"Love Week: See's Candies with John Hodgman" is Episode 433 of Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Love Week: See's Candies with John Hodgman" was released on February 15, 2024.
"Tomorrow, we continue Love Week… with John Hodgman" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
John Hodgman (@johnhodgman, Dicktown) joins the 'boys to discuss not having a sweet tooth and Valentine's Day before celebrating Love Week with a review of See's Candies. Plus, a new segment, Binge.
Nick's intro[]
Kent Brockman interviewing Man
On January 12th, 1997, The Simpsons aired its tenth episode of season eight, a crossover with fellow FOX network hit The X-Files. Titled "The Springfield Files," the episode includes an Eyewitness News segment where anchorman Kent Brockman speaks with a man who woke up after 23 years in a coma:
- Man: Do Sonny and Cher still have that stupid show?
- Kent Brockman: No. She won an Oscar, and he's a Congressman.
- Man: Good night!
- The man then flatlines in his hospital bed and dies.
The scene would no doubt baffle zoomers and millennials today, as it did to young Gen-Xers in 1997 — all too young to experience the cultural ubiquity of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, a variety show that aired from 1971 to 1974 and was briefly revived in 1976. Hosted by married musical act Sonny and Cher Bono, the series may have been corny and dismissed by tastemakers, but it was popular with ordinary Americans, and helped launch the careers of young cast members Steve Martin and “Super Dave” Bob Einstein.
But Sonny and Cher might never have met in the first place if not for a candy shop. In 1963, 16-year-old dropout Cherilyn Sarkisian was supporting herself working at a Los Angeles location of a chain chocolate store when she met 27-year-old record executive Bono — some accounts say as a customer, others say at a party, others still at a coffee-shop double date. But in all tellings, the recently separated Bono soon offered the teenager a new job as his live-in housekeeper, which she readily accepted. The two were soon both dating and recording, and married in 1964, and while a modern lens might view this relationship as weird and predatory, Cher still reflects fondly on her mentor and romantic partner — her father figure/husband.
In 1965, Sonny & Cher released their hit single "I Got You Babe" — an earworm that was massively popular in its day, but is now best known as alarm-clock torture endured by Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day. After The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ended, the couple had an acrimonious divorce both romantically and professionally, though they later reconciled and would remain lifelong friends.
And as The Simpsons riffed on, they each found individual success: Sonny through his political career as a California Republican, and Cher as, simply, Cher. Their son, Chaz Bono, also became a celebrity in his own right and an early icon of transgender visibility. When Sonny died in a tragic skiing accident in 1998, just one year after being roasted on The Simpsons, it was Cher who delivered the eulogy: thus bookending a complicated, decades-long relationship that encompassed the entirety of love in its myriad forms.
And it all goes back to a candy chain that today has 200 nationwide locations — perhaps one of them staffed by a future diva.
This week on Doughboys, I got you, buddy, as we celebrate Love Week with See’s Candies.
Fork rating[]
See's Candies
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
3 forks |
| Mike Mitchell | 3 forks | |
| John Hodgman | 3 forks |
Everyone seems to agree the Dark Peanut Butter Hearts were the Bite of the Night.
Binge 💘[]
Constance
In this new segment, The Doughboys peruse dating profiles for foods on the fictional dating app, Binge, and decide if they would swipe left or right.
| dating profile | Nick Wiger | Mike Mitchell | John Hodgman |
|---|---|---|---|
|
right | right | right |
|
left | left | left |
|
right | right | left |
|
left | secret right swipe | right |
|
left | left | left |
|
right | right | left |
Toasts Spoonman[]
Stu in Twisted Metal
| “ | Stu-pendous in Twisted Metal | ” |
–DAbrams | ||
| “ | you had me at 'jello' | ” |
–Barry Lam | ||
| “ | the only thing better than a Tinder Match is a tender Mitch | ” |
–DieHardJokes | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | I'm a grown man with two adult children talking about cumming on a podcast. | ” |
–John Hodgman | ||
| “ | John: If you were going to start a company with your Mom: chocolate or sandwiches or whatever her specialty is, what would it be? Mike Mitchell's Mom's Tuna Sandwich Factory? Mitch: She makes French breakfast donuts that are really really good. Her baked haddock is really good. |
” |
–Mitch's food company ideas | ||
| “ | You know what they put Everything seasoning on now? Everything. | ” |
–John Hodgman | ||
| “ | Who do you think has given more to the world of art: Edgar Allen Poe or Poe Dameron? | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
The Feedbag[]
| “ | If your relationship was "on the rocks" and you had to make a grand Valentine's Meal, what dish would you make or where would you take them? | ” |
–Wet Willy | ||
| guest / host | ideal Valentine's meal |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
| Mike Mitchell |
|
| John Hodgman |
|
Restaurants[]
| restaurants referenced | location | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spitz | - | a small follow-up to Hodgman's episode about Spitz |
| Phillips Candy House | Dorchester, MA | Mitch's favorite local candy |
| Maine Needham Company | - | Hodgman talks about this potato candy |
| Cape Cod Cafe Pizza | - |
Related Episodes[]
| Love Week episodes | John Hodgman episodes |
|---|---|
|
|
Photos[]
