Episoder
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There are many heroes when it comes to creating the magic of TV, but not all wear capes - and this isnât just a fashion choice. On this episode, we learn about and get to know one of those unsung heroes, a script supervisor!
First Sierra and Moni recap the Emmys. Yes, we know it was awhile ago, but we recorded when it was still fresh in our minds and hearts.
Then we dive in to the behind the scenes of making television and chat with Caryn Ruby, a script supervisor, and the creator and host of the podcast Script Supervisors: Unsung Heroes of Film & TV. Her podcast is a backstage pass to the process of filmmaking from one of the most difficult, little-known, and historically female department head positions on a film crew. Each episode features a short interview as well as a topic like Why You should Stop Calling Us âScripty,â or What really happened with that Game of Thrones coffee cup? Compiled from conversations with over a dozen opinionated masters of the craft of script supervising with experience from low-budget independent films and commercials all the way to and including multiple Academy and Emmy-Award winning films and television shows.
Check out her podcast, it's amazing. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
And, as usual, we end our show with our devotionals of our cult-like love of TV.
And, in the spirit of the Emmys, a special thanks to my unstable internet connection for the audio dropouts and weird sound artifacts that made the audio on this episode a little wonky. -
Weâre back! After a long and unexpected hiatus, we are once again chatting all about our cult-like love of television. On this show, we catch up on the all the TV shows weâve been watching, what we love about them, why we love them - you know, no big whoop. We cover a lot, from Abbott Elementary, to the Better Call Saul series finale (there are spoilers, but we warn you in advance), and we even set the way back machine to the â90s to rediscover One Tree Hill. Just two writers talking about their love of TVâŠfor a little too long. You donât have to listen all at once.
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Mangler du episoder?
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Weâre back for part two of our Valentine TV Gifts episode! (Yeah, we know, itâs later than we promised, and March, but we had some technical issues (we managed to clean up most of them), and shouldnât the love last all year long?)
In this episode, we continue to share shows we would wrap up with bows and give as gifts.
We take a moment to remember Betty White and all the amazing gifts sheâs given us both in television and in life. And, we share one very special gift with our listeners, a gift from Wil Wheaton, in the form of a post on his Tumblr account, where he answers a difficult question many TV lovers have been struggling with lately â what do you do when the person who created a show you love, turns out to be a terrible person?
And in our Devotional, Sierra testifies to her new television-themed venture, and Moni relates her new found love of âgentle story games.â
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Itâs February and with that is Valentineâs Day, the time to share gifts of love. As you all know, we love television, and TV is our love language, so we thought instead of chocolates or poems (because trust me, no one wants to hear our bloody awful poetry) we thought we would share our gifts of TV shows we love, and would love for you to watch.
And, as usual, Sierra and Moni get so wrapped up in talking about TV that they run WAY over time, and have to create another two-parter episode. -
Part 2 of our TV Weddings Episode! Sierra and I continue to talk way too long all about TV weddings - the ones we loved, the ones that didnât work for us, and the ones that were just too darn hard to watch. We discuss the differences between comedy and drama shows when it comes to the big day, and how it really all comes down to character development for a TV wedding to really work. Also, Sierra gets assurance that Game of Thrones is not the show for her.
In our devotional, Sierra confesses to just how many hours she has binge-watched FBI and Moni professes her new found love of Psych.
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Bells are ringing here at the TV Sect, Wedding Bells! In this two-parter episode we talk all about TV Weddings!
As our listeners know, Sierra recently got married, and, due to a series of unexpected twists and turns, ended up having a quintessential sitcom wedding. We break down what that is, and why it works so well.
Writer, podcaster, video maker Matt Baume stops by to chat with Moni about televisionâs first gay wedding which he spotlighted on an episode of his YouTube show Culture Cruise (spoiler alert, itâs probably not the episode you're thinking of), and how the representation of same-sex weddings and of LGBTQ characters on TV as progressed over the years. (35:33)
At the end of the hour, we realize we have so much more to say (we have yet to get to drama weddings at this point), so we decide to make it a two-part episode, like most TV weddings.
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Itâs Thanksgiving Time, and as with any holiday, here at the TV Sect, we have time-honored traditions of watching our favorite Thanksgiving themed episodes!
Sierra and Moni wax nostalgic about all their favorite Thanksgiving episodes and discuss how comedy and drama shows approach the holiday differently. They also talk about the problematic history of Thanksgiving, how television is changing how it represents the holiday, as well as the importance of having Native voices telling the stories we see both on screen and in the writers room.
In place of the devotional, Sierra and Moni say what they are thankful for this year. Be sure to check out our Search Party section on our website www.thetvsectpodcast.com for lists and links of the shows mentioned in this episode. -
Weâre back from our hiatus, and back to talking TV! Fall is here. Itâs time for football, sweater weather, and Halloween nights. Itâs also time for The TV Sect Podcast: Pumpkin Spice Edition.
This week were talking all about the shows that feel like fall, shows that just have that Pumpkin Spice aesthetic of a crisp autumn day, no matter what time of year the show takes place. We ponder on what makes a show feel Pumpkin Spice, what doesnât, and why a show might choose to feel like a season. We also discuss Halloween episodes and specials.
In the devotional this week, Moni confesses to never finishing a quintessential Pumpkin Spice show, and Sierra has a desperate plea aimed at all Halloween marketing and commercial executives. -
âWhatâs in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweetâ
True, Will, very true, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't pass it over because of the name. Would you drop over $5 for a fancy coffee at Cargo House (aka Starbucks)?
Today we look at Titles. Every writer knows how difficult it is to come up with a name for your script. Sometimes talking it out helps, so thatâs what we are doing. Talking all about Titles of TV shows and thoughts about what works, what doesn't work, and crafting that perfect one that sparks the interest of a reader or a viewer.
Keep in touch with us during our break for updates on upcoming shows! Also, let us know what shows, writing topics, or other TV topics you'd like to hear about. We are here to talk all about your cult-like love of television.
Instagram: @The TV Sect Podcast
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This week we talk about food on television. Not that we donât love a good binge of British Bake Off, but weâre talking food as part of a scripted show. Food is an essential part of life, so should it be for our characters on TV, but itâs so much more than set dressing. Food is a language, one that is full of reveals, secrets, and metaphors. We talk about how the choice of food in a script should never be random because what someone eats, or doesnât eat, says so much about them. We also discuss how food can shape a story or can even be the engine for the story itself. And yes, it totally matters what is inside the fridge on set when it opens.
In the Devotional, Sierra admits to spending a crazy amount of time on TikTok but has been rewarded by the algorithm gods as they guided her to discovering Gilmore Gay. Moni laments her lack of inspiration for cooking lately and makes a bold attempt to get herself right again by signing up for a virtual cooking class with Claudia Christian. -
In this weekâs episode, Sierra and Moni talk all about characters. What goes into creating characters for TV? What makes a character good, a character you want to watch week after week? What is it about your hero that makes you want to root for them?
We discuss all the things we think about when creating characters: Wants and Needs, Objectives, Tactics, Backstory, Motivations, Being Identifiable, Relationships, and Personality.
We also talk about villains and how villains have many of the same aspects as your hero, which leads us into the idea of the anti-hero and the concept of The Difficult Man in television and why arenât there more Difficult Women?In our devotional, Sierra testifies to her recent binge-watching of the show BROTHERS AND SISTERS and Moni brings forth further proof how television can save the world, or at least one manâs life, as she discusses the Netflix documentary LONGSHOT.
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Todayâs show is all about Comfort TV!
What is comfort TV? Why do we need it? And what makes it so darn cozy? We've got some answers! In this episode, we discuss the shows that bring us comfort, why they do, and how TV gets us through difficult times.I interview Suzanne Gundersen, the founder of Transformed Connections. She joins us to talk about stress relief and self-management techniques, including how watching our favorite shows can help us heal.
Bonus for screenwriters! Suzanne is also the founder of ScreenwriteNOW! She tells us all about her new program that helps stressed and struggling screenwriters become authentic, embodied in their work, and break through the dreaded writerâs block!
After my interview with Suzanne, we continue to profess the healing power of television. Hear about the fantastic TED talk by TV executive Lauren Zalaznick about The Consciousness of TV. And, of course, we fawn over our favorite shows, including Ted Lasso, because, we LOVE Ted Lasso.
Our devotionals today: Music in TV, and the love of rewatching favorite shows.
Come join us in our devotion to the cult-like love of television! -
Welcome to The TV Sect! A podcast dedicated to the cult-like love of television. Weâre your hosts, Moni Wood and Sierra DuCharme-Hansen, two emerging TV writers, expert TV watchers. Come share in our devotion to the Cult of TV, as we explore all the sacred things of scripted television. In each episode, we highlight a different aspect of a TV series and explore how it influences a showâs cultism. From teasers to tags, characters to costumes, aliens to zombies, and everything in between. Let us give you guidance into your binge-watching ways and provide a sanctuary for your episodic esotericism. Join us as we testify to our cult-like love of television and how we believe television can change the world. We welcome you to the fold!
