Peak Show

The Simpsons super-month continues! Bree and Jason Edwards (@somethingfell) of Ruin My Life dive into the unpleasant turn of The Simpsons — the Scully years — and try to reconcile their fandom with the show while finding its peak.

The first of Bree's three-episode Simpsons supermonth is here! Bree and Ottawa-based digital journalist Ted Raymond (@TedFriendlyGuy) begin to break down the buildup and the tipping point of The Simpsons. They discuss the effects that different showrunners had on the characters, the Futurama brain-drain and how Frinkiak changed everything.

Next episode, Bree digs a little deeper with Jason Edwards!

Bree chats with Toronto-based audio engineer and music industry professional Luke Leveille (@lukeveille on Instagram) in this special episode devoted to finding the peak of Canadian indie rock and pop. We discuss the way Canadian broadcasters left musical acts hanging out to dry, how Spotify changed the game in all the wrong ways, the Junos’ tokenization of hip-hop and Black artists, venue closures and, of course, Scott Pilgrim.

This show has a companion playlist! Listen to all the acts we mentioned and more on Apple Music and Spotify.

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Bree chats with Mynt Marsellus (@Myntaford on Twitter) on the peak of the up-its-own-ass horror series, Saw! The two break down the totally legitimate psychology of what made these films — and the whole torture porn genre — so popular, discuss Jigsaw’s weird fixation with putting kids in danger, fawn over Carlo Rota and ask the important question: have these writers ever actually known anyone who uses drugs? Oh, and they talk about the OC, too.

Bree chats with Mynt Marsellus (@Myntaford on Twitter) on the peak of the up-its-own-ass horror series, Saw! The two break down the totally legitimate psychology of what made these films — and the whole torture porn genre — so popular, discuss Jigsaw’s weird fixation with putting kids in danger, fawn over Carlo Rota and ask the important question: have these writers ever actually known anyone who uses drugs? Oh, and they talk about the OC, too.

Noted millennials Bree and Maggie (@maggiebolson on Twitter) dissect the perennially popular series The Office to determine the exact moment when the show could have (and should have) ended. Was keeping The Office alive purely a matter of economics? Did any beta couple on the show come close to recapturing Jim and Pam? Did the writers do Roy/David Denman dirty? Are office romances really all that common? Can we all just pretend Season 8 didn’t happen? And, naturally, can Creed Bratton be our crazy uncle?

Noted millennials Bree and Maggie (@maggiebolson on Twitter) dissect the perennially popular series The Office to determine the exact moment when the show could have (and should have) ended. Was keeping The Office alive purely a matter of economics? Did any beta couple on the show come close to recapturing Jim and Pam? Did the writers do Roy/David Denman dirty? Are office romances really all that common? Can we all just pretend Season 8 didn’t happen? And, naturally, can Creed Bratton be our crazy uncle?

UPDATE 10/22/2021

We want to issue a trigger warning on this episode. Recent allegations have come to light regarding the actions of Travis Wall and his actions toward young dancers at conventions. In this episode, recorded in April 2021, we are highly complimentary of Wall as a dancer and choreographer. If that may be upsetting to you, we urge you not to listen. We believe survivors.

Bree and her hockey pal Liz, host of the Leafs podcast Real Gud Pros (@realgudpros on Twitter) sit down to talk about their other big passion: dance (dance, dance, dance). Did So You Think You Can Dance help the world of dance, or hurt it? Can you imagine if the show hadn’t hired Cat Deeley? When did the show just become something competition dancers tried out for when they turned 18? Is Tyce Diorio both the best choreographer and the worst judge? And, of course, we have to ask: what was with the way this show treated Black men?

Here is a playlist of some of our SYTYCD highlights.

Bree and her hockey pal Liz, host of the Leafs podcast Real Gud Pros (@realgudpros on Twitter) sit down to talk about their other big passion: dance (dance, dance, dance). Did So You Think You Can Dance help the world of dance, or hurt it? Can you imagine if the show hadn’t hired Cat Deeley? When did the show just become something competition dancers tried out for when they turned 18? Is Tyce Diorio both the best choreographer and the worst judge? And, of course, we have to ask: what was with the way this show treated Black men?

Here is a playlist of some of our SYTYCD highlights.

Bree sits down with known outrageous dude Mike Stephens (@bymikestephens on Twitter) to debate the peak of Mike Judge’s long-running phenomenon King of the Hill. Can you blame The Office for the downfall of King of the Hill? Can you blame King of the Hill for the downfall of The Simpsons? Should Wes Archer be more of a household name? Is a bad episode of King of the Hill still pretty good? Could you make this show today? Are all our dads secretly Hank Hill?