Vicarious Living

Michelle M - our West Coast Dawson's Creek expert returns to get real deep on this special movie breakdown episode covering the indie cult classic: 500 Days of Summer. So much to discuss as we get into breakups, music videos, blue-centric color schemes, pretentious iPhone commercials, out of place Puma gym shoes, wise 8 year olds, disjointed timelines, blacked out karaoke nights, the bar douche, sex music montages, 1900s LA architecture, false hope post-breakup, expectations vs reality, confirmation bias, feelings ruining memories, redemption, finding your Autumn, and much much more! Featuring clips/music from the movie, Ryan Philipee Practice Hero Award, player breakdowns, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear), and MVP of the film.

Gossip Girl comes to an end with Corey and Lauren S dropping by to officially walk us to the finish line. Some very interesting topics covered on this one including Eskimo brothers, return of Georgina Sparks, sex tapes and blackmail, old people love triangles and an unholy matrimony, Serena finds her voice for the first time in 18 episodes, Nate's coked out dad continuing to suck, Eric being a little bitch, Jenny doing way too much, silky smooth falsettos and a big time spoiler alert at the end for how the entire show ends after 6 seasons. Featuring clips/music from the show, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear), Ryan Philipee Practice Hero award, and MVP of the show.

Our one and only VL Teen Corespondent - Leah D - returns to jump back into Gossip Girl with Part IV of our 5-part adventure. We tackle all the tough issues head on including secret pool parties, Vanessa's vlogging, 1940s lifeguards, high school rats, Dan Humphrey's pretentious high horse, blackmail and bribery, teens with genital herpes, Serena dictating her mom's love life, Blair v. Jenny: woman-o y woman-o, cocaine infused morning rituals, stolen dresses and the return of Georgina Sparks! Featuring MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear) and MVP of the Week.

Back to a comedy on this pod as Zerb drops in to deliver the goods on the late-90s cult classic: BASEketball. This was a trip down memory lane as we were sent in a time machine back to our junior high years and loved every minute of it. Topics on this one include real life inspiration for the movie, chris farley, early South Park success, 3P, Giant Beavers in Southern Sri Lanka, cannibal musicals, all about who you know, Squeaks, downfall of modern sports, Cincinnati Royals, HORSE with baseball rules, jobs/kaikis/chicks, high school bball psych outs, creepy TV commentators, acts of service and much much more! Featuring player breakdowns, pulsing the kids, Ryan Philpee practice hero award, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear), and MVP of the week.

As we take a mid-season break from Gossip Girl, special guest appearance this week by Car D for this fantastic blast from our childhood past: Heavyweights. Nostalgia was running high as all the great memories from our youth came creeping back in. Topics on this one include mighty ducks, meth addicts, Ben Stiller's one-man tour de force, tom crooze, slapstick vs. nuance comedy, childhood day camps, weight loss infomercials, teen nights, ted talks, farts in faces, british boys crushing apache relays, bad parenting and much much more! Featuring player breakdowns, Ryan Philippe practice hero award, clips/music from the movie, MVP of the week, and the MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear).

Ben J joins Brian in the podcast studio to unwrap one of the best gifts to ever grace our presence: Cecilia Rhodes (aka Serena's crazy grandmother). Debutante Ball is upon us and we dig into all the most pressing themes for Part III of our Gossip Girl journey. These include Dan's blood running not blue, Nate starting to work his way back in with Blair (much to Chuck's chagrin), winter soldiers, Cici on a grandma war path, old people consistently sucking in teen shows, multi-emotion montages, Vanessa's snakelike gift giving, Blair's dad has a secret, ridiculous & unnecessary voicemails and much much more!

Featuring hypothetical role play, clips/music from the show, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear), and MVP of the Week.

Lauren S stops by the VL Podcast Studio to dive into our 2nd installment of Gossip Girl (mainly covering episodes 6 & 7 from season 1). What a delight to see Vanessa Abrams fully indoctrinate herself into the picture as Dan's past comes back to ruin his relationship with Serena in a big way. Other topics include Jenny's rivalry with Blair, Nate's coke-head dad, bad liars, adults carrying their own weight in Teen Dramas, love triangles in full swing, sneaking thru windows into bedrooms, Chuck's coming out party and much much more!

Featuring tips for the kids, clips/music from the show, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear), and MVP of the Week.

Time to get back to our bread and butter with this timeless Teen Drama TV classic from 2007: Gossip Girl! Special guest Anna from HR enters the podcast studio to discuss some of the most pressing topics from the season 1 pilot episode. Discussions went all over the place but here's a few of the highlights: teen rich vs teen poor, OC spin-offs, J La casting what ifs, stepping stone boyfriends, is Eric adopted???, excruciating bad pilot hair, Aaron Carter wannabes, and a whole bunch of Chuck Bass' failed sexual advances. Featuring clips/music from the show, tips for the kids, player breakdown, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear (Type in the promo code "VL" at checkout for 10% off your entire order)), and MVP of the Week.

Kacey B returns for a condensed VL B-Side pod breaking down the absolute crown jewel of reality television: Vanderpump Rules! Not our normal structure on this episode (and by that i mean no structure at all) as we let the dynamic drama lead us down whatever rabbit holes our hearts desire. Topics include: the simplicity of early pump rules, Queen Bee Stassi Schroeder, do we or do we not...split the tips, Tom and Kristen dated??? & much more! We also have the privilege of a surprise cameo by Eric B at the end of this pod, where he fully comes out of the reality tv shame closet he's been living in for the past 32 years. Thanks to Wicklow Wear for sponsoring this and all our past/future episodes - love you guys!

Going back to the indie scene as Kacey B calls in to discuss the cult classic: Lars and the Real Girl. The show kicks off discussing listener emails followed by a deep dive into some of the biggest themes of this movie: sex dolls going method like Nic Cage, The Notebook's insane success, big nipples, social anxiety manifestations, creepy co-workers, a zag on gender stereotypes, unrealistic community galvanizing buy-ins, and much more! Featuring clips/music from the movie, MCITW (sponsored by Wicklow Wear), Ryan Philipee Practice Hero Award, player breakdowns, and MVP of the Week.

This week's Quarantine episode is brought to you by the fine folks over at Zoom...the biggest beneficiary of this global pandemic.