Episode 1 – The First Episode Of This Podcast (Annotated)

01/10/2018
The First Episode Of This Podcast

Yo Dawg; Episode the first, the annotated guide, is here. This week Macaulay Culkin and Matt Cohen introduce themselves to the world and discuss exciting subjects such as Macaulay Culkin (get used to it), professional wrestling, anime, the problem with Australia, and much more!

0:00-0:19 Theme song.

00:20-4:32 Mack and Matt introduce each other for the first time. They discuss their favorite mispronunciations of “Macaulay Culkin”; Mack says “Macalaca Clucklin,” which is his favorite. Matt discusses his history as a podcaster and appearance in a YouTube video eating a slice of pizza. They mention the fact that Mack jokingly brought up the idea of a podcast, and Matt took it seriously, so here they are. Mack discusses being on Har Mar Superstar’s podcast, and how he surprised his brother Rory, who was a fan, by revealing he was on the first and last episodes.

4:33- 6:40 What is Bunny Ears? Mack jokes about how he’s been living under a rock, but a very nice igneous one. Part of the appeal was to do something different, and to do what he and Matt normally do anyway, just with microphones being held up to it (the mics are named “Mjolnir” and “Louis C.K.”). They mention that they’re both wearing bunny ears, as is customary. Having seen an explosion online recently of people talking about stuff they’re into, and consuming that voraciously, Matt and Mack saw the opportunity to jump into that field with their own voices.

6:43-10:33 After talking about Thor: Ragnarok for an hour, they realized they had basically just done the equivalent of a podcast without microphones; this segues into Matt’s impersonation of Taika Waititi as Korg. Discussion ensues about how to do an Australian or New Zealand accent properly and how the people of New Zealand hate being compared to English people. They ask Australians to tell them why they should visit Australia  (without being racist). Matt compares it to Japan, where everyone is quiet but late at night, you’ll hear people screaming and they’ll be Australian, and very sociable.

10:34-13:50 Revised mission statement: now Mack says Bunny Ears is about hating on Australians, early WWF wrestling, and The Pagemaster. Matt mentions he’s had Pagemaster toys since he was a kid, and it’s his go-to reference for Mack, just as Mack’s go-to joke for Breckin Meyer is to say he loved him in Pinocchio as the English dub voice of Roberto Benigni and Matt says his for Seth Green is Airborne. They discuss movies that are a common frame of reference for all of them, like Spaced Invaders and Hackers, and especially the latter’s attempt to guess what the future of computers might look like. Bunny Ears can be about movies like these, or wrestling reviews, or an interview with the ghost of Nelson Mandela – the only consistent element will be the hosts.

13:51-15:49 The guys discuss how they came to this episode with no notes, then get into talking about different sorts of fist-bumps and handshakes, and whether or not the handshake that also tickles someone’s palm is the secret gay-code handshake.

15:50- 20:20 Wrestling! Matt has been trying to get Mack into New Japan a little more. The first match Mack ever saw was Honky Tonk Man versus Ultimate Warrior, while he was filming Uncle Buck. They discuss Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, and Honky Tonk Man, with strong recommendations to look up Ultimate Warrior promos on YouTube. Mack and Matt break down the two types of wrestling bad guys: monsters and “chicken-sh*t heels.” Compare Honky Tonk Man to Jay Sherman’s father on The Critic with his use of a guitar—both inspired by El Kabong from Quick Draw McGraw. Matt became a fan later, at Survivor Series ’96, watching the Rock, Al Snow, and Test… because he loves underdogs. Matt wants to expose Mack to more indie wrestling like PWG, to “curate an indie experience” for him.

20:21- 27:55 Video game talk, as they discuss how Mack seems like a big gamer even though he mainly plays older games. Mack reveals that when he played Warcraft online, he was a human paladin named Luvstabuffyu, and his secondary character was a female gnome warrior named Chick Norris. He discusses the meaning of the word “twink” as relates to Warcraft, and Matt reveals just how much he can nerd out about Farmville. We hear a few accounts of times when life had to be put on hold in order to complete a key moment in a game—or the game in its entirety. Both were Pokemon obsessed, Matt talks about how he realized in his 20s that he had always been a nascent anime fan, and they talk about becoming a fan of something and then devouring the back catalogue. Mack for a while was obsessed with Nostalgia Critic and Angry Video Game Nerd.

27:56-29:09 THE MIDDLE OF THE SHOW! (They think, at the time). Having gotten to know each other, Mack and Matt want to hear from the listeners. Solicit feedback via podsurvey.com/bunny, where you can win a $100 gift card to spend, they hope, on Macaulay Culkin movies. Mack suggests Little Giants.

29:10-30:00 Conversation returns to Matt’s anime collection, notably a wall of toys based on One Piece, a property Matt calls the perfect culmination of everything he’s ever been into. They talk binge-watching.

30:01- 34:15 Matt mentions watching eight seasons of a Canadian cop reality show called You’re Under Arrest and how he gets paranoid about being busted for smoking pot. They both fear that if they travel, they might forget to get rid of every trace of weed in their clothes. The topic switches back to anime, and how Mack likes Madoka Magica. They suggest making recommendations for each other as homework, touching upon popular titles like Attack on Titan, One-Punch Man, Akira, and Ninja Scroll.

34:16-36:00 A mention of Ninja Scroll leads Mack to recall creating a ninja-themed RPG with his friends, and the discussion moves to tabletop gaming. Matt says his hangup with it was the dice, because he’s bad at math; he’s tried to get a friend with a Ph.D to DM a session without dice, but that’s the one concession he can’t get. Mack explains that it’s because the element of chance is essential.

36:01-37:00 What should Bunny Ears fans be called? Mack and Matt briefly settle on Bunny Ears Universe, and discuss having a regular D&D game on the show. Another idea is to bring on famous guests and never let them talk.

37:01- 46:20 They’re recording this in New York City, so let’s talk Broadway and musicals. Mack recalls doing off-Broadway, off-off Broadway, and West End in London: a show called Madam Melville that ran 90 minutes with no intermission and him onstage the whole time except maybe 5 minutes. He was 20, newly divorced. Matt steers this into a general conversation about how they both love to travel. Mack talks about living in Paris and how there’s no way to not sound braggy about it. They touch on shooting Seth Green’s movie Changeland in Thailand, which also costars Randy Orton, and the merits of siestas and naps. Mack learned how to nap between takes as a child actor, during moments when he managed to avoid his tutor. He still wants to go to Greece and Egypt, while Matt feels bad about repeatedly going to Tokyo rather than Madagascar or Patagonia.

46:21- 49:00 How tough is it for Mack to walk around in public? Tricky. Although in Paris, he thought nobody recognized him then later just realized they did but didn’t care. The podcast is a way for him to get his voice out on his terms, to counter the idea that he’s a recluse. His friendship with Eddie Izzard is briefly discussed.

49:01- 51:52 Not knowing their recording schedule, they will stay away from most topical news. They hypothesize about Harvey Weinstein becoming president, and how you can’t rule it out nowadays, and how they should podcast about fake history. Matt busts out an impersonation of a failed producer character who new who would be famous but never actually cast them. They joke he should be called “Marvey Weinstein.”

51:53-54:00 A discussion of Saturday Morning cartoons based on movies, and all Matt’s toys based on them. Mack reminds us that he had one too, called Wish Kid, in which he had a magic baseball glove that helped him make wishes which inevitably backfired. Remembering how basketball used to come on after cartoons, they start remembering Hoop Dreams.

54:01-1:02:00 The topic returns to true crime shows, and how Matt falls asleep to murder podcasts. Mack brings up Law and Order as “the rapiest show on television.” They run down the best Vincent D’onofrio roles. Mack says he doesn’t watch much TV, but he does make time for Last Week Tonight. Both Mack and Matt like Nathan for You, and they describe their favorite moments. Matt compares Nathan to Louis Theroux. They call out their dream guests for the podcast (like Doc Hammer and Justin Roiland), while saying they will definitely do a commentary track for Airborne and not invite Seth Green.

1:02:01-1:07:01 They close out the show making fun of random countries.

Take these links, it’s too dangerous to go alone. Even though you are probably alone:

Wish Kid Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9jub3KTUGw

Breckin Meyer Pinocchio Dub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvKZDx1c6EI

Seth Green In Airborne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vus4WWzrfv8

Honky Tonk Man vs. Ultimate Warrior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzmWjqzOtfk

IMAGES: United Artists, Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers