Photograph by Zack Bowen

The best way to sum up Food Coma TV is illustrated brilliantly in an interview by Nicholas Schroeder that ran in the Portland Phoenix in January 2012.

A New World for the Coma Junkies

Based on gustatory adventurer Joe Ricchio’s cult foodie blog Portland Food Coma, Food Coma TV has had a revelatory first season. Centered around Ricchio’s widely entertaining personality and anchored by comic foil Joel Beauchamp, producer Alex Steed, and director of photography Kurt Graser, Food Coma TV has become a viral sensation in just three months.

I caught up to the team for a conversation about their future plans, foodie idiosyncrasies, and foul mouths. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll know how to read this conversation. Interruptions, loud shouting, and raucous laughter implied.

SO (JOE AND JOEL) HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A LONG TIME. HOW DID KURT AND ALEX COME INTO THE FOLD?

JOE Alex basically created the fold. Actually, originally it was an idea for a tour . . .

ALEX Yeah, a long time ago I wanted to put Joe on a punk rock tour without music and just have him do readings. And the idea (to do it) with Kurt came up (last) summer. Kurt and I had been working on a project that’s been on hold for a little bit, this documentary on an old Jewish communist.

JOE It was gonna be kind of like a Henry Rollins-meets-Rachael Ray kinda thing.

ALEX Right. And we thought, what’s cooler than an old Jewish communist? Henry Rollins meets Rachael Ray. And so we came back to Joe with the idea and have been trying to make it happen since.

SO ALEX WAS JUST KINDA FOLLOWING YOU AROUND FOR A WHILE?

JOE We had talked about him quote-unquote managing me in whatever I was doing before, and basically he had this idea.

ALEX I was on an elliptical and saw a special about Jimi Hendrix. It was about how the guy who was managing Jimi Hendrix saw him and was so electrified by (him) that he needed to manage him immediately. And I called Joe from the elliptical and was like, How about I manage you?

SO JIMI HENDRIX NATURALLY REMINDED YOU OF JOE.

JOE It’s because he has a prediction of me choking on my own vomit.

JOEL An untimely death.

JOE He’s like, I’m looking for somebody who’s gonna die out fast so I can move on and have a reputation.

ALEX It was a lot of heavy lifting for a little bit of time. And then just knowing Kurt, because Kurt is so well skilled with video production. I asked him, Does this sound like something that could actually happen? and he was like, Yeah, definitely!

WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO BRING JOEL ABOARD?

JOE Well, it was my idea to bring Joel to Lewiston just to be a guest for an episode. After Lewiston, Alex called me (while editing) and was like This is awesome. What do you think about Joel (being on the show)? and I said Yeah. Every episode. Done.

ALEX It felt really good to have Joel around, but it was like something was unleashed in Joe to have Joel around.

JOEL We have a good rapport.

JOE We have a very healthy relationship. Especially after spending all that time in France . . .

WHAT ARE THE REASONS WHY JOEL MAKES A GOOD FOIL FOR JOE?

ALEX I mean look at him.

JOE Uhh . . . Joel describes himself as being, what, a thug fag?

JOEL At one point I might have said that.

JOE (He’s there) in case I slip up and say “fag” a lot.

KURT Well, it comes across on camera, the rapport. (Joel’s) super animated, and (Joe) only gets animated when he’s around. And it was easy to make an episode with the two of them.

ALEX If there are a lot of people around, Joe will just perform generally, for those people. But when Joel’s around, they’re performing for each other. It works really well.

SO OBVIOUSLY WITH THIS SHOW YOU’RE MEETING A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE AND GETTING INTO A LOT OF DIFFERENT NEW SITUATIONS.

ALEX For sure. New adult situations.

HOW HAS THAT BEEN DIFFERENT FROM WRITING THE BLOG?

JOE It’s like night and day. The blog was not as easy at I’d thought it would be. I (did) these things that involve lots of destructive, memory-crushing activities and would have to take notes the whole time. Then I’d have to go back and write about it and edit it. This is different.

KURT Yeah, you do less work.

JOE I do less work!

ALEX No. I think the intentions are clearly very different. The blog is like having a big time and then writing a narrative about the big time, and the show is essentially using food as an opportunity to tell a story about the location and the people.

THE SHOW IS A LOT MORE ACCESSIBLE. THE BLOG READS AS THOUGH IT’S YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE . . .

JOE Really the blog was for me. I wasn’t trying to make any money off the blog. It randomly brought me a lot of opportunities and got me into a lot of great situations, whereas with the show, this is a business now, and therefore we need to actually worry about who we appeal to because of you know, things like sponsors, and the fact that it’s a show. We want it to progress and how you progress with a show is you . . .

ALEX. . . well, it’s more we worry who we don’t repel. It’s less about appealing and more about repelling.

SO HAS THAT CHANGED YOUR PERSONALITY A LITTLE BIT? OR THE WAY YOU APPROACH . . .

JOE No.

ALEX The huge difference between the blog and the show is that the show is really now four different voices. It’s Kurt’s structural narrative voice, obviously Joel and Joe’s voices on camera, and my very neurotic, idiosyncratic voice.

JOE That’s putting it mildly.

ALEX I think the Fort Kent episode is — I think we would probably all agree — is the first time we really nailed every perspective.

JOEL Yeah.

JOE The whole point is figuring out what the show is. What are we trying to achieve with the show, what percentage of whatever kind of content . . .

JOEL Well, you look at that first show and it all took place in eating establishments and it was so much about the food.

JOE In Lewiston (the fourth show), we went to like eight different places and had this crazy agenda . . .

JOEL. . . and the best footage was all the little in-between stuff.

JOE With a 12- to 15-minute show, we don’t have time to properly show any personality and cover all the places. We’re figuring out now — well, working on it — the right amount to schedule to allow for the random things to happen and allow for the unexpected, which a lot of times is the best shit anyway.

JOEL Right. And eating and drinking being like a thread that ties everything together . . .

JOE. . . well, yeah, two episodes we didn’t do a lot of drinking, and I was like, we gotta get back on the drinking thing here. Because at the Fryeburg Fair there was no booze, and we were just so fucking full from eating at like, eight places . . .

KURT. . . well, you were drinking anyway.

JOE Oh, yeah, but not that much. I’m a big drinker, Kurt.

ALEX At the end of the day the drinking thing is just sort of figurative. We’re saying that what was missing was drinking and really what was missing was the freedom in these situations to experience . . .

JOEL Right.

JOE Because we found out in Fort Kent that being hammered does not translate well, either. When we had fifteen minutes of footage after three days filming because we were just so fucked up.

BUT THAT’S THE FORT KENT EXPERIENCE, TOO.

JOEL That was my Fort Kent experience.

JOE Well, Joel took it above and beyond anybody else . . .

SO HOW DO YOU SCHEDULE THE EATING PART OF THE WHOLE WEEKEND, THEN? DO YOU PICK PLACES IN ADVANCE?

KURT Yeah, we have to. We have such a tight time-frame. There’s a lot more planning than it probably looks like there is. And we have shenanigans that we plan in.

ALEX We plan open time, which is usually where the shenanigans happen, but there is a schedule.

KURT Well, in Fort Kent we had nap time, which we needed.

JOE That (original) Lewiston itinerary (Alex) had that was like six in the morning ’til fuckin’ like ten! We’ve realized that unless it’s absolutely necessary we don’t want to (do) any overnights. We wanna get in and out of filming ideally in seven hours, because then I turn into a little crankypants.

WAIT, ON OVERNIGHTS YOU GET CRANKY?

ALEX Just the long shoots without rejuvenation time.

JOE I get really childish. I get like arrgh, I don’t feel like it anymore.

ALEX If we start at eight and go ’til like five, right around five Joe just shuts down.

KURT He just hops in the car and drives off.

DO YOU GUYS EVER GET CONCERNED FOR HIM?

KURT Who, Joe? No.

ALEX In his life, yeah, but not in the show.

KURT My wife has concern for him, but that’s about it.

JOE I’m fine. . .

JOEL You mean, like, a heart attack or something?

ALEX Yes (he does). No, you mean existential concern?

WELL, IF YOUR JOB IS TO GO TO BANGOR AND EAT AT FOUR OR FIVE PLACES, AND THERE’S ALSO A LOT OF PERFORMANCE IN THERE . . .

ALEX It’s no different from Thanksgiving.

JOE And no different from my daily life, sometimes.

KURT But Joe makes a point on the camera which we never show on the show — he’s like, listen, just so you all know, I’m not eating all this. Basically, he takes a couple bites and then I eat the rest of it.

JOE That is so not true! I mean, I exercise self-control, but —

ALEX It’s not eight full meals. It’s like tastes and experience, and if he likes something he’s gonna finish it.

JOEL But it cultivates the idea that he’s eating and drinking a lot.

ALEX I mean, Joe’s life is like this. I think that that’s a really hard thing to convey. He existed like this before we came into it and he’s not gonna not exist like this for a while, so we are creating this thing now as sort of a snapshot in time. But he’s really like this.

SURE, BUT WHY I’M ASKING IS THAT IT FEELS LIKE THE SHOW ENDS WHEN (HIS) APPETITE DOES. BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: (JOE’S) ABILITY OR INTEREST IN —

JOE Well, that’s what we’re actually working on. We don’t actually want that to be what the show is about. It’s almost — Alex hates when I use the word lifestyle — but a travel and lifestyle more than an actual food show. It’s living in a certain manner. But we don’t wanna necessarily say that the whole point of this is — even though it’s called Food Coma — that you’re supposed to harm yourself with food.

ALEX It used to be this is what happens in the way to Joe getting in a food coma. And I think that we’re looking at it more now like Food Coma is like Joe’s brand, and this is what happens while Joe’s being Joe.

JOE I don’t want it to be about, like, look how much I can eat.

ALEX And if you’re smart enough — and this is always a hard line to toe without pandering — then you know that this doesn’t look particularly glamorous. This isn’t a sustainable way to exist, and we’re not trying to necessarily be cheerleaders behind the idea.

JOEL Look, I blacked out (in Fort Kent) and didn’t know what I did and puked all over the place.

ALEX And we try not to make that look sexy.

JOEL No! Look at me at BJ’s! I look like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer dancing with a troll!

I GREW UP IN A GREEK FAMILY AND ALWAYS HEARD HOW FOOD BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER AND IT’S THIS SORT OF CLASSIC BONDING AGENT —

JOE Well, everybody has to do it or they die. It’s not like alcohol where you might do it, you might not, you might be in recovery. No matter who you are you need some kind of nourishment, and nobody doesn’t like things that taste good. It usually starts with the family, because your holidays are celebrated with a meal.

ALEX The criticism I got really early on from people I know from the progressive activism community was that I was violating the first principles of community by way of —

JOEL Having fun?

ALEX Well, by way of — exactly — the underlying (sentiment) was that (the show) was really about pursuing excess.

JOE How do your old coaches at leadership camp feel about that?

ALEX I’m sure they’re thrilled. But what’s happened is that the show has evolved to where we’re able to feature and highlight and access communities in a way — because we’re going through the gateway of food — that we otherwise haven’t been able to do. We got to show off Fort Kent in a way that clearly, by way of viewership, Fort Kent was super excited about. People thanked us for showcasing their community.

JOEL And also like, we’re showing friends having fun somewhere, taking advantage of what that place has to offer. It’s not someone taking you on some fake tour — look, this is the creepy little statue — like, whatever.

JOE We’re trying to let you in on the inside joke.

THAT’S ONE THING THAT MADE ME — WHO IS NOT A FOOD GUY — START APPRECIATING THE SHOW. I GREW UP HERE AND WORKED —

JOE And you do eat food.

I DO EAT FOOD, IT CANNOT BE HELPED. I’VE WORKED IN RESTAURANTS FOR A LONG TIME AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ANNOYED AT THE WAY MAINE AND MAINE FOOD CULTURE IS PRESENTED IN CERTAIN MEDIA SOURCES IN THIS HYPER-GLAMORIZED, TOURIST-Y WAY —

JOE When they talk about how it’s the next San Francisco. It’s such bullshit.

— AND I THINK WHAT YOU’RE DOING IS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE TOURIST’S PERSPECTIVE AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE SPENT THEIR ENTIRE LIVES IN RESTAURANTS. LIKE JOE, YOU’VE WORKED IN A LOT OF RESTAURANTS . . .

JOE 29 restaurants in 16 years.

THERE’S A HUGE GAP BETWEEN THOSE TWO PERSPECTIVES AND I THINK THIS SHOW IS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, WHICH IS REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE.

ALEX Well, what has become the litmus test, unofficially, is that we’ll go out of our way to feature restaurants that underpromise and overdeliver. And if you overpromise and underdeliver, fuck yourself. We’re not interested in it. We’re not even that interested in places that overpromise and regular deliver. We try to have experiences with people who are traveling through the town, people who live in the town, and people who don’t care one way or another about food, I guess. People who like fun.

JOE Yeah, we’re a fun show, not a food show.

ALEX There’s a really great interview with Steve-O from Jackass after he got sober —

JOE Sober from heroin or everything?

ALEX Sober from everything.

JOE Really?

ALEX Well, he almost died, so . . .

JOE Yeah, but that doesn’t stop a lot of them.

ALEX Well, yeah, I know. He’s been sober for three years, so good for him.

JOE I’m happy for him. I’m not saying I’m not happy for him.

ALEX There’s a great interview in which he talks about how he thinks that they’ve done the most work in the past decade fighting homophobia in this country because they’ve essentially shown guys having a good time being not afraid of sexual boundaries —

AND PHYSICAL TOGETHER . . .

ALEX And physical. It’s never been preachy, it’s always been fun, and it’s about just not giving a fuck about what these things are supposed to mean. And for me, that’s the best way to access anything. To do it in an unpretentious, friendly, fun way. That quote from a couple years ago has always resonated with me.
JOEL Though I feel like Jackassdoes need a faggot.

JOE Actually, I think Joel could probably fuck 90 percent of the Jackass guys. Probably start with Preston.

JOEL Well, with Preston all you have to do is find a fold and fuck it, right?

JOE Yeah, yeah. Just take a bucket and splash it over him and go to town.

JOEL (to me) Wait, what was the question?

KURT (in announcer voice) Which Jackass guy would you fuck?

JOE We’d all agree on Knoxville, I’m sure . . .

(TO JOE) DO YOU EVER GET OPINIONATED ABOUT FOOD?

ALLlaughter

I MEAN, DO YOU EVER GET ANGRY?

JOE Yeah. We ate at this shithole restaurant in Springvale. We cut it right out of the show. Alex aggressively hated that place.

ALEX And Joe always calls me Friendly Alex, but on that occasion I was so fucking angry. Again, at the sort of overpromise/underdeliver thing. Not just the food but the overall treatment of us, the treatment after the fact. Not because we expect anything. We actually expect nothing from the people outside of just letting us come in.

DO YOU GET COMPED?

JOE We do sometimes.

ALEX We get comped occasionally. We get comped half the time, I’d say.

JOEL Or sometimes discounted.

JOE We never, ever expect to get comped.

ALEX Zero percent ever an expectation. We go in expecting to pay for stuff. And we’ve featured places very happily that haven’t comped us. And we love it.

JOE Content’s the most important.

SO, JOE, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR LEAST RATIONAL DISLIKES ABOUT FOOD?

JOE My biggest dislikes are people who make food too precious when it’s completely unnecessary to do so. People who put their own food on a pedestal and make the dining experience something that it doesn’t need to be by any means. That’s my biggest thing, besides food that just tastes like shit.

ARE THERE PLACES LIKE THAT IN PORTLAND?

JOE There are lots. Well, there are some.

JOEL Like in any town.

JOE As long as there are human beings there will be human beings who own shitty restaurants and do a terrible job.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO PLACES LIKE LITTLE HOLE-IN-THE-WALLS THAT ARE AMAZING . . .

JOE Exactly, I would rather go and have amazing food at a little hole-in-the-wall that’s BYOB than spend $400 for two people at a place that’s trying to act like I’m Mr. James Beard or I got 6000 stars or you’re supposed to like what I do because it’s expensive. Those people are lost. They’re dead to me.

BARBARA EHRENREICH, THE WRITER AND SOCIAL CRITIC, ONCE WROTE: FOR THE MILLIONS OF US WHO LIVE GLUED TO COMPUTERS AT WORK AND TV MONITORS AT HOME, FOOD MAY BE MORE THAN ENTERTAINMENT. IT MAY BE THE ONLY SENSUAL EXPERIENCE LEFT.

ALEX We get real sensual then.

JOE People are more likely to eat food than to get laid. You don’t have to feel bad about buying food.

JOEL There’s something sensual in the reaction to eating something that you’re enjoying in that moment so much . . .

JOE I think consistency is comforting to me. If I go to a restaurant — and let’s say I’m hungover — and I know exactly what I want at the time. Part of that whole experience is going to the restaurant and getting that food and eating it and it doesn’t involve necessarily talking to people. I’m there to do one thing. I’m on a date, I’m already occupied with this bowl of pho.

IS IT GETTING HARDER FOR YOU TO GO OUT IN PUBLIC AND EAT AT A RESTAURANT?

JOE Well, it’s a small town. I feel like more people recognize me now — when I’m out people do a double-take thing. (Kurt laughs). It’s like how the Kennedys felt! Sometimes I have Alex follow me around with my head in a bag, hustling me into cars. Aside from that, it’s the exact same thing!

ALEX I mean, but I won’t even pretend. When we went to Empire a few nights ago and we left right as last call. It was weird because everyone was like, oh hey we saw that thing and it was awesome. I’m an egoist. I was like, yeah awesome, we did a fucking good job. Thanks for liking it.

JOE I find I have a lot of 50-year old men who like me.

ALEX Absolutely. Like (philosopher Herbert) Marcuse was asked once, do you enjoy being famous? (by someone) looking for some deep response, and he was like, yes, of course.What other answer is there? I don’t even care that it’s in fucking Portland. I’m happy.

WHAT ARE SOME ASPECTS OF THE FOOD CULTURE THAT YOU COULD DO WITHOUT?

JOEL Informing your patron of the origin of every single ingredient. I don’t care. You know, I’m an intelligent person. When I walk through the door I can usually discern whether the place sources their —

JOE Basically, it’s being like, you should pat me on the back for using good ingredients, but you gotta fucking use them anyway! That’s what makes food taste good. If your food tastes good without using good ingredients then I don’t need to know. And sometimes the best ingredient is not a local ingredient, so I don’t need to fucking know. Just use whatever’s best.

JOEL I don’t care where the fucking onion comes from, you know what I mean?

JOE I like Goya products, and I don’t fucking care if they’re not local.

JOEL That’s what I’m saying! Sometimes there’s a place for a product from anywhere. It really drives me nuts.

JOE I hate buzzwords, too. Like, I hate using farm-to-table, farm-to-fork, head-to-nose, snout-to-tail . . .

JOEL Even organic is kinda like . . .

ALEX You guys should write a little poem.

JOEL Or house-made! It’s like, you don’t live here!

JOE It’s better than calling it homemade, though.

JOEL It’s not house- or homemade.

JOE It’s just made! You made it! You fuckin’ made it! You did it! Good job! You got macaroni to show me too?

JOEL You made that fucking ketchup! Congratulations!

JOE And it’s worse than Heinz, you fuckin’ idiot! You spent how much time making this shitty ketchup and it’s not even half as good? Your ranch blows Hidden Valley . . . the people at Hidden Valley Ranch, they know how to make ranch dressing. You don’t.

KURT (to me) Wow, you hit a nerve.

JOEGimme the fuckin’ keys, you cocksucker!

YOU SEEM TO BE CONQUERING THESE CITIES IN MAINE AT A RIDICULOUS RATE. WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN BY SUMMER? RUMFORDS AND ARUNDELS?

JOE I don’t think we’re in danger of running out of places in Maine anytime soon, but this concept translates to the whole world.

ALEX And I think when season two happens —

OH, WHEN DOES SEASON ONE END?

ALEX It’s done. Fort Kent’s the last one. (We’re doing) a season recap thing. After that you’ll see a little bit of a break and then season two after.

JOE In season two we have tentative plans to bring Nan’l (Meiklejohn) to Hallowell.

IS SEASON TWO IN THE SUMMER?

JOE No, season two starts in January.

ALEX Well, that’s not true. We’re gonna start shooting stuff, but you’ll see it in the spring.

JOE (jeering) Oh, sorry, I don’t know what I’m . . .

ALEX (jeers back) . . . but in season two I think you’ll see a much more even mix of themes.

ALL I CARE ABOUT IS WHEN OLD ORCHARD BEACH IS GONNA HAPPEN.

JOE Oh, dude, fuck! Are you kidding me?

JOEL Why haven’t we thought of that!

JOE This summer! The summer is OOB and the clam festival with Big J.

ALEX It’ll be a goddamn shame if we go another year and not do Old Orchard Beach.

(about two minutes of unprintable discussion about OOB)

JOEL I’m gonna wear so much airbrushed bullshit.

JOE Westbrook, Unity, Mexico, Rumford.

ALEX This is where we hear of the plans, and then we have to temper him.

SO YOU’RE GONNA DO THESE VERY SMALL TOWNS . . .

JOE Just no Portland, Camden, Rockland, or Bar Harbor.

KURT (Quietly) Joe, Joe, we’re gonna do what Alex says we’re gonna do.

JOE How come you’re yelling at me?

KURT You’re the one booming over here. (Imitating him) Aaarrgh, Old Orchard Beach and fucking!

JOEL Uh-oh! Uh-oh!

DO YOU KNOW BERT AND I?

JOEL Tim Sample?

YEAH, AND MARSHALL DODGE AND ROBERT BRYAN. A LOT OF THEIR STUFF IS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CLASSIC MAINER AND THE OUTSIDER. DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU’RE GRANTED ACCESS TO A LOT OF THESE PLACES AND PEOPLE TALK TO YOU A LITTLE MORE SERIOUSLY BECAUSE YOU’RE “ONE OF US?” A MAINER, NOT A TOURIST?

JOE No, I think I’m just as foreign. I don’t really fit in anywhere.

ALEX But they give the show access.

JOEL What they’re happy about is that somebody’s paying attention —

ALEX. . .and it’s somebody from here that’s paying attention. You’re not the first person who’s said that. Ben Goodman, who does a show called Drive Time up in Bangor, he said that (Food Coma TV) is in the very modern tradition of Tim Sample and Bob Elliot. And I didn’t realize until he said that that those are two very, very, very big influences on me. In a lot of ways we’re like the punk rock, profane version of Bob Elliot.

JOEL I feel like we appeal to a very valid and large chunk of people who don’t sit in the coastal “cha-ching” (regions), but we’re not like backwoods either.

ALEX And the majority of us have worked in fucking restaurants forever.

WHAT ABOUT FARMS? WOULD YOU EVER DO A SHOW ABOUT A FARM?

JOE Yeah, whatever. If there’s a farm in Unity — and there probably is — yeah. I mean, we don’t wanna have any kind of message.

ALEX We don’t want it to be editorial.

JOE We wanna just be there getting drunk with the farmers.

ALEX I went up to Gardiner recently and they told me there’s an amazing collective farm dinner series over the summer, and it’s a big fucking party. I think that would be the context in which we would go to a farm.

JOEL When we went to Fort Kent there wasn’t anything in the ploy factory there and (I wonder) how interesting is that footage to the viewer?

JOE Probably about as interesting as it was to me.

JOEL And that’s was sort of the last bastions of us sticking to this food thing where we’re like (trying to) get this footage of this place.

ALEX (The ploy factory is) such an important piece of the essence of the area materially, (but) is it an important piece that conveys experientially?

KURT But you also don’t know until you go and shoot it. You might get something that’s totally awesome and totally perfect for the show. I’ve done enough of these shows where it looks like the most boring area and it’s actually one of the most exciting parts of the show. Who knows!

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU GUYS WILL NOT EAT?

JOE Peas. I hate peas.

ALEX I’ll eat anything, really.

JOEL Probably vagina, but with a gun to the head . . .

JOE And natto beans. I hate natto beans.

KURT The majority of seafood.

JOEL. . . no, really, andouillette.

ALEX To me, (eating) is still really exciting. I grew up in such a shitty-palated household.

AMERICAN FOOD?

ALEX Not even. I grew up with Navy food.

JOE Is that like astronaut ice cream?

ALEX No, it’s literally shit-on-a-shingle every day. Astronaut ice cream! Didn’t the Nazis make those?

HOW FAR DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THE SHOW?

JOE We want to end up on a national level.

ALEX I just want to make a lot of money.

JOE We want to make a lot of money so I can live this lifestyle without any effort.

ALEX I want to see Joe be able to write and do larger things. I want to see Joel be able to make money. I want to see Kurt be able to make a living. And I want Kurt and myself, from an artistic standpoint, to be able to make any documentary or show that we want.

JOEL I’d probably bow out at a certain point.

JOE Once Joel can start living like Captain Ron, he’s all set.

ALEX That’s everyone’s favorite Kurt Russell movie!

JOEL I love that movie!