A Lifetime of Happiness: Movies, TV, and Video Games

How I Ate Your Father

• Steve Bennet-Martin, Stephen Martin-Bennet • Season 1 • Episode 185

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The Steves discuss what's making them happy in pop culture today, focusing on Yellowjackets, How I Met Your Father, and The Meg 2: The Trench.

Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.

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Steve:

Hello, returning Happies and new listeners, this is Steve Bennett Martin,

Stephen:

and this is Stephen Martin Bennett, and welcome to A

Steve:

Lifetime of Happiness, the podcast where we take you on our journey through some of the movies, shows, and other bits of pop culture that are helping to keep us happy while hopefully bringing a smile to your face along the way.

Stephen:

And today, we're catching up on some of the more recent seasons of our favorite shows. Yellow Jackets, How I Met Your Father. And

Steve:

we're also talking about the movie Meg, too. Yes, we are. Yes, but But first What's been making you happy you may love IRL? In real life.

Stephen:

In real life. Oh my goodness. I don't know if there's so many things that have been making me happy, but I would say that honestly what it is, is that there's been A noticeable decrease in humidity in Sarasota. Over the last week or so and it's made it more bearable like when I walk Remy in the morning I'm like, oh this feels nice when we walk Remy at night. It's like, oh, that's good instead of it Just feeling muggy all the time. Yes. Fall is coming. It's

Steve:

coming. It's coming. What is it speaking of? What's been making you happy? Well, thank you my love. Well after watching you do your amazing moon ceremony Circles each month for a little over a year now. I've been inspired to do one of my own, but rather than it being about the moon, having it be about sex, and my first kind of trial group of ten people is starting this week on Saturday for a month long weekly four session workshop, and I look forward to seeing how it goes and what it leads to. I'm

Stephen:

so very excited for you, and I know it will be successful because anything that you are passionate about like this is always successful. Yes.

Steve:

Well, you know what's also been very successful on TV?

Stephen:

Is it cannibalism? Yeah.

Steve:

In Yellow Jackets. Yeah. Yellow Jackets just had their second season at recently, but it's a, an American thriller drama series on Showtime that premiered November 14th, 2021 and just finished its second season that started March 26th, 2023.

Stephen:

It asks, what would happen if you threw a bunch of high school girls and their coaches into a Lord of the Flies situation in the Canadian wilderness during the 1990s with the answer that It's not going great for some of them today, and at the very least, they probably ate some of their teammates.

Steve:

Yes, it stars Melanie Linsky and Sophie Nolici as adult and teenage

Stephen:

Shauna. Tani Cyprus and Jasmine Savoy Brown as adult and teenage

Steve:

Thaisa. Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanate Hennedy.

Stephen:

As the adult and teenage Misty

Steve:

and Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher as the adult and teenage Nat or Natalie Yeah, among other standouts like Elijah Wood is Walter in season two, especially

Stephen:

it loved him. Oh my goodness First of all, I think we need to give a well deserved Shout out to the casting people. Yes in this not only are they Amazing actresses that are the stars of this. But they did such a good job finding the young and the adult that match up. So while I know that they...

Steve:

Cast it probably with that in mind as well as part of

Stephen:

it. Oh, it's just so impressive. Like, we love Jasmine Savoy Brown from the Scream series. And Nat Melanie Linsky's amazing in anything as are Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis. So, seeing some of these other people it's really good. I personally believe... So, before I jump ahead into that, what did you think of Season 1? Season

Steve:

1 set the bar really high going into Season 2. I feel like it had a stellar setup. You know it set the scene pretty quickly with the crash while also showing how things escalate so many times people are like Oh, no, you need to give a new show three episodes or four episodes until it gets good But I remember watching the first episode and being hooked pretty much right away. How about you? Say

Stephen:

I was more confused during season one and like I so when I read a recap of it and then we Watch the

Steve:

little

Stephen:

two minute thing. Yeah, it started making more sense again. But I remember not connect, like I really enjoyed it. Yes. But I didn't connect with it as much. But then when we watched season 2, boom. Addicted. I felt season 2 was even better. Yes,

Steve:

I agree. It definitely took the characters and introduced some new ones and fleshed out some side characters in season 1 who had more of a focus in season 2. I know that like it almost was split up into two halves where, like, cause the adults, I feel like, It was especially probably because of the all star cast with the adult women in the the series that I feel like the series is about Them today and then like having flashbacks of what happened more than like a 50 50 split or at least I care almost more about The adults and like what's happening, but like it's interesting to see what happened in the past and how it all unfolded Like what do you what do you love more about it? The the lost in the wilderness or the adults Dealing

Stephen:

with it today. So in season one, it was definitely the adults season two. I'm more torn because I think that the wilderness was more interesting in season two, as things got more dire, more cabin fever, because it's the middle of winter, there's nowhere to go. It's the Canadian wilderness. If you're not inside, you're freezing. Yeah. So thing like, and you're running out of food. None of these people. One of the bigger improvements I felt in Season 2 was the further development of Christina Ricci's character. Oh yeah. She didn't feel like Season 1 almost felt like, oh, we shouldn't like her.

Steve:

But we do because we're gay and we love our villains.

Stephen:

And we love Christina Ricci, but the way they wrote her in Season 2, it's like... Okay, we get it, you love her. We're helping you out a little bit. Here's a more fleshed out version

Steve:

of her. Yes, I feel like both young her and adult her do a great job. But, I mean, part of it, the first season, I feel like what I was waiting for in The Wilderness is because we knew, or at least, like, I don't know whether we knew for a fact, but we pretty much all knew cannibalism was going to happen. So I was like waiting all first season for it to happen. I have to say, you don't have to wait too long in season two. How do you feel they handled the cannibalism?

Stephen:

So, it's always really strange, but I've always said you know, I have no desire to be a cannibal, but, crashed somewhere, someone dies, I would probably eat somebody to stay alive, and that's what happened, somebody died, they did a funeral pyre,

Steve:

It accidentally turned into a barbeque. Yeah, it was a barbeque. But they did it in such like a beautiful way, and like with the visuals and the hallucinating that you could tell that they were like driven almost insane by hunger. But I almost feel like it was a very different type of cannibalism experience than one that happens later in the season. So,

Stephen:

what do you think? I mean, obviously, they've eaten the flesh of a human in Canada. They need to worry about becoming... Wendigos. Wendigos. We learned that in X Men, yes. Yes, because if you eat the flesh of another human north of the U. S. border in Canada... You become a primordial Wendigo,

Steve:

so science. Yeah. Yeah now and also the great thing about season two is we finally get all of our Survivors that we know of so far. Yeah all together in the retreat. What do you think of getting this great cast together?

Stephen:

So that's one of the other amazing things as well. Like when they had their little fangs and blah blah blah

Steve:

They'd interact with each other individually, but they were never all together.

Stephen:

And I really like Shauna's husband. He grew on me a lot as a character. But yeah, they didn't, it's kind of like Arrested Development. The show's better when all the cast is there together. And this showed us the same thing. Once they all got to the retreat, it was pure magic. Yes.

Steve:

And that magic has been renewed for a season three. What do you hope?

Stephen:

So obviously we've seen things in flash forwards of the past where they start dressing in ceremonial garb with more animal headdresses and things, so it's going to become very dark. And there is going to be more hunting that we know of, and because we saw at the retreat, where you know, we have to hunt you, and nature decides, and all that. And we see that, that was one of the first flash forwards we saw, in season one, of the girl running through the woods and the other people. With the torches and stuff and she fell into a pit. Yeah. So, we know it's gonna get a lot worse for them. I'm really intrigued how far it goes. How long do they stay out there? Cause they've not really... And

Steve:

they've hinted that it's years. When they say things like the first winter or the first summer. Summer, you're right. So, it's... I can't imagine. I would've given up. Like, I don't think I could've survived out there for that long. Ugh.

Stephen:

And, I'm interested to see what happens with the... Older adults come season three because the new character that they brought on well, not a new character, we've seen her as younger, but this season we got to see her adult version has cancer. Yeah. So, and you and I both, lesbian, yeah. You and I both theorize that what

Steve:

happened, the sacrifice that they did in the woods. That

Stephen:

it may be the nature is going to, that

Steve:

would be interesting. So it'll be interesting to see where it goes. On the lighter side, you know what show was a lot happier? And we're a beat

Stephen:

how, how I met your father there. I almost said how we met your mother and I was like, where, wait, no,

Steve:

that this is a spinoff of how I met your mother. It's how I met your father. It's a Hulu show that had season one coming out in 2022 and season two ending the series unfortunately on July 11th, 2023. It stars Hilary Duff as Sophie, Christopher Lowell as Jesse, Francia Raisa as Valentina.

Stephen:

Siraj Sharma as Sid, Tom Ainsley as Charlie, Tien Tran as Ellen, and Kim Cattrall as future Sophie in 2050. And it follows Sophie and her group of friends in Manhattan, similar to how How I Met Your Mother followed Ted and his group of friends in Manhattan. So, yeah, this is bittersweet. Like, we really enjoyed Season 2. There's not going to be a season

Steve:

three. Yes. But how did it pay homage as a spinoff of a series you love so deeply?

Stephen:

It paid really good homage. We got so the guys were living in Ted's old apartment. Yeah. We got Robin, we got Barney, who's really trying to work on himself. Doing his best. He's doing his best. It felt true to the spirit of the original show. It was updated. It made sense. I really liked

Steve:

it. I really did as well. I know that Season 1 was really about getting to know the characters, but I feel like it truly shined in Season 2 once they all had their relationships all set up.

Stephen:

And I also wonder, did we not get a Season 3?

Steve:

Oh, we're probably not getting a lot of the new shows because of the strike. Yeah. Because I can't imagine, I mean, Hulu's not known for its killer TV lineup to begin with. I can't imagine there was competition from original programming. Right. But, what did you think of Season 2?

Stephen:

So, Season 2 was fantastic, because we already had everybody set up. We knew their dynamics, now they could start playing. Yes. And having more fun, and being quirkier, like they'd already developed the baseline. Now they could really go for it. Sophie is much more fleshed out. And I also like how it's a newer thing where the leads of shows don't always do the best things for them. Yes. Sophie is not. A great

Steve:

girlfriend. No, she's not. She's doing her best, though, at all times. And so, what do you think of Kim Cattrall being the mom, or being Sophie in 2050? And they made a lot of jokes about what the future is like.

Stephen:

So, I actually... Really liked that, especially wasn't there a president, Chelsea Clinton?

Steve:

No, my favorite was when they had President Ariana Grande when she passed the Health Care for You Act. Yes!

Stephen:

Yes, that was what it was. Our president Ariana Grande, so universal health care is now a thing. So thank you Ariana Grande.

Steve:

Yes, I would love that. That was probably, that was the one I had in mind. That was my favorite part of the future. But it definitely was very Like modern while still holding true to the original. Now, we'll never know for sure, but who do you think the father was?

Stephen:

Honestly, I'm going out on a limb here and going in a different direction. And it's gonna be Sid. I can see that. I, because, I, Sid and his wife were not gonna work out. Yeah. And we're all like, everyone's like, oh it's Jesse or it's Ian. And I'm like, nope, I'm throwing in... The dark horse candidate right there, and I think it's gonna be Sid.

Steve:

I also was going with a different kind of theory because I feel like it would be fun to play with the modern expectations that the father is the person that you wind up with and marry forever and ever. Yeah. That they were gonna make it so that maybe the father was Ian. Where she, like, got pregnant and had the baby. And then, with all the traveling and the distance, it didn't work out. And then she followed her heart with Jesse, who's the type of guy who would raise the child like a dad. And so it would have been kind of not only, like, how I met your father, but how I met your stepfather, who is your father, type of story.

Stephen:

I like that a lot. I

Steve:

like your theory better. Thank you. So, that's how I Choose It ended. But do you enjoy where it left off at least for the most part because I'm happy my biggest question was answered because I was Shipping Charlie and Sid more than anything. So the know that they ended up to Valentina Valentina. Yes I read the names wrong, but yeah, Valentina and Charlie together and knowing that they had a kid and walked out together Made me happy. That was enough.

Stephen:

That was enough for me as well. I agree. That was a good one and thanks Hillary Duff, you had another really good show, I appreciate it.

Steve:

You did. Now, on to the Meg 2, The Trench. Was that enough shark for you, my love?

Stephen:

I have conflicting thoughts on this movie. All right, well, why don't you tell us about it first? I was

Steve:

gonna say I love that you chose this as something making us happy when you're conflicted.

Stephen:

No, it still made me happy.

Steve:

Oh, okay. Well, it is a sequel to 2000 eighteens The Meg, and it's based on the 1999 novel, the Trench by Steve Alton and Stars Jason Statham as a shark killing expert who dives deeper than any sea astronaut has ever dove before, only to bring something back with him again.

Stephen:

Yes, it had a budget of 129 million and a box office of 385. 9 million, making it a success, but the question was, did we like it? And overall, it's yes. It was an entertaining movie. I

Steve:

enjoyed seeing the progress they made in the trench, and like the stations and everything they made down there. We knew that they were going to wind back up again on the surface. And I love that it wasn't just the sharks, but all the other fun creatures. 100 percent

Stephen:

about that.

Steve:

The action was there, the little dog was there and survived again. So, you know, in terms of, I went into it with very low expectations, because shark movies are more your thing. I love shark movies so much. In terms of what I expect a shark movie to deliver, I would say it hit all parts. What about you?

Stephen:

The first one was the perfect blend of shark horror action and enough camp thrown in because it knew what movie it was trying to be. I feel like with this one, they went just too far in the camp department and the over the top action that it made it, like, okay, obviously, it's a shark movie about a megalodon. It's obviously not going to be realistic. This one felt very unrealistic because of them going just too far. Not that it wasn't fun, I just feel the first one was

Steve:

better. I also feel like the dynamic, not even like it was a romantic relationship, but the dynamic between the lead and his co star from the first one, the woman who didn't come back for the second one. It was kind of like it was missing a piece, and the daughter did a good job of filling it, but it could have used... That to kind of create more of the heart that it was missing. 100%. But I do love that the guy who survived the first one learned how to swim and... And become a survivor badass, yes.

Stephen:

and he was like, I'm not gonna be a stereotype anymore.

Steve:

Yeah. So I mean, the book series has dozens of books seriously, so they can keep this going as long as we want. The next one, if they follow the trend, would be called the Meg three Primal

Stephen:

Waters. So one of the things that I really liked about this was that it did bring in an octopus like creature and Those, the weird things on the land, yeah. So, I would be happy if they explored that a little more as well. I think that would be thoroughly enjoyable, so. I am open to more shark movies, always, because obviously I watched all the sharknado movies. I've watched most, I mean I even watched that stupid one called Land Sharks, where the people are stuck on a beach because the sharks are under the sand but, so, yes, Meg 3, bring back Jason Statham, bring back the little girl that's the teenage girl now. Bring back the guy that's now a survivor and can swim But strive for a little closer to the first than the second. Yes

Steve:

Excellent. And if there is a shark movie out there that you think that Steven might not have seen before Let us know cuz you would always love to hear about a good shark movie You can please do or let us know about anything else you're loving right now in movies and tv by emailing us at happylifepod at gmail.

Stephen:

com or you can get in touch with us on the socials whether that is facebook instagram or twitter at happy life

Steve:

pod and until next time everybody stay happy