Hi. I'm Vanessa Beyor and this is my brother Jonah. We're two siblings who love to talk about our childhood and nostalgia and how it shaped us into the people we are today, who are pretty into layering during the winter months, if I do say so myself. Welcome to how did we get weird? So, Jonah, I was thinking about our guests today, and I was thinking about when we first met. Now, I know this has less to do with you and me and more to do with me and our guest, but I still wanted to talk about it. Okay, So just give me a break. Yeah, yeah, go ahead, get into it, Okay. Well, I'm so excited about today's guest, and the way that I first met him was I was doing improv in Chicago. I was, you know, out of college for a few years doing improv in Chicago. And then all of a sudden, and I'm with all these Chicago improvisers. Don't we think we're funny? And then all of a sudden, this group of Detroit improvisers moves to Chicago and they are so much funnier than us. It's true. Our guest is kind of acting like, oh, that's true, and you know it. It includes our guests today. Tim Robinson was another one of the Detroit people. I mean, these people, they're just so much funnier than us in like such a real way. And then I one summer got to do a show in Detroit, which I guess must have been after that, and I was like, whether they're in Chicago or Detroit, they're so much funnier than us. By the way, this is not meant to I think Chicago improvisers are so funny that Detroit improvisers are money. So Vanessa, what was funnier about it? Was it like a different like longer form for shuter form, or different sensibility or what made it funnier to you? They scifically as people were better at comedy than that. They were just funnier humans. Yes, okay, So I think the first thing we should do after we introduce our guests today is asked, why yeah, well, why don't you introduce him? And then we can ask ourselves right now? That sounds great. Jonah, our guest today, is an actor, comedian, writer, producer. You may know him from playing Richard Split on the HBO political comedy series Veep, co creating and starring in the comedy series Detroitters with Tim Robinson. What about starring the Apple TV series The After Party, or how about this? How about when he was nominated for a Primetime Enemy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor at Comedy Series for his performance in Test Lasso. Folks, you know him from that, but I know him from our days of improvising together in Chicago. Please welcome Sam Richardson, you know, thank you very much. I don't know where, well, yeah, now I think truly Detroit improvisers. Like in Chicago, I feel everybody knows what improv is. So like when you're performing improv show, everybody's like on board immediately, and in Detroit that's not the case. So you have to like just like learn to become real good, real fast, because that's the only way it works. So like, as a whole bunch of people who were like what is this and you're like, trust me, and then you know, so like we all like trained like hyperbolic chamber of no laughs for a long time and then you like squeeze blood from a stone. That's my theory. Yes, I feel like Tim has told me a similar thing, which is that like, yeah, we were performing at like second City in Io, these places where it's like everyone's kind of there to have fun, whereas you guys were often well you had a second city there, but you was the So the second city was first was in Detroit City proper, and it was in the Hockeytown cast f and I was like right across the street from America Park and like it's a right like downtown and that that was like where it started. I was there for like ten like a little less than ten years, and so there it was like, oh, it's like cool, small black box theater of a second city where you know you're in here, you're in our rules, and it's like it's fun and funny. You can really come out in the city and all that stuff. Then it closed down and then reopened in Nova, which is a suburb, which is where I did a summer doing Jusical the musical and Nova. That's right, yes, And Nova was like a very very much the suburbs. And they were right above and i Amo restaurants, the Italian restaurant, and it's a club next door. And anybody who came out there, they didn't care. You know. It's like a big open space, which is not great for a small comedy and wasn't there another place that you guys kind of would perform it a lot where you really had to prove Like So then there was also Planet Ant Theater, which pain was like a the audience was like on board for in that space because it was like very like very experimental like there, and so like it was that plus comedy, like so you know, as we get to like write our first shows and everything and like sort of get a feel for what our comedic voices were. Like really really it was planned ant that like let us find out who are what our comedic voices are, and then Second City let us polish them in front of like paying like a full proper paying audience. Yeah, and here we are in Chicago in these like really nice big theaters where everyone knows that improvin everyone. People. People have flown to Chicago to you, right, They're like, I can't wait, Sam, I don't know if you know this. I've done a little improv of myself. It's not really a big deal. I haven't been nominated for an Emmy or Primetime Emmy, but you know, I had an experience where I took some improv classes at UCB yeah, I took one. My first class ever was a very long time with Anthony Amini was great, and then I took a second one. It was very strange because we had our class show. We got a lot of laughs, and our teacher was upset that we didn't follow the game. We weren't playing the Dell close thing, and it was so weird because I was like, Okay, this is a comedy show, but they were so focused on the Dell close thing that like our our teacher was actually was kind of annoyed with us. And then I kind of never did it again because I was like, this is isn't it kind of supposed to make people laugh too? Like did you have that kind of experience or was it more kind of free form for you? I mean I get the idea of like, oh, we want you to know the rules before you break the rules, Like sure, sure of course that, but like also I feel like what happens so much and I'm not doubting any of the theaters or anything like that, or at least I'm subtenly doing that because like it's like it becomes so much about like the form of it, and then everybody just kind of like plugs themselves into it. But like the whole point of the form is just to like make somebody forget to to like just make somebody losing like kind of not worry about it. But if you're not worried about it and you're doing it, then you don't need the form, right, you know what I mean, as long as it works. But like the whole idea of like these like structures and all that, it's just to put some bones. You put meat on the bones, and you can just kind of get in there and like be playful without have to worry about like how the structure of it works, because the structure is already established. But again, like if you don't need that, it's a crutch, you know, yea yeah yeah. And Detroit, we didn't really like nail forms and everything, and then somebody be able to would like come back from a trip from Chicago or like just we've got to do uh you know what I mean, We've got to do this form, and we're like yeah, sure, now we're just gonna I'm just gonna come in as a waiter and and then like listen and respond and like I'm gonna fall down a bunch and that's gonna work. I also think in Chicago it was well, depending on like what improv team you're on or whatever, it was such a like big deal to like follow the structure. And again I had the best time in Chicago, and I learned so much in it. You know, got me you know, to where I am now and everything. But just thinking about some stuff would be like I'll take a suggestion and it would be like we would pretty much really do harolds, which is like to the listener who's not super familiar with improv, it's like a structure of like an improv show that's like you get a suggestion and then you do you do like a loose like like a bunch of like word finding, like some sort of open game to start out, or like some exercise just walking around. Like if the suggestion is water, you're like, oh, ducks ponds, like walking around scuba diving. But while you're saying that, you have to be like pulling it from the air and doing really embarrassing stuff exactly exactly like yeah, a duck is in water the waves, and then like by the end of it, everyone's going like tear dropped, tear drop drop drop, drop drop drop drop the base, and then you're in a club and the and then you do like three scenes. Oh my god, I don't know how we did it because it's like it seems so hard not to do it, and like so and then you do three scenes that are like kind of loosely based on that, and like it'll be like coming out and being like and then like sometimes no one's going out and you just have to go out and be like, hey Joe, big day at the office today, And that's your improft skills have only gotten sharper with with times. But I'll tell you what that is the reality of what it was like the initiation, be like, hey Joe the office, it's Greg's birthday, isn't it? Like I forgot to get the cake for Greg's birthday. We have to bake a cake right now. Oh that's right, let's bake it right now in the office. Okay, okay, okay. We've got to sink. We've got got a microwave. Microwave, I've got some flower in the kitchen and all I guess we'll flavor it with these onions. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. If you're lucky, don't worry because you go, oh, the scene's over. That stinks. Absolutely not, We're going to come back to it in the second act. So then need three scenes that are like that kind of unrelated, or they can be on the same theme exactly, or they can be exactly. So moving forward in time a little bit like after the oh the cake didn't go well or he got sick, and then that's then you're doing that for another five minutes. Yeah, now between that, so you do three scenes in a row, and then there's another game where you go like you would maybe want to pick up on what was the suggestion It was duck water and then duck was when it came from right right water. So then the next thing, maybe someone goes on stage and goes glug glug glug, glug glug, and then people start like harmonizing with it, and everybody's doing the idea of being it's a real palate cleanser, because right, that's right, that's right, it's supposed to be a palate. And then you come back to the three seats and yeah, like you said, Sam, like when you get to that scene about the cake in the office, then it's like Joe's like, hmm, this cake looks really good, and then he tries it and he's like, guys, guys, you know I'm allergic to onions, right, And they go oh shit, And then it's like, then, why did you eat the cake? And he goes, I didn't think onions would be in a cake. Everyone last, someone runs across the state because that's the end of the scene. That's how you edit. Someone has to run across the stage, which is awesome. It's also really hard to be that person I've always found who edits the scene because it's like you're basically like, also, you can't let people sit out there and improvise for too long because then they look stupid. But it's hard because you have to run as yeah, exactly, you have to do this like light jog across the stage to show the audience and the players all right, and that's it. It's a white that's so that's the end of that scene. And he doesn't look extremely cool doing a light jog. Then three scenes again, then you do another game, which is like the last game for this one. Sometimes it would be like somebody would like initiate that you're at a water talk show and everybody would be like a guest on that thing sometimes yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, totally, totally. Everybody's included because like you you typically you have like, oh, so with all these things, they're doing three different scenes per act. Let's say it's a three act thing. So like, so we will do our office, even somebody else is doing you know, a mother daughter scene, going to you know, a park, and somebody else is doing a scene in a womb, right exactly, Yeah, you know that sort of third act, a pre third act sort of group thing is just includes everybody another palate claims and maybe incorporates like little bits and things from what you've done, or it just like doesn't at all. And you know that's a good idea. So you're saying, like maybe the third game is like an underwater or like an aquatic talk show where like the characters from the other scenes in the show come on. Well I wouldn't because a third act usually has everybody and then they like sometimes like we've in between right right right, yes, man, just me my whole life same here. I feel like our listeners are getting just a masterclass in improv. Well yeah, honestly, that's really like if you were going to move to Chicago or Detroit and learn improv. You don't have to. We just saved you five years of grind. Yeah. Yeah, that's what it is. Just practice that you know, and you're some comfortable space in your home, exactly enough space to be able to lie out. Two people can lie head to toe, head to toe and you know, I mean, I have space and that's about as much as as you need in a back line, and then you're ready to go. Okay, we've really set some people up here now before we go to our first commercial break, can I just bring up one other thing that happens, which is that a couple of improv teams might do heralds. And then there's this thing called the dream. I'm so sorry, Sam, oh my god. The dream is this thing where you pick an audience member, you single them out, you bring them on stage, and you tell us about your day and they're like, uh had By the way, it seems like I feel like I'm shooting on Chicago Improv and I actually we love it, and I don't. That's not what I mean this. I just I'm looking back lovingly, think back lovingly. Okay, someone's like on stage, Okay, so Jonah like imagine we would like bring you up on stage. Okay, Jonah, we're going to do it to you now, Jonah. Well, I guess it's morning, so you haven't had a full day. Tell us about your day yesterday. You don't really have to. I won't take a long time with this, but okay, like, what did you have for breakfast? Woke up? I had some cereal for breakfast, took my dog for a walk, came home, did some work, and then and what do you do for work? Sir? Yeah, exactly what is it you do for work? And the other person will come I'm like kind of okay, and what it wants to get on stage? So like I think of a question. I got to think of a bustion for this guy. Okay, Sam, I'm a therapist. Oh wow, wow, that's really cool. Okay, someone who does improve all day. That's really cool. Okay, sorry, just kidding, interest saying cool? Cool? And Okay, So you went to your job, did you see clients or is there anyone you work with that, you know what I mean, who annoys you or that you really like? Just a regular day? And then I came home and then I played with my dogs some more, played with your Did you eat dinner? I did eat dinner? Yes, okay. What are your dog's names? A dog's name is Lupin? Okay, dog's lupin okay, like the flower? Okay, okay, got it, like the flower? Okay. And then you had dinner? What did you have for dinner? I had mashed potatoes. Okay, you had mashed potatoes. And then did you watch any TV or anything like that? I watched the news. You watched the news while I ate mashed potatoes. Okay, all right, well, thank you very much. You know what, this is your dream? Okay, so then we do Jonah's dream. Oh yeah, go ahead to me is wow? Okay, wait what did you have for breakfast? Cereal? Time for cereal? Our loop in loopin? Please be quiet. I have to go to work. Walk walk walk walk walk to work. I'm having so many problems today, Jonah. It's just like the week has been so weird and like just I'm having problems with my mother and my father. Well, here's what you should do. You should talk to them. M that's a good idea. Okay, work work, work, and then everyone at stages work work work, work, work work. Well, it's time to go home, walk walk, walk block block clock a wop in, Okay, I'll take you for a walk, walking, walking, walking, Okay. Finally I'm to have dinner. What should I have? I'd come out and I'd be the fridge of like empty empty empty empty, mashed potatoes empty empty empty empty. And then I go, I guess I have one choice. And then everyone's stage goes mash and then I go, well, I guess I'll turn on Did you say you watch TV? You're not supposed to, Well, it's time to turn on the TV. And then someone who hasn't got the last stage chance to do something. And in the news tonight, a lot of things happening in the world, and that's the news. And then I go, okay, now I'll go to sleep, Sleep, Sleep, sleep, Sleep. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Jonah's dream last in Chicago. The audience laughs, and the audience laughs laughs laughs. Maybe some other places, yes, you know, maybe some here too. That was incredible. Yeah, I guess, so that was your exact dream last night. Okay, And with that, we're gonna take a quick commercial break and we'll be right back with Sam Richardson. And we're back from Commercial Break Back from Commercial Break, Sam had a good question for you. You know, Vanessa did the Second City touring company, did some cruise ships stuff? Did you do any kind of touring stuff when you were kind of cutting your teeth in the biziness? I did performing the Second cit Detroit. Then I worked in the cruise ship. Actually that is where I first met you, Vanessa, because you were on the ship with Brett and Chris, and we met in Miami for like timeout, like a day, and then I moved to Chicago. After that. I was on the ship for a year. Okay, you're on a ship for a year and did two contracts he did five months, and then home for a month in five more months than moved. Okay, okay, okay, okay. So we actually met on a cruise ship for a day in my because the way that probably were docked in Miami exactly, so like were at I can't remember where, but one of my oldest and best friends, Brett Ganell, was in your cast, so I went to meet up with him, and then I was introduced to you and Chris Wotowski and Brett Lions Lions right, and who was your Molly Durand and our music. Um, that's tall guy. Yeah, he was very talented, and I truly can't believe I'm blanking on his name. It wasn't johny Wartowski, was it. No, it wasn't John Edwardowski. But I worked with him when I did jusical The musical Vanessa. You have a poster of the cold cast of this ship somewhere, Well, there was one in our grandparents grandparents apartment and in our parents house. The laminated poster of that cast and musical director who's name we're blankie on, was in my parents has my grandparents department. So yeah, So Sam, you did a five month contract. You said this is pretty cool, I'm going to do it again. Did you think like this could just be my thing? Or you after a year you were ready to move on? Well, I went to the ships because I was trying to move out to Chicago to do Second City where actually, really I want to go to Vegas because like, that's gonna be the coolest job, because there was a second city in Vegas then, right there was there was for me. I was like twenty one, and I was like, this could be the best job one year old could have. Is like to live in Vegas and like working you know, as an adult. I'm like, now, I'm like that would have been the death of me, and like, but I really wanted to do Second City Vegas, you know, because like, oh, they do have Second City main stage in Chicago. That's lofty, but Vegas is like accessible. I want to do that. Of course I want to tour. So I went to work on the cruise ship and while it's in the first cruise ship, Second City Detroit closed. So then I was gonna move to l A. But I was like, all right, well, I'll just do another cruise ship to kind of figure out what I'm gonna do. In the meantime, I was just like working a cruise ship. The cruise ship, then they hired me to the touring company. So I moved to Chicago toward for two years and then got hired to the main stage and then did two years in the main stage before I moved up to l A. And that's my Chicago life. Yeah, and Vanessa, you understudy my touring company Greenco. And we had the best time because you think you came into Lily for like a week on a tour and that's why I was like, oh my God, Venus is the funniest and the absolute best, because I feel like that was so funny. Was I stealing stuff left and right on that? Because I love free stuff? That's all this soap, It's so free. There were always a lot of extra bottles of water that I'm like, no one's going to take these exactly, just like let me sit here. M wasn't waste. Wait, your ship was also docking in Miami. Was it your first cruise ship or your second cruise ship? Was my first cruise ship? Yeah? It was the Norwegian Pearl. Oh great, I remember the Pearl. I remember the Okay, so we met on the cruise ships first. Okay, I thought we met in Chicago first. I got that wrong. Unless I met you when we were like auditioning. But I'm pretty sure it was introduced me to you. I bet, I bet that makes sense. That makes sense. Yeah, yeah, such funny Detroit guys. Look at us now here we are my own recording studio here. Yeah. For listeners who didn't hear, I thought that Sam was in a recording studio, but he said, he's just in a room that has a lot of stuff, glad a junk toys on the wall. Actually it really looks cool to me. I'm sitting on the floor of my guest bedroom. Go ahead, JOHNA. I was going to say, you know, Sam, speaking of toys, here comes a seamless transition. We reached out to you about topics. You picked a great one, which is action path television shows like Power Rangers, ThunderCats, Ninja Turtles, and I'm just curious, like, why did you kind of pick this topic. Were you really into these shows growing up? Do you still watch them? What's behind that for you? I was obsessed with these things. They really did like they were my whole life, like you know, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, like when you like when you asked the question, I was like, oh, what off things? And like it took me a second because I'm still really into these things. So it's like, well, something that shape my childhood. As I sit on like a Ninja Turtles chair and then and look at my wall of Power Rangers, and I was like, well, I was like trying to think like other stuff. I was like, well, but no, these things truly are what like shaped me and I was like so obsessed with them as a kid. I lived in Ghana for a while you know, back and forth. But like in first grade and second grade I lived in Ghana, I would have like all these tapes of stuff, and like the tapes would be of you know, Ninja Turtles or like you know movies, but like a lot like g I. Joe and like he Man and ThunderCats and so like I would just watch these on repeat. And like now I have like a said encyclopediccknowledge, like you has to be coaching about ThunderCats, I can tell you anything about it. I was a Thundercat for Halloween. I was lying over Halloween, like a few years ago, I was skeletor this past Halloween. You know. I got into martial arts because of Ninja Turtles, you know. So yeah, that's why I picked it. Because it's even still I'm I'm like, actually they are legit good movies, and I agree. I agree with myself. Sam. I was in a punk band in college for a few years and we're called Mamra the Ever Living. That's incredible. Now to people who aren't super familiar with ThunderCats, can you explain that name? Yes, So, the ThunderCats were this humanoid cat people from this planet called Thundera and their world is being destroyed, so they left their planet and landed on this place called Third Earth. So then they were trying to make a new world there on third there were about seven ThunderCats who were like the last surviving members of Thundera like by Lionel with the Sword of Omens, which was the like sort of symbol of the ThunderCats, but it was like this power magical power sword that held the Eye of Thundera, which was the a like a magic jewel that was the source of the ThunderCats powers essentially, and so the ThunderCats essentially the ThunderCats like being the name I'm assuming comes from like dinosaurs being thunder lizards, but these are ThunderCats, got it. But they weren't huge. They were like human size but like very strong humans, like very big humans, but they were like hed cat features, right, okay, okay, Well I was actually asking about the name Mamra, but I didn't. But mum Raw was like a mummy. He was like a mummy sorcerer, evil sorcerer. So he's mum Robb. Then he like turned into like a big version of Memra, who was like very muscular, but he was very like Egyptian themed, so he had like snakes and like he was, Yeah, that's mum raw and Rob being the god of the Egyptian sun God. It's never like pointed out in the show because that's not really what he is. But I think it's just something that sounded very you know, and they're like, what's his name? Mummy? I ra like, mum Rod is good, cool name. Johnny, you guys used it in your No one knew what really what it was. I feel like very few people got that reference. And this is probably early two thousand's. Yeah, I've been over interesting that you picked the villain. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how that happened. I don't remember the ancient spirits of Evil that was what you say, say Ancient spirits of Evil transformed this decade form to Mum Rob the ever Living and they turned like huge. So you watched these shows a lot growing up. When did you move to the US or back to US? So I moved back after second grade, so I was there for first and second grade, So that would have been when I came back to THEE is when I like moved back to the States, back to Detroit, and like you know this whole time. I've just been watching and watching, watching, and like that's a round. Then. Is also like when Power Rangers came out, Yeah, and it was like aimed right at my chest because like I was how how would I have been? I would have been like eight seven or eight years old? Yeah, and uh, I just you see that these remember that the toy commercials and then the Fox. Like I was watching Fox and like the commercial for Power Rangers came out and I was blown away. I was like what is this how? And like the idea they were teenagers was like so cool because I was like, oh man, I'm gonna be exactly like that, and I'm gonna have powers and I'm gonna be a bit morphin transformed. It's gonna be morphin time never happened for me. So you were at the perfect age for that. I never thought about them as being Did they fight a lot Power Rangers? Yeah? Oh yeah. They would fight the Putties first, like so the Tears. So the Power Rangers ideas like Rita Repulsa is released from her prison on the Moon after ten thousand years ago, putting this tomb eyes sord On on the moon, and then like there's a mission to the moon that the US takes or whatever the world takes. And then they find this this thing and they take the top off of it, and it releases Rita and her evil forces. And so Zordon finds five young people teenagers with attitude, and brings them to the command center and gives them these power coins that then turn them into the Power Rangers, and so then they can transform and they can protect the earth from the evil forces of Rita. And so they would fight the putties, which were her like goons that were made of clay. They'd fight them, but then like they would make monsters out of clay who would be like Pudgy Pig or Madam Woe or you know what I mean, nasty Night, and they would fight them first with their blade blasters, then use their power weapons. If that didn't work, then they would she would make them huge, you know, building size, So then they would call their power swords, which were these like robot dinosaurs, and then they'd come out. And then the robot dinosaurs didn't do it, then they could combine the robot dinosaurs and make the Megasaurd, which would then fight the giant monster with his power sword, which came from the sky and would always win the day of course, of course, And what do you think you loved so much about that show and that show in particular, but also all of these kind of action packed, sort of magical adventure shows. Huh, I've never thought about it. So I had gotten into martial arts cotton Ninja Turtles. So, like, Jonah, did you get into martial arts because of Ninja Turtle? I did take taekwondo classes around that age. I don't know directly, but I'm sure it was influenced, probably by my favorite ninja turtle, Donna Tello, Yes, down, tell her from the movie is my favorite as my favorite ninja turtle, but usually Leonardo's is my favorite period. Got it. I find like I'm most like the two of him. However, like I feel like as a person, I'm a little bit of all four of them in some way, you know what I mean? All four of them make one sam but like same here because I love pizza, you know what I mean. That's the main thing. I'm a party dude, but I also do machines. Sometimes I lead, but I'm also rude. I'm cool but rude. Which one is funny? That depends. Michael Angelo is the funny one in the movies. In the cartoon, Rafael is the sarcastic, funny one. That's so weird that they switch that. Yeah, but because in the movie Rafael is the brooding you know what I mean, like upset one. So he's so his idea is like the prodigal son, Like he doesn't feel like he's knit with the group because he's teen. He's like the most teen angsty one. So like he likes it's really trying to find himself and so like he leaves the group a little bit and then that's kind of like the push pull and so with that, then you have like Michael Angelo and Donna Tello or like the sort of like comedic duo or michel Angelo is just like jokes, jokes, jokes, gas. Dona Tello sits back and he's like very like quippy. But Leonardo is like the leader and he's like a little dorky, but he's trying to like keep his brothers together. But meanwhile fight with Rafa yell because he's like I'm trying to keep us together and he's like you you know, the Boston Median. So like that's essentially the this is just a very it's a very good film. If you haven't seen it, you're talking about the original film that had the song go Ninja Ninja from two that's from Ninja Turtles too, was there an original song from the first one? And can you sing Turtle Power, Turtle Power? That's right. So it's a rap song. I can't remember the name of the guy who did it, but I remember so well because it would come out the end of the movie on the half shown anyway, the guy would the guy would rap and he would like explain the plot of the movie, you know, which is what like rap songs in those days, it was just at the end of the movie that the person would wrap a thing that would explain the whole movie that you just saw. You just said, you just saw it, you know what I mean, like and like clearly he saw it and they let him see and he was like, I'll take it on some notes and then that's what the rap would be about. It's not thematic. It's just directly Wikipedia. It was like Wikipedia before Wikipedia that synopsis of this this is incredible. So it was by this hip hop duo from New York called Partners in Crime. Crime is spelled k R y m E oh and that itself is a crime and it's an acronym for keep rhythm. You're motivating element. Oh my goodness. And you know they were like, that's it. That's that's in Crime and Turtles. We're going to take off. But my favorite thing about it, which Will also I hated, is he would explain the movie, but he get it so wrong, like he described all of them. It's like, uh, this person and raphah lale, he's the leader of the crew, and I'm like, no, he's not. He's specifically not he's not the lead. He's very much not the leader. It's like, maybe we should be listening to someone who can spell crime correctly, you know what I mean, Like it was clearly a mistake. They're like, no, actually, what it stands for. It stands for it keep rhythm and not even rhyme. Is it rhythm? Keep rhythm? You're motivating element, You're motivating element? Like, how do you even do that? Well? A couple of years ago, I was killing some time at a Walmart and they had sam and if you remember the Ninja Turtles video game, which was huge, oh and how and they had like you know how now you can buy the Arcade games. And I was playing it. I was going some time, and then like part of me was like I should buy this, and then I feel like I couldn't really do it and probably would not be good for my productivity. But that was an incredible game. Don't you think it was an incredible game. You can buy it now. They have like the little mini it's called one up games where they it's like a little mini box. That's what I was playing. Yeah, yeah, do you have it? I don't. It's like one of those things where you like I could buy it for myself. I'm like, I find a special occasion and the stays of the store. But I want one very much. I want that, and I want NBA Jam Arcade Machine. They just released maybe a little bit ago game called Revenge of the Shread or New Turtles. So it's like very throwback to the old like Arcade and Introls games, and it's like a multiplayer game. You completely friends online and you can be the four Turtles plus two mores. It can be a total six people and you're just like going through side scroll fighting. It's so much fun as like a full almost forty year old adult man playing with my other almost forty year or forty plus adult men friends or friends and like playing as Ninja Turtles and like calling out the guy who you are, and I'm Leo because I'm I'm most like him, and then we played through the levels. But it's great Ninja Turtles Revenge of the of the Shredder or Return Return Revenge of the Shredder. But if you like that original game, you'll have a blast with this because it really much is that? Okay, I'm gonna check it out for sure, Vanessa, maybe you could get it from minute what's the name of it again? You know at that time of the year, people are giving gifts Nina Turtles Revenge of the of the Shredder. It's a downloadable game probably cause like for I can play for that for myself. It's easy. You know. We did an episode last year about the Ninja Turtles and we talked about this thing that that no one really remembers, and I feel like I want to throw it out there to see if you remember it. Hostess made these Ninja Turtle custard pies. You remember those? I absolutely do, Okay, I absolutely incredible. Jonah was really into those, like I love them because I think they were they were apple, they had like green on the inside. It was supposed to be like this the slime. Yeah, Jonah, is this so nice for you? Because I feel like our guest when you brought this up, did not remember them. There's not even a lot on the internet about these, Like they're kind of kind of an obscure eighties kind of hostess promo thing. I wonder if they were bigger in the Midwest, maybe because we're from Oh maybe maybe because like, yeah, I feel like those like factory made snacks really really took hold in the Midwest. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember we had them at school, had like a little snack bar and you could buy him at school. And I remember like when they had the custard Ninja turtle ones, like the Floresca ones. That was I was all about this. I love them because that's the thing like for me, if you put Nina Trolls on anything like that, that branding and marketing worked hook line and sync around me. I was like, I got you, because the guys eat this right right right, so like I would the guys meaning the turtles being in the Ninja Turtles. Yes, the four Brothers. So you thought any food that was branded like Ninja Turtles was stuff that they actually ate. Yeah, And I was like, I mean that's what kid with it. Yeah exactly. I was like, I eat their cereal. I gotta eat the Hostes buys I'm talking about. I was all about Pizza Hut pizza because like it was, it was at the beginning of the first like VHS tape, it was commercial for Pizza Hut. I was like, well, I gotta eat Pizza Hut while I watching Turtles, and like in Detroit, Pizza Hut wouldn't deliver to my house. It was only Dominoes, So like had Dominoes and like kind of a grudgingly eat it. But I was like I'm eating this and watching the Turtles. You thought, sorry, I'm feeling I'm I'm like kind of like trolling you a seven year old child because there was a pizza before the show. Well, because they were eating pizza, so you're like, oh, it must be this pizza. It was on the VHS tape before, so like it was not the tape that you recorded it on, but like the VHS tape that you bought. Okay, that logic makes sense to me. By the way, I'm so sorry I'm questioning your seven year old logic. Now, just to go back really quickly, you were saying I was asking you about, like what you think you loved about these shows so much, and you were saying you you took martial arts because of them, But I'm just curious. Yeah, Well, it's it's like very active, and it was like a very clear sense of like justice and like right and wrong and like physically like implementing justice. You know. So as a kid, I felt very feeling spainly very appealing to me. Was like, oh, these are like these warriors of right, like this ancient justice. Like there's a very clear form of evil and like you know, the evil is very obvious, and then like these people are these these powers from elsewhere that they were because like that's the same reason why I like I like Superman. As a kid, it was like there was nothing that could happen that wasn't solvable by him, you know, yes, yeah, it was like and I love Batman, but Batman was very reactionary, like something would happen and then he'd go and he'd like figure out and beat a person who did it. But Superman would stop the thing from happening, you know, and all these shows it is like something was happening and they they go and they stop it in time, you know what I mean, before it became a problem, or it was in the middle of it become a problem, they'd stopped it, you know what I mean. It was like very active and not reactive. That appealed to me as a kid at least, but even still like that's what for the cartoons, you know, that was the thing. And like for he and also like this this duality for like he man was was great because he was like this was wimpy thing. Then he became the most powerful man in the universe when he held the sword up and then said I have a power, and like it was just like things like very powerful and very strong, you know, yeah with a little kid, like I was like a very wimpy, little skinny, little little kid. So like the idea of like being ultimately powerful totally even as a little boy, I was like, I demand power and I got that. That's incredible, that's so great. I was just gonna say, like with Power Rangers, I didn't realize that like in their off time, they're like cool teens, and there's probably also something really cool about them having all this power but also on their time off. That's kind of how I always felt when I would watch Roundhouse on Nickelodeon, do you remember, Because it would be like they'd be doing sketch comedy and playing all these like wacky characters, and then at the end they just like be wearing knee pads and roller blades and just kind of like hanging out. And I was like, then they're gonna go like they're gonna go like pizza and like have the best time because they're such cool teens, exactly, the coolest teens. Tommy and Jason are like doing martial arts in the in the youth center. You know, you know, Zach is also doing that, but he's also doing hip hop keto, and uh trenis doing taichi and Billy's like inventing something and Kimberly is doing gymnastics. Like that was like and You're like, oh, that seems the best place to hang out, and I want to be one of them and among them. And they're at the juice bar hanging out with Ernie so cool Balkan Skull or like trying to pick on them, But I don't know why Balkan Skull picked. They were trying to pick on Billy and like and I would work, but like, Billy, you are a superhero. But that's the fun part because like he's like the nerd and getting beat up, but then like he can transform and then turn into the Blue Ranger and like fight the world's greatest threats. The duality duality Do you ever watch because it seems like they remake a lot of these cartoons now, Like me were watching an old cartoon and then it's like there's like a new version like Strawberry Sharkcake or Muppet Babies, where like everything's like kind of this weird like three D D I And it's like to me, I'm like me and my wife were just saying that the old cartoons are so much better, right, There's so much but I I like I I go back because because sometimes you feel like, oh, I'm just being an old man and like, well my back in my day things. But then you know you watch and you're like, no, this was it was truly better. I mean some some of the things are stuff like like he Man like as an animated show, truly not incredile because you can see like they were like saving money. They would because they would like reuse a lot of cells and stuff like that. But but even still, like even the world they built was very cool and advanced because they mixed like Viking culture with like technology and like with sort of like these like eroticism truly, like they're all wearing like tights but also like armor and like these huge belts and like fur and they'd be like you know, or not even tights but just like thongs and then like bear legs and big boots with fur on the boots, and you're like, that's sexy. You know, they did it. They did that for us, thank you. And one of our episodes we played the new Muppet Babies song and like you know, the old ones like so iconic, and then the new ones like this woman being like love no gun like it so like, no, don't do that. That's why I'm remembering it. Jonah, You're right, that's very accurate. It was like this classic kind of do oppy thing, and then they remade it into this weird pop No was like my baby Babies, Like I was like, it was like but that wasn't like what was the modern music at that time, because that came out in the eighties, so it wasn't like of the time. So they make that poppy, you have to make that. They gotta make a disco song, what I mean, if you're gonna do the New Muppet Babies totally totally. Yeah, it sounds like they were not keeping rhythm. They're motivating thing whatever. I can't remember that motivating element. Yes, motivating call back. If I'm going to just sidestep for one second, that work backstep. So I got so into Power Rangers. Me and my friend Lamar, we would like make our own Power Rangers show because we've been through it, and we watched Power Rangers in through well passed when we should have been watching it, you know, I mean to the point where we were like, oh no, we if we were gonna become Power Rangers in real life, it would have happened now because we're the actual age right, just holding on. We had the power morphers like the toys, and we always keep them on ourselves. And the idea was like, here's the thinking. If for some reason in the universe it becomes real and a monster attacks by transitive property, our morphers should work and then we will also become Power Rangers, like we so just have it on you just in case, because you don't want to be without it. And then if it works and only one of us has it and it works, you'll be so mad. So have it and be ready. We're so obsessed with it. Did you ever feel like it was starting to work and you were like, wait a second, Oh, I think it's just gonna be the one. No, not, damn it, it's more time. And that was the closest closest been yet. That's the closest it's been. I think, like my shoes started to change, but I wasn't looking down at them, so I'm not sure. Okay, okay, okay. So I got close, got pretty close, but then I got so into it that I've discovered. The Power Rangers came from this Japanese thing called Sentai. These are Japanese action shows that for the America. What they did was they took the action parts of it, cut it and then put American actors in the off costume parts. So very so they made power You just were very cheap. In Japan. These were like huge budgeted, like big shows with like explosions and like all the fight scenes would be like humans and then people in costumes. It was like very big, it's like, but then the haim Saban took that and then made it Power Rangers, and so they and the tremendously underpaid everybody, and my very cheap I found out about it, so I got my hands on the tapes. I had my dad order the VHS tapes with Japanese with English subtitles, so sub obsessed. I watched this it's called Jew Ranger, and I knew everything about it, so I got so deep and and then like I would like know all the theme songs to the Sentai shows, so like Zoo Raw and and and like Go Go five and Die Ranger and all these things, because I was like obsessed, and like even still I'm like I just like know them, like starts trying to learn Japanese to like know how to watch these shows better and then get in the anime and all that stuff. Anyway, that's the obsession. I was obsessed. If anyone could have morphed into a Power Ranger in real time, it would have been you and your friend. I still think I will be able to do you still carry that thing. I usually had it like right there. I wish I might have put it away because if somebody was coming over to the house and I was embarrassed about it, I say, what if a force of people is trying to sabotage you and hit it, mean on one, probably pretty important to locate that thing where it gets into the wrong hands. So, as an adult, then got this limited edition Green Ranger Dragon Dagger. So I have this thing and it's a gold plated and it's like an adult version of the toy prop and the Green Ranger who was like the ultimate cool power Ranger who came in later into the season and like was like was rocking everybody's socks off, and then had the dragons or, which introduced like a new thing. He'd use this to call his dragons ord. How's this work? And like when you would do that, he would like play this like dagger as like a flute and they would call the dragons ord and then the dragons would come. It was like this big giant robot dragon that would fight alongside the mcazord. And there's a big deal when he when they both transformed into one, they became a dragon Megazord. But I had this toy and then So I got this thing as an adult. I keep on saying as an adult, and I I mean it because I am as an adult. I am an adult, I swear, But like you know, I still have like all this memorabili and stuff because bandis who makes the toys. They know that, like my generation grew up watching stuff, so that now they're like and they call it the legacy line, like and here's the legacy Morphers. So I'm like, yeah, of course I'm gonna buy it. Of course I am. There's no way. So I do have the legacy more for like the new one. And I sent my friend Lamar who lived in England. Now I was always a Blue Ranger, he was always a Black Ranger, So I sent him the Black Rangers like Morper to be like, hey, I remember this and our power coins. So we're still excited. When he got it, he was so excited because I mean it was our life, you know what I mean, Like we were obsessed because we would go, especially in the summertime. We would go like when week at his house when we can at my house, back and forth all summer. You know, I'm talking about like watching Power Rangers were watching you know, anime watching like whatever and then like coming up with our own Power Ranger shows and all that. So it was such an important part of our lives. That's sending him this thing. I was like, oh, it's just like a crystallization of what our childhood wash. And then it's on a sad note, the guy who played the Green Ranger, Jason David Frank, just passed and maybe a few weeks ago. Yeah, and like he because he took his own life, and it was really the saddest thing because like it was such an important part of me growing up. I remember like the first time he came up on there. This was just maybe a few weeks ago. And so like me and my friend Lamar hadn't talked in like a while, not not not for any reason, because he lived in England and some the time difference is hard, you know, so like just to like keep up is like a hard thing. But like we talked to each other, and it was like a really nice thing to kind of like talk and remember and reminisce on that. Like but yeah, it was nice in the in the in the face of like that really sad thing. I mean, I was just I just wait, I just hold onto the vittle more for you know, and ay the time comes, I'll be ready. All right, Well, we're going to take a quick commercial break, but we'll be right back with this in. Okay, and we're back. So Sam, now we want to play a little game with you that is called legit moan or unnecessary growing legit moan, necessary groan And basically this is inspired by a now defunct column in our local paper growing up called the Cleveland Plain Dealer, And there was a section called Monday Moaning that we used to read where every Monday the paper would print extremely petty complaints that their readers would submit. We used to find them very funny as kids, and we find them even funnier today as adults. So we picked a few for you, and we will decide whether we will individually decide whether we think they're legit moans are unnecessary groans. And again, these are all at least ten years old, but let's get to it right. So I found these this morning. First one is from Parma, Ohio. It's a short one. My moan is about people cutting grass. I don't know who's lazier, people who have their grass cut or people cutting the grass. With equipment worth ten dollars for a postage stamp sized a lot. So this person is upset saying people are lazy if I hire someone to cut their yard, but also saying people are lazy if they buy a lot of equipment to cut a small yard. Yeah, Like, I don't know what you want from these people. Yeah, I guess they think people should use like more equipment that's cut it themselves, but use more paired down equipment if they I think that's what they're saying. I think, yeah, I think. But like even the complaint is like confusing. It is because like you can't be mad at both. If you don't want to use proper equipment, let them then get somebody professionally to come and do that lawn for them. Also, you're trying to have garden workers and like lawn care professionals unemployed out there right, no unnecessary What do you think? I'm saying the same thing. If you want people that cut their lawns, you don't get to pick their lawnmower kind of grip. I cut my lawn and I have a pretty modest lawmower. It's electric. It's not a big deal. You would love you but yeah, so I think I fit in that category of having a pretty small set up from my yard. But I also would think if I got a nicer lawbower or hire someone to do it, that would be cool. I wouldn't say, like, that makes me lazy. So I think this is a really misguided moan. I agree, So I'm gonna say unnecessary grown as well, a lot of spirit time. And then they're they're watching somebody how the lawnmowing goes, and they're like, ah, you should do what I do for my land. And then all your gear is too small, We're too big. It shouldn't be that. I picture this person on their front porch. The person next to them has landscapers. He's like, they're lazy. The person that read them has like a riding lawmower, is like, they're lazy and something else to worry about. Find something else. Exactly. They're out there like cut each blade individually with scissors. See that's you know, the exactly alright. So we're growing on that one, Vanessa, Do you want to read this? Next one is a little bit Halloween theme, but I think it's still you know, just relevant. I think it's yeah, yeah, to the gentleman who was surprised when trigger treaters discarded his wife's homemade brownies. Certainly tossing them as garbage into your yard was pretty rude, but are you really surprised they weren't eaten. It's a shame that your wife's thoughtful efforts went to waste in this age of demented people trying to harm children by poisoning them or putting pins into their candy. I wouldn't allow my daughter to eat homemade brownies unless they were from somebody I knew well enough to be certain she wouldn't come to harm by eating them. Stick to store bought candy. It's much less work for everybody involved, and you can be certain it won't go to waste. That's from a dino Ohio, I think legit mo And they even call out the fact that, yes, it's rude to throw it in the front lawn, but you shouldn't be given out like strangers baked goods because also who knows allergy that we don't know what you're doing with? Yes, I agree, just don't you know what ma'am? First of all, yeah, just buy some candy. Also, get in or get out, get you know exactly. Jonah and I have talked about, you know, there are worse things to be given, including pennies and apples, which we've gotten yes Halloween, and those are But yeah, I think this person has a very it's a legit moment. I think this is a good point, Like you just in this day and age, you can't be making your homemade brownies. Yeah, there's aside from just even if we trust this woman, we don't know her well enough to have a list of ingredients, yeah, exactly, or even if they're posted, like can we really true? Like who's the overseeing I that's like making sure she's using these ingredients? Yeah, you know what I mean, what's the standard here? I bet it goes back in this thing like I'm sure her husband or whatever her neighbor was like it's lazy to buy candy, you gotta make it yourself. Yeah yeah, just let's get over this, lady. Let's let's use the things that we can buy to make all of our lives easy. That is called capitalism. I mean, I think the tone of the letter is harsh to the gentleman, like in this age of demented people, Like it's like very kind of traumatic. It feels like also it feels a little bit like how did this guy find this out? Like did this other guy that confide in it, or like did this other guy tell him? And instead of him being like, I think it's okay, like she should like be just buying candy, he decided to just go straight to Monday Morning with that opinion, right right right, Sorry to interrupted, it's okay. I was just actually just watching Freaks and Geeks and there's an episode with the mom like fake stuff and none of the kids will eat it, and you know, it's kind of sad for her. And I do think like there can be a nice sentiment of like wanting to make something and do something special. But yeah, it just feels like that time has just kind of passed and we need to kind of accept it. And a lot of these Monday Moments are people who are very stuck in the past. It's just not the way things are now. Just buy some candy. It's just easier. Just make your life easier. You know, you don't need to cut every blade of grass, you don't need to bake brownies. Just yeah, you're grouping these people together. Why am I making such an asshole? Today, I'm like, I'm making out these observations that are so like, okay, so what do we think that we think this is a legit moan? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think it's messaging is harsh, but the message is salient. Yes, yes, okay, exactly, very well put this is the last one. This is short but sweet Lyndhurst, Ohio. I wish neighbors on either side of me would tend to their own business and not mine. I mean, what do you think, Sam, I feel like we're missing a little bit of context. Exactly. I think so too. And then you're like, what is on either side of you? That's a problem, that's I was maybe either side of me and the police and the Child Tective Services would just get off my back. Yeah, I think you're not giving us the whole picture here, Yeah, I think, yeah, yeah, tough one to judge. And also, yeah, it's interesting to write this into a local paper and not provided that was my first thought was like, do you have a friend or is there Yeah, I think if I can take a leap here. The logic is maybe my neighbors will see this and they will know it's me, and it's like a subtle message my only thing about that is almost everybody in Lyndhurst, Ohio has neighbors on either side of them. Yeah, you know, unless you live on you know, the first house on the street or something like that. So and even in that case, you might be in a corner where there are people on either side. So the point is, I'm not going to get into the way the city is divided, but I just want to say, yeah, it is really unless this person is always telling their neighbors how much they love my day moaning and love to write into it, or if they purposely planned to write this and then say, did you see Monday moaning today one of my complaints got posted. It could be it could be a little too subtle, yeah, or like in my head, they tried to do that and then they get a little nervous about it, so they wrote in like some details and like that's too obvious thing outlined by line until that was all that was left. They kept cutting out the details until there was literally just my neighbors with mine their own business, so many exces on that paper, just lines crossed out. Yeah, this one is truly a hard one to judge, but just based on this person's coping mechanisms with when they're faced with neighbors they're not crazy about. I feel like it's hard for me to support it because unless you know, sometimes we've once found like a continuation of like some and responded to someone else's Monday moaning. Yeah, and like I wonder if this person would respond to their own moaning like the next week and say, like, just to be a little more specific, this is who I am, and these are the specific things that happened, and like you know who you are neighbors. Yeah, well that's something that I made up that I probably didn't happen. So in that case, I'm going to call this an unnecessary grown just because there's too general. I agree, Sam, what do you think I'm going to say unecessary growing because it truly, quite literally you're groaning, but there's no details. Unnecessary, you haven't said anything, so it's unnecessary. I'm gonna agree with both of you, and I think by calling this legitimate, you're really rewarding this like the most like passive aggressive way problems. And I just cannot I can't put my stamp on that. I'm saying uncessary grown all the way on this one. I agree, and if this was a herald, each of those scenes, the scenelets would have been about all three of the houses. And then so the one in the center has the lawn that's not taken care of, or it has a lawn a complicated of a lawnmower, and then big brownies, and the one on one side is complaining about the lawnmower and on the other side is complaining about the brownies. And then that's how it all comes together the last act. All it makes one big scene where you've seen all the little things and they all come together that last one and complain about it. And this is the letter of the person's like, get off my back seeing Oh my god, incredible. And then at the end they go, thank you so much for coming tonight. Be sure to tip your bartenders. They're going to use that money to pay for dumb things like rent and insulin. They use a stuff like college dues and rent child support. So okay, So Sam, what a delight this has been? And where can people find you? You can find me on the i G. I'm on the i G. You know, the Sam Richardson. I don't really use Twitter because I don't like to type things you can find me on Twitter, I guess and just in life, you know, after party you seem an after party, after party, yes, and just other various shows. Go back watch Detroitter's watch Champagne ll oh, Champagne Ill, Yes, I didn't mention that so funny and and Detroitters. Just if people haven't seen it, it's absolutely a hilarious work of art. Okay, okay, all right, okay, is that okay with you all? Okay with you all? Y'all cool with that? I hope that's fine with you, and I hope you're right with it. I'll say, also, go see Office Christmas Party if you've got it. Yeah, Oh my god, oh my god. The time we spent in Atlanta doing Office Christmas Party together. Who could ever forget? You could ever forget the Confederate cemetery across from our hotel and being like we probably shouldn't be here. You know, there was like a cannon, Confederate cannon that was pointed directly at the elevators. When you get off the elevator, you're faced by a cannon that was used to kill i'd say, hundreds of soldiers. Very spooky, scarily for us, and they would do like demonstrations and stuff and like have reenacted. Oh yeah, they would do demonstrations. Yeah, there was like a big Confederate funeral reenactment or something one day, and yeah, I thought we'll steer clear of that. Yeah. Yeah, the memories, the memories. Well, thank you so much Sam for joining us today. That was it has been the best. Thank you. It's been so much fun. Oh my gosh, this has been incredible, and we wanted to say thank you that everyone is listening and say if you enjoyed that, please subscribe them podcast and keep an eye up for next six episode of How Did We Get Weird, where we'll discussed more stories from our childhood and cultural touch stones like action packed started around This is pul mean is real silly mood action packed television shows. That's what I meant to say.