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Good Morning, Charlie: A Charlie's Angels Rewatch Podcast
"Good Morning, Charlie: A Charlie's Angels Rewatch Podcast" is a weekly rewatch podcast celebrating the 50th anniversary, glamour, action, and campy brilliance of the original Charlie’s Angels.
Hosts Chris Berryman and Colby Smith revisit every episode from the iconic 1976–1981 series, diving into the fashion, the action, the camp, the cultural impact, and the history-making moments.
Behind-the-scenes scoop. Bloopers. Plot holes. Guest star and location alerts. Deep dives into the people who made it happen.
Together, we will celebrate what still sparkles and lovingly side-eye what plots points didn’t age gracefully.
Welcome to the re-opening of all the Townsend Agency's classified files. This is going to be fabulous.
Good Morning, Charlie: A Charlie's Angels Rewatch Podcast
A Look Back at Season 1: A Very Special Q&A...Now with Bonus Guests!
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Our socials.
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Our email.
You asked the questions. We spill the tea (and answer them).
Join us for an exciting and hilarious Season One Q&A featuring returning guest and fan favorite Lights Out Lucy herself, Morgen Rose, along with television historian and pop culture expert, Kevin Wood.
Did you ask us about Charlie's Angels? Absolutely.
Did you ask personal questions? Also absolutely.
Will we answer them? You'll have to listen and find out!
Don't miss this "Very Special Episode," as scoop, secrets, and sass are served.
More "Good Morning, Charlie" goodness is available on our:
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Heads up, angels. While our podcast is suitable for all ages, keep in mind that these episodes were produced in a different era and may include scenes of danger, crime, or themes some listeners may find sensitive or outdated. When doing our rewatch, we do our very best to discuss everything with care, context, and compassion. And always with a love for the show and respect for our listeners.
SPEAKER_06And with me as always is Hey everyone, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_04I am Chris Berryman. Colby, it's wonderful to be with you for this very special episode. I am super special episode. Oh my God, I am full of the vigor of the season. Ask me what season I am full of the vigor of forthwith.
SPEAKER_06Yes, tell us what you're full of.
SPEAKER_04I am full of the vigor of two holidays. The first of which is this is my birthday month. This will be airing in my birthday month. I will have celebrated my birthday by the time this comes out.
SPEAKER_06Happy birthday.
SPEAKER_04Thank you. And as we all know, good or bad, for whatever it's worth, this has also been our nation's semi-quincentennial. As I mentioned, everyone, this is a very special episode. This is our QA, mainly surrounding season one, but also Charlie's Angels in general and the entire phenomenon. And I am thrilled to welcome back to the pod, Returning Champion. You know her as lights out, Lucy, as do many people who are still concussed. It's Morgan Rose. Morgan, thank you for coming back.
SPEAKER_06Oh, hi guys. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_07Yo, I'm so excited to be here.
SPEAKER_04You are playing such an important part of this evening. There's no way we could have this QA session without the verbal stylings of Lights Out Lucy.
SPEAKER_07Yes, that's what I'm famous for. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_04Suppose much like last time, your husband, Kevin, is managing all the chaos in the other parts of the house with your family.
SPEAKER_07He is. He um has the children tied up in the back of the house.
SPEAKER_04Well, I th well, and with some dry cleaning bags to play with. And some lead paint chips. I hear they like it.
SPEAKER_06And loved over fireworks.
SPEAKER_07They're tied up in rubber made totes with sparklers.
SPEAKER_06Everything is very nice. Go be quiet, honey.
SPEAKER_07Yes, we're doing that 1980s parenting is popular nowadays.
SPEAKER_06We have yet another guest. I am going to introduce our good friend Kevin. Hello, everybody. Kevin and I have been friends for over a decade. Uh, Kevin uh is also a Charlie's Angels fan. Uh, we are super pleased to have you on with us. Uh, give us just uh a little bit of uh why it is that uh you're a Charlie's Angels fan and a huge uh 70s television fan.
SPEAKER_05Well, first off, I was hoping we could get the merchandising contract out of the way because I want to make sure I get everything coming to me.
SPEAKER_02I'm a very direct woman. If I do not get that approval, and please understand that I have a controlling interest in Denver Carrington. I shall fire you all on the spot and replace you with a board that will approve of the merger.
SPEAKER_05Well, this season dot this size, I promise. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And also, and I don't mean to just you know shoot this out of the blue, but today is Shelley Hack's birthday.
SPEAKER_08Happy birthday!
SPEAKER_05And I thought that was a very special occasion to celebrate.
SPEAKER_06Happy birthday, Angel.
SPEAKER_05Oh my goodness, that's wonderful to know. She is not in the first season that we know of, but maybe she watched it. So there you go.
SPEAKER_06For our listeners, this is the Kevin that has been mentioned in previous episodes. Uh, again, friend to both Chris and myself, uh, that we have referenced to is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Charlie's Angels. Uh, so we are extremely excited to have him on. Uh, so why don't we all get started?
SPEAKER_04Morgan, take us to the good morning Charlie mailbag.
SPEAKER_07Let me grab the mailbag, guys. This first question comes from our Patreon inner circle member, Laurel. Who are you people? What do you do, IRL, as jobs? And how did you two meet?
SPEAKER_06Do you want me to go first? Chris is nodding at me. Uh, what I do in real life, I am a business system analyst for a behavioral health contract in the state of Georgia. Uh, our population is specifically uh the homeless population and uh the uninsured population. And how did uh Chris and I met over our love of Kylie Minogue, who we've mentioned several times on this podcast? Who were you, Chris?
SPEAKER_02One of the most remarkable men alive.
SPEAKER_04We met via Instagram over some shared interests and struck up conversations, which led to a friendship, which led to because our cities are so close, us getting to know each other, and then he brought some wonderful people in my life. Kevin is one of them who uh has so much in common with us and we him. It's just fantastic in real life. I'm in nonprofit leadership. I have done that for about three decades.
SPEAKER_01You're so brave and so authentic.
SPEAKER_04Mainly in the areas of marketing and development, communications, PR. I'm also an adjunct professor at uh State University. I also have that out. Do what now?
SPEAKER_06You just made that up. Then with a long sigh.
SPEAKER_04And I have various and assorted several many side hustles, such as local MC work, voiceover work from time to time, and then this podcast Colby asked me to be a part of because our special guest, Kevin, had instilled this amazing love of this show in particular, and Colby.
SPEAKER_07Oh guys, that was an amazing answer.
SPEAKER_04But now, Kevin, Kevin, w when was this you turned Colby onto Charlie's Angels? And did you pick that show first, or were you introducing him to other 70s television whatnot?
SPEAKER_05I honestly have no idea. Um it was actually surprised to me. Colby even listened to me enough that um he took a suggestion from me as far as something to watch. So that was actually I was I was quite touched by that. I thought that was very, very sweet. Um and to be honest, I I don't even recall.
SPEAKER_06Do you, Colby? I do a little bit. So um Kevin and I have a shared interest of uh Wonder Woman, of uh Bewitched, and of Bionic Woman. So when the pandemic hit and we had to uh stay indoors, uh, I've said before that I was looking for something that was um that felt familiar but was uh new to me. Uh and I think Charlie's Angels really sort of uh filled that interest. Uh we had chatted briefly about um Charlie's Angels, of course, about the movies. Um, so it really just spawned a love of the show, uh, which of course was reinforced when I started talking to Kevin about it uh again because he loves it, you know, just as much as I do. Oh.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and it's one of those things too, when when you grew up with it, like I did, because I remember watching the original episodes, you kind of think, well, everyone knows about it. Everyone has seen this. And so it's just it's kind of sad and special when you can introduce it to someone and say, Oh, you've never seen this before, this major pillar of everything in my life, you have no idea what it is. Well, here you go. Here's a gift that you didn't know you needed. Indeed, indeed. And it is because even when you go back and rewatch them, I think it's it's very interesting because they are so of their time that they are timeless. I think it's like the James Bond films. There's two levels you can go at it. Something is so of its time it's boring because you're well, that just doesn't transcend. But then you have something that is so of its time, it's like a time capsule you can keep going back to and going, that is fantastic. Look at those fashions, look at what they're doing, look at how they're treated, look how they're performing. And I think Charlie's Angels definitely falls into the ladder.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I think that's a great description.
SPEAKER_05I'm also an adjunct professor.
SPEAKER_06We all are, apparently.
SPEAKER_05And I can adjunct better than anyone.
SPEAKER_04What else do we have in the mailbag, Morgan?
SPEAKER_07Okay, let me look around in the mailbag. Can we get a sound effect for the mailbag, guys? I hope so. All right, let's check the mailbag.
SPEAKER_00Snap out of it!
SPEAKER_07Our Patreon inner circle member Laurel had another great question that I really liked. Why is it? Only Colby has a southern accent. Hmm. I have my own ideas about this, Chris. Why do you think that is, Chris? You want to know my suggestion?
SPEAKER_04Desperately.
SPEAKER_07I think Chris has spent many years trying to run away from his southern accent. You know I'm worried about the meat and the meatin'? Why are you worried about the meeting?
SPEAKER_04Oh, that's not all.
SPEAKER_07One of the many things. What is your response to that question, Chris?
SPEAKER_04I would love to hear Colby's answer. Colby, you have a unique accent.
SPEAKER_09Oh no, hootiness, tootin's, shootiness, bob tail, wildcats!
SPEAKER_04I don't know it would be placed in Georgia.
SPEAKER_06Do I have a transcontinental or transatlantic accent?
SPEAKER_04It's certainly not either of those things, one of which was a type of airflight.
SPEAKER_03Where did you go to school? I said, where did you go to school?
SPEAKER_06I was born in South Georgia. Um I know that it gets uh a little more prominent when I am tired. Um, so it does tend to slip out a little bit more. Uh so I can't really explain as to why only I have a southern accent.
SPEAKER_04Morgan, were you born in Tennessee?
SPEAKER_07I am. I'm from Chattanooga, Tennessee, which you know you're from Chattanooga if you pronounce it with two D's instead of two T's, because if you're from anywhere else, you call it Chattanooga, but I have gotten away from some of it, maybe not all of it. Chris, where were you born?
SPEAKER_04Actually, in all honesty, my entire family sounds like Foghorn, Leghorn, and Blanche Devereaux got married and had babies.
SPEAKER_09What's a big I'll say, what's a big idea chasing my worm? You're a cat, son. Cats don't eat worms. You're taking the food right out of my mouth. I don't go around chasing mice. Stand up, boy, you're tripping over your own feet. Now you stay away from worms, and I'll stay away from mice. That's fair and square, and if you'd stop all your arguing and join, you'd see my side. Yep, yep, yep. Keep that mouth flapping and do no listening.
SPEAKER_00I remember this one old man. His name was Ben. All he did all day long was sit out there on his family's front porch in that old Hickory rocking chair and whittle. He was happier than a Kentucky yearlin, a frolicking in bluegrass, as high as a hoot owl's perch on the top of a spoon. In English, Jethro, in English.
SPEAKER_04It's very old South because it was Richmond of Virginia. I think one of the reasons I don't have much of a southern accent is because I had countless speech impediments when I was little. So all the years of speech therapy, then I went to college up north, I uh started to do a lot of public speaking in my job, that's all, and writing, which is one of the many reasons I'm very much aware of grammar, how I speak, getting rid of superfluous words like that, um expressions. So, which is a tough one for me.
SPEAKER_06When you become an adjunct professor, you gotta get rid of that accent.
SPEAKER_04Kevin, I can't remember where you were born, although we've had this whole discussion.
SPEAKER_05I was born in Charlottesville, Virginia.
SPEAKER_04That's right. We're practically cousins.
SPEAKER_05Practically. We act alike, we talk alike, sometimes we even look alike.
SPEAKER_07Oh my patty Duke.
SPEAKER_09They laugh alike, they walk alike, and times they even talk alike. You can lose your mind when cousins are to overcome.
SPEAKER_04As we skipped along the grounds of Monticello, that was a great question. Thank you, Laurel, and thank you for being an inner circle member. We're gonna have more of Laurel's questions when we do a bonus round on Patreon.
SPEAKER_07Let's see what's in the mailbag. Our next question is I'd like to know how do you guys feel about Bosley? Our friend David Doyle.
SPEAKER_06Is this from the mailbag? Yes.
SPEAKER_04No, it's from that bird tweeting in Morgan's yard. Yes, it's from the mailbag.
SPEAKER_06I mean, it is no surprise uh from our uh season one episodes that I adore Bosley. David Doyle brings a lot of the um familial atmosphere to the show, in my opinion. David Doyle is as Bosley brings a lot of sincerity to how he treats uh all of the angels. Uh, he clearly really connects with them, uh, and he has uh you know a sense of compassion. Uh uh just for instance, when uh Shelley Hack joins the show, there's a scene where uh Tiffany asks Bosley sort of how she is doing uh and if everything is going okay, um, and that's uh first episode or second episode of uh season four, and he you know takes the time to um address that she is doing wonderfully and uh that she feels like she is like fitting in uh with the agency. There are a lot of moments of Bosley being tender uh and uh appreciative and concerned for the angels, uh, and it just goes a long way to create the the sort of bond which lasts between seasons.
SPEAKER_05Kevin, uh what are your opinions on David Doyle? They've changed a lot over time because I remember when I originally was watching the series and even in reruns, I was like, get this guy out of here. I just want to see the angels. But then you realize that he really is an anchor, and you always need an anchor character and someone that everyone else kind of operates around, and I think even more so than than Charlie and the Angels, I think it really is Bosley because he is such a stable force in their lives and in uh in the performance, and even if you take something out of context, like just behind the scenes of the show when Cheryl Ladd joined in, she said that David Doyle just welcomed her so honestly, and that just seems like a very Bosley thing to do. And she said he just made her feel so welcome, and it just seems so true to life and his character portrayal that yes, he would do that. Um, he he just is so good at just portraying someone who is loyal, who cares about them, but also cares about, you know, the things going on in the office, all those little things that no one else seems to care about, like the budget and things, and you realize yes, there is a second side to this. And it doesn't need to be shown all the time, it just kind of comes in every now and then, and you're like, okay, someone is watching the books. That just makes me feel a little bit better. And Morgan, do you have an opinion on Bosley?
SPEAKER_07Well, I didn't really care about Bosley, but now you guys make me feel really guilty about not caring about it. So I feel like I should reevaluate. Now I've got a homework assignment. So you're gonna have to just give me a minute and I'll follow back up next time.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_05Well, if if I may ask, and and this if this is inappropriate, just mute me or whatever. But in the original movie where you had Bosley and also the additional uh member, um, I can't remember his name. I remember the actor, but I can't remember uh the character's name offhand.
SPEAKER_04Woodside, David Augin Stiers.
SPEAKER_05Yes, yes. I'm glad he did not continue on because it was like splitting things up a little bit too much, I think. Um and I'm glad that they just focused on him and bringing him in and cutting out the extra character almost like you would extra words in a sentence. You just did not need him.
SPEAKER_06I agree, yeah. Okay, let's get back to that mailbag.
SPEAKER_07From the mailbag. Can we talk about villains? Let's talk about the best and worst villains. Chris, can you tell us who do you think was the best and the worst of the villains?
SPEAKER_04I can answer the best very quickly. I'm gonna toss it to Kevin, so get ready. Fernando Lamas, done. Best villain in season one. He looked marvelous. The other best villains, anyone who's a hairy, hairy henchman. If you are six-foot or over and your shirt's off, and you're hairy, and you're a goon or a henchman, the best, Kevin.
SPEAKER_05Well, to build on the hairy, I will say the kitten did really you know pull me in with Fernando Lamas. So, yes. Um I would say Paula. Love, yeah. 100%. That entire episode from start to finish is just it's if I may say perfection. Do you have a worse villain, Kevin? Oh I don't know. So I some of them were just so no, I really don't. Uh because I'm just trying to think if if any one of them really stands out. And I can't say that they do, because sometimes no matter what was going on, even if the villain was really good, they didn't really stand out because that's not why you watch the show. It's just it's so interesting because even when you go back and watch the really episodes that aren't maybe as interesting as other ones, um it's it's still the it's still the the three that you're really watching, and I they just play off ever themselves and everyone else so well. I can't say there's anyone who just came across so badly that you're like, why are you even here? Because as silly as this may sound, they seem to just make everything even better. It's even the for Fernando Lamas episode, I thought it was a total snore. It's just it's long, it's drawn out, not much really happens, but it's so I still watch it and I think it's interesting.
SPEAKER_06Well, since Kevin doesn't know the worst villain of season one, I will fill in that answer. Kevin did not choose thank you very much. The worst villain I will say in season one is from I Will Be Remembered, Ida Lapino's episode. The villain was her um her manager in conjunction with the uh the art director and the props master. They were so bad at their scheme that one of them died while trying to do it. They were just they were horrible, um, not the brightest villains in the box. Uh, so I'm gonna have to give it to that episode for worst villains.
SPEAKER_05Don't you dare say anything bad about Ida Lapino. She could have been the fourth angel.
SPEAKER_06We'll never.
SPEAKER_05Or her husband, Harrigan. My God, she was so good in that episode, I thought. Especially when she did that, we'll call it a recitation about theater versus film and how you you crush them and then build them back up. It was just, yes, this is your show now.
SPEAKER_06She was Chris attributed uh to Sunset Boulevard.
SPEAKER_05Oh, so good. And I think I'd mentioned this to Chris as well. Uh when they go into the studio, um, when she and Kate Jackson go up those stairs, it's also the stairs that are used in the intro for season two and three, when Kate Jackson comes out of the police department and then the two join her. Oh, that's a special little tidbit. Thank you for that. If you look, you can just tell it's the exact same set, except it just has a police department up above it.
SPEAKER_06Right. Well, that was a wonderful question. Uh, what's our next question?
SPEAKER_07All right, this is gonna start a fist fight. So let's get out the big gun.
SPEAKER_06Who's in the well?
SPEAKER_07We're none of us are in the same space, so we can't have a fist fight or a slap fight. Um, go ahead and pick your favorite angel. The impossible Sophie's choice. Chris, who is your favorite angel?
SPEAKER_04I can't remember where this question came from, Morgan. Where did this question come from?
SPEAKER_07Um, it came from the depths of hell because it's an impossible question to answer. It's from the mailbag.
SPEAKER_04I'm going to have a controversial answer. Controversial yet brave.
SPEAKER_01And immediately we were like, she is so brave and beautiful.
SPEAKER_04I admire the guts and determination of Cheryl Ladd because she followed what was an international sensation and Farah Fawcett, and everyone was wondering how it was going to possibly go on. And Cheryl Ladd made Chris Monroe a character you wanted to follow for the next four years.
SPEAKER_07Colby?
SPEAKER_06I think that is a wonderful answer. Um, of course, uh, the actresses all have their own strengths. For my favorite angel, I have to say Kelly. Uh, not only for the the actress Jacqueline Smith, who for some reason I am really entranced by, I find Jacqueline Smith really kind of captivating. But the for the angel Kelly, she is the loyal angel. She is in every season. Not only that, but she's also the only angel to get cameos and the future angel stories. Kelly gets some really wonderful episodes. Um, she gets an episode that that touches on child abuse, uh, which I think is a really strong episode with a really great cast. Uh, she gets an episode that touches on um substance abuse. There are a lot of little things that the the character, well, little things is wrong, uh, but there are a lot of poignant things that the uh character of Kelly has gotten to do. Uh, and that in conjunction with the loyalty of the character, um, really just stands out for me above the other angels, who are all wonderful and there are no wrong answers.
SPEAKER_07Amazing, Kevin.
SPEAKER_05If I may r address an earlier um question, beamish.
SPEAKER_03No one mentioned please beamish, I'll I'll be good. I promise, I promise I'll be good. Let me have Lily Bad. I get so scared and I'll alone. Oh beamish, please let me have Lily Bad, Lily Bad company. Beamish, beamish, beamish.
SPEAKER_06Beamish. The secret, uh, the secret angel. Oh my god, beamish.
SPEAKER_05You know, it's interesting what you said about Jacqueline Smith because I think with Kelly, she is the most fully developed character throughout the entire series because you know about her childhood, you know about her dating life, you just you knew everything that was going on. And I think it's also interesting. Kate Jackson had originally been cast as Kelly, I believe. And then she wanted to be Sabrina. And I'm just wondering, is that why there was so much in the first season in the backstory of Kelly? Because it was meant to be Kate more of a Kate Jackson-led show. And then when she decided that she wanted to be another character, all the writing was just, you know, are, you know, or a lot of the writing was just already there for her character. Because, like I said, when you when you look back, I just think hers is is the most fleshed out of all of them. Um, I think, you know, Cheryl Ladd, of course, did a wonderful job. And even when you get to uh Shelly Hack and uh Tanya Roberts, uh, again, I think with what they were given, they did wonderful jobs. But I think overall, Kay Jackson just had that spark that just added something additional, not only as an actress, but also as the I don't want to call her so much the smart angel. She just seemed to be kind of more tuned in with a lot of what was going on. And I just think she was just that special sauce that just added to everything.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I mentioned in an earlier episode uh that I sort of deem Sabrina as the true detective of the angels. And Beamish could defeat her.
SPEAKER_04Morgan, do you have a favorite angel?
SPEAKER_07Um, my favorite angel is Samantha Stevens from Bewitched. No more questions. Thank you very much. All right, the next question from our mailbag is from Patreon Inner Circle member Kevin, who is not the Kevin on this video, nor is it the Kevin that I'm married to, nor is it the Kevin that this Kevin is married to. He is yet another Kevin is very special and important. Yes.
SPEAKER_04And to make matters even more complicated, this Kevin on this podcast is also a Patreon member.
SPEAKER_07This is a lot of Kevin's and yeah, I'm a little nauseous, but I'm gonna work through it.
SPEAKER_01He is so brave and beautiful.
SPEAKER_04Flow chart will be made available on Patreon.
SPEAKER_07Yes, I can't wait to spreadsheet this. Okay.
SPEAKER_05I have a flowchart on certain websites, but you may not want to mention that.
SPEAKER_07Oh no. This is a family-friendly podcast. From Patreon Inner Circle member Kevin. How did you two come up with the idea to do this podcast about this iconic show? Chris, can you tell us?
SPEAKER_04It was all Colby.
SPEAKER_07Oh, Colby, can you tell us?
SPEAKER_06I did think that there was a void uh for this uh fan base. There have been other Charlie's Angels podcasts uh for one reason or another. Uh the ones that I discovered didn't seem to get past season one. Um but beyond that there that I thought there was uh audience for it, I truly did fall in love with the show. That like I'm uh not being I'm not editorializing it. It became a comfort show so fast. I watched the entire series and then I re-watched the entire series. I can remember watching the Made for TV movie and enjoying it so much that I immediately launched into the rest of the series and ate it up. I enjoyed it so much. Um it's it's fun, it does have uh, you know, some poignant moments. Um it's um of its time, which uh, you know, the seven, even though there's so much nostalgia of the 80s at the moment, uh getting to go back to the 70s uh is very enjoyable. Um I thought, especially in season one, I thought that um the fashion was really um I thought that the angels like were styled very well. Uh I've always loved the style of the 70s. Uh I thought that there was really uh a wealth of topics to discuss about this show. Um, and you know, to Chris's credit, uh I knew that he had done many events that he uh was the master of ceremonies for. Uh he has a lot of experience, and I thought that uh he would be you know a perfect host. Uh and of course we already had so much comment.
SPEAKER_04This is how Colby brought the idea to me. I was at work. Here comes a text from Colby. What vagary has he texted me about now? I thought, because you're never going to get any reasons why, or just as little as possible in a text, which is quite different from when he speaks. And the text said Are there any Charlie's Angels podcasts? And I thought, does he think I just eat jelly beans and square dance all day? Does he not think I'm at work? Are his fingers broken? Can he not beep boop on his flat thing and find out? But because I'm a good friend, I did not ask those questions. I instead looked at all the podcast platforms and responded, Nope, I don't see one that's had more than a handful of episodes. Days pass, and then I get a follow-up vagary about starting a podcast, and then we went from there.
SPEAKER_07That's an amazing origin story, guys. Beautiful.
SPEAKER_04I have a question for Kevin. Kevin, we may have to come back to this. You may have to blurt it out because it's gonna require some thought. You can only have two of your collections through a series of unfortunate circumstances. Which two do you pick by franchise? You can have all your bewitched, you could have all your alien, you could have all your banana rama.
SPEAKER_05What would you oh I choose death?
SPEAKER_06Yep, I'm gonna burn down with the house. That's the only sane way to go.
SPEAKER_04I never choose I never said the house was burning. I did through a series of unfortunate circumstances. Please think on that during the podcast, and we're gonna circle back.
SPEAKER_05Take me first. That's that's all there is.
SPEAKER_07It's beamish. You choose beamish.
SPEAKER_05It's all beamish. Though if if I may ask a question, and I I don't mean to, you know, add on or beleaguer things, but the one of the things that always stands out about Charlie's Angels to me is when they called it TNA. It was just a TNA show. And I remember that so vividly from the 70s, just you know, pundits at the time or things you would read in magazines. And of course, I thought I was watching TNA. I didn't really at the time know what TNA was, but yeah, you know. Um, but looking back on it now, Kate Jackson is never not in a turtleneck, it seems. And, you know, they might be wearing a bikini, but it's never like they walk into the office just wearing one, going, hi, what's the assignment? I mean, they are at the beach or doing something bikini appropriate. Um, and you know, there might be some times where they're not, you can tell maybe they're not wearing bras, but that was a thing in the mid to late 70s. You can even bionic woman, you can see where a bra is not being worn if you look for it, but that depends. I I don't think that that is something that really kind of stands out because you can tell when a man is not wearing a bra and nipples show. So it's like, well, you know, what's the big deal? Um, but but it's just so funny looking about it now, thinking, how could this be looked at as TNA? Well, I just I find it hilarious.
SPEAKER_01As as a lady, which I am, you need a queen.
SPEAKER_07Looking at it now, I was surprised about the no-bras, but the thing that actually felt sleazy to me was just Charlie, right? Any piece that has Charlie is the only part that felt gross, and the only part that felt gross was Charlie and whatever Charlie was doing or who, and whatever weird innuendo was there. And then the only TNA part that you saw was generally the men interacting with the angels being gross and the women, yeah, and the women are doing their job and being functional in their space. And I think that it speaks to the fact that the people that were watching it at the time, the men that were in charge, had to put it that way because otherwise nobody was gonna watch it. Because who wants to watch a bunch of girls doing boy jobs, right? I mean, I think that speaks to the time that they had to frame it as just some girls running around on TV being cute, which is unfortunate, but I think it is what it is. And I will say that not once did I see Bosley have a bra. Not one time.
SPEAKER_05Women can't be capable, take their bras off.
SPEAKER_07Take their bras off.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. But you know, I think it's it's like so many things from the 70s. It's interesting if you look back on it and what you think about it today. But I think with so many things, you have to go back to its time and look at it and how it was framed. And as odd as it seems today, that being such a novel premise of three women actually solving crimes, that you kind of had to have that sleaze there to bring some people in so that they would still feel comfortable. And not only to that, I mean, men are sleazy. So they were portrayed in the only way that they could be portrayed because men are pigs and men are scumbags.
SPEAKER_07So oh yeah, not fiction.
SPEAKER_05Um, but no, but uh that's you know, and I I I I do apologize. Uh you you being a um a lady.
SPEAKER_07I am sorry as well.
SPEAKER_05Thank you. No, no, that that I I did not that I did not even think to ask first. What is your uh perception on you know on this? Because, you know, being the TNA and everything, and it's it's like, oh, I mean, this is your perspective, I think, is is fascinating on this because normally when I'm talking to people, it's a gay man.
SPEAKER_07I've never been a gay man. Uh, I apologize as well for that. I was born in 1981, so I was not around for the time that this was the majority of this was filmed, I believe. Is that correct? Yes.
SPEAKER_05So your your birth coincided with the end of the series, so you ended the series by being born.
SPEAKER_07Sorry, guys. Wow. There we go.
SPEAKER_05You wondered why I was sorry. Now we know.
SPEAKER_07That's why. Me and Beaters ruined it. I ruined it. Um, I think you know, watching it now, it it's just interesting to look back on and see. I mean, that was uncomfortable for me to watch the the episodes that I've watched just because it felt very yucky. Like a lot of it felt yucky, but I understand that it it was very I think it was very realistic for the time. And I do think that it was empowering then. And looking back at it now, it just kind of makes me sad that that was where we were and that was empowering, right? Like it's sort of it's positive and then it's also negative. So it's mixed feelings, I guess.
SPEAKER_05Well, especially since it was on prime time and it was lauded as this kind of thing, you know, three networks and so many people were watching it. And then to kind of find it in reruns later on where they've chopped up so much of it as well, I think it gives it a different perspective too, because what was, you know, a 10 o'clock show where you know kids supposedly couldn't stay up and watch it, now it's on at four o'clock in the afternoon where you watch it when you come home from school.
SPEAKER_04So that's very telling. That that is that's quite deep, Kevin. I'm a mailbag as well, so we could bring it down, mailbag. Well, I would like to reach into the mailbag. We have a question specifically from a Patreon supporter, Lindy, for you. Loved your mini soad. With Charlie's Angels, there's this back and forth about female empowerment versus jiggle TV to get ratings. We just talked about it. It sounds like in roller derby, says the question asker, there's empowerment, body positivity, and inclusion. But at the same time, the skaters were putting on lots of makeup, hitching the girls up, the question writer's words, and wearing short shorts. So what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I mean, there is a duality, right? So I think it is of two minds. Number one, I think that as a empowered female, you get to make the choice of what parts of your body you want to show, what you want to accent. And I also think that there is sort of a um strong and tough, not gonna mess with me attitude that most of those roller derby girls have to wear, yes, we have on booty shorts and yes, we have on low-cut tops, but the likelihood that somebody's gonna walk up to you and try to put their hands on you is very low because we'll probably knock you on your feet or our friends will. Um, and so I think that there is a safety in your group uh in that roller derby team. It's a very um female empowered crew of folks when I was there. Um, and I also think that there is some amount of kind of taking back your femininity to be able to, if I want to wear a bunch of makeup and I want to get all vampy and dolled up, I can do that. Or if I want to not do that, I can as well. So it did run the gamut um when I played, and you'll see now as well, there are some girls that go full glam, and there are also some girls that will put on what looks like Halloween makeup. I mean, you've got girls that are dressed like skeletons, you've got girls that are dressed like 80s hairbands, you've got girls that look like they are just professional athletes. And so I think that just like any um any part of life, everybody's gonna express themselves in their own way. So I think that everybody's different, which is sort of a it maybe it sounds like a cop-out, but I don't think it is. I mean, I think that there is some allure to when you're on the roller derby team, you know, you pick a name, you pick a moniker, you play a role, and so you decide what that's gonna be. And for me, you know, in my episode, I talked about the fact that I really wanted to have these like really long legs and these fishnets. And then I got in there and realized I'm very short and that my knee pads covered everything up. And it was just like I was just this little rolling wrecking ball covered in gear, and I was like, well, there goes all the sexy. So, you know, I mean, you just kind of have to pick and choose what you want to do. So I think everybody gets their own choice on it. I don't think it takes away from the sport. I think you just kind of get to decide how to express yourself.
SPEAKER_05Did they ask you to go into insurance fraud?
SPEAKER_07Um, they did not, but they did offer us all hair pieces uh and to work for the insurance company. No, they didn't.
SPEAKER_04There you go. There you go. Okay. That was an excellent call back, both of you. I was done.
SPEAKER_07I was gonna mention that my favorite villain was Jessica's hairpiece from one episode. Because it scared me a lot. I couldn't figure out where real part started and where her hair piece began.
SPEAKER_04Just like the actress who was in It's a Living, who was the uh manager and hostess, just stacks of hair pieces.
SPEAKER_07Everywhere. So much hair.
SPEAKER_05Marianne Mercer, who was also in 9 to 5? Yes.
SPEAKER_07Yes, yeah. Are you guys ready for another question from the mailbag? Yes. All right. This question comes from Patreon member Johnny. What are the best books on Charlie's Angels, the series? In terms of a critical academic reading of the series, aesthetics, as filmed entertainment and cultural impact.
SPEAKER_04I love this question, and I poked around a bit. Two books Colby and I referenced when we first started this is the Charlie's Angels Case Book by Jack Condon and David Hofstead. And then Channel Serving Charlie's Angels by Mike Pingle. Lots of fun trivia interviews with the actresses, episode breakdowns, locations. As far as academic reading related to television, they tend to lump it into two categories. You have important television, I think Norman Lear. I think Julia. I think mini-series like Roots. And then you have popular television. And there's not so much about those academically speaking. Charlie's Angels falls into the ladder. It's overlooked. We've talked about the Jiggle TV label and that push and pull. You just referenced everyone, you, Colby, Kevin, Morgan, about that push and pull of the empowerment versus marketing that sexualized representation. So is it the Mary Tyler Moore Show in Maud, or is it the 70s version of Baywatch? I found a couple of things. There is a 2002 book by Susan Hopkins, Girl Heroes: The New Force in Popular Culture. And this author looks back and references strong female leads in the past, such as Linda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, and the cast of Charlie's Angels. Another really good one is The Angel Factor, a critical appraisal of Charlie's Angels from 1976 through 2019. And it's by Gianluca DeRocco, and it was published in 2021. It touches on these topics as well. Is the series as a franchise about women and their empowerment? And Morgan, as you put it beautifully, their ability to express themselves as they want and do what they want, or was it sexist marketing?
SPEAKER_07That's amazing, Chris. Thank you so much for that research.
SPEAKER_04So helpful. I am an educator.
SPEAKER_07You are. Are you an adjunct professor?
SPEAKER_04You know what? I am.
SPEAKER_07Oh, professor. It shows. Were you adjuncting? Just now?
SPEAKER_04Oh, that wasn't even an ad, much less an adjunct.
SPEAKER_08Oh my goodness. Adjuncting.
SPEAKER_04If I adjunct it, there'd be a quiz now.
SPEAKER_05Okay, that would be about the Arthur as Bosley, because I think that would have been fantastic.
SPEAKER_04Well, there is a recasting question in here.
SPEAKER_05I'm sorry, I'm always jumping ahead.
SPEAKER_07You are not in charge of the mailbag. I'm in charge of the mailbag. Are you guys ready for another question from the mailbag? Yeah, give it to us. If you were in charge of casting a reboot of the show, who would you cast? This question is from our Patreon Inner Circle member member Laurel. Chris, who would you cast?
SPEAKER_04Well, I don't want to steal Kevin's answer. It was so funny. I'm gonna go rogue. I'm gonna go way off on a tangent. It would be great to have some older actors come back, a la Golden Girls, a la Hot in Cleveland. Perhaps they are retired from jobs in law enforcement, from all aspects of law enforcement, and maybe even some military service. And they just through doing these things have been in each other's circles, and then somehow they're called together to work for this private investigator. And maybe the Bosley character is a younger male who hasn't had all the experience, and part of the show is them mentoring him and picking up for his slack.
SPEAKER_05That's brilliant, actually, because it's almost like this, in a way, it's the same thing they were doing in the 70s. It's like, oh, women can't do this. Well, now it would be like older women can't do this. And it's like, well, obviously they can. That's actually really cool.
SPEAKER_04Morgan, you uh would you, who would you put in it?
SPEAKER_07Um, well, I would cast the original nine to five ladies right down.
SPEAKER_08Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yes, that is that is the Charlie's Angels. I absolutely want to see. End of podcast.
SPEAKER_04You've you've shut down. Yes, done. Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER_06I do want to see uh Lily Tomlin and Jane Vada uh pursue leads.
SPEAKER_07Yes, and Dolly with her new truck stop. Girl, please. All her travelers.
SPEAKER_05She's doing a hotel as well.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_06I think Dolly might have to be the Bosley.
SPEAKER_04I'm not opposed to that.
SPEAKER_05Wait. Dolly Angels. She could just be behind the whole thing.
SPEAKER_07She could be Charlie. I do think that if I was given my druthers, I would bring Leslie. Was it Leslie Jordan? Leslie back from Leslie. Was it passed? He's passed away.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, Leslie Jordan.
SPEAKER_07I would bring Leslie Jordan back to be Boz with the nine to five ladies.
SPEAKER_04Beautiful.
SPEAKER_07And I would be done. And I would close the mailbag and we would be finished.
SPEAKER_04Everyone, the mailbag is closed.
SPEAKER_05Well, we'll we'll get the charmed girls on this to see if we can get them to resurrect Leslie. And see, we've just got to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_07One of them is also gone. But yes. Colby.
SPEAKER_06Wonderful answer. That is a good question. I gosh, that's really hard to answer who I would cast in a a reboot. Um let me think. You know, I I don't know that I would mind seeing like a a kooky version of Charlie's Angels where it's uh maybe much more uh comedy heavy. Um so maybe we have like the Sanderson sisters as Charlie's Angels trying to solve crimes.
SPEAKER_07I hope on the vacuums, I hope.
SPEAKER_08Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, maybe getting like uh like comedy legends or or uh well no, now I'm sort of stealing the idea. If it was like the first wives club, uh I'm just stealing the idea of um, you know, maybe actresses of a certain age uh filling in these shoes.
SPEAKER_05But I mean it's just that the the three thing. It's like even with the golden girls, there were three of them in the mom, Charm, Charlie's Angels. It's it's always in threes, which is very interesting, I think.
SPEAKER_07What do you think, Kevin? You got a list?
SPEAKER_05No, I I think if they were going to I I I like in the movies how they continued everything like it was in the same universe that the previous Angels had been there. Though with the last one with Elizabeth Banks, I don't like what they did to Bosley, because I don't think Bosley would have ever done that. Not at all. So that is just kind of an outlier. But I think if you're gonna do anything, I I think it should be complete, not complete, but just unknowns. You bring in fresh faces and just see if you can recreate what happened back in the 70s. People that you just present, let them have that chemistry, because I think there's there's less comparison in that wave, unless because if you bring in someone that everyone already knows, it's like, well, we already know them, now they're just being one of the angels. It's like, no, bring in new people and new talent and see what they can give to it. I I think that would be an interesting approach. But I didn't I didn't like the young Bosley in the Charlie's Angels TV series, though, that they did briefly. Really? Yeah, I mean, he was hot. I mean, he was very attractive, but there was just something, I don't know. He did it's like they were all young and hot, and it just there just needed to be some sort of dynamic difference there, I thought. And I think having someone older to just balance everything out is just uh an interesting way to go.
SPEAKER_07Do you think that there would be any uh appeal to having a gender swap? Like having Charlie's Angels be three boys and a frumpy old lady? And we'll call her Tony.
SPEAKER_06Tony's boys didn't make it, so I'm okay.
SPEAKER_05Um, well, I don't see, I mean, I don't see why not. And well, it's like when Colby mentioned, it's like, you know, comedy and and drama. And I think that's what's really cool about especially well, you know, the first season of Charlie's Angels is they did have comedic episodes. Especially, you know, Kate Jackson, when sometimes when she's doing characters, it's like that is just hilarious. And I think it's just really cool when you can have both. What it doesn't have to be all comedy, it doesn't have to be all dramatic, when you can mix them all together, and I think that that's actually really a nice way to go, just you know, to present the whole palette. And you know, if one of them is out, why not have a guy come in and sub for them or a drag queen? Exactly, yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_07You know, um well, this leads us to another mailbag question from me, your mailbag.
SPEAKER_06Um I'm sorry, did you say hag?
SPEAKER_07Mail hag. Mail hag bag um is just in general what the thoughts are on the two movies, the most recent movies, the TV show, talks of the new television show. I mean, there's a lot to cover there. I personally will start just because I have the least amount of involvement in this. Um, I don't think I even saw the Charlie's Angels film, is the term I will use that had Cameron Diaz in it, but I did listen very um um consistently to the banger of a Beyoncé song, Destiny's Child song. And I have encouraged my two young daughters to listen to it against their will many times. Well done. Um, and they have thrown their hands up and they know that they have um their own dollars that will buy their own shoes. And so, you know, I appreciated that part of the All the Women Independent, but other than that, I do not have a lot of input. So, how did you guys feel about the additional franchise uh films, television shows, that kind of stuff?
SPEAKER_04I loved the two movies with Cameron Diaz, Lucy Lou, and Drew Barrymore. I love all three of them as actors. They knew the assignment. They were gonna put out some rockin' kitschy, over-the-top, wack-a-doodle, awesome. And they continued in that same universe, as Kevin pointed out, and they were fun. They were exciting and fun. They paid it, it was an homage, and it was a next level all rolled into one.
SPEAKER_06Colby, how did you feel about I I really love those two films? I am a fan of High Camp. Um, so I like that, you know, it's tongue-in-cheek. I like that they're one, um, they are good action movies, but I like that um they are poking fun at action films and spy films, saying, like, we know that this is all ridiculous, uh, but it's all really enjoyable. Um, of course, we get um Tim Curry, who is also, you know, I will just watch him in anything. Um, I I really liked Bill Murray as Bosley. I felt like um they were able to create sort of the same type of um tight-knit group with these new angels with Bill Murray. It felt uh kind of similar to the connection that the uh angels had with David Doyle. Um I I felt like there was a spark between Cameron uh and Lucy and Drew Barrymore. Um I think that it was a really good casting choice. Um, the 2019 film uh was a movie. Uh I do want to give props to um, oh, I'm blanking on her name. To Kristen Stewart. Uh I thought Kristen Stewart had some really good lines in that film. I thought that she was really kind of funny. Uh the film itself, I this sounds mean, but I honestly don't even remember the plot. I remember that they made it was supposed to be the original Bosley, and they made Bosley the bad guy. I do not agree. Uh, I don't like that they essentially retcon David Doyle. I think that's disrespectful.
SPEAKER_07Kevin, what did you think?
SPEAKER_05Well, I can't believe I've been reduced to this, but I agree so much with Colby and what he just said. Um, because I think what they did capture with the first two movies, um, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Lou was the same chemistry that you got not only in the first season, but the first three seasons. There just to be there was just something very natural, and it was fun watching them work together. And I think it's like anything else. Yeah, the story, whatever they're doing, it's watching them interact, is where you find the joy in it. And in the 2019 film, it felt more like seasons four and five, where they kind of just tacked someone into people that were already there. And it's like you kind of have to deal with this new person and them either learning the ropes or getting involved or doing this. It's like, I don't want to see that. I want to see that well-oiled machine of people working together and accomplishing things, and if things go wrong, how they overcome it. And I think that the first two movies did such a good job at that, just like the first few seasons of the series. And even though I find so much enjoyment in the last two seasons, there is just that element of they were always referring to the new angel, the new person. And it's like, get that out of the way. They're supposed to be a team and they're all supposed to be working so well together. But of course, you know, there were just so many things going on at that time with you know the TV series and adding people and people wanting to go on to different things. So yeah, there was so much um that is understandable in that. But yeah, I I just have to agree with Colby.
SPEAKER_04I hate to be the one to say it, but it is time, everybody. God, this has been so much fun. Our very special episode, a QA related to the series, the franchise, and season one. Kevin, thank you so much for being here. Morgan, thank you for coming back.
SPEAKER_06Yes, thank you guys for being here with us, and thank you to our listeners for joining us for this extra special episode. As we've mentioned before, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook and on Patreon. And if you want to join our Patreon, there will be videos of an extra couple of questions uh related to this QA episode. If you want to check those out, join our Patreon. We would love for you to join us there. And until next time, bye angels.
SPEAKER_08Bye angels. Bye. Bye, Angels.
SPEAKER_06That successfully wraps up another mission. Good morning, Charlie, is produced by Chris Berryman and me, Colby Speaker. Be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts, and click subscribe so you never miss a call from Charlie. Stop a review while you're there, because we love hearing from our angels in the field. Want more undercover fun? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for extras, and see even more top secret content on our Patreon. A special thank you to Laurel and Kevin, our colleagues in our circle subscribers. Don't hang up that phone, Angels, because we will be back.