On the latest TPS, the gang begins their coverage of Jacob Tierney’s Heated Rivalry with episode one, “Rookies”. They recap the episode, then debate first impressions and ratings.
Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction
- 00:02:53 – How Was Your Week?
- 00:21:39 – Don’t Bore Us Get To The Chorus (Episode Recap)
- 01:35:26 – Initial Thoughts
- 01:44:35 – Ratings
- 01:50:26 – MVPs
- 01:54:54 – YEWniversal News
- 01:56:49 – Final Comments
- 02:00:38 – Outro
Episode Rating:
- Victor: Compost
- Al: Clearance
- Mat: Clearance
- Tanya: Fresh
- Erin: Fresh
Episode MVP:
- Victor: Vincent Lamaire (WTF!)
- Al: Ilya Rozanov
- Mat: Ilya Rozanov
- Tanya: Gym Scene
- Erin: Ilya Rozanov
Links:
- Opening Theme: Rightfully Mine by Poised For The Worm
- Closing Theme: Inebriation by Poised For The Worm
- TPS on Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | YouTube
- Join Our Patreon
Clip: [00:00:00] That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty.
Tanya: What do yous listen to? My Favorite Murder
Clip: podcast. Taggart and Torrance Podcast. The Produce Stand.
Tanya: Ah, fucking sexy.
Al: It’s Thirsty Thursday, and that means we are once again hanging at The Produce Stand, a podcast covering everything in the universe
I know what you’re thinking. There are a lot of other Letterkenny podcasts out there, but this one is about to heat things up. I’m Al, your host, and joining me in the room, as always, is the lovely Tanya. And online we’ve got Squirrely Matt and the very hot Victor. And joining us this week, she’s an OG TPS D-gen, a member of the TPS Takeover Crew, a teacher of small children, a bottomless source of patience, and a constant source of light in our Discord.
She’s a great gal, a really great gal. Please join me in making some noise for Erin.
Wondrous.
Clip: Oh my Gawd. Oh.
Mat: Oh
Clip: my Gawd. [00:01:00] Oh my Gawd. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Erin: Take it. Take,
Clip: take the deed I regret nothing!
Al: Welcome back to The Produce Stand. Erin, how are you now?
Erin: Gosh, good and you
Al: Not so bad I
Erin: got that right
Al: Yes, you did. I mean- … it’s been a while since we’ve seen or heard from you. How, how, how’s… What have you been up to?
Erin: I, I am… First of all, I miss y’all. I think about you literally every single day.
Uh-huh. Um, I have been- Which
Mat: one of us more than the other?
Al: Yeah, yeah. Please rank us,
Erin: uh- No … one to four I don’t, I don’t pick favorites. Oh. I love you all equally. Tanya’s hurt. Um-
Mat: Which, which friend do you like the most?
Erin: I love all my friends the most. Mm-hmm,
Mat: mm-hmm.
Erin: These are trick, these are tricky questions.
Right. Um, I’ve, I’ve been good. I, um, really busy. Um, this summer worked as the principal, I don’t know who put me in charge, but somebody did, of our summer school. Worked [00:02:00] over 50 hours a week. Able, was able to, uh, pay our way to Hawaii and, uh, got to show my kids the place where we got married, um- Wow … take them on some really cool adventures, and, uh, really just a, a lifelong, like, dream to take them there.
And, um, can’t wait to go back. Amazing. My daughter’s ready to go to college there. She’s ready to move in. She’s she was very sad to come home, but-
Mat: Yeah …
Erin: um, we’re here- I would be too … and swim season’s started. My son started high school. He’s in cross country, so we’re, um- Busy time … you know. Busy. We’re busy, and I, I have this problem of, uh, never learning how to s- I, I haven’t learned how to say no yet.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Um, so I’m constantly, you know, the team mom and helping out with pasta parties, and so it’s, uh, been busy, but good stuff, and it’s so good to see your faces.
Al: Amazing. Well, it’s great to hear, uh, your voice and see your face. Let’s get this thing started, shall we? How are
Clip: you now?
Al: Tonight’s lineup is gonna be Victor, myself, Matt, Tanya, and our guest Erin, who will have the last word.
Victor, [00:03:00] how have you been? It’s been a couple of weeks.
Victor: Yeah, I’ve been good. It’s been really busy on my end too. We, um, were away for a week in Montreal, so that was really fun. Um, and, uh, it seems to be a kind of our go-to getaway from, you know, all the chaos here, here at home. So, you know, hop on a train, door-to-door service downtown to downtown, get off.
We’ve got some favorite spots there now, and, um, it was just really nice. Uh, every day was f- you know, full from morning till night with all fun kinds of activities and whatnot. We rode the Ferris wheel, uh, that we always like to do, so.
Al: Nice.
Victor: Uh, went to the train museum. Uh- Speaking of favorite spots, yeah
uh, so that was really nice.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Yeah, yeah.
Al: So do you- So e- Every time you go to Montreal, do you have to go to the train museum? Is it like…
Victor: Uh, I, I do. Uh-huh. Uh, last time I went with Linda, um, they, we left it till Monday- Mm-hmm … not realizing that it’s closed on Mondays. Ah. And so we didn’t actually get a chance to go.
This time, [00:04:00] uh, we planned ahead. So, um, she got to see it for the first time. It was my third time there. So, um- Yeah, really, really cool. Uh, and, and, uh, you know, since coming back, just been really busy. Uh, my daughter’s, uh, Natalie’s 25th birthday we just had.
Al: Wow, you have a 25-year-old.
Victor: Yeah, I know, it’s crazy.
William’s 23. Jesus. He, he turned 23 in July, and, uh, um, and now it’s gonna be Linda’s birthday on Saturday. So- … uh, lots of, lots of activity and planning and whatnot, so, uh… And we, uh, finished, we finished rewatching, uh, Breaking Bad, which was incredible. Mm-hmm. Uh, and then topped it off with El Camino there, or El Camino, whatever.
Uh, and now we just started rewatching Fargo just for, for the- Well, what about Better Ca-
Al: Call Saul? I mean, if you’re in that-
Victor: It’s t- we, we… It’s too recent still. Oh, okay. Right?
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Yeah, we need to give it time. Mm-hmm. Uh, but, uh, yeah, that one, that one’s good. Uh, let’s see, what else is going on? I don’t know.
I, I think that’s, uh… [00:05:00] Oh, um, y- you remember the, uh, Guitar Hero and, and Rock Band games and all that kind of stuff that went out of favor and whatnot? Sure. They’re bringing it back. It’s g- it’s gonna be the, the original, uh, creators, um, uh, I think RedOctane, they, they decided to come back and create, uh, the game all from scratch, and it’s coming out December 10th.
It’s gonna be called, uh, Stage T- Stage Tour? Yeah, Stage Tour. Um, and it, they’ll sell the game and the guitar and the drums if you want it and stuff like that. Cool. And so, uh- Nice … they’re gonna, I think the initial game is gonna have, like, 90-plus songs on it. Uh- Wow … so that’s really cool. For what
Al: platform?
All, all of them, or? Uh,
Victor: yeah, all the- Yeah … yeah, all the platforms, including PC and, uh, I think even Wii or something like that. So, um, yeah. So if you’ve been missing those, that’s coming back. So it’s gonna be-
Al: We haven’t because we still play it every once in a while here at home. We still have the old r- OG Rock Band drum kit and a couple of guitars.
Yeah. Yeah.
Victor: Y- uh, [00:06:00] you might be able to use those peripherals with an, with an, with an adapter with the new game as well, so. 40 bucks for the game and you’re good to go, you know?
Al: Interesting. So. Charlie from Massachusetts wants to know if the, uh, Montreal Train Museum has a punch card, and whether you’re eligible yet for a free visit.
Victor: Uh, there is a punch card, actually, and I- Of course there is. Yes. And I, I keep it as a souvenir, and when you go there- Mm-hmm … they take you on a, on a streetcar, like an old-school streetcar-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Victor: uh, all around the facility, and you can keep coming back with those tickets and they’ll punch them for you each time.
And they’re the original kind of, the, they’re- … reissue of the original tickets you would have used back in the ’40s, so it’s pretty cool.
Al: Very cool. All right, my week. Uh, very good week. Uh, school’s back on. I’m sure Daniel will talk more about it, but I’m just happy that the school’s back on and the… Uh, well, happy that the girl’s back in school.
Not happy that the, the boy is back in school, ’cause now he went from paying his own way this summer to us having to pay him, pay for him th- for the school [00:07:00] year. So anyway, you take the good with the bad, I guess. Uh, Victor, I’m all caught up on Silo. Are you?
Victor: Um, we, no, ’cause we took a break. Oh. Uh, we, we, we took a break to watch, I forget what show we were watching.
Al: Breaking Bad, yeah.
Victor: No, no, no, no, like a new show that we just finished watching. Oh, okay. Um, in s- uh It will come to me. Mm-hmm. Go, go on with your update. Yeah, anyway. But yeah, I’m… So I’ve, we’ve only watched episode one of season three so far.
Al: Yeah. It’s already done, and it’s, holy crap, it’s so good. Yeah. So, uh, can’t wait till you catch up so we can talk about it off, off- Nice …line.
Uh, watching Chad Powers, that’s, that’s a bit of a fun one to watch. And finished- Oh, the new season’s out, right? Yeah, the new season’s out, so I’m watching that one. And, uh, Reacher. Finished, just finished Reacher, and, uh, man, that, that… Another fun one. So- Oh … doing a lot of, uh… Oh, and so-
Tanya: I love every time.
Al: Tanya, every time, she ne- she doesn’t watch Reacher with me, but every time she does watch, it seems to be a scene where he’s shirtless and- Oh … and about to [00:08:00] have sex with, with somebody.
Tanya: I was like- It’s like- … what are you watching? Oh, yeah And why are you watching it without me? It looks pretty good.
Al: What kills me is there’s only, like, one or two scenes per season where that happens-
but she seems to watch it, like, only be in- Right there. Oh. Yeah, she seems to be in the room whenever that happens. Uh, but anyway, uh, this season was, was as good as, as always, and, uh, I think I saw that, uh, they’re, they’re already working on season five, so that’s, uh, that’s positive news. Um, yeah, and that’s about it.
Uh, it’s been a busy couple of weeks, uh, getting ready for… Or, you know, played some shows with the band and getting ready for some shows coming up, so… Oh, and already booked all of our Donnelly’s shows for 2027, for both my bands. Oh, wow. Which- Good for you … which, uh, yeah, it’s very, it’s not like me to be that for- forward-thinking or…
But, uh, it’s, uh, but putting them all into the schedule, into the calendar, like 2027 dates, was really weird, ’cause now it feels like I’ve just skipped over 2027, and 2028’s, like, about to happen. I’m like, it, I don’t like this. I don’t like this being prepared shit. I think [00:09:00] I, I need to go back to, to being a procrastinator.
Anyway, Matt, how have you been, bud?
Mat: Uh, I’ve been good, man. But I’m tired, to be honest. It’s been, uh… We, we had a busy summer. Like, it just seemed like one thing after another- Yeah … another, another. I’ve been following your IG,
Al: yeah.
Mat: Holy shit. Like, even last weekend, to wrap up the summer, I took, or Jen and I and our little guy, Caden, went, uh, with some friends to Sauble Beach, which is- Mm-hmm
um- Awesome … a very nice beach. Uh, a little more upscale than I’d say Wasaga, where they do aqua dumps and stuff. Yes.
Al: Um.
Mat: W- Sauble
Al: is, is, is nicer, but it, it’s also a much further drive.
Mat: It is very, it is much further. Um- I love Sauble Beach,
Al: though. We used to go
Mat: there all the time. Yeah. I haven’t been there in a long time, but I, I’m, I’m already, we’re like, “We’re going back next year.”
Mm-hmm. We had such a fantastic time.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Um, great vibe there. The beach is beautiful. The weather was great, too. I did, I did battle a skunk at 3:00 AM in my underwear, though. That, that did happen. Um- Did
Erin: you win?
Mat: W-
Al: was
Mat: the skunk
Al: wearing your underwear?
Mat: No, thank God. I’m pretty sure the skunk got into our… We had to throw our toothbrushes away, because I think it tried to brush [00:10:00] its teeth or something.
Al: Oh.
Mat: Um, but I thought, I, I woke up during- Well, he thought he was part
Al: of the family. He was already wearing your underwear.
Mat: Man, those little fuckers, eh? Like, they- It was 3:00 in the morning. I honestly thought someone was going through our shit. Mm. And I’m like, I’m like getting ready to throw down. So I’m like ripping out of the tent.
I step out of my tent. I’m not even kidding, eight feet from where I was standing, there’s this fucking skunk, and I dove right back in the tent.
Al: Mm-mm.
Mat: Yeah. Jen’s like, “What are you doing?” I’m like, “There’s a skunk.” She’s like, “So deal with it.” I’m, “What the fuck do you want me to do?”
Al: What? Oh, she doesn’t
Mat: know.
There, there’s no- No. Well, it, it was going- There’s no dealing with
Al: it. You gotta just let it- There’s no dealing with it … you gotta let it leave.
Mat: Right? But no. Well, it was going through our garbage, so we l- our, my dumb ass left the garbage bag out. Oh. And I’m like, “It’s gonna make a mess, so I need to deter it.”
So I did go back out and was like dancing behind our kitchenette tent, again, in my underwear at 3:00 in the morning, um, shaking it, and it did leave, and then I quickly tied everything up and ran- went back to bed. But it was an ordeal. Um, I survived though.
Al: You should’ve just
Mat: dressed- So I mean, there’s no-
Al: dressed up like a black [00:11:00] cat and it would’ve been, become enamored with you and tried to woo you- Oh my God … and kiss you and-
Mat: That’s not what I wa- there was no good outcome. Either I was gonna get sprayed, our tent was gonna get sprayed, or it was just gonna spray in the area and our whole night would be ruined, so- Ugh
I just had to… I, but I did, I did the worst. I started by throwing shoes at it and that, I missed. Um, I didn’t have my glasses on.
Al: That’s a, that’s a, that’s a, a great way to a stinky shoe, I gotta say.
Mat: Yeah, yeah. Anyways, it’s, and I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m just like, “This thing is fucking ruining my night.”
Um, so that was fun. Um, Airbnb thing is going well. Mm. Uh, that was fun. We had, we had Danielle, one of our listeners, um, here la- or a few weeks ago, I think it was. Shout out to Blue Vixen. She was fantastic.
Al: Yes.
Mat: Shout out to Blue Vixen. It was great. Her and I did get to connect for a few minutes. Uh, her and her mother were absolutely lovely.
Nice. And she left me a little jar of jelly. Um, I know you said it wasn’t quite as spicy as you were hoping, Danielle, but it is delicious, and I’ve been adding it to my, uh, weekly charcuterie since. So, um, thank you for that very much. Um, aside from that, we’re just, yeah, we’re [00:12:00] busy, busy, busy. In shows, you guys, mentioned a bunch of stuff.
Reacher, I’ve just started Reacher. I’m a few episodes into the first season. It’s pretty good. Um, I finally finished The Bear. Um, I know- Oh, I still have to
Al: do that. Yeah, I still have to …
Mat: so what I’ll say, and this is, it’s such a turnaround for the best, but I think The Bear may have lost a lot of people in seasons three and four ’cause they really did slow down and were kind of like- Three.
Season three
Al: was hot garbage. But,
Mat: but four- Oh, it was just a drag. Four picked up a bit. Four was better.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Here’s what I’ll say. Five might be one of my favorite seasons of any show I’ve ever watched.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Um, in fact, and this is my personal opinion obviously, but I think it wrapped up almost better than any show I’ve ever seen.
Al: Wow.
Mat: Wow. Um, it was a seas- series finale, and that, and that includes Breaking Bad, ’cause I, I felt the, the finale of Breaking Bad- Jesus … was untouchable. Um, I was just… It, I was one of those ones where it ended, I’m like, “Okay. Like, cool. I’m, I’m okay with this.” Um, so yeah, very, it redeemed itself holistically or across the board in season five, [00:13:00] um, in my opinion, and, and I strongly recommend, uh-
Victor: Have, have you seen season one of True Detectives?
Mat: Yes ‘
Victor: Cause that, that show is also not talked about often, but it’s probably one of the best seasons of any show.
Al: Yeah,
Clip: it
Mat: was good. It was good. I remember really liking it, but it was a long time ago that I watched it.
Victor: Yeah. Yeah. You, you may, may wanna do a re-watch on that one.
Mat: Okay. I, I, I have time… I have a hard time with the crime ones.
Victor: Mm.
Mat: Like, they’re great, but I just have to be in a certain mindset and certain mood to watch them. Um, but yes, I do remember very much liking True Detective
Al: All
Mat: right So anyway, aside from that, yeah, that’s it, man. Man. School’s back.
Al: Tan.
Tanya: You, uh, triggered me, Matt. Um, we had a skunk- Oh … situation back in the day.
Um, we were coming back- Does it still sit beside you? We were coming- Ba dum tish. We were we were coming back from a party, and, um, it was, uh, us with Greg and Sarah- Mm-hmm … if you remember. Oh, yeah, I remember … and you and Greg, um, [00:14:00] Sarah spotted the skunk, yelled, “Skunk.” We were walking through the garage to, into the house, and you and Greg went into the house and closed the door-
leaving Sarah and I to open the ga- … open a car door that happened to be in the garage. I jumped- Like a proper gentleman. I jumped into
Al: the car. When
Tanya: it comes to skunks, it’s every person for themselves. It really, really was. It was like fire. Yeah. Uh, that scene where, uh, he yells, “Fire,” and he pushes the- Yeah, it’s Seinfeld.
Yeah … the child. Yeah, Seinfeld, yeah. Seinfeld, yeah. Yeah, so I jumped into the car. I pulled a George
Al: Costanza
Tanya: on Tan. You totally, totally did. You left me behind.
Al: In my defense-
Tanya: And, and Sarah- … I was like
Al: 22
Tanya: years old or something like that … and I didn’t even know what the hell had happened … as a kid. Sarah was on my lap in the driver’s seat.
Yeah. I was like, “What the hell is going on?” And she’s like, “Yeah, no, we stay here now.” We were hiding. This is where we live now.
Al: This is, this is where we live. The skunk was between you and the door. It was in the garage. You guys were coming into the ga- Ah … there was nothing I could do.
Tanya: All I know is that I was on my own on that one.
All I’m hearing is excuses, Al. And, and somehow I still married [00:15:00] you. Yes. I was like, “Okay, he’ll leave me behind, but he’s pretty good.” But he’s pretty good. Hey, you know
Victor: what? Once, once a bee got into Linda’s hair, uh, in our early courtship, and I said, “You’re on your own.” Courtship? Wow. I got
Clip: stung by
Victor: a bee on the weekend.
And she, and you know what? She said, “I, I, that, I get it.”
Tanya: That’s fine. That’s fine. Oh my God. Um, so yeah, my update. Uh, adventures in dentists and braces. Um, we are now full in, um, um, whatever this new adventure is. It’s, it’s stressful and- This is the
Al: hemorrhaging money part of our lives, so.
Tanya: Holy
Al: hell,
Tanya: man. I’m in
Al: university.
A kid in university, a kid with uni- with braces, just everything.
Tanya: Yeah, yeah. We, uh, yeah, it’s, it’s crazy. Um, I, I’ve, I’m learning new things about, um, brace- I never had braces, so this is a whole new world for me. And, um, I don’t enjoy it. Um, but anyways, it, it- Think about how your
Al: daughter feels.
Tanya: It’s, it…
Al: You [00:16:00] don’t have to
Tanya: wear them.
It, it is what it is, and we’ll get through it, and we’re doing one day at a time, so it’s fine. Um, my foot is- fucking killing me. Um, my balance is ridiculous. Allan watched me go down on Sunday. I, I went- Oh, can I
Al: share that video in the Discord?
Tanya: You cannot. Oh, damn it. At all. Um, so- Wait, you have
Mat: video?
Tanya: Yeah, we have video.
It, well actually it- This- … kinda makes you look like an ass ’cause, um- Oh … so I- Is
Mat: this like a Michael Scott kinda moment where J- where Jim lets him fall in the pond?
Tanya: So this is, so I, we’re in the backyard, we’re cleaning up, and we’re putting branches in the yard waste bag, and I had the bright idea to s- step on the yard waste bag with my, with my good foot.
Um, and my bad foot is not, uh, I can’t put my heel down on my bad foot, and the bag moved and I have no balance and so I just went down. Like, I went down and just kind of- But it was the
Al: most slow
Tanya: motion
Al: fall-
Tanya: It [00:17:00]
Al: was a s- … I have ever seen It felt slow for me. No, it looked slow. It looked So I’m just watching in
Tanya: disbelief.
It was kind of a, it was kind of a like, thankfully the bag kind of took the brunt of the fall and I just kind of rolled somehow onto the patio stones and did like a barrel roll and, and, and landed on
Al: my- Yeah, so you hand- you
Tanya: handled yourself … and landed on my back. But you, in the video- Mm-hmm … stood there with your branches, looked down at me, and proceeded to take the branches and put, and pick up the bag that I s- laid down on, and, and put the branches in the bag.
Well, what did
Al: you want me to put the b- branches-
Tanya: Just, just drop ’em on the ground and say, “Hey, oh my God, hon, are, are you okay?” No, no. No. That’s not what happened. It, it’s kinda like- You’re a strong, independent woman … it’s, it’s kinda like the bee in the hair thing …
Al: I
Tanya: understand
Al: that. I was on my own. Look, I’m, I’m not a spring chicken anymore.
That would’ve, that would’ve been a, an, a waste of an extra bend. No,
Tanya: no, no. Oh my lord. Al,
Mat: stop talking. Oh, no.
Tanya: Right? Right? Yeah. We made an, we just made an- You don’t wanna show that video … error. No. Yeah, so it- Just
Mat: Al- Al, can you not put it on the in- Not on this episode … just put it on Instagram. She doesn’t know where that
Tanya: is
Mat: anyway.
No.
Al: No, she, uh, no. No, no. I
Tanya: know. Uh, [00:18:00] it, it ma- would make you look bad, dear. I’m, I love you, but- I’ll just, I’ll just, uh- … you were like-
Al: I’ll, I’ll just do
Tanya: a, an animated GIF … you’ll
Al: cut
Tanya: it
Al: before I’ll do an animated GIF of the, uh-
Tanya: You will not. See how she just man-
Mat: she, see how she
Tanya: just manipulated- Oh my God …
Mat: you into not sharing it?
Like, it’ll make you look bad.
Tanya: Brilliant. Brilliant. Um- That’s the
Mat: mental warfare right there.
Tanya: Yeah, yeah. Um, school started, so naturally, um, the weather has changed. Um, nights are like cool now. I love it. Um, it’s, it’s- So, so good … uh, it’s happening. Um, trees are starting to turn where we’re at. Um- Um, and so naturally I’m looking to October, um, and, uh, birthday party planning and Thanksgiving planning ’cause, uh, we’re only…
It, it’s just gonna be snap and it’s done, and it’s next month
Al: Gord in the live stream, “Should we be talking about bending over for the f- the heated rivalry episode?” Yeah,
Tanya: we should.
Al: Okay.
Tanya: We’re all about
Mat: themes
Al: here, Gordo. Yes. Yes. It’s all… We- we’re sticking to the theme. Thanks. And going down
Mat: slowly.
Al: Yeah.
Yeah. Yes. Yes. Going down [00:19:00] slowly. Anyway, is there- Nice … you got the- We’ll
Mat: put a peg in that one.
Tanya: Oh.
Al: Is that all?
Tanya: Oh, we’re starting out fresh. Oh, man. All right.
Al: Oh, wait.
Tanya: Isn’t it, isn’t it 10? Let’s get in it. Let’s get in it.
Al: All right. Aaron, Aaron, save us here How have you been? School’s back on. You’re, you’re back at work.
Erin: Yes. Everyone’s, everyone’s so excited that school’s back on. Mm-hmm. I guess I should be too. Pull yourself
Mat: together.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Erin: I’m trying. I’m trying here. Um, they’re great. Um, uh, I, I love, love this class. I love every class, but, like, this class is just something special. Um, I… Just the funny story, today we were writing, uh, words that start with E and I had pictures up there.
And there was an elephant and there was an envelope and there was, I don’t know, an egg or something like that. So one of the girls wrote elephant as best as she could, and then for the envelope she wrote email- And then egg. I was like-
Al: Yeah, well-
Erin: Very close. Very close …
Al: for her generation, that [00:20:00] envelope- I know
was, was, was a, a paper representation of an email icon. I mean, we
Mat: also should have seen that. I have no confidence that kid- kids today could figure out how to properly close an envelope.
Erin: You
Mat: know, um- Right? If you gave it to them and said, “Do it,” they’d probably put tape on it or something, right? Like-
Erin: I used to have an old s- uh, like a…
No, I shouldn’t say old school. I used to have a tape deck. Mm-hmm. And we used to listen to, you know, books on tape. I got rid of it, but that would be a really fun half hour.
Al: Exercise. Here’s a tape. Yeah. Here’s a tape
Erin: deck. Here you go.
Al: What… How do you do? Yeah. How do you make it go?
Mat: We need,
Erin: we need-
Mat: And if you’ve never seen it, the, by far the best video of generatio- generational video is there’s a dad and…
Uh, many have done this since, but the first one I ever saw was a dad took his son and his son’s best friend and gave him a rotary phone and said, “Call Mom.” Mm-hmm. Oh. And just record- just recorded them. Oh, I’ve- And it took them, like, 20 minutes to make a phone call. It was fucking terrible. I
Erin: bet. It must’ve been crazy.
Tanya: We came across- Um- … a rotary phone in an escape room and the kids were just like… They, they just were trying to [00:21:00] press the zero- That’s right. They would not have escaped that room … and then they didn’t know. They didn’t know that- If I saw that stuff … the zero has to go all the way around.
Erin: Oh, man. That, that’s bringing me back.
Clip: Yeah.
Erin: Um, but, uh, other, on other news, we’ve got homecoming coming up and my daughter’s bringing a date. It’s really exciting. Ooh. And I think her date’s mom is a little bit more excited than they are all together. They’re l- she’s like, “What, what should you wear? Where should we take the p- pictures?” And, like, all these, all this fun stuff.
So, um, that’s the, about as exciting as we’ve got going on right here and, yeah.
Al: It’s just great to see you.
Erin: It is. I just… I’m like, I, literally, I’m just happy to be here. I don’t know.
Al: All right. I like it. Well, why don’t we, why don’t we get the, the fun part of this, uh, started, shall we? Where are we here? Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Clip: yeah.
Previously-
Erin: Oh, yes …
Clip: on Letterkenny.
Al: Last time we got together, we had an Ag Hall social with our listeners to talk about the Summer of Cherry. Uh, this week we go for the summer of… from, we go from the Summer of Cherry to, uh, Hockey Spice season, I don’t know, uh, [00:22:00] with our coverage of Jacob Tierney’s sensational hit show, Heated Rivalry, starting with episode one, Rookies.
So first of all, Victor, have you done your homework? I’ve done my homework. Matt, have you done your homework?
Erin: Sí.
Al: Tanya, have you done your homework?
Erin: Fuck yeah.
Al: And Erin, have you done your homework?
Erin: Several times, my friend.
Al: All right. Well, don’t bore us, get to the chorus. Before I get to the recap, Erin, I ha- I, I’m glad you’re on this first episode because you’ve read the books, right?
Erin: Yes.
Al: So you’re- I have read- … a, a legitimate Heated Rivalry fan. Wait,
Erin: they
Tanya: made books- What came first? … out of this? What came- The book- Oh my God, the books came first. No, the, the other way around. Yes. What, what, what came first? Did you read the books first or watch the show first?
Erin: So, um, I, I read the books actually.
Let, let… ‘Cause I, I found out about the show, that it was wr- from a book, and then I went crazy and I read the books and then watched the show. Okay. Watch the show.
Victor: Do you typically like trashy romance novels?
Erin: All the time, yes.
Victor: Anything- Like with Fabio and all that nonsense?
Erin: Yes. We’ve had this conversation [00:23:00] before.
I do love a good-
Victor: I
Erin: know, right? But I wanna
Victor: make sure it’s recorded
Erin: this time. Yeah, no. It’s still… I love, I love a good… Did I miss something, Victor? I didn’t hear what you said. Um, I love a good predictable romance. Like, there is nothing better than reading a book knowing that it’s gonna end in just a nice little hug, um, with maybe a little s- spattering of, like, miscommunication, you know-
mixed in with it. But yeah, I, I do love it. It, uh…
Mat: Quick question, just so I understand. Are the books closer or further from Fifty Shades of Grey?
Erin: I have not read that.
Mat: Wives- Oh. Have you seen the movie? You’ve seen the movie, right?
Erin: I haven’t. I’m- Oh … I guess I’m not that good of a romance reader. I haven’t seen
Victor: that movie either.
Mat: Oh,
Erin: okay. Yeah. Um, it, it’s, I, I think that the spice is, is different, so-
Mat: Okay …
Erin: but yeah, I don’t know.
Mat: Okay. Not helpful.
Erin: Yeah. Thank you, though … I wish I had an answer
Al: for you. Yeah.
Erin: But I do… Yeah, I, I did enjoy the books, um, quite a bit. Have you read all of them,
Al: like, all the, all the ones that are available so far?
Erin: Yes. I have read [00:24:00] all of them- Okay … and then, uh, the next ones are coming out in June 16th. Are,
Tanya: are the books close to, or, or is the show close to representing what the books were?
Erin: Yeah. Yeah? Yeah, Tierney did a really, really good job. Yeah. Um, there’s so few books that are as accurate, at least from my opinion.
I know not everyone’s gonna agree with that, but I, I feel that the books did a really… or the, that Tierney did a really good job honoring the book. Um, they did two books, ’cause episode three is the first- Mm-hmm … book in the series. Um, but I thought they did a pretty good job. Um- Okay.
Al: Uh, Gord,
Mat: on, on- Would you say the book is better than the movie, than the show, or the show is better than the book, or on par?
‘Cause that’s normally the common thing is, “Oh, the book’s way better.” And I’m sure it was, but I’m just- Yeah
Erin: She’s, she’s
Al: struggling with it …
Mat: where is, where does it fit on that scale?
Erin: I think, like I said, everyone kind of is different. I’m curious what Gord says. But I, I thought it was pretty on par.
Al: So Gord says- Okay
the book, the books have more sex than made it onto the [00:25:00] screen. Um, uh, but he also says a lot of the dialogue is line by line accurate, so-
Erin: Mm-hmm.
Al: And I mean- Yeah … so the reason this, this series came about, from what I’ve seen, like a bunch of i- interviews with, uh, with Jacob Tierney, uh, he, he, he was a fan… He discovered these books.
He’s a, became a fan of the books, and then he reached out to the writer, uh, and her name, uh, is here somewhere. Where the hell is it? Rachel Reid. Something
Victor: Reid?
Al: Yeah, Rachel Reid. Uh, he reached out to her, and she’s from, she’s an East Coaster, I think, uh, uh, from Nova Scotia, I think. Um, and… Oh, Austin thinks the show’s better, actually.
Anyway, uh, he- Ooh … he became such a fan. And she’s a librarian. He re- reached out to her and he, he, he asked her if he could make this, this series. So, and he, so he wrote the scripts for the, the, the TV show, but based on the book. So this is a Tierney production through and through, obviously with her IP, with, uh, Rachel Reid’s, uh, stories.
I know. So, um- Yeah And, and so we were looking, uh, why did he leave Shoresy? This is probably why. This is the project he wanted to do and, and [00:26:00] man, it, it blew up. Yeah. When it came out, nothing was bigger than Heated Rivalry like, uh, last spring. It’s funny, like we’re- Yeah … doing it now. We should’ve been doing it, like, four months ago, but-
Mat: I g- I get it.
Yeah. He’s like, he’s like, “I’m done making hockey shows. I wanna go make a hockey show with more gay sex.” Yeah. Like, that’s, that’s where I’m going with this. Well, it’s not just that
Erin: he’s- And
Mat: that’s
Erin: o- I’m kidding. Like, like, I have to say- No, I, I- … like, it’s, it just, I feel like it’s pe- people were saying it’s just something that they needed.
They- They, like I said with the romance books, it’s something about a warm hug. It’s something about knowing that- Sure … everything’s gonna work out and, you know, I, there’s, it, it’s, um- No,
Mat: and I, I, I make that… Yeah, go ahead. I
Erin: know, I know, I know. I-
Mat: No, I make that joke ’cause one of them, um, one of the actors was on, like, a late night show, and he made a joke about that, basically saying- Oh
he’s like, “You know, most, most shows are, have more hockey. Ours just has more gay sex.” Like- Yeah … that was really all, it was something along those lines. Kinda, it was kinda, yeah. It was like, it was on, like, Kimmel or Fallon or something.
Al: Yeah, they made the rounds. Like, this, for a Canadian show, this, this was huge.
It was all over the place. Yeah. And, uh, [00:27:00] so and yeah, it’s blown Tierney up now, like, because I think they’re working on season two now. But he’s also got a bunch of other shows coming out and stuff like that. It, it’s been amazing for him. And there’s
Mat: some big names signing up for season two. I saw Milla Jovovich was in
Al: there.
Mat: Yeah. Like- Um, and a couple others that I’m like, wow.
Al: Yeah. It, it’s gotten a lot of press, and now we’re doing it. Like, after, after the heat’s, like, come down, that’s when we’re doing it, right?
Erin: Oh, but it, it hasn’t come down. That’s how we roll. I will-
Al: Yeah …
Erin: I will tell you right now, like, on Instagram, it is, it is still nice and hot.
Sure,
Al: sure. I mean, I’m sure it makes for a lot of really great animated GIFs.
Erin: And it’s fun too ’cause just with the books too, like I’ll just put a, a small little thing out there too. It’s just nice ’cause you do get the perspectives from both of them that you don’t really get in the long kind of quiet shots that he does. Sure. And they, the actors are phenomenal and they do the best they can, you know, to portray that.
Um, that’s one thing that the books definitely have in there, but, um-
Tanya: And I think because, um, um, I [00:28:00] think that this is staying so current because of the ads too that they’re doing and, and how hot the ads are. Um, the main actors- Oh, sure … oh, my God. Like-
Al: So let’s start with, uh, everyone’s, uh, uh, experience with this.
So Aaron, obviously you’ve read the books, you’ve seen the series now through at least once, probably multiple times, right? Yes. Uh, yeah. Uh, Victor, you, this is your first time through the, the season, right?
Victor: I’ve only watched episode one.
Al: Episode one. And Matt, what about you?
Mat: Same. Same. Yeah. When we talk… When it first came out, I know we talked about maybe one day doing it, so-
Al: So you held off?
Mat: Yeah.
Al: Okay. Now Tanya and I have watched it all, through all, like once already. Matt, Matt-
Tanya: This
Al: is
Tanya: my first time watching everything before, and w- and we’re only doing one by one, so this is gonna be tricky.
Al: Yeah. Uh, so yeah, we, we watched it when it, you know, when, when it was, uh- Well, settle,
Mat: settle down there, Tanya.
Tanya: I know.
Mat: S- settle down.
Al: So just to give you guys an idea of like where we’re coming from on this, so I’m gonna start here with our recap. We open in December of 2008 in Regina, Saskatchewan [00:29:00] at the International Prospect Cup. Canada is about to face Russia in the final, and we’re introduced to the two young players…
Oh, I’ve gotta share my screen first. Hold on. I was
Tanya: just gonna say, but I-
Al: Thank, thank you for reminding me.
Tanya: One fucking job.
Al: I was gonna try. It’s always, yeah, it’s always that, right? Um-
Victor: I, you know what? I’m just having a… Did, did we, in our pre, in our, uh, regular episodes, not including, um, not including Cherry-
Al: Mm-hmm
Victor: did we show the clips or we just played the audio?
Al: Um, no, I only started doing- We played the audio … the clips, uh, recently. Yeah. But, uh, yeah.
Victor: Yeah. All right. Just making sure. Yeah.
Al: Yeah. But this is, this is that. ‘Cause now I put these videos out on YouTube as well, so, um- All right … it, it helps our YouTube.
We’re on the YouTube too? We’re on
Mat: the
Al: YouTubes, yes. All right. I had no idea. So go on- The visuals will help us greatly. It will, yeah. Um, uh, here we go. Uh, we open, uh, in, on December 2008 in Regina, Saskatchewan at the International Prospect Cup. Canada’s about to face Russia in the final, and we’re introduced to the two young players [00:30:00] everyone’s talking about, Canadian phenom Shane Hollander and Russian superstar Ilya Rozhinov.
Uh, let’s meet our two pr- uh, protagonists.
Clip: Ilya Rozhinov? Shane Hollander. I, I wanted to introduce myself.
Oh, I’m, I’m not sure you’re supposed to smoke here
Okay
You’re an awesome player to watch
Yes.
Anyways, I, I, I should go. They’re waiting for me, [00:31:00] but, um, good luck in the tournament
It will not be so nice when we beat you.
That’s not happening
One final
Al: All right, let’s talk about that introduction to our two protagonists. Uh- Mm … Victor, start with you. Uh, this is your first time seeing this. You’re meeting the, the two main guys for the first time. Your thoughts?
Victor: Uh, yeah, I mean, uh, not much to- Yeah … not much to say about it. There’s not that much dialogue.
Mm-hmm. Um, obviously in this scene there’s almost kind of like a protagonist-antagonist- Yeah … uh, you know, where the Russian is playing the typical antagonist. Uh, a bit of a jackass. Um, you know, uh, so, you know-
Al: It’s always the Russian. The, the Russian’s always the jackass, right?
Victor: Y- yeah, yeah.
Clip: [00:32:00] Uh, you know- …
Victor: you might as…
It’s, like, if there’s gonna be kind of one of those trashy romance novels- Mm … you might as well kind of, you know, go, go in on the tropes. Mm-hmm. Uh, but, uh, yeah, I mean, that’s, that’s what this scene kind of sets up, that, you know, you’ve got kind of the jackass versus the ni- the, the good guy.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: And, uh, we’ll see where it goes.
Al: Yeah. Uh, uh, yeah, it was a great kind of scene to introduce the two guys, and we’re, we’re gonna find out, you know, Ilya Rosinov a bit, how, how cocky he is, and, and, uh, and Hollander, how kind of awkward he is. And, uh, and that was kind of a really great way to present them. Uh, I’ll just do production note real quick here.
So Shane Hollander, played by Canadian actor Hudson Williams from Kamloops, BC. He had a handful of smaller roles like, uh, Tracker: Allegiance. But he did Rivalry, is by far his biggest role to date. Ilya Rosinov, played by American actor Connor Story from Odessa, Texas. I’ve heard interviews with him. He does not have a Russian accent.
He’s nowhere near Russian. This is all put on and [00:33:00] amazingly… Well, we’ll, I’ll find out… Well, I was gonna ask you, Victor- … uh, what the Russian’s like in this, but we’ll, uh, we’ll talk about that in a bit. Uh- Yeah … this is also his biggest role so far, though he did appear in the most recent, recent, uh, Joker film, and he’s been in a handful of episodes of, uh, Criminal Minds.
Uh, Matt, what did you think of that intro to them?
Mat: Yeah, it’s a great intro to the characters. I mean, it all sums up to that look by Ilya at the end, like, where he just, “I fucked the hell out of Shane there.” So- … I mean, I, I knew what kind of show I’m coming into, and that look said it all. I’m like, “All right, there’s…
I like it.” But I like this immediate initial reaction. I think it was fantastic to see how they interact. Shows their personalities, um, with a bit of humor in there as well. Like, they’re- Mm … he’s putting on this tough-guy act, um, but it makes a little shot and they can have a laugh. So I don’t know. It, it, I think it was a great, a great intro.
Al: Jen?
Tanya: I love Ilya’s, um, um, comments. Yes. Yes. Like, just yes. And just how he says it- Yeah … and just, oh, my God, his face. Like, I just… [00:34:00] Uh, maybe because I already know, um, their relationship, but it just gives me those, like, warm, fuzzy feelings that y- it’s like their meet cute. Their… It’s, it’s- Yeah … it’s, it’s the start- You’re not
Victor: supposed to get warm, fuzzy feelings from that scene.
Tanya: Why?
Victor: Why not? Why not?
Tanya: Because
Victor: you’re not
Al: supposed to know what happens next No, in that scene, all you’re just finding out, like, he’s cocky and, and, and Hollander is kind of awkward But
Tanya: he’s cocky in a good way. Like, he’s not cocky in an asshole way. He’s cocky in a playful way Well, some would say- Well,
Al: I don’t know.
That’s, that’s your opinion … Hollander spends the entire episode calling him an asshole ’cause he, he is being an asshole
Tanya: But it’s, but it’s like, “You’re an asshole” Yeah Like, it’s just… It’s… I don’t know. I, uh-
Al: Oh, you’re biased You’re blinded by the pecs. Anyway. Yeah. Erin.
Erin: Yes. Okay. Um. Y’all are gonna love that you invited me on here.
So- Um, before So before, you know, when, when he’s trying to light his cigarette, there’s no spark.
Al: [00:35:00] Yeah.
Erin: And then he sees Shane- Oh, wow …
Al: and then
Erin: all of a sudden-
Al: Oh … the cigarette- The symbolism begins on, on- Oh, you and your scenes … sparks. Wow. Goddamn
Clip: you.
Tanya: Oh, I love it. I love it, I love it,
Al: I love it. I gotta find out now, guys.
Put Victor in his place. Put Victor in his place. He’s already used the word trash about a half a dozen times. We haven’t even started- Erin … so put him in his place. Yeah,
Tanya: you just, Erin, you just- Okay … lit my fire. Oh, I love it. Anytime. I
Erin: love it. Anytime.
Tanya: That was fantastic. I’m here to spice up this podcast.
Erin: Good for me. Was that in the book, Erin? That was good for me. Um, what, that he… No, uh, um, no. I, uh, I have watched quite a few, um, analyses on this
Al: episode. Oh, okay. Oh, that’s why. Okay. Okay, good. So you’re bringing that- Um- … knowledge, ’cause I haven’t watched the lot, no
Mat: You’ve educated yourself. Yeah …
Erin: I have.
Edumacated. I try. I wanna make sure I, I, you know, I get invited back, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, so um, that, um, and then, um, you know, I, I don’t know how much you, book information you want me to throw in there, but they are, uh, 17 in that scene. Um, so- Oh, oh, right. Yeah …
Al: age-wise. ‘Cause th-
Erin: this story- Yeah …
Al: spans a long period of time, [00:36:00] so okay.
Yeah. Seven… Yeah, that makes sense- Yeah … ’cause they’re, they’re rookies. They’re, they’re, they’re at the world j- Yeah … g- the, the equivalent to the World Junior Championship, whatever that is in this world, yeah.
Erin: Yeah. Um, and then, um, I have to defend my Ilya just a little bit. He is learning English- Mm-hmm … so he may not understand a whole lot, so his words that he may be saying are n- maybe sparse.
Sure. Um, uh, and then, um, just I know that the, the discussion of music is gonna be coming huge, but, um, another thing that was really cool was when, um, he started kinda combating him, like s- you know, chirping him or whatever.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Erin: The song that’s played is called Rivalry. It was made for this actual, um-
Al: Wow.
Erin’s bringing the heat already. Um, yeah Jeez, we were still in the
Erin: f- Um- …
Al: cold
Erin: open here. … for this production. But anyway, yes. That, um, that was fantastic.
Al: Amazing. All right. Well, back to the- I’m in love … back to the story. So we have our two top prospects, Hollander, the Canadian, who’s got a very high h- hockey IQ.
He’s smart, fast, dedicated to the game, and has a [00:37:00] wicked shot. Rozanov, the Russian, is strong on the puck and a powerful skater. He’s also an agitator. Good in his own room, but not exactly beloved in his opponent’s room. We jump forward a week in the tournament, and Russia beats Canada, despite a great showing from Hollander.
And during, but d- during the handshake, Ilya tells Shane he’ll see him at the draft. So then we jump ahead another six months to the major league, Major League Hockey draft in Los Angeles. Now, production note here. To avoid legal issues, uh, the author, Rachel Reid, she created a completely fictional, uh, league and teams.
Um, so in this world, instead of the NHL, it’s the MLH, Major League Hockey, uh, and all the team names are also different. But everything else is basically the same, including the rivalries between the hockey cities and stuff. So back to the s- And jersey
Victor: colors.
Al: Yes. Uh, back to the story, at the MLH draft, Ilya goes first overall to the Boston Raiders, while Shane goes second to the Montreal Metros, immediately setting them up as, uh, professional rivals.
Shane is [00:38:00] noticeably bothered that he came in second to Rozanov. During the after party, we meet both Hollander, Hollander and Rozanov’s parents. Uh, first, Shane’s parents, who are supportive, if somewhat intense. Uh, they’re al- already thinking about his image and career. The representative from the Mont- from Montreal tells Shane’s parents how thrilled they are that he’s Asian Canadian, and that they’re looking forward to breaking down barriers for other Asian players.
Uh, Shane’s just thrilled to be joining the most legendary hockey franchise in Montreal. Uh, while his parents, uh, make small talk with m- the Montreal rep, Hollander catches Rozanov’s eye across the banquet hall. Ilya is having a very different meeting with his father and reps from the Boston team. The Boston reps gush about how excited they are to have Rozanov, but, uh, Ilya’s father warns them to make sure they, they, they discipline him, because he can be lazy.
Uh, Rozanov promises he’ll work hard for Boston. The rep has no doubt he will. His father, on the other hand, warns him to listen to more, uh, to listen more than he speaks. Uh, production note here, [00:39:00] Hollander’s mother is played by Christina Chang. Uh, if you’d, if she looks familiar, it’s because she’s been in a m- a bunch of stuff.
She’s an Asian American actor with an impressive IMDb resume, including 24, The Good Doctor, Live Free or Die Hard, and so on and so forth. His father, also very, a veteran d- uh, actor, played by American actor Dylan Walsh. His credits include Nip/Tuck, uh, Superman & Lois, Congo, uh, and so on and so forth.
Rozanov’s father, Victor, uh, you’ll, you’ll be interested in this, played by Ukrainian actor Yaroslav Poverlo, who’s not only had a long resume as an actor in, like, show, like a small actor in shows like Shooter, Arrow, and Lucifer, but he’s also worked as a Russian and Ukrainian dialect and dialogue coach in film and television for more than 20 years.
So, uh, I have a feeling, uh, Mr. Connor’s story had a lot of, uh, you know, meetings with, with, uh, that actor, because by all accounts, he d- he doesn’t know a word [00:40:00] of, of Russian, but in this, and we’ll see, like not only in this first episode, the Russian dialogue, uh… Well, Victor, let me ask you ’cause I’m- Yes.
Victor: Yes, sir
Al: how, how authentic Was he so far?
Victor: He, yeah, yeah, he was very, uh, I, he was delivering the actual words. Mm-hmm. Uh, he was delivering them well. Uh, at first, I, you know, when I first started watching, I was thinking, “Oh, are they gonna speak real Russian or gibberish?”
Clip: Right.
Victor: Uh, all the background Russian seems to be very authentic Russian spoken by Russians.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, I, I could be wrong, but it all sounded very authentic and very Russian. Um, whereas his, you could tell, you could tell that he was, uh, he was not Russian. Yeah. But he did a great job. Like, I, I don’t think non-Russians could tell. I think he did a s- a spectacular job. Yeah.
Al: Okay. So stamp of approval from you.
Victor: Yeah.
Al: Yeah, perfect. Back to the story. Late- later that night, Shane can’t sleep, so naturally he goes to the hotel gym to work out. Ilya [00:41:00] shows up, and they end up on stationary bikes beside each other. Neither one acknowledging, acknowledges that they’re competing with the other, while very obviously competing with the other.
Uh, eventually, uh, both players are exhausted and sit on the floor together. This is the first time, but definitely not the last time we’ll have both of them breathing heavily. Uh, Rozanov makes a pathetic attempt at apologizing for being drafted ahead of Hollander. Shane knows he’s, he isn’t sorry. Uh, then they start talking about, uh, their futures in their respective cities.
Clip: Montreal is, is nice, yes?
Yeah, it’s awesome.
Boston is nice, too?
Think so. People like it there.
We will, uh, we will be seeing each other a lot
Yeah, Boston and Montreal play against each other often
Al: All right, uh, before we go on, um, yeah, Gord said… [00:42:00] And I, and I heard this in interviews that he had too, um, he did fool some of the Russian actors who tried to communicate with him on, in Russian when they were, weren’t filming. So I guess he was so convincing that other Russian actors thought he was Russian and could sp- So they, they spoke to him in Russian- Mm-hmm
only to find out lat- oh, he had no idea what they were saying. So, uh, anyway, that’s a short scene there, but Victor, so far, what are you thinking?
Victor: Um… I…
Al: Not much?
Victor: Uh, not, not, not much. I mean, they’re, you know, obviously this was right after I think they were, uh, trying to out, uh, cycle each other.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Uh, it just, every scene is just about them competing with each other, right?
It’s- And, and this is the first, uh, I th- yeah, I think this is before the shower, right? Yes. So I think this is the first scene where they’re directly, uh, y- you know, I, I, I guess Aaron will say it started with a smoking scene, but it’s the first scene where you can obviously tell that they’re kind of flirting with each other.
Mm-hmm. So, um, it, here’s where it kind of begins.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: [00:43:00] Um, and it’s just gonna go…
Al: Yes.
Victor: Yeah. It’s gonna get crazier- It’s gonna go
Al: nuclear … from
Victor: here.
Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I, I like all the, the scenes that are showing how competitive they are with each other. I mean, uh, regardless of what ends up happening, they never stop with that c- competition.
They’re always at each other. One wins, the other one gets pissed, the other one wins. It, it, it goes back and forth. So I’m, I really enjoy that part of the, the story. I love… I mean, even, you know, Hollander refuses the water at first. But, like, who goes to the gym, uh, and doesn’t bring water? That seems kind of weird, but whatever.
Uh- It’s just bad planning.
Tanya: Yeah, just bad planning. Although I’m upset about losing.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: I don’t even go to the grocery store without water.
Al: Yeah. Yeah, Tanya doesn’t leave the fucking house without a water bottle.
Victor: Yeah, I don’t understand what the hell is with the people and water bottles. I know. Me neither.
But, oh, one more thing I wanted to say about this scene- Yeah … um, is, and this will continue to be the through line- Mm-hmm … of this episode, which I personally kind of had an issue with- Mm … but whatever, it’s fine. Uh, it’s just they’re… I, and now I, because I, it’s probably that was the whole point of this episode, but, um, it’s just always just [00:44:00] the two of them- Yeah
and there’s almost no other people exist in this world.
Clip: Sure.
Victor: And if they do exist, they’re cardboard cutouts. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah. But, but it’s like almost every scene they, it’s just about them two. Sure. And then it probably evolves from this episode, but speaking just about this episode, and this was certainly up until this point, it’s just about them.
Yeah. And, uh, and spec- specifically in the, in the gym and in this scene as well. It’s like other people don’t exist.
Al: Nah.
Mat: Yeah, I mean, just to add on a bit, I, I hear what you’re saying, Victor. I, I imagine some of that has to do with budgeting. And I mean, Tierney’s used to u- working in an environment like that.
Like if you even look into Letterkenny and Shoresy, they were always small isolated scenes until you got into Shoresy with a lot of the background stuff. Um, very much focused scenes on, on very defined characters. But, um, not that it carries over into this, but that’s just the way- But maybe that’s how the book-
Letterkenny goes …
Al: goes too. I don’t know. Erin, is that how the book goes in terms of the, the-
Erin: Yeah, it is, it is focused …
Al: it’s pretty [00:45:00] focused on the two of them? Yeah.
Erin: Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: Yeah. And, and, and there was one, I think, I think this scene already happened when they’re, when they’re chat- when they’re chatting in the, um, with his parents.
Um, they’re doing some introductions in like that hall or whatever. But there was one moment there I thought like one of the guy- I think it was his father- Mm … um, felt almost out of place in the scene, um- Hmm … until they zoomed in closer. I’m like, “Oh, no, he is actually…” I didn’t know if he was hanging out with them or like a background character- Yeah
until they zoomed in closer. It was just a weird shot. But- Right … um, but anyways, I, hearing the focus. This one, yeah, it’s… I like this sort of slow build-up we’re getting with these two. They’re-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Mat: kind of getting to know each other, feeling each other out. I mean, my, my question would hit me on this one again, is, um-
Al: Tanya’s just gonna be giggling this whole episode.
Just said- Yeah … feeling each other out and she started giggling.
Mat: Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m exploring this relationship, right? I’ve never… I, I… And truth is I’ve never watched anything like this- Mm-hmm … um, at least between two men. And it’s interesting, ’cause [00:46:00] my, my head goes, and I, I at the same time totally empathize for the situation, is at this point neither one of them appears to be openly gay.
Um, and clearly Hollander isn’t as we get deeper into this, ’cause he’s very much hiding it all. But like how do you know, right? Like where’s that… Like as they’re feeling, are they like just being friendly? Is it something more? I don’t know. It’s a weird one-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Mat: um, on, on how you cross that line and when you cross the line.
‘Cause if you’re wrong, um, it becomes a very uncomfortable situation, which can happen in straight rela- relations as well, but- Or it could
Al: even become a, a, a dangerous situation, especially-
Mat: Ri- exactly … in sports, right? So- Yeah. Like, I definitely cro- that definitely crossed my mind as they were sort of building up- Mm-hmm
to their, their first moment. I’m like, “Uh, I can’t imagine
Victor: what that’s like.” Yeah. But yeah, but, um, in a show like this, again, uh, you’re, you’re not… I don’t think you’re supposed to dissect that too much in this f- type of a show. It’s just, just let it happen. I think sex education- When they, when they- There- When they-
Al: So I didn’t wanna bring the word up until somebody brought it [00:47:00] up in, in, in the live stream.
But Gorge said- What? … it’s called gaydar for a reason. So I think-
Victor: Yeah, yeah. No, no. Sure. Sure. But y- yeah. But I-
Tanya: Sparks. Sparks are sparks, and people will feel- Sparks are sparks … yeah. People feel sparks. Yeah. And when they pass the water bottle and that lingering kind of hand touch- Yeah, yeah … like, no one passes the water bottle that way if you’re not in- But it, but it was written this way
knowing.
Al: That’s
Tanya: the
Al: point. Right. Yeah. Well, it’s written this way, but that’s also a good point in terms of that whole scene is a bunch of little tests, right? There’s like- There, there’s body language in, in- The, the, the, the long touch. If he recoiled, he wouldn’t have tried that again. Yeah. But he didn’t recoil.
Tanya: Yeah.
Al: He stayed. Mm-hmm. And then when he gave the water bottle back, he returned the long touch. Sing it. And there was no recoiling there- Yeah … either, right? So there’s all these- … little tests that are happening.
Erin: Yeah. And he stayed sitting. He
Al: didn’t have to stay there. And he stayed s- exactly, yeah.
Tanya: Yeah. Yeah.
Al: And later on, we’ll, we’ll see even- And- … even w- when Hollander does protest, he protests very weakly. Like
Tanya: And I don’t think it was the camera angle that was, you know, zooming in on the crotch [00:48:00] and stuff. Mm-hmm. Like, I think that, that was in- Showing … indicating his gaze- Yeah … is, is, is gone there, right? Yeah.
Al: Yeah. Gorge says the, the book walks through all the back and forth. So I’m sure, yeah, I’m sure we’re seeing- Yeah … parts of the testing and, and stuff that’s going on before anything actually happens. Um- Sorry, Tan, did you have any?
Tanya: Yeah Yeah. Um, like, how long are we into this, uh, show and already we have so much information on these guys?
Mm-hmm. Like, we, we know, um, you know, how they, they met each other and how much, um, um, pressure is put onto them.
Al: Um- That’s the thing, right? Pressure on both sides. Different kinds of pressure, right? Yes. Ilya, pressure from his dad for like-
Tanya: Well, and that’s what I was gonna say … the negative pressure. Like, uh, I think that knowing, having that i- information, those details on, you know, their parents and already knowing, you know, um, um, Ilya’s, um, father saying, you know, “You should be…
You should listen and not be heard.” Yeah. Um, and, and that stance and, [00:49:00] and, and how rude he was, um, saying to the coach, like, he’s, he’s lazy. Like, the, the guy is like-
Victor: That’s not rude. It, it is
Tanya: rude That’s not rude if it’s
Victor: true.
Tanya: But he’s not lazy. Like, he’s l- he’s lead in, uh, in the, the league. The young,
Al: yeah, the Yeah I think it’s one of those, uh-
player … you know, losing, like, uh, something lost in translation though because there’s stuff that my parents will say that in Portuguese doesn’t sound as harsh as it does translated to English, right? Uh, and or, or just it’s the way you’re brought up too, right? And he was brought up that-
Victor: Listen.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: L- listen, all I got, all I have to tell you is Patrick Laine.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Like, Patrick Laine was basically Ilya. And, and he thought he was all this and all that, doing interviews lying in bed on draft day and all that kind of stuff, and look where he is now. He can’t be signed. He c- no team will even sign him anymore.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: So I, um, it, it, it’s, it’s, a- like, attitude is a big, big factor, uh, in sports and in hockey [00:50:00] especially so.
Yeah. Um, I don’t know. I don’t- Ah … in that situation, his dad is, probably knows what his son is like and is saying, you know, “This guy’s an idiot,” and make sure you m- m- m- you know, that- But he’s also
Tanya: probably a- … make sure that you work it. But the fact that the, but the fact that the rep is, i- stepped in to say, you know, “Oh, I don’t think so,” like, I think he was being harsh.
Like, that’s how I kinda took it and, and from- Yeah, I know … and from Ilya’s- But you didn’t
Victor: gr- gr- grow up in the Soviet Union-
Tanya: Yeah. …
Erin: so that’s why. But then, but then Ilya also did say, “I’m gonna, I’m gonna do everything I can to work hard for you.” Yeah. You know? Yeah. He, he, I think he presented himself well to- Mm-hmm
the owner, whoever that was. Um, I m- we haven’t seen the, the other- Not seen yet … you know, things that he says later on, but- Yeah … um, for this particular moment, I think- Yeah … he has shown respect to the owner. Um-
Al: Uh, Erin, w- do you have any comments, uh, before we move on? Y-
Erin: yeah, no, I think y’all, you hit it all on the head.
I mean, uh, you know, it’s the, y- you have f- The b- back and forth of- Mm-hmm … you know, one wins this, this one gets first, and then he gets [00:51:00] second, and then, but then we as the audience get the view of kind of that backstory of, well, you have Shane’s parents who are super supportive of him, and prompting, you know, Shane to speak, and l- allowing him to speak, and then you have Ilya’s family who’s, uh- Yeah,
Al: they’re super supportive, but they apply pressure of their own, right?
And, and it’s-
Erin: Yeah, oh, for sure …
Al: it’s like the kind of pressure is, like, he, he can’t live up to how perfect they f- Mm-hmm … they see him as, right? Um, so- Yeah … there’s that kind of pressure, too. There’s the negative and the positive.
Erin: Absolutely.
Al: All right, we’ll
Erin: move o- And, you know, neither of them see that. Yeah.
They just see the other one as this perfection and, you know, winning or losing, so. Yeah.
Al: So moving on here, we got bo- both, uh, players quietly stealing glances at each other. Ro- uh, Rozanov offering Hollander some water from his bottle. At first, Shane says no, but, uh, eventually gives in and takes it. And during the exchange, Rozanov’s hand lingers on Hollander’s for a second before Shane pulls away.
After drinking, Hollander passes the wa- wa- bottle back, and this time, it’s, the, his hand lingers on Rozanov’s. So there we go. This is kind of reciprocating what’s going [00:52:00] on here. The gla- the, the glances turn into stares, and then Rozanov gives Shane a playful wink that almost gives a, gets a grin out of Shane, but Hollander is being very careful not to give away too much.
Then we jump ahead six months to New Year’s, New Year’s Eve in Ottawa. Uh, Rozanov is in his hotel room when he gets a call from back home. It’s his older brother, Alexi. Uh, Ilya asks, uh, about his father, but, uh, uh, who keeps on calling him, but Alexi says their father is calling because Ilya lost a game.
Ilya then w- asks why Alexi’s calling. It’s because he wants more money. Ilya tells him there isn’t any more money. His bonus is gone. Alexi snorted most of it. Ilya hangs up on his brother, but then his father calls and gives him a guilt trip for not returning his calls, and for losing to the Czechs. Uh, this again is during the, uh, the World Junior Championships the following year.
Ilya assures his father that they’ll beat the Swedes and play for gold against Canada. His father warns him not to lose to Canada, esp- es- especially not to Hollander. Uh, but that’s exactly what happens. Uh, this, this [00:53:00] time, Russia loses to Canada, and Hollander leads, leads his team. Uh, in a complete reversal of their previous meeting, during the handshake line, it’s Hollander who tells Rozanov he’ll see him in October.
So then we jump ahead six months to Toronto. Uh, Shane and Ilya are now established young stars, and their supposed rivalry has become a marketing opportunity. Uh, they’re brought together to shoot a commercial.
Clip: Okay, that looks good. Camera, you’re happy with that? All right, that’s perfect. You give us a second, we’re gonna be good to go, okay?
Just stay there. Hold, please. Thank
you. You look pretty.
You’re wearing makeup, too.
Yeah, but I don’t look pretty.
Great. Can we do that again? Can you, can you just try to get that, get those marks at the same time? That would be the… Skate out, and skate in and show me a lot of intensity, all right? Okay. Action.
Good. Give it to one more time Great. Okay, one more time. Great. Okay. Guys, just hold there for a second. We’re gonna make a little tweak over here with the camera, and I’ll [00:54:00] let you know when we’re ready to go. In three, two, one, and go ahead. Okay. I get it, guys. Been a long day, I know. Sorry. Let’s just try it with a, a lot of intensity though, okay?
Okay.
Okay? One more time, guys. The more serious we can do- Sorry … the quicker we can get home. Okay, go ahead.
I’m
sorry. Okay.
No, I, I can do it, I promise.
And three, two, one, go ahead.
Okay.
Al: All right, before we move on, uh, in the live stream, W- Gord is saying Tom is telling him Tierney is the director in that shot. Yes. Yes, he is. That is def- definitely Jacob Tierney playing the director in-
Tanya: Oh, is he?
Al: Yeah, he’s directing- Yeah … himself as the director in that shot.
Tanya: No way.
Al: Yeah, absolutely. Uh- Oh, I
Tanya: wanna watch it again.
Al: Yeah. I wanna…
Tanya: Yeah. You can hear him too.
Erin: It’s fun.
Al: Oh, yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah. Uh, we’ll start, we’ll start from the bottom this time. Tanya, what did you think of that scene?
Tanya: Oh my [00:55:00] God. Ah. I, um, y- you know, it’s, it’s, uh, I just, I just, I love them. Mm-hmm. I love them so much. I love, you know, the intensity and him saying, “Oh, and, uh, you look so pretty.”
But it’s such an, an- Mm-hmm … it’s just such an awesome little m- moment there. And then to be so face-to-face and, um, you know, then they start breaking and, and their laughter just leads to my laughter. I just, I love it so much.
Al: Yeah. Yay.
Mat: Ah. Yeah, it’s a great scene. It’s so much fun to watch them sort of, um, to go through the motions.
I, I caught Tierney right away. I love that, um, as, as a, a guy disguised as a dude playing another dude. Um, one of those kind of scenarios. But, um, it, it just… I, I can’t imagine having to do something like that over and over and over and over and over again, especially from their perspective being athletes [00:56:00] and they’re like, “Fuck, just, just get it done.”
But they handled it well, and they had some fun with it. Um, and yeah, you just have to, you have to wrap it up at some point and be like, “I’m sure we got a decent shot in there. Let’s move on.”
Al: Victor.
Mat: It’s great
Victor: I think they had a decent shot on take two. Mm-hmm. Uh, and so I’m just gonna scratch my head, why do they keep retaking it?
Well, was
Mat: the goal to get the sticks at the same time? Or-
Al: Well, he wanted more intensity- Uh, well- … but the more intensity he asked for, the more they started laughing, so.
Victor: I, I think they had it on shot two- Yeah … to be honest. I, I, it was… I don’t know, I don’t know. Um, I, it, I’m glad Tanya, you really loved that scene.
I thought it was just all right. There was not… It was very dark. Uh, I guess they would, that’s what it… But it was just so dark everywhere. Oh, but the
Tanya: lighting and the silhouette of
Victor: them- Yeah, yeah. I get that … and then the wind on their face and- Oh, I,
Mat: oh, I, I actually really like how that scene was lit … oh,
Tanya: God.
Victor: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. God. It was so- Uh, uh, yeah. I mean, I didn’t get ver- I didn’t get as much joy out of that scene as you did. That’s all. Uh, it was fine. Um, and, uh, you know, and then it was over. So there you go.
Al: Uh, [00:57:00] Erin?
Erin: I was smiling the whole time- … so, you know, I enjoyed it very much. But, um, the, there’s, the throughline of Ilya and the way he says okay.
Mm-hmm. And he says it a couple times in here, and it’s just the cutest thing ever, so. Mm. Maybe it’s, it’s just me, but I enjoyed that. And then also that is the front cover of-
Al: Yeah …
Erin: uh, the book.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: Oh, is
Erin: it? Of the two of them. Yeah.
Al: Yeah. And Victor, I can only clip so many clips from this mo- this show before and, and maintain our rating of, uh, of maintaining our PG- No, no.
Victor: Listen, I- … MA. I, I, I don’t have an issue with that scene. I just- Yeah … didn’t think it was like- I- No, I know … oh my God, that scene is so… I, you know, I’m- I
Al: just, it showed the playfulness between the two of them. And-
Victor: No, no. I, I like- Yeah. I, I,
Mat: I actually appreciate you clipped that one. Mm. Yeah. I think
Victor: that was a
Mat: good scene.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: I think it’s… I, I like Ilya when he talks Russian, right? Mm-hmm. ‘Cause it’s funny to me.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, so I appreciate that. “You look pretty” was, was a nice- Mm. Was fun and nice. Mm. And then just… But then keep taking the shots over and over again, and they’re just getting sillier and sillier. It’s like, okay, well- It’s
Al: the [00:58:00] equivalent of the last scene in Dirty Dancing.
Or not the last scene, the scene where, where he puts her arm up and he tickles her and she s- keeps on laughing and he… Yeah, that’s- Yeah. That’s the same scene. I think I remember
Victor: Dirty Dancing- It’s the same scene … from, like, 30 years ago.
Mat: No, but I think a scene like that, if we’re, if we’re talking about a building romance, you need a scene like this to show- Yeah
that they’re able to have- I,
Victor: I’m not against the scene … more fun together. I just didn’t think it was as great as Tanya’s. It sounds like you are. The romance- All right. Let’s move on. It’s building the romance.
Al: Yeah. Let’s
Tanya: move on. The only thing that was, that caught me as being even funnier was them saying, uh, with more intensity, and they still just, like, skate, skate, skate.
Al: Yeah, yeah.
Tanya: And, and there was no intensity. All right. It was the same thing.
Al: That was- Straight from the book … clip three of nine. So let’s move on here. After the commercial shoot, Shane learns that, uh, something interesting. Ilya specifically asked for him to be part of the shoot. So the, it, this wasn’t… This was supposed to be an Ilya only shot, and then he asked, uh, for Shane to be included.
Uh, we cut to Hollander sitting in the stands with his mother after the shoot. She’s nagging him about only wearing Reeboks whenever she’s, uh, he’s seen outside the rink. He’s the youngest player the company has ever signed to an endorsement [00:59:00] deal. She also reminds him that, uh, he’s a role model for Asian kids who wanna play hockey.
Next, after the shoot, Hollander and Rosinoff end up showering beside each other. Uh, this is the scene Victor’s been looking for- forward to. Uh, they become very aware of one another, once again stealing furtive glances until the glances are no longer being stolen and turn into outright, outright stares.
Hollander tries to shut things down by telling Rosinoff to fuck off. That only emboldens Ilya, who makes his interest unmistakably clear. Uh, he starts playing with himself in front of Hollander. Shane doesn’t try to stop him, but finally tells Rosinoff, “Not here.” We cut to the locker room after the shower.
Hollander is sitting in front of his locker when Rosanov walks up, still wearing his towel. Shane once again tries to shut things down. He tells Rosanov to forget what just happened in the shower. Rosanov asks if that’s r- what he really wants. Shane very in- unconvincingly says yes. Uh, Rosanov calls him a really bad liar and asks for his room number, which Shane gives him.
And that night, Shane prepares for [01:00:00] Ilya- Ilya’s arrival, and the man has absolutely zero chill. First he puts on a full suit. Uh, and then realizing how ridiculous he’s being, he changes into something more casual and sits anxiously awaiting, uh, in his room. Um, on his way to Hollander’s room, Rosanov runs into Shane’s mom.
They have an awkward conversation by the elevator before the doors close and take Ilya upstairs, leaving Shane’s mother behind. Ilya arrives at Shane’s room. Shane invites him to sit down and talk. Uh, uh, Ilya isn’t interested in talking. They kiss and then do other stuff. Uh, Shane admits that he’s never been with a man before.
Ilya ha- Ilya has with his coach’s son back in Russia. Ilya admits he likes trouble. Uh, the two make their way from the hotel room entrance to the bed where relations continue. Uh, there’s one amusing moment where Ilya gets undressed and leaves his clothes wherever they fall. Shane, meanwhile, gets undressed, neatly folds his clothes and puts them away while, uh, Rosanov, uh, watches in amusement.
Uh, it’s a r- it’s a small moment, but perfectly illustrates the difference between their [01:01:00] personalities. Shane doesn’t wanna go all the way, so they establish some boundaries and have their first sexual encounter. After- afterwards, Shane’s biggest concern is secrecy. No one can know. Ilya agrees. He gets stressed.
Okay, wait. Hold on. He gets stressed. They awkwardly wish each other good night and Rosanov leaves. And I’ll stop there. Go ahead.
Tanya: Oh, I was so… Okay, there was too many things that I was worried about in this scene.
Al: Okay.
Tanya: Number one, he bumped into- The mom … the mom. Mm-hmm. And I was like, “Oh my God, the mom is coming up to the room.”
And then after that was like, okay, the mom’s not coming up to the room. I’m like, the first thing I do when I go into an, a, a, into a hotel room-
Victor: Is check for bedbugs. I get it.
Tanya: No, no. Is lock the freaking door. Oh. Then check for bedbugs. But I-
Victor: but- No, hotel, don’t the hotel rooms lock automatically?
Mat: Most of them, yeah.
Most of them lock on their own.
Victor: Tanya, you’re just making stuff up here.
Erin: I-
Victor: Tanya-
Al: It’s like
Victor: the deadbolt seems-
Al: Tanya’s been burned before, so that’s why she’s
Mat: talking- Well, the, the deadbolt is a secondary lock. Tanya. But the primary lock locks the second the door hits. The ini-
Erin: yeah.
Al: Tanya’s been very [01:02:00] badly burned before.
Yeah. So we- we’ll move on.
Mat: What kind of ghetto hotels are you staying in,
Al: man? No, no, we won’t… That’s not a story for, for this podcast.
Erin: We are, we are gonna be safe at hotels. Make sure you lock your doors.
Tanya: I just put the deadbolt on. Like, if you’re, if you’re worried about secrecy, I was like, “Oh my God, the deadbolt should be going on.” Ilia is not worried
Al: about secrecy. No, Ilia is not.
Tanya: You’re right. No, Ilia isn’t. And, and the, and the drapes need to be closed. Mm-hmm. Like, if these guys are- Drapes? Never mind … if these guys are, like, superstars, like, uh, in the making and, like, ads are being made and, and people are interested in them, like, they’re taking some bold- Gort’s
Al: on your side.
Always lock and deadbolt, and that man’s been to every fucking country on the planet, so you’re good.
Tanya: Very, yeah. Yeah. Like, I, I don’t know. Like, if there was secrecy, like, if I was doing something and I didn’t wanna get caught-
Al: Mm …
Tanya: I would be, like, closing the shades and everything. Like, I’d be very cau- like, very aware
Victor: of- There’s two people in that room, and only one of those people [01:03:00] is cau- is trying to be cautious.
Al: Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Uh, anyone else have any comments before I move on? Uh, Aaron? Matt? No?
Mat: I mean, i- if you, I don’t… Um- It was, it was a quick scene. Yes. It was a quick scene.
Al: Well,
Victor: especially the way I described it. Yeah, I mean,
Al: I
Victor: mean, I mean, there’s two scenes that, I mean- Uh … like, that, that are, I, I guess m- main parts of this episode so far- Mm
like the shower scene, we didn’t really talk about it, and, and- Go for it … obviously this first sex scene.
Al: Mm.
Victor: Um,
Al: again with the- The shower scene was shades of Letterkenny with Riley and Jonesy in the shower together.
Victor: Yeah. Yeah, I feel like they should’ve been standing upside down.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, uh, uh, ’cause that’s how Shoresy showers, I, I, if I recall correctly.
Clip: Yes. You’re right.
Victor: Um, yeah, I, I thought it was, it w- I thought it was fine. I just felt like, again, I’m, I was wondering, “Wait, why are they…” It just, it was weird, right? ‘Cause they did that photo shoot- Mm … and I guess they were the only two on the ice, but- Yeah. That’s why … it was just weird that they’re- You want the crew to
Al: shower with them, too?
Victor: [01:04:00] No, it just, there’s, like, there’s nobody there. Yeah. There’s not even a mouse, like, anywhere near that facility. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. It’s just, it was just, it was just hollow. It’s just weird.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, but I just feel like that shower scene was them take, you know, going to the next stage, even though they never passed the first stage.
Yeah. The first stage was, you know, doing the signaling- Mm-hmm … and figuring out, “Wait, are you, are you gay or not gay?” Right? Yeah. And, you know, the, the, the brush pretty much signaled, “Yes, you didn’t push, pull away, so y- Mm … you know, let’s continue this nonsense.” And, and then the shower, by that point, they already know that there’s- Yeah
something going on, and it was just, it just, it was, it seemed like, you know, so n- so an example, when
you’re courting a girl or a, a, a boy or whatever, your immediate next step is not to see each other naked. You know what I mean? Well, but that- And this is, this is kinda cheat code for gay people, right? Like- But that’s ill-
Al: That’s to illustrate, though, how different this is because of the setting, right?
[01:05:00] It’s not uncommon- Yeah … for hockey players to shower together.
Victor: Yeah, but in this situation, it’s not because they’re hockey players. It’s because they’re trying to…
Erin: No, it
Al: was hot though. But it is because they’re hockey players. Yeah. They were,
Erin: they were sweaty after-
Al: Well- Yeah, they were on the ice from, from shooting
yeah, getting down all week.
Erin: That
Victor: was hockey … yeah, but at the s- yes, yes, but at the same time, Ilya’s trying to get this thing going, and the way he’s, like, he starts
Erin: pleasuring himself- He
Victor: was washing himself in a little- He starts pleasuring himself, like, right away during the shower scene. Yeah, he
Al: pulled a Louis C.K.,
I got you. But,
Erin: uh- Because, no, it’s because, because Shane was happy, you guys. Uh, Shane like, i- if you see Ilya’s eyes, he, and you know, he kind of pointed to his happiness. Yes. Yeah. And then-
Victor: It just, it just went from zero
Al: to 100. It’s pretty hard to, for guys to, to, to hide their, their interest. It went from
Victor: zero to 100 very quickly-
is all I’m
Al: saying. All right. Let’s move on. We jump ahead- Trying to deceive him? … an- another three months to Montreal. The hockey world has started turning Hollander versus Rozsival. Where are we in the
Mat: timeline right now? We started in 2008. We jumped three months. We jumped [01:06:00] six months. We jumped three months.
Are we in, like, 2010 now?
Al: Uh-
Mat: 20- Yeah, so tw- tw- probably- It’s between- Anyone keeping track?
Al: It’s 2018,
Erin: 2019
Mat: Is the
Victor: book doing this as well,
Al: Aaron? Yeah. Yeah.
Erin: Yes.
Victor: Yeah Like
Erin: where it’s jumping
Victor: like that?
Erin: Yeah. It’ll, it’ll say the date and
Al: year So now three months later, um, they’re in Montreal. The hockey world has started, uh, turning Hollander versus Rozanov into a full-blown rivalry.
The league loves it, the media loves it, the fans love it. Hollander sits at home watching footage of Rozanov’s playing up his role as the cocky, overconfident superstar. Ilya started the season promising he’d score 40 goals, but during a press conference, he corrects a reporter and says he never said he’d score 40.
Whoever told him that is lying. He’s going to score 50. Uh, Shane watches, laughing and calling Rozanov a fucking asshole. Uh, we cut to Shane having lunch with his parents in Montreal
Clip: I have very exciting news.
What’s YouTube?
Rolex is in. Wow. Okay, let me [01:07:00] pull up the email. And I quote, “Shane is exactly the kind of young athlete and young man that Rolex wants to be associated with.
He’s smart. He’s serious. He’s handsome.” That’s an understatement. Oh,
God. “
And we believe he will be hockey’s most significant ambassador in a generation.”
Is Rolex on YouTube? YouTube is, like, a
video portal site.
I’m not convinced I know what any of those words mean.
So a rabbit hole is where you watch a video, and then it keeps recommending other videos, and you just keep clicking them.
It
sounds dangerous.
Oh, yeah, I go down to those rabbit holes all the time.
Of course you do, Mom.
What was yours about?
Fancy watches.
Babe. What?
I’m just keeping up.
Unlikely animals becoming friends, like a, a tiger and a bear, a cow and a duck.
Ooh. Come on.
Yeah, a snake and a baby.
Well, I’d, I, I’d watch that
Al: a Montreal and Boston hockey player.
It’s a pretty thinly veiled, uh, [01:08:00] symbolism there. But anyway, Matt, what did you think of that scene?
Mat: Yeah, for one, there was more people in this. This scene didn’t feel so hollow.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Um, you know, as Victor would call it. Just, just pointing that out, Victor, ahead of you. Um, no, it was great. I mean, I like to see the dynamics with the family.
I was more making a joke there, but- Yeah.
Erin: I’ll laugh …
Mat: I, I like the, um, I like the dynamic with the parents, and, uh, I really like the behind-the-scenes between him and then Ilya’s family and his piece of shit brother and all that, the different pressures, these sponsorships that are going on, which I assume at some point, um, these sponsorships are probably gonna…
I don’t know if they’re gonna continue or they’re gonna blow up when, when things become real. I don’t know. It’s a crazy world. But, um, I s- I kind of feel like there’s some foreshadowing here.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Um, so I’m interested to see where it goes.
Al: I think it’s, it’s raising the stakes for, you know, if people ever find out about the, about what’s going on, what, what can be lost, right?
I think it’s every time there’s a new sponsorship or this or that, or whenever [01:09:00] his mom reminds him, “You are a role model for all young, up-and-coming Asian kids who wanna play hockey,” they’re all raising the stakes every time and making it more impossible for them to share their, their real selves with, with the, the world.
Uh, I think that’s the whole point of, of these scenes. Erin, what do you think?
Clip: Yeah.
Erin: No, I, I love, I love this. Um, I mean, the relationship that he has with them, he just loves them so very much, and they play around with each other. They’re very playful. Yeah. Um, I also love how they’re just explaining what a YouTube rabbit hole is-
and what YouTube is. Yeah. You know? You know? So, in a sign of the times. Um, I didn’t mention this before, but I did read this, and I thought this was interesting that he had the Reebok deal in the last clip that you had, but he, he never wears Reebok at all in the show.
Al: Oh, no. Like, at
Erin: all. I
Al: haven’t noticed.
Erin: So I thought that was kind of funny.
Al: Okay. Victor, what did you think?
Victor: Uh, yeah, I mean, uh, uh, per Matt’s joke, I actually [01:10:00] appreciated this scene- … because it just reminded us that, yes, there are other people in this world- Mm-hmm … um, w- with, with substance. I was a little distracted because the dad was from 24, and I remember him vividly in that show.
Uh, but, uh, um, yeah, it was a good scene and, um, you know, uh, gave a little more depth to- Mm … to compare to the other scenes.
Clip: Yeah.
Tanya: I just, it’s hard to believe, um, that the mom knows all of these things and, um, you know, is, is s- such an advocate for reaching out to people and, um, you know, getting sponsorships and stuff like that, and the dad doesn’t even know what a rabbit hole is.
Like, it’s like, really? Yeah. That, that seems like a- Anybody
Victor: his age wouldn’t know what a rabbit hole is.
Tanya: Really?
Erin: I think, I think show mom, um, is his agent. Mm-hmm. I think that’s why she’s trying to get all these deals.
Tanya: Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And he’s
Erin: just the fan.
Tanya: Gotcha. Gotcha.
Victor: And I [01:11:00] watch those videos, too, uh I think I have been having calendar from last year where we have- Yeah
odd animal friends.
Tanya: Oh, there you go. All
Mat: right. Well, and, and my last com- sorry, my last comment- Mm-hmm … which I know it’ll probably come up more and more, is, um, the timeline I think is very important here, right? If this whole storyline, say, took place today, not to say that the world is substantially a better place, but I think it would be a much more accepted storyline versus 2008, 2009 that the idea of an openly gay-
Victor: Mm-hmm
Mat: NHL player, um, would’ve been unheard of back then.
Victor: There’s no openly gay NHL players today, and-
Mat: Okay, but- … certainly
Victor: not ones that are dating each other.
Mat: Right. Isn’t there? So I mean, like it’s still- There’s still none? … it’s still an issue, but it’s- There
Victor: might be one, but-
Mat: Yeah …
Victor: none.
Mat: Really? But my point is, I think if, if, if there was- No way
it would be a little more acceptable today. Um, I could be wrong in that, and please- I think you’re wrong … anyone correct me. I, I think you’re wrong. But 2008, 2009 I think was, where like that’s still quite a, like it doesn’t feel long ago, but things have changed a lot. So I think the timeline and where this [01:12:00] all takes place, um, is very-
Al: Mm-hmm
Mat: um, relevant to the story they’re telling.
Al: Oh, it’s a g- uh, Michelle bring, brings up a good point in the live stream. It’s 2010. YouTube’s only been around for, you know, since 2017- or 2007. So- Yeah … for somebody his age, he wouldn’t, like YouTube- Sure … would still be pretty new. Yeah. Right? So.
Tanya: Yeah. Yeah. That’s a good point.
Yeah.
Al: All right, moving on. Sure. Hollander’s mom tells him that the videos he should be watching on YouTube are ho- about hockey, and she brings up Rozanov’s latest interview that, and his claim that he’s gonna score 50 goals. Uh- … Shane agrees. Oh, and, and so in this part here she gets really angry for her son-
and says, “Somebody should really fuck him up, and fuck him right up the a-” Like she gets really, uh, uh, graphic with his son about what, what she wants to happen to Rozanov, which is kind of funny. Um, Shane agrees that Rozanov is an asshole. Uh, we cut to the game between Boston and Montreal later that night.
The score is tied with th- uh, 3 with seconds left in the third. The announcers say what everyone’s thinking. They wanna see Hollander and Rozanov go, uh, [01:13:00] go head-to-head. The crowd to- the crowd’s delight, that’s exactly what happens. The two players square off for a face-off, and then, uh, we cut to the next scene when we find out that Shane scores off the draw and Montreal wins the game.
Afterward, the media tries to keep the Hollander versus Rozanov hype going, asking Shane if scoring the winning goal was extra sweet because it came against his rival. Shane shows a lot less bluster than his Russian counterpart and takes the more Canadian approach. He stays humble and makes it about the team.
Uh, he also does the entire interview in French, which only further annoys Rozanov as he watches from his hotel room sarcastically mimicking the reporter, “How does it feel to be so fucking perfect?” in French. And, uh, that, I love that scene, ’cause he’s just like wa- in the same way Shane was watching Rozanov be cocky on, on, uh, in the previous interview, Rozanov’s watching Hollander be- you know, uh, humble and, but also being that perfect guy ’cause he, he can do the interview in, in Engli- in French, right?
And [01:14:00] Rozanov can barely do his Engl- uh, interviews in, in English. So, um, I, I love the jux- juxtaposition of that scene there. And then we cut to another phone call between Ilya and his brother, once again highlighting the contrast between the two players’ lives. 20,000
Clip: bucks off?
That’s 20,000 bucks off. Sure.
The возьми. Я рад
что
ты
все со
слухом в порядке. Для чего на этот раз? Чтоб трахнуть тебя. Это, блять, в последний раз. Да, да, да, да. Хорошо. Хорошо Но я сегодня не отправлю. Почему нет, блять? Здесь, здесь уже полночь, Алексей. Ой, у тебя все всегда какие то тупые отговорки, Илья
Как
папа? Да твою мать! У тебя какая фигня с папой? Папа в порядке, Илья. Мы тут и без тебя проживем. Иди ты на хер, Илья
Chira po telefonum on paprosil mene prinesti domoy nemnogo kheba
Non tu poi[01:15:00]
Спокойной ночи, Алексей. Утром первым делом, Илья
Al: All right, for those who are listening to the audio-only version of this podcast, let me just describe. He’s on the phone with his brother. His brother’s ask- Yes, Victor’s laughing … his brother’s asking him for more money. Uh, but ch- uh, Ilya is asking about his father and ’cause the father called him and asked him to bring home bread, so it makes it sound like his father is having some memory issues and maybe flashing back to, uh, the old days when, when Ilya was still at home and, and maybe needed to bring home food.
So, uh, so that’s the, the gist of that scene. Uh, Victor, talk about that scene. Yeah, so, so, um, the translations are good mostly- Mm-hmm … right? And, and I, I, I mean, they’re good, period, but the problem is there’s some things that don’t translate- Right … properly. ‘Cause there’s no, like- So they lose- … F word or
whatever, right? Like, the swearing
Victor: is- No, no, of course there’s an F word … is there? Okay. It’s just, it’s, it… N- yeah, nobody says, “Fuck [01:16:00] you.” Mm-hmm. “Yeb tvoyu mat” means fuck your mother.
Al: Okay.
Victor: Um, so it doesn’t translate
Al: the same way. So it’s by proxy. Which-
Mat: Fuck you by proxy … which word is fu- which word is fuck?
Victor: Yeb.
Yeb. In this, in that- Yeb. Yeb? Yeah, in that, in that scenario, right? Oh, man.
Al: So- Somebody should call the yogurt company. What does yeb-lay mean? Fuck milk?
Victor: So, so it’s just, it’s just… And there’s another, another- That’s a
Mat: confusion.
Al: Right?
Victor: And, and then another, another one where it says, “Oh, I don’t care,” and it’s like in Russian, “Ne- ne- ne- ne- neplivatsya na tebya or na eta,” meaning I spit on you or I spit on that.
Right. And versus I don’t care, right? So it’s just the, the Russian, the Russian version is a lot more colorful- Mm-hmm … uh, and interesting, and it just… It loses its pizzazz in the English translation, so it’s a little bit unfortunate that, uh, when you, when you have to… When you read it, you don’t get the color, right?
Um- Yep … so it’s, so it b- it lands a little flat if you’re, uh, if you’re reading it. But, um, uh, and, [01:17:00] and then in terms of Ilya, uh, he’s pronouncing it… When he says, has very short phrases- Mm … he pronounces them well. When they’re long phrases, that’s where it kind of turns a bit of, uh, a little bit into a car wreck, but he still pulls it off pretty well.
Al: Mm. All right. Uh, Erin, this scene. Talk about it.
Erin: Um, I feel this scene just showed Ilya’s heart. I mean, he really is trying the best he can to- Mm-hmm … do what he can from far away. He still loves his dad regardless of what’s going on. He wants his brother’s family to be okay. Like, I mean, he, he has a big heart and, uh, is just not treated very respectfully, so.
Um, I love him.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: Um, yeah, it is, uh, uh, and with the baby crying in the background, and it’s, it just, it’s such a, um, a scene of intense, and it’s just like, uh, you, you, you [01:18:00] feel for him. You want it just all to stop, and it’s just, it’s, it, it, it’s such a… It’s, it’s powerful. Mm-hmm. I think because that baby crying too, it’s just like, “Oh my.”
Like this-
Al: Yeah, adds to the urgency of the scene, yeah. Yeah.
Tanya: Yeah. Yeah. Um-
Al: All right. Uh, we jump ahead another four months to the All-Star Game in Nashville. Shane and Ilja’s rival are now one of- rivalry are now one of the league’s biggest stories. They’re paired up for an All-Star media appearance where Ilja gets hit with a complicated question in English and starts struggling, so Shane steps in to help him
Clip: Um, uh, uh, sorry, not to jump the gun here, but, um, with Rosanov’s permission
I know it’s only been two seasons since Montreal’s made the playoffs, but I think I get the idea. Uh, so look, my mom is the world’s biggest Metro’s fan. She’s obsessed. And like all Metro’s fans, she wants us to [01:19:00] be back in the playoffs regularly, and she wants us to win some cups. And I want the same thing.
I wanna be in the playoffs and I wanna win some cups. I feel pretty aligned with the fans ’cause we want the same thing. And at this point, it’s my job to take that personally.
Erin: Yeah. Milio?
Clip: What do you say?
Mat: I’m being good
Clip: right now
Al: That’s a pretty sweet scene. Matt, what’d you think?
Mat: Yeah, I love it. It was such a, it was a powerful scene, right? Mm-hmm. Um, where it shows that he’s, they’ve got each other’s back even in those kind of situations, and, um, it continues to build their relationship. I just, I thought it was just a really fantastic scene.
Al: Jen?
Tanya: I love the foot scene. Oh my God, the little toe tap here and there, and just kind of tagging back and forth. And, um, it, it was such a, a great moment where, you know, he saw his buddy [01:20:00] struggling and, um, you know, stepped in and that kinda thank you tap with the foot. And, um, it just, it shows their relationship on another, like, on the next level and- Mm-hmm
and how the, the, the love is growing with them.
Al: Erin?
Erin: I thought it was really sweet. I mean, Shane recognized right away that, that Ilya was uncomfortable, and stepped in and helped out, and it’s a nice little love tap at the end.
Al: Victor, what’d you think of the love tap?
Victor: Yeah, it was all right. I mean, again, uh, they’re the only two hockey players in the world, uh, that anyone’s talking to.
Uh, but, uh, yeah, in this case, uh, Shane came to the rescue and, uh, helped out Ilya. Hopefully Ilya will, uh, pay it forward or pay it back- Yeah … uh, uh, in some, in some way later on. But, uh, um, yeah, he helped out a buddy, and, uh, good on him. And gave a, you know, a, a, a generic [01:21:00] answer and, and then Il- Ilya copied, copied the work and- Mm-hmm
it all worked out.
Al: Copied his work. All right. We cut to the shot accuracy competition. You’re such a
Mat: romantic, Victor.
Al: I know, right? We cut to the shot accuracy competition. No pee in the hair. Rozanov goes first and is perfect in record time, but the next up is Hollander, who is also perfect, uh, and, uh, but does it even faster than Rozanov.
So Rozanov is uncharacteristically magnanimous in defeat
Mat: Good job.
Clip: Thanks.
You have fun last night?
Last night?
With your team. Get dinner, get drunk.
Oh, yeah. Um, I mean, I, I had fun, but I didn’t get drunk.
You?
No, it was great. No boring Canadians, no stupid Americans, so.
So what? Just a bunch of Finnish guys talking about the cousins they’re in love with?
Think I’m going to bed early tonight.
Oh, yeah?[01:22:00]
One, two, two, one.
Nice shooting, rook. Thanks. Glad to see Roznov didn’t hold my record for more than a minute. What do you want, by the way? Oh, nothing. Just shit talking. He’s an asshole, right? Kind of, yeah. Basically. Lucky me, I’m in the room next door to him in the hotel
Al: All right. Uh, Erin.
Erin: I just thought it was funny. I- Ilya kind of calls people and says things the way he, you know, wants to.
Mm-hmm. And it was just cute, s- calling him what it is and- … giving him a room number that’s suspiciously close to Scott Hunter’s.
Al: Yeah, yeah. Ted?
Tanya: They’re not being careful enough. Like, oh, my God, like, who just calls out their room number? And how did the other guy not [01:23:00] hear it? ‘Cause they’re all right there.
Like, I j- I just don’t even… They’re not… That’s not being careful. That is not being careful. He did hear it,
Victor: and that’s why he thought it was odd. Mm-hmm.
Tanya: I… That’s not being careful. That’s not being careful.
Victor: V- Victor? He wasn’t trying to be careful.
Tanya: But they’re supposed to be keeping things secret, and I, I’m s- Who
Victor: said?
Tanya: Be- they both made the agreement that there was nothing going to be said. Ilya didn’t
Victor: agree to anything.
Tanya: He agreed. He agreed. Yeah, Ilya-
Al: He
Tanya: said that there was- He said he wouldn’t tell …
Al: yeah. Ilya did say he wouldn’t tell, yeah. He
Tanya: said he wasn’t gonna
Al: tell. He’s got a, a, as much to lose, especially back home- Mm-hmm
right? Like, uh- Yeah … back
Victor: home. Yeah, yeah, but wouldn’t tell and acting the way he’s acting is not the same. Like, it’s not, you know. Yeah. He, he said he wouldn’t tell, but he also had his like, you know… He s- he didn’t say, “I’m not gonna not be an asshole.”
Al: No. Well, that’s two different things, so.
Erin: That’s him,
Al: yeah.
M- uh, Matt?
Mat: Yeah, I mean, I’m, I’m really loving Ilya’s delivery- Mm-hmm … on pretty much all of [01:24:00] his lines. Mm-hmm. I think, Erin, you’ve commented that a bit. His… He’s just got this mystery about him, um, and bluntness that I appreciate, and it’s really kind of funny to watch their interactions. So I, I’m assuming it’s gonna get…
the dialogue’s gonna get more complex as we get deeper into… I mean, maybe I’m wrong, but, um, I, I’m really liking Ilya and pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth is pretty, is pretty entertaining to me.
Al: Mm-hmm. All right. Uh, did I, did I get everyone?
Tanya: Yeah.
Al: All right. It’s time f- uh, this time, it’s Hollander who shows up at Rosanov’s hotel room.
They waste no time picking up where they left off the last time they were alone. Uh, when Rosanov wants to take, to take things a little, uh, f- deeper, uh, Hollander pumps the brakes, uh, not when they’re in the room right next to Scott Hunter. Uh, Rosanov says Hunter is hot, they should let him listen. But he eventually agrees-
to wait until next time. Hollander wonders when their next opportunity might be. Ilya reminds him that Boston will be in Montreal in a couple of weeks. [01:25:00] Shane still doesn’t understand. Were they supposed to meet in private? Ro- Rosanov asks, “Are you homeless?” I love when he, when he asks that. It’s so funny.
It was almost like he was panicked. “Wait, are you homeless? No, of course not. We’ll meet at your place, damn it.” Uh, Ilya can see that the conversation is making Hollander anxious, so he tries to reassure him that whatever this is between them, it can stay casual. After they finish, Hollander gets dressed and prepares to leave.
He tries to back out of their plans for Montreal, but Rozanov calls him boring, takes his phone, and enters his number under the name Lily. And Shane gives Ilya his number under the name Jane. Uh, they make plans- Love it … to meet again in, in Boston, uh, when Boston comes to Montreal. So now we jump ahead two weeks to the Boston airport.
Rozanov is waiting for his flight, seems anxious. Then a snowstorm cancels the game. Ilya’s pissed. His plans with Shane are ruined. His teammates assume there must be a woman waiting for him in Montreal the way he’s going. Uh, he cut to Sh- then we cut to Shane in Montreal receiving the same news. He’s disappointed too.
Since there won’t be a game that night, [01:26:00] one of his teammates named Hayden, uh, invites Shane over for dinner. He says his wife is obsessed with being the first WAG to feed him. Production note: WAG stands for wives and girlfriends. Uh, Hayden is played by Ca- uh, Ca- Callan Potter. He’s a Canadian actor from Stratford, uh, known for, uh, shows like The Other Kingdom and Workin’ Moms.
Uh, back in Boston, Ilya goes home, uh, where he’s startled to find an unexpected houseguest named S- Svetlana. Uh, we l- we learn that Svetlana is an old friend of Ilya’s from Russia. More than a friend apparently, because the two of them end up getting, uh, reacquaint- reacquainted on the dining room table. Uh, production note there: Svetlana played by Ksen- Ksenia Daniella Karl- Kharlamova, a Toronto-based actress known for Robin Hood, Robin with a Y, The Boys, and Slip.
Uh, while Rozanov is getting reacquainted with Svetlana, Hollander is at Hayden’s house having dinner with him and his wife Jackie and their kid. Production note there: Hayden’s wife Jackie played [01:27:00] by none other than Camila Kowal. Camila Kowal. AKA Bonnie MacMurray on Letterkenny. We only see her for a flash there, but, uh, it’s, it’s Bonnie.
Um, that wa- that was a lot there. Do you wanna quickly talk about it? Why don’t we quickly talk about what, what happened there? Aaron, Aaron?
Erin: Yeah, I, I, I don’t know. I, I don’t know what to say other than I loved every little mo- moment of it. Um, I just love the show.
Al: Yeah. The names that they pick to be, uh-
Erin: Oh, yeah.
That is, that is funny. Shane, Jane- And Ilya … Lily and Ilya. Yeah. Yeah, that is really funny.
Clip: Oh, I didn’t
Erin: catch
Mat: that.
Erin: Yeah.
Al: A little close for comfort, but yes.
Erin: Little bit, yeah, a little too, little too close. Mm-hmm. Um, but it’s really sweet and, um, and just the connections that they have when they’re not alwa- together, or they’re not always together, they can still stay-
Clip: Okay
Tanya: mm,
Erin: touch.
Tanya: It’s just lovely. It, it, it- they- I just, I love, I just, I love their banter. I love how their [01:28:00] relationship is going. I, I, I think they’re super cute. Um, um, I did… I missed that that was Bonnie completely. Mm-hmm. I’m gonna have to watch this all over again. Oh, I,
Mat: I saw it. Yeah, it
Tanya: was. I s- yeah.
Mat: I’m assuming she makes more appearances.
Tanya: I missed it.
Mat: According to IMDb, that,
Erin: yes. Yes. Yeah, she does. Um, it was also cute that he was so nervous at the airport. Like-
Tanya: Yes …
Erin: Ilya’s not the kinda guy that would get nervous about something- Mm-hmm … and that he was so excited to go and see Shane and,
Al: and
Erin: stuff.
Al: And his teammate was like, “What, what, what, what’s, what’s up with you?”
Yeah. “Man, why are you so anxious?”
Tanya: I remember w- um, thinking though, too, like, what is happening with the girl in his house- Mm-hmm … and what is happening? Like, what… It… So he has a girlfriend? And- We’ll
Al: learn more about her, I think- … is she gonna be in it? … as we go. Yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Al: Matt?
Mat: Yeah. I mean, that’s, that’s, I mean, you, you guys are talking about the sweetness and all of it, but that’s the only scene I took from this one is the Svetlana scene- Mm
and, and [01:29:00] how Ilya has, is an onion, and this is just another layer in, uh- … in his journey. So he’s got this kind of piece of shit brother, a dad who we don’t really know much about but is kind of an asshole and potentially has some medical issues. And then now we’ve got a girlfriend or whatever. I don’t know.
It’s, there’s layers- Mm … is all I’m saying. And I’m enjoying the layers.
Al: Victor, is Ilya Russian for onion by any chance? No?
Victor: I don’t believe-
Mat: Ooh.
Al: What’s Russian for onion? Or is
Victor: Lily? Yeah. I don’t believe that is the case.
Al: No?
Victor: Um, yeah, so I, yeah, I agree with all, all of that. I, the, the one scene I found a c- uh, a little bit weird or s- just something off was the, the l- the locker room where, uh, his, his, I forget the name of the player.
Hayden? Yeah. Uh, invites him to dinner. He, like, he came on a little strong. Mm. Like, I, at first I thought, “Wait, is he making a pass at him?” Um, and again, I, it’s just the way that it’s [01:30:00] shot that even the way they were shooting that scene, it’s like everything’s quiet and it’s just about these two now. Uh, and nothing else is going on around them.
But, um, yeah, it just, it just seemed like he was, like, o- a little too excited to have him over. It was just, it just came out of nowhere. But, um, yeah- Well,
Al: he mentioned his wife wanted to be the first one to feed Shane, and Shane is the hotshot rookie on the team and, and their star and stuff- Yeah, I guess.
Yeah, yeah … so I think maybe that’s, that’s where it comes from.
Victor: Sure, sure, sure. All
Al: right.
Victor: Yeah, but, uh, yeah, aside from that, it’s fine. Uh, all of it was good.
Al: We jump ahead another four months to Las Vegas at the MLH Awards where Hollander beats Rosinoff and some other poor nameless schmuck for Rookie of the Year.
How’d you like to be the third guy in that, in that list- Third guy … no one gives a shit about? Anyway, at the reception afterward, Shane celebrates with his parents and the other players
Clip: That better just be ginger ale, rook. Uh, it is, Mr. Hunter.
I, I wouldn’t indulge in front of you.
Congrats, man.
Thank you. [01:31:00]
Uh, what would you say if, uh, me and some of the other old foxes wanted to do some shots with the three rooks? Would you be into that? Fuck yes, I would. Okay. Then where’s your boy, Rosenhof?
My what?
No, I mean, not, not, not, not your boy. Oh. Just, like, it’s always, uh, Hollander and Rosenhof, right? I just thought.
I, no, I don’t know where he is. Carefully. He sounds like Victor right now. We’re not, like, friends or, or anything.
No worries, man. No worries. I’m sure someone else grabbed him
Al: Uh, all right.
Uh, we cut to Hollander taking shots with the group- No. So let,
Victor: let’s pause for a
Al: sec. Okay.
Victor: So to me, Hunt, Hunt, Hunter m- or Mr.- Scott
Al: Hunter, yeah …
Victor: Hunter. Yeah. He’s- Um, he… I, I just kept thinking how much he looks like Matthews, without the pig nose, of course. But he, he looks so much like Auston Matthews.
Al: You think
Victor: so?
It’s, it’s very distracting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like a better looking version- Mm-hmm … but still.
Al: All right.
Erin: I’m looking it up now. [01:32:00]
Al: Uh, yeah.
Victor: Like you do-
Al: I, I don’t see it- Yeah … but okay.
Victor: Well, there. Okay. Especially when he was wearing the helmet. What? Right? Like,
Al: you see- Erin’s like perplexed. I don’t know.
Victor: You see it more- Oh
uh, when- Okay … you see it more when they’re sitting on a bench together and he’s wearing the helmet. Like, he looked so much like Matthews in that scene.
Al: All right. Uh, Matt- Anyway … any, any, uh, thoughts on that scene? Mm. On that quick scene?
Mat: No, noth- nothing to add there. No.
Al: No. Erin?
Mat: No, I have no-
Al: Intense? Yes.
Tanya: Hmm, yes.
Um, he, he was like so, um, quick to say like, “No, no, he’s not my boy.” Like, w- yeah …
Al: Yeah, that was very kind of sitcom-y, the way he reacted to it- Yeah … when he said, “You, you and your boy.” I’m like, what are you talking about my boy? I’m like, that… He’s got- Yeah … no chill. Yeah. He’s got way no chill.
Tanya: Yeah. Yeah.
Victor: But I even think that what- And that’s, and that’s two times now in front of Hunter where Hunter thinking, “Wait, what’s- Yeah
what’s going on here?”
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: Yeah. Hunter didn’t know before- But I also think if you wanna… if we’re gonna- … he should know now.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah. If we’re gonna go that r- that route, when he kind of reacted like that, I think Hunter let him off too easy.
Al: Mm.
Mat: Where he’s like, “Whoa, [01:33:00] whoa, man, I’m just…” Like, no, I, if, if I feel like there was any real like sort of team relationship there, he would’ve razzed him a lot harder.
Like,
Victor: I mean-
Mat: He’s more
Victor: mature. He’s, you know, he’s, he’s been around- He is … the block.
Al: All right, let’s move on. It’s Mr. Hunter. We cut to Hollander taking shots with a group of pla- players, but uh, there’s still no Rosinoff in sight. Production note. Scott Hunter, by the way, played by a Canadian actor, Francois Arnaud, uh, from Montreal.
He’s known for The Borgias, Blindspot, Mr. Big. Uh, so he’s been around. Oh, are you okay? Just creaking. I’ll just let it stand. Yeah. Um, eventually Hollander finds Rosinoff alone on the rooftop. Shane is drunk, which, uh, Ilya finds hilarious. Shane assumes Ilya’s up there sulking because he lost, uh, the trophy.
Ilya reminds him that not everything is about him. Then Ilya reveals that he’s headed back to Russia in three days. Shane says, “Well, that must be nice.” Ilya’s reaction tells us pretty clearly that it’s not. Uh, Hollander wants to conf- uh, to conf- comfort him, but doesn’t know what to say[01:34:00]
Clip: And I guess I thought maybe we
Never mind, okay? I’m gonna go
I guess I’ll, uh, see you next season
We’re both in tuxedos out in public No one [01:35:00] is looking You don’t know that
Al: We fade to black. All right. That is the end of episode one. Where’s my Ending horn. Oh, I’ve lost it. Anyway
So, uh, let’s, uh, do first impressions first before any ratings. Uh, Victor, starts with you
Victor: Yeah, so I, I know this show has a huge, huge following all over the world. Sure. I don’t imagine that following is based on this first episode. [01:36:00] I imagine it’s based on the entire season, right?
Clip: Right.
Victor: So, so this first episode didn’t really do anything for me in terms of capturing the magic of the show.
Um, if this was a sh- if this, if the setting was… First of all, there was no hockey. This, this could’ve been, this could’ve been bowling and it would’ve been the same. Like, there was no hockey at all in this show- Oh, you’re gonna be so disappointed with it … so I wouldn’t call it a hockey show so far. Like, so, so-
Mat: This is Letterkenny all over again.
Victor: Yeah, basically. So, so, so l- let me just say this just to, to be clear. Like, if this was, let’s say, a mixed gender sport, let’s say, or, or activity like poker, and so and this relationship was between a man and a woman, uh, my feelings would be exactly the same, right? It’s, it’s… I just felt like, um, it was very slow.
Uh, it, they, I know there was a lot of jumps. It was every, very episodic in terms of how the episode progressed. But, [01:37:00] um, I, I just felt that it was, it was slow. Um, the sex scenes didn’t, th- they were kind of unnecessarily long without earning being there, right? It j- they just went from zero to 100 and just, just for the, you know, um, f- for, for the maybe the shock value.
I don’t know. But, um, uh, it was a little hollow the fact that it was always… Even final scene I felt it was kind of very meta where he said, “Hey, somebody could see us.” “No, nobody will see you because there’s never anybody ever else in your scenes.” If there’s one thing you can be assured is nobody will see you.
So, so-
Mat: You are the last people on earth.
Victor: Yes. That’s kind of what it felt like. Like, even like, why… It’s such a beautiful scene, sc- it’s such a beautiful view. Like, are they the only two geniuses in the entire facility that thought it would be a good idea to go up there on, on a terrace [01:38:00] and, and enjoy that?
Um, so s- and, and of course, and this is the first and last time I’ll say this because that’s the whole premise of the show is that it just happens to be that the two very best players in the entire league happen to be queer, right? Um, and, and, and happen to be- Well, yeah, it’s a fantasy story. I mean- And, and, well, yeah, no, I get it.
I get it. Again, that’s why this the first and last time I’ll say it. All right. And it’s fine. But, but anyway, so that’s what kind of my first impression based on this first episode.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: I did not get hooked.
Al: Okay.
Victor: Yeah.
Al: Fair. Uh, I’m gonna, uh, disagree with you that this fir- I mean, the pacing, it wasn’t slow at all.
It jumped, like, two years in, in, in a 49-minute episode. Um, and it did what it was supposed to do. It set up the two pr- the ma- the two main actors, it told their story, uh, it, it showed the stakes in that relationship, like what they’ll lose by coming out, uh, and it shows the two very opposite personalities between the two of them.[01:39:00]
Ilya doesn’t wanna be caught, but he’s also careless in the way he does anything in life, and so that’s why he, he’s, he’s the way he is. Uh, and, and, and Hollander is, is the, the opposite, right? He’s very r- me- measured in everything, in everything he does, right down to when he got undressed before that first sex scene, he folded his clothes neatly and put them down properly.
L- you know, like, I think there was a lot there. The, the, the sex scenes were long, but yes, you know why? Because this is a genre show, and the genre of this show is what it is. It, it’s, it’s, it, you know, it’s with- Red Shoe Diaries … it’s Red Shoe Diaries, but I think with a much better story. We will learn the characters and the storylines are gonna get much deeper.
This is just a setup for, for the next f- uh, six episodes. Um, Matt?
Mat: Yeah. I mean, I, I’m kind of caught in between both of your opinions on this. I, I hear… Victor, I hear you completely, um, in, in the sense [01:40:00] of the pacing of the episode. I know I’ve had issues with some other shows we’ve done, other things where…
Oh, even, like, with the Don Cherry stuff where it was, like, jumping timeline. Mm-hmm. But in this one I get it. And, and I, I hope, because I haven’t seen anything further, I hope that slows down and falls into a timeline that we can more connect with because this felt very intentional, which I assume is the point- Mm-hmm
where they’re really trying to show you, um, the pacing that these guys are, are coming together and what they’re dealing with and the pressures and all that. So I think all the scenes were very purposeful, um, and, and really set the stage for what these guys are dealing with while trying to find each other.
Um, so I appreciate that. But yeah, I mean, it was hard to really connect with the, the story ongoing, um, at, at this point because it really just kind of gave us a lot. Mm. Um, so I’m hoping as we get deeper into this that we really settle into a point [01:41:00] in their careers and their romance or whatever that we can, uh, we can connect with more.
So but no, I, I mean, I enjoyed it. Yeah. I thought there was some really good stuff there.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Um, really well done. So yeah, looking forward to the next one.
Al: Charlie in the live stream says, “Tierney said it best on, on another podcast. It’s a love story without threat of violence that is inherent in cis relationships.”
So it’s basically just tell- taking… telling a love story without, yeah, worrying about what… you know, the things that they’d have to worry about. Tan?
Tanya: Mm. I, um, I was hooked, like, right away. Like- When you
Al: saw the pecs or the, or the-
Tanya: No, it, it isn’t even about- The hockey bubble butts? … their bodies. It’s about the relationship.
It’s about how they are, um… you know, it’s, it’s about the spark that they have for each other and watching that and, and it’s a deeper level than just the sex. The sex is there, of course. Um, and, and the [01:42:00] chemistry is there and the sparks and, and, and, and you see it when they’re on the top of the… uh, when, when they’re on the, um, the, the roof.
Mm-hmm. That, you know, they know that they are in public, they know that they shouldn’t, but both of them are equally wanting to just let go of that. But then the reality and- Yeah, they want to be
Al: their true selves, but they can’t be. Yeah.
Tanya: And they, and they know that they can’t. Yeah. And, um, you know, walls are still up and, and, um, we’ll, we’ll see what, what comes.
But yeah.
Al: Aaron?
Erin: Yeah, there’s a reason why I rewatch this show a lot, Victor, and y- you, you are correct. It, it may not just be this episode, it could be some that are coming down the line. Um, to me, the time jumps, not just as a reader but as a viewer, you think about, you know, even just your personal life, you see somebody that you have a connection with, and then you have to wait three months, and then you see them again.
Yeah. And then [01:43:00] it’s, oh, it, the spark comes back up again, and you feel that magnetism, and then it’s another, “Oh, we have to wait another six months to see them again.” You have to go home to this family that either lo- loves you and puts a lot of pressure on you, or a family that puts a lot of pressure on you in different ways.
So, um, to me it was That yearning and that, um, that, that, that p- that magnetism that, and I said this before, but that just kind of holds them together, and the sweet moments, uh, as well as the spicy moments. Um, and I know that Tierney said that a lot of his scenes that he filmed were purposefully quiet and, you know, a lot of the sex scenes I don’t believe have music attached to them, and they’re more purposeful and, you know, just the interactions that they have with each other.
Um, I don’t have information right now, I keep looking into it, but I know that lighting is really huge with him. Um, you know, that last scene we had Ilya’s face that was red and [01:44:00] then- Mm … you know, they come together and it’s in this blue form. So it’s, um, I know that that’s a big piece of it, too, but, um, just the whole series is an art form I truly appreciated.
Um, and this episode kind of just kickstarted all of that.
Al: And lest we forget, Tierney was on, interviewed about this show on CNN, and he actually used the word horny on CNN. And I love it. I love it. Like, he, he, he said he wanted to make a horny show. Uh, like, you know, so many straight shows are, he wanted to do one, uh, for, for, you know, for, for the qu- queer community.
So all right, let’s move on to ratings. Uh, Victor, we’ll start with you. You know the spiel. Uh, is this a fresh, is it a com- clearance or a compost?
Victor: I’m, I’m, I’m giving it, because I want the show to really, really improve, and I’m hoping that it will, I ha- I have to start with a compost on this one. Oh. Aw. Uh, because- Ooh
because, like, like I said, I, i- it did not, it didn’t count, it didn’t do anything to hook me in. [01:45:00] Uh, Aaron, I listen, I think, I listened to everything you said, and I, uh, I, I appreciate that. Uh, I, I think that you are talk- it’s impossible for you to talk about this episode without enclosing yourself off from everything about, that you’ve read in the books and everything that happens after this episode.
But y- I have to rate this episode based on where it starts and where it ends without any knowledge of anything else that happens after or, or any kind of, uh, that anything that might be set up in the books. So, so just based on what was given to us and what I’ve observed for myself, uh, um, I, I hope that it improves.
I hope that there is more depth in the next episode, uh, and we, like Matt said, that we kind of stop jumping like this and maybe settle into something a little more stable where we get to kind of learn about them in a, in, in the mo- in in, in, in slightly [01:46:00] longer b- uh, bursts or whatever- Sure … um, and, and, and see where it goes.
Uh, but, uh, yeah, I, I, I, I have hope that it, it actually does improve and that I get to appreciate what everybody else that’s watched the entire series appreciates. And so I’m… Th- this is a gesture of goodwill. So there you go. To
Al: give it the lowest rating we have, that’s your goodwill. So kind- Wow … so kind of you, Victor.
Thank you, Victor. Like, I don’t know. Um, let’s see I, I, I’m gonna, I’m… Because this is the first episode and because it’s doing a lot of heavy setup and stuff like that, but it doesn’t, uh, to, to Victor’s point and also Terren’s point, it, it’s not in gear yet. It’s just, it’s starting. It’s starting. So I, I’m going to give this one a clearance, uh, because I, I know where it’s gonna go, so I, I do have the benefit of foresight.
Uh, and it, it gets so much better, but this is by… This is nowhere near a compost. This is not a compost at all. There’s so much good that happened in this [01:47:00] episode. It’s amazing that you’re, you’re giving it a, a compost. But, uh, my, my rating’s a clearance. Tan?
Tanya: It’s not
Victor: a compost. I think it has great- All right, Pat.
Pat … I, I so, I, I think it has great potential, and that’s why I’ve given it the rating that I’ve given it.
Mat: Yeah.
Victor: So I, it’s…
Mat: Yeah. So, so I agree with Victor’s logic- Mm … but his rating’s a, is, is a travesty, um, because it, it’s by no means a compost. Yeah, I’m giving it a clearance. Okay. Um, I think there’s lots of room to build upon this.
Uh, I like the setup. I like the storyline. Um, I just need it to settle a bit and, and go a little more in there. But I think they, they’ve got all the elements there to be a very good show. I can see where some of the complexities will come into play, um, if they touch all the topics that they hinted at-
Al: Mm
Mat: and foreshadowed in this episode. So I’m excited to see where it goes, um, but I, but I wanna see it grow.
Al: And the live stream has come alive ever since Victor dropped the compost. Tanya, what’s your rating
Tanya: for this? It’s not a compost. It’s not a clearance. It is an [01:48:00] absolute fresh. Oh, wow. I am so… Like, come on, guys.
Like, there were so many moments- … that-
Al: You’re distracted by the D.
Tanya: No, I am not. I am not. It is
Erin: okay if she is.
Al: Yeah. It’s a horny show. It’s supposed to be. It’s a horny show. You’re right, yeah. It,
Tanya: it’s, it’s- Feels like a very erect rating … beyond that, though. It’s beyond that. It’s like, come on. I just, I can’t.
Are you watching the same show I’m watching? Like, honestly. There is so much fire. There’s so much-
Al: Victor’s jaded from all that- There’s so much- … gay porn he had to watch in his Rogers days, okay?
Tanya: That’s why. But the, but the banter and the, and the, and the, like, cute little moments and the broken English and the like, “Okay,” and like, just like- Yeah, I liked all those things
come on. You just wanna smoosh him and just like yeah, eat him up.
Victor: Now someone’s gotta put it all together. It just- It wasn’t put well together
Mat: enough. Oh. And Tanya, this is why you balance us out so well. Oh my God. ‘Cause we need to see this other perspective- The, it- … of what we, us idiots are missing … the,
Tanya: the r- this, uh, maybe this…
I d- go aah. There’s… It’s, it’s,
Mat: come [01:49:00] on. Well, Tierney, here’s your dem- here’s your demographic right here.
Al: Yeah, yeah.
Tanya: The, the rel- Oh, no secret there … a- again, I just, I… It’s the relationship and the building and the, and the cute playful things and the moments of just such pure, like-
Al: The footsies, yeah. …
Tanya: footsies and- Ah!
Al: How? All right.
Tanya: We’ve gotta
Al: move on. We’re, we’re running, we’re running long here
Tanya: This is like a- Yeah, this is a long one … this is like a, a v- a V- a Venus versus Mars thing, isn’t it? Yeah, probably. Is that what this is right now? It is now. I, it, that’s all I can think of. Oh,
Mat: now you’re gonna make it a sexist thing.
Al: Erin-
Tanya: That’s all I can think
Al: of … give me your, your rating.
Erin: Okay. Um, just real quick, Victor, I appreciate you, you explaining your thinking. Uh, we actually just talked, uh, about, um, having different opinions in my class today, so I really appreciate your Wait,
Mat: what, what grade do you teach again, Erin? Fresh. Just wanna- Fresh-
Erin: Okay, thank you
I teach fresh, I teach first grade.
Mat: Thank you. I just wanted to make sure we were clear on that.
Erin: That’s okay. Th- this,
Victor: this is for Matt, not for Erin.
Mat: I love
Erin: it. I love it. So I appreciate, I appreciate and hear what you say, and it is okay that we have different opinions. Yeah. Um, I am in, uh, Tanya’s boat [01:50:00] here.
Mm-hmm. I do give this a fresh, and I will just say that for the first episode, I would give that a fresh, not n- not necessarily knowing what’s happening. Um, the yearning, the, the love that, the lust essentially that was happening. But also a fresh for this, this is a, a show that I have never seen before.
I’ve never seen a show like this before, and that alone, uh, to me was pretty fresh to be able to walk away from this going, “Wow, this is really cool. I cannot wait to see what they’re gonna do with this.”
Al: All right, let’s move on to MVPs. Uh, Victor, who do you give the MVP for this episode?
Victor: Oh, this one’s easy.
Uh, it’s Vincent Lemaitre. Uh, y- Who?
Mat: The other guy.
Victor: Vincent Lemaitre. He was the- The third He, he was the- He was the
Mat: third guy …
Victor: the third rookie of the year no- nominee.
Al: You had that burning a hole in your fucking pocket the entire episode, didn’t you? My God.
Victor: What do you mean? Yeah, we read it. I mean, I, I, I thought that would’ve been obvious.
I feel like if we played the game, you guys would’ve guessed it. Um, it, it just- Oh … I, I felt so bad for the guy. I [01:51:00] think he was a last-minute in- I don’t even know if that picture is a r- real picture. It could’ve been AI generated. Oh my God. But
Mat: it came with the, it came with the frame. I didn’t do that. It came
Al: with the frame.
All right, fine.
Victor: But I felt, I just felt so bad for the guy. I’m thinking like, “Oh, there’s a third guy in here. Wait a second. How’d this happen? Who let this happen?” It’s like he never stood a chance.
Al: All
Victor: right. He never stood a chance. Well, I gave him a chance, and he’s winning my award.
Al: He’s the one who came in third in the Rookie of the Year voting, right?
Victor: That’s right.
Al: What I wanna go back and- Well, we’re,
Mat: we’re assuming that one of them was a second. He might’ve been second
Al: for all we know. Oh yeah, who knows? But I’m, I’m wondering, I wanna go back now and see because the, the draft, in the draft photo, there’s also three players. There’s, there’s Rozanov, Hollander, and a third guy.
I’m wondering if that was Lemaitre in that photo as well, so. There,
Victor: I, I doubt it. I doubt it. That was probably a last-minute insert.
Al: Yeah, who knows? Anyway, uh, my MVP is Ilya, uh, Ilya Rozanov. I mean, he’s, uh, he, he’s, uh, he’s the charm in all the scenes, uh, good and bad. Uh, [01:52:00] he carries does all the, the weightlifting in these scenes.
And, uh, uh, he’s, he’s also provided more of the f- most of the funny lines, but also just, yeah And
Victor: he gives the better blow jobs.
Al: And I, if you say so. I don’t know. Um, we’ll have to ask, uh, Paul. Hold on. With a
Mat: lot of… What are you basing that on? I
Erin: mean- On the visual I’m afraid to
Mat: ask, but I’m also hyper curious.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Erin: You read the books- Remember- … right? ‘Cause it, it is in the books.
Al: Oh, is it in the books? Oh, so Victor- Yeah … secretly read them. All right. Victor read it, yeah. No,
Victor: I’m basing on ba- I’m basing it on my early, uh, year, early research. Listen,
Al: we know you’ve done your reading, so- He knows, he knows, uh, he knows Russians give the best blow jobs- That’s right.
’cause you know, in Mother Russia, the job blow you. All right. Um, Matt.
Tanya: Is that your Russian? I, I’m gonna have to listen back to that.
Al: Matt.
Mat: Oh, that was good.
Al: Who’s your MVP?
Mat: Oh, it’s Ilya, ’cause there’s only three people in the whole episode. And Victor already chose [01:53:00] one of them, so.
Al: No, he chose one I had no idea was even in the episode.
Mat: Oh, see, that’s the third guy.
Al: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Mat: No, of course it’s Ilya. He was great, but-
Al: All right. Tan. Fucking guys.
Tanya: I don’t even know. I just, I c- I got real confused after what you just did. Um, um, um, um, um, I wanna give it to a scene, but I know you guys get mad at that, so- No,
Al: no, give it to a scene. Which scene? Have you
Mat: met Victor?
Al: Yeah, fuck Victor. He
Mat: gave it to a picture.
A
Tanya: photo
Mat: of a
Tanya: dude
Mat: we’ve never
Al: met.
Tanya: Exactly. Um, I, I love the scene, um, when they’re in the gym, and they’re, like, heavy breathing and the sweaty and that palm, like that… I love how they, they just lingered on the water bottle and that first kind of touch and moment of yes. Okay.
Victor: Oh, so y- you’re giving it to the water bottle.
Got it.
Tanya: Write it down right on the paper. It, it was that, it was that ele- come on. Do you [01:54:00] remember the electricity on the first touch? It was like that electric moment where it’s like, come… Right? Do you- Sure. Okay … do you remember the-
Al: It was too long ago.
Tanya: Oh, come o- Ow, just say yes. Ow. It’s
Erin: not complicated.
Just yes. Anyway. I can’t stop thinking about it. Yeah, I’m always thinking about it.
Al: Yes.
Tanya: Oh. Sounded out. That electricity ele- it’s just a… I mean, yeah
Al: Erin. Oh, by the way, thank you, Erin, for, for confirming- Yes … that the, the third dra- or what is it? Yeah, the, the third draft choice- Yeah, the winner … was not, uh, what’s his name?
Vincent whatever. It was somebody else. Victor said-
Victor: Not whatever. Vincent Lemire. Lemire.
Al: Jacques Lemire’s- Yes … son or grandson. Erin, your MVP. Yes,
Erin: Ilya, Ilya gets my MVP. Yes. All
Al: right. Uh,
Erin: all the, the best lines. He also went for it and got what he wanted. Mm-hmm. And, yeah, it ended up…
Al: All right. Uh, we’re gonna skip the Patreon, uh, roll call today, ’cause we’re, we’re going long.
But I also have a bunch of news here, [01:55:00] so I wanna get through it as fast as I can. Oh. Uh, The Hollywood Reporter recently ranked the top 10 greatest sports TV shows of all time. Here they are. Number 10, Pitch from, on Fox. East- Eastbound and Down on HBO. A League of Their Own on Amazon Prime. Glow on Netflix.
We loved Glow. Uh- Glow is
Victor: awesome. Yeah …
Al: the, The White Shadow on CBC- CBS. Survivor’s Remorse on Starz is number four, five. Number four, Sports Night on ABC. Number three, Shoresy on Crave. Wow. Yeah. Number two, Brockmire from IFC. And number one, Friday Night Lights, uh, on NBC. Uh, I think Ted Lasso should’ve been in that top 10, but anyway- Oh, 100%
that’s just me. Um, but, uh, but the fact that Shoresy was number three, that’s amazing. Um, also according to Hollywood North Buzz, season six of Shoresy is set to film October 29th to, to December 2nd. But, uh, we did see that, uh, uh, Terry Ryan on his IG, he recently posted an IG story, likely done with AI, showing the backs of Hitch, [01:56:00] Dolo, and Goody walking towards either a sunrise or sunset, and the words, “Shoresy 6” in the sky.
So, um, maybe they’re starting production early, who knows? But, uh, anyway, it’s, it’s, it’s imminent. So Shoresy 6 is being produced and, uh, don’t know when it’ll be released. If, if, uh, it’s not gonna be by Christmas, ’cause I think that’s when I Kill the Bear is gonna happen, but hopefully in the spring of next year.
Season two of Heated Rivalry is also already shooting. It was set to film from August 17th to 20- to, to December 2nd. Uh, locations include Toronto and Ottawa. And Key- Kealani Rose, me gone Shoresy, recently welcomed baby girl Rose into the world on her birthday. So congratulations, K- Kealani, for being a mom.
That’s amazing news. And like I said, we’re, we’ll skip the Patreon call this week, but, uh, we’ll, we’ll have it next week, I promise. Uh, for now, though, let’s just go around with final comments. Victor.
Victor: Um, I think the best, uh, part of this episode is Erin. Uh, I mean- … geez, we [01:57:00] haven’t seen or heard from you in such a long time, and what a treat.
Uh, uh, and, and, and then, you know, y- you’re, like, the perfect person to open this series with since you have so much knowledge and background, and you love trashy novels. Uh, romance novels, that is. So it’s, it’s… And I use the word trashy not in a negative way. I think that’s what they’re called. Mm. Um, and, and, um- Yeah, that’s the
Mat: genre.
Erin: I own it, man. I love it.
Victor: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then that’s fine. Um, and, and, you know, so I think it’s, it’s good. I think w- uh, I think this was, this was really good. We had a nice, balanced perspective on this first episode, and I think, I’m guessing the show’s gonna improve, and, uh, I’ll continue to kinda give you my best, honest opinions on it.
Uh, but I’m looking forward to it. Um, and I hope we see more of Erin.
Al: Yes. I echo what Victor said, at least that last part. The rest of it’s all idiotic. Uh, Erin- … thank you so much. It was great to see you. Thank you for joining us. Yeah. I was hoping to, to get you to join us because I kn- I knew you were one of the big Heated Rivalry fans.
[01:58:00] Uh, we’ve got, uh, a guest panelist for each one of these episodes coming up, and so it, it’s gonna be a lot of fun to have guests again because the Don Cherry thing we did just the four of us, which was fun, but it, it did lack a little bit of energy, I think, from having people on. So thank you for coming on.
It was great to see you. Uh, and thanks f- guys for, for doing your homework and for providing, and for bringing the, the fire. Matt?
Mat: I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted. But Erin, what they said, all that, not as nonsense that Victor said- … but the rest of it. We love you, we miss you. It’s so great to see you back. Um, it’s been too long.
Uh, Blueberry Crew what. And, uh, yeah. I can’t wait to … Let’s get deeper into this, guys. Yeah. All right. All right. Let’s penetrate this series.
Al: Tanya.
Tanya: You’re ready. Erin, you are the spark that brought it tonight, for sure. I, I love all your deep dive and, um, information and just your smile, [01:59:00] your, your … I just, I love you, miss you, and so glad to, to see you t- here tonight.
Um, this was so much fun. I, I’m, I’m excited that we’re doing it. I’m a little, um, sad that I know the whole story- Right … um, or, or s- what has been aired thus far.
Mat: You, uh, prematurely, uh, finished
Tanya: it. I, I, well, I didn’t know we were gonna do it-
Al: Matt, is this what you’re gonna do- Yeah … the whole … So they’re, right now-
they’re planning an over under on the word trashy for Victor in the live stream. I feel like they need to also do an over under on, on the, the sexual punnery. What did I do? Innuendos.
Mat: Innuendo. What did I do? Nothing. I was just commenting
Al: on- Uh-huh. Yeah, whatever …
Mat: get whatever, Al.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Tanya: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, yeah.
So, um, uh, yeah. I’m a l- I’m, I’m gonna have to, uh, hold back a little bit, but I’m … Yeah. It’s, it’s, it’s a great show. And no spoilers,
Mat: please.
Al: All right. We n- n- yeah, we’ve been good so far. Erin.
Erin: Thank you all. Seriously, this has been such a fun time. I’m so happy to be on this show talking about my [02:00:00] favorite shows, being with all you wonderful people.
I love you. I miss you so, so much. I’m hopeful that I will be on that live stream, like, putting every single little bit of information that I have researched on there- … in all these episodes that I can. And, um, I will not be a stranger for too long. Um, again, I really can’t wait to watch you guys grow and love and be obsessed with this show- All right
as it goes on in the seasons. I’m not putting any
Mat: pressure on Victor. Is that what our, that’s what our new episode is about, trying to get Victor … Instead of how we started with Tanya not liking Letterkenny- Yeah,
Al: yeah …
Mat: now it’s Victor is going to turn that compost into a fresh.
Al: There you go.
Erin: Oh, I can’t wait.
Al: All right. Let’s, uh, it’s time to go get inebriated at the after party.
That’s all we have for this episode. Next week we recap and review episode two of Heated Rivalry: Olympians. [02:01:00] Until then, if you’d like to support the podcast, become a patron. You can get a shout-out on the show, exclusive bonus content, early access to interviews, and your own ad-free podcast feed. Another great way to support us is by telling a friend about the podcast or leaving us a review, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky @prorussampod.
Shout-outs as always go to our bud, Ian Service, from the live stream and to our friends at the Solonar Network. Our intro and outro themes are by Poised for the Worm. You can find their music on all major streaming platforms. Thanks for joining us. Now we’re going to the after-party. On behalf of Aaron, Tanya, Victor, Matt, and myself, thank you for listening.
Have a great [02:02:00] week.
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