Latest / The Delicious Culture with Jon Francois / Homeland Was Delicious w/ Toni Rushlow

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Homeland Was Delicious w/ Toni Rushlow · The Delicious Culture with Jon Francois

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Hey, delishies, grab a plate and taste the delicious
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culture. I'm your host, John Francois. Oh my
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God, what a great episode because my wife, Toni
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Rushlow is back with me. Hi, Toni. Hi, Jonathan.
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hi and we're in the same house again i want to
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stress the weirdness of i'm recording in my office
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and tony is recording in our own office space
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in our dining room in the same house because
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we just don't have a fancy studio built yet where
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we can both be in the same room recording at
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the same time but nonetheless we'll still have
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fun and act like uh this is not weird yeah Anyway,
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we have a wonderful feast of meals to get into.
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First of all, we'll literally talk about our
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favorite meals of the past week. We have to get
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into Homeland, the show that's been off for quite
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some time, but you know what? It was great in
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the 2010s and we're just getting on it on Netflix.
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It's great. The Pit, a much more current show.
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We're going to be talking about that. There's
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a new America's Next Top Model documentary coming
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out on Netflix on the 16th. We are recording
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this. Literally, literally the day before it
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comes out. So there you go. And then Tony, I
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know you had some shows that you were into as
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well. The Lincoln Lawyer, Bridgerton. I want
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to talk about James Vanderbeek, RIP. And we have
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some new developments in our lives that we want
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to share with you guys that has happened in the
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new year. But first, I think because it just
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happened, we literally just came up with watching
1:26
an episode. It's so fresh in our minds. How about
1:29
that crazy bitch Carrie Matheson in Homeland?
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Oh my gosh. He's something all right. Oh my God,
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Claire Danes. Well, first of all, she's been
1:38
doing really wonderfully. I think out of the
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eight seasons, we're on season four so far. And
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what we've learned is that Carrie Matheson is
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going to be that one person working for the CIA
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who will use a sexual slash romantic relationship
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to get what she wants. A honey pot. It's called
1:59
a honey pot. A honey pot. Oh, there's a term
2:01
for that? I didn't even know that. Yes. Anyway,
2:03
but yeah, within the first couple of seasons,
2:05
it was Nicholas Brody, who was the American prisoner
2:08
of war, who was suspected and then eventually
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confirmed to be having relations with Abu Nazir,
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which was a terrorist that they were working
2:17
on within the first couple of seasons trying
2:19
to catch. Yeah, Nicholas and Carrie, they had
2:22
their, their menage à trois, rendez -vous, relationship,
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whatever you want to call it. I'm trying to find
2:34
a fancy French way of saying they had their little
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romance and that eventually produced a child,
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which Carrie does not give a shit about. Yeah,
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exactly. Like she just goes off and does her,
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um, her, her, her terrorist thing, just dropping
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bombs on a, on a wedding and whatnot. I guess
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that's more important than being a, a mother.
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Uh, but she, yeah, she's, I think. I think the
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similar tactic she used to get to Nicholas Brody
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to get answers from him, she seems to be using
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on this current fourth season that we're watching
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with Ayaan, who is the nephew of the terrorist
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they're trying to track down, which is, I forgot
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what was his name, Haim Hakim or something like
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that? Hakim, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
3:18
So we literally just wrapped up the episode of
3:20
the fourth season where Carrie makes a move on
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Ayaan, who... I mean, he's not a child, as you
3:25
had mentioned, but he's like, what, in his twenties?
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Well, yeah, he's in college, so he's not that
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old. Okay. Carrie may be 20 years older. I'm
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not sure. But yeah, you and I were just kind
3:35
of like, wow. Yeah, she is. She's she's going
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there again. She's using sexual or romantic attraction
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thing as a tool to get the suspect vulnerable
3:47
and I guess give her the information that she
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needs to give her. But then I don't know. I mean,
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do you think that all of a sudden Carrie is going
3:53
to fall in love with Ion? No, I don't think so.
3:58
You don't think it'll be like with Brody, where
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she literally is head over heels in love and
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that like affects her decision making. I don't
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think she'll be falling in love with him in that
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sense. Will she form some type of emotional connection
4:10
to him? That will probably happen in cloud her
4:13
judgment, but I don't think it will be like a
4:16
romantic type of love. Okay. We're not going
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to get an eye on and carry child that she will
4:21
also abandon for her child. Maybe. You never
4:23
know. And you know Quinn, Quinn is just over
4:27
it. He's just like, Oh God, I cannot, I don't
4:29
want to like accidentally kill another child.
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I don't want to be a part of this whole CIA mess.
4:35
We're already bracing for Quinn to give another
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what the fuck Carrie and another episode. Yes.
4:41
the fact that they're, like, making a storyline
4:43
where they're trying to say, like, he's in love
4:45
with her, which, I don't know, it just annoys
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me when shows are like, oh, the male and the
4:49
female main characters need to fall in love.
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They can't just have a platonic relationship.
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I don't buy it. I don't buy it. I think that
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Quinn is... Oh, it doesn't make sense. Yeah,
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yeah. Quinn is definitely disillusioned with
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his work with the CIA, which surprises me because
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I think it was, was it last season or was it
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season two or three where Quinn was interrogating
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Brody and he, like, stabbed his hand, like...
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Quinn seemed to have this very cold, monstrous,
5:16
aggressive tactic to working within the CIA.
5:19
Well, like you said, he was really down the rabbit
5:23
hole until he killed the kid. Yeah, okay. He
5:26
said that kind of was what really threw him.
5:28
Broke him. Yeah, because he even mentioned that
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the kid's name is the only name he remembers
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out of all the people he's killed during all
5:36
of this. Okay, okay. So we may see Quinn further
5:41
break away from the CIA. I mean, I would imagine
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that if he does find out about Carrie and the
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move that she made with Ion, that will make him
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think twice about what he's getting into, but...
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Oh, yeah. He's gonna be pissed when he finds
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that out, I think. What about Saul? I know that
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Saul Berenson is no longer with the CIA, but
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you think he'll find this out, you know, the
6:00
Carrie thing with Ion, and just be like, oh,
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God. Yeah. Yeah. Especially since he was already,
6:04
like, saying, like, oh, Quinn called because
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he was worried about you. So, like, obviously
6:08
they're already all like, hey. keep your fucking
6:11
shit together this time around. Yeah, yeah. How
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do you find the overall pace of the show? I think
6:16
I had already talked with you that, like, with
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the show surrounding so much around Nicholas
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Brody, American POW being turned over and, you
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know, converting to Muslimism. Is that the way
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to say it? Islamism? Muslimism? Being... I don't
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know. I guess you should look that up and put
6:36
a little note in here. I should. Yes. Yeah. But
6:39
basically he became Muslim and was friendly with
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Abu Nazir and the child of Abu Nazir who eventually
6:45
gets affected by that bomb that blew up. So the
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first two seasons, I noticed there was a particular
6:50
like fast, like suspenseful pace to the Nicholas
6:55
Brody and the Abu Nazir of it all. And then the
6:57
third season, it kind of slowed down just a little
6:59
bit, but we were still getting Brody and he escaped
7:03
to Venezuela and had the heroin. eventually,
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and Saul Berenson finds him to see if he can
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help him with, you know, tracking down. What
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the hell was the terrorist in season three? I
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totally forgot. Did they have a, like, after
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Abu Nazir, like, who did they, who were they
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after in season three? Because Abu Nazir would,
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or was Abu Nazir killed in season three? Oh,
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they were trying to get, they were trying to
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have Brody kill the guy. Oh, yeah, the Iranian
7:33
was the Iranian. Yeah. Yeah, it was it was it
7:35
was Because they like brought him there and they
7:38
had him pretend that he was like trying to get
7:41
asylum there Yeah, just so that he could get
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close to the guy so that he could kill that guy
7:45
and they could put Saul's old friend in Charge
7:48
the one who murdered his ex -wife and daughter
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-in -law. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, I forgot
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the name but I know that it has something to
7:56
do with Iran Yeah, the guy they put in charge
8:00
instead, was that like Javid or something like
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that? That's familiar, yeah. Brody killed him
8:06
in his office when he least expected it and there
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you go. And how does Brody get paid in return?
8:13
He gets hung. He dies too. Yeah, he gets hung.
8:16
But I think someone on Reddit said this, like
8:18
maybe it was fitting that he had to go because
8:22
like I think once... The show had gone from there.
8:25
Right. Yeah. Cause like the whole thing about
8:27
Brody was like, again, he was a POW that turned,
8:31
that turned into this suspected terrorist. So
8:34
when you leave that away and now he's working
8:36
with the government and you have the love story
8:38
with Carrie, I mean, yeah, you could do something
8:40
with that, but like. But like part of the whole
8:42
thing was like, if he and Carrie were together,
8:45
she realistically wouldn't be able to keep working
8:47
for the CIA. That's true. That's true. then where's
8:50
your main character? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
8:52
yeah. Then it would have just been Saul and Quinn
8:55
and Carrie having maybe a better life, being
8:58
in love with Brody and taking care of the kid
9:00
than what she's doing now. But a show needs conflict
9:04
in order to sustain itself, so that's where we
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are. But yeah, we're fascinated by season four
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of Homeland and all the seasons that come after
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it. We'll see what comes of it. Let's get back
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to what we were originally going to start this
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podcast with. Favorite meal of the past week.
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Baby Donnie, wife, baby, baby. Can you go first?
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Cause I don't know. Oh, you don't? You can just
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name a food. Okay. Well, you once again, your
9:31
home cooking got a mention. I mean, and you suspected
9:34
that I would like this. And I was right. Uh,
9:36
this was Indian influenced. Kind of. Ish? Yeah.
9:40
You made, you, you, you had the white rice with
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the pork dumplings. And you had like the curry
9:49
sauce and the carrot chippings over it and had
9:53
a little bit of a spice to it, which was good.
9:56
And overall, it was just very tasty. I don't
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know how you found that recipe. How did you find
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it? I have no idea. It came up on, uh, oh, I
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think I just Googled it. So maybe like Indian,
10:06
Indo Asian would that be? Yeah, I think it was
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like, um, I think it was literally just like.
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Curry baked dumplings or something like that.
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Mm -hmm. And thankfully we had our pork dumplings
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because I know you were I know you're preferring
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the BB -Go brand. I didn't care what brand. I
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just didn't want to have to buy this stupid little
10:28
individual one. But thank God P .F. Chang's came
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through with us. And yeah, it was wonderful.
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It was spicy. It was nice and filling. I had
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a good time with the dinner as recently as last
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night when I was working a shift at Vermont Stage.
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Oh, thank you for that. So that's my favorite
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meal of the past week. And now that you've had
10:45
time to think about yours, what would yours be?
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Mine was probably the steak and rice quesadilla
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that I had on Friday. Steak and rice quesadilla
10:55
that you had on Friday. Wait, was that from America's
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Taco Shop? Yeah. Yeah. This wonderful Mexican
11:00
restaurant in Newport, Vermont that Oni has neglected
11:03
to give me food for in quite some time. It's
11:06
been like, what, four, five, six years? Because
11:08
we used to live. It's not been that long. It
11:11
seems like it's been a while. Cause we used to
11:14
live like within like what, like five, 10 minutes
11:16
from the place. And when we were living that
11:19
close, obviously we were able to go together
11:21
a lot. But now it's just like, damn, I hear all
11:24
these America's taco shop adventures. And I'm
11:26
just like, ugh. Get it through work. So. I just
11:30
have my protein bar while you're enjoying top
11:33
notch Mexican food. You were eating the food
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I made. Yeah, I did. I did. And again, it was
11:39
delicious. It was delicious, but I haven't had
11:40
America's taco shop in a while. Well, we'll have
11:43
to go to Newport for something, I guess. I guess.
11:45
Yeah. We're like, for those of you listening
11:47
and watching, we're like 40 something minutes
11:49
away from Newport in a town called Richford here
11:52
in Vermont. So, yeah, sometimes it takes a journey,
11:57
a trek, if you will, to go to these restaurants
12:00
that we once used to go to. Oh, God. Alright.
12:05
So we got our favorite meals down. Let's talk
12:09
about the pit, which is in its second season.
12:12
First, I was saying that like, like, because
12:15
during the first season, we watched it late.
12:17
Like it came out January, 2025. And I think like
12:21
much later in the year, July, I think. Yes. And
12:25
because we watched it that late, we were able
12:27
to just like binge as many episodes as we wanted.
12:31
Um, and I know we were talking about how you
12:34
preferred that. model, which is the model that
12:36
the streaming services, especially Netflix used
12:39
to go under, which was, all right, we're just
12:41
going to give you the whole season all at once,
12:44
binge it on your own time. And you could be done
12:47
with it within one or two days, and then you
12:49
have to wait a year for the next season to come
12:51
out. So you prefer that format. Yeah. And I think
12:54
that's partially because of like how I watch
12:57
TV. Like you and I will watch like an episode
13:00
or two together, but like when I sit down to
13:02
watch TV. I'm sitting there for several hours
13:05
and I would like to be able to watch the same
13:07
thing from start to finish and not have to bounce
13:09
around from shows. Look, I like that delayed
13:13
gratification. I mean, I was, you know, when
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Netflix first came out with the original streaming
13:21
shows and they did the whole, like, release of
13:23
season all at once, I was down for that. Like,
13:26
I could watch it at my own pace. But at the same
13:29
time, you know, you could get, like, a Hollywood
13:33
Reporter critical article spoiler, like, many
13:37
episodes before you're done with the season,
13:39
so you run into that risk. And also... I find
13:44
that if I'm really into the show and I binged
13:45
the entire season, before you know it, within
13:48
one or two days, I'm like already looking for
13:51
another show to watch. And then the cycle continues
13:53
where it's like, oh, I'm getting my quick fix.
13:55
I'm getting the season all at once and I gotta
13:57
find another show to watch. And what I like about
13:59
what we're forced to do with The Pit right now,
14:01
which is how all the streaming services seem
14:02
to be doing it, which is literally just release
14:04
an episode. once a week, like old school television
14:08
is that it just gives you time to breathe and
14:12
enjoy the characters and just. take it all in
14:16
and, and I don't know. I just feel like the enjoyment
14:18
of the show, the experience of the show, it's,
14:20
it's, it lasts longer. And therefore you don't
14:24
have to like get those quick fixes and try to
14:26
get like 50 ,000 TV shows all at once. You could
14:29
just like, maybe take two or three TV shows and,
14:32
and spread them out over the course of a year.
14:34
Does that make sense? No, my brain, my brain
14:36
works too fast for that. Well, no, but you watch
14:40
shows like Raise Anatomy, 9 -1 -1, 9 -1 -1 Maxville.
14:43
I mean, those are traditional. weekly broadcast
14:45
shows. So, I mean, don't you already have to
14:49
do it anyway with those shows? Yeah, sometimes,
14:51
but also I'll just sometimes wait until it's
14:54
been out for a couple of weeks and then just
14:56
watch like a few at a time. You can't just do
14:59
that simple one 40 or 50 minute episode and just
15:03
leave it be until the next week. I can if I have
15:05
to, but it's not my preference. Alright, alright,
15:08
alright, fair enough. Well, yeah, so the pit...
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When you think about the second season so far,
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I mean, I feel like the first season had a lot
15:17
of intensity to it, the second season. I don't
15:20
know, maybe it's because they're coming out every
15:23
Thursday. We have to wait like once a week to
15:26
watch them. But do you find the pacing to be
15:29
a little bit slower this season? Like, I can't
15:33
even remember what the last episode was about.
15:35
Oh, no, no, I think Louie probably - Louie died.
15:38
Yeah, yeah, Louie died. Probably the sweetest
15:40
patient ever had a bad liver, and I think it
15:43
was a pulmonary hemorrhage that he died from.
15:45
So that was sad because, of course, Louie was
15:48
just a great, sweet personality. And then you
15:50
find out that he did have a wife and that she
15:53
died, and that was when he started drinking and
15:55
everything. And the hospital was his emergency
15:58
contact. Yes. Had nobody else. Didn't have anybody
16:01
else. Poor Louie. So this is still taking place
16:04
over the course of 4th of July, like the entire,
16:07
like an entire day. Yeah. And we see Dr. Robbie
16:12
wanting to leave for a sabbatical, but he can't.
16:15
Like he has to stick around for, for, for the
16:17
entirety of this day. And they're keeping motorcycle
16:19
accidents as a way of being like, Hey, you probably
16:22
shouldn't go on this three months long motorcycle
16:24
trip. But what would Dr. Robbie do if, if not
16:27
for motorcycling around the Country like what
16:29
it would like like cuz I feel like he's gonna
16:32
be like That other character the one that got
16:36
punched in the face last season by the by the
16:39
by the really yeah the charge nurse. Yeah. Yeah
16:42
Like, because you remember how when she came
16:44
back, like she had mentioned, like, he tried
16:46
to go away, but then she was bored and decided
16:48
to come back. I feel like Dr. Robbie, same vibe
16:51
with him, which is like - Oh, a hundred percent.
16:53
Even if he goes on the motorcycle sabbatical,
16:56
I'd be shocked if he lasts three months. Like
16:57
all of them are making bets about it. Yeah. Yeah.
17:00
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like their, their, their life,
17:02
their sense of like daily stimuli seems to be
17:06
very much revolved around taking care of these,
17:08
these patients at the Pittsburgh Trauma Center.
17:10
So when you take - that away. Like, yes, like
17:13
the thought of like taking a break from all that
17:15
intensity and stress seems fine. But then you
17:17
take that all away. And some people will actually
17:19
lean into it and vacation, but others like Dr.
17:23
Rabia would imagine would just have a hard time
17:27
staying away from it for too long, because that's,
17:29
that's just the adrenaline that your body and
17:31
your mind is used to every day. Yeah. So I don't
17:35
know, so I guess Louis died and Dr. Al Hashim,
17:40
is that her name? The one that is Al Hashimi,
17:42
yeah, the one that is, she's shadowing Dr. Robbie
17:44
so that when he goes away, she could be the attending
17:47
that takes over. There was a moment. in a previous
17:53
episode where it seemed like they were a little
17:56
flirtatious when it came to like saying, I think
17:59
it was like Dr. Hashimi who was like, Oh, let's
18:01
go out for a drink. Like she said something like
18:03
that. I know that there are moments where Dr.
18:06
Robbie and Dr. Hashimi have this tension because,
18:10
of course, Dr. Robbie is, he's used to doing
18:12
things his own way, used to being in charge,
18:14
and Dr. Al Hashimi has her different way of doing
18:16
things with the, especially with the AI way of
18:19
charting, which Dr. Santos is, is that her name?
18:23
Dr. Santos? Yeah, which she seems to be struggling
18:25
with. Maybe that blip of commentary or dialogue
18:29
about the drink just came by too fast, but I
18:32
don't know. Do you think there's going to be
18:33
something more to their relationship than just
18:35
- He's dating somebody else. He is, but I don't
18:38
know. I have thoughts. Because we don't see who
18:41
he's dating. Yeah, we do. Yes, we do. She's literally
18:45
one of the main, like not the main characters,
18:47
but she's the social worker that keeps coming
18:49
down. She's got like a blue pantsuit on. Yeah,
18:53
meh. She literally made a comment about him watching,
18:58
having to leave a TV on in his room at night
19:01
to sleep. That lady. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so...
19:04
Whatever drink commentary between doctor that
19:08
that's that you think that was just platonic.
19:10
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Or if it was more it's because
19:14
she doesn't know he's seeing someone. I'm gonna
19:16
place a bet. Dr. Hashimi and Dr. Robbie are gonna
19:19
be married by the end of the season. By the end
19:23
of the 24 hour period. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Within
19:28
24 hours, they're gonna go from just co -workers
19:30
to being married. That's exactly what I'm saying.
19:34
Makes so much sense. Yeah, we'll keep our eyes
19:36
and ears out for the pit. Yeah, I do not want
19:38
to see another grandmother shit again. I don't.
19:40
Oh god, that was disgusting. The grandmother
19:41
that was all constipated and just - The de -obstipation,
19:44
yes. Yeah, yeah, that was just splurging poop
19:47
into one of the residents' chests. Yeah, that
19:51
was disgusting. Yeah. Hey, look, the pit, I mean,
19:54
they will, anything that you and I don't want
19:57
to see, like say someone vomiting after - Vomiting
20:00
up hot dogs. Yeah, after eating like 35 hot dogs
20:02
in a hot dog eating contest. 36. 36? Okay. And
20:06
then he enthusiastically is like, oh my God,
20:08
I can't wait to do this again. Yes. Anything
20:10
that the pit, anything that we don't want to
20:12
see, the pit will have us see it. There was a
20:16
penis scene that happened not too long ago. What
20:18
was it? The guy just had an erection for a long
20:22
time. Yeah, I think he took probably Viagra or
20:25
something and then it just wouldn't go away.
20:27
Yeah, and then you just have the female doctors
20:30
like having to like massage the penis in order
20:32
to get the erection down. I remember there was
20:35
that moment. Well, they were trying to get the
20:37
blood out of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, by massaging
20:40
it. Well, they were moving it toward the needle.
20:42
There you go. There you go. But there was some
20:45
form of massage. I remember that. Oh, God. Well,
20:49
no, the pit is always a fun time to see very
20:54
gross things, but also see very interesting,
20:57
entertaining hospital intensity. How would you
20:59
rank it compared to, say, Grey's Anatomy or that
21:03
Chicago med show that you watched? Well, I mean,
21:07
those are like... dramas, so it's very different.
21:11
Well, like, are you saying, like, more relationship
21:12
-based? Oh, yeah, 100%. Okay. And the pit is
21:16
more so about the work? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah,
21:19
I mean, like, obviously you see some, like, procedures
21:21
and stuff like that in the other shows, but those
21:24
are on regular television, so you can't really
21:28
do a lot of the same things that HBO is doing.
21:30
Well, but if you had to choose, baby. A relationship
21:33
-based hospital drama or a work -based hospital
21:35
drama? A relationship -based one. I like the
21:38
pit, but I... You want to see people sleep with
21:41
each other? Sure. Why not? Why not? Why not?
21:46
All right. Well, we're looking forward to the
21:47
episode next week. America's Next Top Model,
21:52
a show that you watched, like what? Did you watch
21:55
all the seasons back in the day? Oh, God. I don't
21:57
know about all of them, but... Probably nearly
21:59
all of them. Okay. I think it was like on UPN
22:02
first and then the CW I was aware of it for sure
22:05
But I never like actually watched it. I was certainly
22:08
aware of Tyra Banks through I think like that
22:12
movie that she did with Lindsay Lohan the Life
22:15
-size. Yeah So I remember being introduced to
22:18
Tyra Banks through that. And then I think she
22:21
like guest started on an episode of Fresh Prince
22:23
of Bel -Air and that she had her talk show for
22:25
a little while. So America's Next Top Model was
22:27
always just something that I was aware of through
22:29
like commercial promos for it. And now Netflix
22:33
is coming out with a reality check documentary
22:35
about it, which goes into the whole behind the
22:37
scenes making of America's Next Top Model. What
22:43
I love is, like, the promo that you see on Netflix,
22:46
it starts out with, like, this impression that
22:48
it's gonna be, like, this kiss -ass puff piece
22:50
about how great and revolutionary the show was,
22:53
especially since Tyra is involved as one of the
22:56
talking heads of the documentary. But then, it
22:59
goes into the... Reality? Yeah, the very often
23:03
-mentioned problematic nature of the show. Uh,
23:06
the moments where you... see women being judged
23:08
for their weight when they're already like 78
23:10
pounds as it is. And Tyra is in the documentary
23:16
and she will admit in that promo that you see
23:18
that yeah, they may have gone a little too far
23:21
sometimes. So I guess my question to you from
23:23
what you watched of America's Next Top Model
23:26
back in the day, were you Already like aware
23:30
at the time where you're already pointing out
23:32
and seeing like oh, yeah This doesn't look right
23:34
or were you just gonna know because at that time
23:37
when I was watching it like I wasn't that old
23:39
How old were you don't know how old is the show?
23:41
When did it come out? Oh good question? Let's
23:43
look it up right now, baby Okay, the internet
23:45
is a great thing to have when we're recording
23:47
So it says the show lasted from 2003 to 2018.
23:51
Okay, so yeah 2003 I would have been eight And
23:57
it was probably not long after that. Like, I'm
23:59
thinking it was probably, like, fourth, fifth
24:02
grade when I started watching it. So, like, informative
24:05
years. What drew you into it? I have no idea.
24:08
I mean, you're a little girl at that age, and
24:11
this is a show about fashion and models and,
24:13
like, you know, all the things that you're like,
24:15
well, this is what everybody wants to do. And,
24:17
you know, this is how you learn about what's
24:19
cool and happening and all that type of stuff.
24:21
And do you remember at one... Do you remember
24:23
at one point was it like during the show's run
24:25
or maybe after the show's run where you started
24:27
to realize like oh Actually, there's a lot about
24:30
this show that doesn't hold up today. Definitely
24:32
after i'm sure like watching It later on some
24:37
of like the later seasons when I was in like
24:39
high school or like just after and like watching
24:41
reruns and stuff There was definitely points
24:43
where it was like damn they're really talking
24:45
about her like that like that this size 10 person
24:49
is plus size as though that's not smaller than
24:52
the average for most people so stuff like that
24:55
and and just learning more about how reality
24:58
shows in general treat their contestants and
25:00
the the Conditions that they put them in with
25:03
when they have to wake up the limited sleep that
25:05
they're getting All of that type of stuff too.
25:07
So yeah I am fascinated by watching it. Again,
25:13
as someone who's never really watched the show
25:15
itself, there's just something about breaking
25:18
down TV shows that were a big thing back in the
25:20
day years later and how it doesn't hold up. There's
25:23
just something about that subject matter that
25:25
really entices me. So I look forward to seeing
25:28
this documentary, maybe without you, in secret.
25:32
Better not watch it without me. If you do, then
25:34
I'll watch it with, I'll watch it without you
25:35
first. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
25:38
no, no. You know, you know, these, these are
25:39
the types of things that I want to watch with
25:41
you, baby. Come on now. Um, so you're also watching,
25:46
uh, well, okay. So Bridgerton, I know you're,
25:49
are you caught up with it or are you current
25:50
season? You are. Well, because they release it
25:53
in parts. Oh, like. So they've only released
25:56
the first four episodes of the season. Oh, and
25:58
we are, we're on season four right now. Yep.
26:01
Okay. So. As you know, literally the last time
26:04
I watched the show was with you and Britney.
26:09
Yeah, and our friend Britney when we were all
26:13
living together. And this was like the first
26:15
season when the show had like peak buzz because
26:18
it was like this renaissance thing, like mixed
26:22
with the Shonda Rhimes style of like sex and
26:26
suspense and intrigue and whatnot. So I'm sure
26:29
the show has changed a lot from the days of like
26:32
Regé -Jean Page and whoever the hell that actress
26:35
was that was acting with him. Regé -Jean Page
26:37
was the, was the, was the - Yeah, I know, I know,
26:39
but no, it has not. changed. It's still the same
26:42
premise and everything. Well, but no, but those
26:45
two characters from the first season are not
26:46
there anymore, right? Yeah, but the whole rest
26:49
of her family is. Okay. Remind me what we're
26:53
talking about when we talk about Bridgerton.
26:54
Like, what does it center around? Like, does
26:56
it center around - The Bridgertons are one of
26:58
the families. Okay. Okay. Yeah, so pretty much
27:03
each season kind of focuses on, like, Other people,
27:06
too, but more so, like, one of the Bridgerton,
27:08
like, kids and, like, their relationship and
27:11
that type of thing. Inside characters and stuff
27:13
like that. And why do we care about the Bridgertons?
27:15
What's specific about them that is able to create
27:18
a entertaining TV show? You know what I mean?
27:20
Like, is it just, like, they're... Well, it actually
27:22
started as a book series first. Okay. Yeah, and
27:25
then Shonda got the rights for producing the
27:28
TV series. And like sometimes when that happened,
27:31
people are not happy because they're like, oh,
27:34
it doesn't stick true to this and this and that.
27:36
But people are actually happy with how she did
27:38
it because it follows the same ideas, but...
27:43
kind of works as like a tag -along type of thing
27:46
as opposed to like a redoing of. They're just
27:49
like, okay, this fits within the realm of the
27:52
story and the world that's been created for that.
27:56
So it's this woman who has like eight children
27:59
and her husband is dead and... It's just all
28:03
of them, like, coming into society and, like,
28:05
getting married off and, like, the kids who don't
28:08
want to do that, but then we're getting to their
28:09
storylines now and everything, so. Well, Steph
28:12
Sandoval, if you remember from the episode where
28:14
she came on for Peter Rivalry, she was talking
28:16
about being excited for Bridgerton coming back,
28:18
so I'll definitely have to... I have a lot of
28:20
catching up to do, because, again, I haven't
28:21
watched since, like, the end of the first season.
28:24
Yeah, there's a lot that happened. But what I
28:27
do remember, wasn't, like, the Queen character,
28:30
didn't she have her own, like, mini... series
28:31
for? Yes. Yeah, Queen Charlotte. Yeah. Yeah.
28:35
Yeah. Okay. Is she still in Bridgerton? Yeah.
28:37
Okay. All right. Lots to catch up on. Are there
28:40
any other spinoffs of Bridgerton or was it just
28:42
that Queen Charlotte one that happened? I think
28:43
just that one. I don't think there's any others.
28:46
Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. But I would, yeah, at
28:48
this point, I don't think there's necessarily
28:51
any other storylines that you could easily spin
28:54
off of it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Bridgerton on my
28:57
watch list for sure. James Vanderbeek recently
29:02
died. I know, I mean, you probably, you said,
29:10
I know you haven't watched Dawson's Creek, but
29:12
you had a mention that you could swear that you
29:15
saw him in something else. Varsity Blues. Yes,
29:17
I think you and I did too. Okay. But we couldn't
29:20
figure out what. I don't remember watching anything
29:22
with you with James Vanderbeek in it. Maybe just
29:24
I did then. He's in a lot of things, so. Was
29:27
he, though? He was in a select... He struck me
29:30
as that kind of guy where, like, Dawson's Creek
29:32
was the peak, and then he was able to get, like,
29:35
some work here and there afterwards. But it never,
29:37
like, matched the impact that Dawson's Creek
29:41
had, because you and I were probably way too
29:46
young to watch the show when it came out, because
29:47
it was like... 98 to 2003. Yeah, no way my Christian
29:52
parents were going to allow me to watch this
29:54
very sex filled teen show. May I remind you that
30:00
they come swinging and they had like headlines
30:02
about this show from the get go because of that.
30:05
But the character of Pacey Witter, who is Dawson's
30:08
friend, played by played by Joshua Jackson, if
30:11
you're familiar with the Mighty Ducks movies.
30:12
Oh, yep. Yeah, yeah, Joshua Jackson. He's the
30:14
main kid character. So Joshua Jackson, as he
30:17
grew into his early 20s, he starred in Dawson's
30:20
Creek along with James Vanderbeek and Katie Holmes
30:22
and Michelle Williams. So Joshua Jackson's character,
30:25
Pacey, in the first season, he has an affair
30:28
with his teacher. And this is a high schooler
30:33
having an affair with a teacher in her 30s or
30:35
40s. So I think even when I was first watching
30:38
the show on Netflix back in 2012, when I was
30:40
in college, I was like, oh, Wow, that this storyline
30:44
was allowed, but it passed through and it seemed
30:48
to work. So yeah, the show was getting headlines
30:51
just from the get -go because of stuff like that.
30:54
It was just a show known for a certain... bold
30:59
teenage sexuality that you just did not see anywhere
31:02
else. It was like, oh, here are these four white
31:05
teenage friends in this Cape Cod aesthetic -like
31:11
town. And as teenagers are at that age, they
31:14
just cannot think and talk about anything other
31:16
than sex. I mean, really Dawson was like a notable
31:20
character in that. Not only was he the lead,
31:23
but... He had this very best friend to soulmate
31:28
kind of relationship with Joey Katie Holmes his
31:31
character That clearly did not work out that
31:34
they were very much not meant for each other.
31:37
So Dawson had this very sort of Romanticized
31:45
like, you know, I mean like that person that
31:47
like is in love with the idea of love he was
31:50
a filmmaker in the movie, like he was an aspiring
31:53
filmmaker, obsessed with Steven Spielberg. So
31:56
it was very touching. Steven Spielberg himself,
31:58
he donated like, what, $25 ,000 to James Vanderbeek's
32:01
family's GoFundMe for his medical bills. So that
32:04
was nice. But yeah, no, it was just interesting
32:06
to see the show that was just like, oh, here's
32:09
like teenage sexuality here. And here's this
32:11
character with a love for films there. Here's
32:13
high schoolers that clearly talked a lot more
32:16
mature than you would expect from high schoolers.
32:20
It was created by Kevin Williamson, who is also
32:23
the same guy that wrote the Scream movie. So
32:26
yeah, I've never seen it, but like Scream and
32:28
Dawson's Creek, I would imagine those. You haven't?
32:31
I have not? No. What's wrong with me, you ask
32:34
a lot. Yes. But you have to watch that. Now we
32:38
have to watch that. I know. I know. But yeah,
32:41
no, I... You know, from enjoying Dawson's Creek
32:44
to being, it's very annoyed by it a lot of the
32:47
times because of, it's just, even though they
32:51
talked very maturely in their dialogue, it was
32:53
still teenagers doing very toxic things that
32:56
adults would not really do. Throughout it all,
32:59
I think I just still appreciated the performances
33:01
and just the impact that the show had. So I always
33:06
have a place for... James Vanderbeek in my heart
33:09
because of that. And I had mentioned to you that
33:11
when we were doing, when this podcast was The
33:14
Delicious Recap, the Family Matters Rewatch podcast,
33:17
me and former co -host AJ Vandertaunt and our
33:19
friend Courtney went to 90's Con in Connecticut
33:22
back in March 2024. And James Vanderbeek was
33:26
on the panel with his Dawson's Creek co -star,
33:30
Curr Smith, who played Jack, who initially was
33:34
like this guy between the Dawson, Joey, love
33:38
relationship of it all. But then Jack morphs
33:41
into this, this gay character, which for late
33:44
nineties, early two thousands television, it
33:45
was like, you didn't see too much of that. So
33:47
he was iconic for, for that. So to be able to
33:49
like interact or to, to, so to be able to like
33:52
see Kurt Smith and James Vanderbeek interact
33:54
at the nineties con panel, um, and not know at
33:56
the time that James was already like a few months
33:58
into his colorectal cancer diagnosis. It's, you
34:01
know, now, now I'm thinking about. on it like
34:03
a few years later and it's just pretty bizarre.
34:06
I think you had mentioned that like for that
34:08
kind of diagnosis, it depends in terms of like
34:12
the severity of the symptoms, right? For anyone
34:14
with any type of cancer, yeah, it's gonna depend
34:17
on like what stage you're at and all that and
34:19
how early they catch it and everything like that
34:21
for what your symptoms are. Yeah. And yeah, no,
34:24
and we were already talking off air about like
34:27
how depressing it is. And again, this is the
34:31
fault of the American healthcare system, but
34:34
even someone of James Vanderbeek stature, who
34:37
you would think would have like a decent amount
34:39
of money saved from Dawson's Creek, from Varsity
34:42
Blues, from Don't Trust to Be in Apartment 23,
34:45
like all this great work that he's done. But
34:48
no, his last days were setting up a Dawson's
34:52
Creek memorabilia auction and trying to get money
34:57
to pay for his medical bills by Going about it
35:00
that way and I think he raised like $47 ,000
35:02
which in the grand scheme of things for medical
35:04
bills for especially colorectal cancer I would
35:07
have mentioned is not that much but it was still
35:08
something so that's the fans for that that's
35:11
definitely great for the fans for coming out
35:13
for him in that respect and then the cast of
35:18
Dawson's Creek with the exception of James Vanderbeek
35:20
they had a reunion at the Richard Rogers theater
35:23
in New York City, which houses the Broadway musical
35:25
Hamilton and uh, to raise money for James Vanderbeek's
35:30
medical bills, they re -read the pilot script
35:33
in public with an audience. Lin -Manuel Miranda,
35:36
the star of Hamilton, uh, subbed in for James
35:39
Vanderbeek. So that was nice. And then, like,
35:41
even after, like, even after James has passed
35:44
away, to see that his family, like, literally
35:46
had to establish a GoFundMe because they have
35:48
all these bills to pay. Yeah, they have all these
35:52
bills to pay. But... people, when, when, when
35:54
people care for someone like they do James Vanderbeek,
35:56
they show up because I think last I checked the
35:58
GoFundMe got up to like $2 million. So it's something.
36:02
Probably not enough, but you know, I mean, but
36:03
it's still something. And like I said, I mean,
36:05
big names like Steven Spielberg being able to,
36:08
to ship in whatever they can. So yeah, James
36:10
Vanderbeek was certainly someone who had a big
36:12
effect on pop culture, especially like teenage
36:16
pop culture. so sad that he had to go out like
36:20
this. And I think that it's helpful to have this
36:23
as a reminder of like, check your health. And
36:27
I know that right now with many people, you and
36:33
myself included, not being able to afford health
36:34
insurance, it's probably stupid to say like,
36:37
oh, go see your doctor. Because it might be very
36:40
tricky to afford to do that on a regular basis.
36:43
I don't know, whatever means, whatever way you
36:46
can to look out for your health, make sure you're
36:49
good on your fiber, your vitamins, your protein,
36:52
you know, so that you could live as healthy of
36:54
a life as possible, I think is a good lesson
36:57
to take away from, if that makes sense. Yeah,
36:59
I mean, you know, you can try to catch stuff
37:01
early and do what you can, but again, you can
37:04
only do what you can do. Well, we're like, what,
37:08
a month and a half into... 2026. And already
37:14
we can say that we have two fantastic new things.
37:17
We have a new dog, a fifth dog, and a new couch.
37:22
Now the fifth dog, let me just say. Well, actually,
37:27
you know what? I'm going to leave it to you.
37:29
Talk to us about this fifth dog, where the fifth
37:32
dog came from, the makeup of the fifth dog and
37:35
how it is similar to the makeup of two of our
37:39
already owned for dogs, for dogs. Yeah, Dottie
37:43
came from Dottie, that's her name now. Was Destiny
37:46
first, but not Dottie. Yes, came from the dog
37:49
rescue that I'm part of. She was a foster. And
37:54
she is starting to go blind and from chronic
37:59
retinal degeneration. And in the next one to
38:02
two years will probably be fully blind. And we
38:05
already have two other blind or partially blind
38:09
dogs. So I figured what's what's one more blind
38:13
dog? We just have a soft spot for those blind
38:16
dogs because I guess nobody else wants them.
38:19
So why not bring them home here? Exactly. So
38:21
they can live with us. So of course, I'm thinking
38:24
like, all right, a fifth dog in the house when
38:26
we already have fosters coming in and out because
38:28
of the dog rescue that you're president of. Oh,
38:32
my God, that seems like a lot. But then, you
38:35
know, you obviously have a great a taste and
38:39
a great judgment call for the kinds of dogs that
38:42
would be a good fit for our home. And we had
38:46
Dottie in our care for a few months, waiting
38:49
to see if another home would take her. And then
38:52
even though she looks like a sweet, well -behaved
38:55
girl, I guess the blind thing can catch people
38:58
off guard. And the more she became a good girl
39:02
and harmless, I just thought, all right. No,
39:06
because I think what we agreed on was like, oh,
39:08
let's give it like a three month trial before
39:10
we make a permanent decision on whether we're
39:14
keeping her or not. Yeah. There might've been
39:15
some discussion of that sort. Yeah. But I think
39:18
like, what, was it like two? two and a half months
39:21
in or something like that where you're like,
39:23
come on, Jonathan, come on. She's good. Come
39:25
on. What's a few more weeks? Come on. You still
39:28
owe me a lab dog. You still owe me a golden retriever
39:30
dog. When one comes along, we can see what it
39:33
is. If they come along, because of course they're
39:35
very popular dogs. Yes. But no, I'm kidding.
39:38
I'm kidding. I really like as time has gone by,
39:40
I really don't place as much importance on those
39:43
dog breeds anymore. I would say like whenever
39:47
it comes time for Any of our other dogs say Boomer,
39:51
Dexter, Archer, Edgar. If one of them passes
39:53
away, I think it would be worth considering to
39:56
see what golden retrievers and labs are out there.
39:59
But as of now, I'm good. I think that, especially
40:02
since you spend more time with the dogs than
40:04
I do, I think that it's fair to say that here's
40:11
a good girl who's not wanted by anybody. And
40:13
if we can make space for her, then why not? Exactly.
40:18
And now we just got to find a home for the new
40:21
foster dog. Yeah, Princess, which is Dotty's
40:23
sister. No idea what the relation is. There is
40:27
some relation, but I don't know what it specifically
40:29
is. They look very much alike. They were running
40:32
around. It's like her sister, aunt, mother, cousin.
40:35
Yeah, they were running around me all frantically,
40:38
like as I was trying to get them back into their
40:40
crates. And I was just like, oh my God, like
40:41
this is too much because I'm trying to figure
40:42
out who are you guys? Like who is which? And
40:45
I can get you back into your crate to feed your
40:46
lunch. What's going on? But Princess is a good
40:49
girl. She can see. She can see. Yes. Yes. And
40:53
she's just a little bit anxious. But other than
40:55
that, let's hope that we can find her a good
40:57
home and not have a six dog in the house. No,
41:00
no, no, no. She's nice, but she'll find a home.
41:02
All right. All right. If you're that confident,
41:05
I believe you. I am. And then we got ourselves
41:07
another new couch. This one a lot bigger, more
41:11
spread out. Cause like we, our, our first round
41:14
of couches were like these like brown leather
41:18
couches. It was fake leather. And it was like
41:21
a, like a three cushion couch and then like a
41:23
two cushion loveseat. Okay. And we thought that
41:26
this was good and this was it. Yes. And it was
41:30
not. It was not. But no, I think even when we
41:33
were like on the hunt and eventually bought that
41:36
couch, it was, it seemed like price had a lot
41:38
to do with it. It seemed like. Price and. not
41:41
only price but like trying to make it fit into
41:44
a specific setup for the living room was part
41:46
of it. Yeah. Yeah. Because I do remember like
41:49
even at that first time couch shopping that there
41:51
were like bigger couches that I was like really
41:53
into and then wouldn't have fit. It wasn't the
41:56
price. They wouldn't have fit with how the living
41:58
room was set up before. Yeah. So the fake leather
42:01
couches didn't take that long for us to just
42:05
feel very cramped in them. They were small and
42:08
we couldn't lay down on each other comfortably,
42:11
stretch our legs, so to speak. So we decided,
42:13
you know what, we're going to go couch shopping
42:15
again. And now describe the couch that we have
42:18
now. That's beautiful. It's wonderful. It's got
42:20
a chaise lounge on each end and then two cushions
42:24
in the middle that are like deep and wide. So
42:27
like, even those are almost long enough to like
42:29
lay fully out on and like, they're like thick
42:32
enough that you can have like two people lay
42:33
next to each other. It's wonderful. It's good
42:36
stuff. We've had many. It came with like... six
42:39
throw pillows until those are just kind of like
42:42
in a big stack on the couch. Yeah. And you know
42:45
what? In some cases I do use the throw pillows
42:47
to lay down on when we're watching TV, but yeah,
42:50
I've noticed more frequently that we will just
42:52
have moments after like we're... tired and done
42:55
watching TV and ready to go to bed, but not quite
42:57
ready to actually physically go to bed, will
43:00
take many naps on those couches. Yeah. It's like
43:03
7 30 and we both fall asleep on the couch. Yeah.
43:06
Yeah. And then I wake up all aggravated because
43:08
I'm just like, Oh God, like it was so comfortable.
43:10
And now I got to take the dogs out and brush
43:12
my teeth and do all that before actually going
43:14
to bed. Exactly. Yeah, new couches, or I'm sorry,
43:19
new couch, new dog, still somewhat new year.
43:22
If anybody's still saying happy new year at February
43:24
15th, I don't know about you. I don't know. I
43:26
haven't heard anyone. Yeah. I don't know. You
43:29
might. You're kind of strange like that. No,
43:31
no. I mean, I think... No, I'm saying you're
43:35
saying it. So like, is it... The end of January?
43:40
Is that the cutoff for Happy New Year or is it
43:42
like after the first couple weeks of January?
43:44
I feel like the first two weeks of January is
43:46
the limit. Okay. Yeah. All right. Beyond that,
43:51
like that's it's not so new anymore. Well, this
43:55
was great. This is our Sunday. Great thing about
43:58
having my wife on the podcast is that when I
44:00
need an episode ready to go, ready to edit for
44:02
Thursday airing, I can just be like, hey, wifey,
44:06
it's Sunday. We have all this time. You want
44:08
to just shoot shit about whatever. So that's
44:11
good. Hey, for those of you that are looking
44:15
to sustain any sort of followership of this podcast,
44:19
listen, watch The Delicious Culture wherever
44:21
you get your podcasts. Apple, Spotify, Series
44:23
XM, Amazon, whatever, wherever you get your podcasts.
44:26
If you're on Spotify, give us a five star rating.
44:28
If you like the podcast, if you're on Apple,
44:30
give us a review. That would be very nice. You
44:33
can email TheDeliciousCulture at gmail .com.
44:35
Feel free. Share your favorite foods. Share your
44:37
favorite pop culture that you've been binging.
44:39
Let us know if you've also had a new dog and
44:42
a new couch. Yay. Let us know if you are like
44:45
my wife, Tony, in this video with a new shirt
44:49
filled with 16 cats. They have not 16. It seems
44:52
like 16 cats. It's a lot. I wore it to the cat
44:55
show. Oh, wait. That's how you got the shirt
44:58
from a cat show? No. My nana gave it to me for
45:01
Christmas. Oh. As she should. As she should.
45:05
At The Delicious Culture on Instagram, YouTube,
45:08
and TikTok. Subscribe, comment, like, share,
45:10
appreciate it. At The Delicious Culture. You
45:12
can follow me on TikTok personally at John Fransma
45:15
presents. Toni, feel free to promote your stuff.
45:18
I don't have stuff. You do. Come on. You have
45:20
your friends for like dog rescue. Yes. We have
45:23
Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for the dog rescue.
45:27
Are you doing animal dances on TikTok? No, it's
45:30
just videos of the dogs. Dancing? No. Because
45:35
that's all AI, so no thank you. Well, there you
45:37
go. All the more reason to invest in AI is to
45:40
just make people think that dogs can dance and
45:41
then you can just get them back. It's ruining
45:43
our planet. It's ruining the drinking water.
45:46
Yeah, all right. AI is bad. AI, you know what?
45:52
It's done. Correction, correction. Generative
45:54
AI is bad. Got it, got it. I was going to say,
45:58
because AI has done some good, but it's also
46:00
done some bad. Yes, exactly. In the medical field
46:02
and stuff, there's definitely some benefits.
46:05
But generative AI, we don't like that. Ask Dr.
46:07
Al Hashimi from the pit. Sure. She'll tell you
46:10
that it's done wonders for the medical field.
46:13
Yes. All right. Well, thank you, Tony. Love you.
46:17
Love you. Let deliciousness ring, everybody.