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at Kroger, we invest in local farmers

0:08

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you shop in-store, your local

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Kroger. Fresh for everyone.

0:46

Ben Bailey-Smith here. And Sasha Bates. And

0:49

this is part two of our special bonus

0:51

episode to answer some of your questions and

0:54

explore some of ours from the podcast that puts

0:56

your favorite fictional TV folk

0:59

on the couch.

1:00

Coming up, we're going to look at the ghosts

1:02

that didn't get put into therapy

1:05

from our live show, right? And

1:07

we're going to ask is Homer Simpson, who keeps

1:09

popping up by the way, more and more. We're

1:12

going to ask if he's abusive. And

1:15

we're obviously going to look at all your your brilliant

1:17

suggestions and see if they're going to they're

1:19

going to make it up onto the STB wall.

1:21

We'll see. As ever, this is a no holds barred

1:23

chat with me and Sasha. You know, anything

1:26

could pop up. So apologize for any fruity

1:28

language that might come in or any

1:30

spoilers that we revisit

1:33

or visit for the first time. I mean, you wouldn't expect

1:35

anything less, would you? It's shrink

1:38

the inbox. All

1:46

right, let's kick this off with an email from Owen,

1:48

who says, hey, Sasha and Ben, firstly,

1:51

thank you for the podcast. It does that special

1:53

thing of allowing us to revisit

1:55

our favorites. It also allows us to

1:58

review them.

1:59

motivations and their

2:01

fears, desires, anxieties, etc. all

2:04

the while being guided by two brilliant

2:06

hosts. Oh, well, that's very kind.

2:09

Owen says, I've listened to every episode despite

2:11

not knowing who some of the characters are. It

2:13

doesn't really lessen my enjoyment of the conversations.

2:16

I hope you both get to do this for as long as

2:18

you both wish to. And I know I'll be listening

2:20

until then. Wow, that's...

2:22

Oh, lovely. Thanks, Owen.

2:24

I don't have any t-shirts, Owen, but I'm

2:27

sending you a metaphorical t-shirt

2:29

of love and STBT. And

2:32

he says, PS, if you feel like revisiting

2:34

Betacool, please do a two-hander with Kim and

2:36

Mike. Great idea. And I think, look,

2:38

we broke the rule with sex education. I think

2:41

we can do it again.

2:42

I'd love to go back to Sopranos.

2:45

I'd love to go back to The Wire. And I definitely

2:47

love to go back to Betacool. So I think

2:50

at some point it will happen. That's

2:52

mad, isn't it, that people listen. I had a friend

2:55

that didn't want to listen. You

2:57

had a friend that did listen despite the

2:59

spoilers.

3:01

I've had a few friends tell me that actually,

3:04

that they don't mind hearing

3:06

the podcast without having watched the show.

3:08

In

3:09

a way, it's a bit like if you tell somebody

3:11

about a friend of yours, you say, oh my God, I've

3:13

got this friend. You'll never believe what they did. Even

3:15

if you don't know the friend they're talking about, you

3:17

can still be interested in a good story. It's

3:19

true. So it's working. It's working. Or at least

3:21

it's working for these guys. So thank you. And I guess if it's

3:23

not working, you just don't listen anymore. So. No.

3:27

I can call you whatever I want right now. This

3:31

is an interesting one, Sasha. Last week, Ben

3:33

from Birmingham gave us a really compelling

3:36

argument as to why we should cover Homer

3:38

Simpson. And he's not the first and he won't be the last.

3:41

But here's a different take from

3:44

Izzy who says, hey, just

3:46

discovered the pod today and I've already

3:48

recommended to friends and family. Thanks, Izzy. I'd

3:50

love to hear your thoughts on Homer Simpson

3:53

as an abusive father

3:55

and his relationship with Marge, his

3:57

alcoholism and

3:59

other relationships. Now

4:01

that is because we just

4:04

laugh at it. Oh, he's joking a very good, but he

4:06

is an alcoholic. There's

4:07

no question about it. I mean,

4:09

he's a man with issues. I mean, this

4:11

is the kind of the problem with comedies

4:14

in that they represent things in a way that

4:16

we're meant to laugh at. And if we get,

4:18

if we look into it

4:19

too deeply, you kill the

4:21

comedy. And the comedy is the point. The

4:23

Simpsons has to have jokes. But

4:25

I guess because we've lived with Homer for

4:28

so long now, 35 years, something like

4:31

that. I mean, it's an insane amount

4:33

of time to have someone in our living room.

4:34

It's like family. And also his

4:36

kids are so resilient despite he's

4:39

trying to fuck them up on so many levels. And

4:41

he strangled Barr a million times. Yeah.

4:44

And they're still so close. They've got Marge to counteract

4:47

him, of course. Yeah. And

4:49

what an incredible woman Marge is. You could

4:51

fall on either side. I mean, I'd never thought of it this way

4:53

before because it's the comedy. But you could ask

4:55

those questions. I mean,

4:57

nobody should be strangling their son.

5:00

So no,

5:01

no. It's a tricky

5:03

moral question. It's

5:06

a slapstick moment. Yeah. Exactly.

5:09

And it's a cartoon. So yes, we

5:11

could get away with strangling

5:14

not looking too terrifying. All

5:15

right. We've got some quick fire suggestions here.

5:17

Right. Great. Cheryl,

5:20

who says, I just wanted you to know that I love the show right

5:22

now. I'm having trouble finding interesting material and

5:25

this filled the gap and more. I

5:27

love the Omar and Tony Soprano

5:29

episodes in particular. So here we go. Some

5:31

interesting characters to put in the chair for you. Harry

5:34

Ambrose in the sinner.

5:36

River Tam in the Firefly

5:38

show. Detective Alec Hardy

5:41

in Broadchurch. Sarah Linden

5:44

or Stephen Holder in the killing. Anyone

5:46

on the last kingdom. That's been asked for a couple

5:48

of times, isn't it?

5:49

So who

5:51

10th doctor in particular, David

5:53

Tennant. So she's very specific

5:55

because she's got a wide range.

5:57

I think she's got a bit of an obsession with David

5:59

Tennant. stuff and David Tennant pops

6:01

up more than once. Yes,

6:04

I can definitely go along with being

6:06

forced to watch more of David Tennant. I'd love

6:08

to join you in your obsession there.

6:10

Did you watch Board Church? Yeah, I really

6:13

enjoyed

6:13

it. Good stuff. Yeah. And

6:15

who else we got? Jasmine who says, hey

6:17

Beau, thanks for the pod. I am

6:19

a psychotherapist and find your

6:22

analysis fascinating. Great

6:24

character so far. Could I suggest Harvey

6:26

Specter from Suits? Is

6:28

that Meghan Markle's show? It is, isn't

6:30

it? Oh, I think you're right. Yes, I've not

6:32

watched it. And the way he defends against

6:35

the impact of his early relationships,

6:37

especially with his mother. Sounds a bit Tony

6:39

Soprano- Does a little bit. ... like having to defend against

6:41

the- I was never tempted by Suits, but

6:43

maybe this Harry Specter and the

6:45

prospect of early Meghan might

6:48

watch the pilot.

6:49

Well, that makes it sound interesting. Yeah.

6:53

A difficult mother in there. All right,

6:55

we promised you ghosts, so after the break, we're going

6:57

to uncover more of them. We're

6:59

going to help you to see dead people.

7:02

And we'll see you after

7:04

these messages, unless you subscribe to the Tate channel,

7:06

in which case we'll see you after this little teaser.

7:09

Ready? And which ghosts, see if you can remember this,

7:11

which ghosts said this? I

7:13

mean, what sort of moron believes in

7:15

ghosts? Before I became one, you wouldn't have

7:18

caught me believing in this sort of nonsense.

7:20

Who, which ghost was that?

7:30

All right, so that background noise, you can't hear

7:32

that, right? That I can hear. Is that just- What?

7:36

Is that Selena? Oh

7:39

yeah, there we go. Okay. Hey,

7:44

it's Ben here from Shrink the Box. Now this episode is sponsored by BetterHelp,

7:48

and sometimes life can feel a bit overwhelming.

7:50

I know juggling work, family, and keeping on top of TV's

7:53

most chaotic characters can feel like a bit of a challenge.

7:55

Whatever it is for you, I

7:57

can promise you,

7:58

I've been a bit of a bitch. I'm not a bitch. I'm a bitch. I'm a bitch.

7:59

I've tried better help and I know first hand

8:02

how helpful therapy can be to access

8:04

the best version of yourself. And

8:07

look, therapy isn't just for those who've experienced

8:10

trauma, it can be about finding

8:12

ways to balance those everyday stresses in a positive

8:15

way.

8:16

I know sometimes you look at your schedule for

8:18

the week and wonder where you could possibly find time,

8:20

but better help fits around you, it's entirely

8:23

online and

8:24

it's designed to be convenient and

8:26

flexible, so let therapy be your

8:28

map with better help. Visit

8:30

betterhelp.com slash shrink the box today

8:32

to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp,

8:36

h-e-l-p dot com slash

8:38

shrink the box. I'm

8:41

going

8:41

to go once more. Hey,

8:48

it's Ben here from shrink the box and this

8:50

episode is sponsored by better

8:53

help.

8:54

Now sometimes life can feel

8:56

a bit overwhelming and

8:58

I feel it sometimes juggling work and family

9:01

and of course keeping on top of your favorite

9:03

TV characters can feel like a

9:05

bit of a challenge, but whatever

9:08

it feels like for you, I can promise you I've tried

9:10

better help and I know first hand

9:12

how helpful therapy can be to access

9:15

the best version of yourself. And

9:18

I also know therapy is not just

9:20

for those who've experienced trauma, it can

9:22

just be about finding ways to balance

9:25

your everyday stresses, but in

9:27

a positive way

9:29

that helps you move forward. And I

9:31

know sometimes you look at your schedule for

9:33

the week and you think, I can't fit this in, it's impossible,

9:35

but better help will work around you

9:37

and it will fit in what you need

9:39

when you need. It's completely online and

9:42

it's designed to be convenient and flexible.

9:44

So let therapy be your map with better help.

9:47

Visit betterhelp.com slash shrink the box today

9:50

to get 10% off your first month. Just better

9:52

help. H-E-L-P dot com

9:54

slash shrink the box.

9:59

Couple there. Time

10:04

wise, is it okay? Fits

10:07

in time wise, we're all right? Do

10:19

you want a quick one, really fast one? Yeah, absolutely.

10:21

Okay, here we go. Thank

10:24

you.

10:28

Hey, it's Ben here from Shrink The Box. Now this episode

10:31

is sponsored by BetterHelp. And we know that

10:33

life can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.

10:36

I know juggling work, family, keeping on top of

10:38

TV's most chaotic characters, of course,

10:40

can feel like a bit of a challenge. But whatever it

10:42

is for you, I can promise you I've tried BetterHelp. I

10:45

know firsthand how helpful therapy can be

10:47

to access the best version of yourself. And look,

10:50

therapy isn't just for those who've experienced trauma.

10:53

It can be about finding ways to balance those everyday stresses

10:55

in a positive way. And I know that

10:57

sometimes you look at your schedule for the week

10:58

and think, oh, how can I possibly fit this in? But

11:01

BetterHelp will fit in around you. It's

11:03

entirely online and designed to be convenient

11:06

and flexible. So let therapy be your map

11:08

with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com

11:10

slash shrink the box today to get 10%

11:12

off your first month. That's better help, H-E-L-P.com

11:17

slash shrink the box.

11:23

It's like rushing without feeling like you're rushing. It's

11:26

an art form. Yeah,

11:35

I just need to. Hey guys, welcome to

11:38

Giggly Squad, a place where we make fun of everything, but

11:40

most importantly, ourselves. We're here

11:42

to help you get better. We're here to help you get

11:45

better. We're here to help you get

11:46

better. We're here to help you get better. We're here

11:48

to help you get better. We're here to help you get

11:50

better. Welcome to Giggly Squad, a

11:53

place where we make fun of everything, but most importantly, ourselves.

11:56

I'm Paige DeSorbo. I'm Hannah Burner. Welcome

11:58

to the squad.

11:59

But of course we can't be managed.

12:02

So we decided to start this podcast to continue

12:04

giggling. We will make fun of pop culture

12:06

news. We're watching. Fashion

12:09

trends. Hep talks where we give advice.

12:11

Mental health moments. And games and guests.

12:13

Listen to Giggly Squad on ACAST or wherever

12:16

you get your podcasts.

12:17

Luckily I didn't do

12:20

an impression. We are back, Ghost fans.

12:22

And that quote I can reveal is Lady

12:25

Button.

12:25

The Grey Lady. Ayy. Oh,

12:28

I miss ghosts. I want to watch it all over again.

12:30

This is from Carly in Brighton

12:32

who says, Hey, S&B. I

12:35

love the live edition, A Shrink with Kyle

12:38

from Ghosts. Me and my sister are huge fans

12:40

of this show, particularly Pat Butcher,

12:42

played by the brilliant Jim Howick. He's

12:44

also brilliant in the much underrated family sitcom,

12:46

Here We Go, alongside Catherine Parkinson.

12:49

I also wondered if you thought of putting

12:52

his character, the Verdera on the

12:54

couch in Bridget Christie's brilliant

12:56

super cool new comedy, The Change, on Channel 4.

12:59

He plays a sort of right wing anti-woke local

13:02

DJ, an interesting antagonist

13:04

of sorts. Although he only features occasionally.

13:07

So maybe better to cover Linda, the main character,

13:09

who runs away from her family on a motorbike and lives

13:11

in the forest to come to terms with the effects of the

13:13

menopause. And more importantly, a family

13:16

that don't appreciate her.

13:18

It looks at the treatment of middle aged women by society,

13:20

the collective consciousness of a small village and

13:23

the environment. That actually sounds fucking

13:25

good. It sounds amazing. But it's Bridget

13:27

Christie, so it's going to be fucking good because she is

13:29

fucking good. Anyway, says

13:33

Carly, I digress. Ghosts,

13:35

please could Sasha give us a little more on the ghosts

13:38

you didn't have time to cover in the live show,

13:40

particularly Mary, who is the best ghost, in

13:42

my opinion, before she got sucked off, taken

13:45

away from being a ghost into

13:47

another world in season four. Being

13:49

burned at the stake for being a witch must have

13:51

influenced a fair amount of how she behaves in the

13:54

afterlife. I'd also love to know how

13:56

their particular deaths might have informed their

13:58

characters as ghosts. much

14:00

and keep up the good work.

14:01

Love the pod, Carly. Yeah. I think

14:04

it's interesting that she mentions both...

14:06

Mary. Mary, but also The

14:09

Change and The Menopause Show. Oh,

14:11

the Change. Because they're both... I mean,

14:13

I haven't watched The Change, I've read about it and it's definitely

14:15

on my list and something I really want to watch.

14:18

Both of them seem to be about how women

14:20

are seen and the fear people

14:22

have around women, particularly older women.

14:25

I mean, Mary was burnt as to which she wasn't an older

14:27

woman, but often it was the post-menopausal. Right.

14:30

Women that become very threatening to society.

14:33

And I think that there's so much more talks

14:35

about menopause now. There's been loads of documentaries

14:38

and I think women are talking about it. And

14:40

it's just brilliant that Bridgette Christie has done

14:42

this show. And I've actually seen

14:45

her stand-up show about menopause

14:47

as well. Yeah. So Mary,

14:50

in a way, I think represents some of

14:52

that fear that people have around

14:54

women who are too clever,

14:57

women who are too wise, people who

14:59

have knowledge. Nowadays, it's

15:01

less so, but I think it's still there. I mean,

15:04

the whole incel movement, I'm going slightly

15:06

off topic now, but it's just... No, no, it all

15:08

ties in. That idea of threat.

15:11

The idea that, you know, when women

15:14

are young, these sort of sexual playthings

15:16

for men, because they're the fantasy

15:19

or whatever, and then they get older and now,

15:22

oh, they haven't got their looks anymore. And

15:24

even worse,

15:25

because they've got older and they've been alive

15:27

for longer, they're fucking smart too. To

15:30

a lot of prehistoric

15:32

thinking men, that's like, well, what

15:34

the fuck do they want from me? What's the point of them?

15:37

Yeah. You know, they're probably going to

15:39

hate me, you know, they're going to be against me. It's just

15:41

all fucking bullets, of course. But

15:43

yeah. And if they're not there to serve me

15:45

or pleasure me and please

15:47

me in some way, then they have

15:50

to be destroyed.

15:51

Seeing them as witches, although we don't

15:54

call it that nowadays, I think there are very many

15:56

kind of ways in which that is still being

15:58

played out. But Mary... was seen as

16:00

a witch, and that was the way that women

16:03

were kind of kept in their place. The women that couldn't be

16:05

corralled or were seen as

16:07

a bit different or who didn't want to just be be

16:09

doormats or subservient.

16:12

And we don't learn a huge amount about

16:15

Mary other than knowing that she was burned as

16:17

a witch. So clearly she did have a

16:20

wisdom and a power or strength

16:22

or something that challenged the

16:25

men of the time. But

16:28

she, as a ghost 300 years

16:30

on or whatever, is still traumatised

16:33

by being burned at the stake, as you

16:36

would be. It's a really traumatic death.

16:38

And I think it's interesting in

16:40

Carly's email as well, how she

16:42

says how the manner of their death might have influenced

16:45

them. And definitely with Mary, more than any

16:47

of them, I think the manner of her death being deliberately

16:51

burned, this was a vindictive act.

16:53

They were out to destroy her in the most

16:56

painful way. And clearly

16:58

she's got PTSD. Clearly

16:59

she has not

17:02

got over this trauma.

17:04

And as PTSD does, it

17:06

has lived with her to the point of every time

17:08

she smells some burning in the house, she's

17:11

triggered back there. We saw with Catherine

17:13

Keward in Happy Valley how post-traumatic

17:15

stress can live in your

17:18

body, in your physiology, in something like a smell

17:20

or seeing something that reminds

17:22

you of it, or a sound for a lot of soldiers

17:25

like the sound of a car backfiring or something.

17:27

Having those senses reawakened, you're back

17:30

in the moment. And Mary does that. Every time she

17:32

smells smoke, she panics

17:34

and she runs away. She's also

17:36

the only ghost that you can smell. So

17:39

if you're alive, you can smell her, if you

17:42

walk through her. So then that, I

17:43

don't know, maybe it's a reach, but

17:47

it's a smell that's there to remind you

17:49

of a horror that your

17:51

ancestors would

17:54

have had no problem with. I think that's absolutely

17:56

true. I think it's a

17:58

good representation.

17:59

I hadn't thought of it till you said it, but of

18:02

how nothing really goes away.

18:04

It's in the air, it's in the ether with

18:06

her literally in the form of a smell, but

18:09

with all of them. And we did talk about this

18:11

with Cael a little bit of how the

18:13

echoes of the traumas of the past

18:15

still stay

18:17

around however much we want to think we're sort

18:19

of sanitized. And that's why it's kind of so interesting

18:22

putting it together with that show

18:24

about the change and the menopause.

18:26

We'd like to think we're so enlightened now,

18:28

but actually there are so many ways in

18:31

which there are echoes and resonances

18:34

of the traumas that our ancestors have

18:36

gone through.

18:37

Both in terms of being a woman, being a person of colour,

18:40

we are still carrying some of

18:42

those burdens. No doubt.

18:43

And what about Kitty as well? Kitty,

18:46

I think, is

18:47

similarly carrying a trauma

18:50

that she doesn't want to look at, the

18:52

trauma of both being a woman and a woman of colour.

18:55

And I think what's really interesting is that she

18:57

is chirpy and relentlessly positive,

18:59

very different from Mary. Mary's very kind

19:01

of, she kind of owns the negativity

19:04

and the fear and the pessimism. Whereas

19:07

Kitty's showing another version of it

19:09

where she's just endlessly, let's be friends

19:11

forever and everything's lovely and my sister

19:13

adored me and everything was great.

19:16

But she's using that as a defence to

19:18

hide how lonely she was and how ostracised

19:21

she was. She was endlessly being told,

19:23

you don't belong here. She

19:25

doesn't realise she's risking ostracism

19:27

with her behaviour as well, does she? No.

19:30

She has no boundaries, so she's just right in your

19:32

face saying like, I want to sleep. Let's

19:36

play together, let's do this. Do you know what I mean?

19:38

It's really irritating. It is.

19:39

I know and it's really

19:42

sad because it's like what so many people

19:44

do is that they're trying so hard to get

19:46

something that they were actually pushing that thing

19:49

away. And yeah, she shows that

19:51

really well, it's a really good point. And

19:53

she just wants everyone to get on. She's always wanting

19:55

everyone to be friends. She wants everyone to play together

19:58

and always such a jolly happy.

19:59

And it's like she's convincing herself

20:02

because the family that she came from, all

20:04

that she ended up in, was adopted into was

20:06

clearly not one where everybody

20:08

was friends and wanted to get on. And she

20:11

was deliberately kind of locked

20:13

in cupboards, that awful story about, oh,

20:15

we used to play hide and seek and I was so good at it that my sister

20:17

couldn't find me. It's like, yeah,

20:19

clearly she didn't try that. She

20:21

wanted you to stay in a cupboard for a night. It's awful. It's

20:24

very sad. It's kind of amazing,

20:26

really, like hearing you talk that way. I

20:29

mean, if you started the podcast for

20:31

some reason in the midst of what you just said, you'd think

20:34

we were talking about a heartbreaking

20:36

drama. So it's kind of, again,

20:38

like kudos to the writers of that show,

20:40

man, because the show's consistently hilarious

20:43

with all that happening underneath. And it's

20:45

not accidental.

20:46

It's happening. It is there.

20:49

They don't mind putting it up front. But

20:51

it never gets more kish. That's

20:53

a real achievement, I think. I think the

20:56

writers of that are a genius. It's

20:58

really the amount they get in. And I think the fact that

21:00

they share it out so much between them in the cast, I

21:03

think that's probably one of the reasons. They

21:05

probably have a more kish, like, alarm, Jim. I

21:07

mean, no, that's too maudlin. We

21:09

don't need to do it that way. They

21:11

probably keep that vibe going from

21:13

being so open with their writing.

21:15

Yeah. And I think what's really lovely

21:17

about it, and it's why it's quite nice to revisit

21:19

it a little bit, because of the fact that each

21:21

character is so different and each character

21:23

brings the prejudices and

21:26

the defenses of their age. And you

21:28

can see that evolution. But

21:30

it's still somebody who

21:32

was hurt who is defending against that

21:34

hurt. Whether it's Fanny,

21:37

the Edwardian woman who is defending against the fact

21:39

that her husband didn't love her because clearly

21:41

it was a forced marriage because he was gay

21:43

and it was advantageous. And

21:46

she's having to hide her sexuality. Another

21:48

thing that women weren't allowed to do over the years

21:50

was to be a sexual being. Mary had to keep

21:52

that button down in the same way that the

21:54

captain had to keep his homosexuality button

21:56

down, in the same way that Mary had to keep her intelligence

21:59

button down.

21:59

all because of just the fucking

22:02

year they were born in. Yeah, yeah.

22:04

And the society they live in and what

22:07

people were most frightened of at that time,

22:10

whether they were scared of people of colour, whether

22:12

they were scared of women, whether they were scared

22:14

of homosexuality. These

22:17

things repeat and repeat and repeat. We're more open

22:19

about things now, but it's all still there.

22:21

Yeah,

22:21

yeah. And in the

22:23

big sort of story of good versus

22:26

evil that goes on in our heads, in the fucking

22:28

movie of our life in our heads, we

22:30

still need an antagonist to make

22:32

ourselves feel better or stronger or that we're

22:35

doing the right thing.

22:36

Absolutely. And yeah, we're

22:38

taking it to the extreme now with the

22:40

cancel culture and the blaming

22:43

of people when you don't

22:46

agree with them. But also just trying

22:48

to keep women down. I mean, when I think about the abortion

22:50

laws that have changed in America, it's

22:52

just another version of women

22:55

can't be allowed to have ownership

22:57

of their own bodies. They can't be allowed to be

22:59

intelligent women in

23:02

good jobs and making decisions

23:04

because they're just baby making machines and we're going

23:06

to make sure they know it. And then

23:08

also, I mean, again, we've looked at it in a couple

23:11

of our series, the same way that people

23:13

of colour have to be kept down in

23:15

the ghetto. And in fact,

23:18

the shows that mainly we've looked at with people

23:21

of colour have been set in the world of drugs.

23:23

But that shows how few series

23:26

we've got to look at when that isn't

23:28

where the black people are, the protagonists.

23:31

I mean, there's been a couple,

23:32

but we have been looking, haven't we, to

23:35

have more diversity. And we've had to, we struggled

23:37

a bit. It's been an interesting process.

23:40

You're right. Because we've had to like go,

23:42

we've done so many, we've got like a

23:44

white adult male. But

23:48

the show's

23:49

fucking amazing. Why wouldn't

23:51

you do that? It's a bonafide classic. And

23:53

then we start to realise we've got to open

23:56

this up. And you see

23:58

the problem laid back.

23:59

bear in front of you. It's like, I would

24:02

like the range of shows that

24:04

you have about this type

24:06

of human being, about every human being. But

24:08

I just don't. No. I mean, they're not

24:10

there. They're starting to come, but not

24:13

enough. Yeah. We'll see. We'll

24:15

see what happens. Andy has written in

24:17

to suggest a show that, I

24:19

mean, this is like, this show is haunting me

24:21

because everybody I speak to is like, have you seen

24:24

this yet? Have you seen this yet? No, I have not seen

24:26

it yet. I want to. Give me a break. Andy

24:28

says he's really enjoying the show. Would love to hear an episode on

24:30

Amy and Danny from Beef, show

24:32

that a lot of people are talking about. But really

24:35

you could do a show on absolutely any of the characters from this

24:37

brilliant series. I look forward to the new apps.

24:39

Keep up the good work.

24:41

Beef is on Netflix.

24:45

It's been called one of the most riveting shows of the year.

24:47

It's

24:48

this kind of dark

24:49

drama comedy thing about revenge.

24:53

I like talking about resentments. If

24:58

this is a show about a growing resentment, maybe

25:00

it might be worth. Well,

25:01

it fuels so much of our

25:03

behavior resentment, doesn't it? We all

25:06

feel a bit hard done by in some respect.

25:08

Yeah. I love it when I'm

25:10

watching sports and people,

25:12

you know, sportsman or woman comes up against

25:14

an old foe and the interview always says, is this revenge?

25:16

And they go, oh, no, no, no, no, no. They're

25:19

a great person. For me, it's all about looking

25:21

forward, winning the wing in the

25:23

match and being a champion. And you just watch

25:25

me thinking, of course, it's fucking revenge.

25:29

We know what it is. All right.

25:32

Yeah. Any, any sending in your ideas

25:34

and thoughts, shrink the box at Sony music.com,

25:36

you know, deal. Let's do one more.

25:38

This is from Carlingia,

25:40

Hannersberg, South Africa.

25:43

Really are going worldwide. I love this. Really am.

25:45

Hey, Sasha and Ben, I know your

25:47

virtual,

25:49

I know your virtual mailbag is bulging with

25:51

suggestions, but with the

25:53

final season of Barry underway. Oh, God,

25:55

I've got fucking much Barry as well.

25:57

I've made a start. I'm

26:00

enjoying it. Yeah, everyone says it's great. I'm

26:02

going to have to do it. It got me thinking that the

26:04

titular character, Barry Berkman, would be a great

26:06

subject of discussion. If you don't know about

26:08

Barry, he's a ruthless assassin, albeit a lonely,

26:10

dissatisfied one, who finds his purpose

26:12

when he stumbles across an acting class

26:14

run by the incredible Henry Winkler.

26:17

Wow, it's more PTSD. We've been seeing

26:19

it with Mary. Mary, I think, has got PTSD.

26:22

Okay, right.

26:23

The episodes are generally a bite-sized 30

26:26

minutes. This is good, this is good, Carl

26:28

from Johannesburg. And there are only eight episodes

26:30

in the first series. It stars Bill Hader, love

26:32

Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg,

26:35

and Anthony Corrigan as the unforgettable know-how

26:38

Hank. You're like know-how Hank. Shrink

26:40

Mafia man, like no other. Okay. But

26:43

the most interesting aspect of choosing this show

26:45

for Shrink the Box is that Ben, being an

26:47

actor, would be able to give great insights

26:49

into the process of acting, how

26:52

deep you have to dig yourself into

26:53

to find a character, and how acting

26:55

could possibly be a form of therapy. Oh,

26:58

God, you want to hear that? You want to hear about that, Carl? Well,

27:00

I was laughing as well, because it's set

27:02

in an acting class and the acting teacher is the

27:04

Fonz, Henry Winkler. Carl

27:06

says, sorry to add to the list,

27:09

but I think I just think Barry is too good to

27:11

miss. I also recommend season two, which is

27:13

a whole nother level of Barry brilliance.

27:15

Thanks for the thought provoking show from Carl.

27:19

All right, Barry and Beef, Beef and Barry.

27:22

Next to our production team, production

27:24

management is Lily Hambly, assistant producer

27:26

Marnie Woodmead, social media, Jonathan Amieri,

27:29

studio engineer is Teddy Riley, and the mix engineer

27:31

is Gulliver Tickell. The senior producer is

27:33

Selena Ream and exec producer is Simon

27:36

Poole. And if you want to listen to more and

27:38

get Kermode and Mayo's take without the

27:41

ads and their bonus content,

27:43

subscribe to Extra Takes. Start your

27:45

free trial

27:46

by clicking try free at the top of the Shrink

27:48

the Box show page on Apple podcasts

27:50

or just visit extra takes.com. Right.

27:53

So this is us. We are definitely doing it this time.

27:56

We're going on a summer break. Feel

27:58

free to interact with the show.

27:59

the box at sonymusic.com

28:02

and give us a follow, you know, catch up

28:04

on any episodes you've missed in the meantime. I hope

28:07

you enjoy it and tell everyone you can to

28:09

listen and then we'll definitely come

28:11

back and make another 24 and thank

28:13

you for sticking with us and

28:16

for all your brilliant ideas. We couldn't do

28:18

it without you. I mean, could we, Sash? We could not, no.

28:20

If they weren't listening after the first

28:22

few episodes it would have been very

28:25

short. Died a death. Yeah, do

28:27

we just like sweep it under the rug, pretend it never

28:29

happened, get back to our normal lives? Sasha

28:32

Bates, who's that? Don't know what you're talking about, mate. Nah,

28:35

you got the wrong user. No, I can't

28:37

wait. Well deserved break, Sash. You

28:39

can watch

28:39

TV for just fun. I'm looking forward to

28:41

being able to watch TV for fun, but also I'm looking forward

28:43

to looking at all those suggestions

28:45

that people have said. There's a few things. Yeah, try and get ahead of

28:47

the game, eh? Yeah, but there's a few things that I've not heard

28:50

of or I wouldn't have thought to watch. True.

28:52

And Barry, I wouldn't have thought to watch if people

28:54

hadn't recommended it. I've

28:57

started it and I'm really enjoying it, so I'm hoping there's

28:59

a few more that people have been telling

29:01

us to do that'll help me pass the summer.

29:03

Good stuff. And anywhere nice? What

29:06

are we thinking? Nowhere planned

29:08

as yet. It's going to be bright, isn't

29:11

it? I just know I can see it in your eyes. All

29:13

right. Well, it's a beautiful coast. It probably

29:15

will be bright. Enjoy.

29:17

Ta-ta. Bye. Bye.