: It was Market.
Charlie: I think it was-- I seem to remember it was Market Street.
Glenn: It was Market Street.
Megan: Did you get to lock off the street for that? Did you get to shut down the street?
Glenn: Yes.
Charlie: Yeah. It was like-
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: -the biggest thing we'd done at the time, which was like, we shut down a big sort of street and we ran a horse down it. And--
Glenn: What a waste of money. God.
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: It's funny though.
Rob: We barely used it in the episode.
Charlie: Good shot. Got Cricket in it, you know? Yeah. It's a tag. It's a tag, which we don't usually do tags.
Glenn: Exactly. Was it mea-- It wasn't meant to be. Like, we wouldn't have put aside all that money and time, and effort to just shoot a tag. That must have been something that we decided in post, right? Like just the, well, I mean, how else would it have played? I think we-we knew it was gonna be a tag, didn't we?
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: Good for us. Good for us.
Charlie: Yeah.
*AD BREAK 43:10*
Guys.
Glenn: Mm. Yeah.
Charlie: Guess what?
Glenn: What?
Rob: Yeah.
Charlie: We-- We're gonna do a second advertisement, you know, because everyone loves them so much, so we're gonna do another.
Rob: They do. Oh, okay.
Charlie: Yeah.
Rob: All right. Well ladies and gentle creeps, we are supported by Athletic Greens.
Glenn: Yeah. The makers of AG1 Green Powder, a product you all know I use literally every single day. I started taking AG1 because I didn't wanna waste time rounding up dozens and dozens of vitamins on the daily. Okay? I wanted it all in one simple silver bullet of a supplement.
Rob: Correct. And with one delicious scoop of AG1, you're getting 75 high-quality vitamins, minerals, whole foods source, superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens.
Charlie: It's lifestyle and diet-friendly whether you eat animals, plants, or rocks. It's certified keto, paleo, vegan, dairy free, and gluten-free.
Rob: It's also GMO-free. It doesn't have any nasty chemicals or seven-syllable compounds from a lab. And there's less than one gram of sugar. There's legitimately more sugar in a lemon than in a serving of AG1.
Glenn: Uh-huh. Yeah. Can I tell you guys something?
Rob: Hmm.
Charlie: Mm.
Glenn: I like AG1 so much that I brought it all the way to Canada.
Rob: Oh.
Charlie: Wow.
Rob: That's dedication, bro.
Glenn: This is just-- I've already had-- Yeah. I've already had mine today, by the way. That's why it's-it's empty. But, uh, yeah, I got it-- I brought it all the way to Canada. This guy, you know, keeping me fueled.
Rob: How are those adaptogens doing you?
Glenn: Uh, good. I've adapted for the most part to-to being here, um, you know? And-and so--
Rob: Is that-- What do you mean by that?
Charlie: So you're a member of the bottle-carrying club there? Uh, ah, are you more of a fan of the powder or the bottle?
Glenn: Yeah. No. I mean the powder itself is an absolute A plus, but the bottle's not too shabby either. I mean, you can-you can-you can creep on the size here. Look at this. It's actually perfectly proportioned to the amount of AG1 that you need each day. And it's-it's smaller than most shake bottles so you can easily stow it or fly with it between countries. You know?
Charlie: So that sounds like the ultimate travel companion. Is that- is that what we're saying here?
Glenn: Well, um, I'll tell you what, it does work to support better sleep quality and recovery, which honestly is a-a paramount when you're out of town or changing time zones.
Rob: We can't say paramount, Glenn, because our show's on Disney, so--
All: Cut that, cut that, cut that, cut that.
Rob: To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a free one-year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/sunny.
Charlie: Again, that is athleticgreens.com/sunny to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance.
*AD BREAK OVER 45:50*
Megan: Peter Nincompoop. How'd you come up with that name?
Glenn: Peter Nincompoop.
Rob: Peter Nincompoop.
Glenn: What a funny word Nincompoop is.
Rob: I remember that.
Megan: Yeah.
Rob: When I moved to Los Angeles, um, I-I moved into an apartment in the valley. And when we moved in, there was a refrigerator there and the pe-- the-the previous tenants had left. They-they-they didn't take all of their possessions with them [chuckles] and the landlord didn't even bother to take it out. And on the refrigerator, there was a drawing of a horse um, by a child with a magnet on it. And-and it was-- And all it said was, “Synchro Scaly Face” was the name of the horse. And I remember thinking “That is bizarre. What's the story behind this?” It's a child who came up with the name and then spelled out Synchro Scaly Face. And, um, I remember being in the writer's room and pitching that as-as the name of the horse and everybody was very confused.
Glenn: [laughs]
Rob: But then recognized that coming up with a funny name for it would work and somebody threw out Peter, and then we added Nincompoop. And that was it.
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: It's better than Synchro Scaly Face, for sure.
Rob: Absolutely. Why–Exactly.
Charlie: Are you sure it wasn't a picture of a dragon? Was it a dragon?
Rob: Why was the horse-- Why did the horse have scales? I don't know. Maybe it was an alligator.
Charlie: It was sick, for sure.
Glenn: Was this David-- David Cronenberg's kid? You know what I mean? Was it David Cronenberg living in that apartment for a short period of time in LA?
Charlie: Synchro Scaly Face.
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: It just seems like something he would come up with. I don't know.
Charlie: Yeah.
Glenn: Nincompoop. I tried to look up the origins of that word, um-
Charlie: Hmm.
Glenn: -last night cause I was like, where the hell did that word come from? It's unclear.
Rob: Hmm.
Glenn: Unclear. Uh, a couple of explanations as to where the i part comes from, but where the poop comes in. I have no idea.
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: And so I think it's just- I think it's just uh, absolute gibberish, but it's-it's-it's lovely. Um--
Charlie: It's good gibberish.
Glenn: It's good gib-gibberish. Yeah. Cocaine.
Rob: Maybe we should do a-- I was thinking of-of episode ideas. Maybe we could discuss them now and-and-and the-the creeps, the listeners could-could weigh in on-onwhich ones they might wanna see. Um--
Glenn: Well, you've got some ideas? Are you gonna pitch?
Rob: Definitely. I mean if you're ever gonna do-- I was gonna pitch a couple of ideas to you. What do you think? Uh.
Glenn: Yeah. Let's do it.
Charlie: Yeah. Go.
Rob: You don't-- You don't even want to hear-hear the idea? Oh, okay.
Charlie: I sure do. What you got?
Rob: Um, sure. So, well we've been talking about having Mr. David Hornsby in-- on the show and maybe finding the best episode, but I know the Crickets- the Crickets tale isn't for so long and David's been a huge part of--
Megan: Oh, these are pitches for podcast episodes. I thought you were doing Sunny.
Rob: Yes.
Megan: Oh, I thought you were doing Sunny.
Glenn: Oh.
Rob: No, no. Podcast episodes.
Glenn: Oh.
Charlie: I thought you were talking about Sunny episodes too.
Megan: Okay.
Rob: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Megan: Podcast episodes.
Glenn: It's okay.
Rob: My mind's all about the podcast right now.
Megan: Okay.
Glenn: That's great.
Rob: So if we did a David Hornsby episode, it might be fun to-to-to cut together a Cricket's greatest hits.
Megan: That's what we're doing.
Rob: And we could watch. Oh, you're already doing that? [scoffs]
Megan: Yes.
Rob: Megan's already-- Megan's already ahead.
Charlie: Wow.
Megan: Well, as soon as I get access to 15 seasons of high-def versions of the episodes which-
Rob: Great.
Megan: -I'm working on now, but yeah we're trying to do that.
Rob: Great. And maybe-maybe we could do a watch party with David and talk about each. Okay. Meg's already got mix audio. We-- We're in sync. I was thinking it might be fun. I launched um, as you guys are aware, I launched a, uh, a-a-a tech entertainment company today and I- and I-I tweeted it out and it's just getting a-a lot of expected hate, and it's really-it's really kind of fun. And it made me think, man, we've gotten a lot of-- we've gotten- we've gotten hate over the-over the years. We've got our trolls. Wouldn't it be fun to maybe, I don't know if like, just reading the tweets is that fun, but taking calls of criticism? The idea of opening up the lines and letting people call in.
Glenn: That's great. I love it. I love that.
Rob: Yeah. Call in and-and tell us directly, like, what's-- what are we doing wrong?
Glenn: Really let us have it. Yeah.
Rob: Yeah. Really let us have it. And they have-- and it-- they think--
Megan: Besides hiring women?
Rob: Oh, hiring women. I wanna hear about somebody getting very upset about hiring women.
Glenn: We got badgered into it.
Charlie: They don't like it.
Rob: They don't like it.
Glenn: We got badgered into it.
Charlie: So you-you're saying have a platform for people to air their grievances?
Rob: Yes. But directly to us, at us, and for us.
Megan: We can do that.
Glenn: Sure.
Rob: For-for me personally, I have no boundaries if they want to get as personal as possible they can. I feel comfortable engaging in those conversations.
Glenn: I think- I think that'd be fucking amazing.
Charlie: Sure
Megan: Cut down
Charlie: Yeah, bring it.
Rob: Yes.
Rob: What are we doing wrong?
Glenn: Yeah.
Rob: Megan and I had a version of this before that we had talked about-about actually a whole podcast that revolved around it. But bringing on various creators and having people call in and talk about how they hate-hated their shows or if they love their shows where they went off the rails. I think that's what I'd be most interested in. Megan and I may have made a pilot of this. We called it Thanks for Engaging, and it was with Damon Lindelof and it was fucking amazing. It was amazing. She tracked down- she and Maro tracked down-- this was like a year ago. Track down people who just absolutely hated-- like, loved Lost but hated the ending, or just hated Watchman and they just hammered him and they did the same for us, for me for Sunny, but it didn't have the same sting. And it ultimately just wound up being–
Megan: Yeah.
Glenn: Well–
Charlie: I love the way any show ends, like when a show ends, it's naturally unsatisfying, right? Because-
Glenn: Yeah, you're mad.
Charlie: You're mad.
Megan: Yeah, like The Sopranos people hated that ending.
Charlie: And Seinfeld people hated it.
Megan: Yeah.
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: Yes. I see. I think people liked the ending of The Shield. I think people enjoyed that, the way that worked out.
Rob: That was a great ending. I mean, but Breaking Bad is a great example of a show that ended really well. But-but, still, you're left with almost nothing to talk about. And in a way, The Sopranos for as unsatisfying as it is, continues to live on because you can-
Megan: Mm-hmm.
Rob: -talk about what your idea of what happened, in the end, is that that's just an interesting concept that pisses people off.
Glenn: I like that ending.
Charlie: I think also like some shows are really built and designed to have a beginning, middle, and end. Right?
Megan: Mm-hmm.
Charlie: Like, versus like an episodic show like ours, it's a different thing than like a movie where it really has like three acts, right? Like it's-
Rob: Well, Breaking Bad, you're seeing.
Charlie: -we're just chucking out a different episode every week.
Rob: Totally. Like you don't see in The Sopranos the first episode isn't him becoming Tony Soprano, he just is Tony Soprano who's going about his day. Whereas Breaking Bad, you watch as he becomes, Walter White goes from a teacher to Scarface, basically and that's what you're watching. So there is a natural end point.
Charlie: And what'd they do? Five seasons of that?
Rob: Something like that, five or six?
Glenn: Six.
Charlie: Six.
Glenn: Breaking Bad, you mean?
Rob: Yeah.
Glenn: Yeah.
Megan: Yeah, but if it's like a mystery show, then you solve the mystery and then you're done. But, yes, Sunny is especially gonna be hard for you guys to end because there's not even that much that rolls from episode to episode. So it's not really building to anything like in a way that, like even Breaking Brad, Breaking Bad. That's the MythQuest episode.
Glenn: Somebody's definitely gonna make a show called Breaking Brad.
Megan: [laughs]
Glenn: And it's gonna suck.
Rob: Glenn, we've- Glenn, we've already done-- [laughs]
Megan: We made it an episode of Mythic Quest.
Rob: We have a show called Mr. Quest.
Megan: Mr. Quest. Mr. Quest.
[crosstalk]
Rob: There's an episode called Braking Brad.
Megan: Um, let's not talk about that show.
Rob: It didn't suck, but I'll send it to you. I'll let you- I'll send you a link.
Glenn: No, it's all right.
Rob: [laughs]
Megan: Um, but the criticism- the criticism call in the episode, we should definitely do that. We can have that happen.
Rob: Yeah.
Megan: People call in, yell at you guys about stuff.
Rob: Yeah. And it could be about anything. It should be about- it should be about Sunny because that's what the podcast is, but I don't know, come-come at us. It could be fun.
Glenn: Let's do it. Gloves are off, baby.
Charlie: I wonder if, when you do that, if people sort of like quickly drum up a sort of fake thing versus like getting someone who really has something to say, to be like, "I really loved when you did this and you stopped doing this, and why did you do it?" Versus someone who's like, "Okay, I gotta think of something to criticize." And then just like coming up with the--
Glenn: So we just hang up on those people immediately. Just hang up on those people immediately.
Rob: There was a curation process that went into it that worked pretty well that Megan and Mara found really great people. They were able to but, but, to allow for that not to happen.
Megan: My favorite was that I found some tweets that people had tweeted about like Sunny. And one of my favorite one was, "Is the dick really worth the three hours of Always Sunny he makes you watch afterwards?
[laughter]
Glenn: The answer is yes.
Megan: [laughs]
Rob: Yeah.
Megan: Which is pretty good.
Rob: She was really not into the show at all, but she was into the dick. But there was a guy, the guy that we talked to was from-
Megan: Ireland.
Rob: -he was Irish, and he was calling from Ireland. He's a massive Sunny fan.
Megan: He pitched an end. Did you remember that?
Rob: Yeah, but he was- he was begging us to stop. Begging us to stop.
Megan: Yeah.
Rob: He said we ruined the show a long time ago. Stop making it. We've-we've peaked. We've-we've- not only have we begun to peak, we peaked. It's over. Please stop. Just please stop. And it was really funny.
Charlie: But that's such a funny thing. It's like, well, you have- sir, you have- you have total control over that.
Megan: [laughs]
Charlie: Go ahead and don't-don't watch. The show can end-
Rob: Yes.
Charlie: -right now for you. Like, just stop watching.
Rob: He believes that we were, we're ruining the legacy of the show by continuing to exist.
Charlie: [laughs]
Rob: Which I thought was a great point of view. He had great points. He wasn't-
Glenn: Yeah, I-I--
Rob: -wrong from his point of view.
Megan: He pitched an end that wasn't terrible. Like remember that?
Rob: That-that's true.
Megan: He-He pitched an end.
Rob: Yeah.
Megan: We were like, okay, well--
Charlie: Do you remember what it was?
Megan: Yeah.
Rob: Don't say it though, Meg, because we might use it.
[laughter]
Rob: But we're never got to end this show.
Megan: Yeah.
Charlie: [laughs]
Glenn: Not officially.
[End Credits]