TBG 43 -

Ellen Adair and Brian Gene White grade an episode of "Hey Arnold!" entitled "The Baseball" on the 20-80 scouting scale, with an intermission on the 2024 World Series Champion Dodgers. They introduce the show, with background on the creators (1:58) and provide a summary of this episode's story (6:12). A quick overview of the 20-80 scouting scale for those just joining us (7:15). Amount of Baseball (8:07) looks at a couple of ways that Ellen breaks with precedent in scoring this category, and at the diversity of the kinds of baseball in this episode. Baseball Accuracy (17:44) discusses the player positioning in the streetball game and some other animation faux pas, whether physics-accuracy-is-baseball-accuracy applies to this cartoon, the accuracy of Quigley Field w/r/t Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, and the Polo Grounds, and issues with Arnold having Mickey Kaline as his favorite player. The scouts dive in on some Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline comparisons with the fictional Mickey Kaline, along with references to Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Ellen tests their ability to do a teeny tiny deep dive considering every player who homered on their last at bat, and talks about the accounting of Al Kaline's last game in Joe Posnanski's BASEBALL 100. Storytelling (43:31) talks about the primacy of stories of baseball players facing retirement in baseball media, and its metaphorical implications. They consider a few real-life baseball players, such as Chase Utley, Albert Pujols, Roberto Clemente, Ken Griffey Jr., and parallels to what's currently happening in the TV/film industry. Brian shares an interesting fact about the young voice actors in "Hey Arnold!" Both envy Arnold's room and community, and discuss Kaline's nickname. Ellen compares a story moment to Don Delillo's UNDERWORLD. Then, an INTERMISSION (1:00:16) in which Brian and Ellen discuss the 2024 Dodgers and their postseason, with a segment Ellen has titled Three Things, which challenges both of them to choose three answers to various Dodgers-related prompts. No spoilers on the names and moments discussed here as they look at the Dodgers' path to their 2024 World Series Championship. They return to grading with the Score Tool (1:25:38). Acting (1:29:00) considers the performances of Dan Castellaneta, Tress MacNeille, Ron Perlman, Toran Caudell, Jamil Walker Smith, Francesca Marie Smith, James Keane, and Dom Irrera. Delightfulness of Catcher Character (1:35:29) weighs Helga as catcher and Delightfulness of Announcer (1:38:45) Billy Riback as "TV Reporter/Announcer." Lack of Misogyny (1:40:27) leaves us feeling good. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:43:15) Six Degrees of Baseball (1:45:56) Favorite Moment (1:46:22) Least Favorite Moment (1:46:50) Scene We'd Like to See (1:47:10) Dreamiest Player (1:48:41) and Favorite Performance (1:48:52). Follow Brian Gene White on Instagram/Threads @briangenewhite, and find Ellen Adair on Bluesky and Tiktok @ellenadair, on Twitter at @ellen_adair, and on Instagram/Threads @ellenadairg.

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