TPS318: The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story, Episode 1, Part 2

This week on The Produce Stand, we celebrate six years of TPS and finish our recap and review of The Wrath of Grapes Part 1.

After Don Cherry’s disastrous season in Colorado, his coaching career appears to be over. But when Hockey Night in Canada comes calling, Grapes begins an unlikely second act that will eventually make him one of the most recognizable personalities in Canadian television.

We follow Don through his awkward first appearances on television, where producer Ralph Mellanby recognizes something special beneath the wrong cameras, mangled names and refusal to follow directions. Mellanby’s advice to stop saying “I think” and start trusting his instincts helps transform the hesitant analyst into the Don Cherry audiences would come to know.

As Coach’s Corner begins taking shape, Jared Keeso seemingly disappears into the role, while Don’s growing popularity puts him increasingly at odds with CBC executives.

We wrap things up with our ratings and MVPs.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:00:57 – How Was Your Week?
• 00:16:28 – Don’t Bore Us Get To The Chorus (Episode Recap)
• 01:18:07 – Initial Thoughts
• 01:25:46 – Ratings
• 01:30:04 – MVPs
• 01:32:40 – Patreon Roll Call
• 01:35:12 – Final Comments
• 01:38:26 – Outro

Episode Rating:

• Tanya: Fresh
• Victor: Fresh
• Al: Fresh
• Mat: Fresh

Episode MVP:

• Victor: Rose & Mellanby phone Scene
• Al: Harold Cotton
• Mat: Ralph Mellanby
• Tanya: Ralph Mellanby

Links:

• Opening Theme: Rightfully Mine by Poised For The Worm
• Closing Theme: Inebriation by Poised For The Worm
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• Join Our Patreon

Clip: [00:00:00] That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty. What do youse listen to? My Favorite Murder podcast. Taggart and Torrance Podcast. The Produce Stand. Oh, fucking sexy.

Al: It’s Thirsty Thursday, and that means we are once again hanging at The Produce Stand, podcast covering everything in the universe.

I know what you’re thinking. There are a lot of other Letterkenny podcasts out there, but this one just turned six years old. Happy birthday to us.

Clip: Happy

Mat: birthday.

Al: Did it really? Yes, happy anniversary- Bonafet … everyone.

Mat: We made it, guys.

Al: I’m Al, your host, and joining me in the room, as always, is the lovely Tanya.

And online we’ve got Squirrely Matt and the very offensive Victor. How are you guys?

Tanya: Like it. I like Victor’s name.

Mat: Yes. I’m good. I’m good.

Al: All right, well let’s

Mat: get- Fixing… I’m just fixing something.

Al: Okay. Let me know when you’re ready, but I’m not gonna wait.

Mat: No, no, you’re, you know- Oh … yeah, don’t worry, you’ll see when I’m ready.

Al: [00:01:00] Tonight’s lineup is Tanya, Victor- Oh … myself, and Matt. My. Tanya, how have you been?

Tanya: Oh, man. Our, our, uh, I wasn’t ready to go first. I should have looked up more. It says it. Um, so uh, we have the worst air quality in the world at the moment. Um, and it fricking sucks. Um, outside, uh, yesterday? Was it yes- Yeah, yesterday woke up and, um, the s- the sky was the weirdest color I’ve ever seen in my li- e- ever.

Ever, ever.

Al: Like- Yeah, something out of a post-apocalyptic movie …

Tanya: it was, it was like, to the point where I, I did try to open up the curtains, and then I got so freaked out and sad I closed everything and turned the lights on so I could just pretend that it was night outside and not have to look at it, ’cause it was freaking me out.

Um, but yeah, it’s pretty gross out there. And, um, um, I’m hoping… That we have rain in the forecast [00:02:00] for, like, the whole week next week. I think it’s supposed to start on, uh, Saturday or Sunday, so I’m hoping that that, uh, relieves some of this air problems. Um, that’s been, uh… Other than that, it’s been a, a hectic, busy week.

We’re, we’re getting ready for, uh, friends to, to visit.

Clip: Mm-hmm.

Tanya: And, uh, we’re going to be on vacation. Oh my God, I’m so excited to be on vacation. I need a mental break. I need to stop and I need to have some fun. Um, and I’m so looking forward to it. I don’t know what I’m looking forward to most. There’s so many s- great things that, uh, is on the list.

Um, but yeah, looking forward to that. And, uh, yeah. That’s about it

Al: I might argue I’m going through a mental break now. But anyway, um, Victor, how have you been, bud?

Tanya: Oh, I feel like that’s directed towards me though. You, did

Victor: you say mental breakdown or mental

Al: break? Oh, mental break.

Victor: Okay.

Al: Tanya’s looking forward to a mental break, and I think I’m having a mental break now.[00:03:00]

Victor: Um, she… Yeah, she’s taking receipts. Um, so yeah, things are good. I don’t know what’s going on with, uh, Matty’s background, though. Um- Oh.

Mat: Oh.

Victor: It’s, it’s

Mat: anatomically correct.

Al: That’s a-

Victor: Yeah …

Al: Matt has taken your background and im- and corrected it, improved it.

Victor: I had a feeling he was gonna do that, so I changed mine- Mm-hmm

slightly. So now- It’s

Al: still incorrect … you putting the

Mat: McKenna jersey- It’s still in- You putting the McKenna jersey, or is that always up there?

Tanya: The Skydome is in the lake in yours, Victor.

Mat: Yeah.

Victor: Yeah, but… Yeah, but I’ve got McKenna’s jersey framed- Mm-hmm. Yeah … uh, instead of, uh- Forgot how to hit home runs Guerrero.

Um-

Mat: We don’t need to talk about Vlade. We got Big, we got Big Oak.

Victor: Yeah, okay. Hey, uh, we got the, our pitcher i, in what I think might be the worst all-star game of all time, got the win. Mm-hmm. Um, so that’s fun.

Al: You’re talking baseball, yeah.

Victor: [00:04:00] Keys, yeah. Key- Keys … like our, our… It’s, whatever. Keys, Cease. Oh my

Tanya: God.

Victor: Uh, he, he- Sorry.

pitched one, he pitched… Well, yeah, go ahead.

Tanya: What? I’m, I’m just playing spot the difference. I, I can’t, I c- I can’t concentrate. My brain is split. I’m like- … why do you have a bear and not a, a hippo? And like- I’ve got a hippo … it’s like a kookaburra. What the hell do you have back there? It j- it’s, it’s, um, my brain is broken.

Al: This is so… For people who are listening to the audio only version- And

Tanya: you’re having- …

Al: this means nothing …

Tanya: and, and it’s like Toronto Maple Leafs now instead. And I’m like spotting the dif- now I’m like go, yeah, it’s broke. And, and- I’m, I’m just gonna be quiet …

Al: Tanya’s favorite puzzles- Yeah … are the ones where there’s the two images- It really is

and she’s got a circle what’s to, what’s different. And I’m

Tanya: like, yeah, yeah.

Victor: Loyal

Mat: to the soil,

Victor: boys. Yeah. Yes.

Tanya: I’m- There,

Victor: there’s about eight- Loyal to the soil … T- there’s about eight differences between Matt’s picture and mine.

Tanya: I’ve already, I’ve already found most.

Al: Gord, uh, on the live stream says, “That is a waste of Al.”

But I’m thinking he’s meaning AI. Uh, but so-[00:05:00]

Victor: It works both ways.

Al: It does. Yeah. It does work both ways. It’s a beautiful thing. Victor- Um- … how have you been? And Matt- I, I’ve been- …

Tanya: your CN Tower’s way too tiny. Oh my

Victor: goodness.

Tanya: Sorry.

Victor: Um, that’s- Well, it, it’s more p- perspective. Actually, that’s true. My tower is a little taller than yours, Matt.

Tanya: Ah, well the girth- Um, but anyway

of the top is, is bigger on yours, Victor, than, than- You’re not

Mat: wrong. It, it, it’s a little- … as per… Whatever, Tanya.

Tanya: Oh, man. I can’t… Yeah,

Victor: my- Can we move on? We’re gonna move on.

Mat: Last time I come.

Victor: I- yeah, so, uh, what’s going on? Hey, um, I saw the trailer for the next EA NHL game- Mm-hmm … uh, today, and it’s coming out I think sometime in September.

If that thing comes out before Shoresy on my stupid Xbox- … I will be very upset. It was, I mean, when was that Fan Fest that we were at and that we met the guy? When

Clip: did you say Fan Fest?

Al: It was that in the winter. When did we- Shoresy, the Shoresy Classic. Shoresy Classic. Shoresy Classic. It was, I think, in November.

[00:06:00] Yeah.

Victor: And we met the designer and he said, “Yeah, it’s coming out.” Well,

Al: the game’s been on Steam for, for, for months. It’s just ha- hasn’t gone on the consoles yet.

Victor: Yeah, yeah. It was, it had a date- Mm … and then it passed that date, and then they removed the date, and now there’s no date.

Al: Oh.

Victor: But it’s still coming.

But anyway, whatever. Um- What’s been going on? I’ve been… You know, obviously the World Cup, so we’ve got our finalists. Um, uh, I forget, forgot… Yeah, yeah, but Portugal was already out the last time we chatted, so we- Yeah, so

Al: it’s Spain versus Argentina on Sunday for, for all- Wait, Portugal’s out? … all the marbles.

Victor: Does your neighborhood

Tanya: not know that?

Victor: And, and, and France- It’s quiet around here … in Italy. France and England are playing for third spot. Mm-hmm.

Al: So

Victor: that’s, that’s happening on Saturday. Um, uh, so yeah, so that’s, that’s going on. Silo, the next season, it just came out, so I’m looking forward to watching that.

That’s a really, really good show. Uh, I think it’s the third season that’s coming out now- Mm … uh, or-

Al: Haven’t seen any, any of them, uh, yet, [00:07:00] but, uh-

Victor: Oh, I super, super recommend that one. It’s really- I hear

Al: good things, yeah.

Victor: Yeah, yeah. Um, and we watched the first episode of that new, uh, uh, Little House on the Prairie show that, uh-

Al: Oh, yeah

came out. I’m, uh- The Clean Fish … we’re gonna watch that ’cause we’re gonna have- The Clean Fish … we’re gonna have, um- The Clean Fish, yeah … The Clean Fish back on the podcast to talk about it. So make sure you do your homework.

Victor: Yeah, yeah. Well, so, you know, like, I’m watching it really just because of Linda. She loved the original- Sure

and, uh, and you know, uh, if you’re actually… If you give it a chance and pay attention and don’t scroll, scroll, I think it’s, it’s probably a good show.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Victor: Um, but, uh,

Al: it’s not- It doesn’t- … it’s not something I picked … it, it doesn’t look like, uh- It’s not something I picked … it doesn’t look like the Michael Landon Little House on the Prairie.

Oh, really? No. It looks, it looks a little more, um, I don’t know, uh- No … more r- raw, realistic kind of thing. Is it set in that

Tanya: same

Al: time period? More of a mixed cut up. Well, yeah. It’s, it’s the story, right? It’s just- Yeah … I think it’s a little more realistic about how life was in, in that time. Yeah,

Victor: that first episode is a little slow, though.

Mm-hmm. Like, it’s not, that’s not riveting- Mm-hmm … you know? So, um, [00:08:00]

Tanya: and I think people that- But it never really was riveting. It was just, like, chill and just kind of sit back and watch it. Y-

Victor: y- yeah, that’s not why… I guess, yeah. But, um, I, I think the other thing is that you don’t really get the nostalgia factor because the s- the, uh, casting is so different.

Tanya: Oh.

Victor: Yeah. Right? You know, you get used to y- the, the characters, right? Mm-hmm. And you kind of… Y- you have to get used to these new characters. Sure. You have to learn to enjoy them and stuff like

Al: that. Kind of like watching, uh, Raps- Rats of Grapes and getting used to all the new actors playing the …

Victor: Yeah. Y- y- yeah, that’s, uh- No, there was more foundation

Mat: there

didn’t, didn’t, didn’t phase me at all.

Al: No? Okay.

Victor: Yeah. I’m, I’m looking

Al: forward to talking about- Like, you and Dan didn’t even realize that, uh, there was different actors No. I thought they were

Victor: just new people.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: I’m, I’m looking forward to this, uh- Mm-hmm … uh, uh, doing the second part, ’cause it’s everything that Matt’s been waiting for, so.

Al: Yeah. All right, well, we’ll get to it in a second. Yeah. I’m just gonna talk about my week. ‘Cause it’s been an exciting week. Uh, yesterday I got to spend the morning at New Metric Media’s offices. Uh, and w- wow, it was so exciting. I got to, uh… So our, [00:09:00] our network, our s- our friends from Sonar Network, they have, uh, some desks at New Metric Media’s offices that they kind of rent.

And, uh, they invite anybody from the network who, you know, who wants to work from their offices to go work. So I took ’em up on the offer, and, uh, I got to sit, um, and, and work at my desk and look at all… And I, I shared a bunch of pictures on the Discord of all the, the posters and stuff. I was such a tourist.

I felt bad, ’cause Michael, um, the, from Sonar, he… I mean, he, he knows about Sh- Letterkenny and Shoresy, but he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know Letterkenny and Shoresy. And I’m walking around the office going, “Oh, there’s a, you know, a vote McMurray, uh, election sign on the door. There’s, uh…” All the, the coffee mugs are, like, Letterkenny and Shoresy swag.

I grabbed a, a big sexy mug for, for my coffee. Uh, and just all the stuff. And then up in the top floor they have- Uh, the Schozer, Schozer, um, Studio, which [00:10:00] is their, um, uh, YouTube channel where they host all their, their content now. And they have a couple of really nice, uh, podcasting studios as well. So there is an opportunity and, and, and a possibility that we’d, we’d be able to record some interviews from those podcasts- Ooh

from those studios. So stay tuned. Cool. That might happen. Who knows? Nice. Uh, but in the meantime, um, it was just kinda fun to, to go and check it out and, and work from the office there. And, uh, got to… I ran into Mr. Mark Montefiore, who I was told doesn’t spend a lot of time at the office in the summer, but just so happened to be there when I was there.

And I’m sure when he saw me, he’s like, “What the, what the fuck is he doing here?” Like wondering, am, am I me being a stalker or something. And I totally wasn’t. I was there because I was invited. Um, and it was fun. So, um, yeah. Uh- Looking forward to doing it again. And Matt, you were supposed to come with me l- yesterday, but something happened I’m sure we’ll get to.

Um, but hopefully next time, I, I [00:11:00] hope to go back- Mm … maybe in August and, and, and work another day from there. And, uh, yeah, and see what we see. Matt, how have you… Oh, and, uh, speaking of things to watch, d- have you guys checked out the I Play Rocky, uh-

Mat: I know. I haven’t a chance. I saw it pop up on my feed and I’m like, “Oh, I’m

Al: already

Mat: excited.”

Trailer?

Al: It, so the actor who plays Sylvester Stallone, basic- basically it’s the story of Sylvester Stallone writing the Rocky script.

Mat: Yeah.

Al: And, and the actor they got playing him, perfect. Perfection. Yeah.

Mat: I saw it pop up. Me, before I even read anything, I’m like, “Oh my God, is this what I think it is?” Yeah.

And it is, and I’m excited.

Al: And then just reading all the, the comments on the YouTube about it is, is hilarious because it’s like, “Oh, this guy looks like he could, you know, star in I Play Rambo,” and all. Like, it’s all, they, they’re- … they’re just going on with it, right? But, uh, um, it, it looks, I mean, who knows?

Who knows what, how good it’s gonna be? But, uh, it, like, the, the casting at least is on point for it. Yeah. Matt, how have you been? [00:12:00]

Mat: Yeah, it’s been a busy week. Uh, yeah, I wasn’t able to join you yesterday. I’m still working through. We have a bit of a plumbing issue. Nothing that’s stopping everything, but I’ve gotta sort out some, some issue with my hot water heater and, uh, hopefully get that sorted out soon before things get any crazier around here.

We have our first Airbnb guests in this week, so there’s been a nice couple downstairs. Uh, they joined us on Monday, I believe. Mm-hmm. And they’re here till Monday, so they’re doing a whole week’s stay. Um, quiet. It’s been great. No issues so far, at least that we know about. Um, so yeah, that’s kinda cool. Um, just keeping us busy.

So we’re trying to… I think the most challenging thing is to, trying to convince a six-year-old not to be an asshole- … and run around the house when there’s people right below us. Mm-hmm. Right. So that- That’s

Al: the challenge with having tenants. Mm-hmm. We, we had tenants many, many… Yeah.

Tanya: Oh, do you remember that?

Yeah. Oh my God, that was stressful.

Mat: Yeah, yeah. So we’re trying to g- we’re trying to teach respect and it’s like, and we, luckily we have my office here where I do, [00:13:00] I record and everything, that this is sort of s- like, it’s not above anything. Mm-hmm. So we often come out here. So all week we’ve been, in the mornings I’ve been, like, having my little guy watch TV out here and stuff just to not be an idiot- Mm-hmm

’cause he will, he’s, he’s ADD to the max and- Right … just, uh, runs around. So anyways, it’s going well and we got a, we have a quick turnover on Monday with another guest coming in on Monday afternoon for a couple days. Um, but yeah, the Wooden Rail Airbnb is up and running and, uh- It’s exciting. We’re just gonna hope that we maintain some, uh, some tenancy and, and it works out for us.

So that’s- Yeah … that’s kinda cool. Um, and then the other thing, I know I dropped a picture in the Discord, um-

Clip: Oh, yeah. …

Mat: my, my big deck energy is about to get bigger, deckier- Oh … and more energy. Um, we… I don’t, I don’t know how this convers- We, we’ve always talked about extending the deck up to the pool that we have in there.

Clip: Mm-hmm.

Mat: Um, but didn’t really take it serious ’cause lumber’s expensive and all this. Sure. And then we got a random lead the other day [00:14:00] on these massive, uh, skids or pallets that are 10 feet by four feet, um, in length. Um, and they’re perfect for a deck. So it was actually kind of a funny story. So Jen found this guy online that had, had like 12 of these things, and it, he had a list of over $300.

So she r- messaged him and laughed, and she’s like, “I’ll give you 100 bucks.” Um, and the guy’s like, “140.” And then as she’s doing this- She finds another post of the literal exact same skid saying, “Free.” So she messages that guy and says, “I’m a little confused. I’m, I’m negotiating on over here, but you’ve got them for free.”

He’s like, “Yeah, come get them. They’re free.” And then as she’s saying that on the first conversation, the guy now scans, sends a screenshot of her conversation from the other guy, so they know each other. Oh. And it turns out they both work together at this kitchen company. Um, and he’s laughing. He’s like, “Well, I guess you get them for free now ’cause [00:15:00] I fucked up.”

Oh. And, uh- Or,

Al: or his buddy fucked up and just cost him- Yeah … some money.

Mat: It w- exactly. So it was kind of… W- when we met them, they were totally nice guys. Mm-hmm. It was a great experience. Um, they had a good laugh and, and all he says, “You know what? Here, I’ll make a deal. Bring me a six-pack of Coors and we’ll call it a day.”

Perfect. So we, we showed up with a, with a trailer, uh, a six-pack of Coors, and nicest guys in the world. They helped us load up, helped us back in. It was a really tight spot. Um, were giving us all kinds of information about kitchens if we wanted to buy one, and then out of nowhere, he’s like, “Oh, you want a mirror?”

Walks away and comes out with, like I’m talking mint, brand-new, p- fully packaged, imported from Italy mirrors. And he’s like, “Here, take all these. I got like 50 of them. We’re just gonna be throwing them away anyways.” Oh,

Al: geez.

Mat: So we came home with six of those plus a giant stack of skids and, uh, for a six-pack of beer, so couldn’t go wrong.

Al: And, uh- I feel like your Air- Airbnb is gonna have a mirrored theme next. You’re just gonna like- Call it the- … call it the fun house room.

Mat: Oh, fuck, man. But yeah, so [00:16:00] yeah, exactly. I don’t know what we’re gonna do with them all, but a couple of them- Sell them … are gonna go on our wall. Yeah, sell them. And, and so anyways, I’m building a, a deck using the skids.

I’m not gonna overcomplicate it, just build a little platform- So- … and line them up …

Al: on our six-year anniversary, uh, you are basically going back to, uh, flipping, flipping mirrors and building decks. It’s not- Mm-hmm … it’s not bicycles, but it’s mirrors, isn’t it? Yeah.

Mat: I haven’t, I haven’t evolved much.

Al: Huh, flipping and, and building.

Mat: Flipping and building.

Al: Yes. All right. Well done. Well, let’s get this thing started, shall we?

Clip: Previously-

Al: Last week we- … on Letterkenny Last week we began the second miniseries with part one of the Wrath of Grapes, and this week we finish off part one and give our ratings and MVPs. Uh, have you guys done your homework?

Tanya, have you done your homework?

Mat: Yes.

Al: Victor, have you done your homework?

Mat: It is.

Al: I’ve done my homework. Matt, have you done your homework?

Mat: Hell yeah. Fuck yeah.

Al: All right, well let’s get- Don’t

Mat: bore us, get to the

Al: chorus. All right. We left off last week after being shown the door in Colorado, Don Cherry found a new home on Hockey Night in Canada.

I guess I gotta share my screen so I [00:17:00] can s- show all this stuff. One moment here, please.

So we pick up with another flashback. Oh, wait, hold on. Sorry, gotta do this

Okay, we pick up with another flashback to Don’s junior hockey days in Barrie under Hap Emms. Uh, one of Don’s teammates named Rick made the mistake of sneaking out with a girl the night before. Hap finds out and immediately makes an example of him. Rick is sent home while the rest of the team gets dressed for the game.

Well, everyone except Don, who doesn’t dress but ends up, uh, in the stands acting as goal, uh, goal judge. At just 16 years old, Don th- thinks his hockey career is already slipping away. Frustrated, Don tells one of his teammates he’s had enough. If Hap isn’t going to play him, then he should trade him. His teammate warns him that’s a terrible idea.

It could end his career before it even [00:18:00] begins. But Don marches into Hap’s office anyway.

Clip: My problem is, if you’re not gonna give me a chance to play, I wanna go some other place, and I wanna dress and get on the ice and be part of the team. A lot of boys your age would kill for the chance to be in your shoes.

You want out? I wanna play hockey. I don’t care where I go.

Bring your bag tomorrow

Perhaps lending me to the Windsor Spitfires for the rest of the season. No, it’s, it’s great news. The only thing is, uh, I have to quit school. Oh, you can’t quit school, Donald. You’d regret that all your life. I, I have to. I wanna play hockey and there’s no other way. Well, I, I know you wanna play hockey, but y- [00:19:00] you can’t play forever, no matter how good you are, and if you haven’t finished high school, well y- you could be at such a disadvantage.

Mom. Mom, I have to do this It’s a hard world out there. You could ruin your life. I, I never thought you would quit school

I’ll be all right. You’ll see. And one day you’ll be sitting in the stands watching me play in the NHL. I gotta go, Ma. Say hi to Dad. Bye Sometimes without knowing it, you make a choice that changes your life forever. And Mom was right. I’ve regretted it ever since

Al: All right, Tan. What do you think of that scene?

Tanya: Oh, it’s so hard to watch. I, my heart goes out to

the mom. Like, it’s like [00:20:00] you see something- You would take her

Al: side …

Tanya: you see something and, and the, where it’s gonna go, and it’s like, try to stop it, and no. Anyways, uh, but what I wanna know is why would the coach even, uh, suggest such a thing? Like, is that what happens or happened?

Al: Oh, it kind of still happen.

I mean, the, it, hockey in Canada, the junior system in Canada anyway, it’s not tied to schools like it is in, in the US, right? In the US, an NCAA system, ho- basketball players, football players, they all go through college, university.

Victor: Hockey too.

Al: Well, yeah, they do. But, but for the most part, or back then anyway, the, the route- Yeah

to, to hockey wasn’t- No, I mean today … through school.

Victor: Sorry. Yeah, yeah. I mean, today NCAA for hockey is huge.

Al: Yeah. But it wasn’t back then. Back then- No … juniors were, and juniors had nothing to do with ho- with, with school. Like, if you had the time, you had the spare time, sure, you can go to school, but don’t let it interfere with hockey.

Tanya: Wow.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: Wow. That is, that’s-

Al: And some coaches- … a terrible system … like, like Hap Em, he did, though, [00:21:00] uh, prioritize, uh, education with his players. He was known to anyway. Um, but because now he was moving over to Windsor, where they didn’t care, that’s why, uh, Don Cherry had to stop, you know, quit school.

Tanya: And what, did he ever go back?

Did anyone look it up? Does- Did he get

Al: his- Not by the sounds of it.

Tanya: He didn’t get his,

Al: uh- No. ‘Cause he, he said he regretted it ever since, so he probably never went back, no. I, uh, just listening to Tyler Johnson, y- you know, w- with, with that accent, you know, saying other instead of other and stuff, it’s just kind of weird

Victor: You wouldn’t need a speech coach if you went back to college.

Al: Right. Yeah, and we’ll get to that. But, uh, yeah, Victor, what did you think of that scene?

Victor: Uh, yeah, it was a good scene. But I, like, I feel like that, a scene like that- Mm-hmm … just, again, makes you forget that there was a first movie. Um, just because it’s so complete, right? It takes you back to his childhood, and it kind of recreates that whole timeline for you that you almost kind of…

very [00:22:00] easy to forget that there was- Mm … this whole other movie that we just finished watching. Yeah. Because this is, uh, it’s building a story without any gaps. Yeah. Um, so it’s, it’s, uh, it’s very good.

Al: Uh, Matt?

Mat: Yeah, I, I agree with Victor. It’s, it’s, it just kind of carrying on. It’s, it’s… I know we’re, we’re seeing a different point in time, but the bounce back and forth, um, along this movie is really…

Yeah, it almost feels unnecessary for the person, even though it was really an interesting take on everything. But I mean, I… my only take on this scene, though, on specifically, was I felt the mom was very light. Um, I, I can’t… I, I feel like… and maybe it was just a different time.

Clip: Mm.

Mat: Um, and that could be part of it, but she’s just like, “Oh, okay.

Like, you know, you probably will regret it.” But I, I- … I think any m- modern parent would be like, “Hell you are.” Mm. Like, are you… like, you don’t even- Yeah, but

Victor: it’s Tim’s, it’s Tim’s inter- in- interpretation, and he wasn’t there- Right … to see it.

Clip: Yeah, that’s

Mat: true. Sure. But it st- it just seems the delivery of that scene seemed [00:23:00] very, like, the mom just like, “Oh…”

Like, he’s what, 16? Is that what we’re saying?

Clip: Yeah, yeah.

Mat: Yeah. And it’s like, “I, okay, I g- I… Are you sure?” Mm. Like, it’s, it’s… We’re not negotiating over whether you wanna eat your peas or not. Mm. It’s like, this is school.

Clip: Yeah.

Mat: Um, so but whatever. It is what it is, and, and clearly it worked out for him. And in the, in the idea of that he regretted ever since knowing what his future was, I find that interesting comment as well.

Clip: Mm-hmm.

Mat: Mm-hmm. So I, I’m actually curious if we get Tim on to- Ask about that specifically, uh, on that comment about regretted ever since and what Cherry’s take on it and, and how that fit into that because it clearly led-

Victor: We have to start writing those questions down.

Mat: Right? It clearly led to, it clearly led to a lot of things- Mm-hmm

throughout his life making this choice, so where’s the regret coming from?

Al: I think the, I mean, we see a lot of the regret in the first movie when he was going from job to job and all he could do when he wasn’t playing hockey was work construction or work, uh, on the railroad and stuff, right? He didn’t- Yeah

he didn’t have any education to do [00:24:00] anything other than, other than that, right? Um-

Mat: Yeah, other, other than that. Uh- Yeah, but it, it, you would’ve thought there’d been some reference. I know maybe they made one without knowing they were gonna make two or whatever- Mm-hmm … but, um, it, I just don’t see the connection.

Al: All right. We move on. Uh, we fast-forward back to 1980 and Don’s sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring with another coaching opportunity, but nothing’s happening. Alan Eagleson, uh, his, his agent, tells him to be patient. Someone always gets fired before Christmas. But Rose has an- another idea. If coaching doesn’t work out, Hockey Night in Canada wants Don to come on the air as a guest analyst.

Uh, Don jumps at the opportunity, saying he grew up listening to Foster Hewitt and considers appearing on Ho- Hockey Night in Canada a tremendous honor, and he even admits he would’ve done it for free. Uh, w- we then get a behind-the-scenes look at Don’s first day at the studio. Pr- producer Ralph Mellanby introduces him to the crew and explains how television works, which cameras to look at, where to stand.

It’s immediately obvious Don is completely out of his element. When ward- wardrobe tries to hand him one of the [00:25:00] standard light blue Hockey Night in Canada blazers, Don absolutely hates it. He’d much rather wear one of his own colorful suits. Mellanby gives in to Don, not for the last time. Uh, next comes Don’s television debut alongside Dave Hodge.

He’s nervous, and he keeps looking at the wrong camera

Clip: Come on, Don. Camera two, Don, you gotta keep talking. Here we go. I find that, uh, with an assistant coach, you lose control of that stuff. You know, it’s tough. He’s kind of mumbling. He’s not finishing his sentences. Okay, 45 seconds to wrap it up. It’s kind of an easy way to coach.

Don? And, uh, I think you’ll find that you burn out. Is that what happened to Joe Crozier? Did he burn out? Well, I don’t know what happened to Joe, but, uh, I played, I played for him in Rochester, and, uh, he’s a good coach. But, uh, uh, you know, that burnout they talk about, that’s a real thing. It happens to, uh, to guys who coach with emotion like I did in Boston.

But, uh, you know, you’re living and dying with those players every shift. Okay, to one.

Tanya: He’s looking at the wrong

Clip: camera. Camera one. Don? Don, other camera. Keep it on two. You have two choices, Don. Keep it on two. Okay, go back to two. Back to two. Just stay on two the whole time. Yeah. Uh, [00:26:00] I think you find those guys after, uh, after four or five years, you know, they, uh, they run out of gas like I did.

Hey, I didn’t get fired from Boston, you know. I d- I done enough. But, uh, you know what I never hear about? What’s that? Never hear about a GM burning out. Not a one. Okay, just wrap it up. Wrap. There you go. Did Dad just take a shot at all the GMs in the league? Uh-huh. Well, we thank Don Cherry for his thoughts and for joining us this week.

Stay with us. There’s more to come on Hockey Night in Canada.

Al: All right, Tanya, talk about that scene.

Tanya: Rose putting her hand- … over her eyes and, and then just, “Uh-huh.” Yeah. I just, I love, I love her delivery of that. Um, I, I, yeah, I, I love that it would go from the, from in the, um, studio to the sound room and then to the house. Mm-hmm. And I, I, I love the setup for it. It was perfect.

Al: Victor?

Victor: Yeah, I mean, that [00:27:00] was so obvious that was gonna happen. Mm-hmm. Um, I, I loved, I loved there’s, there’s two cameras. Yeah. There’s two choices. Yeah. He’s always making the wrong one.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: Oh, it’s, it was… And it’s, this is a great setup also for what’s coming. Mm-hmm. But, uh, I loved it.

Al: Yeah. Uh, watching this scene kinda…

I m- and we talked a lot about this, uh, watching the first miniseries, and we haven’t really discussed it a lot here, but let’s bring it back to Letterkenny and the cracking egg scenes, right? When they’re in the studio. Yeah. And they’re, they’re like, “Where’s that noise coming from?” Like, and, and- … and, uh, yeah, it just kinda…

I’m, I’m sure one doesn’t influence the other, but, uh, in this case, but it was, it’s just kinda comical watching him struggle with the voices in his ear, too. Like, that would be distracting. Can you imagine while you’re saying something and having somebody in the, in your ear saying, “Five minutes. Camera two.

Camera three. Wrong camera,” whatever, right? Like, that would be, ooh. Well,

Victor: I, I went through, I went through that, right? ‘Cause, I mean, that’s, that’s what I went to school for- Yeah … in college. So I had a, I had a taste of it in terms of- Yeah … uh, you know, learning [00:28:00] how to do all that, being behind the camera, being in the, in the, in the pro- uh, production room and calling the cameras and just-

Mat: You went to school for that, too?

Victor: Yeah.

Mat: How did I miss

Victor: all that? We, we talked about this. You were drunk, I think. Um, but, uh, yeah, yeah, so that was a, uh, that’s how I know how hot it is under those lights. Sure,

Al: yeah.

Victor: Uh, but yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s, it gets really, you know, it, it gets really, really, uh, intense. Mm-hmm. Especially when you’re the one h- that has to be the guy that says which cam- which camera to switch to.

Uh,

Al: you- Yeah, and it’s obviously why, like well into his career- He never ha- he never has the ear thing again. Well, I mean, we’ll see when he loses it. Uh, it’s always Ron McLain who had to do that, right? He had to- Yeah … direct traffic ’cause R- Don- … would refuse to have, uh, the, the ear piece. I would never

Tanya: not be able to do it.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: Absolutely

Victor: not. Actually, uh, next time you guys are over, I’m gonna, uh, treat you to a, um, a, something nice. It was, uh… [00:29:00] Actually, I can actually post- Hey, girl … I can, I can, I can post it on YouTube now, actually. I just never even thought about it. Um, this is, this is- Tell me it’s, like,

Al: footage of you back then doing-

Victor: Yeah, footage of me doing one of these shows in college.

Yes, I put- Yes. Is this you on the

Mat: catalog?

Victor: Uh, so I did- I, I did a little, a bit of everything. Mm. Uh, it was called Strange Brew. Uh- … uh, it was, it was like a, it was a music talk show.

Al: Okay.

Victor: Um, and- Oh, God. You scared me for a second … and, and, and, and we debuted a music video that I shot and wrote and performed in as well.

It was, uh, pretty, uh,

Al: fun stuff. Kate, you must put that online- Yes … so we can, we can watch and w- and, and- Yes,

Tanya: yes,

Al: yes … critique.

Victor: Yeah, yeah. I think it was called Making Kundalini or something like that.

Al: What? Kate, let’s, let’s move on before, uh- … I don’t know, before we get canceled. Uh, Matt, what did you think of that scene?

Mat: Oh, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Mm-hmm. This, the moment this scene started, I lit up- Mm … and was so excited. Of course we knew it was not going to go well. Right. [00:30:00] And that’s entirely on the production team- Hmm … at this point. Later on, not so much, but they basically gave him nothing. Just threw him into the, threw him into the pit and said, “Yeah, point at that.”

I think the easier direction would’ve just said, “Look at the light.” Mm-hmm. Whatever camera has a light on it makes you looking at the light. Like, fall like a bug.

Clip: Yeah.

Mat: Follow the light.

Clip: Yeah.

Mat: Right? That would’ve been much easier than, than directing him, ’cause that’s a nightmare, especially if you’ve never dealt with something like that.

But, um, watching the awkwardness, I thought this scene paid off in every way it possibly could’ve. I almost, I almost like to believe that they did it raw when they shot it. Mm. Like, “Hey, Keeso, just get up there and, and we’ll just tell you what to do to make it feel like you deliver your lines, and we’ll just, we’ll just…”

I know that’s not how it went down- Yeah … but it would’ve been great if they tried to, like, live do it, um, and make it awkward. But, um, no, it was, it was everything I hoped for in a first appearance by Don Cherry on a show like this, um, which instantly got me excited where this was heading. And obviously, [00:31:00] Mellanby’s like, “This is, this is, this is why he’s here.”

Al: Mm-hmm. And it’s great to see the, what the makings of what will become Coach’s Corner. The, the two shot, the- Yeah … Don doesn’t get an earpiece. His co-host needs to be the one with the earpiece directing traffic, so that means Don’s doing most of the talking where- Yeah … while the co-host is trying to either keep him under control or not.

But, uh, anyway. Yeah. All right, move on. Mellanby loves what he sees. The rest of the co- control room, not so much. As they, uh, as soon as they go off the air, the producer or the director turns to Mellanby and says, “That’s your guy.” And then he says to everyone else, “I hope everyone’s updated their resumes.”

That guy is, like, a smartass. Yeah. Next scene, uh, fresh off his first appearance on Hockey Night in Canada, Don is feeling pretty good about himself. The crew, not so much. Backstage, Mellanby tells an executive that Don is exactly what the show needs. He’s raw, inexperienced, and a little rough around the edges, but he brings energy The executive is not so convinced.

Fortunately for Don, he’s only making $500 an [00:32:00] appearance as a freelancer, so there’s no long-term commitment. The executive quietly hopes he’ll get another coaching offer. Uh, back at home, Don admits he actually enjoys television, but with no coaching offers coming in, he starts making the rounds on the rubber chicken circuit, giving speeches at banquets and service clubs across the country.

Rose gives him some advice, “Just pretend you’re talking to somebody in the bar. Tell them, uh, some hockey stories. They don’t wanna hear the sec- they don’t wanna hear the secret of life or anything.” And that’s exactly what Don does. Flash forward to Saskatchewan, where Don’s speaking to a room full of Mennonites, although he doesn’t realize it at the time.

Uh, his stories aren’t, uh, doing too well with this crowd. In another scene, though, Don’s speaking in Northern Ontario to a loud crowd that’s ignoring him. So he tells everyone to shut up, which al- also doesn’t go over too well. But gradually, he figures it out. Tells, tell hockey stories, read the room, treat everyone like you’re sitting around having a couple of pops.

And before long, he’s killing it. Uh, here we get an example at one of those engagements. A young attendee asked Don why he got fired from [00:33:00] Colorado.

Clip: I’ll tell you something that Rose always says to me. She always says, uh, “Why is it you with your big mouth, you always gotta be the one to say something?” And I guess that’s it right there.

I, uh, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut Well, that’s funny. All those years they trying to shut me up, now they’re paying me to talk. How do you like that? Doing this stuff taught me how to be quick on my feet. Keep it short and leave ’em wanting more. Well, it’s a good thing they’re paying me to talk, ’cause you know what?

The phone never rang with another coaching offer. Guess I’d gotten a reputation for being hard to work with. You believe that? How long you home for?

36 hours Jeez, you look terrible Thanks. Oguh. Look, uh Tim’s done high school now, and I like it here and everything, and Tim’s got his friends and all that, but [00:34:00] it’s getting to be too much. And you wanna move back east? Only thing I do is back east. Radio spots and commercials, Hockey Night in Canada. Johnny Carson’s on at 9:30 here.

What the hell is that? What do you wanna do? Sell the house. Stay at the cottage till we find a place. Where? I dunno, Toronto. Somewhere around there Do you really think you’re gonna last on TV? Who knows?

I didn’t really care for the whole TV thing. But like, at least Don couldn’t get into any trouble, right?

Al: Right, Tanya?

Tanya: There’s no way she said that. That was just put in there for comedy- Uh-huh … ’cause it was like-

Al: That was put in there for you, so you can… Yeah.

Tanya: Yeah. No. She, she knew, she knew him better than any- Well, well obvi- And as [00:35:00] we’ll, we’ll soon see, she knows him better than anyone, and knows that he will get into a ton of trouble.

Victor: I took it as sarcasm.

Al: Mm-hmm. Well, maybe. Uh, it might be sarcasm too, but- All right … uh, or, yeah I’ll, I’ll,

Tanya: I’ll take sarcasm …

Al: or nai- naivete or whatever. I don’t know. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, Victor, what did you think of that scene?

Tanya: I, I- Oh … I was gonna say, though, too- … it, it felt like, um, um, what a comedian must go through, um, you know, trying, testing out material, uh, reading the…

Like- Sure … trying to read the room. Mm-hmm. And he basically did sta- Like, he was… Uh, all these speaking engagements that he was at-

Al: Yeah …

Tanya: you know?

Al: Going from town to town, yeah.

Tanya: Trying to figure out- Up and down the dial …

Al: where the laughs are. Yeah. Yeah. Victor?

Victor: W.K. Rapiness, right? That’s right,

Al: yeah.

Victor: Um, yeah, no, like, Tanya got in my head, so now whenever there’s-

a scene like that, I’m just, uh, on Cindy watch. Mm. And, uh, you know, here’s another example where they’re talking about Timmy graduating high school and, and no, no word about [00:36:00] Cindy, so, um- She was done.

Al: She’s moved out already.

Victor: I know, I know. But the fact that- … just, like, she’s not being mentioned, uh, it’s… Uh, as I’m watching the sh- as I’m watching-

Al: I try not to mention our son around here, but she won’t let me.

I’m just getting hit. For those of you listening at home, I’m getting hit by Tanya.

Tanya: You talk about him all the time.

Victor: Ugh. Yes. Air five. Um-

Tanya: Not you.

Victor: Yes. Uh, y- you’re either happy they’re out of the house, or you’re making jokes about them. So, I mean, they’re always kind of… They’re there, right? They’re always there- And she’s- … in TV … it’s just like she’s a ghost at this point. Mm-hmm. And, and, uh, just as, as the… we’re watching the, the scene, from scene to scene unfold, when there’s, you know, mention of family and kids, it just now becomes…

it’s now becoming a thing where it’s now a distraction for me. Mm-hmm. I’m sorry. So, so I blame Tanya for it.

Mat: I wreck things.

Al: She’s al- she’s a mis- a distraction, for sure. Uh, Matt, what did you think of that, those scenes? [00:37:00]

Mat: Y- yeah, I mean, they’re fine. It’s just moving the story ahead, trying to make some core decisions in their life, um, and, and where they’re going next.

I mean, it’s gotta be a, a weird feeling at that time, right? Mm. And where he’s in between… Is this… Where do I go next? You know, he’s coaching. It’s been his, his thing. Felt like that’s where he was staying, and now this opportunity that may or may not be something. It’s, uh- Yeah … I think that’d be kinda stressful, but, uh-

Al: Well, and you go back to the, the whole school, schooling conversation because he’s not- Yeah, what do you do now?

he’s not playing anymore. He’s not coaching anymore. What, what, what- Yeah … is he, uh, qualified to do? Talk about hockey, I guess. Mm. And, and if people will pay him to do that. Yeah. But other than that, he doesn’t have many other qualifications, or- Well, yeah … work a jackhammer.

Mat: Yeah, and it’s also interesting. I mean, like, in today’s world, someone of his caliber, if it was, like, today and this all just went down, coming off of a, a big coaching gig of an NHL team, I, you know, he’d have a bankroll for days behind him to figure out next up.

I don’t… It sounds like he still is making pretty decent money, [00:38:00] but not to the caliber-

Al: No, that

Mat: would be like late- … of inflation

Al: worth

Mat: today …

Al: late ’70s, early ’80s money-

Mat: Right …

Al: where $150,000- Yeah … was the highest paying coaching job in the NHL, and it, how many teams back then? 12? Uh, and, and-

Mat: Something like that, yeah

Al: something like that, right? So not a lot of- So it’s not as easy … not a lot

Mat: of- Yeah, y- yeah. You’re sitting on a maybe a couple years of bankroll, uh, to figure shit out, whereas- Yeah … today you’d be like, “I c- do I need to go back to it? Probably not. Do I want to? Yes.” Yeah. Um, so there’s that. So I don’t know.

We’ll see.

Al: All right. So sh- Rose’s optimism doesn’t last long. Back on Hockey Night in Canada, Don is once again trying to juggle hockey anal- uh, analysis with the control room con- while the control room constantly barks camera changes and time cues in his ear

Clip: So what does Calgary have to do to get back in this game?

Oh, oh, one. Oh, one. What- Camera two, Don Well, I’ll tell you Just, just stick with one. Stick with one … well, they’re gonna have to start playing that Pecker what’s-his-name- … because he’s as yellow as a duck’s foot. You guys, start, start talking about the third period, okay? [00:39:00] Anything catch your interest in the third period?

Time’s running out. Clock is ticking. And they’re gonna have to start working a lot harder too, because the guy selling popcorn, he’s working up a bigger sweat than any of those guys. 30 seconds. Can Calgary repeat the season that they had last year? Well, uh- 30 seconds, Don. It’s… We’re moving to commercials, Don.

Well, I’ll tell you, if this guy would stop yakking in my ear. Oh, crap. Oh. Uh, Dave, Dave, just, um, get us out of here. We were talking about Calgary’s chances this year. Uh, think of the players who have been here- Control room … and there are fans- What do you mean, what’s going on? We’re having some fun. That’s what’s going on.

I, I don’t know about those guys. Uh- Well, I don’t know. I, uh, I think, uh, I think they’re gonna do pretty good. Uh, uh, you know, with, uh, g- top goal scorers like, uh, like Lanny McDonald and, uh, Kent Nilsson and, uh, and tough guys too, like Peplinski and, uh, Hunter, I, uh… Yeah, I, I, I think they’re gonna do all right in the Smite division.

Bring in… Uh, let’s hook it up. Well, it’s a tough battle in the Smite division this year, and we appreciate Don Cherry’s thoughts on that. Stay with us. More to come on Hockey Night in Canada. Well, I hope [00:40:00] Mr. Dress Up is looking for directors.

Al: All right, before we go on, production note: Mr. Dress Up is kind of Canada’s version of Mr.

Rogers, in case, uh, you guys aren’t a- f- aren’t familiar, and it was a CBC show. So that director there is, uh, trying to maybe get a job, uh, at Mr. Dress Up, wh- And by the way, my best friend’s, uh, aunt did Mr. Dress Up’s makeup, uh, for many, many years. So that, that’s my connection there. Uh, Matt, what did you think of that scene?

Mat: Uh, again, I love it, and, and I love watching Mellanby in this as he’s- Yes. Yeah … digesting everything going on, right? And obviously Paisa off, off next, but you can see everyone’s interpreting what’s happening differently. But- … his vision, um, is there. And, and, and he’s seeing a, everything from a different point of view, right?

Yeah. You- Mm-hmm … and, and where, where it heads, uh, makes complete sense on how he’s reacting. Like, it’s his show. He’s like, basically, “Fuck off. Let me do my thing. Trust, put some trust in me,” right? Which sometimes, uh, a big risk, big reward. And, uh, it’s hard to [00:41:00] get through those early pain points with any game or what’s the, what’s the…

Not game changer. Yeah, game changer or-

Clip: Mm-hmm …

Mat: just disrupter in, in any industry. Yeah. So, uh, that’s kinda what they’re in right now. Um, and it’s, and it’s fun to watch this, the, how it’s all coming together.

Al: I love watching everyone in the control room panicking except for Mellanby, who’s laughing. He’s la- he’s loving every second of it, and laughing and, and taking the phone calls and saying, “Yeah, what?

W- people are enjoying… We’re having fun here. Like, what, what are we doing here?” Um, Victor, what’d you think?

Victor: Yeah, it, it, I mean, exactly. I mean, he sees that he’s got gold there- Mm-hmm … right? And everything that’s happening is he’s… It’s, it’s perfect for him, right? Yeah. And it’s shaping what the show is gonna become.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: So, um, y- y- you know, it’s like, it’s like when you hear, you know… Uh, I don’t know if you watched that Beatles documentary where you got to see how they’re writing the songs- Oh, yeah … that we ended up, you know- Are you

Al: kidding me? That became- I soaked up… I, I, I’ve [00:42:00] watched it twice now all the way through.

Victor: Yeah. It was so, it was so good.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: Uh, but then when you see those songs as they’re come, as they’re, you know, before they didn’t exist, when- Yeah, they’re coming- … after becoming- …

Al: out of thin air, and you’re like, “Oh, my God.” Yeah. “You just wrote L- uh, Lady Madonna right in front of me.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? What the hell?

Victor: Yeah.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: Yeah. This is, this is k- you know, kind of similar to that, right? Yeah. Where no one’s, no one’s trying to do this. Mm-hmm. It’s just happening.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: Yeah. It’s just happening very, very organically. Yeah. And, and Mellencamp is letting it happen.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Victor: Uh, because without him, it doesn’t happen, right? So, um, so it’s very cool.

Al: Yeah. Tanya?

Tanya: I love when he rips the earbud- Yeah … out, out of it ’cause I would have, I would have had to put the same thing- Stuff gab it in my ear. Just like, oh, my God. Um, yeah. Uh, and everyone’s reaction. Ev- everything that every, uh, uh, that’s already been said. Um, it was a, it was a great scene. It was interesting, though, how, um, um, that guy, Mellen- Mellencamp-

Al: Yeah

Tanya: how his response and reaction [00:43:00] changed. Um, I don’t know if you’ve listed why it changed. We’re gonna talk

Al: about it

Tanya: in a second. But yeah. Yeah. Um, a- and, and you’re like, “Well, you just laughed and hung up on somebody.” And now he’s looking dead serious- So why- … about something … why are you all of a sudden pissed off?

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: So yeah.

Al: Yeah. Well, we’re gonna see that in a second, but I just wanna talk real quick here. Watching this, uh, first, uh, movie, um, I’m getting a lot, a lot of an, uh, new respect for Ralph Mellencamp. I didn’t know a lot about him before. I knew his name and stuff like that and, and, and heard Don Cherry mention him in the past but had no idea his hand in what, you know, in making Coach’s Corner and stuff like that.

So if any, like, uh, depending on how close to the truth this is, it’s, it’s really impressive that, uh, you know, he, he had as much to do with this as Don- Yeah … Cherry did, right? And we’re gonna see in this next scene exactly. So what you talk about, Tanya, he’s laughing in the first half of that scene, but then he turns dead serious.

Mm-hmm. Something’s really bothering him about what, what, uh, Don’s doing. Uh, and now, now we’re gonna [00:44:00] learn what it is. Um, after the broadcast in the dressing room with Mellencamp and Dave Hodge, Don argues that he can’t s- think with someone constantly talking in his ear. Ralph capitulates. From now on, they’ll stick to a single camera.

Hodge doesn’t seem amused. He leaves the room. Then Ralph gives Don some feedback that likely changes the career trajectory of one Donald S. Cherry

Clip: I don’t care what camera you look at, but I don’t ever wanna hear you say, “I think,” again. You’re the coach. You’re supposed to know. People expect you to know.

Well, what if I don’t know? What if I’m wrong? Doesn’t matter. Look, I hired you because you’re the expert. You’re the coach of the year, right? You coached Bobby Orr, you coached Phil Esposito. Yeah. Yeah, I did. Well, then people don’t wanna hear what you think. They wanna hear what you know. So don’t think. Know.

Got it? Yeah. Yeah, I, I, I got it. Good. You gotta learn to trust your gut. Now, my gut had been telling me to play it safe. [00:45:00] Sometimes your gut’s wrong

Al: All right. So just right there you see Mellencamp saying, “You know, I hired you for a reason, and, uh, so what the hell’s going on? This isn’t the Don Cherry I hired.”

Uh, Victor, what’d you think of that scene?

Victor: I, I was thinking for those poor, uh, uh, English, uh, football team fans, because they’re probably thinking the same thing about their stupid manager. Uh, if, if only he gave the same speech to his players instead of putting out all those defensive players and playing a defensive game while up by a goal.

Um-

Al: Well, that was the problem with the English team is they played half a game… They didn’t know there was another whole half of a game to play.

Victor: Well, no, that, but that second half they played def- they were up by a goal and they started playing defensively- I know … instead of attacking.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: And, and so this is the same idea.

Mm-hmm. You know, stop being defensive, stop being scared, and, uh, be, be the man that I hired you to be. And I think that, that this is actually not him coming down on Cherry. In fact, if anything, he’s motivating him. He’s, he’s, he’s, he’s being a good leader- Mm-hmm … and he’s t- he’s trying [00:46:00] to get him to get out of his shell and actually step up, right?

Mm-hmm. So, so I, I, I thought this was fantastic. It’s great leadership right there.

Al: The other thing I liked about this scene is Dave Hodge’s reaction to Melonby saying, “All right, we’ll just use one camera,” and stuff like… So I’ve met Dave Hodge, and, and actually I’ve gotten to know Dave Hodge, uh, through the Toronto Mike Podcast.

He appears on Toronto Mike’s podcast once a year. The man’s a big music fan, and he talks music a lot, and stuff like that. But he was a sports media icon throughout the… Like, he started on, on, on, uh, on Hockey Night in Canada, but went on to TSN. He’s like a, a big-time guy, but he’s also a very serious broadcaster who didn’t l- he doesn’t mince his words when he talks about his, his time with Don Cherry.

He wasn’t a fan of Don Cherry’s lack of s- st- like, professio- for professionalism. Like, he hated that Don Cherry wouldn’t pronounce people’s names properly and stuff like- … it, it bothered him. [00:47:00] So seeing… So I’m watching closely this actor who, uh, just to see if he, if he’s giving any of that in his, in his performance.

And in that case, yeah, as soon as, uh, Melonby says, “You don’t, you don’t wanna l- switch cameras? No problem. We’re going to one camera.” And, and Hodge just walks out, like, whatever, you know? Uh, I love that little bit, but I think only I’m looking at it because I’m watching for what, what Hodge’s reaction is to all this.

Mm-hmm. What do you think?

Victor: It… I, ju- just before you, I was, I’ve been watching for that as well. I’m a big Hodge fan as well. Mm-hmm. And I love the, uh, Kick Out The Jams- Yeah … and getting his, uh, top 100. I, there was one, one episode where he goes down his, or a, I think a bunch of episodes where he does his top 100 list or something like that.

Yeah, every

Al: year he does it with, with Toronto Mike. But, and they’re all new- Yeah … songs from that year. Like, the man’s in his 80s, and he still goes out and watches live music and l-

Victor: Yeah …

Al: finds

Victor: new music. So anyway, so- Yeah … I, I appreciate that about him. Yeah. And, um, so, so I was watching for that as well. But I kind of felt s- from what we got, aside from that one scene [00:48:00] that you mentioned- Mm-hmm

he’s pretty much Sideshow Bob in this. Yeah, he is. Like, he’s- You’re right. You’re right … it’s, it, you know, it’s not, it’s not about him. And he… And in fact, almost to the point- You don’t even see anything so great about Hodge. You don’t s- ’cause, you know, like you mentioned, he’s an icon, but you don’t get that from this show.

Right. That he, here he could be just anybody sitting next to Cherry.

Al: Correct. Yeah. And, and maybe we’ll see the contrast when, when, um, um, Ron MacLean c- comes in, right? ‘Cause- Yeah … Hodge being kind of a very straight- individual in terms of, like, he’s a straight man and, and he doesn’t, he, he pronounces names properly.

He does everything by the book the way they should be done. Ron MacLean is gonna come in and, and give a different personality and, and compliment Don Cherry in a different way, which Hodge never did, right? Yeah. Uh, so that’ll be interesting. What do you think, Tam?

Tanya: Um, I love Don’s comment where he was saying that he was, um, you know, being careful.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: And, and right off the, the, like, the very first, um, [00:49:00] um, scene that we had seen of, with him in Hockey Night in Canada, uh, was him calling out the, the, uh, men- The GMs, yeah … the GMs. Um, so if that’s him being careful, um, you know-

Al: Well, we s- we hear what, what comes next when he starts unleashing the actual Don.

Like, we-

Tanya: Yeah, yeah.

Al: Yeah. Uh, Matt, I love the new background.

Tanya: I’ve been, I’ve been reading everything on your background.

Mat: Yeah. So I, I love this scene, and again, I, I, I understand Mellanby’s frustration, um, because I think both him and Don are in a very precarious spot right now, right? So Don’s g- in and out.

You know, he’s not getting coaching gigs ’cause of how he acts, right? He’s now putting on, being put on TV because of how he acts. However, there’s this fine line where he’s like, “Shit, like what, what can I get away with?”

Clip: Mm-hmm. “

Mat: What are they okay with?” ‘Cause y- you’re getting pushback from all angles from- Mm

from, from his wife, from the show. The only [00:50:00] one who seems to be in his corner is Mellanby.

Clip: Yeah.

Mat: And then he lets out a comment, like, like, putting lack of confidence in, in his, in his, in his dialogue. Mm-hmm. And Mellanby’s also thinking, “Listen, man, I’m putting all my cards on the table here. Like, I’m putting everything on you, and if this fucks up, I’m screwed, too,” right?

Yeah. So it’s like, “I want this to be a success, and I know you can be the person that we need-

Clip: Mm-hmm …

Mat: but you need to ch- you need to give us you.” And, and I understand all the corporate and, and all the sensitivities, but if he’s got Mellanby going, “Do you, I’ll take care of everyone else,” and now they’re building the show around him with the earpiece and the, the camera, the, the two-shot.

Yeah. I love that. That’s what you need to do with talent like this. Mm-hmm. And some of the best talent you’ve ever seen on TV, you don’t try to control them. You can tame them to a degree, but you work around them to get the best out of them, and that’s exactly what he’s trying to do here. A- and [00:51:00] I, and I respect the hell out of it.

Al: Very cool. Mm-hmm. All right. We’ll move on. Cue another s- flashback to Barrie, Ontario. Don is back for his second season under Hap Emms, and things are finally starting to improve. He’s older. He’s playing more. He’s earning Hap’s trust. Uh, and then they, everything changes. Two teammates are caught drinking.

If Hap sends them home, their c- hockey careers could be d- over. Uh, the players hatch a plan. If everyone admits they were drinking, Hap can’t possibly send the entire team home. Don doesn’t like this plan. He doesn’t even drink. But one by one, the players agree to stand together, so Don agrees, too. The boys file into Hap’s office one by one.

Uh, Hap asks the, the same question to all of them: “Were you drinking?” And when it’s his turn, Don lies and says, “Yes.” Uh, we then, uh, go back to the lock- when he went back to the locker room, Don noticed his teammates all looking guilty. They couldn’t even look each other in the eye. Instantly, Don knew he’d made a terrible mistake.

Hap walks in and tells Don, along with the other two players who were actually caught drinking, [00:52:00] to pack their bags. They’re all going home. The rest of the team is instructed to hit the ice. Uh, on their way, uh, to coach’s… Well, let’s stop there, first of all. Did, did you, did you understand what had gone on there?

Like, the, the-

Clip: Yes.

Al: Yeah. So, um, I feel like I’ve heard this story before, too, but maybe it’s because I watched this movie years ago or whatever. Can you imagine… A- and this might be another one of those instances where, where Don shoots himself in the foot by going with the team, but then the rest of the team go back on their word, right?

Like, the classic Don Cherry there. Victor, what’d you think of that?

Victor: Yeah, I mean, I mean, it’s an, it’s one of those things I, I… It would be interesting to kind of verify if this actually happened just because it’s such a-

Al: Right …

Victor: Hollywood movie kind of a thing. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, I feel like, I feel like this happened in, in some movie.

Mm-hmm. In, in, in some movie, whether it was Porky’s Revenge or something like that- … where where a bunch of guys play a prank and then, you know, the loser makes, you know, le- gets left out in [00:53:00] the cold, right? Um, which is kinda what happens here, and I feel like, uh, you know, it’s a little too s- the way that it all played out, and we’re not, I’m not gonna spoil anything- Yeah

until we get to it, but I j- it just all feels very Hollywood- Sure … that’s all.

Clip: Yeah.

Victor: Um, uh, I, I’m really not- I don’t know … you know, it’s, it’s fine.

Tanya: I, I don’t know. I, I disagree with that. I think it’s like a team, um, camaraderie thing, you know? A team that s- that bands together. There was no

Victor: team camaraderie.

Al: Yeah, they all backed out though. Like,

Tanya: what- I know, but- Yeah … but they were pitch, pitching that as- Yeah … as what the goal was. Like, “They can’t get rid of all of us if- I, I buy- … all of us say…”

Al: I buy it that Don would be the kind of person who would go with the team against his better judgment, but because it’s the team, right?

I’ll go with the team, fine. ‘

Tanya: Cause the team is saying it.

Al: Yeah, but the fact that everyone on the team didn’t do what they said they were going to do, uh, uh, is, is, uh, yeah, is a little suspect. It’s almost like a prank. Yeah.

Victor: It’s almost like a prank.

Al: Yeah. It’s almost…

Victor: Yeah. Which, which, which you would get in kind of Revenge of the Nerds or- Mm.

Mm … [00:54:00] Porky’s Revenge. It’s those kind of movies- Sure … where shit like that happened.

Al: Yeah. Matt, Matt, what did you think of that?

Mat: Yeah, I mean, it’s I- it’s a hard one. Like, and I, and I get why he… See, I understa- It’s a hard one. I, I see what he did. Mm. Let’s put it that way. Do I think it was a smart move? I don’t know.

I don’t know how close he was with the team, but I know teams are… They, they loyal to the soil kinda shit.

Al: Well, yeah.

Mat: But I think it’d be really hard coming back from that and having any faith in your team beyond that day. Mm. Because he went in on that also under the belief that we are a team and we all have each other’s backs, and when it was only him, and showed that loyalty, and everyone else- It, it would be an ugly scene beyond that day- Yeah

I think. Like- And I think all morale amongst the team, and you… I know, I know we see a bit of it, but- Mm-hmm … it’s, um, it’s unfortunate. Yeah. Uh, I think it’s a silly decision to fall on the [00:55:00] sword with, with a couple of idiots. Um, but again, I don’t know how close they were beyond just being teammates, so- Hmm … I don’t know.

It’s a weird one for me.

Al: So on their way to the coach’s house, one of the guilty players thanks Don for standing up for them. Don admits he was probably just the only one dumb enough to do it. Uh, in voiceover, Don says he isn’t worried about the h- hockey anymore, he’s worried about facing his parents. If he gets on that train, he’ll have to explain why he’s been thrown off the team.

One of the boys, i- w- once the- he’s in coach’s r- uh, house, one of the boys, almost in tears, desperately l- uh, begs Hap for another chance, saying his father will kill him if he comes home. Hap looks at Don, but he refuses to beg. Hap’s wife, Mabel, quietly reminds him, uh, to think about the boy’s parents. “What if it was our Paul standing in front of you?”

Uh, meaning their son. Uh, cut to the players in the locker room. Don and the other two players walk back into the room. They’ve just been given reprieve. But in voiceover, Don admits he may have gotten himself into that mess, but he never forgot who pushed him, uh, into, [00:56:00] into it from behind. So during the next skate, Don waits for his target, runs him into the boards, and proceeds to beat him merciles- mercilessly as his teammates and coach look on, but don’t try to stop it.

Hockey justice has been served. So now the way that, uh, Matt, you were talking about, like- Would that restore maybe not their faith in the team- So- … but at least now Don’s a leader, right? Or, and-

Mat: So re- explain that again. So I, I feel like when I watched it, I missed that brief connection of why he targeted that guy, and then I’m

Victor: sorry, I- He’s the one that was convinced, was trying to convince Don to- Yeah

to go along with the team. Yeah. He w- that, that’s the guy- He pushed him … that’s the antagonist.

Al: Yeah. When Don

Mat: makes- But then, but then ev- so he’s the one who pushed the idea?

Victor: Yes.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: Oh, I thought it was one of the guys that-

Victor: Nah, you gotta pay attention. They all look alike.

Mat: I’ve got ADHD, man. It’s, it’s, a squ- a squirrel went by or some shit.

But that’s why I’m like, I was trying to- This is the perfect- … I was

Victor: trying to connect that … example of comeuppance.

Al: Yes.

Mat: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Got it now. Now it makes all sense. So [00:57:00] yeah, so if he’s the main antagonist that’s why he… Okay.

Al: So do you

Tanya: think the

Mat: coach

Tanya: knew? Sorry, Matt.

Al: I think the coach, when he saw Don wouldn’t even beg to, to stay on the team or whatever, that Don was likely sticking up for one of his players.

So when he saw Don beating on s- uh, like when he was given a second chance and then saw Don beating on the player, I, I… To me, I would be like, yeah, that’s the guy who pushed him to, to- I

Mat: think coach knew what- Yeah … exactly what was going on. Yeah. Could, could we call this a version of kangaroo court?

Al: Sure.

Mm-hmm. Uh, yeah. Yeah, exact- Kangaroo Judge

Mat: Dredd …

Al: well, this is what, this is what hockey, you know, hockey culture always talks about, let them police themselves, right? This is, this is the example of what they wanna be able to do. L- keep, keep the ruler, r- r- rule makers out of it. We’ll, we can police ourselves, and this is exactly what they did.

Tanya: But then what, you know, what is the coach showing of himself? That he’s not… Like he kicked the first kid out because he had a, a date. He didn’t kick

Victor: anybody out.

Al: No,

Tanya: he didn’t kick- He had a date … well, the

Al: first kid,

Tanya: yeah. But- Yeah, the first kid he kicked out. Yeah. I’m sh- There was hardcore [00:58:00] rules Oh.

Everybody knew the rules- Yeah, yeah, yeah … before,

Victor: before it began. Well,

Tanya: he has

Victor: to set an example. He has to set the, set the tone.

Tanya: Right. But now what’s the example that he’s setting? Yeah, okay, you did wrong.

Victor: He’s, he, that he’s, he’s got a little bit of humanity.

Al: Well, not only that though. He, the example he’s setting is, okay, yes, I let these three off the hook, but a pound of flesh still needs to be extracted, and Don extracted it for him.

Victor: Yeah. No, I, I think coach did the right thing in this scenario

Al: Mm. So we flash-forward after that scene to the end of the season with Don and his teammates raising the Memorial Cup in celebration before handing it over to their coach, Hap Emms. So there you go. It worked. It gelled the team. Uh, whatever happened there made them closer, and they ended up winning the Memorial Cup.

Barrie was a powerhouse, and Don played more minutes than a- any other defenseman. Don’s parents were in the crowd to witness it. Now, back in the ’80s, Don’s watching replays of his Bruins’ loss to the Canadiens in the playoffs when Rose walks in. Don informs her that [00:59:00] Ra- Ralph called with good news. CBC wants to sign him to a contract.

Rose is happy, but Don doesn’t seem to be pleased, says he’s become too comfortable just sitting there answering questions like everyone else. Uh, that’s not who he is. He wants to go back to being the swaggering coach who kicked towels and threw things behind the Bruins bench. Rose gently reminds him that that’s what got him fired.

Uh, Don doesn’t care. If Ralph wants the guy who coached Boston, that’s exactly who he’s gonna get. Uh, cut to the next Hockey Night in Canada. Before the show begins, Don tells the producers he doesn’t wanna talk about the NHL Board of Governors meeting. Nobody cares about that. He’s got something else on his mind, but he doesn’t tell anyone what it is.

They’re all gonna find out together. They start the segment, and this is our first time seeing and hearing the familiar intro to Coach’s Corner.

Clip: So the European hockey players that everybody seems to love so [01:00:00] much, they get drafted and they come over here on their one-way contracts. Meanwhile, our good Canadian boys are down at the AHL working their way up like they should be, except there’s no spot for them on the big club now because they gotta look after dainty little Hans Christian Anderson or whatever.

That’s a new player to me. Oh, you know who I’m talking about, uh, Lars, uh, Larsson or whatever. They’re stealing jobs from hardworking Canadian boys who have earned the right to play in the NHL. They worked their way up- Control room … in the minors like I did. The world is changing, Don. Okay. W- well, first of all- Well, I don’t like it one little bit

the only way I can stop him is if we go off the air. You can’t deny the skill level. Oh, are you saying- Jesus … Canadian hockey players don’t have skill? What, we gotta go get it from, uh, Finland or, uh, East Sweden or something like that? Of course not, but when you’ve got players like Kent Nilsson, Peter Stastny, you got- Oh, you don’t like Wayne Gretzky?

Don’t like Mike Bossy? What about, uh, what about Charlie Simmer or, uh, Marcel Dionne? The world is changing, Don. Okay, I’ll tell you what. Well, I don’t like it one little bit. If you wanna make sure he gets the message- Well, I tell you what’s real … I think the best way would be for you to deliver it in person.

Yeah, well, it still has its place, but it’s, uh, really- So [01:01:00] I can arrange a time for you to meet Don- … great to get out and, uh, and move on … and you can tell him your concerns yourself. And, uh, so does the game of hockey. No? You sure? We’ve got 21 teams. ‘Cause, uh- We’re looking at- Well, okay … expansion. You need the right players- All right, we are out in five Hockey is played right here, and no one beats Canadian boys for that.

Al: And there we go. We have a fully formed Don Cherry. What’d you think of that, Tanya?

Tanya: There’s a lot going on in that scene. Uh-huh. Um, I love that he kicked the, uh, earpiece out- Yeah … and he was just going for it. Mm-hmm. I love, too, that they showed, um, that n- no one knew what they were going to- No … to talk about.

And it was just on the fly and- No, no

Al: one knew what he was going to talk

Tanya: about … that, what he was going to talk about.

Al: Not even his, uh, co-host-

Tanya: Yeah …

Al: knew what he was gonna talk about.

Tanya: Does Dave Hodge, um, ever talk about that moment?

Al: I don’t know about that moment in particular, but he’s talked in the past about, you know, his time with, uh, with Don Cherry.

And, uh, he’s s- Dave Hodge has his own, um, uh, mythos [01:02:00] that, that, that, that you can g- like, go into. Like, could have his own movie if you wanted to. But, uh- Interesting … anyway, yeah. Um, Victor, what’d you think?

Victor: Uh, yeah. Uh, w- before we jump into that, when you were describing the scene where he’s watching the, uh, Bruins reruns- Mm-hmm

Tanya got her wish. Yeah. They, he, not only did they show that, uh- Yeah … part with him on the co- on the- Yeah … on the bench, but he actually freeze framed it when he was, had, had his arms out. Yeah. Uh, when Rose came in and started talking to him. So that was for you, Tanya.

Tanya: Yeah,

Victor: love it. Um, yeah, yeah. In terms of, uh, in terms of this scene, so, you know, basically what he says there ends up being repeated over, and over, and over again through his tenure- Yeah

as Coach’s Corner. Uh, as Coach on Coach’s Corner. And for me, th- and this is, this is kind of where I stand. Like, I, I, to this day I’m kind of, I, I think he got, y- we did him dirty by, uh, y- you know, not kind of calling CBC out for what they did because they kept him on the air specifically because this is the kind of [01:03:00] stuff that he was saying.

And what he was saying there is not so different than what he was saying about those people. Right. Uh, it’s, it’s on the same level. It’s on the same. Right. It’s, one is not worse than the other. They’re equally as bad. They’re equally not appropriate. They’re not worded correctly. But that’s exactly why they kept him on the air.

Right.

Al: All these years. The difference, though, Victor, is CBC didn’t fire him. Rogers fired him So that’s the difference I

Victor: don’t care who it was.

Al: Well, but it, but it- I don’t care who. It, it matters It doesn’t matter But the reason it matters, because what- Nobody stood behind- The point you’re making, though, is CBC stood behind him for 25 years when he was saying the same, if not worse.

E- exactly. But then when Rogers took over, corporate, corporate am-, uh, Ca- Canada took over, and they’re not going to put up with that shit. Like CBC might have- Yeah, I’m not gonna, I’m- But, but Rogers didn’t. I’m not gonna apol-

Victor: Yeah, I’m not gonna let him off the hook. They kept him on the air for the same reason.

Al: Yeah. Mm.

Victor: Otherwise, they would’ve gotten rid of him as soon as t- they took over, and they didn’t because he was, they, it was great. And then it, all of a sudden they got flack, [01:04:00] and then they said, uh, you know, well, we said it- Yeah, and then they did what

Al: corporations do. They, they, they- Yeah … get rid of you.

Yeah.

Victor: Yeah. Yeah. Right at the peak of cancel culture. And, and his, and his best, yeah. Yeah. And his best buddy let it, let it happen, and he then stood behind him.

Al: His best buddy had n- so Victor, I’m gonna call you to task on this because you know what? Ron MacLean i- is not a villain in this, all right? And if he, just the same as when you laugh at Don for, for lying about drinking b- to, for the team back then, w- that would be what Ron MacLean would essentially be doing by taking one, uh, for, for Don.

No, he was doing his job. He got mixed up and entangled in the mess. You want him to give up his career because- I

Victor: didn’t s- Don- First of all, I didn’t say he should give up his career. I said he should have backed him. That’s all. I didn’t say he should quit.

Al: He remained Don Cherry’s friend to, to this day.

So you know what? And, but that’s- And Don Cherry doesn’t blame him for, for that We, we

Victor: can ask Tim, and Tim

Al: will call Ron. Yeah. Well, Tim has already said. Yeah. Tim has already said. Uh, Matt?

Mat: Oh, sorry, I was mid-drink.

Al: That’s all right.

Mat: No, th- this is, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Yeah. This is, this is Don Cherry.

This is amazing. [01:05:00] Um, the look on Mellanby’s face, that slow push into him- … past the, the director and the, and the switchboard operator who looked flabbergasted said it all. He’s like, “This is where, uh, my cards are, and we’re ready to go.” And I love… I, I, who… I’m assuming it’s, like, the, the head of the network or someone’s on the, uh, call, whoever’s calling him.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: Um, but, like, he’s like, “Yeah, I’ll introduce you to him.” I love it. He’s like, “Y’all just get here. You wanna deal with it? Come.” Yeah. “If not, fuck off.” Um, it’s

Al: amazing. I feel like they use one actor to, to, to, um, act on be- behalf of the CBC brass. I don’t even know if he’s got a name, but they, they just- Yeah

use the same guy who’s always gonna be there- Yeah … to say, like- Oh … you know, “Fire him,” or, or, “Get him in line,” or whatever, yeah. Yeah.

Mat: Yeah. A- and, and it’s incredible. It’s, uh, you know, agree or don’t agree with what’s coming out of his mouth, this is where he took off. And you saw everything about him right then and there.

And the… You can also s- already feel the disconnect with him and Hodge there as well around, like, th- they’re not on the same [01:06:00] level, which obviously-

Clip: Yeah …

Mat: leads into where it, this goes. But, um, no, I, I, I… He’s… This is, this is him unleashed, and, uh, here we go.

Al: All right, next scene. Mellanby phones Rose. Don skipped a CBC promotional interview.

Mellanby is at his wit’s end. He’s trying his best to work with Don. There are plenty of people at CBC who would love to see him gone. Rose tells Mellanby now, now he knows how Sindon Nimirin felt. The reason Don is being, uh, difficult about the interview is because it’s game day. She explains that Don still lives his life exactly the way he did when he was coaching: morning routine, pre-game meal, nap, game, show.

He still thinks like a player. That’s why he never fit into management, and that’s why he’ll probably never change. Instead of being angry, Mellanby’s actually writing all of his, this information down. In his mind, this is good, this is good, useful information. Uh, the final and most important advice Rose gives Mellanby is the surest way to get Don to do something is to tell him he can’t do it.

Before we move on, there was no scene here, but [01:07:00] I love, and again, who knows the accuracy of this, right? Because no one was there when this is happening. But Mellencamp, instead of, like, getting angry with Rose, hearing all, all this stuff, he’s writing this down. He’s noting the- Yeah … these are all the keys.

Like, Rose is, is the neck turning Don. And Mellencamp wants to be the neck turning Don at work, and so he’s, he’s getting tips and tricks from Rose. What, um-

Tanya: Yeah. And I, and I called it- Yes, you did. Yeah … when we were watching it. I’m like, “There goes the neck again.” Yeah. Um, yeah. Um, so I’m, I, I, I don’t know what spearheaded all of it.

I think I missed that part. Don skipped the C- CBC promo- There was

Al: some interview, a promotional interview that Don was supposed to be at, and he didn’t show up.

Tanya: Oh, and that’s what caused-

Al: But it was on game day, and, and so Rose is trying to con- explain to Mellencamp, “Don’t book him anything- Why is that?

But- … on game day.”

Tanya: But, but wait. I don’t understand, ’cause isn’t Coach’s Corner on every game day?

Al: Right, but he, it’s, she- It’s during the game. So the interview was, was a promotional thing [01:08:00] on, on top of that, that he was, that they wanted him to do. But don’t do it on game day. He’d, he- Coach’s

Victor: Corner was only- Oh

once a week.

Al: On Saturday. Yeah It wasn’t every game. Like, so they wanted him to maybe Saturday morning go on Good Morning Canada or something and do a s- an interview. Oh, I see. And he’s, and he sh- he didn’t show up, right? And so- They’ve

Victor: got six other days

Al: to do- Yeah …

Victor: this nonsense.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: So wait a second. I thought that there was commentary on the game that there was actually being played that night.

Was there not? This

Al: is- Well, maybe on Saturday night … this is a different day. This is a different day. This was just a separate-

Tanya: No, but what Victor just said. Um, was it, was it prerecorded, and then that, the tape was- Oh,

Al: Coach’s Corner was only ever on Saturday nights.

Tanya: And, uh, did it have reflection of the

Al: game that- Unless it was playoffs, actually.

And, and they would, yeah, they would talk about that game that night. Yeah.

Tanya: They would?

Al: Yeah. Well, once- The fir-

Victor: usually the first period.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: The first period of the game. Yeah. Sure. Yes. Right. Okay. I’m up. I’m up

Al: too late. Um, Matt. Matt. But, but

Victor: they would also talk about other stories- Yeah … that happened

Tanya: that week- Right

or whatever. Yeah. Yes. Right? I do [01:09:00] recall watching it.

Al: Yes. Matt, what did you think of, uh-

Mat: This was my favorite scene in the entire episode- Oh, yeah? … of the show or whatever. Oh my God, this made me happy. As they sort of illustrated some of the things, like where they did the cut o- she’s describing, you know- Mm-hmm

then he gets up. He’s got his, he’s got his, like, fur coat on- … and he’s walking Blue. Like- Yeah … he’s a man of routine. Yeah. And that’s, that’s all she’s trying to say. She’s like, “You wanna, you want him to do his thing- You need to work around his madness Mm-hmm … right? He’s a madman, and she knows it, and she loves him for it.

But I love that she’s giving him the tools because I think she also knows his success is our success as a family, and, and this is the guy, Curious. Well, I’m gonna help him as well. So it’s, it, it serves both parties in this situation, and again, exactly what I said earlier. They’re building the show around him.

Mm-hmm. Um, which for someone of that personality level, there’s no choice. If you want him, that’s what you have to do.

Al: Yeah. Victor?

Victor: Yeah, again, [01:10:00] you know, if it happened this way, I think this might be one of the most important-

Clip: Mm-hmm …

Victor: uh, uh- Yeah … points in Don Cherry’s, uh, post-coach career, right? Mm. Because she basically gives him the insider information.

Yeah. And, and he uses, based on, again, how the story unfolds, he uses this information to really give him the superpowers, right? Mm. Like, um, y- y- you know, basically, he’s like, “Leave the guy alone. Here’s how it’s gonna happen going forward,” really all based on all this kind of golden information that she, um, bestows upon him.

I, I, I think this is- Yeah … v- very, very pivotal.

Mat: Yeah. Th- this, sorry, one more thing. This kind of reminds you of, like, you know, like, when you, when you hear about these, these divas or, or whatever in movies, superstars, who are like, “Oh, when I arrive at my trailer, it’s gotta be- Yeah … 22 degrees- Mm … and only red M&Ms.

Mm-hmm. Like, without him saying it, Rose is saying it on his behalf- Mm-hmm … so that M- Melanie can, like, create that atmosphere that is- Yeah … [01:11:00] perfect.

Al: She’s giving him- You know? … the rider, the Cherry rider. Yeah. This, yeah.

Mat: Yeah. Yeah,

Al: yeah. Make sure you have steak and peas for lunch and, yeah.

Mat: Exactly. You’re filling the bowl for him.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: There you go.

Al: All right. Next scene. Sure enough, the CBC brass decide it’s time to, quote-unquote, “help Don.” Uh, sorry, um, yeah, that’s right. To help Don. Uh, just before the game one of the Stanley Cup Final, network executive hands him a pronunciation guide. Apparently Don has been saying players’ names incorrectly all season.

Uh, Don can’t believe they’re bringing this up now on the biggest broadcast of the year. Ralph walks in, finds out what’s happening, and quickly shuts the whole thing down. “It’s game day. Do not talk to my talent on game day.” Now cut to Coach’s Corner that night.

Clip: Now, it seems to me like everybody’s gotta have three or four Swedes on their team nowadays.

Uh, Vancouver’s got ’em, Toronto’s got ’em, Winnipeg’s got ’em. Now Calgary, they got their Swede out there. He’s a Finn, Don. Like, well, same thing. What’s his name? Pekka Rautakallio. Uh, Pekka what? [01:12:00] Pekka Rautakallio. Holy smokes. Now, you better be careful how you say that name on the CBC. They got that other Swede skating around out there like he’s got eggs in his pockets.

He’s trying not to break ’em. It’s amazing how he can avoid all those bodies. It’s the Ice Follies out there. Like the Nutcracker on ice, if that thing come to town on Christmas. Don Cherry- You gotta get him to lay off the Europeans … Coach’s Corner. The papers are killing us on this, and it’s relentless every week.

Our numbers are up. I know, I know. It’s your show. You can thumb your nose up at us, but there are gonna be consequences eventually, and I don’t want you to say I didn’t warn you. Oh, I would never say that. Can you at least convince him to speak English? It’s the way he talks that makes him popular. There are two official languages in this country, and Don Cherry doesn’t speak either one of them.

Okay. Okay.

Al: My favorite line in the whole

Clip: movie. I don’t care. Yeah. Just do something.

Al: My favorite line in that whole movie. “There’s two official languages in this, uh, n- [01:13:00] this country, and Don doesn’t speak either one of them.” All right. So after that, uh, the next scene we cut to Don in a boardroom- Wait, wait.

You gotta… You- Oh. Oh, you wanna talk about that. That’s right. Yeah, you’re right.

Victor: Well, I- Yeah, go ahead … no, I, I, I think it’s important to mention- Yeah … uh, the actor- Mm-hmm … uh, who, who, who, who was, who was, who delivered your favorite line.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: He played Erica’s father on Being Erica.

Al: Oh, all right.

Victor: Um, the- So- … the, the, the pseudo rabbi.

Al: There you go. I didn’t… I never watched Being Erica, so I didn’t, uh, recognize him.

Victor: Oh, you’re missing out.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Victor: You never watched it? No. Oh, what a fun, great show. I super recommend it. You and Tanya are gonna love that show. You should definitely watch it.

Al: So your, your assumption is that we’re gonna watch it, and you and Tanya are going to love that show.

Victor: Um, if you don’t watch

Al: it- She’s writing it down. What the hell?

Victor: So it’s available

Al: on the Gem-

Victor: Whose side are you on? It’s available for free on the Gem, uh, network.

Al: On the… Oh, okay. Maybe we’ll check it out. Um, no, yeah, that’s a great line, and, and, uh… But it, it’s, it’s also perfect for the setting up the next scene.

But does anyone wanna talk about that scene before we move on to the next scene?

Mat: No, no. It’s… I loved

Al: it. [01:14:00] No. All right. So yeah, that line sets up perfectly the next scene, which is Don in a boardroom with a speech coach trying to get Don to pronounce the T’s in butter and, and roll his R’s in brown cow. Uh, Don’s not having any of it, and the last straw was the word precipitous.

Don gets up and walks out. It’s a fucking great scene.

Tanya: Um- I wonder if he ever became self-conscious of, of his pronunciations. I think

Al: you need self-awareness before you’re self-con- conscious. And,

Mat: and I have to believe that, that Melanie didn’t sign off on that particular voice coach either- Mm … because if there’s any truth to how that guy delivered that session- Mm-hmm

he knew it was, it was, it was just destined to fail.

Tanya: Yeah. That, that, that paper that he was writing on- The flip chart … and flipping. Yeah. Oh, man. It, it took me right back to kindergarten. I was-

Al: It took me back to corporate- I was- … training. We were still using flip charts like that, like, forever ago. What, what was the

Mat: one, like, the second one where he’s like- Oh

“Oh, did you hear me?” He’s like, “Oh, I heard you. I’m just not saying

Al: it.” Yeah. “The rain in Spain lies mainly in the plain.” Yeah, it was so- … so ridiculous. [01:15:00] All right. Next scene, Melanie with, is with the CBC executive watching Don’s latest rant about how much of a floater Mario Lemieux is. The executive goes on about how Don is anti-French and European, and he’s using the publicly funded national broadcaster to pick on them.

Melanie’s only defense is that Don picks on everybody. That next scene, Ralph quietly walks into the neighborhood bar and asks a hockey fan wearing a Habs jersey what he thinks of Don Cherry. The fan says he can’t stand him. He hates Don’s politics, he hates the suits, he hates everything Don says, but his buddies love him.

They all watch every week. Uh, then they spend hours arguing about what Don said. Even better, his wife doesn’t watch hockey, but she makes him w- call her into the room every time Coach’s Corner comes on. It must be the suits. Yeah. Go ahead.

Tanya: I think that happened with us.

Al: Of course it did, yeah. You and your friends would never watch hockey- No

but as soon as Coach, Coach’s Corner came on- I’d

Tanya: be

Al: in the room … you’d, you’d… Yeah.

Tanya: I’d be crocheting blankets. Yeah. That was my crocheting

Al: time. Yeah. Anyway, [01:16:00] after that, Ra- Ralph smiles. His mission is accomplished. He, the, Don Cherry means ratings. Next scene, Don is at home getting ready for work and still venting about CBC trying to change him.

He doesn’t wanna be pronounce names differently or correctly. He doesn’t wanna change the way he talks. He doesn’t wanna sound like everyone else. Rose quietly reminds him that Ralph is taking heat for all this, too, and this gives Don some pause. Next scene, Don walks, walks the concord- uh, co- concourse at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Fans approach him. He signs autographs and takes pictures with them. He finally gets to the studio, and Melonby greets him and tells him he’s gotta stop going through the concourse. It’s taking too long, and they have a bunch of sponsors and their family members who wanna take pictures with him, too, which he does happily.

So he’s being reprimanded for going through the concourse and, and taking pictures with fans and signing autographs because the sponsors wanna do that with him. And, and anyway, he’s getting that popular. Uh, then I’m sure there wasn’t a lot of [01:17:00] lineups for D- for Dave Hodge back in those days. Uh, then comes one final Coach’s Corner.

Don launches into another passionate defense of fighting in hockey. He ar- he argues that fighting doesn’t cause injuries, it prevents them. As Don finishes his segment, another story is unfolding behind the scenes. CBC executives have made their decision. Don Cherry is finished. Ralph has two weeks to get him off the air.

Ralph argues, but it doesn’t matter. The order has come from the very top. Cherry is gone. After Don wraps his segment, Ralph meets him in the studio and walks Don back to his office. Cut to Don and Rose in their kitchen later that evening.

Clip: Oh, you were right. Am I welcome again? You sure? Ralph will fight for you, won’t he?

No, there’s nothing else he can do. CBC wants me off the air

Now what?[01:18:00]

Al: And that’s where part one of Wrath of Grapes ends All right, we’re gonna go on to, uh, first impressions. No ratings or MVPs yet, just, uh, your first impression of this movie, and I start with Tanya.

Tanya: How stressful a, a life it must have been for Rose. Entertaining, but stressful. Like, how many times did they move?

16,

Al: 17 times.

Tanya: Oh my gosh.

Al: Last count.

Tanya: I can’t even imagine. It would be… I, I, I bet you his numbers for how many times he’s moved and, uh, military, uh, personnel, um, moving from place to place would be a- around the same.

Al: Yeah, it would be- Like, just- Yeah. Probably …

Tanya: just going from that-

Al: I think that’s any hockey player, coach, you know, that kind of lifestyle.

Does that

Tanya: still happen?

Al: Oh, yeah, of course. Players move all

Tanya: the time. Where they get traded as much that-

Al: Maybe not as much as, as Don Cherry, but, uh, some people, yeah …

Tanya: That’s a lot of moves. Holy. [01:19:00] Um, yeah, I, I, I love all the scenes with Rose in it. Um, I think she makes things super entertaining. Um, I love the, the, uh, um, the arc that Don’s going through and, and, and looking forward to seeing what comes next ’cause, you know, he’s apparently going to get canceled, but we know that he doesn’t.

So how did that happen?

Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah, what turns around. Sorry- Yeah …

Mat: sorry, really quickly, f- 53 times.

Al: They moved 53

Tanya: times? No way.

Mat: 53 times. Don Cherry often said he and his first wife, Rose, moved 53 times during their 16-year minor league hockey career.

Al: 16

Tanya: years- That’s

Mat: ridiculous … 53 times. I mean, it’s also from Don Cherry, so I don’t know if that’s exactly the ratio.

I think you forgot to carry

Al: the

Victor: decimal point.

Tanya: Wow.

Al: Oh, man. Oh. I, I mean, that’s, that’s a lot. I, I mean, some moves were probably maybe from apartment to apartment or whatever, but it doesn’t matter. But still. It’s still, yeah.

Tanya: Holy. Yeah. That’s

Al: a

Tanya: [01:20:00] lot.

Al: Um, yeah, Victor, what, what are you, were your first impressions of this, uh, installment of this movie?

Victor: Yeah, I think this was fantastic. Mm. This is the, uh, this is kind of, this is the story that we were hoping to see, right? Um, yeah, it was interesting to see the story about him as a player and then as a coach, and I think that that’s an important movie just for that. Yeah. For the people that don’t know, only know him as Coach’s Corner, I think that first movie- Mm-hmm

really, you know, dives deep into, um, that part of his life. Um, but this, this is the fun stuff, right? This is what we came here to see.

Clip: Mm-hmm.

Victor: Um, and, and we’re getting it, and obviously this is a bit of a cliffhanger because this is obviously not the end. It’s, if anything, it’s almost kinda like the beginning.

Um, so it’ll be interesting to see how he gets out of this mess that he’s in. Uh, and we’ll find that out early in the next movie. But, um, uh, it was also f- I don’t know if you watched, uh, the, the, the video ends and then gives you the [01:21:00] clips of the- Yeah,

Al: but I didn’t wanna get into it ’cause I don’t wanna-

Victor: No, no, no- Yeah.

Yeah … let’s not talk about it. Yeah. But boy, how fun- Yeah … those clips were.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Victor: Uh, especially kind of the c- clips of him and McLean.

Al: Yeah,

Victor: yeah. You know, that was, I can’t wait to get into that.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: Uh, but, uh, yeah, this is, this is a great, um, great start, uh, to this two-part movie.

Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think the first half of, um, this was, uh, you know, I w- I was kinda like, eh, um, maybe, maybe because of the actor changes or something, I wasn’t getting into it as much as the first, uh, the first miniseries.

Um, the, um, but the second half of this, so definitely, like when, when things started moving. Because I guess the first part of his career was explained in the first miniseries and, and, and only touched upon in this, and, and they fast-forwarded through the Colorado year, which is probably the least in, in, interesting part of his career, Colorado, right?

Boston was definitely the meat of, of, of his coaching-

Victor: Joey’s taking a lot of offense to what you’re saying right now.

Al: Well, n- [01:22:00] I mean, no. I mean- … they, they obviously loved Colorado so much they stayed there as long as they could until they couldn’t anymore, right? Um, and, and I’d love to visit Denver. It’s not about that.

It’s about the team and about his career- Yeah … lasting only the one year there. Um, but yeah, the second half of this part was definitely, it, it picked up and, ’cause you start seeing the birth of, of Coach’s Corner that we all know and, and have complicated feelings about. So, um- Uh, and, uh, yeah. Uh, so I’ll leave it at that.

Uh, Matt?

Mat: Yeah. I mean, I, I kinda echo some of what you just said there. I feel the first half of this almost felt unnecessary. Like- Hmm … it was cool to see another aspect of his life, but- Yeah … we got all the, the big points that we needed from-

Victor: And now you’re making Stuart feel sad … MacLellan.

Al: Yeah. It’s-

Mat: No, I know but- I love

Al: Tyler Johnson and, and stuff,

Mat: but yeah, it- I’m not, yeah.

That was gonna be my next comment. Yeah. But this is by no means a slight at Tyler Johnson. I think he did a great job. Mm-hmm. I just don’t think those, that story arc… Or, or even if they, they could have glanced over all of the Colorado stuff and all that [01:23:00] other-

Clip: Hmm …

Mat: a- and just shown th- this early age backstory, and I would’ve been com- fum- comfortable with it.

Yeah. Um, because the moment this started where he enters hockey in Canada, this thing just, the whole dynamic of this movie changed. Hmm. And the energy change and the excitement around it, and this is what I’ve been waiting for. So I wish they would’ve got there sooner. Um, but I love that they got there, and I love that we’re getting it now.

And I’ve seen Kesel in a, in obviously a number of things. This is the best version of him I’ve ever seen right now- Mm-hmm … in this half. Yeah. And I assume it just carries into the next. Um, like, he is just nailing the role at this point. Mm-hmm. Hmm. And it is so much fucking fun to watch. Um, and I also have always said I love true stories.

So n- He, he, I also have always interpreted Don Cherry as, like, that movie Big Fish, uh, where you’re seeing and hearing versions that are exaggerated- Yeah … but that’s okay. Yeah. [01:24:00] That makes it fun. That’s filmmaking. Mm-hmm, yeah. That’s, that’s storytelling. Um, and I accept that, so. That’s

Al: printing the legend, yes, yes.

Mat: That’s printing the legend. Yeah. So I accept that. Mm. And I think I referenced that before. Um-

Victor: But we also got a chance to see the exaggerated version of Don Cherry with our own eyes.

Mat: Yeah.

Victor: It’s the stuff that before he became the flamboyant-

Al: Yeah …

Victor: uh, cartoon character Yeah, yeah … that we, we don’t really know.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. So it’s a, but, but it’s like it’s not such a far stretch because- Yeah … of who he became.

Mat: Mm-hmm. Yep. A- and again, like, a- and I mentioned, I’ve already said this several times, Mellanby, like, I didn’t know who, I didn’t know that name until t- till today when I watched this, but he is just as mu- deserves just as much credit for Hockey Night in Canada and what it became- Mm-hmm

as Don Cherry. Mm. Because you need that person to see the possible.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: And he was clearly that person.

Al: Yeah. Mm. And not only see the possible, ’cause he, the, the har- the, the hard part wasn’t hiring Don to do the job. The hard part was inspiring Don to be Don- [01:25:00]

Mat: Yeah …

Al: on TV, right? ‘Cause- A- and, and- … he was reluctant

Mat: keep the p- yeah, and keep the powers that be- Yeah … at bay-

Al: Yes …

Mat: while it developed.

Al: Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you. This is, Kiso, Kiso starts shining when Don goes from timid, reluctant Don to-

Clip: Yes …

Al: loud, boisterous Don in those last few Coach’s Corners. Kiso disappears and Don Cherry appears. Oh, my God, it’s wild.

Right? Yeah. It, it- It is so wild … it’s pretty wild. So I can see where when Tim s- talks about, uh, Kiso, um, r- uh, when he auditioned or whatever that in his mind he was the only guy, right? ‘Cause I can’t, I can’t… I mean, some of the other Canadian actors he mentioned that were up for the role, great actors. I can’t picture any of them doing what, what- Yeah

Kiso did with this role. Mm-hmm. Uh, anyway, let’s move on to ratings. Tanya, you’re up first. What do you give this, uh, this, uh, part one of, uh, Wrath of Grapes? Uh, fresh, clearance, or compost?

Tanya: Um, uh, I just wanna say that I agree with [01:26:00] you. Like, I did stop seeing Kiso. At beginning the, the first movies- Yeah … um, I, I, I was always looking at him as Kiso-

Al: Yeah

Tanya: doing Dom. But, um, yeah, I only started seeing Don-

Clip: Mm-hmm …

Tanya: um, and, and stopped seeing Kiso, especially during all of the rants. And then how pissed off, I also wanna make the comment, how pissed off would Don, Don had been, um, that, you know, he’s being told to, you know, let yourself go and just do you, and now he’s being fired for it?

Al: Well, 25 years later. Like, he had a- I, uh- He had a pretty damn good run.

Tanya: I know. I… No, but I mean- Yeah … here in this- Sure … in, uh, at the end of this- They sh- he-

Victor: they should have let him go on his own ter- on… Let… They should have let the contract expire- Mm … and let him go out held head, h- head held high and not being a butt end of, uh, you know, a bad joke.

Al: Yeah. Well, it… That’s not what happened, so it doesn’t matter.

Tanya: No, but I’m meaning at the end of this movie. That is what happened. At the end of this movie, they’re letting him [01:27:00] go, but we know it continues. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But what, what I’m saying is he, like, him and Rose, I, I, I’m surprised that Rose wasn’t more pissed off in the kitchen going, “Well, they wanted that from you.”

Mm. Like-

Al: Yeah …

Tanya: how, how do they want that and now they’re, they’re saying it’s too far? ‘Cause she knows both sides. Yeah. She,

Mat: she sees and knows- Yeah, she sees. Yeah … but

Al: also understands-

Mat: She lives with him. Yeah … the controversy that he is. Yeah. Yeah.

Tanya: Um, rating. I think it’s a fresh. It, it’s, uh, it… I, I liked it even…

I know you had said that you didn’t like the commentary coming through of two characters-

Al: Uh, yeah- … on the first movie … I wasn’t

Tanya: a fan of

Al: the voiceover narration from Rose.

Tanya: I, I liked it.

Mat: I s- I still didn’t even notice it.

Tanya: I

Al: liked it. It, it only happened, like, once in the s- second half. Yeah. Uh, I’m thinking it only happened a couple of times the first half.

But it was, it was… I, I wasn’t a fan.

Tanya: I, I liked it. I liked her, her-

Mat: Didn’t, didn’t even notice it …

Al: I… If there was an i- a movie from her point of view where she does all the voiceover, I would totally watch that The fact that we have a movie from a point of view, but then it [01:28:00] also brings in a second point of view, uh, it, it, it messes with it.

I don’t know. I’m, I’m not a fan of that.

Tanya: But- I thought it brought comedy to it, or, or just- Sure … that kind of-

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: I, I liked it.

Victor: So you don’t like Sonny and Cher? Like, it, it’s, it’s nice when they play off of each other.

Al: No, but that’s not the, it’s not what, what I’m talking about here. Uh, yes. They were, they were fun.

Um, all right. So you get a fresh. Victor, I mean, what are you…?

Victor: Yeah, yeah. It’s, it’s an easy fresh. I mean, you know, even if you don’t like the… Even if the first half was a bit slow for you, I mean, the overall, the whole, the, the entirety of, of the, of the first half of this movie is, I, is… it’s an easy fresh for me.

Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I was coming in, uh, to give, and giving this one a clearance, because I was enjoying… I enjoyed the first miniseries so much. Uh, and, um, the first half of this one, yeah, again, was kind of weird. It, it was uneven or whatever, but, uh, I don’t know, after listening to you guys gush about this… And [01:29:00] I agree, the second half of this was, was, was strong and, and you start seeing the, the origins of, of Coach’s Corners.

And, and I love that they bring in… They, they don’t use the intro right off the bat. They bring it in, like, a, a couple of, a couple of Coach’s Corners in is when you finally see and hear the music, the theme, and, and, and the opening that, that we’re all used to seeing. Uh, so yes, it’s a fresh. Matt?

Mat: Yeah.

Longer buildup than I would’ve liked, but it is an easy, easy fresh. Um, yeah. Hands down. Wondrous. Oh, my Gawd.

Clip: Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Yes.

Oh my God. Take me, take me. I regret nothing

Al: It’s hard to believe that that first wondrous- Yes … is who played the young Don Cherry in this movie. ‘Cause it’s, uh, completely different. Uh, Awesome says, “Al hates third person omnicious, [01:30:00] omniscient narratives.” If that’s what it’s called, that’s what it is. It’s, it’s kind of…

Yeah. Anyway, um, all right, so we move on to MVPs. Tanya, who is your MVP for this?

Tanya: My… It, it’s the scene with Rose and, um, um-

Al: Tim?

Tanya: Mellen- Oh … Allenby.

Al: Oh, that scene. Okay. On, on the

phone,

Tanya: yeah. Yeah. On the phone and her giving the play-by-play of who Don is and, um, um, and like how, how he can work with him, and him taking all the notes.

I love that scene.

Al: So you’re giving it to the scene. Yeah. Okay. That’s cool. I like that. Uh, Victor, how about, how about you? W- who’s, uh, your MVP?

Victor: Oh, easy, uh, Harold Cotton.

Al: Explain yourself.

Tanya: I can’t

Victor: believe you said that. Harold Cotton. Why? Um, uh, played by, uh, John Ted Wynn, uh, the actor, uh, uh, who I believe also played the doctor in, uh, the f- in Keep Your Head Up, Kid, uh, [01:31:00] of the Hershey, uh, Hershey Bears.

Al: Okay, why him? Why is he your MVP?

Victor: He was the, uh, he was the speech coach. That was my favorite, that was my favorite scene in the entire movie. Oh,

Al: my God. Oh, my God.

Victor: And he delivered his lines perfectly. I’m

Mat: mad at you on this

Victor: one. Yeah. He, he delivered them perfectly.

Tanya: Are you talking about the guy that said the pla- the pa- The rain in-

the plane, the rain in- … Spain lies- … the plane … lies mainly in the plain. The plane in Spain.

Victor: Yes, of course. Harold Cotton.

Al: That was the doctor? That wasn’t the doctor.

Victor: Yeah, he was, he w- he played the doctor in the Hershey, for the Hershey team.

Al: Oh, for the, not the doctor who, who said- No … that Tim was dying and not, not that doctor.

No,

Victor: no,

Al: no, no.

Victor: Oh, okay. For the hockey team,

Al: yeah. He’s the same doctor on

Tanya: the hospital. All right.

Al: Uh, I’ll, I’ll have to take your word for it. It’s, it’s a ridiculous pick, but whatever. Uh, I’m going with Mellanby. I’m going with Mellanby in this because I love his reactions in the control [01:32:00] room. When everyone else is cringing or shaking their heads or, or, or bashing their heads against the tables, he’s laughing as, his ass off.

He sees, he sees what’s happening, and he sees, uh… Yeah, he- he’s the visionary behind this. And, and I, I, I’ve… Yeah, a newfound respect for Ralph Mellanby and, and his hand in creating Coach’s Corner. Matt, who’s your MVP?

Mat: Yeah, Ralph Mellanby, no notes. Oh,

Al: yeah.

Mat: He nailed it. Yeah. I was- I fell in love with him in this.

I’m like, “This is incredible.”

Al: Nice. All right. Um, wow, I didn’t think that was gonna be that quick. Uh, I have no listener comments or real news for this, uh, week, so, uh, Matt, did you wanna do the shout-outs?

Mat: I would absolutely like to do that to our Patreon group. Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Produce Stand podcast Patreon starting lineup.

Al: Oh,

Mat: boy. 37 absolute beauties on the roster, all earning top line minutes. Let’s meet tonight’s squad. [01:33:00] Leading us off with the international squad is Jack, Jess, Justin, and Dennis. Crossing oceans just to be here, commitment like that deserves a tap of the stick. International game strong, boys. Now skating in, the Northeast Division: Josh, PJ, Adrian, Jeff, Mike, Aaron, Noah, Paddle, and Charlie.

Ho- hard-nosed group. They’ll finish every check, clear the front of the net, and still have enough left on the tank to chirp you on the way to the bench. Leading next is the Southeast Division with Casey, Jen, Ryan, Casey, Katherine, and Theresa. Plenty of swagger in this room. They don’t need to tell you they’re good.

They’ll let the scoreboard do the talking. Making their way over the boards from the Midwest to Sid- Midwest Division is Chad, Liz, Dennis, Dave, Sarah, and Tobias. Reliable as sunrise, punch the clock, put in the work, and somehow still make it look easy. Coaches love this group. Next, introducing the Western Division is [01:34:00] Awesome Joey, Nick, Jason, and Robbie.

A little grit, a little chaos, and just enough unpredictability to keep everybody honest. You don’t wanna see this group coming over the boards in the third period. And now, tonight’s wildcard. That’s it, the Wildcard Division. Scott. Listed as being from parts unknown. From parts unknown. We’ve checked, we’ve checked Google Maps, Apple Maps, MapQuest.

Heck, we’ve even asked Canada Post. Nobody knows where Scott’s from. If you do, don’t tell us. Some mysteries are better left unsolved. And finally, bringing it home, the Canadian call-ups. Matt, Miriam, Gord, Michelle, Cassie, and Jay. Salt of the earth crew, homegrown talent keeping the barn full and the lights on.

And there you have it, 37 absolute beauties making this podcast possible every single week. Whether you’re around the corner, across the country, across the ocean, or apparently from parts unknown, thank you for your support, your generosity, and for being part of the Produce Stand podcast family. Now, let’s drop the puck.

Al: Wow.[01:35:00]

Well done Look at you putting in the work. That’s amazing. Thanks so much, bud. At

Tanya: least I can do it.

Mat: Amazing. I can contribute.

Al: Well done. All right, let’s move on to final comments, and Tanya, you’re up first.

Tanya: Final comments. Uh, this was great. I’m looking forward to, um, seeing what happens to Don ne- next and, and how, um…

So there’s n- two… There’s one other movie, two parts. One

Al: final movie. We’ll, we’ll do it in two parts, yes.

Tanya: Got you, got you. Um, looking forward to seeing what, uh, Victor’s MVP will be next. Um, I- I’m looking out for the unusual, uh, to see if I can guess. Um, yeah, looking forward to our week off and, uh, not, not that I’m looking forward to, to missing you, you beautiful faces, but, uh, hopefully we will see you this next weekend- Yeah, in person, yeah

face to face in person. Yeah.

Al: Yay. All right. Victor?

Victor: [01:36:00] Yeah, I can’t remember if we, uh, talked about this in the opening comments, uh, but, uh, um, I think today we, in Toronto, were ranked as the lowest air quality city in the world. And Tanya mentioned that. Yeah, yeah, major city, yeah,

Mat: in the

Victor: world. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and so I’m hoping for that to improve-

um, by tomorrow. And, uh, so that’s, that’s kind of, you know, the main thing that I’m hoping for. And then once, uh, we- our air quality gets good enough to go outside, I’m hoping that, uh, we get to see some fun community, uh, folks in person. Mm-hmm. Um, and, uh, without threat- you know, um, putting our lives on the line.

Um, and then, uh, looking forward to part two of this- Yes … uh, because I think that’s gonna be so much fun. That’s gonna be the, uh… You know, um, I think we’re gonna have a hoot reviewing that second part.

Al: Looking forward to it, yes. Uh, thanks, guys, for coming out tonight. Matt, great job on, on the, uh, Patreon read.

Uh, thanks everyone who stuck out [01:37:00] on the live stream. Michelle, great to see you on there. Uh, I don’t know if you’re back from the UK yet or not, but I’m loving to see all… I’m loving watching all the pictures you’ve been taking, and meeting up with, uh, Trollinger and, um, and, uh, um, Matt, uh, uh… Sorry.

Mat: Dennis?

Al: Dennis, sorry, not Matt. Um, meeting up with Dennis in, in London, so that, that’s been a lot of fun to follow. Uh, yeah, guys, this has been fun. And yeah, we’re gonna take a week off next week because, uh, Tanya and I are on vacation, and we’re having our friends, Casey, coming up, uh, for a visit. So, uh, we’re taking a week off, but then we’re back the following week to finish this up, and then hopefully we’ll have Tim on to talk about this, and we’ll ask him all the questions we’ve been saving up for him.

So there you go. The, uh, Matt?

Mat: Oh, final comments. Yes. Uh, yeah, this was great. Um, I kinda, I kinda felt you were wrapping up and forgot me, and I was just moving on.

Al: No.

Mat: But

Al: I never forget you.

Mat: I know, buddy. Almost. I know. Um, no, this was fun. I, I, I needed this. [01:38:00] Uh, this episode made me so happy, and I had a lot of fun reviewing.

And of course, these, these bits I’m doing at the end, I’m getting a little bit of help from the online com- online world,

Al: but it’s- Don’t, don’t say AI because, uh-

Mat: I know … some people will roast you. I was gonna say Al. Oh. I was gonna say Al. Yeah,

Al: me. Oh, right. But,

Mat: uh-

Al: I’m helping you out. You’re right.

Mat: Yeah. Um, but no, it’s fun.

Um, I just love this shit so much, and then I’m loving these reviews. These feel like our, our OG reviews and, uh, I can’t wait to do the next one.

Al: All right. So now it is time to get inebriated at the after party.

That’s all we have for this episode. Next week we’re off for some much needed time off, but we’ll be back the week after with the first half of part two of Wrath of Grapes, so make sure you do your homework. Until then, if you’d like to support the podcast, become a patron. You’ll get a shout-out on the show, Matt will write something or, or have some AI write it [01:39:00] for him, uh, exclusive bonus content, early access to interviews, and your own ad-free podcast feed.

Another great way to support us is by telling a friend about the podcast or leaving us a review, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky @protostamppod. Shout out as always to our buddy in service from the live stream and our friends at Sonar Network. Our intro and outro themes are by Poised For The Worm.

You can find them on all music, uh, streaming platforms. Thanks for joining us. Now we’re headed to the after party. On behalf of Tanya, Victor, Matt, and myself, thank you for listening and have a great week. We’re running out of [01:40:00] time