No Season Two

(Recorded on October 15th, 2023) We’re back this week with episode fifteen of My So-Called Life, “So-Called Angels.” It’s Christmas in Three Rivers and all is not calm and bright. We’re blessed with a restaurant free storyline this week, but unfortunately, Rickie’s family has kicked him out of the house and he’s doing his best to pretend that things are FINE when things are obviously not fine. Angela wants to know why her family doesn’t go to church (hashtag: it's boring) and for the portion of the episode where she’s not fighting with Patty, she’s white savioring all over the place. Patty, who’s still feeling the sting of Amber Vallon telling her to “get off her high horse” doesn’t think that it’s their place to get involved with helping Rickie. Graham makes a Spike Lee joke without ever probably having seen a Spike Lee film. Danielle is taking the Christ out of Christmas; Brian is left alone for the holidays (even his parents don’t want to spend time with him); Rayanne turns Sharon’s teen help line into 1-800 line; and Jordan helps Rickie find a place to stay (not a great one, but still). We get some one and done characters: a cop who has to explain the difference between a “run away” and a “throw away” to Patty (must be nice in that bubble, Patty!) and Female Clarence™. Only one of those people will be getting their wings this Christmas! Meaghan and George discuss the bachelorette party situation in Nashville (harmless fun or an epidemic?); Meaghan admits that she cried during the episode (not such a Grinch after all, is she?!); and George, in the hopes of a Christmas miracle of his own, tries to revive the defunct clothing store Structure. (Original network air date December 22nd, 1994)

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(Record on September 17th , 2023) Up this week is episode fourteen of My So-Called Life, “On the Wagon.” Jordan and Angela are “sort of” broken up, meaning that Angela now listens to all of his boring stories without the added benefit of a makeout sesh. Rayanne’s 33 days sober and desperate for attention. Tino’s quit the Frozen Embryos and Jordan’s got twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to go until he needs to find a replacement for the ex-lead singer. And after seeing one of the band practices, we’re starting to get an idea as to why Tino wanted out. Rayanne tries to convince Angela to get Jordan to let her audition for the band and even Jordan, an adult man with a 1st grade reading level, knows it’s a bad idea. But Rayanne Yoko’s her way in via the drummer and they all spend approximately zero minutes practicing together before their big audition at Vertigo. Rayanne bombs and Jordan has to step in as singer leading us all to wonder why he just didn’t do that in the first place. Given Rayanne’s odd behavior, everyone thinks she’s headed towards a bender, but is she? Patty thinks she is (based on absolutely no evidence) and inserts herself into the situation. Patty eventually goes toe-to-toe with Amber and her blender and it’s no longer peaceful in Margaritaville. There’s a small pool for biggest winner leading both Meaghan and George to surprising choices. George asks if Jordan and Rayanne are good singers; Meaghan asks if Zack Attack is the better tv show band; and since Oliver Stone will never be on our podcast, we’re finally free to say what we think of his movies (hint: they’re too long!) (Original network air date December 8th, 1994)

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(Record on September 9th, 2023) We’re back this week with episode thirteen of My So-Called Life, “Pressure.” You may recall where we left off with the last episode; Jordan coming to a sudden realization that he should hold hands with Angela. Well, this relationship has accelerated at record speed. Jordan’s letting Angela drive his car—maybe he thinks that teaching her how to drive stick will subconsciously make her want to have sex with him. Jordan’s got two tickets to Pound Town but Angela isn’t sure she wants to join him. She seeks counsel in a few people: Sharon, who brings over her parents' instructional “intimacy” VHS, a tape so unsexy they could show it on ABC in 1994; and Rickie, who tells her that her first time should be like a miracle and not with someone who has been held back twice and cant read (kidding, he only said the first part). After Angela backs out of having sex with Jordan at an abandoned house (the miracle here would be not rolling over on to a rusty nail) we learn that his other philosophy in life is POGO—put out or get out. Hallie’s back and this time we meet her fiancé, Brad, who may or may not think that Graham is letting his 15 year old daughter date an adult. Hallie wants to open a restaurant with Graham as the chef (may we remind you: no credentials). Of course when Graham tells Patty she’s not excited and the cycle of their miserable marriage continues! George has a lot to say about Cynthia Hargrove, resident baddie at Liberty High. Meaghan isn’t quite sure what interests Jordan about Angela so much anyways. And as delicately as possible we try to figure out how far these two had gotten before the "going all the way" question was posed. Was it over or under the pants stuff? (Original network air date December 1st, 1994)

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(Record on September 10th, 2023) Up this week is “Self-Esteem,” the twelfth episode of My So-Called Life. Angela and Jordan are making out in the school’s boiler room, not for the thrill of it, but because Jordan doesn’t want his friends to know about Angela. Rough! Angela invites herself to a Buffalo Tom concert to prove to Sharon and Rayanne that he’s not treating her like garbage only to have him treat her like garbage right in front of them. We learn that Jordan can’t spell Angela’s name and that Angela is a glutton for punishment. Liberty High finally replaces Ms. Mayhew (no word on if she’s still alive) with Mr. Katimski. Mr. Katimski desperately wants Rickie to join the drama club and will stop at nothing to get him to sign up—except calling him Enrique, he won’t stop doing that. Graham finally starts the cooking class that Patty signed him up for. He meets Hallie Lowenthal, a woman he describes as loud and obnoxious, so you know these two are already in love. Stephan Dieter, the teacher, is on the sauce (not spaghetti) and when he goes to rehab, Hallie convinces the school to let Graham, a man with no credentials of any kind, teach the class. We also get another round of Brian yelling at Angela in her house—someone please, arrest him. He gives Jordan a run for his money in the biggest loser category. George geeks out over Buffalo Tom, even going so far as to pull out a cassette tape. Meaghan talks about the bus route from Loserville to Liberty High—is it a direct route or are there stops? And finally we discuss Mrs. Lerner’s workplace flirtations—harmless or should HR get involved? (Original network air date November 17th, 1994)

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(Record on August 8th, 2023) This week, we're discussing episode eleven of My So-Called Life, “Life of Brian.” It’s a nightmare scenario for Meaghan, but she soldiers on. From the first scene to the last, Brian terrorizes us with his narration and bad decision making. We get two new students at Liberty High: Delia, who is crushing on Brian (for some reason) and Corey, an artsy student who wears a beret that has Rickie’s attention. Sharon is organizing the World Happiness Dance, but for some it will be the World Sadness Dance. Angela wants to ask Jordan, but do they let adults into high school dances? Brian debates asking Delia or Angela to the dance, turning to Graham for help; he of course is no help at all. At the dance, Rickie and Delia give us one of, if not the greatest dance performances ever to air on television. And we get an epic, epic needle drop. There’s a clear cut winner for biggest loser, but Graham really, really tries to steal the crown. He’s mad at Patty for suggesting community college for cooking classes when she knows future Kitchen Nightmares restaurant owner Graham wants to go to culinary school. Finally, we learn that the three worst men on the show all have the same philosophy in life. Also, George makes a shocking declaration—but by the end of the series, will he feel the same way? Meaghan finally admits something Jordan did was “kind of hot,” and we discuss George’s incredible high school fashion evolution. Learn how he went from Wu-Tang to Brian Krakow in just a few years. (Original network air date November 10th, 1994)

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(Recorded on August 6th, 2023) This week, we’re discussing episode ten of My So-Called Life, “Other People’s Mothers.” Amber’s back baby and she’s brought her blender and some margarita mix! In a grass is always greener sitch, Angela thinks Amber is not like other moms, she’s a cool mom. Rayanne get’s a birthday card with some money from her estranged father. Instead of taking Rickie’s advice to buy some makeup or a leather jacket, she decides to throw a party. With all the drugs and alcohol she can procure from the school parking lot you can imagine how this party goes. Patty is throwing a party of her own for her parents anniversary, which could have benefited from some tablets of Rayanne’s ecstasy. Patty comes to the rescue when Angela and Rickie need her help with Rayanne; who’s the cool mom now, Angela? We get a blissfully Krakow free episode and what we think may be a top needle drop moment. Also, George and Meaghan share their thoughts on Zach Braff (Jay Sherman Voice: He stinks!); if 90’s rock groups made a mistake adding reggae to their songs (yes); and we do our best to work out the timelines of the two parties in the episode. Something’s not adding up! (Original network airdate November 3rd, 1994)

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(Recorded on July 30th, 2023) It’s the tail end of Spooky Season and with that comes episode nine of My So-Called Life, “Halloween.” If you’ve ever wondered what My So-Called Life would be like if Angela had the ability to see into the past (a reverse That’s So Raven situation), this episode is for you. If you’ve ever thought about how Rickie would look in Brian’s clothes, this episode is for you. If you’re curious what would happen if Graham ever dressed like a pirate, you’ll definitely regret it, however this episode is still for you. And most importantly, if you’ve wanted to know what Danielle episode George was referring to when he said it was “PHENOMENAL”, then this episode is definitely for you. Finally, with it being Halloween, the best 'fit category gets a little wild. Also in this episode, George works out his six steps of separation to Tom Irwin. Meaghan talks about her love for Joel Schumacher films and does an impression of George. And we compete in the Olympics of Suffering - Halloween edition. (Original network air date October 27th, 1994

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(Recorded on July 16, 2023) We’re back this week with episode eight of My So-Called Life, “Strangers in the House.” If you’ve been longing for a parent-heavy episode a) what’s wrong with you? and b) your wish has been granted. Sharon’s dad and Chase family friend, Andy has a heart attack and is in the hospital. This sends Graham and Patty into a tailspin - Graham realizes he hates his job and Patty tries to fill her prescription for sexual healing. Sharon has to stay at the Chase house and Angela struggles to figure out how to say “I’m sorry your dad is in the hospital.” With everyone acting of out pocket this week, we set a new record for our Biggest Loser category. Meaghan talks about her 20 year high school reunion (hashtag old); George is into disco now (just a few years late); and in lieu of a needle drop moment we hypothesize what music Sharon is listening to on her discman—hint, it’s not Rage Against the Machine. (Original network air date October 20th, 1994)

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(Recorded on June 19th, 2023) Up this week, episode seven of My So-Called Life, “Why Jordan Can’t Read.” Rayanne loses a letter Angela had written about Jordan. When Jordan finds it and returns it to Angela, he claims he didn’t read it, but she only believes him after basically making him confess he that he doesn’t know how to read. Angela without any kind of medical license diagnoses Jordan with Dyslexia. Angela, Rickie, and Rayanne go to Jordan’s band practice and hear him sing his new song “Red.” And unfortunately, Rickie convinces Angela it’s about her (spoiler alert: it’s not). Brian continues to give us reasons to hate him. And Patty thinks she might be pregnant. George and Meaghan talk about “OJ: Made in America.” We find out George has moved on from Brian and Rickie and is now ‘shipping Rickie and Jordan. And Meaghan doesn’t understand men and their cars. (Original network air date October 6th, 1994)

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(Recorded on June 6th, 2023) If you loved films like Dead Poets Society, Dangerous Minds, and The Substitute film franchise, you’ll definitely love episode six of My So-Called Life, “The Substitute.” Ms. Mayhew, the English teacher has been missing from Liberty High for quite some time with no explanation. In her absence, we get introduced to Vic Racine, an unconventional substitute with two different colored socks. He’s not here to teach, he’s here to open minds and evade child support. Angela is moved to act by the injustice…of a poem not being allowed in the school’s literary magazine. And Jordan is given a Steinbeck novel by Vic, because when someone can’t read, that’s definitely where you start. George asks if Angela and Sharon’s poems were good; Meaghan can’t get over the fact that Vic abandoned his family; and we have our first ever reenactment of a scene from the episode. (Original network air date September 29th, 1994)

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