The TV Sect Podcast

There are many heroes when it comes to creating the magic of TV, but not all wear capes - and this isn’t just a fashion choice. On this episode, we learn about and get to know one of those unsung heroes, a script supervisor! 

First Sierra and Moni recap the Emmys. Yes, we know it was awhile ago, but we recorded when it was still fresh in our minds and hearts. 

Then we dive in to the behind the scenes of making television and chat with Caryn Ruby, a script supervisor, and the creator and host of the podcast Script Supervisors: Unsung Heroes of Film & TV. Her podcast is a backstage pass to the process of filmmaking from one of the most difficult, little-known, and historically female department head positions on a film crew. Each episode features a short interview as well as a topic like Why You should Stop Calling Us “Scripty,” or What really happened with that Game of Thrones coffee cup? Compiled from conversations with over a dozen opinionated masters of the craft of script supervising with experience from low-budget independent films and commercials all the way to and including multiple Academy and Emmy-Award winning films and television shows. 

Check out her podcast, it's amazing. Available wherever you get your podcasts. 

And, as usual, we end our show with our devotionals of our cult-like love of TV.

And, in the spirit of the Emmys, a special thanks to my unstable internet connection for the audio dropouts and weird sound artifacts that made the audio on this episode a little wonky. 

We’re back! After a long and  unexpected hiatus, we are once again chatting all about our cult-like love of television. On this show, we catch up on the all the TV shows we’ve been watching, what we love about them, why we love them - you know, no big whoop. We cover a lot, from Abbott Elementary, to the Better Call Saul series finale (there are spoilers, but we warn you in advance), and we even set the way back machine to the ‘90s to rediscover One Tree Hill.  Just two writers talking about their love of TV…for a little too long. You don’t have to listen all at once. 

We’re back for part two of our Valentine TV Gifts episode! (Yeah, we know, it’s later than we promised, and March, but we had some technical issues (we managed to clean up most of them), and shouldn’t the love last all year long?)

 In this episode, we continue to share shows we would wrap up with bows and give as gifts. 

 We take a moment to remember Betty White and all the amazing gifts she’s given us both in television and in life. And, we share one very special gift with our listeners, a gift from Wil Wheaton, in the form of a post on his Tumblr account, where he answers a difficult question many TV lovers have been struggling with lately – what do you do when the person who created a show you love, turns out to be a terrible person?

 And in our Devotional, Sierra testifies to her new television-themed venture, and Moni relates her new found love of “gentle story games.”

It’s February and with that is Valentine’s Day, the time to share gifts of love. As you all know, we love television, and TV is our love language, so we thought instead of chocolates or poems (because trust me, no one wants to hear our bloody awful poetry) we thought we would share our gifts of TV shows we love, and would love for you to watch.  

And, as usual, Sierra and Moni get so wrapped up in talking about TV that they run WAY over time, and have to create another two-parter episode.  

Part 2 of our TV Weddings Episode! Sierra and I continue to talk way too long all about TV weddings - the ones we loved, the ones that didn’t work for us, and the ones that were just too darn hard to watch. We discuss the differences between comedy and drama shows when it comes to the big day, and how it really all comes down to character development for a TV wedding to really work. Also, Sierra gets assurance that Game of Thrones is not the show for her.  

In our devotional, Sierra confesses to just how many hours she has binge-watched FBI and Moni professes her new found love of Psych. 

Bells are ringing here at the TV Sect, Wedding Bells! In this two-parter episode we talk all about TV Weddings! 

As our listeners know, Sierra recently got married, and, due to a series of unexpected twists and turns, ended up having a quintessential sitcom wedding. We break down what that is, and why it works so well. 

Writer, podcaster, video maker Matt Baume stops by to chat with Moni about television’s first gay wedding  which he spotlighted on an episode of his YouTube show Culture Cruise (spoiler alert, it’s probably not the episode you're thinking of), and how the representation of same-sex weddings and of LGBTQ characters on TV as progressed over the years. (35:33)

 At the end of the hour, we realize we have so much more to say (we have yet to get to drama weddings at this point), so we decide to make it a two-part episode, like most TV weddings.

It’s Thanksgiving Time, and as with any holiday, here at the TV Sect, we have time-honored traditions of watching our favorite Thanksgiving themed episodes!

Sierra and Moni wax nostalgic about all their favorite Thanksgiving episodes and discuss how comedy and drama shows approach the holiday differently. They also talk about the problematic history of Thanksgiving, how television is changing how it represents the holiday, as well as the importance of having Native voices telling the stories we see both on screen and in the writers room.

In place of the devotional, Sierra and Moni say what they are thankful for this year.  Be sure to check out our Search Party section on our website www.thetvsectpodcast.com for lists and links of the shows mentioned in this episode. 

We’re back from our hiatus, and back to talking TV! Fall is here. It’s time for football, sweater weather, and Halloween nights. It’s also time for The TV Sect Podcast: Pumpkin Spice Edition. 

This week were talking all about the shows that feel like fall, shows that just have that Pumpkin Spice aesthetic of a crisp autumn day, no matter what time of year the show takes place. We ponder on what makes a show feel Pumpkin Spice, what doesn’t, and why a show might choose to feel like a season. We also discuss Halloween episodes and specials. 

In the devotional this week, Moni confesses to never finishing a quintessential Pumpkin Spice show, and Sierra has a desperate plea aimed at all Halloween marketing and commercial executives. 

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” 

True, Will, very true, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't pass it over because of the name. Would you drop over $5 for a fancy coffee at Cargo House (aka Starbucks)? 

Today we look at Titles. Every writer knows how difficult it is to come up with a name for your script. Sometimes talking it out helps, so that’s what we are doing. Talking all about Titles of TV shows and thoughts about what works, what doesn't work, and crafting that perfect one that sparks the interest of a reader or a viewer.

Keep in touch with us during our break for updates on upcoming shows! Also, let us know what shows, writing topics, or other TV topics you'd like to hear about. We are here to talk all about your cult-like love of television. 

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This week we talk about food on television. Not that we don’t love a good binge of British Bake Off, but we’re talking food as part of a scripted show. Food is an essential part of life, so should it be for our characters on TV, but it’s so much more than set dressing. Food is a language, one that is full of reveals, secrets, and metaphors. We talk about how the choice of food in a script should never be random because what someone eats, or doesn’t eat, says so much about them. We also discuss how food can shape a story or can even be the engine for the story itself. And yes, it totally matters what is inside the fridge on set when it opens. 

In the Devotional, Sierra admits to spending a crazy amount of time on TikTok but has been rewarded by the algorithm gods as they guided her to discovering Gilmore Gay. Moni laments her lack of inspiration for cooking lately and makes a bold attempt to get herself right again by signing up for a virtual cooking class with Claudia Christian.