From a seven-minute, no-rig, single-take sprint through Paddy’s Pub in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to quiet memorials on the set of Cheers, writers moonlighting as characters, and network decisions that rewrote TV history, these 50 fresh backstage reveals show how nerve, craft, and chaos shape what ends up on screen. Dive in for precision shots, last-minute fixes, and the happy accidents that made fan-favorite moments possible—starting with the jaw-dropping “Charlie Work” one-take.
1 Impressive Camerawork in “Sunny” Episode
Camera operator Adam Sklena filmed the seven-minute continuous shot in the “Charlie Work” episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” without using dolly tracks or a rig. Charlie Day noted, “This is a man holding a camera who had to walk backwards-and we got it without screwing up on take 1.”
2. In the final episode of “Cheers,” Sam straightens a picture of Geronimo, which had been in Nicholas Colasanto’s (Coach) dressing room until his death eight years earlier. The production team placed it on the bar wall in his memory.
3. Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons,” is left-handed, and that is why he created an entire episode dedicated to Ned Flanders and his Leftorium.
4. Jennifer Lopez was very displeased with her portrayal on “South Park.” She fired people from her film set for reciting lines from the episode and the song “Taco-Flavored Kisses.”
5. Alan Alda was the only actor to appear in all 251 episodes of M*A*S*H. He commuted every weekend from Los Angeles to New Jersey, where his family lived, during the show’s 11-year run, because he didn’t know how long the show would last.
6 In Living Color Steals Super Bowl Spotlight
The 1990s sketch comedy show “In Living Color” attracted 22% of Super Bowl XXVI’s viewers during halftime with a special live episode, prompting future Super Bowls to feature A-list performers instead of themed marching bands.
7. Michael Schur, who played Mose in “The Office,” was also a producer/writer for the show. He helped create “Parks and Recreation,” “The Good Place,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and “Master of None,” and co-wrote the “Black Mirror” episode “Nosedive” with Rashida Jones.
8. Stephen King published “Under the Dome” in 2009, shortly after a similar dome-themed episode of “The Simpsons” aired. King described himself as “gobsmacked,” having not realized he was beaten to the concept.
9. Cindy Stowell fulfilled her dream of being a “Jeopardy!” contestant in 2016, despite having Stage 4 cancer. She became a six-time champion and donated her $103,000 winnings to cancer organizations before passing away.
10. The final episode of M*A*S*H, lasting two and a half hours, captivated an audience of 121 million viewers.
11 Oliver Stone’s Ecstasy-Fueled Jeopardy! Win
Film director Oliver Stone admitted to using ecstasy during a 1997 celebrity episode of Jeopardy! He won the game and $15,000 for charity, crediting the drug with enhancing his buzzer response time.
12. In the sitcom Frasier, the character “Maris” was initially meant to be off-camera for only a few episodes. However, as her descriptions became increasingly absurd, the show struggled to find an actress to match her unusual physical traits.
13. The Russo Brothers were given the reins of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Marvel president Kevin Feige admired their work on the Community episode “A Fistful of Paintballs.”
14. The only episode of The Simpsons where Marge doesn’t speak is season 4’s “Krusty Gets Kancelled.” Julie Kavner, her voice actress, objected to the ‘tasteless’ celebrity cameos and boycotted the episode.
15. The Simpsons episode “Homer at Bat” is credited with saving at least two choking victims. Their rescuers had learned the Heimlich maneuver from a poster featured in the episode.
16 Beverly Hills, 90210’s Controversial Plot
An episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 upset many parents because a teenage character faced no consequences and showed no remorse for losing her virginity. This prompted the network to introduce a pregnancy scare to “punish” the characters in a later episode.
17. The Saturday morning cartoon Dungeons and Dragons ended with a cliffhanger and was canceled. Dedicated fans interviewed writer Michael Reeves, obtained the finale script, and used series animations and one original actor to recreate the intended final episode.
18. Despite many people claiming to have watched dozens or even hundreds of Mr. Bean episodes over the past couple of decades, only 15 episodes aired from 1992 to 1995.
19. In 2016, a British reality show named ‘Eden,’ which was about surviving in the Scottish Highlands, was canceled after four episodes. The producers did not inform the contestants, allowing them to unknowingly continue living in the wilderness for over a year.
20. The Adult Swim cartoon “Moral Orel” was canceled for being too dark and depressing. The creator recalled submitting the script for the episode “Alone” and a proposed follow-up titled “Rape” after he was told that the show would end that season.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Twilight Zone’s Earthly Twist
In a memorable episode of “The Twilight Zone,” three astronauts survive a crash landing and wander through the desert. Eventually, the last surviving astronaut realizes he never left Earth. Rod Serling later adapted much of this plot for the film “Planet of the Apes” (1968), which he helped write.
22. During the filming of “The Nightman Cometh,” episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” background actors served as the audience without knowing the context of the performance. Rob McElhenney recalled seeing many confused faces among them as the episode unfolded.
23. In 1992, Vanna White suffered a miscarriage shortly after “Wheel of Fortune” aired an episode where the answer to a puzzle was “Vanna’s pregnant.”
24. The 2004 finale of “FRIENDS” featured the most expensive ad slots for a non-sports program, with each 30-second slot costing $2 million.
25. George Takei declined a role in “The Simpsons” episode “Marge vs. the Monorail” because he would rather not mock public transportation, as he served on the board of directors for the Southern California Rapid Transit District. Leonard Nimoy ultimately filled the role.
RE: Fact #38 (South Park’s Warcraft Episode Success) – This episode’s when I figured out Randy’s the best.
Seriously, the bit where he gets the USB with the sword on it and holds it up, then groans through his WoW character dying? Still kills me every time I see it.
And I just love how he’s so hilariously serious about everything.
Randy Marsh totally rocks as the best character on the show. His episodes are super relatable, honestly.
RE: Fact #1 (Impressive Camerawork in “Sunny” Episode) – That was a seriously well put joke chair, the way they put that together.
Seriously, that part had me cracking up! I was totally confused about why he was slamming that stool, and then BAM, that happens. It always gets me!
He totally nailed the joke stool and the whole tainted steak thing, just as an extra thought while he was busy with the inspection.
RE: Fact #46 (Star Trek Voyager’s Expensive Pilot) – So, it turns out this whole mess happened partly because they changed the main actor a few days after shooting started, and then they had to redo her scenes because the bigwigs wanted a different hairstyle for her.
Seriously, thank goodness they made that change. No offense to the first actress, but Kate Mulgrew totally nailed it.
And while we’re on the subject of hair, Janeway’s look in the later seasons was way better than what she had going on at the beginning.
RE: Fact #14 (Marge’s Silent Episode in The Simpsons) – no where in your source does it state this information.
RE: Fact #18 (Mr. Bean’s Surprising Episode Count) – The source quotes one person making on X making a comment that he’d swear as a child has watched ten seasons, but no other person is quoted and I’ve never heard not read of anyone thinking this. Shitty ‘fact’ with shittier source.
RE: Fact #19 (Unaware Contestants on Cancelled Show) – you guys really need to review this shit. That’s not what the source says. Get your fucking shit together you lazy fucking pricks. This site USED TO BE fucking great with reliable sources and unbroken links. Now it’s bullshit. Pathetic.
Sorry about the shit*y sources. We really dropped the ball with this article it seems. The facts are true, but sometimes we are not able to give reliable source which will stay up for a long time and sometimes wikipedia edits really screws us. I’ll try to vett my source better from hereonwards. Also regarding Mr. Bean’s fact, I will try to stay away form sensationalist facts like this in the future.
RE: Fact #4 (Jennifer Lopez Reacts to “South Park”) – Just like Kanye and fishsticks
RE: Fact #43 (Cyndi Lauper’s Bob’s Burgers Parody) – Robert Smith recorded his lines for South Park over the phone, totally clueless about the script’s direction.
He later mentioned his nephew didn’t really care that he was in The Cure, but thought he was a huge star for being on South Park.
RE: Fact #1 (Impressive Camerawork in “Sunny” Episode) – That episode’s awesome, not just how they did it, but because it really shows Charlie isn’t really dumb, he’s just super focused on where he puts his smarts to work.
That episode is easily in my top five for the show, all thanks to that one thing. Charlie’s just super focused, and only a tiny bit clueless, not the other way around.
RE: Fact #11 (Oliver Stone’s Ecstasy-Fueled Jeopardy! Win) – That “Fat Stopper” ad during the first break? Totally hilarious.
Someone should totally grab that and post it. It’s pure gold.
I was cracking up so hard while I was editing it out.
I really like Esther “Good Times” Rolle’s “Caring Psychic Family” ad.
RE: Fact #19 (Unaware Contestants on Cancelled Show) – Seriously, you gotta see this thing if you can track it down. I was completely glued to it. It’s pretty messed up how it all went down, honestly. They did end up showing more episodes to fill us in on the whole saga, and it just kept getting worse. Yeah, they probably jazzed it up a bit with editing to make it seem more dramatic, but it was pretty rough already since they had to pull the plug because they felt they couldn’t keep airing it.
Basically, it got super misogynistic, all the good folks bailed, and the guys just turned into total lunatics hunting with rotten meat and bones everywhere. Kinda like Lord of the Flies, you know?
It’s a real bummer when the vet bowed out because he couldn’t stomach killing their livestock just because the guys were so useless at hunting and wanted some meat.
RE: Fact #28 (Banned Cartoon Network Episode) – And now CN’s really showing off the lesbians, no jokes or hints needed.
So, doesn’t Adventure Time and Steven Universe both have lesbian characters? I’ve been wanting to watch all of Adventure Time for ages but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
It seems like they sort of stumbled into those Lesbian themes when the writers saw how much people loved the idea of Marceline and Bubblegum together. But honestly, I don’t think that’s how they planned it from the get-go.
SU definitely meant to explore homosexual topics right from the start, they just kept it on the down-low for the first season while they were getting everyone used to the show’s universe.
RE: Fact #17 (Dungeons and Dragons’ Fan-Made Finale) – Back when I was a kid, this show was totally awesome. I can’t recall the cliffhanger, so I’ll probably need to give it another watch before diving into the finale.
RE: Fact #41 (Lost Doctor Who Episodes Found) – So, if anyone’s curious why some old Dr. Who episodes are missing, it’s ’cause the BBC didn’t always keep the tapes after they aired, and sometimes they’d even record over them! That’s why loads of early Dr. Who episodes were gone for ages. Now, there’s this huge effort to track down copies that people or other countries might have snagged back then. Pretty wild, but about ten years ago, they actually found nine of them in a storage room in Nigeria!
So, the Monty Python crew snagged their tapes from the BBC for this same reason. Otherwise, we might not have gotten those Flying Circus episodes.
RE: Fact #22 (Confused Audience at “Sunny” Episode) – Seriously, what’s the most rewatchable show out there? Assuming that’s even a thing.
RE: Fact #9 (Cindy Stowell’s Jeopardy! Triumph) – Cindy Stowell, a six-time champ, was on Jeopardy! with one big reason: to give away her winnings to cancer charities. She recorded her episodes back in August and September, but sadly, she passed away from Stage 4 cancer on December 5th, just eight days before her first show aired.
Cindy snagged her first win against the seven-game champ Tim Aten, taking home $22,801. She then won her next three games that same day! After a quick break back home, she won two more on September 13th, bringing her total winnings to a whopping $103,801.
While Cindy was in the hospital, Jeopardy! sent her early copies of her first three episodes. She and her family got to see her live out her dream of being on the show. Plus, Jeopardy! made sure she got her prize money quickly, so she received it and got to say thanks before she passed.
“Cindy had a mission when she came on the show. We gave her the chance to make it happen, and she totally ran with it,” said Harry Friedman, Jeopardy!’s executive producer.
Everyone involved with Jeopardy! sends their deepest sympathies to her loved ones
Fingers crossed that cash landed with some legit charities. So many charities are a real drag, practically scams with how they handle donations, whether it’s for cancer or anything else.
Just a heads-up, Susan G. Komen was pretty awful, and so is the foundation she started. They only funnel about 20% of their money into cancer research, give their “top volunteer” Nancy Brinker a whopping $400k for zero work, and frequently team up with businesses whose products are known to increase breast cancer risk.
RE: Fact #35 (Bryan Cranston’s Roller Skating Dedication) – Bryan Cranston’s awesome! I really wish he’d get more parts like Tom Hanks usually does. I bet he’d totally nail them.
He needs a role like Forrest Gump – something that makes him seem real and is also really touching and sweet.
RE: Fact #21 (Twilight Zone’s Earthly Twist) – That classic Twilight Zone stuff was seriously great.
Catching up on Twilight Zone specials on New Year’s Eve.
Edit: There’s this one called “My Grandfather’s Clock,” and the music sounded super familiar from when I was a kid. I looked it up and bam, it was my old Fisher-Price Teaching Clock. Ring any bells?
Basically a yearly highlight of my childhood.
RE: Fact #6 (In Living Color Steals Super Bowl Spotlight) – I’m still trying to figure out how Jim Carey managed to put on those face prosthetics on the fly during the live show, looking like he’d been hit with darts. It’s seriously been bugging me for like, 25 years.
That skit wasn’t actually done live, you know. They prerecorded and put it together. The darts are one thing, but seriously, at the end when Fire Marshall Bill blows everything up, his whole look and where he’s standing change in like, seconds.
Did anyone catch a young Leo during the live opening of that skit?
RE: Fact #27 (William Frawley’s World Series Clause) – That might just be the greatest contract clause ever.
Plus, that thing about MJ being able to play hoops whenever and wherever he wanted.
That “love of the game” bit, right? He said it when he got into the Hall of Fame.
RE: Fact #44 (Jonah Hill’s Short-Lived Animation) – I totally watched an episode of that.
But honestly, I don’t remember a single thing about it, so yeah, it was pretty forgettable, to say the least
I watched that and seriously hated almost everyone in it. I’d totally blocked it from my mind until I read this factrepublic article, and man, all that awful stuff came flooding back. It was just so hard to sit through.
The next year, Fox did a Napoleon Dynamite cartoon, and that one was actually really good.
Same here. I don’t recall it being terrible, just not really sticking with me.
I only recall seeing ads for it for about a month, then I just didn’t notice when it disappeared.
RE: Fact #28 (Banned Cartoon Network Episode) – I totally hated Cow and Chicken when it first came out. As a little kid, I thought it was super weird, and honestly, my not-so-little adult brain still thinks so.
I did dig Courage the Cowardly Dog though, so maybe it was just all the udders, haha.
Folks who found Ren and Stimpy a bit too brainy were into Cow and Chicken.
RE: Fact #28 (Banned Cartoon Network Episode) – Hang on, I actually remember this episode… was it only on for a bit before they pulled it?
EDIT: Yep, turns out it was.
They totally must have shown it again. I remember catching it back in middle school, which was after ’98.
RE: Fact #20 (Moral Orel’s Dark Cancellation) – Seriously though, Moral Orel gets super dark. Like, *really* dark. Here’s a rundown of some messed-up stuff, not necessarily in order:
Orel’s dad got way too much from his own mom. After she kicked the bucket, he started acting out, trying to get his dad to abuse him just for some attention growing up.
The school nurse got forced into something with the principal. She totally checked out, acting like a kid at home, and then a fallen toy shattering her safe space sent her into a mental breakdown.
Orel got shot by his dad on a hunting trip. His dad was already an alcoholic, didn’t own up to it, and just passed out drunk. Orel’s stuck with a limp from then on.
Orel’s mom couldn’t stand her husband and tried to have an affair with a gynecologist who was obsessed with mutilation, ending up destroying her own reproductive system. But then she actually started to feel something for him, and he just ghosted her.
Jesus showed up as a cute puppy to save everyone, but the townspeople freaked out that he was loved too much and put him down.
Morel’s teacher, who was assaulted by an inmate and got pregnant, had an abortion and still has the clothes hanger she uses to hang her single outfit on.
The show’s sweetest connection is definitely between the priest and his estranged lesbian daughter.
Man, I missed a bunch of those when they were actually on. They totally axed a bunch of their good stuff, like ATHF and Superjail. Then they had shows that could have been awesome, like Korgoth of Barbaria, but it didn’t get the money after just the pilot.
There are so many shows that only stuck around for a year or two, and it feels like it’s gotten worse since Rick and Morty popped up and other shows just can’t keep up. And I’m into anime, but it’s like their own original shows are mostly flops, so they just plug in anime to fill the slots. Glad Robot Chicken is still going, though.
Man, I’ve always been a huge fan of what Adult Swim puts out, and I appreciate that they’re willing to try new things. But honestly…
The way they manage the channel is a mess. It’s like they’re actively trying to screw up their own brands, tank their shows, and just generally treat their fans like dirt. I really wanted to keep supporting them because their ideas are so good, and they’ve hired so many people I used to look up to, but jeez. They make it incredibly tough
I thought that show was awesome, then I read your comment and whoa, I’m not ready for all that!
Thanks for sharing these points.
So now we get why they axed the show.
RE: Fact #36 (Seinfeld’s Unproduced Episode Controversy) – So, at this Mexican place I used to work at, like, 30% of the folks who came in were Black. And funny thing, nobody, no matter their race, ever got a salad – that’s a given, right? But Black customers, guys or girls, they always, and I mean *always*, went for the ground beef. I was always curious about that.
So, I’m not sure about where you’re at, but in my family, since I’m mixed race, I’ve seen that a bunch of my relatives are big fans of ground beef. It’s on both sides of my family, and I think the main thing that brings them together is that folks who grew up without a lot of money tend to dig ground beef because they ate it a ton back in the day. Plus, ground beef is usually cheaper than steak or chicken, at least around here.
RE: Fact #18 (Mr. Bean’s Surprising Episode Count) – Honestly, most of the episodes had about two or three little stories all on their own.
So yeah, when you add it all up, there are about 39 skits. And that’s not even counting all the random shorts, guest spots, and movies he’s been in.
And there were even the animated series .
RE: Fact #40 (Mythbusters’ Unseen Mouse Experiment) – Yep, after raising mice to feed my snakes, I’m not surprised at all. Any kind of nutrient shortage and they start eating each other, or sometimes they just do it because they feel like it.
Same goes for hamsters too…
My grandma owned an island. It wasn’t anything huge, mind you. You could totally circle it in about an hour, but honestly, it was our own little slice of heaven. So, one summer, we went to visit and found the whole place was swarming with rats. Apparently, they hitched a ride on a fishing boat and had been having a field day with all the coconuts. So, the big question is, how do you get rid of rats on an island, right? Well, my grandma showed me. We dug a hole and put in an oil drum with a lid that swung open. Then, we attached coconuts to the lid as bait, and the rats would show up for the coconut and, bam, fall right into the drum. After a month, you’d catch all the rats, but then what? Toss the drum in the ocean? Burn it? Nah. You just leave it, and they start getting super hungry. Then, one by one… They start eating each other until only two are left. The two survivors. And then what? Do you off them? Nope. You take them, and you just release them into the trees, but now, they don’t touch coconuts. They’re all about eating rats now. You’ve completely flipped their script.
They’re not doing it ’cause it’s fun. If one mouse kicks the bucket for no good reason, the others will naturally munch on its body so predators don’t catch their scent.
So I actually worked at PetSmart, and I don’t think that’s entirely correct. We used to get these big boxes of hamsters, and it was always just the brains that were gone. No clue why it happened, but we’d consistently find three or four in each shipment box with their brains missing. Honestly, I’m not a big hamster fan anymore. And those little Russian hamsters? They were practically known for chewing off their babies’ legs. Just the legs, weirdly enough.
RE: Fact #2 (Cheers Honors Nicholas Colasanto) – Sam would still rock Coach’s jacket even after he was gone.
Also, maybe I missed something, but it really felt like they kinda rushed through his death.
RE: Fact #19 (Unaware Contestants on Cancelled Show) – So, after they’ve been guzzling their own pee for water, how do you break the news that the show’s been axed?
And then they had them drinking pee for a whole year.
Scotland’s got a ton of fresh water.
Good to know we can refill the piss supply.
RE: Fact #23 (Vanna White’s Tragic Coincidence) – If i was a celeb, I’d totally keep my pregnancy on the down-low. Instead, I’d just make you guys film me with more and more wild props, and then you could all shout “Surprise!” when I’m already off on maternity leave.
RE: Fact #42 (Hugh Laurie’s Impressive Salary) – House was a solid show, right? Most episodes felt like they were split into two. You’d have the main plot of the week: someone shows up with a baffling sickness, they figure out what’s wrong, treat it, and the patient recovers.
Then, there was the other side, following House himself and how his physical pain, his messy relationships, and his drug use were messing with his head. That stuff changed week to week. But, sneakily, during those bits, that’s when the big “aha!” moment would hit to fix the patient from the first half.
Honestly, the medical stuff in House was just there to move the story along. The real show was watching this incredibly well-acted, cantankerous, pill-popping, cynical, and generally unlikable dude spiral further into loneliness because of all his own baggage.
RE: Fact #13 (Russo Brothers’ MCU Breakthrough) – So, usually, their movies have a shout-out to the community or something like that.
And don’t forget Arrested Development! Russo’s really good at handling big groups of actors.
So I was wondering why I kept seeing these familiar faces in Marvel flicks.
Turns out, Abed popped up in Winter Soldier, Troy was in Spider-Man, Chang and Shirley were in Endgame, Dean Pelton was in Captain America: Civil War, and the coat check girl played Captain Marvel.
My bad, guys, Abed was in Winter Soldier, not the first one. Still pretty awesome seeing them in these movies, though! And yeah, adding the Dean to the list.
It’s a neat coincidence that Troy’s in Spider-Man, but it’s not because of the Russos.
RE: Fact #34 (Extreme Makeover Cancellation Tragedy) – Ugh, I really dislike reading this kind of thing. It’s never just one single reason for someone taking their own life. It just reinforces the idea that if you say the wrong thing to someone, you’re somehow to blame for their death. Think about it – what if you say something pretty harmless to someone at work and then later find out they ended up killing themselves. Would it really be your fault? No way.
This whole thing doesn’t exactly clear the producers of any bad behavior. It’s a pretty clear example of how they’ll do pretty much anything for ratings, even if it’s messed up or not morally sound. But honestly, someone who’s doing okay, or even just okay-ish, wouldn’t off themselves over something like this unless there were other things going on.
RE: Fact #10 (M*A*S*H Finale Breaks Records) – That M*A*S*H finale was a really big deal when it first came out. I actually went to a store to grab a blank VHS tape so I could record it, and the clerk just chimed in, “You’ll definitely want to hang onto that M*A*S*H finale.” I think I still have that tape stashed away in a box.
Hey dad, sorry, I recorded over that. I needed it for the first five minutes of Skinemax movies before they got all scrambled up.
Always pull that tab out a bit to avoid recording over!
RE: Fact #15 (‘Homer at Bat’ Saves Lives) – This is great, but just a heads-up, the American Red Cross suggests doing 5 back blows first before trying abdominal thrusts.
Abdominal thrusts can mess things up inside, so you should only use them if the person’s own coughing and back blows don’t get the object out.
RE: Fact #31 (Michael Jackson’s Simpsons Cameo) – So, as I recall, Michael mentioned he did it to mess with his brothers and see if they’d catch on. Maybe it was something to do with a contract, but I’ve heard a few different stories about why he didn’t sing.
RE: Fact #10 (M*A*S*H Finale Breaks Records) – Back in the day, before the mid-2000s, this show was a total viewership champion, even pulling in more eyes than the Super Bowl!
I was living in San Francisco back when the 49ers were winning with Montana, and during those Super Bowls, the whole city would just clear out. Can you even imagine that happening in every city across the US?
This kind of excitement is a thing of the past because now you can just binge-watch the suspense whenever you feel like it. Back then, if you missed the show, you’d have to call up a friend on your landline to find out what went down.
The big reveal didn’t happen until the fourth episode of the fourth season, which was called “Who Done It.” It aired a good eight months later, and around 83 million Americans were glued to their TVs, making it one of the most-watched broadcasts ever.
In the 1980 US presidential election, Republicans were handing out buttons saying “A Democrat shot J.R.” Meanwhile, President Jimmy Carter joked he could easily fund his campaign if he knew who shot J.R. When Larry Hagman, who played J.R., was offered a hundred grand in the UK just to reveal the shooter, he confessed that he and the cast had no clue. Even former President Gerald Ford tried to get producer Leonard Katzman to spill the beans, but no luck. Ford, along with Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, were among the millions around the world hooked on this mystery. People at the Royal Ascot even chanted “J.R.! J.R.!” when Hagman showed up. Betting shops all over the globe were taking bets on which of the main characters did the deed.
RE: Fact #42 (Hugh Laurie’s Impressive Salary) – He was totally doing an accent, though.
RE: Fact #36 (Seinfeld’s Unproduced Episode Controversy) – So, I’m black, and when I really thought about it, I probably would have chuckled, but I totally get why some folks might have found it a bit odd.
Just so you know, I’ve heard from a pretty reliable source that we do order a salad sometimes.
So I actually worked at Olive Garden for a couple years, and I noticed a bunch of Black folks ordering salad, actually more salad than soup. We did have this interesting discussion there about whether Black people liked mayonnaise. My dad’s Black, and at our family get-togethers, I always got ribbed for eating mayo. I ended up doing a quick poll with all the Black people I worked with at Olive Garden, and it was like 11 to 1 saying they hated mayo. But hey, that could totally be a coincidence.
My wife used to work at a super busy sandwich spot, and she always said that Black folks were the ones who wanted the most mayo on their sandwiches. We were watching Undercover Brother, and she totally called out that whole Black people hating mayo stereotype.
That movie “Undercover Brother” really nails the whole “mayo” thing.
RE: Fact #13 (Russo Brothers’ MCU Breakthrough) -Joe mentioned that Feige was really into comic books and pop culture, and they totally clicked. They even had some cool ideas for Captain America.
That episode totally ripped off westerns. They had a paintball episode before that was more of an action flick.
RE: Fact #12 (Maris: Frasier’s Unseen Enigma) – Maris has always reminded me of Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove, but like, in real life.
RE: Fact #22 (Confused Audience at “Sunny” Episode) – This show has a crazy number of creative musical numbers, right? I was just chatting with a friend, and they were saying there’s enough material here for a whole album.
Charlie’s Spider Song is the absolute winner for me.
He’s just chilling, then boom, he gets a nasty bite. Now he’s all fired up and ready to go to bat for what he believes in. He’s not interested in any of your prizes or cash, he’s just telling everyone to bug off.
Those songs from the kid’s pageant episode were awesome. That opening tune and Frank’s “don’t diddle kids” song were totally killer.
Seriously, if you want people to instantly think you’re weirdly into kids, writing a song about *not* being into kids is like the fastest way to get there.
RE: Fact #48 (Chris Farley’s Final SNL Appearance) – Man, in his last interviews, he really looked rough, all bloated and sweaty. Still one of my go-to comedians though, RIP.
Man, mixing drug abuse with obesity is a seriously deadly mix. Either one can take you out by itself.
So, John Belushi and this other guy, it sounds like they both died from a speedball overdose when they were only 33.
Seriously, that stuff is no joke. I had this one time where I messed up my meds, and I ended up taking amphetamines and opiates at the same time. It was just pills and not a huge amount, but man, it was wild. My heart was pounding like crazy, but it felt like it was stuck. It was actually kind of intense in a good way, though. If opiates didn’t make me feel so sick, I could totally see how someone could get addicted to that.
It’s awesome that we’re getting better at talking about mental health and getting people help to stop stuff like this from happening with drugs and suicides. It’s not perfect yet, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction
RE: Fact #21 (Twilight Zone’s Earthly Twist) – So, picture this, but it’s all happening in the future, and there are just, like, monkeys everywhere.
takes another drag from his joint “and then the guy stumbles across the Statue of Liberty, like, half-buried in sand, dude”.
Seriously, guys, the monkeys can actually talk and they ride horses!
RE: Fact #14 (Marge’s Silent Episode in The Simpsons) – So, because Julie spoke up about what she thought was right, The Simpsons actually stopped having those awkward celebrity guest spots.
Totally. All the other guest spots were cool. Joe Namath really helped me figure out vapor lock.
Learned a lot about monorail dangers from Leonard Nimoy.
Daryl Strawberry really opened my eyes to how serious encephalitis can be.
Man, that Lady Gaga one.
RE: Fact #3 (Left-Handed Influence in “Simpsons”) – Haha, yeah, Matt Groening, the African American president who served two terms.
RE: Fact #32 (Golden Girls Episode Restored) – The scariest/saddest thing about streaming services holding onto an IP’s whole back catalog is this: Times change, and so do we, but I’m really not down with wiping out bits of history and pretending they never existed. Just slap some trigger warnings on episodes, and if someone’s easily offended, they can just skip it.
Golden Girls was super anti-racist. They weren’t shy about it at all and didn’t act like racism wasn’t a thing, which was pretty common for sitcoms back then. They were especially tough on folks who let racist stuff slide just to keep the peace. Thinking that show could be racist is like saying All in the Family is racist – it really shows you’re missing the whole point.
Golden Girls was super ahead of its time.
Golden Girls was super progressive in so many ways. Think feminism, sexuality, and even homosexuality.
Honestly, the whole show is a gem in TV history. It’s a real shame they pulled that episode. It doesn’t even matter that they ended up changing their minds later on. We shouldn’t be blocking people from watching shows or movies just because of someone’s idea of what’s right. Even the stuff that was made back when things were different is important and should stick around, if only to teach us about the past.
RE: Fact #21 (Twilight Zone’s Earthly Twist) – I saw that one when I was a kid. Looking back, it’s wild they didn’t question landing on an asteroid with Earth’s gravity and air, and somehow thought it wasn’t Earth all along.
Back in the 50s, Sci-Fi writers had some wild ideas about space travel. They just didn’t grasp what we all understand now, kind of like how regular folks don’t get what astrophysicists do.
So, in the 50s, they were talking about breathable air on asteroids, which most people find pretty goofy these days. And now, you’ll hear about things being “trillions of light-years from Earth,” which anyone who knows what that means will think is nuts.
Yeah, I recall them mentioning planets being “a million miles” away. But honestly, even in Star Trek, which wasn’t too shabby with its science, it just made sense for planets to have air you could breathe and people who looked like us. It was simpler for the budget and the storylines.
RE: Fact #7 (Michael Schur’s TV Show Legacy) – So, I just learned that Nick Offerman’s the dude who says his production company’s name at the end of Brooklyn 99. Totally obvious once you hear it!
RE: Fact #5 (Alan Alda’s M*A*S*H Dedication) – He probably would’ve figured out it was pretty steady work after a bit, right?
RE: Fact #49 (Hungary’s DuckTales Generation) – It’s pretty cool how you can guess someone’s age by what they watched growing up, but it’s getting trickier with folks who grew up with streaming.
RE: Fact #26 (Festivus: A Real Celebration) – So, some of the craziest stuff on the show actually happened to one of the writers. I remember one story where a writer got a car, and it turned out to have been Jon Voigt’s mom’s car. You can find the whole story in a Seinfeld documentary.
RE: Fact #29 (Kaitlin Olson’s Waterboarding Mishap) – They kinda messed up that scene. She said in an interview that they threw some wetsuit stuff over her face, figuring that would stop it, but nope, she still got waterboarded! Thing is, she had just broken her back, so there she was on her broken back, upside down, getting waterboarded.
Looks like they missed the mark on what a wet suit actually is.
A wet suit, surprise surprise, is meant to get wet.
They should’ve gone with a dry suit instead.
This always clicks once someone explains it, but yeah, as a regular person, I totally get how you’d mess that up. Before anyone clued me in that wetsuits actually hold onto water to keep you warm, I figured they just pushed water away like dry suits, and that “dry suit” was just a different name for the same thing.
Seriously waterboarding is brutal. You can only handle it for about half a minute before it’s just too much.
That lady’s totally out there. When the guys were podcasting during the pandemic, I recall them chatting about all the times she got banged up on set. She just dives headfirst into anything if she thinks it’ll get a laugh. I’m pretty sure she’s the one who went face-first into that car in “Who Pooped the Bed?”, and she was totally into it.
Could be her awkward, lanky, bird-like frame, but she’s a natural when it comes to physical comedy.
It wasn’t like they were really waterboarding her. They only sort of did it, since that wasn’t what they were going for in the first place.
Go through actual waterboarding, and even pros crack.
RE: Fact #1 (Impressive Camerawork in “Sunny” Episode) – Frank in the basement with that flute always cracks me up.
RE: Fact #47 (Unique Death in Buffy Series) – This episode’s top-notch, but honestly, it’s not one I reach for often.
What really grabbed me was how the show decided to tackle a natural death, totally separate from all their spooky battles. It was cool seeing the characters try to get their heads around the fact that this wasn’t some monster’s doing.
It was pretty neat how folks who’d gotten so used to magic and the supernatural had such a hard time with a normal death.
Someone on the writing team for this episode really nailed the feeling of losing a parent. My dad passed away when I was 16, and a lot of what they showed in this episode really hit home with how I felt back then. It’s a fantastic episode, but it’s definitely a tough watch, even more so now that I’ve lost my mom as well.
Joss Whedon’s mom, who was a teacher, also passed away from a brain aneurysm, and he really used his own stuff, plus what his friends and other writers went through, to put that episode together.
This totally reminds me of Stephen King’s *Night Shift* collection. When I was a kid, I devoured it! It had stuff like the Bogeyman, *’Salem’s Lot*, and the original story that became *The Astronaut’s Wife* – all super cool, creepy stories.
But then, right at the end, there was this one about a guy visiting his mom in the hospital. She had cancer, like, really bad, couldn’t even control herself. The descriptions of her day-to-day were intense and raw. She could hardly speak. Eventually, he just gave her a bunch of her gelatin pills to end her suffering. No aliens, no creepy closet things, no clowns, no axe murderers – just messy, straightforward, real-life killing your own mother.
That one really got to me and made me start worrying about my loved ones dying.
Seriously, any actual King fan knows his real talent isn’t with ghosts or goblins, it’s about the everyday bad guys we all deal with. The guy’s a total genius at writing about that kind of stuff.
RE: Fact #40 (Mythbusters’ Unseen Mouse Experiment) – So, when I was a kid, I had these two boy gerbils. One day, I woke up, and there was only one left.
RE: Fact #34 (Extreme Makeover Cancellation Tragedy) – Ever catch “The Swan”? It’s pretty much a how-to guide on wrecking people emotionally and physically. Reality TV is the worst.
I think that was just one season, if memory serves.
Bummer, but it only lasted for like two seasons, according to wiki. This is pretty yucky, and I feel kinda gross even mentioning it, but they were judged on stuff like evening gowns, answering questions, swimsuits, and lingerie. Pageants and beauty contests are just gross all around.
So, I dated this person who was a junior producer for this pretty tame, feel-good reality show. Basically, if you got on the show, they’d chip in some cash to help fix a family issue.
For the second round, they’d have a Skype chat with a junior producer. This producer would ask folks to spill about their family’s problem and then pass along any interesting clips to her boss, who then chose who got to do the in-person interviews.
If the person didn’t start crying naturally while sharing their story, they were out right away.
There was this show, I can’t remember if it’s the same one, where women did a bunch of challenges, and the winner got plastic surgery they’d always wanted. All these women were engaged, and the idea was they wanted to surprise their fiancés by getting a ton of stuff done. Not that I’m a guy or anything, but if my partner wanted to change that much about how they looked, I’d be pretty freaked out, thinking they were unhappy with themselves.
RE: Fact #39 (Speedy Gonzales’ Cousin Slowpoke) – There’s this song from that episode. It mentions weed toward the end.
The lyrics are: La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar, porque no tiene, porque le falta marihuana que fumar.
Basically, it translates to: The cockroach, the cockroach, can’t walk anymore, ’cause it doesn’t have, ’cause it’s out of weed to smoke.
That’s just how my Abuelita sings the song, though.
Yeah, that’s just how the tune plays out.
RE: Fact #42 (Hugh Laurie’s Impressive Salary) – So, did House stay good the whole time it was on? I’ve only seen the first few seasons.
It got pretty samey pretty fast. Each episode had the same setup, and the medical stuff they were figuring out was kinda the weakest part, but the characters and how they acted were still really good the whole way through.
Yes! Even the ending was awesome and totally fit the show. I’ve binged the whole thing twice.
Man, those assistant doctors in Season 8 were super annoying. Their acting was pretty weak, I thought.
RE: Fact #11 (Oliver Stone’s Ecstasy-Fueled Jeopardy! Win) – Oliver Stoned.
RE: Fact #4 (Jennifer Lopez Reacts to “South Park”) – Oh yeah, I totally spaced on that episode! “Taco flavored kisses for my little Beeeeenn.” Thanks for the reminder!
RE: Fact #20 (Moral Orel’s Dark Cancellation) – So, yeah, it’s a Vice article, but it’s a straight-up chat with the guy who made the show, Dino Stamatopoulos. The stuff the fact talks about goes like this:
Why do you think they axed the show?
So, Lazzo hit me up after checking out the “Numb” episode and was like, “This script’s got like, one joke in it.” I shot back, totally joking, “Alright, point out the joke, and I’ll ditch it.” He then said, “Hopefully, they get funnier.” And they do.
But then I dropped off a rough cut of “Alone” – you know, where Bloberta kind of messes herself up – and followed that up with a script called “Raped.” He read that and was like, “That’s it; I’m pulling the plug.” It was really a triple whammy, but “Alone” was the one that sealed the deal.
Totally didn’t realize Starburns was behind this show.
It’s kinda funny, these scripts nowadays would probably get it another season.
RE: Fact #34 (Extreme Makeover Cancellation Tragedy) – Ugh, reality TV, I really can’t stand it.
I’m still scratching my head about why they call it reality TV…
That’s kinda not fair, ’cause “reality” is such a huge category.
Like, The Great British Bake-off is reality, and so is Forged in Fire. I bet you don’t hate both of those, seriously.
The Great British Bake Off is seriously a breath of fresh air. Likeable folks just giving it their all.
RE: Fact #26 (Festivus: A Real Celebration) – Seriously, it’s impossible to find a shiny aluminum Festivus tree these days!
For starters, it’s a pole. And it’d be best if it was super strong but not too heavy.
RE: Fact #50 (Sledge Hammer!’s Explosive Finale) – That finale was surprising! Seriously!
So, for “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margrett,” it’s the same deal. The show wrapped up with him scoring asylum in North Korea and then nuking England.
RE: Fact #37 (Ghostbusters Cartoon Movie Twist) – The first couple of seasons of Real Ghostbusters were totally awesome, especially compared to most cartoons for kids back then. The writing was sharp, the animation looked great, and the voice acting was spot on for the characters. Later on, they started focusing too much on Slimer for the kids, and it kind of went downhill, but those early seasons are definitely worth checking out if you have some free time.
RE: Fact #16 (Beverly Hills, 90210’s Controversial Plot) – Back in that day on TV, if you were unmarried, you could get pregnant just by looking at a guy, but if you were married, it was like you needed a whole medical team to make it happen.
RE: Fact #7 (Michael Schur’s TV Show Legacy) – That guy must be pretty happy making all these feel-good shows!
RE: Fact #8 (Stephen King’s “Dome” Surprise) – So, you’re calling the movie an “episode”?
RE: Fact #43 (Cyndi Lauper’s Bob’s Burgers Parody) – Cyndi Lauper actually did the theme song for Pee Wee’s Playhouse, but she used the name Ellen Shaw for it.
RE: Fact #44 (Jonah Hill’s Short-Lived Animation) – I really tried to like this show, I gave it a few episodes to see if it would get better, but nope, I hated every second of it.
RE: Fact #3 (Left-Handed Influence in “Simpsons”) – Man, I cracked up remembering this old lady told me when I was five that I was headed for hell ’cause I’m left-handed. Good times, right?
So, my mom told me that when she was in school, her teacher actually whacked her hand with a ruler to stop her from writing with her left hand. Then, when my grandma found out, she marched right down to the school, marched right up to that teacher, and told her straight up, “You ever touch my daughter again, and I’ll kill you.”
RE: Fact #27 (William Frawley’s World Series Clause) – His agent had to be seriously good to come up with that.
I’m pretty sure Fred Mertz came up with it on his own. Or, maybe his agent totally nailed it and got it written into the contract – that would’ve been some seriously sharp agenting.
RE: Fact #41 (Lost Doctor Who Episodes Found) – So it seems like they didn’t give back all the reels after movie night.
RE: Fact #45 (Dana Carvey Show’s Star-Studded Writers) – So, they had this skit where they’d roll up to a drive-thru, place their order, pay, and then bail with their tires squealing, all before they even got the food.
So there’s this longer bit where they give some cash to a prostitute in a hotel room for a threesome, and then bail when she ducks out to change.
And then they shovel snow off some old lady’s driveway, tell her they’re finished, and when she goes inside to get their payment, they just bolt. Totally hilarious.
RE: Fact #38 (South Park’s Warcraft Episode Success) – These are my go-to lines from the episode.
Totally get that feeling. You hustle for days for some new gear, get that sweet hit of dopamine, and then you’re already planning for the next thing so you can finally dive into the game.
Monster Hunter is a classic for this. When I try to explain what the game’s about, all I can think is, “you hunt tougher monsters to snag better gear, so you can then hunt even tougher monsters and get even better gear.”
That dopamine rush is definitely a big part of why I’ve been hooked on Destiny for so long.
Since the lore is pretty much impossible to get into, the whole game is just about grinding. Once you finish the story, which is super short, I swear there’s nothing else to discover. The only reason to even bother with patrol missions is if you need to grab some resources.
Honestly, I’m just playing to snag new weapons or ones that are higher level so I can break them down to make my current gear better. I’ve got no clue what I’m even aiming for anymore – hitting the level cap didn’t unlock anything new because I’ve already done it all. I’m just on the hunt for guns.
The only real draw to keep playing is how fun and engaging the actual gameplay is. I’m really, really hoping they sort out the story because it’s got some awesome potential.
RE: Fact #33 (Futurama’s Early Nibbler Hint) – This show’s continuity is seriously awesome. It’s one of the few cartoons from back then that actually had a solid, consistent universe, and it loved to reference itself.
Like that time with Nibbler’s shadow, the delta brain wave, and Bender fossilizing Seymour – those are some of the really standout examples.
So, one big thing that doesn’t quite add up though… those career chips.
So, after Nixon got in office, the chips just disappeared, right? And “You gotta do what you gotta do” feels like a tagline from the folks in charge before him.
So, at the end of the first episode, Farnsworth hands the crew the chips from his old crew. He pulls them out of an envelope that says “Stuff from the Space Wasp’s Stomach.”
Then, way later, it turns out Space BEES actually got the old crew, not wasps. That’s the actual screw-up, right there.
RE: Fact #6 (In Living Color Steals Super Bowl Spotlight) – So, Beavis and Butthead had this halftime special on MTV with a clock showing when the second half would start. Thing is, the clock was totally off. You’d tune back in when it hit zero, only to find you’d already missed a bunch of the second half.
Man, you have any clue how tough it is to even get some rough, hand-drawn animations going in real-time? And on top of that, you wanted them to nail the timing too?
It’s really tough on the animators’ wrists.
RE: Fact #31 (Michael Jackson’s Simpsons Cameo) – You know, The Simpsons really shines when famous folks play cool, custom characters rather than just showing up as, well, themselves.
Except for Krusty Gets Kancelled!
Johnny Carson, Hugh Hefner, Bette Midler, Luke Perry, Elizabeth Taylor, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Barry White all played themselves, and it was totally awesome.
I guess it really depends on how they’re shown.
If I’m remembering right, all those stars were on Krusty’s show. That totally makes sense. It’s totally normal for a famous person to be on TV.
But it’s not really believable for some random celebrity to show up in Springfield and become Bart Simpson’s best buddy for the day. And I feel like that’s what happens way too often. They make the guest appearance into this massive thing, and the celebrities just feel out of place, and it never really lands well.
I reckon The Simpsons should always feel like they’re just regular folks from some small town, not like they’re the most important people in the world.
Having them voice their own stuff can totally work, but yeah, I get you – the best guests usually did voices for their original characters.
Basically, it totally worked with Adam West since he was cool with it – like, he never had an issue with looking like a fool. The humor was all on him, and he was totally fine with that.
Weird Al Yankovic?! Homer, Marge let me know what went down, and soon as her payment went through, I hopped on the cheapest flight I could find to get here.
RE: Fact #4 (Jennifer Lopez Reacts to “South Park”) – She also really didn’t like that Fat Joe remixed her kinda boring song and turned it into a hit.