Taking It Down: The Shots and Scenes of ‘Barry’ Episode Five and How ‘White House Plumbers’ Is Hilarious

“The Shots and Scenes of Barry Episode Five and How White House Plumbers Is Hilarious” – Episode 157 – Transcript (Unedited)

Each week, Taking It Down includes an unedited transcript for the podcast episode.

Taking It Down – Episode 157

Blaine:

Hey everyone, we’ll jump right in. This is the unedited version,

Ty:

Oh

Blaine:

in case

Ty:

yeah.

Blaine:

you’re joining us on YouTube. Good for you. The usual suspects aren’t here this week. Instead, I’ve got Alabama take staffer and writer, Ty Edmondson’s joining me. Call

Ty:

Hi.

Blaine:

him if you need some movie recs. Throw us a movie rec out there. Give me your.

Ty:

Uh, The Piano Teacher, directed by Michael Hanke. That’s a good one.

Blaine:

What year?

Ty:

Uh, I wanna say it’s late 90s. Like,

Blaine:

Yeah? The

Ty:

I

Blaine:

piano.

Ty:

wanna say 96, but I could be completely wrong about that and pulling that from somewhere. Let’s see.

Blaine:

it is it I don’t pull it up who cares

Ty:

2001.

Blaine:

okay well it’s not bad did you is that a recent one

Ty:

That’s a

Blaine:

I mean recent watch for you

Ty:

recent watch for me that I’ve quickly loved.

Blaine:

Okay, the piano teacher. Starring…

Ty:

I do not know her name. She’s

Blaine:

Is

Ty:

a

Blaine:

it

Ty:

French

Blaine:

a foreign

Ty:

actress.

Blaine:

film?

Ty:

Mm-hmm. It’s a French film.

Blaine:

Okay, good. You and Donovan are who I have to hit up for in depth are old movie wrecks. That’s

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

good. Well, you’re eager to talk about Barry. So you were the first person I knew to call if Natalie or Donovan can’t make it. You’re the first on my list. You’re eager to talk about Barry as am I. Listeners may not know this about you. You have a smattering of shows that you like, but you’re not

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

a big TV television guy.

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

But

Ty:

yeah.

Blaine:

Barry‘s on your list.

Ty:

Barry is on my list. Barry is overall probably on my top three list of favorite shows that I’ve seen like ever.

Blaine:

Albeit, we’ll put the asterisk there. You’re not a TV guy. But… Okay, so…

Ty:

I’m not a TV guy. Not completely. I’ve seen a lot of the basics.

Blaine:

Mm-hmm. I got you. So we’ll be spoiling up to episode five for listeners and it’s the fourth and final season we’re talking about. I’m not going to set this up because we’ve talked about it in the, in the last few weeks past. Uh, everybody’s probably caught up with it. Uh, if you’re listening to the podcast, we come out on Tuesday, we record over the weekend, so you probably have already watched like another episode beyond what we’re talking about. Just stick with us. Um, Old Barry, or should we call him Clark now? He has moved into such a meager,

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

just this meager, desolate, I dare say, especially with Sally, a lonely existence. It’s, it’s, it’s,

Ty:

Miserable.

Blaine:

it’s wrong. Miserable.

Ty:

Miserable.

Blaine:

She’s, she’s miserable. He

Ty:

Oh

Blaine:

seems,

Ty:

yeah.

Blaine:

he seems okay with it.

Ty:

I think he’s content

Blaine:

I think he’s content.

Ty:

and I think this is what he’s wanted. And I think what I’ll get into a little later, but I think that’s mostly in part to how he just really isn’t trying into making this new personality for himself other than exactly what he wants to do. He’s not giving more than he really should be. But sadly, it’s miserable because she is actually giving everything into it.

Blaine:

I mean, where is she? Somewhere

Ty:

Uh…

Blaine:

down the line she quit giving, I think.

Ty:

Yeah, yeah. We would, yeah.

Blaine:

Cause she obviously gave the kid, unless the kid’s a kidnapee.

Ty:

Mm-hmm. That would be a little.

Blaine:

I mean that’s even darker than we thought.

Ty:

Yeah, I haven’t even like, I don’t even want to think about

Blaine:

What the kid does

Ty:

that prospect.

Blaine:

not seem… there’s no connection between Sally… what is she going by now?

Ty:

I

Blaine:

Emily? Emily?

Ty:

yeah, I think, I think.

Blaine:

There’s no

Ty:

Cause

Blaine:

connection

Ty:

I don’t,

Blaine:

between

Ty:

I agree.

Blaine:

her and the kid. The only thing

Ty:

I agree.

Blaine:

that looked remotely mother and son was when she was holding him in the bathtub in that fetal-esque

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

image.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

Anyway. Uh, it’s sad. It’s a lonely existence. That’s where they are in the middle of nowhere. Looked like the High Plains of Wyoming, Kansas sort of.

Ty:

It’s, yeah.

Blaine:

Um.

Ty:

It sounds and like looks like the place that we got a flashback to earlier in the season where Barry like grew up

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

and everything. And I was having a conversation with my brother about that and like my theory that like it is the same place, but he did make a good point of like, if Barry was trying to conceal his identity, why would he go back to his hometown?

Blaine:

That’s a good-

Ty:

But. At the same time, I just, I don’t know. It’s too similar that it’s either just a big analogy to

Blaine:

it is.

Ty:

his home or it’s actually his home.

Blaine:

No, that’s, I think that’s it. Hader’s

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

just doing it as a stylistic choice. He’s said it in a very similar places when Fuchs, he first met Fuchs.

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

That’s the idea. It’s just,

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

he’s trying to repeat his childhood except do it right this time with John the kid. I mean, we’ve got a lot to talk about just

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

with this episode alone. I will start with just Hader’s line delivery of how’s your dinner, John? And then he says, chicken pot pie. that Hell no, that’s not where I want to start. I got I love that so much though. I’m

Ty:

The

Blaine:

a

Ty:

whole episode is very funny. I mean like every episode of Barry is funny but oh goodness. It’s just there’s so many little like they really do take dark comedy to like a different kind of area in this one because it’s not so dark to the point of like oh it’s showing like a bunch of death. It’s just hilarious how controlling. Bill Hader is in this sense for his child. Like,

Blaine:

But that’s it, yeah.

Ty:

yeah, like when he picks up the baseball and he finds it and he shows him videos of injuries and he’s just sitting there just clicking the play button on each one. It’s just awful.

Blaine:

The whole idea of Barry Clark, whomever, homeschooling his kid, but the only way he’s homeschooling is by showing him YouTube videos.

Ty:

Oh, it’s so funny.

Blaine:

That’s a

Ty:

And

Blaine:

very

Ty:

his…

Blaine:

Duncan homeschooling

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

for a kid, by the way. I’ll just…

Ty:

I just love the father figure of him just sitting there, like, laid back while his son’s just watching

Blaine:

So

Ty:

it.

Blaine:

much is

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

it? Just look,

Ty:

and like…

Blaine:

he’s watching his reactions. Perfect. So well

Ty:

And

Blaine:

played.

Ty:

like, the Abe Lincoln stories and him sharing the controversial things that Abe Lincoln has done. Oh, it’s funny. It’s funny. It’s really good.

Blaine:

very well written. An idea here though I think that the show is doing is that Barry has in him this innate innate cruelty almost that has to be stopped with his son he can’t pass down this generational trauma right and that’s what he’s trying to do we mentioned the controlling aspect that he’s basically got little little Barry in in John and

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

he’s trying to cut this off I’ve got to do it right this time like as if that’s gonna be my redemption you know but it’s I don’t think it can be

Ty:

Yeah, and that’s a constant thing with just Barry as a whole and his character is like every time that he does something wrong, it’s like a common line in the series, the this end starting now and like him like pointing down when he does that. He

Blaine:

Oh

Ty:

does

Blaine:

yeah.

Ty:

that every single time he messes up and even Alan at the end of season three, as soon as Barry like right before Barry kills or tries to kill.

Blaine:

Kosenoh

Ty:

Jim Moss,

Blaine:

out.

Ty:

or Jim Moss. Alan says like, this ends now, like I’m giving you one more chance, that’s it. And then obviously that’s, it leads to him being imprisoned. But yeah, like you said, I don’t think there’s a way for Barry to really redeem what he’s already done, especially how this entire episode is kind of a this ends now moment. And then at the very end. I have to go kill Gene Kusno. Like,

Blaine:

Exactly.

Ty:

the moment something goes wrong in Barry’s life, death and destruction is the only possible way he can compute to fix that. That’s it.

Blaine:

Yeah, no, that perfectly, perfectly well said. Exactly a point I was gonna bring to the table was he wants to kill Gene, and this may be one of the first times, correct me if I’m wrong, he wants to kill Gene not because it’s gonna save his life, but because Gene wants to tell the story of Barry, and Barry doesn’t want that story told. Like, it’s not that Gene’s gonna reveal where he is.

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

It’s

Ty:

yeah.

Blaine:

not that Gene’s gonna find him through going to Hollywood and making a movie.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

They don’t even know he’s around.

Ty:

No.

Blaine:

It’s just Barry

Ty:

No.

Blaine:

being selfish, maybe to the point where we haven’t seen him this

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

quite selfish. Usually when he was shooting and killing, it was like, they’re gonna find out I’ve shot and killed so and so.

Ty:

Yep. Yep.

Blaine:

It was a different, I’ve gotta kill somebody reaction.

Ty:

I agree.

Blaine:

Yeah, okay.

Ty:

and

Blaine:

That’s what I think is first selfish moment of him. Not selfish moment of him, but the first. he wants to kill out of selfish and not self-preservation. That’s what

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

I’ll-

Ty:

yeah, big time. Because that’s one thing is perfectly sad is just the way that like this really and truly the biopic will not affect him.

Blaine:

Hmph.

Ty:

And even

Blaine:

Shouldn’t,

Ty:

in this,

Blaine:

man.

Ty:

yeah, even in this like country area that he’s in where I haven’t even seen a TV the entire time that they’ve been there, I doubt anyone is gonna go out and be watching a Barry biopic anytime soon, or if not even correlating it with him. But yeah.

Blaine:

Barry doesn’t leave the house much.

Ty:

He does not, I’ve noticed that he doesn’t have a job, is what

Blaine:

Mm-mm.

Ty:

it seems like at least. And I think that’s in part due to the controlling nature of him. Not only, I have no doubt in my mind that Barry made Sally get a job and support them so that Barry could spend time with his son

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

and be the father of the

Blaine:

Yep.

Ty:

household.

Blaine:

Which is why I think the kidnapping’s not other question.

Ty:

I really agree.

Blaine:

Eh…

Ty:

Especially the

Blaine:

That

Ty:

8

Blaine:

might

Ty:

year

Blaine:

be

Ty:

time

Blaine:

a leap.

Ty:

jump. And I don’t know how old he is.

Blaine:

I think he’s like eight or seven, seven

Ty:

Is he eight

Blaine:

or eight.

Ty:

or seven? Okay.

Blaine:

I think

Ty:

Okay.

Blaine:

he is, yeah. I think, maybe I’m just

Ty:

It’s

Blaine:

dreaming then.

Ty:

just a narrow window of time for everything to be going on.

Blaine:

You wanted to talk about some specific choices made from directing point of view. That’s

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

kind of your bread and butter. Boy, there was some serious serial killer scariness between Sally slash Emily, how she’s thrilled with choking Bevel, her shady, seedy coworker in the bathroom there.

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

That played like a scene from that movie Monster. Did you ever see that with Charlize Theron where she’s just totally changed her look and

Ty:

Oh goodness, that

Blaine:

she’s

Ty:

sounds

Blaine:

a she’s

Ty:

so

Blaine:

a

Ty:

familiar.

Blaine:

it’s a biopic too in a way or

Ty:

Yeah, yeah.

Blaine:

a true crime

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

uh

Ty:

yeah, yeah.

Blaine:

yeah

Ty:

I’ve

Blaine:

on

Ty:

heard

Blaine:

a

Ty:

of

Blaine:

based

Ty:

this.

Blaine:

based on a real person who a real lady who was a serial killer one of the few

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

anyway it that scene does have that serial killer vibe As if it’s from a serial killer movie, except this time it’s Sally doing it. And it hearkens back on her being abused, and she’s getting such

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

a rush out of this because she’s finally getting a chance to choke the guy again. Because the one time she did get to do it, she killed somebody in season

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

3.

Ty:

yeah. And even you going on about the kind of serial killer vibe that you’re getting from that,

Blaine:

Mm.

Ty:

I even get kind of, I haven’t seen the show, but I know exactly what it’s about. I even get kind of a Dexter-like idea from her because something that I picked up on immediately is you see Sally in the conversation before with this worker saying like, oh, have you ever done anything like that? Have you ever killed anybody? Have you ever shot anybody like that? And then, instantly she takes that aggression out on him.

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

Almost immediately. And to me, I see that as a way for Sally conquering what you even said

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

of her being abused and conquering the type of violent men that she’s been stuck with her life and constantly had to deal with. And this is her, not necessarily small, but way of, even though it’s not directly affecting Barry or her past, I forget his name. Or her ex-husband who abused

Blaine:

Yeah, I forget the stems

Ty:

her.

Blaine:

too.

Ty:

It’s still a way for her to feel like she’s somehow deterring this like… this violent person from doing something like that to either a woman or even

Blaine:

Oh yeah.

Ty:

like other people down the line because he’s he’s frightened instantly

Blaine:

Yes.

Ty:

like he begs basically for

Blaine:

Yes,

Ty:

his life

Blaine:

she’s scary in that scene.

Ty:

Yeah

Blaine:

She’s choking Barry as much as she’s choking Bevel. And the fact that they chose Bevel as a name is probably

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

as fitting as, it’s a really weird choice. That’s as fitting as anything. We get this motif running through the episode of great people who have big flaws. I mean, that’s the way TV viewers probably view. Barry in season one, like, oh, he’s still okay. He’s just got this flaws of serial killer.

Ty:

Yeah

Blaine:

And we’ve all seen these shows where you’re thinking, but I pull for Tony Soprano, but Tony Soprano

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

murders people every week. It’s tough if you are legitimately concerned about your ethics, but at the same time, we know it’s fiction, you know, we can drop that. But there’s this theme of people not being whom you initially believe. In Clark’s stories about war, he’s a medic.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

He’s not the murderer. He’s not, well, in war. He’s not the soldier who kills. So I really thought that was well-stitched. Alec Berg, Bill Hader, writing on this. I’m not sure exactly who got the writing credit for that episode, but I think they wrote all of it. Man, I just love little things like that where they’re sprinkled throughout and then at the end or… at the end of a season, you just see the needlework of the whole blanket.

Ty:

Yep.

Blaine:

Go ahead, you wanted to say some things.

Ty:

Um, Bill Hader’s like, Bill Hader in general, just the way that he is in this episode is like fantastic, especially with what you’re saying of, uh, compare or comparing like the bad things that historical figures have done with, uh, with like the way that like Barry and like the viewer sees Barry and like the first couple of seasons in the show as like kind of a lovable guy, but in reality, like he’s done awful things.

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

Um, my favorite thing about this episode. and relating to Barry is the fact that Barry and Sally are technically both still living their dream and they’re acting every single day. They’re pulling

Blaine:

You

Ty:

off

Blaine:

want

Ty:

this

Blaine:

to hear?

Ty:

role of completely different people than they’ve started and that’s what they’ve always wanted to act, especially Barry. And one thing that I found so amazing that Bill Hader wrote in was the way that… Barry is so excited to tell his son this story of his military experience in his own way and puts out like the plaque in the desert for him to go and get. And like it’s this, it’s this theatric. It really is.

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

He sets up this theatric in a similar way that his classmates were setting up the theatric and acting out his, what actually happened that day where he shot and killed like that innocent person. and they were

Blaine:

Hmm.

Ty:

acting out the time that he got his first kill sniping. And instead of Barry gaining this kind of emotional resonance through that story to further act and get this kind of reason to keep acting and this emotion from this story, he instead tells a complete lie about the story to similarly gain a feeling of like… Wholeness and he feels as if if he can tell his son and make him believe this and keep

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

this acting persona up Then it’s basically just the same as telling gene this and gene telling him to act it out instead Which

Blaine:

Well,

Ty:

I found really interesting

Blaine:

it goes right back to him needing to kill Gene at the end,

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

because Gene’s going to tell his story, and he’s not going to have his

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

role, so to speak, in it. Sally’s getting to act every day. She’s putting on this country accent, or whatever you want to call it, Midwestern even. Maybe I’m not exactly sure,

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

but

Ty:

It’s

Blaine:

it’s just

Ty:

something.

Blaine:

the way

Ty:

Ha

Blaine:

it

Ty:

ha

Blaine:

is.

Ty:

ha.

Blaine:

It’s something. It’s not Sally. Well, she is kind of Midwestern. She’s from Missouri anyway. She’s putting on a wig and but boy she’s not acting in the role the roles she wanted, you know The the mega girl roles or or the Joplin show on the streaming channel I think my favorite Thing about this is that had this stylized presentation. That’s reminiscent of how a lot of shows do dreaming Like if you would have told me at the end that this episode was all a dream

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

I mean, that would have been really schlocky and stupid, but if you would have told me that just like, it’s a dream, can’t you see that it is? I would have said, oh wow, yeah, of course, because the solitude of the house,

Ty:

I agree.

Blaine:

the lack of lighting at night when he goes outside the house, it’s just, you just get, it’s like scary in a way. The desolation and even Sally, when she’s with Emily and she’s pouring coffee or about to serve the guys. That shot is a skew to where you can only see the guy’s head. It’s

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

kind of a, we’re cutting off this guy’s head kind of thing. All he does is

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

look up and nod and then we get some, we get Sally in the corner. It’s just that shot is just a bit abnormal.

Ty:

Yeah, and there’s like a dream, like when you’re in a dream, you don’t really recognize anything. Nothing is

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

recognizable the same way that this environment that they’re in, it’s never stated where they are. It’s

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

never stated even the time jump isn’t even stated how like, like long the time jump has been. I think it may be like lightly, but I know Bill Hader has confirmed that it’s eight years. But

Blaine:

They say, they say, that might be where I got his age from, because I

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

say eight years old, maybe.

Ty:

I’m sure they do, but even that is lightly mentioned. And it’s never said, in most shows, it’ll show a title card and say, Western Missouri, or something like

Blaine:

We’re

Ty:

that.

Blaine:

at.

Ty:

But here, that’s never stated. The only shots you see of the outside are a barren desert, almost. And then when Sally’s outside at a gas station and it looks abandoned and run down, and no, there’s no cars inside, it’s just Sally. And I really like the feeling that you get from this episode, which is you feel the same way I think more Sally, how Sally feels,

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

which is completely and totally alone. And there’s

Blaine:

Oh yeah.

Ty:

this one shot that I’ve talked to you about, which is. Possibly my favorite shot in the entire show that I’ve noticed so far because how immediately I picked up on what Bill Hader was doing uh with directing it and um it’s the shot where you first see sally putting on her wig and uh Her back is turned to us and there’s a mirror that’s showing her face and then in the window You see barry playing with the sun

Blaine:

Oh

Ty:

and

Blaine:

yeah.

Ty:

he’s jovial and his son is happy and they’re just playing and throwing a ball back and forth. And Sally is completely silent and putting a wig on. And the audience at this point is confused at why Sally’s putting a wig on and why Barry just has glasses on. And that’s the only thing he’s doing

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

to put forth this kind of act that he’s holding on. And while Sally is getting ready for work and having to go through this entire process of doing her makeup and putting her wig on and making sure everything is right. Barry is just kind of in the distance playing with his son and like not worrying about what’s going on and he’s just being a father while Sally is having to go and worry about everything. And I think it’s fitting that Sally is the one that is like discovering that Jean is trying to make a biopic about Barry. Sally’s still watching her old assistant’s show, which is like

Blaine:

Ha

Ty:

the cupcake

Blaine:

ha ha.

Ty:

thing that she mentioned in the third season. And I just think it’s really fitting that Sally is super disconnected from whatever is going on right now to her, but super still connected to everything that is happening and what she once had and what life she once held.

Blaine:

Yeah, no. That even kind of plays into how the scenes change from one to the other. This is an editing trick that they do, it’s not a trick, the editing choice they make. Usually with any show you get almost a quick, unnoticeable edit. Here you get a whole black screen where each scene is separated from the next very blatantly. It’s just reminiscent of how probably Sally is. disconnected from everything maybe I don’t know it’s it’s it’s almost like these are vignettes you’re getting rather than

Ty:

I agree.

Blaine:

a cohesive show that that’s shot of her in the bathtub to me the the prison

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

with the kid almost

Ty:

That’s gorgeous too.

Blaine:

it is it’s a you could really break down this particular episode shot by shot maybe

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

something and I don’t know shot by

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

shot you could do see my scene um nice flip from the previous episode where instead of almost no Barry you get all Barry

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

and then you get almost no other characters other than Jean at the end tacked on. So that was that was nice. What else

Ty:

I think,

Blaine:

you got for us? Are there any?

Ty:

yeah.

Blaine:

I know you want to talk about a few shots. What other ones you have?

Ty:

Um…

Blaine:

I really like that when you brought up with the… I was so noticeable and I’m glad you brought it up with her with the wig and then the juxtaposition.

Ty:

I also like the one where Barry is standing outside with the gun and he’s standing there and if I remember correctly after it cuts from Sally laying in the bathtub with her son it’s like daytime and Barry is still standing in the same exact position

Blaine:

That’s

Ty:

with

Blaine:

right.

Ty:

the same framing and everything.

Blaine:

That’s right.

Ty:

I love that so much because it shows. Like we were talking about earlier, how Barry is still so animalistic and ready

Blaine:

Mmm.

Ty:

to be violent that he’s standing out there just waiting for something to happen for him to shoot at, and that’s it.

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

And I think what ended up being knocking with some children is what I assume is someone playing a prank because I heard kids laughing in the distance whenever he walks outside. And the fact that he definitely heard that, but he stays. Like he’s ready for anything, and he’s ready… to be violent again at the drop of a pen, which I thought was really interesting. And one just like final thing that I saw on Twitter and I’m completely stealing this from someone, but I saw someone make the really cool comparison that you may have made, but I didn’t even catch between Clark and him putting a pair of glasses on and being a new person and Clark Kent and

Blaine:

Oh…

Ty:

like Superman and like how

Blaine:

Uh-huh.

Ty:

Clark Clint. Clark Kent just puts a pair of glasses on, he’s Clark now, and then takes them off and he’s Superman. And like, it’s that, it’s like he does nothing outside his identity, and it’s kind of a long running joke in the superhero

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

community that like,

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

all these superheroes are wearing masks and stuff, but he just wears a pair of glasses the same way. That’s literally all that Barry does.

Blaine:

Hey.

Ty:

Barry doesn’t put on a new accident or accident or anything.

Blaine:

We’ll give Barry a little credit. He did put the beer belly on. He

Ty:

He

Blaine:

put the

Ty:

did do

Blaine:

beer

Ty:

that, maybe unintentionally, but he did.

Blaine:

belly on. Little

Ty:

From sitting

Blaine:

age.

Ty:

around

Blaine:

Yeah. Uh,

Ty:

the entire time. Oh yeah.

Blaine:

the la we had the last two seasons were large swaths of him doing things that self preservation, but, um, it’s just next level here. It’s not so much for self preservation. It’s just control. Uh, We’ll begin our rap here on on this episode of Barry. Would you watch Larry chowder magical boy? Larry chatt Larry Larry chowder what? Mega girls

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

for I’m sure we’ll watch

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

mega girls for sometimes them.

Ty:

I’d check my girls four out.

Blaine:

Okay

Ty:

Me and my family were laughing at that as they popped up because of… I mean, that’s what it’s become at this point. I mean, let’s be

Blaine:

Well,

Ty:

real. That’s what movies are.

Blaine:

luckily we don’t have to pick, but what would you prefer the version of the show Barry where we get all the other characters and a little Barry at the end or do you like all Barry and a little of the other characters at the end?

Ty:

I think I like, I don’t wanna give up NoHoHank, but I

Blaine:

Yeah,

Ty:

think I like Al Berry,

Blaine:

I do too.

Ty:

just cause it’s so complex. He’s a very good character and Bill Hader is fantastic and I cannot wait to see him act in other roles.

Blaine:

Yeah, I might’ve said this last season. I think it was last season with the episode with the dirt bike going down the interstate in California. Remember that episode?

Ty:

Yes, that’s one of my favorite episodes

Blaine:

I

Ty:

by

Blaine:

think

Ty:

far.

Blaine:

I said it on this podcast that I would not be surprised if Bill Hader’s winning an Oscar in six years for a movie.

Ty:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Blaine:

And that would be awesome. Shame that he wouldn’t be in front of the camera as much, but still cool. He seemed like a cool cat anyway.

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

We’re gonna take a break. We’ll talk some White House Plumbers, stick with some HBO shows here. White House Plumbers on the other side. And yeah, take a break. Good news is for you YouTube folks,

Ty:

Oh

Blaine:

we

Ty:

yeah. Ha

Blaine:

really

Ty:

ha ha.

Blaine:

don’t take a break. You stick with us. This is where we can insert some specific YouTube shout outs or something. How

Ty:

Oh yeah,

Blaine:

do

Ty:

that’ll be

Blaine:

you want,

Ty:

fun.

Blaine:

you want to shout out somebody? You want to say hi to Riley and Brady?

Ty:

Oh yeah, they’re there. They may not be watching the YouTube version. They’ll be fine.

Blaine:

Well, it gets

Ty:

They’re

Blaine:

edited

Ty:

here.

Blaine:

out.

Ty:

They don’t

Blaine:

That’s

Ty:

need a

Blaine:

what

Ty:

shout

Blaine:

I’m saying.

Ty:

out.

Blaine:

Now I have to watch YouTube where it’s gonna get edited out. Otherwise, they’re going to hear an ad right here.

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

Okay next up on our podcast we’re going to talk HBO again. I swear to y’all we are not an HBO podcast the last two weeks that’s all we covered but they’re still doing pretty good television. We’ll see if it changes when they go only max or whatever they’re gonna

Ty:

Oh

Blaine:

do.

Ty:

my goodness.

Blaine:

I hope the quality doesn’t drop that everyone online seems to be scared that that might be the case but here’s hoping. We’re going to talk the five-part mini-series White House Plumbers. It stars Woody Harrelson and Two of my personal favorites don’t know we’ll let Ty chime in on you you you’re here harrelson guy

Ty:

I love Woody Harrelson.

Blaine:

man

Ty:

He’s been in my second favorite show, which is True Detective season one. And that is a performance of a lifetime for him, in my opinion. I absolutely love him in that role

Blaine:

See, I was

Ty:

and

Blaine:

so

Ty:

Matthew

Blaine:

hoping

Ty:

McConaughey.

Blaine:

you were gonna say, cheers. He is so good in cheers. Hey,

Ty:

I’ve never seen it.

Blaine:

you should, right before you go to bed tonight, watch an episode of Woody as Woody in Cheers. One of his best roles. Woody Harrelson is in it. Justin Theroux is in this show, White House Plumbers. Woody Harrelson plays E. Howard Hunt, real person. Theroux plays Jay Gordon Liddy. real person and

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

I remember Gordon Liddy a lot.

Ty:

Really?

Blaine:

If, yeah I do. Because he went on to become a shock jock radio right wing

Ty:

Oh goodness.

Blaine:

Fox analyst kinda guy. I mean

Ty:

I mean in the show he seems like he would be but…

Blaine:

he.

Ty:

Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

Blaine:

He’s a perfect fit. If those two character names, Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy, sound familiar to you, it’s because they’re not characters. They are real life people, not in a fictional sense, in a historical sense. These are men who were alive. I think they both died within the last 10 years or so. Central Guides to Nixon’s Watergate scandal. I was excited for this series for a couple reasons. Acting, directing. I knew them. I knew with Harrelson and Thoreau it would be pretty good, but every role is well cast.

Ty:

Oh yeah.

Blaine:

Lena Headley from Game of Thrones is playing Howard Hunt’s wife. She’s showing up as a former CIA agent and wife to Howard Hunt. And top down, it’s well cast. The creators are another reason why I was excited. They are renowned for Veep. I never watched all the way through, but I know that it was funny when I did watch it. It’s Alex Gregory and Peter Hewitt, I think his name is. And the last reason why I was super excited and I just dove right into this show is because I think a lot of people know Watergate Scandal, but if you’re like me, you just kind of sort of know the outline. You don’t know.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

Yeah. And so far, this show is getting… A lot of it supposedly right. We’re going to spoil the first two episodes starting now, so just in case you’re not caught up. So what was your opinion of the first two episodes?

Ty:

I thought it was really entertaining, especially since it’s a show and a topic that I really wouldn’t normally watch something, but the five episodes really intrigued me because I didn’t want to

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

have to stay for too long

Blaine:

That’s-

Ty:

and Woody Harrelson also intrigued me. I also love the opening scene of the first episode really hooked me and I was like, okay, this will be very interesting. Because I just love that… It says like this is a true story and we’re not blurring like any names because most of these people are guilty Which is hilarious

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

in and of itself, but it’s also very true And I also did not know that there were four attempts to break into Watergate which is extremely hilarious and played for laughs in the show and It’s done really well, but I also was very interested in this because I you you never ever ever at least what I’ve learned in class and like government class and you know how it is. But you never learned about who was behind Watergate

Blaine:

Mm-mm.

Ty:

or what they did even beforehand and

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

how they were connected to the whole scandal. You just learned that Watergate happened and it was a bad thing and people got caught and that was about it.

Blaine:

Nixon had to resign. That’s about

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

it. Yeah.

Ty:

that’s it.

Blaine:

Hunt and Hunt did 33 months in jail for this and Liddy did 53 months in federal

Ty:

Mm.

Blaine:

prison. Yeah. I Did not expect this to be as funny as it was

Ty:

It was,

Blaine:

the

Ty:

it was

Blaine:

first

Ty:

very

Blaine:

episode

Ty:

funny.

Blaine:

especially. I’m gonna stick with the first episode for a second um It just I love bumbling idiots who think they’re way more intelligent than they are.

Ty:

I have that written down. I have that written down about how actually idiotic they are and

Blaine:

I’m just an idiot.

Ty:

how played up for laughs it is which I just love about this show so far.

Blaine:

The moment I was sold on the show and I thought well, I’m gonna watch all of this no matter what was rather than putting on Gordon Liddy

Ty:

You know what you’re

Blaine:

Gordon

Ty:

talking about.

Blaine:

Liddy has over Howard Hunt, you know, and he rather than putting on jazz or some kind of nice music He puts on a Hitler Album like like Hitler speechifying and it is so loud that they’re just yelling at one another in the living room over Hitler

Ty:

And also the funniest part about that scene to me in particular is Howard’s wife, like right before, talks about how she worked recovering art from like Nazis and

Blaine:

Yes.

Ty:

like she’s very, I mean who’s not anti-Nazi, but she’s very clearly not like a fan of whatever. Lydia’s about to start playing and he’s like, I have something that’ll interest you. And at first my mind’s racing like, oh, it’s gonna be like some art piece or like something that

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

he has that like relates to her occupation.

Blaine:

No.

Ty:

No, it’s just, it’s Hitler speeches played at max volume on a record player, which is just amazing. And it’s a very funny moment.

Blaine:

Here’s the perfect thing too, around 2004, and his shock jock radio

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

guy persona, Liddy really did admit as a kid that he would listen to Hitler to get pumped up. But then he had to backtrack and be like, but I don’t agree with him, what he did was evil.

Ty:

I think that’s even mentioned specifically in this is Howard and Liddy are having a conversation

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

and he says and he asked he’s like you’re not a Nazi are you because Howard is this super like right-wing conservative he even says like at points like them liberals and them hippie junkies and like

Blaine:

Bruh.

Ty:

all that kind of stuff like it’s super just like conservative as you would see it but um he even asked him if he’s not Nazi he’s like no just like when I was younger and I would hear Hitler’s speeches, it just gave me hope and it just made me feel strong and like it’s the same as saying, oh I agree with this, it makes

Blaine:

Yeah. Yeah.

Ty:

me feel powerful, it makes me want to go do the things he’s saying, it’s the exact same. It’s just you’re gaining a reason to go out on your day because of Hitler is just very funny and I didn’t know that was true

Blaine:

Oh yeah,

Ty:

which makes it a lot better.

Blaine:

oh yeah, the exact quote, yes. And that’s taken out of context and put in the show, the year of the show, which he very well could have said it to Hunt too, who knows,

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

but no, he said that in 2004. Or

Ty:

That’s

Blaine:

he at

Ty:

really

Blaine:

least had

Ty:

funny.

Blaine:

to comment on it again in 2004.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

These guys find, the writers find so much humor in this beautifully ironic lack of self-awareness. When Hunt, Harrelson as Hunt says, The Cubans will do it for free. And Justin Theroux is, Gordon Leedy says, yeah, real Americans.

Ty:

Yeah

Blaine:

It’s like there’s no awareness to what they just said.

Ty:

There’s a lot of those moments.

Blaine:

Exactly.

Ty:

There’s a lot of those moments in there and I really appreciate it. And I also just love that you don’t see a political show that just follows a duo of two idiots a lot. And even on the outside, I had no clue what this show was about. And I think it being named the White House Plumbers is extremely intentional. So it knows what it’s talking about because the name Plumbers is only used for 20 minutes of one episode. And then they’re the committee to re-like the president or whatever, which is funny in itself. But

Blaine:

But White House

Ty:

the

Blaine:

Plummer’s

Ty:

idea…

Blaine:

also true.

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

A true name.

Ty:

yeah. White House Plumbers, like that being used is just a funny thing in and of itself. I keep saying that. But a funny thing because like you think of like janitors and plumbers as kind of like… a lower level of occupation in an area and in like a location. But here it’s played for like laughs of, it truly is a lower occupation as these people cannot do anything right.

Blaine:

That’s

Ty:

No

Blaine:

true.

Ty:

matter how hard they try, other than like at the end of the second episode, which is even done by chance, they cannot really do anything right as hard as they try, which I really enjoy and like about this.

Blaine:

Yeah, that does make it so enjoyable. I think I saw the phrase used on vulture. They’re failing upward. They’re failing, but

Ty:

They’re

Blaine:

every time

Ty:

somehow

Blaine:

they…

Ty:

continuing, yeah, yeah, yeah. Cause they failed their big operation in the first episode and then are promoted right after

Blaine:

Yeah, they are.

Ty:

and even he goes like, oh, how much money do we need? He gives like a million dollars, he’s like, okay.

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

And then they just walk out, like they’re so trusted after failing something so huge

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

for the government, which is really funny.

Blaine:

Now they get that taken back in episode two.

Ty:

And yeah.

Blaine:

Man, episode one was just the perfect tone for this because they’re buffoons. And

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

that is such the way it is in politics still to me. There’s just such this through line or parallel from Watergate to what’s happened in 2016 to 2020 and now 2023. I mean, take Trump on CNN just last week. it’s still proclaiming he won the last election. Like that’s exactly these guys, except now they’ve fallen their way even up to the presidency

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

itself.

Ty:

And I mean, just watch any debate, any presidential debate, and both sides look like idiots. Like it’s so, it’s clear, it’s clear.

Blaine:

Speaking of maybe a little bit more sad parallels with reality, how high did your eyebrows raise when Liddy brings a gun into work and says, everyone’s a lot safer with this baby around. It’s like, oh god,

Ty:

I was,

Blaine:

that’s exactly

Ty:

I loved,

Blaine:

what we’re dealing with.

Ty:

yeah, yeah, it’s obviously satire on

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

everything that’s going on right now and how readily accessible guns are and how readily, and how often mass shootings happen and shootings in general. But I also love that. He’s so fascinated with it. Oh, it’s German, it’s lethal, it’s silent, but it can get the job done quickly. And he’s inspecting it and stuff. And it mimics a lot of what we see with how stupid people can get guns very quickly. And it’s…

Blaine:

That’s

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

so well said. But Liddy, another true point that they’ve made into a reoccurring joke is that Liddy

Ty:

That’s

Blaine:

was

Ty:

it.

Blaine:

really big on just

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

killing people as an answer.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

Like the kids threw eggs at his house and he would get the gun. He presents all these posters to John Mitchell and he’s like, we could kill him. We could take him to Mexico and kill these guys.

Ty:

Yeah

Blaine:

Liberal opponents, let’s kill him kill Jack Anderson the guy says

Ty:

Yeah, yeah,

Blaine:

and

Ty:

instantly.

Blaine:

he leaves

Ty:

And

Blaine:

the

Ty:

he instantly… That was my favorite part. That was the funniest… That had me genuinely dying out laughing is when he goes, oh, what’s something we could do to really just get this off? But he’s like, I’ll just kill Jack Anderson. And he just

Blaine:

he leaves.

Ty:

instantly, instantly turns around and leaves. And he even suggests killing… The woman that,

Blaine:

Oh, that’s right.

Ty:

I forget her name. Yeah, he even suggests killing her as well. That

Blaine:

Data beard.

Ty:

ends up, yeah, yeah. The wrong thing happens with the memo and Jack Anderson and everything like that. He suggests killing her as well. But like you said, I love seeing him, his house getting egged. And you can see him like in the background of this Hitler speech still going on and then trying to have a conversation.

Blaine:

He leaves.

Ty:

And he’s running, yeah, he leaves and he’s running around like in the back trying to look for him.

Blaine:

I encourage you if you haven’t anyone listening anyone watching you go watch us just a two-minute segment of Gordon Liddy talking and

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

the Rose playing this note perfectly

Ty:

Is it perfect?

Blaine:

oh my goodness I know that actors and shouldn’t just shoot to imitate or do

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

a caricature but god he’s just nailing it it fits so well with the idiot that Liddy was So

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

why not do it exactly like Lydie if you can? And he looks like a young G. Gordon Lydie. The second episode drops a little more of the slapstick stuff which I

Ty:

Mm.

Blaine:

found very, very funny. I did think that the second episode wasn’t as good. It was, and it was a bit slower because of the lack of slapstick humor, but. It’s probably more accurate that hunt goes to the bedside of Dita beard and persuades her to change her story

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

under oath That’s true to life, but it was totally different than some of the first episodes. I get that you gotta have it in there. It’s It’s harrow some getting an opportunity to Kind of add a layer to hunt maybe because it was hard for me to dissect What is he playing? This is a man who sincerely knows that family is important Or is he playing this as a guy who really does not know that he’s missing his family right there?

Ty:

That’s something that I really enjoyed about this episode is the idea that you don’t know if Hunt actually believes what he’s saying in the way of family comes before country and family comes before your workplace and everything because he’s not showing that in his actions

Blaine:

None.

Ty:

whatsoever. And even at closer to the end where, or I think that’s actually before he has this conversation with her. It is. Where he thinks that solving the problem is just kicking the door down and rushing into his daughter, who isn’t listening to him, and refuses to come out of the bathroom that she’s locked herself away in.

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

He believes that that shows that he cares, that he’s just going to violently kick the door down and save her that way, which obviously isn’t, really. In a physical way, yeah, he’s getting to her, but he’s not. actually resonating with her, which you see at the end of that episode when they have a very unexpected anger clash just

Blaine:

of Scrabble.

Ty:

from him getting mad. Yeah, Scrabble, just from him getting mad about the rules.

Blaine:

Well there it is again, you get this irony of him demanding you play by the rules of Scrabble, but he is not playing by the rules of the nation, of law. Uh, such a… And I’m sure so much of this is real, these people are… Like, there’s so much cognitive dissonance with them, like, I follow the rules of what’s Scrabble, but then… You’re breaking the law, just

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

five hours ago.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

I don’t-

Ty:

And in his exact quote, I believe is there’s like anarchy without law or there’s like no order without law, which he hasn’t been following the law this entire time throughout everything.

Blaine:

No. It’s good to make Harrelson the smarter of the two dummies. The more reasonable of

Ty:

And

Blaine:

dumb

Ty:

I agree

Blaine:

and dumber

Ty:

and

Blaine:

here.

Ty:

especially when normally you would kind of see Harrelson in general just that the attitude that he carries on as Kind of the dumber like southern conservative and like but

Blaine:

Mm-hmm.

Ty:

in reality he is the smarter of the two

Blaine:

Yeah, it goes back to him on Cheers. If you watch him on Cheers, he plays the complete idiot, the Midwestern boy from a farm, it’s so good. Oh, Deeta Beard, by the way, she, did you recognize that actress? Do you know Kathleen Turner?

Ty:

Um…

Blaine:

She is…

Ty:

I don’t think I do.

Blaine:

She’s really made up differently in this role. As soon as she talked though, I kept thinking, is that Kathleen Turner?

Ty:

Wait.

Blaine:

Very famous actress, early 80s. I’m sure you’ve seen her in

Ty:

Definitely

Blaine:

something.

Ty:

have seen her.

Blaine:

Yeah.

Ty:

I did not know that was her though. Like

Blaine:

I

Ty:

I

Blaine:

know.

Ty:

didn’t

Blaine:

Well,

Ty:

yeah

Blaine:

she’s also older, but they

Ty:

Yeah

Blaine:

have her made out to look like a Dita beard and a 70s, you know, bit of get up. To me, this show’s about, it’s about that scene with the Scrabble. It’s about men who make their kids play by the rules when it comes to. board games, but not so much themselves when it comes to actual laws. And I think that’s what we’re dealing with still to this day.

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

We were governed by people who demand we play by the rules, but they don’t.

Ty:

And I also think that’s interesting when you look at, when Lydie is introducing his children to Howard, he is like making them say like, welcome, like we’re so glad that you’re here and we know you worked with the CIA and the FBI and like we’re so excited for you to come here. And like, it’s such a funny contrast when he’s doing all that for his children, but he’s genuinely advocating for murdering people just to solve political problems. Yeah.

Blaine:

I’m a minor political problem

Ty:

Minor, very minor political

Blaine:

in some

Ty:

problems.

Blaine:

cases. Yeah,

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

so we know where this ends, but it’s the getting there. Boy, it’s fun.

Ty:

Oh yeah,

Blaine:

I’m glad

Ty:

yeah.

Blaine:

you’re enjoying it because I kind of talked you into this one just to have a second segment. But you’re right. It’s five episodes. I’m in

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

it. I’m in.

Ty:

And it’s funny.

Blaine:

Man, it’s sometimes, that’s,

Ty:

Ha ha!

Blaine:

I think the scene with him putting on the Hitler record will live with me forever.

Ty:

It’s great that would that wouldn’t came unexpected to me and I really really enjoyed that

Blaine:

It’s almost like a Fairly Brothers movie or like something out of Airplane where

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

they’re

Ty:

it is

Blaine:

shouting

Ty:

it is

Blaine:

at each other and then you’ve got kids outside throwing eggs and

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

he runs and gets a gun. It’s Hitler still blasting.

Ty:

Yeah, it’s everything going on at the same time and nothing making sense, but it’s still like act like even His wife is acting like everything’s normal. Like

Blaine:

Yes.

Ty:

this is like a normal

Blaine:

Yes.

Ty:

night. Like nothing’s happening

Blaine:

And that actress is, is, uh, well known and well played. She’s from all kinds of things. She’s from Ant-Man

Ty:

Mm-hmm.

Blaine:

series and, and we’re

Ty:

Yeah.

Blaine:

arrested development. She’s in there. Uh, but the, the Luke’s Harrelson’s giving Lena Headley in those scenes is his wife. It’s just like, we’ve got to get the fuck out of here.

Ty:

Yeah,

Blaine:

I love

Ty:

yeah!

Blaine:

it. Uh, yep. That shows White House Plumbers. I think it airs on Mondays. Watch it on HBO or HBO Max. We’ll stop here, but we’ll be back next Tuesday for another episode of taking it down You can follow us on Twitter or Instagram at taking it down pod Everything Alabama take related on social media just under the Alabama take Follow us there. It’s a whole bunch of us there including me and Ty so Check in with us. Let us know what you think. We’ll talk to everybody next week.