When we decided to cover Freeform's remake of Fox's iconic teen soap Party Of Five, there was one obvious choice of guest: Meredith Smith, recent submitter of a Canon presentation on the original series. After discussing Freeform's devastating take on five new lovable orphans, Around The Dial takes us through Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Grand Designs, and Cheer. Meredith goes back into the Canon fray with the Murder, She Wrote episode "If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly." Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time to sink your teeth into. Gather all your siblings and listen!

GUESTS

👤 Meredith Smith

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🍽 Party Of Five (2020)

Around The Dial: 🎧 Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

Around The Dial: 🏡 Grand Designs

Around The Dial: 📣 Cheer

The Canon: 🔪 Murder, She Wrote

Winner & Loser: 👍 Saved By The Bell (2020)

Winner & Loser: 👎 Grey's Anatomy

Game Time: 🧠 TV Dinners

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 285 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Meredith Smith on Twitter

📺 Primetimer

🎧 Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

The BBC rolled out Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Dracula on New Year's Day; we Yanks endured it over the weekend, and Nick and the panel agree that this grimly joyless take on a careworn narrative needs SOMETHING. A modern-day setting, maybe? Mini bottle eps on every famous personage the Count has eaten? But it just seems like the creators didn't really want to be there...and as a result, we didn't either. Going Around The Dial is more fun, with looks at Dare Me, You, Magic For Humans, Spinning Out, and Dave's tips for pepping up a Frasier rewatch. Then Nick returns us to the cemetery with his Nonac presentation on Buffy's fifth-season premiere. Killing Eve won, Witcher what-about-ers lost, and Steal Meals were flyin' in a very meta Game Time. Stake your claim to 2020's first all-new Extra Hot Great!

GUESTS

👤 Nick Rheinwald-Jones

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🧛‍♂️ Dracula (2013)

Around The Dial: 😝 Dare Me

Around The Dial: 🫵 You

Around The Dial: 🪄 Magic For Humans

Around The Dial: 😵‍💫 Spinning Out

Around The Dial: 📻 Frasier

The Nonac: 🤮 Buffy The Vampire Slayer S05.E01: Buffy vs. Dracula

Winner & Loser: 👍 Killing Eve

Winner & Loser: 👎 The Witcher

Game Time: 🧠 Televisual Pursuit

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 284 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🧛‍♂️ Did British viewers stick around after Night 1 of Dracula?

📝 Tara's top 10 eps of the decade on Culturally Relevant

📄 Sarah on why to watch Surviving R Kelly Pt. 2: The Reckoning

🎭 Nick Rheinwald-Jones's Safehouse '82

📍 Nick's The Pod

Happy New Year! We're off for the holidays so we've released two of our Patreon episodes from Extra Extra Hot Great! See you next week for a new episode.

In the years since BtVS seemed to dominate the cultural conversation -- and our TWoP forums -- some of the main cast have gone on to bigger and better things; others have gone on…Dr. Phil, with disastrous results. In today's Extra Extra Hot Great, we're ranking the top ten cast members listed on the IMDb, plus Joss Whedon, to see who's chosen and who's cancelled based on what they've done since the show ended in 2003.

In an era when there is, by any reasonable assessment, rather a lot of TV, we tend always to be grateful when a new show doesn't give us more than we would care to handle -- when episodes aren't too long; when a season doesn't feel like it's been overstuffed. The reason we appreciate that is because there are so many shows that we like, but that do impose themselves excessively on our time.

TOPICS

Lead Topic: ⚰️ Buffy The Vampire Slayer Power Rankings

Lead Topic: 🫃🏻 Overstuffed TV Shows

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 283 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

Merry Christmas! We're off for the holidays so we've released two of our Patreon episodes from Extra Extra Hot Great!

We're hopping in our time machines to imagine what an EHG main episode might look like…in 1999. It's all sequels and prequels in scripted content these days and hey, we're no different, so: What's the main topic on the podcast in a 1999 episode? What is everyone talking about for Around The Dial? What would we put up for the Canon, and who's Winning and Losing? And how the hell are we going to watch that new episode of Twin Peaks when our VCR crapped out and Netflix is decades away?

Previously, we imagined what an EHG would have looked like in 1999. Today, we're going back even further — to 1969. It was a big year in the news, and we're probably all well sick of retrospectives on Manson and the moon landing…but what was going on in TV-land in these fractured United States? We'll each propose main topics for a 1969 podcast; our Around The Dial, Canon, and Winner/Loser candidates; and possible celebrity guests.

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🎮 EHG in 1999

Lead Topic: ✌️ EHG in 1969

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 282 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

It's the most wonderful time of the year...if your very favourite thing is oppressively jolly holiday programming! We asked you, our listeners, to help us choose which piece of brand-new 2019 holiday content we would cover this year, and you delivered unto us the Lifetime original movie Mistletoe & Menorahs. Joining us to discuss it in a wild departure from their usual gig discussing the films of the Hallmark network are David J. Roth and Jeb Lund! Around The Dial clicks through FX's new adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Back To Life, the new season of CNBC's The Profit, The Expanse, and the season (and possibly series) finale of HBO's Watchmen. Lauren uses her Extra Credit to make us all benevolent TV dictators and bestow upon us the power to take a show that's Not For Us and make it meet our specific needs. Tara presents for Nonac induction the Beverly Hills, 90210 episode "It's A Totally Happening Life." Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time with a curious backstory. Take a break from all your a-wassailing and join us!

GUESTS

👤 David Roth

👤 Jeb Lund

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🕎 Mistletoe & Menorahs

Around The Dial: 🤶 A Christmas Carol

Around The Dial: 🛟 Back To Life

Around The Dial: 💸 The Profit

Around The Dial: 🌌 The Expanse

Around The Dial: ⌚️ Watchmen

Extra Credit: 🤑 Benevolent TV Dictator

The Nonac: 🤮 Beverly Hills, 90210 S03.E16: It's A Totally Happening Life

Winner & Loser: 👍 The Brothers Scott

Winner & Loser: 👎 Dan Spilo

Game Time: 🧠 Bizarre Backstory

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 281 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 David J. Roth on Twitter

🐦 Jeb Lund on Twitter

🎄 The Dave And Jeb Aren't Mean podcast

🎄 DAJAM on Patreon

⏰ The Culturally Relevant podcast

🎳 UnDeadspin on Twitter

📰 James Poniewozik on Dan Spilo at the New York Times

🏴‍☠️ Andy Dehnart on Spilo at Vulture

🩸 The Blotter Presents

How did Netflix think it would get away with a stinker like V Wars in the age of peak TV? We ponder that question with returning guest Monty, and we investigate the ingredients in a C-minus Syfy show (which this basically is) and wonder whether the show has, well, enough vampires (spoiler: nope). We go Around The Dial with Servant, Mad About You 2019, Making It, Ex On The Beach, and Toast Of London before rebooting dark characters in sunny-genred shows for an Extra Credit. Monty went over the top (as it were) for his Blackadder series finale Canon submission. Non-fiction cheerleaders won, Baby Yoda lost (sort of), and we seconded a motion for Part 2 of a previous Game Time. Keep hacking -- it's a bloody great new Extra Hot Great.

GUESTS

👤 Monty Ashley

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🧛 V Wars

Around The Dial: 🍽 Servant

Around The Dial: 💕 Mad About You

Around The Dial: 🔨 Making It

Around The Dial: 🌊 Ex On The Beach

Around The Dial: 🍞 Toast Of London

Extra Credit: 🤑 Shiny De-boot

The Canon: 🏆 Blackadder S04.E06: Goodbyeee

Winner & Loser: 👍 Cheer

Lead Topic: 👎 Disney's failure to figure out the Baby Yoda toy supply chain

Game Time: 🧠 Second Second Most Episodes

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 280 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

😖 Ian Somerhalder is kind of a creeper?

🐍 On Blackadder's final scene

🎄 OUR Dave on Dave And Jeb Aren't Mean

🌴 The series finale of Beverly Hills, 90210 on Again With This

🔪 The Blotter Presents

🎨 Yes, Work Of Art actually existed

🐦 Monty Ashley on Twitter

In this episode, we dig in on some of the Canons submitted by you, our beloved listeners! First, we consider Doug Dale's case for Are You The One?'s eighth-season premiere, "Come One, Come All"; Meredith confronts us with the Party Of Five episode "The Intervention"; then Tara pitches Mom's "Spaghetti Sauce And A Dumpster Fire." Which -- if any! -- make it into our TV Hall Of Fame? Join us and find out!

TOPICS

The Canon: 🏆 Are You The One S08.E01: Come One, Come All

The Canon: 🏆 Party Of Five S03.E20: The Intervention

The Canon: 🏆 Mom S05.E18: Spaghetti Sauce And A Dumpster Fire

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 279 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

At Extra Hot Great, holiday time means non-regulation episodes -- like a supersized round of Would You Rather? with Blankenship Chair creator Mark Blankenship. The four of us confront identity-crisis-causing brainteasers from each other and you listeners, including terrible live musicals, an eternity with Noah Benson, chyron font battles, Friends-giving episodes, Ken Burns's Raisins, secret Scientologists, Alec Baldwin, theme songs at the dentist, early Law & Order face-offs, and who's going to avenge Buntsy's death onscreen. How would YOU choose in these Would You Rathers -- or COULD you choose? Pepsi-Challenge yourself to find out in Extra Hot Great 278.

GUESTS

👤 Mark Blankenship

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🤔 Would You Rather: Panel Round

Lead Topic: 🤔 Would You Rather: EHG Assist Round

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 278 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🎶 Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

The Crown has returned for Season 3 with new actors in all the key roles, and who better to talk about it than semi-professional royal watchers Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan of Go Fug Yourself? Around The Dial takes us through Dollface, All Rise, Evil, and Harlots. Sarah makes the case for American Crime Story S02.E04, titled "House By The Lake," to The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser. Get all your mates from the polo team over to the house and join us!

GUESTS

👤 Heather Cocks

👤 Jessica Morgan

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 👑 The Crown

Around The Dial: 🪆 Dollface

Around The Dial: ⚖️ All Rise

Around The Dial: 😈 Evil

Around The Dial: 👠 Harlots

The Canon: 🏆 American Crime Story S02.E04: House By The Lake

Winner & Loser: 👍 Clive Owen

Winner & Loser: 👎 David Hunt

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 277 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Heather & Jessica on Twitter

👗 Go Fug Yourself

👸 Heather & Jessica's latest novel, The Royal We

Disney+ finally launched earlier this week, so we thought we'd talk The Mandalorian with Adam Grosswirth. How does the show fit into the Star Wars universe -- and should it bother? Is it hiding Pedro Pascal's light under a mask bushel? And was a certain very cute puppet perhaps pandering to longtime franchise fans? Later, we went Around The Dial with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Encore, Back To Life, a POV on Bill Nye, and two Dark shows, and Adam hoped his and Eleanor's joint Grey's Anatomy presentation for the Canon wouldn't bomb. A League Of Their Own won, Don Cherry (finally) lost, and we trod the boards in a theatrical Game Time (yes, Sarah "actually got some points"). Don't take your masks off: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great.

GUESTS

👤 Adam Grosswirth

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 👾 The Mandalorian

Around The Dial: 🎭 High School Musical: The Musical The Series

Around The Dial: 🎭 Encore!

Around The Dial: 🛟 Back To Life

Around The Dial: 🧪 Bill Nye The Science Guy

Around The Dial: 🔮 The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance

Around The Dial: 🧱 His Dark Materials

The Canon: 🏆 Grey's Anatomy S02.E17: As We Know It

Winner & Loser: 👍 A League Of Their Own

Lead Topic: 👎 Don Cherry

Game Time: 🧠 Jazz Hands

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 276 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🎬 You Must Remember This

🌴 Again With This

🎶 Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs