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Matt's So-Cast Pod: Wicked's Connection to My So-Called Life

Stepping out of the wood, out of the dark, out of the night, the so-cast pod is back for a chat about the surprising parallels between Wicked and My So-Called Life! Sure, Winnie Holzman is one of the main writers behind both projects, so it makes sense that they'd have some things in common -- and we go deep on all of it, from the costumes to the music to the original novel. 2024-12-02 17:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post

Bonus video! Candid Camera's naughty movie & airplane hijacking incident

Hello there!

I'll have a great big new video for you next weekend about An American Family, but in the mean time here's some more fun stories about another unscripted show, Candid Camera. We'll start with the time the producer was involved in an airplane hijacking that was assumed at first to be a prank ... but then turned out to be an ACTUAL hijacking. Plus: The time the President of the United States got swept up in their tomfoolery, and the attempt to pivot from inn...

Sewers of Paris: Gay Men's Catnip (Ep 496 - The Wizard of Oz/Josh)

Before we get to this week’s episode, I have a question for you. And that question is … do you have any questions for me? I ask because we’re coming up on the 500th episode of The Sewers of Paris next month, and to celebrate I’m going to be doing a special Q&A episode where I answer questions from listeners. So if you have anything you’d like to ask — whether it’s about the show, or for recommendations, or about pop culture and queer history — please send it ...

Bonus video! Blade Runner secrets uncovered by Lance Loud

Hello there!

I have a video coming for you next week (fingers crossed) about An American Family, the invention of reality television, and about the first gay reality star Lance Loud. For this week's bonus video, I want to take a look at Lance's later career as a pop culture journalist, and in particular a FASCINATING oral history that he wrote about the making of Blade Runner. He was able to get some fantastic stories on the record from the creative figures behind the film -- f...

Sewers of Paris: I Didn't Have Anything to Lose (Ep 495 - daytime TV/Antony)

My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris has experienced reality TV as both a viewer and a participant. Growing up in Australia, Antony’s window to the world was watching American daytime talk shows like Oprah and Ricki Lake, where he’d occasionally catch an episode with queer guests. But it was after he moved to Hong Kong that he discovered a queer community t...

Bonus video! Holly Woodlawn, the Fake Ambassador's Wife

Hello there!

For this week's bonus video, I want to draw your attention to a figure who appeared ever so briefly on PBS back in 1973: Holly Woodlawn, an icon of queer theater, a Warhol superstar, and a magnificently weird storyteller. Holly was a trans woman who hitchhiked from Florida to New York and became famous simply because there was just something about her that made it clear she HAD to be famous. Among her adventures was posing as an ambassador's wife, which didn'...

Sewers of Paris: They're Lying and That's Not Real (Ep 494 - X-Men/Chad)

My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is Chad Anderson, host of the Graymalkin Lane podcast. Chad grew up in a home that was not exactly a happy place to be, for a variety of reasons — among them, the rule that everything always had to look as though everything was fine. His one e...

Matt's So-Cast Pod: Dance in Defiance, with actor Senta Moses (Delia Fisher)

I'm chatting with a super exciting guest this week: It's the delightful Senta Moses, who played Delia Fisher on My So-Called Life! We talk about her early career, the inspiration for her performance, the real-life confession that may have influenced the coming-out scene in the finale, and even take a peek at her original script notes for insights into how she tackled the role. Amazing!!!

And t...

Bonus video! Candid Camera & the pranky early days of reality TV

Hello there!

For this week's bonus video, we're going way back to the 50s for a peek at the show that would lay the groundwork for the groundwork of reality television. Candid Camera was a fun, lighthearted show (created by a terrible tyrant of a man) that was among the first to experiment with cameras following real people to see what drama might emerge. Some of their early work was surprisingly mean! But when a new producer came on board to lighten things up, the show be...

Sewers of Paris: A Disney Mallrat (Ep 493 - Disney parks/Bruce)

My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris got his start performing in high school, when he worked as a carnival barker. Bruce Costella drew inspiration from his environment, which consisted largely of theme parks thanks to a move to Florida initiated by his lesbian grandmothers. Now, he uses that EPCOT-bas...

Matt's So-Cast Pod: Where are they now?

When last we left Angela and Brian and Rickie and Rayanne and all their friends, they were in the early days of 1995 and at a point of no return in their teen lives. So what's happened to them in the intervening 30 years? On this week's episode, we have a reunion episode of sorts, with a roundup of past guests speculating on where the characters might have found themselves. And then James and I expl...

Bonus video! Julia Child's kitchen goofs (and creative saves)

Hello there!

For my most recent YouTube video, I did some research into the early days of PBS (and its predecessor, NET), and came across a lot of fun Julia Child stuff that I didn't have room for in the final video. But I thought you'd get a kick out of a couple of clips in which she screws things up, and because it's live TV (or live-to-tape) has to come up with a hasty save. The first is from a very early episode of The French Chef, in which she has some inspiring words for any kitch...

Sewers of Paris: Wear a Cute Top and Beat up a Man (Ep 492 - X-Men/Carlos)

My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is Ian Carlos Crawford, who you may know from the podcasts Slayerfest 98 and 2024-10-31 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post

Matt's So-Cast Pod: My So-Called Life's Second Life on MTV (with Peppermint)

My So-Called Life lives again! This week on the podcast, we're chatting about how MSCL was saved from oblivion, resurrected on cable. What made MTV such a perfect home for this show -- better, in fact, than the network where it originally aired? Joining me this week for a chat about MTV is the delightful Peppe...

Sewers of Paris: Becoming a Library Gay (Ep 491 - Tales of the City/Michael)

I have a new YouTube video premiering this weekend about the miniseries Tales of the City, based on the books by Armistead Maupin, and for this week’s episode we’re diving into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2020 interview with Michael — who, like the main character of Tales, moved to San Francisco to discover himself and wound up finding someone he didn’t expect. I recorded this conversation almost exactly five years ago, and a lot has changed for M...

Matt's So-Cast Pod: In Dreams Begin Responsibilities (with Sam Pirie)

In this week's episode of Matt's So-Cast Pod, it's the dramatic conclusion -- OR IS IT??? We've reached the final episode of My So-Called Life, in which everyone has revealing dreams and Brian finally tells Angela how he feels ... but she thinks that it's actually how Jordan feels. Meanwhile, Delia's got the hots for Rickie but has an important question to ask: Is he gay or what? A...

Bonus video! When Mr. Rogers went to court to save the VCR

Hello there!

For this week's bonus video, we're plucking Fred Rogers out of his neighborhood and sending him to Washington to scold a senator about giving PBS more money. But wait, there's more! Years later, Fred returns -- this time, to court, where he testifies in favor of our very good friend, the Video Cassette Recorder, boldly defying Mickey Mouse and the Universal monsters.

And just in case you'd like to do some extra reading, here's the Supreme Court transcript on the Mr. R...

Sewers of Paris: Tina Turner's Wet Season (Ep 490 - Tina Turner/Ben Graetz & Miss Ellaneous)

My guest on The Sewers of Paris this week is Ben Graetz, also known as Miss Ellaneous — an Australian drag performer whose work is infused with influences that range from a life-changing Tina Turner concert to his family’s First Nations heritage. Ben knew he wanted to perform from an early age, and attended an arts school with some actors whose names you’ll probably recognize. But he strugg...

Matt's So-Cast Pod: Weekend (with Drew Droege & Alonso Duralde)

On this week's episode of the podcast: We're closing in on the end of the series, and it's time for some wacky hijinks after last week's heart-rending drama! The grownups are going to take a VERY SERIOUS vacation, and they leave Angela in charge ... but it doesn't take long for chaos to reign when Rayanne accidentally handcuffs herself to a bed, and Patty is tempted by forbidden booze.

Breaking it down this week we have the delightful comedian, actor, writer 2024-10-14 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post

Bonus Video! Who was the closeted actor that Armistead cursed out while filming Tales of the City?

Hello there! My travels continue this week, and for this week's bonus video I have a story about a big fight between a writer and an actor. At issue: Writer Armistead Maupin was FURIOUS that the actor in Tales of the City was pretending to be straight. But who was the actor??? It's a mystery, but perhaps some of you will have a theory or two.

Plus! I have some fun footage from the defund-PBS days in the mid-90s, with some clever wordplay involving the Muppets.

(Lol whoops I accide...

Sewers of Paris: Beautiful and a Little Tormented (Ep 489 - Dr. Who/Toni)

I’ve got a special conversation for you on this week's Sewers of Paris: Toni Godwin Sells is the Chief Business and Strategy Officer at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. MoPOP is about to open a new exhibit dedicated to the works of Keith Haring and Toni and I spoke about Keith’s work to bring art to unlikely places — and how Toni found connection with other queer nerds through pop c...

Matt's So-Cast Pod: Betrayal (with Ryan O'Connor & Kristin Russo)

Hello! Thanks for your patience during our little break from Matt's So-Cast Pod. As of today we're back, with just three episodes of My So-Called Life remaining!

This week: Everyone’s life is FINALLY going smoothly … for about five seconds before it all comes crashing down, thanks to some extraordinarily bad decisions by Rayanne and Jordan, who decide to climb into t...

Bonus video! My So-Called Life's 90s Costume Inspiration, and PBS's Gay Past

Hello there!

I'm coming to you from the road this week, with a bonus video about two very different topics: First, from my most recent YouTube video, some details about the very 90s fashion on My So-Called Life (and the unlikely career of the show's wardrobe guy); and second, as a preview of my next upcoming video, a quick look into the SUPER GAY past of public television. I'm gathering research for a video about the miniseries Tales of the City, which put some very sexy gay lo...

Sewers of Paris: I Have Been Looking for the Pirate King (Ep 488 - Shakespeare/Johnnie McNamara Walker)

My guest this week on the Sewers of Paris podcast is Johnnie McNamara Walker, whose solo shows The Heterosexuals and Redheaded Stepchild led to him being described as a comic genius by The Irish Times. Johnnie spent a lot of his youth doing everything he could to hide the queer kid trying to break free — while also finding himself drawn irresistibly to singing, danci...

Sewers of Paris: From Gay Dive Bars to Jazz at Lincoln Center (Ep 487 - jazz/Richard Cortez)

My guest on The Sewers of Paris this week is jazz musician Richard Cortez, whose new album Mood Swings comes out in one month, on October 24, 2024. Richard’s love of music was instilled early in l...

Bonus Video! A Jared Leto jump-scare from before he was famous

UPDATE: Very annoyingly, Warner Bros (or someone???) copyright-claimed this video because of a snippet of Madonna music, so I've replaced the video with a new un-Madonnaed version. Hopefully that works.

Hello there!

In this week's video, I'm sniffling my way through the last vestige of a cold and sharing a very weird appearance by Jared Leto on Entertainment Tonight before he was famous -- in the good old days of 1990, when he told ...

Sewers of Paris: A Little Space Alien (Ep 486 - Superman/Glenn)

This weekend, there’s a new documentary coming to theaters about the life of Christopher Reeve, the actor who played Superman. It’s called Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, and it’s about his career, the injury that changed his life, and about what Superman the character means to different people. For this week’s episode of The Sewers of Paris, we’re diving into the ...

Bonus video! Television's long, mostly-awful history of gay teens

Hello there!

For today's bonus video, we're taking a look at the history of gay teens on TV -- going alllllll the way back to Dobie Gillis in the early 1960s, then wandering through the groovy vibes of Richard Dreyfuss into the 1970s with lesbian-teacher scares. And of course, who can forget young Ryan Phillippe as a troubled soap opera youth? And that's just to name a few.

I'm sure there are a bunch I've left out in this video, so let me know if there are others I should've menti...

Sewers of Paris: Homosexuals Are Mad as Hell and We're Organizing (Ep 485 - live television/Mark Segal)

My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is Mark Segal, who started making waves in the 1960s and hasn’t stopped since. Mark was there for Stonewall, he was there for the organizing of the first Prides that followed, and he was ready to get arrested for the cause of gay liberation — and was many times, including on one memorable occasion when he invaded a broadcast of the CBS...

Bonus Video! The weird lost Tobey Maguire sitcom Great Scott, and some awkward auditions

Hello there!

I was doing some research on Wilson Cruz and My So-Called Life when I came across a BONKERS semi-lost sitcom called Great Scott -- not only is it Wilson's first(ish) TV role, it's also an early role for Tobey Maguire, before he was the Spider-Man. But the most interesting thing about it is the astonishingly bigoted casting experience that Wilson Cruz had the strength to overcome, just to get his foot in the door.

Plus! A few more bonus stories about the skin-of-their ...