Thanksgiving 2020
Written by: Brian J. Sumner
Holidays are a special time for different reasons for different people. Not everyone celebrates the same way for each holiday. It’s been well documented on our show that Valentine’s Day is the work of the devil and should be unceremoniously removed from all calendars and memories from now until eternity. Conversely, not enough love is given to “Pay $50 to a Movie Review Podcaster Day.” It’s a new holiday idea that hasn’t really taken off yet but just wait till that governmental acknowledgment comes in, right?!
Listen to our Valentine Episode
Anyway, my point is certain holidays hold special meanings for different people all across the board. The American calendar holds a varying number of overall holidays but for the vast majority of people, it really comes down to the Big 4: Christmas, 4th of July, Halloween, and, of course, Thanksgiving.
Since the conception of our little show, we’ve made a very conscious effort to highlight three quarters of these major holidays in a very big way, but one could argue that Thanksgiving carries the lion’s share of the holiday love with regard to our podcast.
Table Scraps has become a signature show for our brand and truthfully, it has evolved into a calling card for what and who we are as an “entertainment entity.”
What started out as a fun idea to offer up something new to our listeners outside of the normal show format quickly became a fan favorite and something that our loyal listeners looked forward to, literally, every year. Everyone knows what we do is give our listeners a new way to look at some of your old favorites by watching a Hollywood classic that I’ve never seen, but probably should have seen, and then break it down through a set of fresh eyes that just happens to be late to the party for said film. But Table Scraps?? Now that is a completely different animal altogether.
Built around the premise of an outtake show, it became a device for my co-host, Jim Miller, and me to take time during the holidays to poke fun at each other through our hilarious archive of flubs, mishaps, and general wackiness that didn’t make the final edit of any regular episode and to just break away from the monotony of our daily lives as FedEx Drivers.
“Thanksgiving is not only a great day to have a bad ass meal with family resulting in a ‘couch-bound turkey coma,’ but it’s also a time of reflection”
Over the past few years, however, something else started to happen with every episode release, but ever more heightened by each years’ Table Scraps release. We all know that Thanksgiving is not only a great day to have a bad ass meal with family resulting in a “couch-bound turkey coma,” but it’s also a time of reflection. A time for thinking about life. A time for introspection. And also turkey...did I mention turkey?? Sorry, sidetracked. Focus. Thanksgiving is a time of year to not only be thankful for the gifts that life has given you, but to also be truly appreciative of friends who become more than friends. They become family. Jim and I have been friends for quite awhile, but through the process of doing our show, we’ve come to know each other on a more personal level beyond friendship. It’s more akin to a brotherhood than a simple friendship. We argue. We pick. We laugh. We’re brothers. But something like that doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen without a lot of work and patience.
The podcast has given us many opportunities to get to know each other while sharing with our audience details of our personal lives in our Get to know the Duders segment. More times than not, especially during Table Scraps, our conversations tend to lean towards food related topics. Which, if you think about it, is very fitting conversation fodder for a holiday that is rooted in food. Families gather to break bread, share some laughs, catch up with each other and really just take a day to catch your breath from the day to day hustle and bustle. Jim and I, through our show, have been doing the exact same thing only we’re not carving up a turkey and feasting with our immediate families, but rather we’re preparing a meal of audio delight and sharing it with our “other” family; our listeners.
Since the beginning, we’ve made a concerted effort to be up front and honest with our audience. Nothing is hidden. We’re both open books that aren’t afraid to have our pages read which means more times than not, our listeners get to hear about certain aspects of our lives that can be good or bad. Our second year of doing Table Scraps, Episode 041: Second Helpings, listeners got to hear me talk about a situation that had occurred where I eluded to someone close to me being in a bad situation.
Listen to Table Scraps: Second Helpings
“to be open and up front with those emotions while engaging our audience is a tricky thing to do but it felt right to talk about it on that episode”
Truth be told, at that time in my life, one of my daughters was going through some really hard, emotional times fighting depression which lead to her attempting to take her life. Such a surreal moment coming home to see your daughter, whom you love so much, in absolute misery and defeat and feeling the only solution is to try and overdose. All the while, I’m feeling helpless and powerless in that same moment because I don’t know what to do to help her. She ended up getting some help, and is managing those feelings day to day, but for me, as a parent, I still hold onto that memory and it scares me. Being able to be open and up front with those emotions while engaging our audience is a tricky thing to do but it felt right to talk about it on that episode considering the time of year and just being thankful that she’s still here with us.
Now, the other end of the spectrum during that same conversation, Jim was able to share with the audience the story of his youngest daughter, Annabelle, going through “Potty Training Boot Camp” and the hilarity of that whole situation with his daughter not wanting to wear diapers anymore. (Update: Jim’s carpet survived boot camp.) The uniqueness of both sides of life, light and dark, within that one conversation is such a representation of life and having that discussion play out at Thanksgiving is a real special thing.
It’s family. Not all talks are pleasant and fluffy but you stick together through it all and lean on each other. Family.
Strengthening the bond between Jim and I during the process of creating our show isn’t the only thing that has occurred. Our experiences with the actual recording process has lead to a surge in creativity and an expansion of skills that neither one of us knew we had. Through trial and error, we’ve literally become self taught producers. Our podcast lends itself to the idea of constantly evolving and becoming something different with each outing while still keeping the essence of what we do intact. Each addition of the Table Scraps episodes has its own identity while still bringing the hilarious content that an outtake show can offer.
We were both on the same page when discussing what Table Scraps should be and how it should represent different aspects of the Thanksgiving experience with each years release. The first ever Table Scraps, Episode 019, was themed around the Thanksgiving meal itself and was a testing ground for the capacity of my audio editing skills.
When we first talked about the idea, it had developed from the fact that I had kept so many funny outtakes from our other episodes and wouldn’t it be hilarious to hear them in a compilation of some kind?? We knew Thanksgiving was on the horizon and knowing that we had all these “table scraps” stored away made it very easy to put the show together.
Listen to the original Table Sraps
with regard to Thanksgiving. Dude,What?! has given me so many things to be thankful for and so many memories that I can look back on and smile.
Now came the task of actually assembling the clips. What doing the edit for the first Table Scraps taught me was that creativity knows no limits. You can do whatever you want as long as you’re willing to put in the time to make it work. It was because of that first Table Scraps Thanksgiving special that I came to truly love the editing process of putting our show together. It gave me the outlet to create my brand of humor while honing my newfound skills as a sound engineer.
By the time we made it to our third Table Scraps, Friendsgiving Episode 050, my confidence with my editing skills was at an all time high and with all the work and all the hours I’ve logged over the course of our show, I no longer have doubts about the quality of our show. I truly believe our product is an upper tier quality of show because of the work in post production to make the show an enjoyable listening experience for the audience and that confidence doesn’t happen without Table Scraps.
Listen to Table Scraps: Friendsgiving
Thanksgiving is a very special holiday to me dating back to my younger years. I’ve shared stories on Table Scraps about going to my Grandma Jennings house and having a huge meal with lots of family packed in the house. I can remember the warmth of her kitchen and the smells of the house as we all gather to feast and give thanks.
I remember all those times very vividly and look back with fondness. Dude, What?!, with regard to Thanksgiving, has given me so many things to be thankful for and so many memories that I can look back on and smile.
What did you just say?
One of my favorite moments came from the second edition of Table Scraps, Second Helpings Episode 041, where we were setting up a blooper reel called Questionable Dinner Sides, which is basically just a bunch of clips of me burping.
Yeah, I burp.
A lot.
Behind the scenes. . .
It’s a talent.
As we were setting up the clip, we start talking about how every family has that one relative that shows up to Thanksgiving and wants to, as Jim put, “Experiment with the family....”. I begin to list off all the traditional sides that accompany the turkey from mashed potatoes right down to stuffing, then Jim, out of nowhere, rattles off, “Waldorf Salad.” My reaction is one of the funniest things I’ve heard on playback while doing our show throughout the years and of course it was
A - On Table Scraps
&
B - Food related.
Seeing the theme here? But this is just one out of hundreds of funny moments that can be experienced while listening to any one of our Thanksgiving specials. The Jim Miller for President promo from Table Scraps: Friendsgiving is not only funny but another example of my abilities to seamlessly edit audio clips together (which for that clip, I had to incorporate audio from 3 different clips to get it just right).
My memories of Table Scraps will always be sitting across the table from Jim and sharing in laughter as we try and stay on task to get the show recorded, but inevitably getting off task and having more fun than actually getting our work completed.
Thanksgiving will always be special to us here at Dude, What?! and because of that sentimental attachment to the holiday, we will always work our hardest to provide enjoyable content to you, the listener, so that you can feel how much it means to us. Our hard work, specifically on the holiday specials, is a direct reflection of our passion to provide something entertaining, and hopefully memorable, that you will share with your friends and family. We give thanks to those who have helped us along the way to make our show the success that it is and we also give thanks to you guys for tuning in and being apart of our family.
Now grab a big ol’ turkey leg and go listen to ALL of our Table Scraps episodes!
Happy Thanksgiving!! Gobble gobble!
Brian J. Sumner is the Host of Dude, What?!, author of The Secrets of Dr. Killiecrankie & a Turkeywhore (maybe that’s Turkeyvore?!)
Check Out our Episode 018 then read Brian’s One Final Thought for more Thanksgiving Movie Talk!
