This week on The Produce Stand, Al, Tanya, Mat and Victor begin their long-requested coverage of Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story, the Canadian miniseries starring Jared Keeso as one of hockey’s most recognizable and controversial personalities.
We cover the first half of Part One, following Cherry from his stubborn, blue-collar childhood in Kingston through his years chasing an NHL career. Along the way, we meet Rose, witness Don’s brief shot with the Boston Bruins, and enter the wonderfully unhinged world of hockey legend Eddie Shore.
But this is TPS, so we’re also watching through a YEWniversal lens. The gang digs into the surprising number of connections between Cherry’s story and the characters, hockey culture and storytelling of Letterkenny and Shoresy. Is Don Cherry essentially part of Shoresy’s origin story? And did Keeso borrow more from this production than we realized?
We also discuss Keeso’s uncanny performance, the fantastic period production design, the origins of Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Hockey, old-school hockey insanity, and how Cherry went from struggling journeyman to captain of the Rochester Americans.
Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction
- 00:01:17 – How Was Your Week?
- 00:18:15 – Don’t Bore Us Get To The Chorus (Episode Recap)
- 01:31:45 – First Impressions
- 01:41:17 – Patreon Roll Call
- 01:43:51 – Final Comments
- 01:46:37 – Outro
Links:
Clip: [00:00:00] That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty. What do yous listen to? My Favorite Murder podcast. Taggart and Torrance Podcast. The Produce Stand. Ah, fucking sexy.
Al: It’s Thirsty Thursday, and that means we are once again hanging out at The Produce Stand, the podcast covering everything in the universe and adjacents
Now I know what you’re thinking. There are many other Letterkenny podcasts out there, but this one is about to rock ’em and sock ’em. Let’s go. I’m Al, your host, and joining me in the room, as always, is the lovely Tanya. And online we have Squirrely Matt and the Valuable Victor. Gentlemen and lady, how are you now?
Mat: Good, and you?
Al: Not so bad. Thank you, Matt, for-
Mat: I’m not used to that quest- that line of questioning-
Al: I know … this early on. Well, we didn’t have a guest, so I didn’t play our- Just reacting … our, our unicorn. I didn’t, uh… We don’t have a guest. It’s just gonna be the four of us tonight. Wait. It’s an OG episode. I, I just
Victor: realized that.
Al: [00:01:00] Yeah.
Victor: Well, I didn’t realize it. I just heard you say it.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: It’s true. Normally there’s four windows on my screen, and now there’s, there’s not.
Al: There’s not. What
Victor: happened? I, I could go
Al: somewhere else. Nothing happened. I just, uh, wanted to, uh, just keep it the four of us for, for these episodes. All right. Just to keep things simple.
Uh, but anyway, let’s get this thing started. How are you now? Tonight’s lineup is gonna be myself, Matt, Tanya, and Victor. Uh, starting with me, let’s see. Well, it’s been a couple of weeks since, uh, I guess we last met. Although, Matt, it’s been longer with you. I can’t even think about what’s been going on, but today was a crazy day.
Like, before I started recording, Ma- uh, Tanya had mentioned, both of… The whole, like, s- sunlight until m- you know, 9:30 really fucks us up because we just don’t stop working. And, uh, Tanya literally stopped working around 9:00 and, and not, not because of the sunlight, but, uh, because she had shit to do and lost track of time.
And, uh, I’ve been working on the script for tonight right up until we started recording, so it’s been a long day for me. Uh, this past [00:02:00] weekend we had family over, like 18 people in our, in the house for our daughter’s confirmation. That was a lot of fun. It was a full house. Uh, and, uh, oh, and Victor, we watched, um, uh, Project Hail Mary.
Victor: Nice.
Al: Yes. Enjoyed it very much. I really, I really liked
Mat: it. Don’t spoil. I, I’m about two-thirds through it, so.
Al: Oh, yeah?
Mat: And I’m quite enjoying it.
Al: Yes. It’s, it’s a lot of fun.
Victor: Is there a seat in a theater that you keep going back
Al: to? Excuse me.
Mat: No. I have, I have a feed.
Victor: That’s not the way to watch this movie. You gotta
Mat: see it in the theater.
I understand that. I just didn’t get, I just didn’t get out to the theater.
Victor: All right.
Al: Oh, thank you, Gord, for reminding me. And yes, Toronto Mike had his, uh, El Mocambo debut last week. Um- Yeah, what
Mat: was that o- how… Like, how did that go down?
Al: It went- And what was that about? It was, it was, it was surprisingly enjoyable, actually.
So somebo- one of his- Surprisingly? Well, one of his listeners thought that, “Oh, you are so s- funny, you need to do a one-man show,” and [00:03:00] basically booked the El Mocambo, which is, uh, a legendary, uh, venue, uh, music venue here in Toronto for those of you who don’t know, uh, for Mike to host this thing. But Mike had nothing prepared, so for the last few months he’s been, like, writing and, and, and working on a one man- a 90-minute one-man show, and he’s never done this before.
He’s never done any kind of, like, standup or, or anything like this. Like, he’s done his podcast, and he can speak on a podcast for 90 minutes easily. But- This is different, and this is like a paying audience. That’s where I went last, uh, last Wed- Wow … Wednesday or Thursday. Uh, and so to his credit, he did it.
He didn’t say no. He didn’t… He w- he, uh, he stepped out of his comfort zone, and he did a, a good job. He did a decent job. He, he kept us entertained. I mean, it wasn’t- So
Mat: was it stand-up, or was it him telling stories
Al: or- It was him telling stories and, and some of them were- So kind of monologue … amusing. Like, it was, it was kind of like, you know- It wasn’t quite Mike Birbiglia, but it was, you know, it was, it was fun.
It was [00:04:00] fun. And- Yeah … uh, I mean, the El Mocambo is an amazing venue and, and, uh, he, he had the downstairs room, not the upstairs room. So the downstairs room was, like, more… And then he had a, a decent turnout and stuff, so, uh, uh- Cool … yeah. I think, uh, most people had
Victor: fun. I saw the Toronto Mike Tiger, Tiger Blood Tour.
Is that
Al: what it’s called? Yeah, yeah, no, the… His, his one, his, his one and only show. It’s funny, uh, what they do there, right? Like, uh, they do it up so that anyone who, who plays there, I guess, gets kind of special treatment. Like, there are steps coming up from the bathrooms with, with the, the names of the different bands that have played there, like Steppenwolf and, and, uh, um, uh, g- or, uh, Rolling Stones and all these, like, legendary bands.
But I feel like they leave one step that’s kind of like they can change it according to what act’s playing there because Toronto Mike- Yeah … was there between Steppenwolf and, and Kaos. Like, he was- That’s cool … he was on one of the rungs. And, uh, and then they had this big, like- a vinyl record thing with his logo in the [00:05:00] middle so people can do, like, a picture in front of it.
So they do it up nice for whoever’s playing there. Uh, and Mike, Mike did a great job, and it was, it was fun to hang out with people and, and, and check that out. Uh, Matt, have you… We haven’t seen or heard from you in a while. How have you been, buddy?
Mat: Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t remember the last episode I was actually on.
It’s been, it’s been interesting. I, I, b- I mean, I won’t get into detail. I’ll be honest, it’s been a, it’s been a rough year. Um, just been some, some drama- Mm … on the personal side that, uh, I’ve been coping with. And I know, uh, Ally, I reached out to you one of the episodes. I was prepared to come on, and then I decided not to ’cause mentally I was in no position to be on a mic that night.
So I didn’t know what I might have said, so I just decided to stay off. Um, but no, I missed you guys, and, uh, I, I knew I had to… I, I couldn’t stay away forever- … ’cause this is just too much damn fun. And, uh, aside from all that shit, you know, we’ve just been… I’ve been busy. Um, I’d say one of the biggest things that’s been happening lately on my end is we, um, I think I’ve talked before, we have a [00:06:00] tenant in our basement, but he’s moving out.
Clip: Oh.
Mat: Um, and, and he’s a, he’s a, a close friend of ours- Mm … and, and it’s been great for a long time, but he’s going on to new things, and we’re happy for him, but now it’s, we’re like, “Well, how do we need to supplement this income?” And we’ve been battling between bringing in a new full-time renter or going down the Airbnb route and giving that a try, um, because it’s a little more, um, a little more opportunity there if we play our cards right.
But what that also means is the basement has never been fully completed for a proper rental, right? Like- Mm-hmm … even the doors don’t have full locks on them because it’s just a friend, so we’ve never- Sure … it’s never been a matter. So the… lately I- we’ve been scrambling to, to get all that ready. Um, so like even this week I spent, um, a couple days framing out an entire storage room on our back stairwell because that will be the emergency exit, but that’s also access to all of our shit.
And- Mm … so I need to make sure that that’s walled off, and I’m putting up doors [00:07:00] in, like, four other places and having to get a new interconnected smoke alarm system across the house and all these things that we’ve, we’re quickly learning in a rental situation that we really need to have and in some cases are legally obligated to have.
So, um, going through all that has been an interesting process. Um, we’re almost there. Hmm. And we’re, we’re, we’re just… we’re kind of playing it out. But that’s our plan is we’re gonna try the Airbnb thing for a bit, um, see if we can make the offset what we need. Um, and, and then what that also gives us is that freedom to have that basement for when we do need it, right?
So, uh, we haven’t been able to use that space- pretty much ever. Um, so, you know, family’s coming to town or friends are coming to town, we can just block it off that weekend and say, “You know what? You can crash downstairs.” So, um, yeah, fun, fun little journey we’re going through. It’s been adding some stress, but we’re, we’re figuring that out.
And, uh, aside from that, the kids are good. Sports are starting. [00:08:00] Summer’s almost here. Yeah.
Al: Oh, good point, Corey- Yeah. Um- … is get it ready f- before the World Cup. Uh, you’ll- God … have no shortage of renters.
Mat: So we’re, we’re just… So you say that- Mm-hmm … um, and I hear a lot of horror stories right now, because apparently, and I don’t know all the details, and I don’t know if it’s affected all the cities, but FIFA really screwed over the rental market.
Uh, if you read about this at all, apparently they blocked off, like, massive blocks of hotels and things like that in some of the major cities that they’re hosting, and then out of nowhere canceled thousands of them.
Clip: Hmm.
Mat: Right? So all these r- places that were in, like, assumed rented out, other places have now rented, but now they’re c- their hotels are completely vacant.
Um, and there’s, the demand’s not the same. Right. So it’s kind of screwed up the whole rental market. And then in our case, he’s not leaving until the end of June.
Clip: Hmm.
Mat: Uh, so we’ll miss a couple of the games.
Clip: Yeah.
Mat: Um, and we still need a bit of a turnover once he’s gone to make sure that the place is ready.
So we might catch the tail end. [00:09:00] Um, the only good thing is we are now off the new LRT, the new transit system that has opened up in Toronto. So that creates a much more desirable need in our area, ’cause, uh, not like there’s a lot of stuff around me. But having that direct ax, walking distance to- Hmm … a major transit line, um, definitely helps us out.
So we’ll see how it goes, but it’ll be an interesting, uh, new chapter for us.
Al: And now your long lost cousin Jeff h- … will have a place to stay whenever he’s in town, right?
Mat: This is true. This is true. Uh, it’s, you’re not wrong. So I will have an Airbnb in the, in our, in our soon future, I guess. I don’t know.
We’ll see. It’s gonna be interesting.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: That sounds super exciting. I can’t wait to hear, uh, more about that, Matt. Um, uh, for me, I just… It’s been a whirlwind lately. Uh, w- as Allan mentioned, we had 18 people over for, um, lunch on Sunday. Um, and, and I took the, um… [00:10:00] I, I was very creative. And, um, my daughter loves, um, cherry blossoms.
Al: Oh my God.
Tanya: So I got into my head that we could make, um, um, decorations and do ch- cut out cherry blossoms in different pink, um, f- paper. And I think I made close to, I don’t know, I’d say 800 maybe.
Al: It was as- an assembly line all week of her and Veronica cutting little tiny flowers out of cardboard or whatever, f- cre- uh, paper- Yeah
really fancy paper-
Tanya: Yeah …
Al: uh, to, to- I was up like- … tape on the wall. It’s- … five- It looks great, but man, the work involved in that was-
Tanya: I think there was like- … insane … five nights where I was up till 1:00 in the morning- Mm-hmm … making these tiny little paper flowers. And, um, so yeah, it was, uh- W- what
Victor: do you do with them afterwards?
Tanya: Um, they’re all on the, on the wall currently. Um, I, I use painter’s tape and tape them to the wall so that they won’t pull off my paint after. [00:11:00] And, um, yeah, they’re just currently up as decorations. She loved it. She w- she was just like- Oh,
Al: it looks great. It turned out really well …
Tanya: she was in her glory. So yeah, it was, it was a lot of fun.
We had, uh, family stay with us during the time. Um, I don’t know if that looks so great, but anyways, yeah. Um, it, uh, yeah, it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun and yeah. Um, uh, and then other than that, it’s just been a whirlwind of work and more work, um, listening to my son’s stories of, um, um, of s- Oh, cool
school life. Wow.
Victor: Yeah, that’s pretty good.
Al: That’s what it turned out, yeah.
Victor: Jesus.
Al: That’s commitment. Those were all individually hand cut.
Tanya: Are you sharing? Yes. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. They were, they’re, that was a, it was, it was a lot of work, but it was really rewarding at the end. It really worked. Did the
Mat: family [00:12:00] appreciate it?
Tanya: Everyone did. They did, yes. Yeah. Everything really came out really well. Um, we, we did, uh, we made our own centerpieces. Uh, Veronica loves, um, uh, crafts and, uh, apparently, and, and I, as do, as do I. And, uh, yeah, we, we gave flowers away.
Al: I don’t, but I got roped into cutting a few myself anyway.
Tanya: Yeah, you were very grumpy.
Al: I was, I mean- Yeah,
Tanya: you were. Um, but yeah-
Al: It wasn’t my idea, and you guys still made me do it.
Tanya: Because you, you, you need to participate- Uh-huh. Yeah … in these types of things. Anyways, yeah, we had a lot of fun. Um, but that’s pretty much it. Like, there’s not a whole lot of updates from my update.
Al: Okay. Victor
Victor: Um, wow.
Uh, it’s I don’t know. It’s really been busy work-wise. Like today I’ve been on, literally on calls since 7:00 in the morning. Uh, and more of that tomorrow unfortunately. Yeah. But, um, yeah, I don’t know. I think last weekend was a long weekend, so there was some family stuff. Um, we had, I [00:13:00] think, my… I thought we were going for my nephew’s birthday.
Um, and so when we got there, uh, I was making jokes about cakes and stuff like that and bir- birthday presents, and then apparently I found out that, “No, no, we’re not there to celebrate his birthday. We’re just happy that he’s visiting from Calgary.” Um, so-
Mat: Did
Victor: you
Mat: go with a gift? Is that
Victor: a, is that an option?
We, we, we went with a $50 gift that I was asked not to give him, because then it would make other people awkward. Um-
Al: So you’re like, “Bonus, I just saved myself 50 bucks.”
Victor: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I’m glad we didn’t show up with like a birthday cake or anything. Right? Yeah. That’s amazing, Victor. Yeah. Yeah, so anyway, uh, so, so that was fun.
Um, but yeah, I don’t know, like not much. I, I… I’m getting excited. Obviously we’ve got the hockey playoffs that nobody seems to give, really give a shit about. No. But, uh, uh, but it’s- Buffalo’s out. I
Al: don’t care.
Victor: You know- So, so something fun- Shout out to Tom … so, yeah. Yeah. So-
Mat: I was razzing Tom online too.
Victor: Yeah.
Yeah. Well, what’s funny is that Buffalo is out [00:14:00] by a team that is embarrassing themselves now. But it’s okay, they’re young and- Mm-hmm … and, and stuff like that, so they’ll be fine. But basically they don’t stand a chance. I mean, even if they win tomorrow it’s gonna be Carolina against Las Vegas. What’s fun, fun about that is that either Freddie or Mitch are gonna win a cup this year.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Mm-hmm. So that is so- I hope it’s Mitch … freaking so perfect. I
Al: hope it’s Mitch.
Victor: Yeah, I, I hope it’s Mitch. I- That would serve the Leafs fucking right … yeah, the way, the way that he was- Who’s Freddie? The, the way… What, what?
Mat: Which one’s Freddie? Who’s Freddie?
Victor: Oh, Freddie Andersen.
Mat: Thank you. I kn- I caught the Mitch reference.
I didn’t catch the Freddie one. I got-
Victor: Yeah, he’s the go- He was, uh- Tanya didn’t
Al: catch any of it … a former goalie She’s like, “Whatever”
Mat: Mitch, Mitch Marner.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Yeah. Anyway, Mitchie would be- Well done … a little more gratifying just because the way he was shipped out of town. Mm-hmm. Like, people are just dumb and stupid.
Al: Yep.
Victor: Um, but, uh, yeah. And he’s just like… Uh, what’s funny about him is that he looks the same way today as he did when he was, like, 15 years old.
Al: I know. I know, he do- he [00:15:00] looks like a kid. He’s like a guy that- Well, you know what? All those little players are like that. I mean, uh, even, like the coach of Montreal Canadiens just now starts, is, looks his age.
But when he was playing-
Victor: Oh, St. Louis.
Al: Yeah … Mart- Martin St. Louis, he looked like a kid too right up until he retired. Now he’s got the gray beard- Yeah, yeah … and stuff, and now he looks- Yeah …
Victor: age appropriate Except when you look at his caps, his caps are bigger than his head.
Al: Oh, I’m sure. Yeah.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. He’s, he’s a crazy
Al: one.
Well, uh, Victor, I’d like to offer you my condolences. A, a, a New Jersey great, um, passed away today, uh, Claude Lemieux
Victor: Are you serious?
Al: Oh, you didn’t know that?
Clip: I
Victor: just saw that too, actually- No, I had no idea … right before we came on. Yeah.
Al: Tragic.
Victor: Wait, but he would… But he would be really young. What happened? I
Al: think he was 61.
Uh, uh, dead, uh, death by suicide.
Victor: Are you serious?
Al: Ooh. Yeah.
Victor: Oh, man.
Al: Yeah. It was, uh… Yeah, it was- Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
Victor: You should’ve saved that for the news at the end of the show.
Al: No. What the
Victor: hell?
Al: I wanna do it now so that we can- … we can move on. But yeah, that was a- Okay, well- … tragic- … nah, that, that sucks … you hate to…
Yeah, you hate to see- That’s- … that kind of news any time. But, uh- [00:16:00]
Victor: Yeah … yeah. No, he was one of my favorites. I know
Al: he was. Like, he, he- Yeah …
Victor: and, and f- I don’t, not everybody knows, but he was a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, uh, f- in, for the first cup, uh, I think it was the first cup that they won. He was their Conn Smythe winner.
Yeah. And he was, like, basically a, a rat kind of a player. Yeah. He wasn’t-
Al: Oh, yeah, he was a-
Victor: You know …
Al: a Shoresy favorite, for sure. Yeah. I think he’s been mentioned- Yeah … on Shoresy a few times- … for sure.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. And n- and not the Mario- No … the Claude.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Yeah. Uh, well, that’s, that’s too bad. That’s- Yeah … and especially the surface.
It’s, it’s another, yeah, yeah, that’s, that’s, that’s terrible. It’s horrible. I have to, I have to look into that story. But on a brighter note-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Victor: um, Supergirl, we are, we’re about to hit June. Yeah. And June becomes the countdown to June 26, which is the release date of this movie. It’s getting a lot of weird vibes on the internet, so stay off the internet.
Um, but just, you know, go and appreciate it. I’m sure it’s gonna be good. It’s gonna be a good movie, and just, uh, uh, weirdos are not gonna like it. [00:17:00] Um, and the latest trailer for Lanterns w- is really exciting, so go watch that- Yeah … ’cause that’s gonna be an awesome show. So- Yeah … people who like True Detective, it’s basically like True Detective except superheroes-
Mat: Mm
Victor: and Green Lanterns and-
Mat: Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, the, what’s happening with DC right now is looking better and better all the time. I’m, I g- Yeah … I’m excited for Supergirl. I really like Superman, and I’ve never liked a Superman movie. Um, and Supergirl- What, not even Christopher
Al: Reeves?
Mat: Oh, no, man, that shit’s so boring.
God.
Victor: Ugh. Yeah, you know what? Boned. I, I, I, the nostalgia of it- Shame, Matt … is,
Mat: is, is- For shame … real good. Yeah, it just- Shame … it, it’s just, it was, I just, I never did. Uh, but Supergirl looks great, and with Milly Alcock leading the way- Yeah … she was fantastic in, um- Dragons … the game of, the dragon, House of dragons and stuff.
So, um, yeah, she looks like she’s gonna be fantastic in this.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. And Momoa’s in there, uh, um, playing Lobo, so-
Mat: Lobo,
Victor: yeah … so that’s gonna be great. Um, yeah, yeah, I’m really looking forward… And by the way, and Superman’s gonna have a bit of a role in there as well, so.
Al: [00:18:00] Cool.
Victor: Um, yeah. S- and, and then Lanterns.
Go see the Lanterns trailer. It looks absolutely incredible. Can’t wait for that to, to drop. It’s gonna be a great show. Um, yeah, so aside from that, I, I got nothing.
Al: All right. Well, I think that’s enough, so why don’t we get this thing started, shall we?
Clip: Previously on Letterkenny.
Al: Uh, just for… What’s this? Just for you Oh, God.
Matt, you suck. Anyway, last ni- last time on the podcast if you can remember- You’re
Tanya: not going to, uh, closed caption that
Al: one? Oh, yeah. He’s got a little box that said, “Just for you.” He opened the box and a, and a middle finger popped up. Thank you, Matt, for- … interrupting my flow. Like I, I needed that after we haven’t pro- podcasted in a few weeks.
Anyway, let’s do that again, shall we?
Clip: Previously- Sure … on Letterkenny.
Al: Last time on the podcast, we held our- … Ag Hall Social. Fuck you, Matt. Or our listeners joined us to talk about what they thought of Shoresy season five, uh, we had trivia, and we discussed what we hope to see in season six. This week, we [00:19:00] finally be- begin our coverage of Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story.
So let’s get started. Well, don’t bore us. Get to the chorus. We’re gonna begin by saying this is why we’re doing this. So since we started this podcast, it’s gonna be… By the way, we’re gonna hit our six-year anniversary this July, so in a couple of months. Six years. Uh, ever since we started toying with the possibility of covering anything other than Letterkenny and then Shoresy, people have been asking if we’re gonna do the Don Cherry story.
Why the Don Cherry story? Uh, I mean, people outside of Canada don’t even know who he is unless you’re in, in, uh, u- unless you’re in-
Tanya: Massachusetts …
Al: and in some northern states as well. You don’t know who he is, but he’s one of the most famous Canadians in Canada. Uh, and the reason we’re gonna cover it is ’cause Jared Keeso played him in this seri- this miniseries of movies.
Wait, that’s Jared
Mat: Keeso?
Al: In this series of movies, uh, that, um… You know. And the [00:20:00] other reason we’re gonna do this is because I think as we watch this, we’re gonna see a lot of parallels between, uh, the Don Cherry-
Tanya: Pitter patter …
Al: legend and the character of Shoresy, I believe. And so Americans might enjoy that.
Especially if you’re a Letterkenny and Shoresy fan, I think you’re gonna find this really interesting. Uh, you know, Victor, c- I know I asked you this before, but can you kind of, uh, explain who Don Cherry is in a nutshell or?
Victor: Uh, sure. I mean, y- y- you know, when he was just like any other kid. Uh, when you’re young, you play hockey in Canada and you have the dream of making the NHL, and he actually had an
He had a chance to do that, not as a star, but as a tough guy.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: And, um, you know, we’re not gonna go into spoilers right now, but he basically Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown footballed himself- … at every opportunity that he’s ever had. Except it wasn’t Lucy, uh, taking the football away from him, it was himself.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, so, so e- you know, uh, he … So because of that, he basically [00:21:00] became a professional American Hockey League player, and that’s, that’s basically where he spent his… And he, you know, some people are confused about this, but he never actually played in the NHL. No.
Mat: Yeah, that was my new fact today. Yeah. I
Victor: didn’t
Mat: know that.
Victor: Yeah. So he never did. He-
Al: Well, he played that one game in, in Boston for the Bruins.
Victor: Sh- um-
Mat: Yes.
Victor: He, he, he, he never played in the NHL, okay? He … It doesn’t matter. He’s, he wasn’t a h- he wasn’t NHL … He wasn’t an NHL player. Like, he can’t even say that he had a cup of coffee.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Like, you know what I mean? Just- He wasn’t a-
a
Al: shot of espresso, but okay.
Victor: Yeah, sure, yeah. So, so anyway- … but he was, but he was definitely, and this is not a spoiler because we’ll get into it, but he was a coach in the NHL and a, a successful one. And then after the coaching career, he, um, ev- eventually ended up in broadcasting, and it’s a v- interesting story about how he got there.
But, and this is the tragedy of it all, and we’ll get into all, the whole thing. Mm-hmm. The reason he got famous is not because he was a smart coach or [00:22:00] whatever. That’s maybe how he got the break, but it was for his controversy. It was for the type of … It was for the, for his takes. He had a lot of interesting hot takes, and those hot takes started v- very much focused on hockey at the beginning of it, and as towards the end of the career, it went more and more into politics, into other areas where he really didn’t belong.
However, his employer continued to employ him-
Clip: Mm …
Victor: specifically because he was a ra- ratings magnet- Sure … because people wanted to tune in and see what crazy thing is Don Cherry gonna say and do this week. And the reality is it was cinema, right? Like, you g- Hockey Night in Canada wasn’t just a hockey game.
It was a hockey game plus the first intermission. Right. That’s what Hockey Night in Canada was, and everybody can still sing the song. Dun, dun-dun, dun-dun-dun- Yeah … dun-dun, dun, dun-dun-dun. Yeah. Right? Like, it’s, it’s, it’s ingrained in us.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: And when, when they canceled that show in a very- Tragic way, the [00:23:00] way that it was done, um, th- it killed Hockey Night in Canada.
Hockey Night in Canada, h- Saturday nights is just another game. Mm-hmm. That’s all it is. It’s not Hockey Night in Canada anymore because that was a staple from, like, since I was a child till I was an adult, it was- Two- It was Coach’s Corner … like
Al: 20 years, I think, right? And,
Victor: right. 20-plus years. Yeah.
Al: Yeah, something
Victor: like that.
Yeah. 20 years. And Coach’s Corner died, Hockey Night in Canada died, and nobody could give a flying fuck about the first intermission, to be honest. Mm. That’s where people go to the fridge, they whatever. Yeah. Sorry, Elliotte Friedman, you’re a cool dude, but nobody cares. Mm-hmm. Right? So- So it was, it was just tragic the way he did it, because they employed him for that, and then one random stupid thing that he said, they said, “This is our line, and now we’re gonna…
People are calling in, they’re angry, so th- we’re gonna use this as the opportunity to fire you.” Just don’t renew him. Don’t renew him. Let the contract run out and don’t bring him back. Mm. But d- don’t fire him for the thing that you hired him for or for the… You know [00:24:00] what I mean? It’s just such a, it’s such a dumb, dumb way to do it, and he’s, you know, he’s like, he says the same stuff that some of our parents say.
You know what I mean? Like, it’s just old- Oh,
Al: yeah. It was like watching your, your- … old-fashioned ways … your grandfather or your- Yeah … your old uncle- Yeah, yeah … on TV for- And they made him a villain …
Victor: for 10 minutes- They made
Al: him- … every Saturday night.
Victor: Yeah. And they made him a villain, and it’s just tragic. Like, he’s just…
Like, leave him alone. He’s fine. Whatever. But… And I know people will disagree with me, just like with the rest.
Al: Yeah. He made himself a villain. He, they didn’t make him a villain. Mm-hmm. And I would argue- And I don’t- … it wasn’t the one thing he said. He said many things over 20 years. Yeah. It was-
Victor: And that’s
Al: why
Victor: he was
Al: employed
just the last thing
Victor: he said. No, Al, I… Listen, I agree with you, but he was employed for that reason. Mm. That’s why they kept bringing him back. Yep. And, and then they f- they used that against him, and it’s just… And then, you know, his best friend didn’t do anything to defend him. And like, you know, Ron MacLean didn’t need the money.
Could he… Who cares? Who cares if they fire you too? Just stand up for your friend. You know, you’ve been doing this for him, with him. You don’t have to agree with what he [00:25:00] said, but stand up for him if the company that is basically hiring him to do that, and then one day decides to turn on him, just stand up for him.
“Hey, he’s… You know, he’s just doing what you paid him to do.” Yeah. “And now you’re turning on him? So if you’re gonna fire him, I’m walking too.” That’s, that was, that would’ve been the up, up, upfront thing to do. And I know a lot of people will disagree with me, and that’s fine.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: But that’s, that’s where I stand.
I
Al: do. I do disagree. Yes. I mean, Ron MacLean is still on TV. He’s still a, a great pro- broadcaster. And why should he take a bullet for… Because his friend wanted to shoot himself in the foot? I don’t-
Victor: Because, because the employ- You’re… Because the CBC is not somebody you should just put to the side. They’re the ones responsible for it all.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: They, they hired Cherry to do exactly what he was doing. Is
Tanya: he still alive?
Al: Yeah, he’s still alive. Yeah. Is he? He just finished- He’s 92. He was podcasting. Is he 92? He was podcasting for a while there. Actually, his last podcast was earlier this year, I believe. Um, yeah. But he was, after he- He was podcasting after?
af- after he left, uh, CBC, he b- continued with a podcast with his son, I [00:26:00] think, Tim producing it- Yeah … and stuff. And Tim figures heavily into this movie, into, into the story. Absolutely. He wrote the stories. So- Oh, did he? Oh, yeah. We’re gonna get into it. It’s- Well, there’s
Victor: a writing partner there-
Al: Yeah …
Victor: but Tim is definitely-
Al: Yeah
Victor: um.
Al: It’s written in his thought. So when we watch this, and like I said, like Victor said, you know, um, Don Cherry was on TV for 20 years. And I, I’ll disagree with you on one thing. I don’t think he was- hired just for his controversial takes. I think he was hired ’cause he was a great storyteller.
Victor: Yeah, they kept him for that reason.
Now- He,
Al: he, maybe they kept him for his contro- This is, this is what I’m saying … but when they, when they first hired him- Yeah … he, he told great stories, and a lot, this movie here, uh, these movies that we’re gonna, uh, comment on, I mean, a lot of the stories in these movies I remember hearing him tell on Hockey Night in Canada, like, over and over and over again.
All the, uh, legendary Eddie Shore stories and stuff like that. So we’ll get it, get to that. But anyway, yeah. So, uh, yeah, in, in case that didn’t just further cloud what Don Cherry is and why, why w- [00:27:00] they made a movie on his life, or four movies on his life, uh, that’s why.
Tanya: And sorry,
Victor: what was the- And both of these mo- both of these movies just were, were made before the, the- Yeah, before
Al: he was fired
Victor: firing happened, yeah.
Tanya: And I was going to ask, wh- at what point were these movies… W- where was he in his career when these movies were created?
Al: Yeah, he hadn’t been fired from the CBC yet, so he was still- But he was already
Victor: controversial.
Al: Yeah. He was already- He was already controversial. Yeah.
Victor: He, he was making fun of the queer community.
Was he already
Tanya: on Saturday Night, uh- Yeah,
Al: he was on C- he was on Hockey Night in Canada- … Hockey Night? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah … still.
Tanya: He was on- So, uh- … there already.
Mat: Yeah. What’s funny about, like, something you’ve already said that would never even occur to me until you just said it now is that most Americans may not even know who Don Cherry is.
Hmm. Because you’re right, like, obviously not a big sports guy here, but, uh, in terms of Canadian names, if I’m listing, like, five to 10 famous Canadians, he is absolutely on that list- Hmm … of people that I know, that I recognize. And even, like, not that I watched hockey, but I absolutely watched the Rock [00:28:00] ‘Em Sock ‘Em videos that came out every year, ’cause those are just a fucking blast to watch.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Right? So, yeah.
Victor: I still ha- I still have the video cassettes
Mat: from- Do y- yeah, do you? … Christmas, birthday presents- Oh, it’s amazing …
Victor: and stuff, yeah.
Mat: Yeah. So he was, like, he is very synonymous with, with Canadian culture. Um, love him or hate him. So it’s… Yeah, it wouldn’t even occur to me that people w- didn’t realize how big he was to us.
Al: Folks in Bo- like, hockey fans in Boston and maybe, like- Oh, of course, yes … Rochester, New York, and certain parts, like northern s- northeastern- Yeah … states might still know who he is, but yeah, uh, for the most part he was most famous in Canada.
Mat: Yeah. Because- Loud, big collars, bright ties.
Al: Oh my God, yeah. The jackets.
His- The jackets were infamous … his suits were tailored from, from fabric that he would buy at a curtain store. Yeah. Like at Fabricland- Yeah,
Mat: Fabricland … or whatever. Yeah. But- He had some of the craziest outfits you could imagine- Yeah … on TV.
Tanya: But weren’t the hockey games also aired in the States? Like, wouldn’t they have seen?
Al: But they wouldn’t have seen hockey, like- Not CBC. Not CBC. Not CBC. They’d s- they watch it on Fox or, or NBC- Yeah … in the US, right? So they wouldn’t see [00:29:00] Do- Coach’s Corner. And, and he was-
Tanya: Oh, I didn’t know that. No.
Al: Yeah, they wouldn’t watch- Yeah. Yeah … Coach’s Corner in the US. They’d have their own American
Tanya: broadcast.
I thought it, that was streamed for everybody. No. I thought that was part of the hockey. Yeah.
Mat: See, that’s my ignara- ignorance too. I just assumed that everyone knew who he was ’cause-
Tanya: Everybody, yeah … he’s on,
Mat: he’s on my TV every Saturday night.
Tanya: He was on… Yeah. So I figured it was part of the show.
Mat: Yeah.
Al: All right.
Tanya: Did not know that So
Al: let’s get started.
Tanya: So can everybody now see who he is? Like, can, can- Yeah, I
Al: mean, l- his, like, his podcast is on YouTube. Anyone can watch
Tanya: it, but- No, no, I mean the Hockey Night In Canada. Like, are those episodes somewhere for some- for people to- Oh,
Victor: coach, you mean Coach’s Corner?
Tanya: Cor- Coach’s Corner, yeah.
Al: So Jeff- Uh, I’m sure it’s somewhere … Jeff says American hockey fans know him ’cause he was featured heavily during the Stanley Cup playoffs. So there might have been- Oh, okay … yeah, during the play… Again, if you’re a hockey fan, yes, you’ll know who Don Cherry is.
Victor: Yes. If you’re a typical American- … you, you may…
If y- w- if you, if you don’t even know what NHL is-
Al: Right. You won’t know who Don Cherry is … you’re
Victor: not, you’re not gonna know who I’m here, who
Al: Don Cherry is. But if you’re a fan of Shoresy, you prob- you might have an idea because [00:30:00] he’s also mentioned a few times in Shoresy. And as we’re gonna learn, Shore- lots of, uh, lots of stuff from the universe is mentioned and, and- That’s right
is influenced by Don Cherry and Shoresy.
Tanya: But wasn’t the movie… So the movie was available to everyone?
Al: Yeah. And it’s, right now, it’s actually not even available in Canada, but in the US, the, people can watch it on Amazon apparently.
Tanya: But it was filmed in the US, wasn’t it?
Al: No, it was shot here. Was
Tanya: it? It was shot
Al: here.
Yeah, it was shot here. All right, let’s get this going
Tanya: because – Because I was, because I was thinking that Keso went to California, and that’s, I thought that that’s where he-
Al: No,
Tanya: no … got this role.
Al: No, that, this is a Canadian production. You’re just, you’re just making stuff up now. I’m just making this up.
Making shit up. This is a Canadian production. This is a… So here’s the thing. There are two-
Tanya: Matt’s like, “Mm.”
Al: So, and here’s the confusion- This is going so well … here’s the confusion we were having on our little TPS chat as well. There are the, the- There are two, quote-unquote, “seasons.” It’s a, it’s a miniseries.
Tanya: Oh my God, you guys were-
Al: I know, I know …
Tanya: absolutely- It’s not seasons … a hot [00:31:00] mess.
Al: Okay, but this is how it’s tre- They’re two separate movies … Victor, shut the fuck up. This is how it’s treated on Amazon: two seasons. Oh. Season one- That’s what Amazon calls it. Season one is called Keep Your Head Up, Kid, and there’s two parts, movie one, movie two of Keep Your Head Up, Kid.
And then there’s the Wrath of Grapes. That’s season two, and there’s a part one and two. What we’re going to do tonight is we’re going to s- talk about part one of that first season, and only the first half of part one, even though I wanted to do the whole thing- … but I ran out of time, so we’re only doing the first half of that.
Victor: And next month we’re gonna do Godfather season one and Godfather season two. Okay.
Tanya: But
Victor: only the first
Tanya: half. I’m sorry, why are we doing him? Why we …
Al: They were all… Yeah, Mossom’s right. The, they were mostly filmed in Winnipeg, actually, the, the movies. Um- The, the film, as I mentioned, was written by Tim Cherry, and that’s Don Cherry’s son.
So the scripts were written by his son I
Tanya: didn’t know that …
Al: directed by, [00:32:00] uh, director Jeff Woolnough or Woolnough, or I don’t know how to pronounce his name. He’s, he’s been a director for, like, Vikings, Battlestar Galactica, Being Erica, so he’s, he’s got a lot of credits, mostly television. Being Erica. Yeah. Uh, so, and there’s a, a very vintage s- uh, you know, look to th- this movie, so these movies.
So let’s get started. Here we go. The film opens in world- working class Kingston, Ontario. That’s where Don Cherry’s from. Uh, in his youth, Don is shown as a tough, stubborn kid from a blue-collar family. We get a scene from him as a child in school. After reading Black Beauty, Don is asked to share a story that he knows about horses.
Clip: My dad was in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. He said that when you put the saddle on the horse and you go to tighten it, you should knee the horse in the stomach so it sucks up. I beg your pardon? You know, get the saddle on nice and tight so it won’t fall off. Donald, I don’t believe [00:33:00] that’s true. Are you saying my father’s a liar?
No, I didn’t say that. You said it wasn’t true, so you’re calling my father a liar. I always called it like I saw it. Sit down, Donald. I don’t think I want to sit down, okay? I just couldn’t keep my big mouth shut.
Mr. Cherry, principal’s office. Everyone else, class dismissed My father taught me never back down from a fight
Al: All right, uh, other than like instead of the way we usually do it where we have our com- hold our comments to the end because we’re not rating this half or whatever, we can talk after these scenes.
Uh, so let’s talk a little bit about when I, when I watched this scene here, that kid looked a lot like Eric Feissing, the, the guy who played Caleb, um, in, uh, in Shoresy. I had to look it up. It w- wasn’t him, but it, they, [00:34:00] they had a strong resemblance to each other. But, uh, anyway. It’s funny, I, I’m old enough where the principal of my grade school still threatened the strap.
Now, I don’t, I don’t know anybody who ever got it, but there was still this- Did you go to a Catholic
Victor: school?
Al: Yeah, I went to a Catholic school in the end, yeah. Didn’t a nun
Tanya: hit you or something? Wasn’t there a story? No, we… I had a, a
Al: nun as a principal, but w- I was never hit by… I was slapped in the face once by my kindergarten teacher for saying the word shit in, in class, but that was the teacher, not, not the principal or the nun or anything.
Yeah, it sounds like you had
Mat: it coming.
Tanya: Yeah. Did… But, but I have to, I have to know. Like, what was kindergarten Alan like? Like, d- you grew up with your parents only speaking Portuguese, so did you… Th- was it, was it the, the fact that you only knew the English word as shit? No,
Al: no. I was fluent by the time I was five.
‘Cause back in the day too, we, there was a lot of door-to-door salespeople and stuff. Like, I learned English from s- from TV, and I was the one who had to answer the door when somebody knocked because I was the only one in the house who, [00:35:00] who could speak English to people who came like, you know, uh, vacuum salespeople or, or encyclopedia salespeople.
Encyclopedia. Like, uh, my parents bought a whole set of the Britan- anyway, um-
Victor: Our young listeners have no idea what you’re
Al: talking about. No, exactly. It’s, it’s like Google in book form. But anyway.
Tanya: Go-
Al: But yeah.
Tanya: Google
Al: books. Not wrong. But, uh, uh, um, Awesome said that, that, uh, the first scene is, is fucking wild, and it is wild, like, to see that, you know, that, that’s how things were back then.
And, and a- after that scene, we cut to Don in the principal’s office getting the strap to, you know, to each hand multiple times despite… And the principal telling Don how he’s one of the principal’s favorites, but he’s gotta find somewhere to channel his aggression. You
Tanya: know- No, no, we haven’t got there yet.
Al: Yeah. But so anyway, we haven’t gotten there, but yeah. That’s… What, what did you guys think of that, that kind of opening scene, uh, Matt?
Mat: No, it’s simple. It, it sets a good tone of who Don Cherry is and where, where he came from. It’s, uh, it’s a wild time. Like, wh- and this was [00:36:00] what? In the ’50s? ’40s? When is this?
When does this take place?
Al: Uh, you know what? I don’t know, but probably around then. Yeah.
Mat: So he’s ni- he’s 92 now. ‘
Al: Cause he was 10 in that scene I think, so- So
Mat: I’m gonna do the math really quickly. So- That’s 30, like ’30s, ’40s? ’40s probably.
Al: There’s a lot.
Mat: Yeah. Early, oh fuck, that’s a long time ago. So yeah, w- world’s very, very different place and, uh-
Clip: So
Al: different.
Awesome, get your mind out of the gutter. In this case, what they did to Don Cherry is getting the strap. Up here in Canada at least, it’s, it’s being hit by the strap on your hand. That’s what it’s called. Yeah. What- So I don’t know what you’re thinking of, Awesome. I- It’s not what I’m thinking of.
Tanya: You… Yeah, that’s what it was ca- What, what else w- What would it be called?
Al: She, she’s thinking of something kinky or something Yeah.
Mat: The other, the other thing I really like is it, it set the tone right a- right away for the narration. Mm-hmm. And I don’t always love narration, but it really fits well into this series. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, so his voice coming in and, and just calling that out like he saw it, I’m like, “All right.
Here we go.” And, uh-
Al: And Keso’s impression of Don Cherry is, uh, uh, is pretty spot on. Yeah, it’s pretty- It is … it’s, it’s pretty good. It is. Yeah. Uh, he’s got
Mat: that tone and [00:37:00] that cadence just like him, so, uh, I, I appreciated it out of the gate.
Tanya: At one point I needed to ask, like, who is… Is, is it Don that’s doing it? Yeah. That the, the narrative, or is it Keso?
Al: No, that’s Keso.
Tanya: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he did a great job. I,
Mat: I- That would’ve been something, eh, if they got Don Cherry to actually do the narrative.
Al: It could’ve too. Like, uh, back- especially the, when this mo- movie first came out, Don was still, you know, ab- Mm … capable of doing his own voiceovers.
Tanya: I, I love the reference, never back down from a fight. Mm-hmm. And then fast-forward to, um, to Letterkenny.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: And, and, you know, that, uh, Wayne never backed down from a fight and, and that was kind of the premise of-
Al: Oh, we’re gonna see a lot of that-
his storyline … throughout, yeah.
Victor: I think you’re b- you’re getting a, an origin story here, Tanya, so.
Al: Yes. Victor, what did you think of that scene? Yeah, it was good. It reminds me of, uh, Soviet, uh- I’m sure … the Soviet Union. I was waiting for that, yeah. So, uh, kinda felt right at home. What do they
Victor: call get
Mat: the strap over there? Pass me the AK?
Victor: Uh, [00:38:00] yeah, it was probably more subtle.
Al: For, go for a walk out that window.
Mat: Yeah. 10
Victor: paces.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Yeah. Should I, should I remind you about the Russian, uh, W- Winnie the Pooh? Winnie the Pooh.
Al: Oh, man.
Mat: Oh, yeah. That’s right.
Al: So anyway, after that little scene we cut to the Don in the principal o- pr- principal’s office getting the strap despite telling Don, uh, he’s one of the principal’s favorites.
Uh, but he’s got to find somewhere to channel his aggression. Uh, to further drive Don’s stubbornness home, as he leaves the teacher goes to open the door for him but Don refuses and, and opens the door himself despite his hands being sore from, from the strap. Uh, when he turned 15 he dropped out of school to play hockey.
Uh, so we get this introduction to Don the teenager at Boston Bruins rookie camp, and our first Keso sighting.
Clip: Four seasons in the juniors and the Memorial Cup, the Bruins sent me to play for the [00:39:00] Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League
You know what they paid us in those days? 2,500 bucks a year. But I’ll tell you, I’d have played for free. I had a good rookie season. Only 20 points, but in penalty minutes, 125. Everybody against the boards. Let’s go. I love that. You know, with those stats, I don’t gotta tell you what kind of player I was.
Nice play, Don. Keep it up. Let’s go, man.
Can sum up my style in two words Okay, forwards, let’s go! Rock ’em, sock ’em
Al: All right, so we get our first kind of taste of future Don there. Rock ’em, sock ’em. Uh, so production note, the term rock ’em, sock ’em is not just an allusion to the old Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Ro- Robot toys, but Don Cherry had a series of videos in the late ’80s, throughout the ’90s, and right up until 2018- Mm-hmm
created by his son, Tim, uh, who we’ll learn more about [00:40:00] in this story. Uh, the videos featured hockey highlights and fights set to rock and, rock and techno music. And I just remember when those first videos came out, they were so much fun to, to go get and, and watch. Like, uh, my, my, my buddies and I watched every single one of them when they came, when they came
Tanya: out.
That was, that was, like, a, a famous Christmas present to get somebody- Yeah … was, was, uh- Every year … yeah That’s
Mat: true.
Al: Yeah. Rock ’em, sock ’em hockey. Uh, Victor, did you get… I’m sure you still own many of those, don’t you?
Victor: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I, unfortunately, there are- No, there was thir- 30 renditions
Mat: of it …
Victor: yeah. I, I…
They’re on video cassette. I should probably digitize those. Mm. But, uh, yeah. It’s, uh-
Al: Oh, you can probably get them all on YouTube now.
Victor: Yeah, that’s true, too. That’s true, too, yeah. I haven’t really thought about it in a long time, but yeah, l- had lots of fun. I don’t think w- I don’t remember missing a single season, single year, um, where, with those coming out every, every year.
I
Al: had no idea they went right up until 2018. Like, I- Yeah … probably stopped watching them when they were still on VHS, so, uh, yeah. But, but they were fun. Like, it was mostly fights, uh, [00:41:00] and, and- Yeah,
Mat: it was, it was basically a highlight reel of the
Al: year. Yeah,
Mat: no, there
Clip: was, there was
Mat: highlights of goals- Best fight, best
Clip: shot, best saves
Al: and plays. Yeah, yeah. As they were, but, but the fights were definitely, uh, featured- Yeah … heavily.
Clip: Yep. Yeah.
Al: It was the, uh, sock ’em part of rock ’em. All right, uh, early in his junior career, Don- … uh, gets called up by the Bruins to play a game in Montreal. My, uh… Oh, uh, Victor, that he did play a game in Montreal.
There were only six teams in the NHL at the time, which meant there were only 36 available, uh, positions on defense, and Don was bent on taking one of them. Don had a good showing in this game against Montreal, and after the game, the Bruins let, uh, the Bruins’ coach let him know they noticed him, and tells him they have plans for him in Boston next season, tells him to be ready for training camp.
He also tells Don that they know he likes to play baseball in the off-season, uh, but they ask him, “Don’t play baseball this off-season.” Don agrees. He says, “Okay.” Uh, but then we cut to the very next scene.
Clip: Idiot. Slow down.[00:42:00]
Al: And for those of you listening
Clip: I got it. I know what you’re asking, and I can’t give you an answer. I don’t know why I did it, but the hockey gods weren’t happy, and they made me pay
Well done. You managed to separate your shoulder. We’re gonna have to open you up, put in a piece of metal about so big. I got, uh, I got the Bruins training camp coming up. Which is when? Well, a couple months, but I gotta get in shape. Well, you can’t do anything until that shoulder heals. No work, no running, nothing.
Otherwise, you run the risk of reopening the wound. Oh, the doctor was trying to help, but he didn’t know nothing about hockey
Al: All right. Those who are listening and not watching, that video, he, uh, d- Don was playing baseball. He was in the outfield. Somebody hit a pop fly. Don went and dove for the ball and, uh, [00:43:00] separated his shoulder, and, uh, that’s the re- well, we’ll, we’ll find out whether that hurt his chances in Boston Bruin training camp the next, uh, season.
But, um, I love the, the, yeah, how it cut, uh, uh, as soon as he says okay to not playing baseball, they cut right to the game where, where he injures himself. Victor, what’d you think of that?
Victor: Yeah, I mean, this is, you know, I guess the first, uh, Charlie Brown football scene, right? Yeah. It’s like you have your chance to make it, uh, and you’re not, probably not gonna get another chance, and you basically went and done that.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Just at least wait until you’re in the league till you start doing stupid things like Jack Hughes- … who, you know, injures himself eating steak. But, um, uh, you know, to do that- How does that happen?
Tanya: What?
Victor: I yeah, Jack Hughes got injured, uh, eating steak this year. Um, he was gone for- How does one- I think-
Tanya: injure themselves- I think- … eating
Victor: steak? Um, it was at a re- they went to a restaurant, uh, after, I think after or before a game [00:44:00] and, and, uh, he, he, uh, he, he ended up, uh, cutting his hand and he was gone for, like, a couple of months. Ruined his season.
Tanya: Oh, my lord.
Victor: Yeah. At, at his, uh, you know, team dinner he injured himself.
Tanya: That’s crazy.
Victor: So, so there you go. Um, it’s, you know, it’s, um, um, yeah, make it, make it to the show before you start doing stupid things and, you know, yeah.
Al: Well, and that was back in a time too, though, when, uh, players used training camp to get in shape, and so the fact that he couldn’t even make, uh, the team.
But it was also six, six teams, so that was probably why. Yeah. It was, like, harder to make the NHL. Uh, y- yeah.
Tanya: The, uh, pop-up, uh, baseball reminded me of our first trip to, uh, Sudbury when, um- When
Al: Victor almost got killed?
Tanya: Yeah. Oh,
Al: yeah.
Tanya: I was like- That’s fate … oh, my God, what a flashback seeing that ball come up in the air out of, like, nowhere.
And, uh, yeah, poor Victor almost got hit in the- Yeah, we almost lost Victor that day … [00:45:00] head. Um.
Al: All right, cut to the next scene where we see Don training to get ready for training camp. He’s r- running in the woods. He’s in obvious pain, and his shoulder’s still bleeding from surgery. Uh, then the tr- Bruins training camp, Don obviously still injured.
I always wanna say Shoresy because it’s Schiso. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, he’s still injured. He goes down after throwing a, a check, and he can’t even shoot the puck without wincing in pain. Uh, next scene we see Don waking up in his hotel room, shoulder’s still bloody, and looking out the window to see the Bruins l- bus leaving without him So having ruined his chance, he went back to playing in the American Hockey League for, for Hershey.
Uh, that’s where we meet his defense partner, Larry Zydel, played by veteran Canadian actor Sean Bell, known for Bulletproof Monk and Paradise Falls. Larry was a wild card. You never knew what he would do next. He played a crazy cr- uh, a, a great crazy character. Uh, we’re shown in this scene where an oppo- opposing player taunts Larry, and Larry hits him in the face with his stick.
[00:46:00] Shades of Sy- Sly Silvestri maybe. After that, none of the opposing players went near Larry. In the locker room after the game, we see a senior player, Andy Brannagan, sharing some wisdom with Don, showing him how to properly tape his wrists so he doesn’t break them, and also adding extra cotton to the knee pads.
Cutting, cut to the bar where the players are having a few pops after the game. Uh, a waitress… By the way, Don Cherry used to call beer pops, in case those who were wondering, “They were drinking pop?” No, they were drinking beer, but that’s what they called them. A waitress offers- Oh.
Well, you never know. Different audiences may not refer to it that way. Um, a waitress offers Don and his pals another round, and they all say yes, but Don uses his manners. He says, “Yes” and “please,” which impresses her. Uh, it doesn’t take much. They c- continue talking about the latest, uh, call-up to the Bruins club.
This is where Don learns that he’s in Boston’s bad books. He missed his one shot. Before Don can feel sorry for himself, the waitress returns with their drinks. [00:47:00] She wouldn’t normally do this, but since Don is such a polite young man, she’d like to introduce, uh, h- him to his, her niece. Don agrees tentatively, and this pleases the waitress because her niece is actually in the bar tonight.
Don wasn’t expecting to meet her so soon, but the guys get up from the table, help Don with his jacket, and send him on his way before he can say no. And this is where we meet Rose.
Clip: Rosemary, I want you to meet Don Cherry. He plays hockey for the Hershey Bears. Hello, Don. She couldn’t have weighed 100 pounds. I still remember what she was wearing, still remember what was playing on the jukebox. Hi, Rose. You know how they say you’ll know when you know? Well, I knew. She was someone special
Al: And when we’re talking about Don being on Hockey Night in Canada for 20 years and all the stories he told and stuff and how famous he was, uh, Rose was just as famous, if not just by name. Like, everyone knew Rose. Uh, he, he [00:48:00] me- he mentioned her in many of his stories, and they, they stayed together right until, until she passed away, uh, you know, a few years back.
So it, like, uh, it’s, it’s, you know, it’s, it’s a, a pretty great love story. Mm-hmm. Like, they, they stayed together, uh, through thick and thin there. Like, d- whatever, whatever he did or said, it didn’t matter. And, and y- you’ll learn in these movies that she was, uh, his rock, and, uh, uh, and put up with a lot of shit.
Clip: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Victor: I- it was nice to hear, uh, Don Cherry talk about, uh, um, the actress.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Uh, and how just watching h- watching her play Rose, it just h- brought all the memories back- Oh, yeah? … and he felt that he was, you know, um, b- you know, looking at his wife. Like- Oh, really? … just remembering everything. So th- yeah, that entry that’s, uh, available with those, with, with the, uh, clips that we have, uh, you should, if you haven’t, d- you should listen to them.
They’re pretty good.
Al: Yeah, I haven’t had a chance. I wanted to before we did this, but I ran out of time, but- Maybe
Tanya: that can be another episode-
Al: Yeah … where we- [00:49:00] Or maybe, yeah …
Tanya: yeah.
Al: But, um, anyway, yeah, uh, Rose is, by the way, is played by Sarah Manninen.
Victor: That’s it, Sarah, yeah.
Al: Yeah. Uh, she’s a Canadian actor known for The Prince and Me and My Awkward Sexual Adventure, uh, and m- many others.
Uh, but, uh, those are her known, uh, known mostly for, uh, credits. Uh, Don sits there qu- awkwardly in silence, and Rose, Rose has to initiate the conversation. Turns out she’s never been to a hockey game before. Her, her father likes football. It’s funny watching this. It occurred to me she was American. Like, I, I didn’t even think that she would’ve been because- She’s
Victor: from Hershey.
Al: Uh, yeah, she’s from Hershey, Pennsylvania, obviously, but, uh, in all the years we’ve ever known her, like, I, we j- Yeah … I just figured, you know, he met her up here, but no. Uh, yeah, she’s never been to a hockey game. Her father likes football. Don offers her tickets to the next game, and Rose would love to go, but Don would have to meet her parents first, otherwise she can’t go.
It was indeed a different time. Uh, Don, Don
Tanya: agrees- See, but I, uh, the, uh, just, uh- It [00:50:00] just, it’s, it, I just love that I don’t know what it is. I, I am so old-fashioned- … when it comes to… I- that just gave me the giggle. Like, it just- … gives me the warm fuzzies. I know,
Victor: Tanya, but, but, but, but- Right … and we’ll get to this scene later on-
Tanya: Right
Victor: where it’s like, wait a second, uh, I to- I’m t- I was totally surprised by the part that, uh, we’re gonna review- Right … you know- All right Yeah … soon. Because it’s a complete opposite of this.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: It’s, it’s something that you… Wait, he’s what? Anyway, we’ll get to it.
Al: Right. All right. Uh, cut to the game. Rose watches excitedly with her friend.
The two leave before the game ends. Don lines up for- at a face-off, and when the puck drops, he squares off with another player. Rose doesn’t see any of this, uh, she’s already in the tunnel when they hear the crowd go wild because of the fight. She wonders if Don just scored a goal. Cut to Rose’s family’s house.
Her mother prepares dinner while Ro- Rose anxiously waits, uh, for Don. It’s clear her mom isn’t thrilled that he- she’s bringing home a hockey [00:51:00] player. Rose’s father reassures the mother their niece wouldn’t introduce Rose to some barbarian, and just then the doorbell rings. The pa- parents answer and are greeted by Don sporting a cut lip and a shiner from his fight.
Uh, cut to the dinner table. Everyone’s eating quietly. Rose’s mother eyes Don suspiciously, and finally her father breaks the silence.
Clip: That’s, um, quite a shiner you got there.
Al: Yeah.
Clip: Yeah. And a big cut, too. Yes, uh, I know. Thanks. So how many stitches is that? Well, uh, that one’s six. I think, uh, I think this one’s only two
Did you get it with a puck? Uh, no, sir. A stick? Nope. How’d you get him then? Well, uh, I forgot to duck. Eh? Don, you’re bleeding. Oh. [00:52:00] So, um, you were fighting? Uh, yes, ma’am. It, uh, happens. How come you fight? You get mad?
Well, no, I didn’t get mad. I… Guess some guy was just looking for trouble and he found it.
Al: Uh. What’d you think of that scene there, Tam?
Tanya: The sister doing the sign of the cross. What… Um, it’s, it, yeah, the, the mannerisms at the table- Mm-hmm … and, and e- even Kiso playing, you know, the, the, like, “Yep, nope,” and it, it was, it was just a, it’s such a great scene-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Tanya: um, setting up for who he is and who the family is.
And, um, yeah, it’s a, it’s a great scene.
Al: Matt, what’d you think?
Mat: Yeah, I mean, I guess he could have not shown up. Um, would have been an option, but instead he owned it, man. He just he, he [00:53:00] didn’t try to hide it. He just, uh, when they asked the questions, they asked direct questions, he gave direct answers. And, uh, you know, love or hate why, why it happened, you gotta respect the hell out of the fact that he just leaned in and went, “Well, you found trouble.”
Yeah. That was it. And, uh, no, I thought that was great. It was a great dynamic. It introduces him to the family in the most awkward way imaginable. And assuming if that’s how it truly happened, that is fantastic. Um, I can’t imagine a more horrific way to first meet a family, but, um, yeah, it, it’s, again, it sets the, sets who he is for them- Sure
so they know what they’re get- they’re all, they know what they’re all getting into.
Tanya: Well, Rose didn’t seem to know what he, what, what it was that he did. No. Or that, yeah.
Al: She hadn’t seen him fight yet. No- She hadn’t seen it … ’cause they left before, before the fight started. So- Yeah … Victor, what’d you think?
Yeah.
Victor: Yeah, it was good. I, what I enjoyed is kind of the lead up to, in that whole scene- Mm-hmm … and the banter before he even showed up.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Uh, I thought that was, uh, you [00:54:00] know, it’s, it’s almost kind of they were foreshadowing exactly what was gonna happen. Yeah. But it was, it was fantastic. I loved the banter and the mom, uh, just the facial expressions.
Yeah. Like, everything about it was, uh, was good. And then, you know, the, the, the scene around the table that’s kind of a scene that probably we’ve seen in many different movies. Mm-hmm. Uh, except what’s fun about this one is that it may be true, right? Mm-hmm. ‘Cause I, I mean, everything we’re watching is, uh, probably dra- dramatized a bit from-
Al: And through the lens of a storyteller- Yeah
like Don Cherry- Exactly. Exactly. Yeah … to his son, and then his son rewriting it. Yeah. Yeah. Like, watching this whole thing just reminds me of a phrase that Tom Hanks been using a lot lately, and that’s “Print the legend,” you know, “not the truth” sometimes. It’s like-
Victor: Yeah, yeah.
Al: Yes. Yeah. I think they’re, they’re printing the legend here, but, you know-
Victor: Or don’t, don’t let the facts stand in the way of a good story.
Al: That too. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um,
Mat: and- And this scene also kind of quickly reminded me of, like, if you take a first date to, like, a crab boil- Mm … just to see how it all goes down, right? So if you can walk away and still be into her at the end of that- Mm … or into him [00:55:00] at the end of that, um, you know, you know you got something that’s a winning solution at that point, so.
Yeah.
Tanya: I love the mom’s line of, uh, “So you get mad?” Yeah. Like, uh, like, what, you, you got angry or something? Or whatever the line was. Yeah. Yeah.
Al: And, oh, and his response, it was perfect. Uh, somebody who’s just looking for trouble, and, uh, he found it. Uh, again, like, for somebody who back in the day is shown as not being much of a talker, he’s, he certainly had, uh, the perfect line loaded up for, for that, you know, for that, uh, question, right?
So all right, here we go. Rose’s dad thinks Don, uh… asks Don what he does in the off season. Don goes back up to Kingston and works construction. After dinner, Rose and Don sit outside in the swing to debrief. Don doesn’t think things went too well. Rose asks Don why he fights. He, he, uh, he can’t, he can’t like it, can he?
But Don says he does. He’s a fighter. It’s his job. It’s not how many you win, it’s how many you show up for. Rose jokes that judging by his eye, he needs to work on his fighting skills. [00:56:00] That scene there on the swing, and I’m gonna say it like the kids would say today, gives the scene of Shoresy and Laura Moore on the steps of the Colson when he’s about to retire.
And he talks about why he needs to fight and why, why he still plays hockey. Does it not? Like, it-
Mat: Yeah, fair …
Al: it’s exactly- Yeah. Yep … not exactly, but it has that, the totally, the, the feel from that scene right away. Uh, next scene in the locker room after another game, uh, Don comes in with a cut above his eye to get stitched up.
As his teammates walk in, they give him shit and take turns begging him as he gets, as he’s getting stitched up. They’re throwing towels between his legs, uh, and, and he’s trying not to move ’cause there’s a guy with a needle trying to thread his, his forward, or his forehead shut. Cut to the next scene, Don is in his kitchen with Rose, and she’s removing his stitches very tentatively.
She’s never had to do this before.
Clip: Oh, you poked my eye out Sorry I’m just kidding. You didn’t really, you didn’t really poke my eye out. [00:57:00] I won’t do that again. Okay. I won’t do that again. Come on. All these cuts, I’m amazed you don’t have any scars. Yeah, it’s an old player’s trick. You, you, you take the stitches out after not too long, like two or three days- Mm-hmm
and then you put cocoa butter on it. Cocoa butter? Yeah. Works every time. Hmm. All right, what’s taking so long up there? They’re so tiny. You just snip and pull. Hmm. That’s all you do. There’s still a little blood. I don’t know maybe we should just leave it in. Rose, just do it. Come on, just do it. Get in there.
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.
Tanya: There
Clip: you
Al: go. I love how s- uh, pleased with herself she looks when she finally gets that stitch out
Oh no, it’s not in this one. Sorry, it’s in the future one where she gets better at it. She looks very pleased with every stitch she removes. Uh, there it is, pitter patter. I be- I believe that the utterance of that phrase in this movie predates Letterkenny, if [00:58:00] I’m not mistaken. But Tanya, when you- Well- Did you- Yeah
did you catch it when, when it was-
Tanya: Oh, 100% I, I, I did. And I’m wondering if Kiso had to ask permission to use pitter patter then in Letterkenny, ’cause he even has t- it on T-shirts,
Victor: pitter patter. Pitter patter doesn’t belong to this movie, though.
Al: No, it doesn’t. And actually, Awesome’s saying in the live stream, uh, Kiso, um, had a coach as a kid who would say, “Pitter patter, let’s get at her,” so that’s where he got it from.
So it could be that it was an ad lib that he added in, in- In, in this … the Don Cherry movie, right? Oh, okay. Like, maybe it wasn’t written, but- And
Mat: I, I mean, I’ll be honest, I grew up with that phrase. My dad used to say that to me. Pitter patter. “Pitter patter, let’s get at her.” Yeah. Like, that’s, that’s not an- Yeah
uncommon-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Mat: old s- older saying. Right. Um, it’s just he’s keeping it alive.
Victor: Yeah. Yeah. S- some, some say there’s no coincidences.
Al: All right, next scene at another hockey game with Rose in the stands. Don gets into another fight. You can tell Rose is getting used to the game. She knows [00:59:00] how, exactly how many stitches Don’s going to need after the fight, and we see Rose expertly removing Don’s stitches again after the game, uh, or then a f- a few days later in the kitchen again.
Uh, next scene is the end of the season, and Don says goodbye to Rose as he leaves for Kingston for the off-season. Uh, then we see D- then we see Don in Kingston operating a jackhammer at his, uh, summer job as a, in construction. After his shift, on his walk home, Dom, Don stops in front of a jewelry store window and stares.
Uh, cut to Don arriving back in Hershey at Rose’s family’s home. It’s early. He’s driven all night. Rose’s father answers the door. Don asks to speak with Rose. She comes to the door still in hairnet and robe. Don invites her out to the porch, shows her an engagement ring without saying anything. Rose immediately exci- and excitedly says yes.
They both go inside where the rest of the family celebrate, even the mother Uh, next scene, we get a montage set to Rockin’ Robin. By the way, the stre- soundtrack in this series, uh, [01:00:00] nothing but, you know, you know, 1950s bangers. Like, it was, uh, nothing but really well-known songs. I wonder how, uh, how much money they, they spent on the soundtrack.
Um, we get a montage set to Rockin’ Robin, showing Rose getting used to being a player’s wife. First in the bar having drinks with the players after the game, then we jump forward in time to a baby shower for their first, uh, daughter, uh, named Cinda. Cindy. Cinda. Cindy. Uh, Rose at the table with Cindy, her mom, and the hockey wives while the players are in the other room toasting beers, and then the team leaving on road trips on the bus while the wives and childrens wave goodbye.
In the NHL, they travel all day by bus and play at night. Don tells a story of how it was his i- his brilliant idea to hang a bag of beers out the bus window to keep them ice cold. Uh, Don’s defensive partner, Zidel, uh, sits beside him and accuses him of trying to beat him in the race for the most penalty minutes in the season to get his name in the paper.
They arrive at Springfield for the game, and that’s where we first [01:01:00] meet Eddie Shore, played by Stephen McHattie, a veteran Canadian actor known for The Fountain, Shoot Em Up, and Watchmen. And here is Eddie Shore.
Clip: Mr. Brunswick, you get onto your knees too much Now this.
Come here. Yeah. This’ll help you stay on your feet
Eddie Shore, the Edmonton Express, fractured his hip- All right, Mr. Brunswick … fractured his back, and broke his nose 14 times. One of the greatest players in the history of hockey turned out to be one of the most feared owners Stay up! He ran the practices, told the coaches what to do, even changed the light bulbs in the arena.
You believe that? On your feet[01:02:00]
If you played for Springfield, Eddie Shore said jump, you said, “Sure, Eddie. How high you want me to go?” That’s why I got it in my contract. I can’t be traded to any team Shore owns or coaches Stay on your feet.
Al: Poor bastard. All right, so much insanity in that, in that scene. First of all, I mean, nowadays, like, it, it was- Well, I
Tanya: think you need to close caption that one, ’cause did it, did it say- Oh,
Al: okay.
You’re right … what was happening? You’re… Good, good point. So Eddie Shore is trying to help a, a, a young goalie stay on his feet, and back then it was a no-no to go, go down on your knees as a goalie. You needed to be a standup goalie for many reasons. O- one of them is the fact that you’re not wearing a freaking mask or helmet.
I
Tanya: don’t think that was the reason.
Al: There’s many reasons. But that’s one reason. Uh, if you go down, you’re gonna… Th- y- you increase your chances of getting hit w- Sure … in the face with the puck, and as a goalie, uh, [01:03:00] yeah, you don’t wanna do that. But the other reason is it was thought that it w- you were a better goaltender if you stayed on your feet.
It’s obviously been proven wrong now with the butterfly style, like prolifi- like no one, no one stays on their feet. They all go down now and, you know, on their knees and- Yeah, they do … in butterfly style. Right. So, so there’s that, and there’s also the idea of a coach tying a noose to the net- … which is what he did to try to keep this goalie from going down on his knees.
Tied a noose to the back of the net, so… And then he would, um, purposely shoot the puck so that the goalie would have to reach for it down but not go on his knees, and if he did, he’d basically hang himself and have to get, pop back up so he doesn’t, you know, hang himself. Anyway, it’s such a, a crazy… But it’s funny, though, because, and I mentioned this, like in the 20 years Don Cherry was doing Coach’s Corner, I’ve, I’ve probably heard that story spoken t- you know, many, many times and then seeing it in, in movie form.
It’s one of the many stories that he loved saying it, ta- talking about Eddie Shore. Oh,
Tanya: it’s nuts.
Al: And the other thing [01:04:00] is- … his name is Eddie Shore.
Tanya: Shore. Yeah.
Al: Right? I mean- Yeah. Well- So, uh, discuss. Victor?
Victor: Yeah, I mean, obviously Shoresy is not based on Eddie Shore, but again, I think it’s almost like- … like paying it, paying it forward or paying it back- Mm
to kind of name kind of this goofy character after Shore.
Clip: Yeah.
Victor: You know? Uh, uh, like all the dots are connecting- Mm-hmm … and, you know, who knows what was, uh, go, k- kind of going through Keyso’s head in, in development of Shoresy in Letterkenny, but you know, this, this… He’s clearly, and as we will continue to discuss and, and review the movie, the character of Shoresy is, the origin story’s gotta be Don Cherry.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: But the name, naming him Shore, I feel like it’s like he’s… It’s almost like, you know, signifying kind of the villain, uh, with, with that name. Mm-hmm. And so that’s, that’s pro- It’s probably not very deep. It’s [01:05:00] probably just, you know, he’s a villain and, uh, a villain character, and- Sure … we’ll give him that name.
Obviously in, in Shoresy he’s no longer a villain, but, you know, too bad, so sad.
Al: Mm-hmm. But he’s, uh- Yeah. Yeah, go on, Matt.
Mat: Well, I was just gonna add a bit to that. I mean, like, and we think, you know, we obviously don’t know the whole timeline, but, like, Shoresy first was introduced in Letterkenny, and at that point perhaps may not have had intentions on building a spinoff series from day one, right?
Um, so in Sh- in Letterkenny he’s absolutely just, like, the biggest piece of shit in hockey, right? Mm-hmm. Um, and Eddie Shore is absolutely portrayed- As the biggest piece of shit, yeah … to be that, right? So, like, I think it’s, it’s not a far stretch by any means. That’s where he’s like, “Who was the biggest piece of shit?
Well, it was Eddie Shore. I’m calling this guy Shoresy.” Mm-hmm. And now they go, “Now we gotta make a show about him, so we gotta flip the script a bit.” But, um, yeah, it was fucking- That’s ruthless, man Yeah … by, by any scale. Mm-hmm. Um, I, I, I kind of feel like Brad Bonello might, might introduce [01:06:00] this in his practices with his team-
but,
Al: you know, who knows? And to be clear, I think he coaches, like, 12-year-olds, but
Mat: I know, hey, I’m not saying I condone it.
Al: No. I’ll ask him when we finally have our lunch. Right. Uh, Tan, I mean, you caught the whole Shore thing right off, right away?
Tanya: Yeah, I did. Yeah. But, but I, I felt like, um, even when we were in Sudbury and walking around, I think I was with Matt, and I was like, “Look at that name.
Look at that name,” because there was, like, familiar- Mm-hmm … uh, things that were in and- Sure … around that w- you could, you could pull back to, uh, uh, Letterkenny- Sure … and, and Shoresy. Um, so yeah, I think Keyso is a… Again, I think he pulls a Keyser Söze on all of us- … and he just, like- Good reference … he just scans everything and then just throws it in there.
Al: Nice. All right, cut to the game. Don gets into a fight and gets sent to the penalty box, which happens to be the same box [01:07:00] the guy w- he was, that he was fighting was also sent to. Um-
Tanya: Oh, that was so per- Sorry, go ahead.
Al: So this is something that actually happened. The, the penalty boxes used to be either beside each other or even connected, right?
And I love when the guy- Yes … sitting between them s- notices what’s about to happen. He’s like, “I’m getting the fuck out of here” and he just- Do you
Tanya: have that scene?
Al: I don’t, unfortunately, no.
Tanya: Oh my God, that was such a perfect scene- Yeah … ’cause all he did was smile. Yeah. And it was like, “Well, that was nice,” or- Yeah.
Nope. Y- No, it wasn’t. Yeah, and just the, the referee standing right up and, and leaving, and then, uh- Mm-hmm … the c- w- who was coming to the rescue to break them up? Referees?
Al: No, it was a cop that finally hit, uh- Oh, the cop … hit Sh- uh, Sh- uh, not Shoresy, Don over the head with a blackjack and said, “That’s enough out of you,” and, uh-
Mat: And he takes the door.
Al: Yeah. Well, then, then… So yeah, we’re, we, we haven’t even got to that part yet. So- Oh, yeah … uh, Don gets into a fight, gets in- sent to the penalty box, which happens to be the same box as the guy he was fighting, so they continue hostilities in the box. Eddie Shore t- makes note of this. And then Don’s [01:08:00] teammate also takes note and accuses Don of trying to get kicked out of the game, uh, and, and make the- Oh, right
the newspapers. So he decided he would be even… He would top Don’s crazy, and he decided to remove the penalty box door from its hinges and throw it onto the ice, so he gets kicked out as well. Uh, yeah. It was awesome.
Mat: Um- I mean, they keep saying hockey’s got a bad rap- … but we’ve come a long way, you know?
Al: Yeah, it’s true. By the way, and I wanna c- comment, too, on the production design on this show. The, the chain link fence because, you know, this is obviously an era before there w- there was a such thing as plexiglass, right? So yeah, that’s what, what hockey rinks had was chain link. So when you got checked into that and you had your face-
Tanya: I didn’t even-
Al: rubbed into that … reference that for some reason … it’s chain link fencing that you’re hitting, right? It’s, it’s crazy. Like, uh, that, that that’s what they were playing in. It was like they were playing i- in a cage, you know? They were cage fighters. All right, next scene, Don walks into the kitchen where Rose is feeding Cindy.
He opens a piece of mail and learns that he’s been traded to Springfield. [01:09:00] That’s Eddie Shore’s team. Uh, this wasn’t something Rose was expecting. Another lesson she learned was that players- … hockey players get traded, and then you have to go. Uh, next scene, we see Don and Rose saying goodbye to the Rose family as they move to Springfield.
Uh, cut to Springfield locker room, where the players get ready to practice. Don learns that Eddie, he’s a bit of a cheapskate owner. Uh, practice sweaters stink because they don’t get washed. There’s no money for tape for their socks, so the, they need to use inner tubes because they’re reusable. Uh, Don finally takes the ice for practice.
Ridiculous. Yeah. Don, uh, finally takes the ice for practice, and Shore is there waiting for him
Clip: I could tell from the first time I laid eyes on you, Madagascar, that you do not bend your knees when you skate. Madagascar? Scum it! If a coach wanted to scare a player, he’d say, “Smarten up or I’ll send you to Eddie Shore.”[01:10:00]
Al: See The
Clip: Clinic? The object of the man on defense is to take the puck away as you eliminate your opponent from the play. Don’t make it so I have to steam him off the board. Go again.
Madagascar In most hockey players’ hands, a hockey stick is a scientific tool. In yours, it’s a blunt instrument. [01:11:00] Two on ones
Al: Okay. A couple of observations for this. First of all, again, I’m gonna use, you know, young people’s parlance here. This scene gives the whole scene in S- The Simpsons where, uh… Who was it?
Burns, who’s coaching the baseball team, kept- keeps on yelling at, um, uh, Ozzie, uh- Strawberry? Oh … uh, no, Darryl Strawberry, to shave his sideburns. And he’s like, “I did shave them.” And, and every time you see him, he’s… Like, his sideburns are shorter and shorter, up to the point where, like- … his whole- the whole side of his head’s shaved.
“Sha- I told you to sa- shave your sideburns,” and he’s like, “I, I did. Like, what…” Anyway, that’s what I got from that scene. Uh, the other thing, though, I think, watching that is, l- looking at how the sh- the hockey is shot, obviously those are all actual players, uh, you know, uh, in those acting roles. Uh, they’re not saying anything, but they’re able to shoot the, the players, like, full, you know, top to bottom without having to cut because they’re actual players.
So I feel like that might be something that, you know, [01:12:00] Jared borrowed for, for Shoresy as well. Uh, Victor, what’d you think of the scene?
Victor: Yeah, it was great. Uh, it… We’re, you know, finally getting introduced to Shore, the, the character, right? Mm-hmm.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: I- in- instead of just looking at him from the sidelines of what he’s doing to somebody else, now he’s interacting directly with Cherry, and we’re getting the, uh, the Madagascar.
So at this point we’re wondering, what does he mean by that? We find that out later. But- Yeah … um, but yeah. I mean, you know, it… He’s, uh, presenting himself as a real piece of shit- Mm … and he’s doing a fantastic job.
Al: Matt, did you catch that- Yeah, no … that Simpson- Simpsons reference?
Mat: No, I… Well, when you said it, yeah, I get what you’re saying.
I didn’t- Yeah … I didn’t catch in the moment. I mean, just meeting Shore and this whole scene is… Like, the Madagascar thing was c- was cracking me right up.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Um, I… And as I’m wa- As you keep talking about the filming of this too, I keep… The only thing I kept telling myself the whole time, ’cause, like, let’s not kid ourselves, Canadian content often has that look.
[01:13:00] Mm-hmm. Um, the budget’s not there. But this whole movie, or miniseries or whatever, up until now, and I’m assuming it’s gonna continue, feels like one gigantic Canadian heritage moment.
Al: Right? It’s got that look, doesn’t it? It’s got that comp-
Mat: that, that- Oh, my God. Like, I keep waiting for the border to appear.
Yeah. Oh, my God. That’s hilarious. Like, well, it was there the whole time.
Victor: Yeah. So the color grading will change as the, uh- Era’s change … as, as we move f- uh, decades. Decades. But, um, but they’ve done- they’ve f- they’ve done a absolutely incredible job color grading it to the times. Making it- Yeah.
Mat: Yeah, yeah. The, the set decoration, everything, it’s so on
Al: point.
Um- Yeah. The production design I think has been really, really top-notch. Yeah. Yeah. Tan, Tan, what’d you think?
Tanya: I… You know, it, it’s, it’s the hockey. Mm-hmm. It’s like it’s full out, uh, players, you know, running the, the, uh, the lines and skating. And this is… It just reminds me of what Keo said, that he was gonna make hims- himself a hockey show.
Mm-hmm. have [01:14:00] hockey players and not actors playing hockey and, um, bringing us the real deal. And this just, yeah, goes back to hockey, just, just pure, like, running the lines. Mm-hmm. Like, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s not that I’m a, a, a, a lover of sports or whatever, but it has that kind of nostalgia. Authenticity. Yeah.
Al: Yeah, yeah. All right. During one of Shore’s many sessions of berating Don’s skating, Don notices a player skating backwards towards Shore. Uh, he doesn’t warn him. He simply steps out of the way and- Mm … watches as Shore gets leveled by the other player and falls on his face. This puts Don on the Black Aces, which were, uh, players on Shore’s, in Shore’s doghouse.
Uh, next scene, Rose bathes Cindy in the kitchen sink while listening to the game on the radio. Don gets hurt during a play. Rose is concerned at first, but then she’s startled by a mouse scurrying past her. After the game, uh, Don removes his sock, revealing a very broken little toe, or as Victor would call it, a pinky.[01:15:00]
Uh –
Tanya: No, he would call it a toe finger … a, a,
Al: a toe finger, yes.
Victor: Fin- finger toe.
Al: Oh, right. Finger toe, whatever. Uh, Shore orders Don to repeat practice ear- uh, uh, to come to practice the next day. He knows how to cure a broken toe. Uh, Don arrives lim- home limping. Rose asks Don to put o- out a trap for the mouse. He doesn’t.
Then, uh, then he… Or he does, and then barely gets to bed before he hears the trap snap. Don empties the trap into a jar and resets it, only to hear it snap almost immediately after. The game of trap and mouse, uh, continues all night until the jar is full of dead mice the next morning. Don’s exhausted, but shows up for practice and to have his broken toe healed by Shore.
A trainer brings in two buckets of water, one hot, the other with ice water. Shore orders D- uh, Don to dip his foot in the hot water. Re- reluctantly, Don obeys. You can tell it’s very painful. Then Shore o- orders Don to switch to the cold water. He does this. This happens a couple more times before Don finally [01:16:00] springs to his feet and walks away saying, “It’s a miracle, Shore.
It works every time.” Uh, cut to Don, uh, gingerly putting on his skates. Of course, his little toe is still broken. Next scene, while Don complains about Shore to Rose as he, as she removes his stitches, they get a phone call from Shore inviting them down to the rink, rink. All the players and their wives have been invited.
Rosie wonders, “Is it a little party?” It isn’t.
Clip: Sit down, everyone. Sit down. Sit down. Now, we have a significant stretch coming up. We need to win these next few games to stay on the hunt for first place. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t have to tell you that our play lately has been substandard, and I think I know why
You women have been giving these players too [01:17:00] much sex And I want it to stop now! And you, O’Connor, the idea that you could get married just before the season. Is it any wonder you’re playing like you have no legs? I want you to send your wife home tomorrow.
Al: All Shore needed to say there was, “You’ve already played a period between the sheets.” Like, I was waiting- Right … for that to happen, right? But, uh- Yeah … once again, another kind of-
Mat: Definite connection there
Al: I mean, it’s a connection. It’s, it’s part of the, the whole l- lore of hockey, right? Like, uh- Yeah … uh-
Mat: Well, sports in
Al: general- S- yeah, you’re right
I think is very common in, in a lot of- Like, before a big game, you’re not supposed to have sex or whatever, right? Yeah. But, uh, the fact that Shore would have the audis- audacity to not only forbid his players from ha- uh, or, or demand h- the, the players’ wives to not give the players sex
Mat: but- I, I just [01:18:00] love
Al: that he called them all
but also demand, demand the
Mat: newlyweds- Yeah, like, he called them all. Y- yeah. Yeah. Individually called them all- Yeah … and said, “Hey, come on down.” Yeah. And then i- assuming this story actually happened-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Mat: th- this is like, yeah, this would be a core memory the rest of my life. The day my coach called me in, and I would, I would be telling this tale like Don Cherry forever.
Right.
Al: Yeah. Victor, what, what’d you think?
Victor: I, I guess I missed an opportunity during our one-on-ones and year-end reviews to, uh- Oh my God … you know, say, “You know, Al, you haven’t been concentrating.” Oh my God. “Your performance has not been, uh, up to par.”
Al: Victor, if you had ever done that, I, I dare say your career trajectory would’ve been much different than what it’s become.
Tanya: Oh my God.
Victor: Oh, man. No, that was, that was… I, I loved, uh, that nobody had a clue as to why they were there. Yeah And then when he said what he said, just the- … expressions on, on the, on the women’s faces-
Al: Yeah …
Victor: was just, it was,
Al: was priceless. Appalled. They were all appalled. The, the guys were [01:19:00] smirking ’cause- … th- th- nothing Shore s- Shore does or says surprises them anymore, except the, the newlywed who’s been told to, to send his wife home.
Mat: And you can tell, like, nobody had a clue what to say. Like, what would you say- No … in that, in that scenario?
Al: No, what could you say? Like,
Victor: exactly what was said.
Al: Yeah. Y-
Victor: you just… They sit there in silence.
Al: Stunned silence.
Tanya: So this, this s- this scene reminds me so much of my father. Oh,
Al: man.
Tanya: What? Do, do you know why?
Do you know what I’m talking about? I
Al: think I know why.
Tanya: Yeah. So my, my dad- … made a joke about- Oh, yeah … sex- … at our wedding. During his speech. During his speech. Atta boy. Sorry about that. Which is so…
But, but, uh, the… Just this guy’s mannerisms, how he just, um, barks out his idea and that’s how it is, and that’s how my father is. Mm-hmm. Like, that’s exactly how he would- [01:20:00] Mm-hmm … you know, get his point across and, um, and, and, and would just be like, “Oh, my… I don’t even know what you’re… You’re- you, you can’t say these things.”
But anyways,
Al: he would- Yeah, it was definitely a different time. You could say- Yeah … whatever the fuck you wanted to- Yeah … with l- no consequence, yeah. Yeah. All right, the, the players meet up at the bar after the meeting to complain about Shore, but we find out later the player who was ordered to send his new wife home did what he was told, and they still-
lost their next four games in a row anyway. Uh, we jump to the beginning- Hmm? … of year five. Don is happy. That didn’t work? No, it d- Yeah, it didn’t work. It was shocking, right? We jump to the beginning of year five. Don is happy because the Indians have a new coach, Punch Imlach, played by Craig Eldridge, known for The Long Kiss Goodnight and The Tux- Tuxedo.
Don credits Punch as the greatest coach he’s ever played for. Uh, production note, Punch Imlach coached the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cup wins, including their last win in 1967. That’s right, he is a [01:21:00] Toronto legend for being the last one to actually coach them to a
Tanya: cup. In what year? ‘
Al: 67 was the last, uh- ‘
Tanya: 67.
Al: Yeah. Yeah. And I believe Punch came back to coach again in the early ’80s or late ’70s or whatever, but, uh, he didn’t have the, quite the same- Is he still
Tanya: around?
Al: No, no, he’s long gone.
Victor: Right up there with Buzz Aldrin-
Al: Yeah. …
Victor: who came, who came after.
Tanya: Yeah. That’s so crazy- … that it’s been that lo- Are, are we the longest-running team that has not won?
Al: Well, apart from the, some teams who’ve, that have never won, um-
Victor: Yeah, I mean- … also- … there’s the Canucks- Yeah … who won as the Millionaires, I think 19- 1902 or something- Yeah … stupid like that. Yeah. But that doesn’t count. No. But, uh, yeah.
Al: All right, Shore is about to berate Don for not bending his knees when he skates, when Punch interrupts him.
And by the way, the guy’s name’s Punch. Like, I know it’s his nickname, but anyway, uh, Punch interrupts him- George
Mat: Punch …
Al: and lets, uh, Shore know that he’s the coach, so if he’s got something to say to his players, he needs to say it to Punch. Uh, this obviously doesn’t make Shore very happy, but [01:22:00] since most of his players are the property of the Boston Bruins, and that’s who hired Punch to coach the team, then he’s in charge, so Shore begrudgingly gives in.
Next scene we get is this great interaction between Punch and Don negotiating his next contract.
Clip: Your contract for this year, Donald.
Right. You’re not gonna negotiate? What, are you gonna pay me more? No. Then what’s your point?
See ya. Don, I’m gonna make it to the NHL, and I think you can, too. You’ve got something. All right, Punch.
You know that kind of encouragement from a guy like Punch meant a lot. Maybe I still had a shot
Al: Next scene, it’s the final game of the playoffs. Punch walks into the dressing room, dumps a bunch of cash onto the table to try to [01:23:00] motivate them, says the other team is wanting to take that cash away from them and their families. This gets the team riled up. Unfortunately, not enough to get them over the hump.
They end up losing in the, the final. In the dressing room after the game, Punch goes around congratulating everyone on the great season. Shore, Shore walks in, and the team, uh, and, uh, Punch, uh, and congratulates Punch on a pretty good year. Punch doesn’t come back the next season, though. Instead, Pat Egan becomes, becomes their new coach, played by Robert Ho- uh, Hockelen, Hakalack, sorry, known for Capote and Perfect Sisters.
Unfortunately, Egan is completely in Shore’s pocket, and things go back to Shore terrorizing the players, including Don. Egan informs Don he’s not dressing for the next game. The team loses their next game, and Shore suspends Don for indepen- indifferent play, even though he didn’t even play in the game. Uh, during the team’s next practice, Don is so angry with Egan he checks him behind the nets.
As a result of the humiliation, Don gets traded to Three Rivers in [01:24:00] Quebec, which is not an NHL team. Uh, I’m sorry, an, an, not an AHL team. Uh, out of, on his way to… Oh, on his way out, Don confronts Shore, asks him why he called Don Madagascar. Shore responds, “Because that’s where he would’ve sent Don if he could.”
I was a little kind of, uh, let down with, with that explanation. That’s like, that’s it? That’s why he called him Madagascar? Like, it’s weird.
Victor: Yeah. That, that’s where you wonder, like, how much of that is true-
Al: Yeah …
Victor: and was it even, did, did it even happen, right? Mm-hmm. Like, maybe it was just made for the story.
Al: Maybe. Uh, Don goes home and breaks the news to Rose, who takes it in stride. On the bright side, at least he’s getting away from Shore. Don hadn’t even considered that. Playing anywhere, even in Madagascar, would be better than playing for Eddie Shore. Cut to somewhere in Quebec. Don, Rose, and Cindy are having a hard time finding Three Rivers.
They’re at a gas station gassing up. Things are getting tense, then the, the c- their car won’t start. No one speaks English, and the station closes before they can find a mechanic, eat, or ask for directions. Uh, [01:25:00] they think they’re stranded in the middle of the night in the middle of Quebec. Don steps out of their car to cool off, then gets back in.
They have a, a religious moment where they pray for the car to start, and of course, it miraculously does. Uh, they drive through the night and then finally to Three Rivers in time for Don to drop Rose and Cindy off at a motel so he can go play his first game with his new team. After the game, Don is invited for drinks.
We don’t even know about the game, whether they win or not. It, the, I guess it doesn’t really matter. But after the game, uh, Don is invited for drinks to celebrate. He re- he reluctantly agrees, and they go to the bar, and Don regales his new teammates with stories of, of play- of him playing for Eddie Shore and all the crazy things he, he, he put them through.
They think the stories are hilarious, and then Don realizes the time. He gets back to Rose and Cindy, but not, not before one of his new teammates says goodbye, calling him Grapes. Don doesn’t get the new nickname. The player, whose first language is clearly not English, says, “Yeah, cherry, grapes. [01:26:00] Get it?” I don’t…
He, he didn’t get it But he was in a rush, so he, he left. Yeah. So, uh, for those of you who may not know, Don Cherry’s nickname is Grapes. He’s known as Grapes, and apparently that’s the origin of the nickname. Some, like, not, like, a French Canadian decided that cherries and grapes were the same or- The same
similar enough. Yeah,
Victor: there’s grape tomatoes- Yeah … but yeah, I don’t know.
Al: Anyway, Don arrives back at the motel late, uh, only to find ano-
Victor: Oh, I… Oh, that’s what it is. What? There’s grape tomatoes, and there’s cherry tomatoes, and clearly this guy confused the two and called him Grapes, uh, because of that grape tomato and cherry tomato combination.
Al: None of that-
Tanya: Maybe because- … makes it better … grapes and cherries have seed, uh, have a pit.
Al: I don’t know. May- maybe the French word for grapes and, and the French word for cherries is similar. I don’t know. No.
Tanya: Oh, that’s a look-up right there.
Al: Grape is raisin. Cherry is not raisin, so- I don’t know.[01:27:00]
Oh, man. Anyway- Don arrives back at the motel late only to find an upset and hungry Rose and Cindy. It’s Sunday evening, and everything in Quebec is closed. They haven’t eaten since dinner the previous night. Don feels terrible. He takes Rose and Sydney, Cindy back to the bar, bar he just left. The players- Do you
Tanya: re- sorry.
Al: Yeah?
Tanya: Do you remember back when everything was closed on a Sunday?
Al: Oh, I know. It’s crazy.
Tanya: Like, everything was closed. Yeah. I,
Mat: I remember that, too. Yeah.
Tanya: I remember those.
Mat: I know I’m the young guy here, so I just wanna let you know that I do also remember that.
Tanya: It was so a thing. It was like, it was a, it was a thing.
You had to get out and get whatever you needed because it, nothing was open on Sunday. Yeah.
Mat: Well, I remember one of the first- I think Chinese
Victor: restaurants were still open.
Mat: Yeah. One of the first things I remember starting to open on Sundays were Tim Hortons, actually.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: That tracks. Like, something, they would be open for drive-through and stuff.
I’m like, “Oh, look at that.”
Al: For breakfast maybe and lunch. Yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Al: Mm. All right. They’re back at the bar. The players welcome Grapes back. Rose sits with the player wives, and they welcome her and her, [01:28:00] and, and give her- Cindy … and Cindy food. Uh, next up we get a multiple-year time jump showing, uh, Don’s nomadic, uh, moves across the hockey landscape.
He only spends one year in Three Rivers and then a stop in Kitchener, Ontario, in year seven. Rose loved that stop best. Shout out to our buddy Colin. Uh, then year eight in Sudbury, shout out to Michelle, uh, where it was so cold Don says he saw a tree explode.
Tanya: Is that a thing?
Al: I don’t, I don’t think so, but Don Cherry thinks it is.
Uh, then in year nine- … Don found hims- himself back in Springfield and once again under the thumb of Eddie Shore. Egan was still coach, which means Don was still suspended without pay. Uh, during a game where Don wasn’t playing, he saw, uh, Punch and Lack in the tunnel. Punch had gone on to coach with the Leafs already.
Uh, he noticed Don, and he notices Don and goes over to say hi. He asks Don how he’s doing and even asks about Rose and the family by name. Don lies and says everything’s good. Punch wishes Don luck as he leaves. [01:29:00] After a stop in Spokane, uh, Don ends up in Rochester for his 10th season. It is when h- they finally decide to buy a house and put down some roots, and they have their second child, Tim.
Uh, Tim is the one who wrote them and produced th- these movies and all the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Hockey videos and everything. Um, that’s wh- or let’s see. Uh, yeah, that’s when Don, or sorry, that’s when Punch gives Don a lifetime opportunity to scrimmage with the Maple Leafs. During the scrimmage, Don thinks it’s his last chance to make an impression with an N- NHL club
Clip: I, you see that young Ron Ellis?
Victor: Believe me, he is gonna be one of the greats.
Clip: I know there’s been a lot of talk about college, but, uh, don’t put any stock in that rumor. He’ll stay. I’ll make him an offer he won’t be able to say no to. [01:30:00] When I saw Allan skating with his head down, I just couldn’t resist. I figured checking the big star would get me noticed.
Oh, yeah, got me noticed all right. Get that 50 cent hockey player off the ice before he kills my million-dollar hockey player.
Mat: And that’s the origin story of 50 Cent. Look at the foreshadowing on Ron Ellis, eh? Like, on how famous he was gonna be.
Al: Oh, yeah. Oh, he did end up having a great career. So luckily, Don Cherry did not end his career.
Mat: Didn’t Ron Ellis play in the, uh… No. Am I mixing that up?
Al: No. Well, Ron Ellis became a, a great Maple Leaf.
Um- But yeah, Don Cherry didn’t end Ron Ellis’ career, he only ended his own career That’s right … with that one. That was,
Victor: uh, [01:31:00] another football-
Al: Yeah, exactly … scenario. Yeah. So after the humiliating, uh, scrimmage, Don went back to Rochester and assumed the role of wise old veteran, showing players how to add extra cotton to their knee pads, just like the veteran did for him all those seasons ago back in Hershey.
Don seemed right at home in the role as mentor. Uh, Rochester coach Jo- Joe Cro- Crozier, played by Chris Sigurdson, a veteran Canadian actor known for The Porter and Night Hunter, uh, confides in Don on how he’s dealing with the players. Don sees how he deals with players, and he isn’t a fan. Uh, but Crozier asks the players to vote for a new team captain, and Don wins unanimously.
Which, with Don as their captain, the Rochester Americans win the s- the Calder Cup in 1965, ’66, and ’68. Uh, and that’s where we’re going to stop for this first, m- uh, movie. So this is the first half of the first movie. Uh, and- The first
Victor: quarter
Al: So the first quarter- Yeah … of the movie. Whatever. Whatever you want to say.[01:32:00]
Victor: Yeah, yeah.
Al: We’re gonna stop there. Of our
Tanya: miniseries.
Al: Yeah, yeah. The minist- miniseries. Um, yeah. Oh, I didn’t… Oh, I don’t have my, my horn call, ’cause I’m on my Letterkenny soundboard. But anyway, uh, we’re not gonna do any ratings today, but let’s just talk about what we’ve seen so far. Uh, oh, I guess the lineup started with me.
Um, so my observations so far in this. Love the, the production design. I think, uh, it’s fun- it’s funny you say, I think it was Matt, you said it, it reminds you of the, the Heritage Moments. Yeah, that Canadian Heritage- You’re so right. It- Yeah … it so does. It, it’s got that same feel and texture and, and color grading and all that stuff.
Yeah, I’m just
Mat: waiting for someone to call out asking if they smell burnt toast.
Al: Yeah, yeah. That’s it. Um, yeah, really well done. But, uh, I’m, I’m enjoying it so far. Uh, and I mean, Keeso does a great impression of Don, Don Cherry. He doesn’t look like Cherry at all, if you wa- if you look at old pictures of Don Cherry.
But after a while, it doesn’t matter, ’cause he- he’s embodied the, the character [01:33:00] and, and has done a great job. Uh, the actress who plays Rose is amazing. She’s very, uh, charismatic. Uh, I love the job she’s doing so far. And the, the Punch Imlach character is as despicable as you want him to be. And, and the- No, no.
Uh, Shore So not Punch- Eddie, Eddie Shore … but, but Eddie Shore. Eddie Shore. Eddie Shore is as despicable as you want him to be. Punch is, is actually… It, it’s, it’s really well done. So far it’s really well done. Um, and I, I’ve, I’ve been really enjoying it. And just the whole era of it, uh- You know, you know, thinking you can cure a broken toe with hot and cold water is ridiculous.
Just the way things are with, you know, courting rituals back then, you know, were, were kind of ridiculous as well. V- Victor, you had a comment. I think you said that something happened.
Victor: Yeah. Well, we didn’t get to it yet.
Al: Oh, it’s not there. Okay.
Victor: So it will be, it will be in part two. But, uh, but let’s… Yeah. Yeah.
So let’s not talk about it now- Okay … but we’ll definitely, uh, circle back.
Al: But, uh, yeah, so far the whole period and era of it i- is a lot of fun to watch. And, uh, again, if you don’t know anything about [01:34:00] Don Cherry, then this may not mean anything to you, but so far it’s been enjoyable, and it all… it’s all kind of lining up.
But then we’re also seeing all these connections to Shores- Letterkenny and Shoresy and, and what Keso’s going, gonna go on to do. Matt, what did you think?
Mat: Yeah, I mean, I, I’ve always said I’m not a sports guy, but I like a good sports story. And, uh, getting to see this one of a name of someone who I’ve always known my whole life, whether I watch sports or not, um, it’s interesting.
It’s good, uh, you know, to see how far he truly dated back.
Clip: Mm.
Mat: Um, even learning something as simple as he never actually played the NHL, with the exception of I guess that one game, um, was interesting. I always just assumed he was a player. Mm. I know he became a coach, and then a broadcast and all that, but I always assumed he was a player.
Um, so that alone was a, was an interesting fact to me. Um, the, the look and feel of it is, is very, uh, very nice to, to, to watch. And I, I can’t help it, I’m not sure, you, you said something [01:35:00] that Toronto Mike said, something about tell the legend, not the- Yeah … what was the line? Print
Al: the legend, not the truth.
And, uh, yes.
Mat: Print the legend, not the truth. So as I’m watching this and knowing, you know, I definitely have, have heard Don Cherry speak and all that, this, the movie kinda reminds you, have you ever seen the movie Big Fish?
Victor: Oh,
Mat: yeah. Um-
Victor: Oh, yeah, that was a great movie …
Mat: right? Fucking love
Al: that movie, yeah.
Mat: Right?
Fantastic movie. And, and like some of the, um, depictions of what’s going on m- kind of re- like made me feel like Big Fish, where I’m like, “Did this really happen?” Yeah,
Al: yeah.
Mat: Or is this an exaggeration of a version of what happened? But either way, it’s fun to watch. Yeah. It was an ab- absolutely absurd time in, in the world and, and sports.
Um, and it’s interesting just to see it all, uh, all play out in front of us. So no, I’m, I’m really enjoying it. I’m looking forward to, uh, continuing the, the series.
Al: Uh, Tam, what did you think of that first quarter?
Tanya: Uh, it was good. It was, uh, it was, um, a nice, um, [01:36:00] flashback to the way things were. Um, I was surprised that he didn’t ask, um, Rose’s dad for her hand.
Al: I remember you commenting that during the movie. Ooh. He’s like, “You should have asked him for permission first.” Yeah. Yeah.
Tanya: That’s a, ’cause-
Victor: Oh, may- oh, so then that did happen in this half? Because we didn’t see a scene about it, so that is what I was talking about.
Al: Yeah, he, yeah, he went over to propose.
Victor: Okay.
Yeah. So then we can talk about it- Yeah, yeah … because again, there was, we didn’t cover that scene. Mm.
Al: So- Sorry, I didn’t, I didn’t clip it, but no …
Victor: he, well, you
Al: know. ‘Cause not a lot was said during the scene, right? He, he-
Victor: One job. But anyway- You did talk
Mat: about it though, Al.
Al: I did I got you on this one. Thank you, man, yes.
Victor: Yeah, it was a, it was a, it’s an important scene, but it was- Mm … like so, you know, it starts with him- Having to meet the parents, but he doesn’t even go down on one knee. Right. He doesn’t even ask her.
Al: No, he doesn’t. He just shows
Victor: her the ring. He doesn’t even- Yeah, well, ’cause- He doesn’t even ask her- Yeah
like he did like a total Neanderthal move. Like it’s like-
Tanya: But after, after showing himself to be such a gentleman and, and showing- It didn’t make sense … to be
Victor: polite-
Tanya: That part- … and everything- Yeah …
Mat: that didn’t, it didn’t- He didn’t even offer to wash her dishes or anything, like.
Victor: No, it just, that [01:37:00] part didn’t make sense to me.
Yeah, it didn’t. Like- Yeah … why didn’t you even a- Like, he never, he never got down on a knee. Mm. He didn’t ask. It was just assumed, and he didn’t ask the parents, which is, you totally- Yeah … well, he- Back then … he,
Al: he was established- Back then … as a sh- socially awkward person, uh, in the beginning there, right?
Like, he, he doesn’t become- I guess … the, the, the loud, boisterous character that we know until later. Uh- Yeah … so in the beginning, he, yeah, he doesn’t say much, right? Like, when he first gets introduced to her, he sits there quietly and, and mumbles- Yeah … a few things, but he doesn’t say much, right?
Tanya: Mm. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, no, I thought that that was a little, um, out of character for what I thought, who, who I thought he was- Mm-hmm … or how they had at least portrayed him at the beginning of being polite, well-mannered. Um, and even going to the house, you know, you, you can’t go on a date until you meet the parents. Um, so that just kind of didn’t, um, yeah, that, that didn’t seem right to me.
But anyway, and, and, and I made the comment right away that- Mm … he, he forgot to ask. [01:38:00] Um, uh, was it in this episode too about, no, that he was laid off?
Al: Uh, not yet, no. Okay. Yeah. Which time? Well, yeah.
Mat: Spoiler.
Tanya: Sorry. Um- Well,
Al: no, he’s just been traded a bunch of times. Like, every time he, you know- Got you. Yeah … assau- assaults his coach and/or team owner, he gets traded or, or benched, right?
Tanya: Um, I, I love- Fair I love the scenes of, um, them in the dressing room, and I love, like, when they were, um, throwing the, the towel at him and he was trying to get the stitches and stuff Yeah And if that’s true, if he truly had that many stitches in his face- Right … then hell yeah. Everybody, um, and you should, like, start buying all the cocoa butter or whatever that you can for your scars.
‘Cause Allan’s scar is, like, hella huge on his wrist. But
Victor: you have to use it while it’s happening, not, [01:39:00] like, years after.
Tanya: Well, uh, y- something’s better than nothing. So we gotta, we gotta get it, get it going.
Al: The best time was to do it was then. The best, the next best time is now, right?
Tanya: Yeah. Yeah. There you go.
There you go. It was, it was fun. I’m looking forward to, to, to having a, a next round.
Al: All right. And Victor, y- your final comment… Or not final, l- like, your thoughts on this first quarter.
Victor: Sure. Yeah, it was, it was good. It was a l- it was a bit frustrating, right? ‘Cause he’s just, it’s just kind of watching Charlie Brown.
Mm-hmm. Right? So, uh- I love that
Tanya: reference …
Victor: yeah, and, and just the, the Ron Ellis, uh, scene, it was, it was heartbreaking. Mm-hmm. It’s ’cause you knew it was gonna happen. Yeah. And, and when he does, like, “You idiot. What are you doing?” And s- and you just felt like, you just feel so bad and just like, “Okay, your career is done.”
Yeah. You’re, that’s it.
Al: And he was, you could tell he was proud of what he did right up until he got yelled at. Like, he- Yeah … even after Ellis goes down like a sack of- Yeah … whatever, he was still like- Nailed it I did it. [01:40:00] Yeah. He was, he came in with his head down. He, he, uh, he was asking for it, and- Yeah …
Victor: yeah.
Yeah.
Al: That’s-
Victor: But, but again, Sarah, Sarah I think, like, again, very, uh, not underrated, but like, uh, just, you know, she sh- it… She made the scenes that she was in. Yeah. Like, she, she, she was so good. And then if you listen to the interviews, Keso loved the scenes when they are, when she’s removing the stitches. Mm.
Like, all those scenes because they’re like, like, so, so close. Mm-hmm. And so when in, in kind of doing that dialogue, um, felt very special to him. Uh, and, uh, it w- it was, uh, uh… So he called those scenes out as something very, very special. And I, you, you know, so that’s where kinda you start to see, you know, the human side and- Yeah
you know, it’s not just the big, dumb ape of a-
Clip: Yeah …
Victor: of a, of a hockey player. So it’s pretty good. Again, very r- reminiscent of the whole Shoresy- Mm … Laura Mort, right? Um- Yeah … uh, uh, so, so yeah, it was, it was good. But I, I… A lot of frustration- Mm-hmm … ’cause [01:41:00] there’s like you’re… It just… You’re… It’s… He’s the, he’s the character that just, just perpetually loses.
He’s the Frasier, Frasier Crane or whatever, right? Uh, just whatever.
Al: Yeah, not quite as el- But yeah, it was good … eloquently spoken, but yeah.
Victor: Yeah.
Al: Amazing. All right. Well, before we move on to final comments, uh, I just wanna talk a little news here. I’ve been, uh, busy moving the podcast over to our new home on the Sonar Pod- Podcast Network, but I’ve also been working on making our Patreon feed, uh, more engaging.
Uh, Matt, get ready. Uh, as always, our patrons enjoy early access to interviews and a bunch of bonus content. Uh, but now that we’re on the Sonar Network, you may have noticed that ads have become appearing in our episodes. Uh, they help us pay for the production and hosting expenses, so trust me, we’re not getting rich on this podcast.
But the good news is, if you are a patron, you can get all the bonus content and our usual episodes commercial-free. There’s a separate Patreon feed you can subscribe to. Just go to our Patreon site. There’s a link in the show notes. Uh, go to the link [01:42:00] Membership tab and follow the instructions at the bottom relating to whichever podcast app you use.
Uh, and Matt, would you like to shout out our patrons?
Mat: Yes, I would absolutely love to do that, and we have nothing but love for all of you. So big shout-outs to Jack from Melbourne, Josh from Pennsylvania, Chad from Minnesota, Adrian from Maine, Awesome from California, Trace from Mississippi, Liz, Michigan, Jason from Indianapolis, Justin from the UK, Ryan from Maryland, Matt, myself, from Toronto, Michelle from Sudbury, Robbie from Idaho, Mike from New Jersey, Joey- Joey Joey from Colorado, Casey from Virginia, Jeff from Maine, Miriam from Toronto, Nick from Las Vegas.
I haven’t seen Nick in forever. How you doing, Nick?
Al: I know. It’s been a… I, I reached out to him- Right? … to see how he’s doing, but I haven’t heard from him in a while. Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: Uh, Aaron from Chicago, Gord from Toronto, Dennis from the UK, Jen from Virginia, Noah from Upstate New York, Scott from Parts Unknown.
That’s a really good show, by the way. [01:43:00] Um, Cassie from Simcoe, Rebecca from Nebraska, Dennis from Michigan, Sarah from Wisconsin, Casey from North Carolina, Jay from Edmonton, Jeremy from Perth, Catherine from Texas, Tobias from Missouri, PJ from Pennsylvania, Paddle from Rhode Island, Dave from Michigan, Charlie from Massachusetts, and our newest member to join, Teresa from Texas.
Thank you all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your continued support.
Al: Yes. Thank you so much. It, it means so much. And to, to, to, you know, Teresa, thank you for joining. She just joined in the last couple of weeks, so, uh, folks are still listening and, and still, uh, hopefully getting some value, uh, being patrons.
So if you guys, uh, wanna support us and like what we’re doing, uh, please join ’cause we’re gonna promise to do more stuff for our patrons and, and, uh, and make it worth your while. Uh, now final comments, and it starts with me. Guys, this has been a lot of fun. It’s been way too long, and to be back to reviewing anything, even if it isn’t Letterkenny or Shores [01:44:00] related, it’s close.
It’s, it’s, it’s Keso. And, uh- Adjacent … it’s adjacent, yeah. And, um-
Tanya: Is it still considered in the universe? N-
Victor: no. I, I feel this is origin. I, I don’t think it’s adjacent.
Al: It’s like an origin story. Yeah, maybe it’s an origin to the universe, yeah. Uh, guys, great job. A lot of fun. Can’t wait to, to do the second half of the first part next week-
the second quarter. Um, and, uh, and, and to continue this. Um, Matt?
Mat: We gotta figure our shit out.
Al: Right, yeah.
Mat: That… So the conversation that we alluded to briefly today when we were trying to figure out what we were all doing tonight- … and I couldn’t stop laughing, um, and didn’t know how it was all gonna pan out until we got here, and still it went a little bit differently-
and I’m very happy that it did. So, um, this was fun. I needed this laugh, y’all. Um, love you guys, and I can’t wait to keep this one going. This is just… Yeah, this is a fun series. I’m enjoying it.
Al: And Tanya?
Tanya: Um, are we doing, like, unicorn and, like, ratings or- Not yet … are we [01:45:00] holding it all to the end?
Al: Yeah. We’ll, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll do it at the end of each movie, which is…
So at next week we can rate the first movie.
Tanya: So this wasn’t the first movie? This is only the first
Victor: half of the first movie. The, the part one of movie
Al: one. Y- yes. Yeah. Well, we’ll rate part one next week.
Tanya: Part one of one and two?
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: Okay.
Al: Just, just go with it Stop asking questions. Just go with it. All right.
This is exactly how the conversation- Just, just let it happen … in
here went today. Yes.
Tanya: And, and, and I woke up and, uh, had my whirlwind of, like, school and getting everything going, and I think there was, like, 20 messages by- … like, 8:00.
Al: Between Victor and Matt, and I’m like, I, I was … Yeah. Anyway,
Tanya: no worries. That was, that was a lot of fun, so thank you for, for- I kept calling out for
Mat: Al.
Tanya: That was a funny morning. Um, no, this is terrific. I l- I love, um, seeing your faces, and, um, this is a lot of fun. Can’t wait, uh, for next week.
Al: All right. Victor?
Victor: Yeah, so I’m glad we so smartly had the consensus to do it the way that [01:46:00] we ended up doing it- … because had we done it the newly proposed way, by some, by some on this call that we don’t have to name, uh, we would’ve been only- Oh
halfway through the episode at this point.
Al: It’s true.
Victor: Um, so so I think-
Al: In
Victor: my
Al: defense, I thought, I didn’t think I was gonna go as in depth with my script this time. But then I started writing the script, and like, shit, it’s, I’m doing it. Yeah. So anyway. And
Mat: I have indifferent play on this, so I’m just- … do what I
Victor: want.
Anyway, it, it ha- it ended up being the way it should’ve always been, and now we’ve got- The way you said it, yes. And now we’ve set- That’s it … yeah, and now we’ve set a precedent. Mm-hmm. And now we can continue with the winning formula. Mm-hmm. So I think that’s fantastic.
Al: All right.
Victor: So, uh, can’t wait till the next one.
Al: All right. I’m gonna play us off here with Daniel’s favorite song, Your Man by Joji.
That’s all we have for this [01:47:00] episode. Next week we recap the second half of the first part of the first movie. So if you’re enjoying this story, make sure you come back for that. That’s gonna be a while. Until then, if you’d like
Tanya: to- How do people, how do people find it for themselves?
Al: Uh, on, uh, on, um, Amazon.
Good luck. Apparently it’s on Amazon in the US, just not up here
Tanya: in Canada. Go find it on Amazon and, and- Yes … and watch it with us.
Al: Yes.
Tanya: We’re on part two of part one.
Al: Part… Exactly. Until then, if you’d like to support the podcast, become a patron or tell a friend. Also, follow us on Blue Sky, @protusandpod. Uh, thank you for joining us.
Now we’re going to the after party. On behalf of Tanya, Matt, Victor, and myself, thank you for listening and have a great week.
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