732 - Marinating Melvin (5/15/23)

this was such a great episode

I used to think the boys were a little too harsh on 'ol fuddy duddy Lasso but then season 3 happened and I switched between boredoms yet unknown and saccharine induced vomiting during my viewings

I suspect we're actually gonna see more and more of this kind of bunny soft, stroke-your-back-and-say-it's-OK media going forward as people get just physically sicker with things like stress, unaddressed pollution, banned-everywhere-but-America food additives, and long covid. A growing niche of targeted content for people with chronic illnesses.

I feel halfway the same. Yeah sometimes its nauseating but it has enough scraps of humor or plot to be just ok. I would be more repulsed if we were all watching network television and it was the current "The Office", but for the streaming age its a fine show to throw on with family or passively in the background to numb your brain. I do completely agree that there was potential for an actually good show if Lasso was a psychopath or at least showed these people at their worst instead of best. That's why I gave it a shot because I thought it would be that, but its still serviceable as a television after-dinner mint

I watched some Marinating Melvin after this episode and it's really just a stupid, sincere show that isn't all that unpleasant. Aside from Sudekis being an annoying cheesedick and Nate looking like a muffin, it's on par with something like Tulsa King.

That idea of people competing with positivity is literally just a Smiling Friends episode. Highly recommend

I want to know what’s going on with the silo

Ted Lasso is liberal fascist media that imagines Soy American Exceptionalism as the panacea of the world. The relationship of Lasso with the brits is just a representation of the way that Center/Left of Center libs view the "mission" of Woke American Imperialism vis a vis the swarthy hordes of the world. It'll help calm suburban anxiety as we start burning down villages around the world to prevent de-dollarization, or at the very least give them an excuse to be okay with the genocide because people in the Third World keep refusing to use preferred pronouns.

Yeah even though it’s obviously quite popular - specifically zeroing in on this stupid little show that’s trying to be earnest and positive, because of course you’re all so unbearably clever that you’d never be duped by something that didn’t just drag you through the mud and tar and tell you it’s all meaningless. I mean there’s a place for that but my mom has cancer and she’s watching Ted Lasso over and over because it makes her feel better. Not a lot of culture that actually does that is there boys? You think No Country for Old Men is gonna help my mom feel nice after chemo? You think maybe there’s a place in the world for something that’s trying to be earnest and being cynical is actually easier? You guys reference David Foster Wallace maybe read some. Cynicism and pessimism and gallows humour is, sorry to say, fuckin easier. I know you guys closed the last little door of earnesty in your hearts when Bernie won - but I’m dying for an explanation as to why this ok-to-pretty-good show is the target of such vitriol. It’s not prestige and it’s not Bosch or Ray Donovan sulking into their navels, but it makes a lot of people feel nice after the end of history president and the pandemic. Apart from your half assed imperialism comment why do you actually care if people enjoy this thing

I like Chapo. I like Ted Lasso.

ill not watch it--any snl players in a show is a major turn off. (I do love 30-rock, tho, and I enjoyed the first season of Barry--but that's saved by Stephen Root) I saw Suckdickus speaking at the White House about health care awareness. I think we're beyond "awareness" (corporate lip service/thoughts any prayers) of mental health or cancer or whatever else--it all means nothing without single payer. im glad Chapo watched it for me, canaries in the shitty culture coalmine--bravo!

TV is for boomers. Remember when tv was distainfully referred to as the boob tube and a place where rotting brains go to die? Nothing has changed. And no, your favorite prestige tv show wasn’t good or important.

A little too on the nose that Ted Lasso filmed an episode where all the footballers talk about the evils of revenge porn at around the same time this verdict was handed down: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/24/french-footballer-karim-benzema-guilty-sex-tape-extortion-scandal

My first impression of Lasso was more “dances with limeys.” Like he may be a American yokel but these Brits have never seen coaching or baking skills like these! I feel like they need an episode where he’s the GOAT of the great British bake off.

Look, I've studiously avoided watching the show, but everything you are describing here about the kind of flaccid anti-humor just goes back to Parks and Rec. Parks and Rec was the show that delighted its audience by just kind of serving up picaresque vignettes of these quirky so-and-sos just doing stuff and being cute. And Parks and Rec stole that model off the last few (unwatchable) seasons of The Office, which started out being a show about uncomfortability, thwarted expectations, and the despair of work. In other words, it started out being about people at their worst and soon turned into fanfic about lives of contented mediocrity.

i once worked at a coffee shop that had a ted lasso day and i heard it was one of the most miserable days that my coworkers had ever experienced

Extremely good ep with a god-tier Fall song on the outro if you don't like this you are dumb

Felix really turnt for this one

Tv is pizza or potato chips. Ted lasso is goldfish crackers

Funny episode but Chapo boys are acting like moral-lesson-sitcoms are a new invention lol

💤

All these dudes do now is watch TV this shit sucks lol

Have never watched the show (nor Silo) but episode was a banger. You’re all morons.

I haven't seen any of the promos for the Silo, but the Chapo critique makes me want to watch it for some reason. What the fuck is in that thing?!

Just remember this is the show that’s stealing Emmy’s from Barry

This topic wasn't worth a whole show

Weak episode. Boring unless you have watch Ted Lasso.

All of the Chapo patrons who incessantly complain in the comments, folks, you're going in the Silo.

Felix brings up Mongols no less than three separate times in this episode

Surprised these dudes have never done a Twin Peaks episode

Your heart’s not in this one though

How Could You Forget severance?

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, from what I remember, has a similar dynamic to Ted Lasso but is actually funny.

have they heard of Severance?

It's a Bill Lawrence show. It's a little better than Scrubs, and not as good as Cougartown. I get that Ted's relentless positivity is a bit much, but it's hardly the darkest vision of American Empire. Try Yellowstone for a truly psychotic vision of America.

Soccer is a much better sport than baseball

Ted Lasso serves the purpose of a traditional multicam sitcom for libs who think they are too evolved and sophisticated for the lowbrow hog slop the hoi polloi consume.

Comedy is when YOU walk into an open manhole and die

This is once again the most unhinged place on the internet

If you dig down into Apple+ content and contracts you will probably find that about 85% of their total content published this year was written by Chat GPT.

Pretty sure I killed several budding friendships by admitting that I didn’t like Ted Lasso. They’ve treated me differently ever since. One person got visibly upset.

Never seen the show, but the audio from the clip you played sounded like bad satire from a SNL skit

Ok, I approve of this ep

Need the Silo review from Matt. Worked on that book series. I can already hear the exact pitch of his voice screeching about the big reveal. It's not what you think folks.

Sounds like Bojack Horseman

Boy you guys are gonna look really stupid when Ted Lasso makes me millions in Iraqi Dinar when he's made Minister of Finance for Iraq at the end of season 4.

Yeah idk about this one fellas

Their counter show to this is “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret”, where an American moves to England and destroys all life on Earth.

The show is actually good TV.

I watched a couple episodes of this on an airplane once and multiple dads made me take off my headphones to tell me it’s a good show

Baseball a better sport than soccer? You MUST be kidding. Outside Japan, Mexico and Cuba NOBODY gives a shit about baseball, compared to soccer it's a dying game. Big L fellas, dead take.

The only thing I like about this show is the tie in ice cream flavor my mom found.

There's a british show from years ago called Footballers Wives that was very trashy and over the top, probably a more accurate portrayal of wag/premier league football than Ted Lasso though.

I can't hear about Ted Lasso without thinking about Jason Sudeikis lying on the ground behind Olivia Wilde's car to keep her from leaving to fuck Harry Styles. EDIT: lol Matt mentioned it

Ned Flanders yes. I thought the same but couldn’t make it far enough to discover Ted Lasso isn’t religious. Also, I knew something was wrong with this show because the psychotic cheery CEO at my last company always name dropped Lasso in our all hands meetings.

1st season was fine, wasn't attached enough to any of it to pursue further. I think though that the series finale should be Ted and the boss lady going hog wild, unedited, full penetration rough sex, but through a series of mishaps it gets displayed on the jumbotron during halftime. Then everyone claps

Asshole Ted Lasso is just such a more compelling show

Outro music is spot on. Long live MES.

I wont see the Silo show, but I assume its a rendition of the Silo series by Hugh Howey. I don't remember it well, but didn't that end with "The world ended and it was the US's fault?"

Ted Lasso is the Itchy and Scratchy episode with no violence

All I wanna be is Ted Lasso

i'm so sad that this is what my coworkers like

Sudeikis is great in the Nacho Vigalondo film Colossal as a selfless friend to Anne Hathaway who turns out to be extremely manipulative. I’d never be able to watch Ted Lasso because I can only see him as sinister.

I would rather see a show about the two sports broadcaster characters sudekis and will forte played on snl.

Thanks for your service. Confirms everything I avoided this show for as a British man who loves football. The fact this turdpile wins awards is damning for civilisation. Please do ‘Succession’ which is even worse in that it appeals to libs but manages to attempt at humanising billionaires. Easily more sinister than Lasso.

This may be the dumbest Chapo episode ever. It’s just a silly, easy show and they fucking love it just like everyone else. There is no political drive behind it, it’s just a nice 30 minutes of goofs once a week to pacify your aching American brain.

Ted Lasso feels like they made the anodyne kindness of a flight attendant the spiritual core of the show. Your mind is eating dry nutritionless saltine crackers from a plastic sleeve wrapper.

Oh, is there an episode about Ted’s porn star past? Because with a mustache like his, he had to have starred in Slobbing the Knob 8.

This sounds kinda like First and Ten (well, 35 years later, in England, and playing soccer), except instead of the problems being tidily resolved at the end of the episode, the problems are resolved right away. Oh, and none of the cast has killed anyone. Yet.

The real life characters of Ted Lasso are a little more interesting. Welcome to Wrexham is American Influence but of course not coaching ownership. Jesse Marsch basically spent more time convincing Brits he wasn't Ted Lasso. More deeply is using Lasso to become a Bobby Robson figure. Look him up, he managed my hometown team Ipswich went on to manage PSV, Porto and Barcelona. Nate's character arc is based on Jose Mourinho who worked as a translator for Robson at Porto and then became an assist manager under Robson at Barcelona. Roy Kent arc started as Roy Keane but has morphed into Pep who was a defensive mid under Robson at Barcelona and is on the record as saying that Robson inspired him to become a manager. Robson brought total football to England, another arc in Ted Lasso character development after going to the Netherlands. Robson brought in two Dutch players to Ipswich Arnold Muhren and Frans Tyson. In short watch the Bobby Robson Documentary instead. Lol

It's very interesting how over the last few years I've heard people talk more and more about "comfort shows". I think they may be trying to come up with shows that already feel like you've watched it in the background 1,000 times the first time you watch it.

also I watched the first 2 episodes of the Silo and it’s actually even worse than the boys made it out to be

the way Felix pronounces “Ja Morant” is wild

I love Ted lasso but the guys made some great points 🤣

Guys, please watch the season 2 finale. There's this amazing scene with Ted and Nate that I think you'll love.

My parents have been watching Ted Lasso together throughout their entire divorce and now they are like dating again and still watching it. Excited to learn what the hell it's about

Felix is right, Deadwood is definitely the greatest show ever

My wife & I watched the first two episodes. We didn’t like it because it felt like they making fun of someone with special needs.

Ted Lasso. But he's a leftist.

Felix's intro killed me instantly! Go off king!🔥🔥🔥 Marinating Melvin! Instant classic this one! Well done fellas

Getting upset about a tv show that is not targeted towards you.

For All Mankind should be watched as the prequel to the Fascist universe from season 2 of Picard. Or alternately a prequel to The expanse.

The NBC Sports commercials were funny. Haven’t watched the show

"for some people, this show is like Jack Nicholson saying GooseFrobba to Adam Sandler" sorry im sorry

Ted lasso is good. Tired of every show being about a depressed real estate agent who sells meth or something

I wonder if making fun of Ted Lasso (who tells his audience what they want to hear) and joking about all the very old politicians is Chapo's way of coming to terms with how Bernie Sanders turned out.

I wish they had spent the episode on something actually important: what is going on with that silo?

Does it matter if I’ve never watched the show? Will the humor in the episode still work?7

oh boy just wait until you all get to season 3, where there is a subplot about a psychic's predictions coming true and another one about the team captain getting super pissed at a closeted teammate and won't speak to him. Not because he's gay mind you, but because he didn't tell him he was gay first.

Felix has been waiting for this episode for a long time it seems like lol. I like it but agree with every thing said in this episode about it haha.

Silo fucking rules so far FYI. Hope more people watch it. If it was on HBO it’d be huge lol

The fellas haven't cooked like this in a long time 🔥🔥🔥

"why does he have a southern accent if he's from Kansas?" buddy, you already know the answer. John Brown let his grand dad go to tell his friends what he saw I've only ever seen photos of Ted Lasso and it just reminds me of the guy who played Maria Bamford's bald ex in Tim and Eric Awesome Show "He could have been in my nook or my cranny, if he wanted"

There’s something about not having any tension or having tension being resolved really quickly

Haven't seen Ted Lasso and I never will but the impression I'm getting is that it's basically Brockmire if he didn't drink

I like the show. A lot of the criticism in the ep is more than fair. The unwillingness to allow tension to exist beyond an episode, the uncompromising charm of ted’s positivity is levels beyond disbelief, and the pop culture references are exhausting. But a lot of this ep felt contrived. I guess I just have no clue what commentary they are responding to, one tweet about eating pussy? Feels like this ep is just responding to some internet discussion that no cares / should care about.

We leftists truly cannot enjoy anything. Tbh I completely disagree that this such a product of our time. Most TV in hbo, Netflix, etc. is cynical. Also there was shit brought up that makes me think they didn’t actually watch the show? Would’ve rather have an episode about the Good Doctor.

make fun of ted lasso all you want, but thousands of years ago we would shake each other's hands to prove we weren't hiding weapons in our sleeves, and now today we do the same by venting our deepest traumas when we make eye contact with strangers. We're just shaking hands, but it's more civilized

Great episode. Cyberpunk got unfairly hit with a stray during one of Felix's rants, though: that is a great game, it just has a bad reputation due to its disastrous release.

felix in rare form on this one. always enjoyable when he’s engaged

yeah, it might be all that you get. guess this might well be it. but heaven knows I've tried!

I haven’t listened yet but the what’s frustrating about Ted Lasso is that it wants to be the football version of Major League but is too preoccupied with “kindness” to pull it off. The best parts of the show are when it does dumb guy sports shenanigans but it barely does that after the first season. I think there’s a very funny show in there but it’s just buried in saccharine nonsense. I’ll keep watching that slop though.

This makes the Mitt Romney/ Kirsten Sinima Ted Lasso photo all make sense.

The season finale should just introduce Todd Margeret as Ted’s replacement

MVP of this episode is the pharmacist who finally refilled Felix's Vyvanse

Is there any way I can bring to Chris's attention that everyone is clipping CONSTANTLY on their mics and that it makes this literally painful to listen to? This has been going on for a year plus now where only a few episodes here and there aren't recorded that way.

Pop off on Harry styles felix

Ha! Still making fun of Barney after all these years.

If I kill the guy who pitched ‘Young Rock’ they wouldn’t charge me right?

This was so incredibly unfunny.

I have never seen it but my mom likes Ted Lasso and she is 100% perfect and correct.

Turns out the people live in the Silo. Something strange is going OUTSIDE. So much cooler and better.

Can’t wait to know more about this show than I should

Ted Lasso is a very annoying name

I missed the part in Major League where Lou Brown isn't a qualified baseball manager. You can hate the show but this ep is on the same level of dreck as Ted Lasso.

Only hearing about any sort of new TV via podcasts rather than actual irl friends

Very funny episode

I heard Ted Lasso is low key good

God damnit do not remind me about Jesse Lacey

Feeling very vindicated!!!

Ted Lasso= The Berenstain Bears for adults. But less good

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

Man, y'all have to watch the later seasons just for the Nate arc

Point of correction to Felix: Ronaldo isn't the one with a quasi-incestuous relationship with his sister. He's fairly vanilla...aside from being exiled from America because he's fleeing multiple rape charges and hiring anonymous women to be surrogate mothers so he can raise sons without a wife. It's Neymar who has the quasi-incestuous relationship with his sister.

Ted Lasso is entertaining if you aren't only capable of viewing entertainment through a political lens

Make Felix watch Mrs. Davis

It’s rlly cute that Matt says “pussy” like a guy who doesn’t say “pussy” often

Felix never misses an opportunity to bring up the XXXTentacion video

A recently divorced hipster pastor I know loved this show and rocks the mustache. His ex wife has the 5 kids.

Hi, I've been told that Ted Lasso eats pussy. Does he? And what does this say about the contemporary American left?

Ted Lasso? // Ass let do.

Felix coming for my boy Ben Folds in this episode :(

Sudeikis is also a sexual predator. Makes me so fucking mad to see him as the face of “wholesomeness.”

Always had the impression that this show is pure evil

I will always appreciate the references to the porn stars of my 20s.

Do they just say it’s bad?

Hot take. The overall positivity will rot your teeth but there's some fantastic one liners and jokes. It's not my favorite show but it's better than Will "I haven't seen an episode until now" Meneker and Matt "I watched one ep on a plane" Christman made it out to be.

Jason Dicksuckis

Y'all can Ted my Lasso any time you want

Few things are as reliably embummening as positivity.

Led Tasso

Im not interested in ted fucking lasso. Enough with that show already. This is even more boring than the Tulsa king shit.

Eighth

Random question; anyone remember the ep a few years ago where they discussed the Big Four (KPMG etc.) and how they covered up corruption and stuff? Bit going down now in Aus with PwC

Fif

Hi, I’m gay soccer coach Ted Lasso

Finally.