"Big Chicken with Dan Black" is Episode 422 of Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Big Chicken with Dan Black" was released on November 2, 2023.
"Tomorrow… with Dan Black" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Dan Black (The Last Improv Show) joins the 'boys to discuss his family deli, Shaq, and fried chicken before a review of Big Chicken. Plus, a fall edition of Season's Eatings.
Nick's intro[]
“He said, ‘I’m Billy Friedkin. And I was like, ‘Oh, shit, The Exorcist? I love you. That’s me and my mom’s favorite movie.’”
This was how legendary director William Friedkin — of The French Connection, Sorcerer, and yes, The Exorcist — met the star of his 1994 college-basketball drama Blue Chips: the larger than life in every way Shaquille O’Neal.
Blue Chips
The massive and mostly mononymous Shaq had a career on the hardwood as impactful as Friedkin’s on the silver screen, with four NBA championships and a legacy as an all-time great big man. And his early acting role in Blue Chips — opposite then People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” Nick Nolte — helped make Shaq into the prototypical modern athlete, with a business and media empire in parallel with his playing career. Shaq starred in other films like Kazaam and Steel, charted rap singles like "What’s Up Doc" and "I Know I Got Skillz," and landed lucrative endorsement deals with Reebok and Pepsi.
And in the decade plus since his retirement in 2011, Shaq’s fame has perhaps even grown, a testament to his personal charm and business acumen. His analysis and antics as part of the Inside the NBA quartet proves often more entertaining than basketball itself. His buddy ad campaign with crudely animated auto-insurance mascot, The General, is this generation’s Lethal Weapon. And his brand partnerships have evolved to include age-appropriate endorsements like Icy Hot, a bizarrely fitting Halloween experience at Long Beach’s Queen Mary called Shaqtoberfest, and a board of directors seat and brand-ambassador arrangement with Papa John’s.
And, in 2018, Shaq launched a chicken-focused chain restaurant of his own — naturally, paired with a reality series, Big Chicken Shaq, spelled S-H-A-Q. As of 2023, his franchise has nearly twenty locations, with a dozen more planned.
So can The Big Aristotle’s burgeoning bird broker become a Blue Chip fast-food stock?
Or will time prove it another embarrassing curiosity, like his clunky and derivative Sega Genesis fighting game, Shaq Fu?
This week on Doughboys… Big Chicken.
Fork rating[]
Big Chicken
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
1 fork |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
1 fork |
| Dan Black |
|
0.5 forks |
| shared |
|
Nick, Mitch, and Dan all went together to Big Chicken (in Glendale).
They ate the Big Cookie live during the episode.
With these scores, Big Chicken makes the Broken Plate Club. Everyone is sad about it because they love Shaq.
For the record, this appears to have originally supposed to be part of Shaq Week 2, but because of their disappointment in Big Chicken, The Doughboys canceled it.
Season's Eatings: Autumn Edition[]
In this segment, the Doughboys try a variety of holiday-themed snacks.
They have Van Leeuwen Buttermilk Berry Cornbread Ice Cream, Entenmann's Pumpkin Pop'ems, Entenmann's Apple Cider Donuts, and Diamond Pumpkin Pie Spice Walnuts.
They don't typically rate things in Season's Eatings, but I added Snack or Wack based on their reactions. Nick did rank the four items.
| guest / host | Buttermilk Berry Cornbread Ice Cream | Pumpkin Pop'Ems | Apple Cider Donuts | Walnuts | ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Snack | Snack | Snack | Snack |
|
| Mike Mitchell | Snack | Snack | Snack | ||
| Dan Black | Snack | Snack | Snack | Snack |
Favorite Berry and Nut 🫐🥜[]
| guest / host | Berry | Nut |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Black | cashew |
| Mike Mitchell | Todd | Deez |
| Dan Black | Darryl Straw | sunflower seeds |
| Emma Erdbrink | Straw | macademia |
| Casey Donahue | Rasp | cashew |
Roast Spoonman[]
The King of Staten Island
| “ | The King of Thousand Island | ” |
–Mark from New Zealand | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | Dan: Do you make all your guests this uncomfortable? Nick: Honestly, yes. |
” |
–The Doughboys | ||
| “ | If you have one quarter portion of gazpacho, that's Ungarzpacho. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | It would be fun to be the first celebrity to die on the Rock and Jock field. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
The Feedbag[]
| If you could have one celebrity chef cater your Thanksgiving dinner, who would you choose? (-Miriam in NH) | |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
| Mike Mitchell |
|
| Dan Black |
|
Photos[]
