Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a classic episode of the 1970s sitcom What's Happening. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from They Might Be Giants and The Thalia Zedek Band.

Show notes:

  • Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ

  • Inspired by MST3K and Rifftrax, we're commenting while watching video

  • Watch the episode along with us at the CompCon YouTube channel

  • What's Happening!! had all the sitcom archetypes

  • Formula elements at play

  • This was a Very Special Episode

  • No continuity in the '70s on TV shows

  • The evils of bootlegging

  • Check out CompCon episodes 218 and 219 about bootlegs

  • Ric: Wonder if there's a bootleg of the Doobies' performance in this show

  • Show inspired by the movie Cooley High

  • Ric's a fan of Dee

  • Did inner city kids really listen to the Doobie Brothers?

  • Jay: I rocked the velour shirts back in the day

  • Rerun gets roped into the bootlegging world

  • All the parodies have been parodied now

  • Ric's heard the "Which Doobie You Be?" line a million times

  • Doobies are so big they're playing a podunk high school

  • Patrick Simmons had a brief solo career

  • Michael McDonald's vocal style

  • The kids pretend to like the Doobies

  • Jeff "Skunk" had magnificent facial hair

  • The band Bread appeared on an episode of The Hardy Boys

  • Simmons supposedly went to the kids' high school

  • Four minutes of scenes from next week

  • Theme by Henry Mancini!

  • Next week, it's part 2 of the Doobie Brothers episode

  • Bonehead of the Week

Music:
They Might Be Giants - You're On Fire

Thalia Zedek Band - Walk Away

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The They Might Be Giants song is on the album Nanobots on Idlewild Records. Download it for free at Stereogum.

The Thalia Zedek Band song is on the album Via on Thrill Jockey. Download it for free at Soundcloud.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

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