I'm Tony. I'm Eric. We are the sons of San Fernando. But we've been friends for over 40 years. And grew up together in the San Fernando Valley. These are the stories of our experiences as adventurous Gen X latchkey slackers from back in the day. And don't forget to hit the follow or subscribe button so you don't miss an episode. back, back, Do you need a pitch pipe? home, home. Yeah, no, I don't need a pitch pipe. Pitch pipes are so weird. They should make a pitch
pipe that you can actually play a song with, you know what I mean? It's called a harmonica. Yeah, that's right, I was gonna say. If they would just have a perfectly tuned harmonica, you don't need a pitch pipe and then you can play along. You know what's better than a harmonica? Mouth trumpet. Exactly. Mouth trumpet. Listen, Chuck Mangione. Oh God, why did I say that? You're making your TV choices these days. Like, you can choose to watch all of the Sopranos.
You can choose to watch like, it sounds like a life thing. You're now making your TV choices. You've been working this with my therapist for years. And now I make my own TV choices. Are you making good TV choices? For the most part, I am making good TV choices. I have had times in my life... when I have not made good Well, as you were alluding to earlier on, mean, when we were young, we didn't have a lot of TV choices. No, we kind of had to watch whatever our parents
were watching. Well, there's that, unless you're sick and you got to stay home from school. Oh, well, that's a whole different story, because then you're watching daytime TV. your choices were all my children, days of our lives, the newlywed show. Newlywed game. Game, not show. The newly-wred Tic-tac-toe. Tic-tac-toe. Those were the day time. Get some match game going. Blah-ow. Do-tick-a-tick-a-ga-blah-ni-blah-ow. Do-tick-a-tick-a-ga. Gene Rayburn with that
long ass microphone. did he have a microphone like that? What was the point of the skinny, skinny, To make us laugh. It's a great microphone. It's basically a lapel mic mounted on a conductor's baton. It's exactly what it is. It's exactly You just described it perfectly. microphone ever. Very strange. Yeah. You know what we watched? when I was home sick, speaking of that, during the day, and it's why I have watched- You when you were a child? Yes, when I was
a child. Okay, And it probably wasn't the best idea because I wound up with like a shit ton of nightmares when I was a kid. What? Twilight Zone. Twilight Zone was on like noon or one o'clock in the afternoon. Yeah, that was a daytime. And we remember, let's just tell- Thank God it was daytime. Anybody, you know, mean anybody from, you know, that era, any Gen Xer knows that we, you didn't record anything. It was just live that was you just turned on the channel
you want to watch. what you get and you don't get upset. You get what you get you don't get upset. That was that's what they say in preschools like to the kids because when they were handing out Did they wrap it like that? No when they're handing out like juice boxes if they had multiple flavors. the lunch lady say that? No they were the teachers. I want grape I want purple. Right and that's when the teacher. You get what you get. No she never sounded like that. No our
lunch lady sounded like that didn't she? Yeah. Who was our lunch lady? I don't remember our lunch lady. You mean in grammar school? Yeah. Alright, go back to the shows. Twilight Zone, fantastic. Yeah, so during the day, homesick, watching. Great. because cartoons were over in the morning, so during the day, a lot of Cartoons are early. Which then, my parents made me stop watching because I would get like You weren't allowed to watch? They stopped
you from watching Twilight Zone? Oh dude, I mean, dude. My parents didn't give a shit if I had nightmares or not. They were like, watch whatever the fuck you want, I don't care. You have a nightmare? Well, don't watch it. don't Of course I picked up. back up on it later and I've watched every episode of Highlight Zone ever made. Oh, it's so good. That is one of the best TV shows of all time. Yes, Rod Serling. I think we should right now do a top five.
And this is not the topic for tonight. Yeah. But let's just hold the phone. Okay. Because I think that's in the top five all time. American television shows. Oh, no question. Series. No question. But the problem is that Vince Gilligan takes three of the top five spots. OK, but you see the... Which kind of, can't... You have to pick only one Vince Gilligan But here's the thing, and I love Vince Gilligan shows. Don't get me wrong. They're amazing. Some of
the best ever. But they're full series. That's what I meant. Yeah. And that's one thing to write that full series. You're talking about with Twilight Zone, every individual episode was fucking... Rod Serling, genius. Absolute genius. What's your favorite one? No, you can't. can't. Give me a good one. Give me one you love. There was one that gave me nightmares. That was about a guy and his wife and an older couple. They were in Vegas and It was gambling
one where it was one with the slot machine attacks him. Yes. And I had the nightmares because the slot machine comes rolling to his like door. Franklin. That's pretty amazing. Franklin. And I had nightmares about Franklin. That's amazing. Machine coming, this slot machine coming to kill love that. Do you remember the hitchhiker? Of course, yes. I've seen every single one of them. I absolutely remember the hitchhiker. She's not here. She died in a car
crash three days ago. Or the one about gold where the guys they rob like the Fort Knox or the bank or whatever and they go into those chambers where they wake up a hundred years later. Oh, Because then they won't get caught with the money. But a hundred years later, they figure out how to manufacture gold so it's worthless. Right. And they kill each other to get all the gold. love that one. I love that. I also love the... I mean, I love all of them.
mean, everybody loves... Everybody talks about the Burgess Meredith one. books. I got nothing but time and he brings it over done. But the guys who are like astronauts who think they're on Mars. yeah. And they're really they just crash. They crash back in the United States. You know, Loughlin. Well, but if you're in Reno, you should have at least seen the signs of life for the casinos and strip clubs. I mean, that should have been right. OK, so. Wait,
are we doing the top five or no? We skipping that? No, we're skipping that. that whole other That's a whole other episode. Come on back for the top five TV shows all right, so things I watched. Twilight Zone, here's another one that was on all the time when I was sick and I loved it and I still love it and I just went back, just after I got in the accident, I was home recovering and I watched every single episode of I Love Lucy again. having said
that, I love I Love Lucy very, very much. I always have. think it's one of the most classic sitcoms. It basically wrote, it was The Mold. Yeah. of all future sitcoms. But it strikes me as a show you wouldn't like very much. Yeah, I wasn't a big fan. Yeah, I could see that. I can really appreciate now the comedy of Ricky and Lucy, but not then. It wasn't my bag. Really? It was always my bag and it continues to be my bag. And man, But that was also
daytime. It was daytime. Oh yeah, brilliant. No, we're still talking about homesick. We're still talking about homesick. Yeah, when we're homesick, you would watch the soap operas, the game shows. I Love Lucy, Twilight Zone, what else was Daytime? That was about really about it. Because cartoons were Saturday morning and Sunday morning, so it's hitting Marty Croft and all the Looney Tunes. That was only on the weekends. Yeah, and then it was like, as soon
as it hit afternoon, was soap operas. Yeah, and then that's when you took your cough medicine that had like... the hourglass. These are the... So are the... So are the days of our lives. Duel. Days of our lives. Duel. I used to be thrilled to get sick. Oh yeah, but then after Twilight Zone, I was asleep because I was knocked up on fucking Robitussin. Which had like... dude, the old Robo had... It was Turbo Robo. It had some shit in it. heavy narcos, basically
heavy oxy that you could buy over the counter. Yeah. Until they figured it out. Oh yeah, was... We were drugged, man. We were so drugged. So I was passing out and so that was all the TV I watched and then there was nothing on from two, three, four o'clock. It was all then about the prime time. Yeah, prime time. What was on in prime time? And again, when we were growing up, your parents chose what to watch. So what were the me, what did your dad like?
He comedies. So he was really into, um, uh, the way Glenn Miller plays songs that made the hit parade. Guys like us, we had it made. Those were the days. You're Edith. Your Edith is terrifying, I gotta say. That is a terrifying Edith. That is a gremlin. That's Edith on a little bit of heroin. He loved all in the family. He loved the Jeffersons. He was into
that. kind of comes great those are great shows well what's his name Norman Lear Norman Lear he lived to be a hundred Norman Lear was I did yeah yeah the master yeah absolute master I mean those shows were so well done that the casts meathead were incredible Rob Reiner and and things you can't do anymore on TV I mean there were so much more you could do back in the days of their time. But they were heavy. They took on very like it was very heavy.
They had it was there was comedy. They're all comedy but then they got into some heavy, heavy topics. brilliant too to make the protagonist of the tv show a blatant racist. Yes and all in the family with Archie Bunker. Bunker was a genius move because then you had Edith who was more compassionate and then you had the liberal kids in Meathead and Gloria. What was Meathead's actual name? What was Rob Reiner's actual name? Mike? Mike? Wasn't? No? I don't
know. I'll as Meathead. But it took a lot of chance too. You mentioned a moment ago, the Jeffersons. Hey, we're moving on up. Moving on up. To the east side. To a deluxe apartment in the sky. Where more can I have? I'm wasted. Okay, the Jefferson's not as good, but good. a top show of the time and you know, living in the penthouse apartment and... Boy, and these theme songs, man, my God. Oh, some of the best. Well, if we're gonna talk about some
theme songs and some shows we watching back in the day. Hold on. I it, found it, found it, found it, it, found it. Sanford and Son was the bizzam. And who wrote that? Norman Lear. No, the, no. No, wasn't. wrote the theme song? No, don't know. I don't know. Quincy Jones. Oh, not surprised. Quincy Jones wrote that theme Brilliant. Yeah, it's an amazing theme No, but you think about amazing theme songs. Good times. Oh, temporary layoffs. Yeah.
Easy credit ripoffs. Yeah. Scratching and surviving. Hanging in and jiving. Hanging in and jiving, not hanging in a chow line. Hanging in a chow line. It sounds so much more like hanging in a chow line. than, yeah, it does. a... Wow, that is a screaming theme song. Screaming theme song. And amazing show, JJ, dynamite. it's 70s theme songs compared Welcome back, Cotter. Oh yeah. Welcome back, Newman. Was that Randy Newman or it just sounds like Randy Newman? Take it
It's not Randy Newman. But it sure sounds like No, sounds nothing like Randy Randy Newman sounds like you got little hands you got. He doesn't sound anything like that. That is Randy Newman. Dude, I want to hear Randy Newman do the Welcome Back Hotter theme song. Welcome back. We watched all those. dreamt with your ticket out. Come on, let's talk about what... In prime time, what we were watching. Will Sasso from Mad TV do Randy Newman. Do yourself
a favor. I need to see onto YouTube and just type in Will Sasso, Randy Newman. Right now, whatever you're doing if you're listening to this, it's so good. Okay, go No, but the big ones that we watched, that my parents were watching for sitcoms were Happy Days, Lever and Insurer. Oh, right, still 70s. By the way, you go back and Monday, happy days. Now that's, yeah, that theme song's just okay, but the Laverne and Shirley theme song, killer, with the Slimyosh
Lamazel, Hassan Pfeffer Incorporated. if you go back and those two shows, back to back, happy days is god awful. But Laverne and Shirley is a solid, solid comedy. It is so funny. The Fonz would disagree. Well, speaking of the Fonz. I, know, the Fonz was my hero. He was one of my all heroes. absolutely. Henry Winkler, the man with the plan. I loved the Fonz. I wanted to be the Fonz. I wanted to be, you know, he represented that whole evil, Knievel. He
was the good guy, bad guy. Which is something- Until he jumped the shark and created Jump the Shark. jumped the shark. But the 70s, there was this archetype. And I don't know where it came from and if it happened, if it existed before the seventies or if it existed after the seventies. But in the seventies, there was a good guy, bad guy archetype. And I grew up wanting to be the good guy, bad guy. It's the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It's the
outlaws that are good guys. And that is the Fonz. And that is the Fonz. Fonz is the greaser. He's the bad guy with the leather jacket. But he's got biggest car and he'll help you, you know, give you the shirt off his back. I don't know where that archetype started. need to do, I maybe need to write a PhD thesis proposal. Because you've got plenty of time. You've got lots of free time. I think you should work out. Write a thesis on the Fonz. On the Fonz. The
archetype of the Fonz. The good guy, bad guy. Yeah, I could write, I'd be a big get a PhD. But really, Laverne and Shirley was more your bag than Happy Day. It's not even about whether or It's just a better show. Empirically it's a better show. If you go back and watch it. It's very funny. It's really well put together. Lenny and Squiggy are fucking geniuses. Hello!
Hello. Yeah. Hello. Your Squiggy is way better than mine. I can't, yeah. Hello. Did your parents, did each of your parents, you said your dad loved He loved comedy, and you know what one he also loved? And I will say, this holds up not because it was a good show, but because John Ritter was so goddamn funny. Oh dude, Three's Company was absolutely amazing. because of John Ritter. Now, When you talk about Three's Company, yes, John Ritter made that show, but
you have to pick a side. Oh, it's Chrissy Snow. Okay, that's what I wasn't even thinking. Yeah, that's obvious. Oh, I you were gonna, that was yeah. you're not team Chrissy, fuck you. Okay, what's the pick a side? Mr. Roper. The Ropers or Mr. Furly? The Ropers or Mr. Furly? You gotta Yeah, do I have to pick? Because they both have their charms. I am so, it's simple. It's a simple choice. a mile, Norman fell breaking the fourth wall? Norman fell. Dude, every time
with that grin. at that. And Mrs. Roper's moomoos. Oh, dude. The moomoo's are amazing. you know, for anybody who doesn't know, that's what my father was doing back in the 70s, was manufacturing moomoo's. And she wore basically... So guarantee your dad was a roper fan. that moomoo. Yeah, he made that. No, and my dad loved 3's Company because, again, he liked good And a brilliant idea. put this whole idea together, just a really simple... There were such simple, original
ideas. work without John. But the idea around the show of having him pretend to be a gay man so he can live with these two girls. So at least in my household, my dad and my mom liked completely different shows. They'd both watch each other's shows, it was quite a division. So you've given me a couple that your dad liked. What were your mom's Before we go to my mother's, can you name the sequel to Three's Company? Three's a crowd. You got it.
Yeah. It's terrible. Yeah, it wasn't good. Oh, sequel to Happy Days. Unhappy Days. No. I don't remember. Joni Loves Chodges. Oh, God, that did not need to be made. We did not need that. The world did not need that show. Yeah, they did happen. There were a lot of sequels. Although, I'll... the Jeffersons is a spin-off of All in the Family. Yes, yes. Yeah. Not a sequel, but a spinoff. Okay, my mother really liked daytime soaps and in primetime stuff she loved
the nighttime soaps. Do you remember the nighttime soaps? The hour longs? I think your mom, by the way, I don't know this. Really, of course. JR, man, Dallas. Dallas is huge. Nine o'clock came on. Yeah, Dallas. Dallas is on. Oh yeah. And what was, do you know what was followed by? Because my mom watched this too. I was already going to bed. I'm not gonna tell you. Was it another night soap? An hour long? Was it Falcon Crest? Yes! Starring... Sinclair
McFaddenhat. But also... Janey Herbalty. In addition to... Scrungy McFlutter penis. And also starring... You just gave me... You just gave me a birthday gift in a bag with creatures, animals that are not alpaca, they are- Llamas. The Dalai Lama was in Falcon Crest? The Renzo llamas! Wasn't Falcon Crest. Right. Son of, son of. Fernando. Oh, Fernando Lamas. And you know who Fernando Lamas is? You look marvelous. That's was the whole Billy Crystal
gag was supposed to be Fernando, Fernando Marvelous. Fernando Lamas. Or Fernando Marvelous. So wait a minute, was Lorenzo Lamas was in Falcon Crest, but who were the other, was what's her name? That, that, the actress. I'm trying to remember the actress. Oh, in Falcon Crest, I can't remember. I just remember that because it was 10 o'clock man. I was going to bed. I could never watch that. And Dallas was really not my thing. was Falcon Crest, Dallas and
there was one more big one. Nots Landing. Nots Landing. On a different night. Very good. Very good. That was the third one. Those were the three bigs. But you know what was on before? I got to watch this because it was on right before Dallas and Falcon Crest at eight o'clock. Dukes of Hazzard. Oh yeah. Wait, hold on, before we go to the Dukes of Hazzard, do you remember who killed JR? Because I do. JR shot himself. No, he didn't. No, I don't remember. No, it
was what's-her-name, the blonde sister. What's-her-name? I'll think of her name in a Okay, please come back to that. you'll know can't remember. Anyway, she killed him. But that was a big deal. Who shot JR? It like, all the magazines. was everywhere he went. Who shot JR? Okay. The big was like, who killed Laura Palmer? Do you know that... Gorbachev called Ronald Reagan to ask him if he knew who killed Laura Palmer and Twin Peaks. That's unbelievable. It's apparently it's a
true story. Maybe we know it was George Bush. He called George Bush. Wow. Senior to ask him. Wow. He knew who killed Laura Palmer. Okay. Deuce of Hazard. Oh God. There was only one reason to watch the Dukes of Hazard when you were a 10 year old. Daisy Duke. Daisy Duke in her's eight Daisy Dukes. wasn't Cooter. It wasn't. Well it was. What's what's what's your name? Catherine Bach. Catherine Bach. And we all, as young kids too, Katherine Bach, Daisy
Duke first, and then it was all about the General Lee. And then it was about the Gen... No, we totally idolized Bo and Luke. By the way, jumping that car... And it's amazing, I they had the freaking Confederate flag on it. I mean, they were like, good old boys, quote unquote. Oh, Waylon Jennings, just do good old boys. Another good theme song, though. Never meanin' Never meanin' no harm. Beats all you all you never saw. Been in trouble trouble with a lot since
the day they was born. The Balladeer. No, but you know what's great about that? Is that not a lot of theme songs have a bridge. That's true. song had a bridge. Making a way, their way, it's only way they know how. That's just a little bit more than the Wall of the Wild. That's good shit. Okay, the General Lee, by the way. I mean, that's one of those things as a kid. You just want the matchbox version. You wanna race it. Did you have a little Hot Wheels?
They didn't make it, but I shit you not. You drew a Confederate flag. Yes I did. On a Charger. Yes I did. On my matchbox Charger, I did. I did the whole deal. But thinking, a Dodge Charger, which I always thought it was a Challenger because of the body style, but a Charger, the way they jumped that, I they must have taken all the weight out of that car because that car must have weighed like, Well, they two tons. They also had seven or eight of them. And they
did take all the weight out of Right, because they had to... Because they're jumping over the lakes and stuff. A regular charger from what, 68? Oh, the springs are just compressing this gap. It would have dropped right into the water like a stone. Now, my dad had a different show completely. Yeah, my dad had a number one. So did my dad. But it wasn't a... It was once a week. Was it a drama? Oh. No, it wasn't. Okay, so tell me what your dad's number one TV show
of all time, all time, was once a week every Sunday. 60 minutes. He loved 60 minutes. And Mike Wallace. Still on. Is it really? Yeah. Mike Wallace is great. I mean that was back in the day of real journalists. When journalists were trying to help the world and find shit
out and bust the criminals and you know. This wasn't my dad's favorite show but I remember watching Leonard Nimoy doing In Search Of. That was we like I was I found that really creepy and interesting cuz it's got about bid Bigfoot the lock the Loch Ness monster Before
was kind of like YouTube style. Yeah before that before that very creepy and Leonard Nimoy would make everything sound crazy And by the way, was my mom's that's a great segue in my mom's other favorite show Star Trek, dude We watched every and it's you know I didn't even remember the Star Trek wasn't actually on that many seasons. many did have? And I think it was only like four seasons. Really? For the original. Wow. So my dad's favorite
show. That's what I to because we went through it. What was it? One of the quintessential shows of that time, the 70s, it was MASH. Oh, come You want to give me some theme song? want to give me some theme? You know, it has words. Suicide is painless. Suicide is painless. It brings on many changes. And I can take or leave it if I please do. Wow. My dad was was was. big time into that show we watched. that was, like, they usually let my brother
and I watch that, but that was also heavy. It was comedy, but they had, was war, Do you talk about heavy? I mean, as the show went on, all the slapstick elements left. Okay, this is, this divides the MASH community. Are you a trapper guy, or do you like BJ? Are you often hanging with the MASH community? Are you a BJ guy, You go to picnics with the MASH community? Yes, all Is there a forum? Yeah, Loretta Swift puts it together. thing. I love Trapper. I am not
a BJ guy. I love BJ. That big cheesy mustache. I like Trapper. Trapper John MD. That was a spinoff. Trapper John MD? It was? Yeah, there was a spinoff, right? I don't remember who But you know, mean, you have your Charles, versus Charles Nelson Riley. Charles Nelson Riley would have been amazing. What's name of that guy who played Charles David Ogden Steers? Who's also in better off dead as the father who's amazing. Absolutely amazing. He's great.
And better off dead. He's the book like trying to like talk the vernacular of the teenager. He's like Dude, you're really putting me off. He's can't get it He's looking through the book like trying to talk. Oh my God. Right off. He was great in MASH. He's a great character. But so was Frank Burns. Again, was like Trapper and Frank Burns and then you had Charles Winchester and BJ Honeycutt. Okay, that again, I can't even. There's comparison. Frank Burns was amazing.
Frank Burns was unbelievable. He was fantastic. I was sad. And the show, Alan Alda, like, I mean, he's crux of that show. But you know what really made that show? Who really made that show? was fucking Clanger. Jamie fucking Oh, Jamie Farr was great. Always trying to get the section eight, get thrown out. Jamie Farr was great. I had, I went to a party the other night at Kelly's house and Sarah Kelly's sister was wearing socks. And well, you know, as one
does. With Jamie Farr on them? As one does. Please tell me Jamie Farr was on my socks. but she pulled, at one point, pulled the sock up a little bit. And you know, when you pull your sock up, you can see what's on the sock. There was a picture of a face on the sock sewn into the sock, embroidered into the sock. And I said, is that radar from MASH? Was it? No, it was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And can I tell you something crazy? You know what? You don't need
to, they, they look at, pulled up a picture of radar. Yeah. They look exactly like look, and it is the same visage. Ruth Bader radar. Ruth Bader, Ruth radar, Ruth radar Ginsburg. RBG radar. That's what I was saying. It's radar Bader, Radar Bader Ginsburg. listening to the Sons of San Fernando. Don't forget to hit that subscribe or follow button in your favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode. Drop us a review, we'd love to
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