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The calls that are extremely similar to posts have bothered me for awhile. I don't really believe it's malicious, but it does kind of feel like if you have a really excellent point and a caller makes the same point, the caller is going to get preference on the minisode all in an effort to make the episode more dynamic... and that kinda sucks.

Gorsh...Thank you

I mean I have lots of time but I'm unique in my situation. I noticed someone kind of stole one from me in the Hercules one but I'm not 100% sure if they did because it was based on Greek mythology. In their defense I did a deeper dive into the topic then they did but some of it sounded similar but again, Greek myths. I'm fine either way because it's one of my favorite subjects and I will read up on it for fun whenever I get the tiniest reason to do so, so I didn't mind much if they did. Also I think it's weird for the ones that I have heard verbatim copying on the calls because I feel like they took the time to find something but get none of the joy of interacting with everyone in the group. A hollow victory in a way. Sure you got on the episode but most of the fun is on here! I would rather make a bunch of posts that are never on the episode but I get to talk to you guys and start an interesting or fun discussion than get one voice mail played. I *live* for that shit. I think the boards bring an element to each movie. I'm now like " Oh boy what are my Earwolf buds gonna say about this scene or this weird fact I know, or my still strong and undying suspicion of dolphins ( which will never die!!!)!" I love hearing about what the movie is called in Japan from @Cam Bert and @taylorannephoto feminist takes. I have fallen in love with @Cameron H. and your wife's podcast which I would never have found if I hadn't joined. I also enjoy your takes on movies too. The boards are wonderful and I love you all. Viva la boards ! The phone messages sure as fuck don't have a hedgehog!

Actually, the MST3K version is on Netflix with Jonah Ray!

Hey man, speak for yourself!

Yeah. I remember this definitely happening. I don't remember if it was the Rockstar episode but someone definitely called in and read a comment. It was weird because I was thinking the idea sounded familiar. Then too familiar and I had to check the boards. I want to say I even asked if whoever wrote it called in to read it themselves. I obviously don't mind when there's parallel thinking or a really obvious omission that anyone can come up with. We're not super geniuses here and don't expect wholly original ideas. But reading a comment word for word? Dang. What's going on in your life where you need that kind of validation?

Although my posts weren’t poached by callers this week, I was still dismayed that neither my discussion on the A. Friend reveal nor the Happy To Be Me doll were discussed by Paul on this week’s episode. I thought both had the potential for good discussion/jokes. Oh well, I’ll try again next week.

Absolutely! For example, the second part of ChunkStyle’s response (the bit about “resting and vesting”) was in response to one of my posts which I wrote as part of the grand, inclusive conversation we were all having and wasn’t necessarily written with the thought, “Gee, I hope this gets read.” Of course it’s lovely and fantastic when he does read one of my posts, but even if he doesn’t, my good time doesn’t hinge on it. I just like talking to you all. When you call in, it’s not about community, it’s about “me.” I guess there’s nothing inherently wrong with that way of thinking, but my personal preference is, “Come have fun with us first, worry about getting on the Minisode second.”

I think there's also a question of intent. On the board, while there is the element of getting picked out and included, there's still the conversation between everybody, like the LOL thread, that shit took off and became it's own episode in its own right. However, calling in, you're doing that to specifically get yourself featured on the episodes. So, jacking other people's conversation, and using that to draw attention to yourself, and get a "good job, kid" has me in two minds, one side thinks "Are you that needy for attention, that you feel the need to swipe someone else's thoughts, and pass them off as your own?", but the other side is "Well, someone thought I had something interesting to say".

I think I remember when that happened. It’s happened a few other times as well. I want to say it happened to Taylor Anne relatively recently, but I could be mistaken. But, yeah, that’s kind of my feeling as well. Join the conversation! We’re all pretty welcoming here (except for the truly troll-ish, but they’re pretty easy to ignore). I mean, I assume the argument would be something like, “Well, not everyone has time to be on a forum” but I mean, neither do any of us really. My initial post on this topic was delayed for a while because as I was writing it I had to pick my kid up from school and run some errands. My first post on Disclosure wasn’t until a few days after the episode because I didn’t have the time to listen to it first - and I try not to post until I’ve listened to the episode. We make time to be here, you know? Not that it’s a chore, mind you. It’s an absolute pleasure. I enjoy goofing with you all. And because I like you all, as you’re all real people to me - some of you people I’ve known for YEARS - and not disembodied voices, I get defensive when I feel like one of you is being slighted. If someone here goes through the effort of composing a thoughtful post, I’d like to see that effort recognized over someone who calls in and “ums” and “ahs” their way through the same point. And I don’t think it’s really a matter of getting angry at these people. For instance, I don’t think the any of the callers today copied anyone on the board. I just think it’s annoying. I mean, if they call in with an original, mind blowing take that no one else has, go for it. But I think if it’s a matter of saying, these two people said the same thing, then maybe give it to the person who took the time to be a part of the overall conversation. Like, whether I have a C&O read on a Minisode or not, I still have fun discussing the movies with you all. Calling in is ultimately a one-sided conversation. I don’t know, maybe that’s crazy.

That happened to me on the Rockstar episode. It got to the point where I am almost certain that one of the people who called in, just came on the boards, and just read my posts, and just repeated them verbatim. It didn't make me think "Fucking asshole, stealing all my hard work!" because I had a fucking BLAST finding little caveats, it's one of the few movies where I get to really deep dive into it, because it's the shit I know and love. But it was more a case of "Mate, join in with us! Have some fun",

I am so sorry for your loss, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this. It struck a chord as we lost a dog who had been kenneled while we were on vacation. It's hard enough to be there, and so very much harder when you can't. I hope that by sharing the story it helped you heal and I thank you again. It was beautiful to hear.

She has done some stuff kind of like that. Check out her Ringer podcast series (one on Halloween and another on Quentin Tarantino), or her sporadic short-form podcast, ZOOM.

I do think the scene on the boat where Mr. Shell Oil lies about his ability to get aroused in order to get Sugar to make out with him to be shady and inappropriate. And all the groping and lies in the form of 'romance'. That's the stuff that sort of dated this film out for me. I couldn't quite get it up on that ultimate pedestal. But I'm not trying to argue any views down though; generally my take is similar to Paul's. It's a fine movie, but there's so much better. But I'll add, I loved this episode itself. Learning the history of Monroe and most importantly, tying it to her work, was great. If Unspooled ends, Amy should do more of that. I'd be happy to have Amy guide us through an actor or director's filmography, mixing in their bios and putting everything in context from a modern perspective. (I haven't listened to Lovage in years, gonna dig that out! I love Dan the Automator.)

Absolutely, that's why I'm chomping at the bit for Ready 2 Rumble, and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, because for me, those conversations are gonna be fucking amazing. However, it would be rendered hollow on the mini-episode because Steve from Yellowstone calls from his car, "Hey, one thing I noticed... and here's one of the posts I Carlos Mencia'd from the board", and then hearing "Oh yeah, that's a great point, Steve from Yellowstone, bringing his A game this week!" No, Steve from Yellowstone didn't bring his A game, he brought someone else's.

Call me crazy, but I’m just a fan of 100% honesty in a relationship. If it’s nothing, then it’s nothing, but you can’t just cut this other person out of the equation when it comes to decisions concerning *her* life. You’re not the arbiter of what she “needs to know.” Fuck that. Let her decide. Trying not to “create drama” is bullshit. Maybe there will be drama and maybe there won’t, but she has a right to decide what she wants for her life for herself. How dare you take away her agency. Who are you to determine what’s “best” for her? Maybe the reason they are having intimacy issues is because SHE’S having second thoughts! Maybe the best thing for both of them is not to get married! But if you decide, “Oh don’t tell her” then you’re basically saying, “I’ve decided you should be with this questionable person rather than go out there and find the RIGHT person.” Ugh! The more I think on this the more annoyed I’m getting - lol ETA: And allowing a person to grope you up to three times before you say anything is fucking insane - LOL

Maybe. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the phone calls in general. I don’t think they really work. Even on Unspooled, I find them a bit obnoxious. It’s usually a bunch of dudes who think they’re far funnier than they actually are. However, I get that’s just my personal bugaboo, and I can skip them if I really want. On the boards, the regulars at least and not just the one-timers, we all try our best to bring something original to the table. I know that if someone brings up something up I was going to say, I either toss that point away or I try to add to it. Phoning in bypasses all the etiquette we’ve established that makes this forum the best place, full of the best people, on the Internet.

I find a lot of times alcohol just let's out the thing that you want deep down because it lowers your inhibitions. You say how you REALLY feel about your aunt Susan and her home shopping network addiction. I also think women feel the need to let everyone know " He's not normally like that he's a super nice guy! So great ! It's fineee that he won't stop staring at me and always is a bit too sexual in his banter. That's how he jokes! Great guy" type thing. We constantly apologize for the bare minimum not out right rapists in our lives. So what if every so often they get drunk and feel you up? It's a lapse. They're a GOOD guy

I think Paul’s answer sounds logical, but obviously if this guy is discussing “intimacy issues” and then suddenly gets all handsy, it bespeaks an underlying issue that really needs to addressed. I don’t care if he was “drunk.” There was at least some level of premeditation there. Even if it was “Let me drink with her so when I come on to her I can blame it on that.” Also, the fact that the caller really went on about how nice this guy is, as if *they* were close friends, screams of a “Duckie Scenario.” Like maybe he was into the caller first, was rebuffed, and then settled for the friend. But the fact he was sober enough to discuss relationship issues says a lot. I don’t know. I don’t trust “accidents.”

I'm not going to lie I was a a little bit sad that my carefully researched statistics weren't mentioned but I figured that it was a bummer of a topic so that was why. I have been really getting annoyed by the callers coming in at the Q and A section because I feel it cuts the flow. I feel like if they did the phone calls at the start of the section it might be easier to deal with.

Man, I hate to gripe because you all know how much I love HDTGM, but I really wish that if they're going to take phone call C&O's they weren't using the calls that are points people brought up on the boards. Of the three calls, two of them were points brought up by forum people (specifically @Vegas820 and @RyanSz). And, of course, the third call was actually brought up on the show, so I don't even know what was up with that. I mean, I'm not saying that I brought the heat this week, I know I didn't, but there were plenty of other people here who did. I'm not sure why their observations were bumped so someone could bring up something that was literally brought up on the show. I get trying to pick posts that give Paul something to bounce off of, and I get that people can come to the same conclusions independently, but it really bums me out when people take the time to come onto the boards to share their funny and insightful observations only for someone to just call in on their way to work or something and gank their point. (This isn't even to mention the amount of times some of these calls he been almost verbatim recitations of things people have written here, but that's a whole other bag of worms). I don't know, it just kind of annoys me. But congrats to @Cam Bert, @Smigg, and Justine for the win!

Oh shitty little rat dog I am so deeply grieved to hear of your passing! I listened to Michael's story this morning and send my condolences to the family. Thank you for recounting what I know is such a loss.

I’m so sorry! Thanks, Michael for sharing this experience with us.

I've been campaigning for this movie since I started listening to this podcast! This is the most horrible/great thing I have ever watched. I had to mention it because it must be done. I watched this on HBO as a child, and I literally was thinking that this was a new Star Wars....and it almost made me weep. I soon realized the nonsense it truly is, and then thought Oh... they're making fun of Star Wars.... finally in my older years have realized that, as Rick James said, Cocaine is a helluva drug.

Michael takes a break from reading to share his difficult week with listeners in an episode of reflection.