This week, Kris has no news and Tara tells all about her latest boob squishing appointment. Get your boobs squished, y’all. It’s important. They also talk about the Olympics and other current topics like the Newhart series finale.
Official Recommendations
From Kris: The ‘Burbs (Peacock)
Kris’s official recommendation this week is The ‘Burbs, a new TV adaptation of the 1989 movie starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher. Kris found herself late to the Keke Palmer party, but now she’s here and loving it.
From Tara: Moonstone Island (Studio Supersoft)
Tara’s official recommendation this week is Moonstone Island, an indie game described by Tara as a mix of Stardew Valley and Pokemon.
Works/People Discussed
- The Night Agent (Netflix)
- Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model (Netflix)
- RuPaul’s Drag Race (World of Wonder)
- RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. the World (BBC Three)
- The Boyfriend (Netflix)
- The ‘Burbs (1989)
Enjoyed this episode? You might also like episode 36, where Tara recommends the indie video game Citizen Sleeper.
Support & Follow the Show
Transcript
>> Kris Bryant: Hello everyone. Welcome to Queerly Recommended, the podcast where we recommend queer books, films, TV shows and more. I’m Kris Bryant, a contemporary romance writer for Bold Strokes Books. And this week I’m recommending a TV series from this year.
>> Tara Scott: And I’m Tara Scott. I review sapphic fiction at the Lesbian Review and Smart Bitches Trashy Books. And this week I’m recommending a video game.
>> Kris Bryant: Nice. Nice.
So I have no news. I have no news. 0news right now going on. My life right now is strictly cats and work.
>> Tara Scott: Let’s see. Okay, so I have news. The first is I got my mammogram done and it’s looking good. And mostly now, does everybody need to know that I got my boobs squished? No. But the reason I’m mentioning it is because I’m pretty sure a lot of the people who listen to this show also need to go get your boobs squished. So if you haven’t scheduled your annual mammogram, go do it. It’s just a good idea.
>> Kris Bryant: I need to do it. I really do. I have, like eczema going on right now, so it’s. I don’t know, I gotta wait. I might have to wait. There might be too much going on at once, so.
>> Tara Scott: Mm,
>> Kris Bryant: But I’m not gonna wait long.
>> Tara Scott: Good. Yeah, just clear that up. Yeah, it was, The only thing was. So I’ve. I guess this is my fifth, I think that I’ve had. And I’ve had a real mix of texts, like the, Oh. Because I also. So I get a mammogram and I also have to get an ultrasound because I’m one of those lucky people with extremely dense breasts.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, same.
>> Tara Scott: And so I’ve had a real blend of. It’s about almost 50, 50 of whether the tech at the end will say, you don’t have anything to worry about, or they won’t say anything, which is what they’re supposed to do. Their job is to not say anything because they’re not actually supposed to interpret stuff. So I got this very sweet young woman who did it and she told me nothing. And I was like, well, obviously I have cancer. It’s like, no, you dumb ass. That’s also not the next. It’s not like they look at it and say, yup, definitely that. No, you go for more tests. And so in Alberta we get an email when like any kind of result hits the system. And so two and a half hours later, thankfully I only stressed for two and a half hours. And then I was like, I know I should wait for my doctor, but I’m just going to click on this and whatever happens, happens. And luckily it was fine. Everything was clear.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Because I would have had a much worse time if it wasn’t the case.
I also have a puppy update. Mr. Henry Rollins went to the vet today for his rabies shot and he is now eight pounds.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh my gosh.
>> Tara Scott: He’s a big boy.
>> Kris Bryant: So he can get up the stairs now.
>> Tara Scott: Now he can get up the stairs. He hasn’t figured out that he can go down the stairs.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, that’s tricky.
>> Tara Scott: So we have a gate across the stairs going from our main floor upstairs.
>> Tara Scott: Because he’ll get up there and then he’ll just bark at us like, hey, I’m alone and I’m stuck. And it’s like, yeah, you shouldn’t have gone up there. But we don’t have to gate down to the basement. Like when I go down to my office. Because it doesn’t matter because he can’t. He doesn’t know that he could get there if he wanted to, but he can jump on the couch. That was new as of this week, so that’s very exciting.
>> Kris Bryant: What a big boy.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. There’s one day this week I wasn’t even paying attention and I was in the. I was like deep in the middle of texting somebody on my laptop and like so hyper focused on it that I was like, oh, there’s this little black dog on my lap.
>> Kris Bryant: How did it get here?
>> Tara Scott: I know. So that was very cute.
And then one thing that I wanted to raise. Did you see the posts that went around from I Heart Sapphfic about Amazon?
>> Kris Bryant: Yes.
>> Tara Scott: So for people who are not aware, it looks like Amazon and their affiliate programme is demonetizing queer romance. Not even. It’s also demonetizing erotica, but even non erotic queer romance is being demonetized, which is so like, fuck off. It’s just terrible.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m done.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, it’s really bad for sites like I Heart Sapphic, which depends on that revenue to keep it going. There was an email that went out last week. I’m trying to find it in my inbox and I’m really struggling. I’m hoping I didn’t delete it, but Sheena from the lesbian review sent and it wasn’t like I didn’t receive this just because I’m a reviewer there. This was something that she sent out to the email list saying that it’s gotten so bad that authors cannot even reference a review from the lesbian review on there because lesbian is in the name and so she’s looking at an alternate URL to also have so that that can happen. But it’s bad news bears. Now. It’s not like I looked in Amazon Canada links are still working fine. But it’s a lot of the Amazon US links are not working great. And so there’s questions happening around like, okay, but so what should we do? Should we stop, you know, getting things from Amazon? And I think if you have a Kindle Unlimited account and you’re inclined to support. Again, like if you stop purchasing all books from there, there are some indie authors that are going to deeply harmed by that. For those that have managed to set up their own web shop, like Harper Bliss or Claire Lydon, definitely, you know, purchase directly from them. I think Melissa Therese might have one as well. But for other authors, I’m, I’m still getting some of their books because if they’re not distributing elsewhere, how else will we get them? But if you’re, you know, if you want to get books from Bella authors from Bold Strokes authors from Bywater authors, please purchase from their websites.
>> Kris Bryant: Right.
>> Tara Scott: Because fuck Amazon. Like they’re making a choice at this point and it’s really gross.
>> Kris Bryant: Right, right. I agree.
>> Tara Scott: Well, Chris, what have you been reading or watching?
>> Kris Bryant: So like a lot of people I was watching the Olympics.
>> Tara Scott: I somehow missed it. I mean work has just been wild. So like I knew the Olympics were happening and I caught little things here or there, like the entirely shitty sexist thing that was said about the women’s team and I heard about the super fabulous Canadians in the audience dressed like gay Mounties or something like that. But like otherwise I don’t really fully. I.
>> Kris Bryant: You missed a lot of it.
>> Tara Scott: I missed everything.
>> Kris Bryant: I. I missed like, I like Winter Olympics. I like watching the skiing and the long jump and all that stuff. And I love figure skating and I love the everything about it. So for sure, Winter Olympics is my jam.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Oh, I did also hear about the Canadian curling finger.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yeah, the finger thing. Finger gate.
>> Tara Scott: Finger gate, yes, I heard about that.
>> Kris Bryant: I laugh so hard. Somebody posted a TikTok of like Canadians like getting ready for the day and every single time they would like gently push something, you know, like a little bit of a coffee cup, like their pen. It was cute, it was funny, made me laugh. But now there was like a tonne of LGBTQ, participants.
>> Tara Scott: Oh good.
>> Kris Bryant: So 11 queer athletes won medals.
>> Tara Scott: Oh my God. Amazing.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. I was so excited. Oh, also here’s what I love. So Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are in Traitors. You know Traitors, the show, the Traitors.
>> Kris Bryant: And Deb and I absolutely adore them. So like they have the best friendship and they’re just so sweet and I know I would do, I would love to have them as friends. Like that’s, that’s where I’m at. So I asked Deb, I’m like, did you ever see them skate when they were in their prime, you know? And she was like, no, I was too busy with babies. So we YouTubed their Olympic performances, including Tara’s gold winning routine. And here’s what I love. As I pulled up, they had Johnny and Tara now.
>> Kris Bryant: Their ages now. Like, I don’t know when they actually did this. Like talking about Tara’s performance over her performance.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, love it.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, it was just, it was absolutely delightful. I mean it was so sweet. This was back in 1998 when she won the gold and like, listening to them was just absolutely precious. So then we went down the rabbit hole and we were pulling up all the different, you know, skaters. And how much has changed since, you know, the 1998 or 1994 Olympics? Just what people are able to do now, it always fascinates me, you know. And then there’s the quad. God, don’t even ask me to say his name because I can’t. But he’s the one who, the only one who can do a quad. A fort. Oh yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: So anyway, so they’re done. The the Paralympics starts I think March 6th until like the 14th or 16th. So that’s up next. So we got, we got a little bit of time before they kick in. And then I watched, I binged the Night Agent season three.
>> Tara Scott: I don’t know this one.
>> Kris Bryant: So, the Night Agent is just like a secret organisation that the president in the United States has. It’s fake, of course, but like the FBI, it’s. They’re not a part of the FBI or the CIA or anything like that. It’s their own little thing. They’re the Night Agent. So, they have on this one, there’s a relationship between a Secret Service agent and the White House press secretary. And it was actually their relationship had zero chemistry. Even though they were engaged and everything. It was just terrible. Like everything about them. You could tell they did not want to kiss, they did not want to hug or touch. And you know how I am about the chemistry and things.
>> Tara Scott: It’s gotta work. It’s gotta work.
>> Kris Bryant: And this really did scream Scandal, the series I loved from the bottom of my heart. Scandal.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: Love that series.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: Very similar to it. Very similar, but still good season. I watched the whole thing, so. And then.
Oh my goodness, we need to talk about Reality Check: America’s Next Top Model.
>> Tara Scott: So I’ve heard of it. All I’ve heard is that Tyra Banks comes across as a monster.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh my goodness. I took notes, I. Oh wow. Notes. Notes, huh? Have notes. So here’s my history. Like did I watch it when it was out, like in the early. I think it started in like 2000 or something like that. And yes, I watched it. And did I know anything about modelling? Absolutely not. What I know about modelling is you’ll see like somebody walking down a, ah, Runway with like a lime green dress that attaches to their head on it like a feather. And like it’s, it’s. I have no idea what fashion is. I do not know fashion. I don’t.
>> Tara Scott: It’s like engineering and art.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. It’s a whole different thing. So. But I was always fascinated by it and it was a new reality show back then and I thought this is really cool. Like let’s get all these people who probably would have never had the chance to become a model and see if they can make it because like the winner gets this massive, huge contract for whatever cover. I don’t know, I think it’s Revlon. I don’t remember now.
>> Kris Bryant: But I was always like, yay, let’s do this. Let’s see these kids from the Midwest, you know, make it and do something and, and get the, the dream and there, and the like the shot at it, you know, let’s do this, let’s do this. So I watched it and yeah, there was, I just thought a lot of the time, you know, people were kind of mean and I thought, well, that’s not nice. You know, they were saying a lot of mean things at the time and I didn’t realise how bad it was until, you know, of course, hindsight 20 20. But also watching behind the scenes of this series through this documentary. It’s a three part documentary. It turns out that, yes, Tyra Banks is the devil and very few winners actually had modelling careers and most of the models were blacklisted.
>> Tara Scott: That’s terrible. Yes. Did they say why they were blacklisted?
>> Kris Bryant: They did not say. one of the, one of the models went back to New York and so she was living with a bunch of other models and they Were all getting calls, but she wasn’t. And she asked her friend, like, what’s the deal? Like, why am I not getting any call callbacks? And they’re like, well, because you were on that show.
>> Tara Scott: Whoa.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So here’s another thing. Here’s a thing that, like, at the time, how they portrayed it in the series at the time, because I still remember it like, so there was sexual assault on this show.
>> Tara Scott: Oh my goodness.
>> Kris Bryant: And they twisted it and they made it about infidelity.
>> Tara Scott: What?
>> Kris Bryant: So all these women, they were in Italy at the time. So they each were assigned a moped driver to get them to their callbacks or their appointments.
>> Kris Bryant: So somebody, one of the girls, after they were done, said, hey, is it okay if we invite the guys over for pizza and wine or whatever? And they’re like, yeah, that’s okay. Whatever. So they partied with these guys and this girl got drunk. She drank like two bottles of wine herself. And mind you, everybody’s filming this. Like, there are cameras everywhere. There are people behind the cameras. So it’s not just like a camera up in the corner. Like, these are people like in the room with them filming. And so this girl is like, passed out drunk and this guy assaults her.
>> Tara Scott: Oh my God. And I didn’t stop him.
>> Kris Bryant: They did not stop him. And here’s, here’s. So this show, I tell you, they said, we told the girls that we film everything 24 7. The good, the bad, and everything in between.
>> Tara Scott: Was the actual illegal.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, exactly. So if you see me getting sexually assaulted anywhere, like, if I’m on a show or something, you have my permission to stop recording and kill the abuser. Like, that should just be common human decency for sure. And it messed this girl up today, even she is still struggling with this. Rightfully so.
>> Tara Scott: Like, oh, yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And. And then Tara Banks, like, like they had a. They had like a reunion show. And so. So the very next day, the very next day, she gets together with everybody and she’s talking about infidelity. Like, she puts this girl on the spot and twists it so that, oh, oh, maybe I wasn’t just passed out. Maybe I, like, maybe I said yes. Maybe I wanted this. Maybe. Yeah, it was terrible. So she was like, you know, when
>> Tara Scott: she was too drunk to consent.
>> Kris Bryant: Right, right. And Tara just was terrible about it, you know, and these, A lot of these girls are, like, I say girls, I mean, women, they’re young women. They are so, like, thankful that they have this opportunity. And when you’re in front of somebody who’s that powerful. You know, it’s real hard to speak up, you know, nowadays.
Like, it would not be that way. Like, you know, we found our voices. But back then, you know, really a lot of people didn’t speak up. And so they did, they did a, like a, reunion show. And the woman said, please don’t show that clip. You know, I don’t, I’m. I’m trying to move on. And I. So she gets out there, she sits next to Tara. And Tara, Tara, I’m looking at you going, we are not, we are not the same.
>> Tara Scott: We are not the same person.
>> Kris Bryant: I know. It was funny when I was typing these notes, I was like angrily. And I’m like, tyra, Tyra. And I go, watch me say Tara.
>> Tara Scott: Oh no, you set yourself up.
>> Kris Bryant: So, yeah, so Tyra was like, like, let’s, let’s talk about this. So she put it on the screen again for everybody to see. Yeah. And this girl was just devastated. Yeah, it was terrible.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: another woman’s, mother had been shot and she was in a wheelchair. And so then they did this photo shoot of like people being murdered or something. Death. And hers just happens to be somebody who gets shot. And so, so she has to, she has to act like she’s dead and there’s like blood everywhere. And I’m like, these motherfuckers. I mean, they, they did this.
>> Tara Scott: Traumatising them.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, exactly. For sure. On purpose. So, yeah, it was terrible. And Oh, and they also. I’m pretty sure they outed someone on tv. I’m, almost positive they did.
>> Tara Scott: I m. Think I saw something about that. Yeah, yeah, them.
>> Kris Bryant: So. And here’s the deal. So social. When this, when this came out, like social media blew up with. Oh, so what happened was, the three people were fired and it was Ms. J. Alexander J. Manuel, who goes by Mr. J. And Nigel the photographer. So they were fired and all of a sudden they come out and they’re like, oh, they’re all bitter because like, oh, we were fired. And like, that wasn’t very fair. Blah, blah, blah.
>> Kris Bryant: They were terrible. They were just as terrible as Tyra was. They were making fun of people. They were like pointing out, like, just being rude and it was all for like tv. But it was terrible. I can’t believe I watched the show. I like did. And I was like, oh, and Janice,
>> Tara Scott: millions of people did.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, Janice Dickerson, Dickinson. I don’t even know she was on it and she was terrible. They brought it on to make it even worse than it was. Like they were just attacking these, these poor women. Like it was just like nonstop just being mean. Oh, you’re too fat. You’re a size two instead of a size double zero. You’re too fat, you need to lose 20 pounds. Like just terrible stuff, like awful. And my disappointment was Nigel. So Nigel’s like, I was the straight man eye candy.
>> Kris Bryant: And I just, I love Nigel. I just thought he was just the greatest thing. And so then on this, the, this, you know, recap, this reality cheque, he’s like, I don’t think they did anything wrong. Especially about the sexual assault. He’s like, I don’t think they did anything wrong. It was just like, that’s just the modelling world. He’s like, you know, that’s howling world. Well, that was kind of all of it. It wasn’t specifically that. I mean, I kind, I’m jumping around because there’s so much. I have so many thoughts and they’re all not good. And so social media is like, oh, this is the show we want with Ms. J and Mr. J and Nigel. Like, no, the you don’t. They’re going to be just as mean and, and as terrible as Tyra was, I mean, hands down, I was just like, oh my gosh. You know, and like the whole time it’s like she’s not blinking. She’s looking at the, the, the you know, whoever’s doing the interview and it’s like she’s got this like really like this sneery smile on her face and she’s not blinking. And like she’s like, oh no, you know, we, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah. Like the whole time she doesn’t really defend herself at all. She’s just like, there might have been some things we could have filmed differently, you know, looking back type thing. And I’m just like, oh my goodness.
>> Tara Scott: So garbage. Non apologies.
>> Kris Bryant: Right, right. And so, and the other three that were fired were so mad because Tyra never like reached out to them really, you know, And I’m like, well, she wasn’t their friends. Well, apparently, yes, she was.
So like she was friends with Ms. M J because Ms. M J was, I, I, you probably know, like Ms. J helped the models learn how to walk the Runway.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, okay.
>> Kris Bryant: I actually never seen the show that
>> Tara Scott: was like, this doesn’t make me want to.
>> Kris Bryant: No, absolutely. I do not recommend it. No, it’s terrible. So anyway, so yes, that was terrible. So, yeah, yeah, that was a lot for me. There’s a lot going on in the TV world and sadly, not all of it is good.
>> Tara Scott: So.
>> Kris Bryant: No, that, That’s what I have been watching. What about you? What have you been reading or watching or playing?
>> Tara Scott: So I’ve been reading a lot of Devil Wears Prada fanfic. Like I said, it’s been nuts at work. And so you’re getting ready? Yeah, that’s kind of my. Like, I. I realised that when I. When I don’t have enough cognitive space to take on new characters, new sit, new storeys, I gravitate to this fandom because even though, yeah, there’s going to be, like, something different in it, it’s always the same characters and it’s often the same setting, and so it’s just, okay, well, how does this author interpret these characters? And so that’s been good. There hasn’t been any that I feel like I need to mention as, like, oh, my God, you must cheque this out.
>> Kris Bryant: And.
>> Tara Scott: And also I’ve been reading so many of them, they’ve all been kind of running into each other.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: So that’s also a problem. But it. But it is still nice to, like. Like, I was still able to read. It’s not like I was so stressed I couldn’t read at all, but it was just, like, I was so stressed that, like, reading new books was probably not on the menu quite as much. And I would, like, get sucked into one storey and then say, okay, when I finish this, I’m gonna read a book. And then, no, I did another one. Sure. But I did do some TV watching. Of course, there’s the two drag races happening, so UK versus the world. Season three continues to be really excellent. And RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 is also really excellent. Like, both of them are great entry points, I think, for anybody. If you haven’t seen any of them, and for whatever reason, now you’re like, you know, I’ve been hearing TARA Talk about RuPaul’s Drag Race for five years. Maybe I should cheque it.
>> Kris Bryant: Maybe it’s time.
>> Tara Scott: It’s. I don’t know, it’s just. It’s nice because I’ve realised one of the things I really value is a season where I have no idea who’s going to win. I have a rough idea of who I think might end up in the top, but I truly don’t know who’s going to win. Compared to seasons where you’re like, well, obviously that’s the person who’s going to win. Well, it takes all the tension out of it. And then it feels more like it’s, you know, that particular drag queen’s drag race, so. Oh, yeah, no, so those have been good.
And also we finished season two of the Boyfriend. And I absolutely loved, it. Love, love, loved it. Of the two is my favourite season by far. And what was super fun was because they do the thing that a lot of the romance, reality shows do where they’ll, like, bring in new potential people partway through. And so what they did with this was they brought a bunch of. So it’s for anybody who didn’t listen the last episode where I mentioned it. So the Boyfriend, it’s a, ah, Japanese gay dating reality show. It’s all sing. And they’re brought into this home. It’s. It’s structured almost more like a dorm in this particular case, but it’s called the green room. And they are given a coffee truck that they’re gonna run as a way to kind of like, spend time because, you know, by working together, they’re going to spend time together and then they can go for a little date afterwards. And sometimes they go on dates. And partway through the season they bring in new dudes and they brought in one of the people from season one who didn’t get partnered. So it was really fun to see Taehan come back. At the end of the first season, there was only. I can’t remember if two, I think maybe two couples left together, but only one stayed together. And I’m gonna say more of the boys found romance nice this time.
>> Kris Bryant: Nice.
>> Tara Scott: There were some things that were definitely different. I loved this batch. I wonder if it was almost like, more comfortable for these contestants because they got to watch the first season. Like, the people who were in the first season didn’t have a precedent for. For it. Right.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, first seasons are always hard.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Yeah, it’s really lovely. And honestly, like, I really recommend it. The only reason I didn’t make it an official recommendation is I’d already talked about it, so that felt a little
>> Kris Bryant: bit like cheating Cheater.
>> Tara Scott: But yeah, it’s been like that and fanfic and that’s about it lately.
>> Kris Bryant: Dice.
>> Tara Scott: Mm. It’s not bad.
But, Kris, what is your official recommendation today?
>> Kris Bryant: So look, the world is a dumpster fire. I’m sure we all know this. Like, our country is the kindling, for sure. Like, geez. Like, it has been terrible to write. I talk about this all the time. I can’t be creative. it’s hard enough to enjoy simple things. But I found a series on Peacock that really took my mind off of things. And it’s, the burbs.
>> Tara Scott: Okay. Like the movie from the 80s?
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. So it is a retelling and restretching of the 1989 movie with the same name. And I think Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher were in that. I never saw it, or if I did, I don’t remember it. You know, it’s such a long time ago. Like I was a baby, so like I don’t remember anything then. yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So basically, young couple moves back to the husband’s childhood home only to face threats from new neighbours and uncover dark secrets of their cul de sac.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, okay.
>> Kris Bryant: So it’s basically a whodunit mystery with comedy and it stars Kiki Palmer, who identifies as asexual. So yeah, in her past she’s mentioned sexual fluidity.
>> Kris Bryant: But really couldn’t find the right box to cheque.
>> Kris Bryant: So either way, queer and win.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. Okay. So like, I didn’t really know who she was until I. I don’t know. Like, I guess I stumbled on an episode of Password. Ah. With Jimmy Fallon.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m m like, is it. I get the two jimmies mixed up. I just do too many jimmies at night. I don’t know what that is. So, I was like, oh, this queen has my attention. Like, absolutely. Like beautiful, smart, holds herself well. I’m like, yes, I need to go down this. Let’s find out who she is and what she’s done.
>> Kris Bryant: I went through. She has like a huge list of credits and I’m a terrible gay because I had, I did not know her from anything. And she’s won like awards for the LGBTQ community. Nope.
>> Tara Scott: And she also, I think she kind of like first came to fame as a child actor because she was in the movie Akilah and the Bee.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: I think she goes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So.
>> Tara Scott: And I think she also does music. She’s like a multi hyphenate. She has a pretty interesting podcast. I’ve watched some episodes on YouTube. Yeah, Kiki Palmer’s super cool.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: And she’s in it.
>> Kris Bryant: She’s in it.
>> Tara Scott: She’s.
>> Kris Bryant: She’s the main character in this. So I’m like, yeah, I think, I think this qualifies. Sort of. We’ll get into it.
>> Tara Scott: Listen, it’s our podcast. We get to.
>> Kris Bryant: We can talk about anything. And I’m. Damn it, I’m gonna talk about this. And this is gonna be my recommendations.
>> Kris Bryant: So her name, her. Her name is Samira and her husband Rob, like, like I mentioned, you know, they moved back into his home, his childhood home, because his parents are on one of those cruises that you live on for the rest of your life. You just live on a cruise ship. Yeah. So they’ve done that and say they have this house, beautiful house, and like, hey, why don’t you come move from the city into the suburbs and just stay in this beautiful house? It’s absolutely gorgeous. Like, and. And there’s like a quiet neighbourhood. So this town is also considered the safest town in the United States. Like, that’s how it’s advertised since 1950, since it first was built.
>> Tara Scott: Is it because they hide their crimes?
>> Kris Bryant: Ah, we don’t know. So maybe. So, anyway, so Samira’s real hesitant at first because it’s very white and very structured and she doesn’t think she’s going to fit in. And at first you’re like, m, I don’t think she’s going to fit in either. But then it turns out that they are just some really cool misfits who live around her. Like, absolutely. Like neighbours with just huge secrets in their lives. Like, we all have our own baggage and secrets and stuff, but each one of them has something unique to them. M. They’re so unaliked, but so likeable.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So, one of the characters, and I was like, who is this character? I could not. I was like, racking my brain, like, who is this person? Who is this person? And I’m terrible because I don’t know her name, but she was on Newhart. She played Julia, kind of a stuck up, snotty person. And here it is 40 years later. Like, I. Did you not watch Newhart?
>> Tara Scott: no.
>> Kris Bryant: No. Hey, I watch everything. Like, this is what I do. I watch all the television shows ever. Always. I even.
>> Tara Scott: I mean, if it was 40 years ago, I was in kindergarten.
>> Kris Bryant: So. No, like, Nick at night has all these shows. Like, you know.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, no, I don’t have that. Okay, so no, we don’t have. We don’t have cable. We only have certain streaming services. So, no, I haven’t seen. I’ve heard of Newhart, but I haven’t seen.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, Newhart had the best ending of any series ever in the history of
>> Tara Scott: Ever Better than the Good Place.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, we talked about this and I haven’t seen all of the Good Place, so I can’t say that. But for now, it is truly what I believe to be the best one besides the Good Place, which I Might finish at some point. You would think that I would.
>> Tara Scott: It’s worth it to get to the ending. I can’t believe that you watch through all, like every everything else season of the Handmaid’s Tale, but I know not in the Good Place which has the best ending.
>> Kris Bryant: of all those.
>> Tara Scott: And I will fight that fight.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay.
>> Tara Scott: Maybe New Heart is better. I don’t know. But that one was perfect.
>> Kris Bryant: okay. I trust you. And we’ll circle back when I finally do watch it because there are so many times like, ah, there’s nothing on tv. What am I going to watch? So what am I going to watch? So then now I know, like, you’re not the only person that has pushed me to watch this show and I need to do it because the same person who pushed me to watch Winona Earp is the same person who is pushing me to watch this show. So. And I always forget about it. I serious. Once we’re done with this podcast, it zips out of my head and. And I’m like scrolling on Netflix every
>> Tara Scott: movie that you tell me you have to see this, I’m like, I absolutely will. And it evaporates from my brain ever to be right.
>> Kris Bryant: Exactly like, oh, yeah, that’s right.
>> Tara Scott: Adhd, baby.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s. You know, we’re. We’re in it. We’re in it for the moment. And it’s like, yeah, this sounds great. And then boom, done. Gone.
>> Kris Bryant: Bye.
Okay, so one of the neighbours is actually a she. Her name is Paula and she has a wife. And we never meet the wife because they’re both in the navy.
>> Tara Scott: She’s in Canada. She’s her Canadian girlfriend.
>> Kris Bryant: So, well, like Paula is. She’s like, oh, my. My wife’s been deployed and so I’m making life work for me here in the meantime.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So then there’s like Todd, who is just like this very odd person that I know that we would be friends because he’s so different and unique and it just kind of weird, but in a good way. It’s just like wholesome way. So love it. So they all harbour these really deep secrets and basically nobody’s perfect is what this whole series is about. M. Oh, Lynn. That’s who it is. Her name is Lynn. And she’s the one who like her. She’s the one who was on Newhart.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. And I. Gosh, I’m terrible. I should look this name up.
>> Tara Scott: I’m looking it up because I’m curious.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. You’re gonna be like, oh, her because I’m like, I. And. But that’s been four years since I’ve seen her on television. So a lot has happened in 40 years, I think. Well, I don’t know when the series was. When Newhart was maybe.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, you were, I mean you were born. That happened in the last. Oh, Julia Duffy.
>> Kris Bryant: Wait, no. Is that it? Duffy? No. Is it?
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, Duffy M. Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: It was her. She was.
>> Tara Scott: Hang on, hold ah on. She was in Designing Women.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, she was in Designing Women.
>> Tara Scott: You are correct. Yeah. I think that’s kind of the big. It looks like she’s also been on Palm Royale. She was on Nightcore now I don’t know how many episodes she was in some of these shows.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So she’s.
>> Tara Scott: In terms of her.
>> Kris Bryant: What I haven’t known for senior like in a very long time I guess is what I’m saying. And so I was like, I know her, I know her from somewhere, I know her. But anyway, so she’s her husband recently passed and she’s in a massive feud with the HOA president. Like these are like super small little things, but they’re really not. There’s something much larger going on. But I mean this happens. Yeah. Like I said. And there’s Paula who’s. I think she’s like maybe in her. In her 60s. Maybe in her 60s. And she’s kind of loud and boisterous, funny. But there’s like a real sadness to her. And you’re like, why is she. What’s going on? Like why is she sad? You know, but she’s, she’s overly like loud and she’s covering up something so everybody has something to hide. And so that’s, that’s kind of where the fun comes in because you get to learn with each episode you get to learn, you know, what’s going on. Like, you know, where is everything? You know, where is this going? What they’re doing is they’re trying to solve a 20 year old disappearance and what they see through their curtains, you know. Cause like nosy neighbours look through the curtains isn’t necessarily what’s true. So like the series is like, it was fun but it was almost like, oh, come on, you know, one of those oh come on now. But then I remembered, hey, I’m living in 2026 and I need something to take my mind off of, the Epstein files and everything else that’s going. So I let it slide. And I think that Samira’s brother in the show, he might be gay. Not 100%. He never came out.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: And it does kind of end on a cliffhanger, sort of. Which a lot of shows don’t really do that anymore.
>> Tara Scott: No, they don’t.
>> Kris Bryant: So I’m surprised they brought the cliffhanger back. So there hopefully will be a, a second. A second part. Second, series.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is it’s not a show that will change your life, but it will make you forget that we’re in hell right now for sure.
>> Tara Scott: That sounds great to me.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. So that is my official recommendation. There is queerness and, the main character is a queen. Who knew I did not know her background. So gippy. I recommend it. So what about you, Tara? What is your official recommendation?
>> Tara Scott: My official recommendation also kind of fits the theme not going to change your life, but is a perfect distraction from the fact that we’re in hell. Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: Even your country.
>> Tara Scott: Yes. Right. It’s a very cosy indie game from studio Supersoft that I’m playing on my Nintendo and it’s called Moonstone Island M. So this is a game that my oldest, who played it on a Steam deck. So it’s on Steam, it’s on Nintendo. I don’t know what else it’s on, but they really enjoyed and they said, mom, I think you’d really, really like this game. And I was like, okay, this game is like if Stardew Valley, which I recommended I don’t know how many years ago. It was one of my recommendations at one point, I believe, because Betsy from GCLS told me that when I was there a couple of years ago. So it’s like Stardew Valley and Pokemon made a baby. That is a video game. there’s a very, very quick character setup. All you’re really choosing is what colour is their skin, what colour is their hair, what is their gender. Nobody knows. Certainly not me. But it opens where you’re. Do you know, you’re, like, at home doing chores and, like, your parents are getting you to do chores, which is the tutorial you need to learn how to use the tools that are performing. But they say, like, all right, you’re. It’s time for you to go off. You’re going to do your training. You’re going to be an alchemist somewhere. And so you hop on your broom and you crash land on Moonstone Island.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, okay. Right.
>> Tara Scott: So you have to, like, find all your shit. You end up. Because you don’t have, like, a place to stay, you just, like, pass out so much Like Stardew Valley. If you use up all of your energy for the day, you’ll pass out and wait at home or somewhere. Same thing. But this time you wake up at the tavern or in, or whatever it is because they rent rooms and she’s like, you might want to like, like put your tent up somewhere so you can just sleep there. And I was like, yep, will do. And you just, you set up your little home. You can do gardening. I don’t garden because I. Who gives a shit? I, I mean you can if you’re into it, but that’s not, that’s not my truth for this character. But what I do is go around and I talk to all the locals every day. That’s sweet. M. It’s interesting. Instead of just talking to them, like every time you talk, you can decide if you want to chat, if you want to joke or if you want to flirt. Oh. It is harder to have a successful. Like they give you success chances, like percentages of how likely you are to pull it off or not, because it actually increases your relationship with them. So like I’ve hit a point with some of them where I have a hundred percent chance to chat every time and get those up those relationship points. But if I want to risk it and say 75% chance to joke, well, it may not always land. But when it does, there’s more relationship points. And I kind of love that, like nerdy about. And you can give them gifts and you can like, you can date some of them. And the reason I’m including it too is that like again, you don’t, I don’t know the gender of this character and it doesn’t matter the gender of the people that you’re flirting with if you want to date or eventually get married.
>> Kris Bryant: So are they like different colours too? Like. Yeah, so. So it’s just a hodgepodge of anything. Okay. All. Ah, right. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. So I mean, nobody has like green skin or anything like that. But like there are characters who are black, there are characters who are brown, there are characters who are white. Gender doesn’t seem to matter. There are some people who come across as more obviously male or female. M. There’s at least one non binary character which is pretty cool.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: And you know, you can, you can gather materials like you can clear out mines to get stuff for, you know, you can get rocks and like you can use stuff for crafting. But also the reason I said that it’s like Pokemon is you can go from island to island and you can either Fight or collect different types of spirits. So there’s like fire spirits and water spirits and poison, but they call them spirits and not Pokemons because they didn’t want to get sued, which is understandable. But the mechanics are also very similar because it’s turn based combat, all based on collecting cards for each of your spirits. So I have like, I’m running now with a psychic one, an electric one and a earth one and they each have like a bunch of cards that I can choose from for combat. This is honestly the other reason why I haven’t read a book because I was like, yeah, and I’m gonna, I’m gonna do more reading in the evenings and my kids said, you should play this game. And I started and I went, oh, no. Oh, I’m not going to read a book in the evenings. I’m going to just keep playing this game. I don’t know how many hours I’ve played yet. I don’t need, to know. I’ll find out later. But honestly, like, if you just want a cosy game to play, like, I can put a podcast on in the background and it’s just like a nice little way to sink into the world and chill out. So, yeah, I absolutely recommend Moonstone island also. it’s an indie studio and so, like, I love supporting the indies. It’s not as expensive as a AAA game, I would say. I’m not even a quarter of the way through and I’ve gotten the full dollar value worth of enjoyment out of it. So, yeah, Moonstone island, go and get it.
That’s all for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. If you’ve enjoyed the show and you haven’t subscribed yet, please make sure that you do on your podcast app. And if you have a friend that you think would like anything that we recommended today, please pass on the episode. Oh, right, there’s another line I’m supposed to say. God, I’m tired and hungry. Cut that out.
>> Kris Bryant: You’ll be eating here soon, I promise.
>> Tara Scott: 30 I will, I will. And if you want to support us, we have links in our show notes to our coffee.
>> Kris Bryant: Yay. Or if you want to connect with us on your favourite maze, or if you want to connect with us on your favourite social media sites. What is that anymore? We have links in the show notes for that as well. Or you can just search for clearly recommended or just email Goodbye, everyone. Goodbye.
>> Tara Scott: I’m back. Hello.
Ice cream for dinner. Bad idea. Hang on. Watch that become an outtake
all right, next section, next section.
>> Kris Bryant: Hang on. Jesus, I’m tied up here. Hang on. Okay. Ice cream for dinner. Bad idea. Debbie’s like, she got home.
>> Tara Scott: Watch that become an outtake and also be the title of the episode.