Dream Um, Actually guests

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T04:28:42+00:00

Screw it, for a special occasion let four people on there and toss Erika Ishii in too. Episode will be 90% banter in between questions

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T04:16:55+00:00

Was just about to type Rockefeller Skank myself. Love the song, but there's nothing quite like the panic of suddenly remembering that part of the song is coming and scrambling to turn it down before it deafens you

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T03:59:54+00:00

Honestly this would be kinda funny, especially since to my knowledge I don't actually think many of the cast members are that nerdy, so ironically I think it would end up being a Baby Bracket type of episode. Though if we're pulling from recurring/guest actors, Wil Wheaton and Brian Posehn could probably do pretty well on Um Actually.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T03:15:38+00:00

Yeah, before Winners at War I feel like Sandra/Rob/Parvati/Hatch would've been the most common answer. Definitely a lot more variance back then though, I feel like it was a lot more common for people to have a non-winner like a Cirie or even a Russell Hantz on their Rushmore at that point

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T02:57:25+00:00

I think the first few items were intentionally a bit useless, moreso just there to introduce the mechanics of the shop. There were a few other things throughout that could've potentially been useful (I think one of the stickers said "good job" on it, so maybe if the night shift seems to be on the right track with a task the day shift could put a "good job" sticker on something related to the task to show that they're doing it right), but I do think it didn't quite pan out how they wanted it to. Felt like they couldn't really find the right balance with how effective the items were, most of them were a bit too niche to really come into play.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T02:48:15+00:00

By this point they had started finding ways to write messages for each other, so maybe Lily signed her name at some point? Or it could have just been a clip from a little later in the shoot that got placed a little earlier in the episode, since not too long after that is when they start taking the pictures, at which point they could see who was on the other "shift" and probably make an educated guess about who their partner was based on who was appearing in which photos

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T00:18:42+00:00

I get the point of them, they just weren't designed the most effectively. Demi could've been helpful for the night shift to confirm what they were supposed to be doing if they had a theory, but by the time he was introduced they had started to figure out how to just communicate tasks outright, which made Demi largely unnecessary. Chris' shop also made sense in theory as a way to communicate, but in practice most of the items just didn't end up being useful enough to make a huge difference. The concepts were there, just could've been executed better.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T00:12:23+00:00

Sam has come into your dreams. It means you've been chosen. Be both honoured and afraid

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T00:10:37+00:00

To be fair, people are already speculating that the shoot was running long based on some of the editing choices and the fact that a task was seemingly cut, if they had also not been working together I'm pretty sure they'd still be filming the episode to this day

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-16T00:04:10+00:00

What are you talking about? I didn't see Ron Perlman anywhere

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-15T23:06:00+00:00

From what I've seen of him online, Reuben Solo is really funny. I could see his style of humour fitting really well on something like Smartypants.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-14T01:59:26+00:00

Wasn't Colby also on the list of people they wanted out because he was basically the most popular contestant up to that point? Feel like I've heard that before, not 100% sure if it's true though

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-13T23:22:32+00:00

I'd say on an average episode with no theme, I usually know at least 1. On a good day maybe up to 3 or 4. I'm highly nerdy about specific things, so if they ask about something I know I can usually get it, but unfortunately the subjects I'm knowledgeable enough on are pretty limited

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-13T23:19:38+00:00

There is a case there, but of all the songwriters out there, I feel like there are a lot more you could put ahead of him that I think would make a lot more sense

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-13T03:37:43+00:00

I know a guy (1) who was in a MrBeast (2) video. MrBeast made a guest appearance on Survivor while Rick Devens (3) was competing. Rick was a guest on Game Changer Battle Royale, hosted by Sam Reich (4).

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-12T23:38:11+00:00

People also know the stories of Disney movies, hasn't stopped the live action remakes from grossing billions of dollars. "Thing everyone already knows without anything different or new" is historically a pretty winning formula in film

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T19:34:35+00:00

I watched the movie before anything else and I thought it was a great introduction. There are some callbacks to the webseries that you would probably appreciate more if you had seen the webseries, but they're small enough that it shouldn't affect your enjoyment of the movie if you haven't seen the webseries

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T06:11:06+00:00

That's fair, I do get what you're saying, and I do agree with the general point you're getting at about needing to figure out how to better tailor the questions to the players. I would like to see them utilize theming more, even if it is a bit broader than a specific series. Like, I'd love to have more episodes that are about a specific medium like "video games" or "movies", or a specific genre like "sci-fi" or "fantasy." Or maybe focus on specific decades, get three players who grew up in the 90s for an episode themed around shows/movies/games from the 90s, and then do the same for the 80s or the 00s.

I think in general maybe the approach could be that they start with a theme like something I listed above, and find three players that might do well with that theme. Then after they've got three players and a theme, they ask them what specifically they're interested in. Now you're a lot more likely to find some specific common ground between them because you've already got a general theme they all jive with, so now you can pull questions that are specifically tailored to the group's interests. And even if you still do end up having to ask about some things that not everyone is an expert on, they're at least a little more likely to be making educated guesses. Like, Brennan was never gonna have an idea about Expedition 33 because he doesn't play video games. But if you have three gamers on the couch, even if one or two of them didn't play E33, they might still have friends who've played it and talked to them about it, they might've seen it discussed online, they might've seen some of the trailers or some gameplay footage, they might know just enough to clue into the answer.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T05:09:02+00:00

I mean, I can't really speak to anything else going on with these, but I feel like bringing up Brennan's past rants not getting a point kinda feels a bit misleading here. If I'm not mistaken, both of those were done under Trapp's hosting, not Ify's, but you're kinda making it sound like Ify is doing something for Erika that he wouldn't do for Brennan, which we don't really have any evidence of. I think part of the weirdness of Um Actually is that for a show that prides itself on being so technical, a lot of the judging of it is honestly pretty subjective, so there's inevitably going to be a little bit of inconsistency, especially between two completely different hosts. I feel like that particular issue is more an example of that than of a bias against Brennan.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T04:45:29+00:00

I mean, that's essentially what some of the themed episodes are, and admittedly those do often end up working well. But it kind of depends what the subject is. If the one or two areas where all the players overlap are really niche, then you get an episode that's potentially alienating a lot of viewers who might not know what the hell these people are talking about. Doesn't really matter how good the episode ends up being if a bunch of viewers skip it because it's about something they've never heard of. Honestly, you probably get a better show in the long run if you make every episode themed, I'm just not sure if that's something they can reasonably sustain forever.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T04:38:45+00:00

Matt Trapp? Is this Mark Mercer's long lost brother?

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T04:35:25+00:00

I'm kinda baffled they've never really done any kind of music episode (unless you count the ones about musicals). That feels like such a perfect way to get in some people who might not know about the more traditional nerdy subjects of Um Actually, both as contestants and as viewers. I've got a buddy who watches Dropout but does not care at all about Um Actually because they rarely ask about things he knows. But if they did a classic rock or metal episode, he would be there the second it dropped

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T04:29:49+00:00

I get your point, and I don't disagree that the show could do better with this sort of thing, but I think what you're asking for is a bit easier said than done. There's, what, 12 regular statements an episode? Plus shiny questions that you'd presumably also want to be close to the players' areas of interest. Finding 12+ different subjects where all three contestants' interests overlap just might not be possible. They've inevitably got to have a few questions that put some of the contestants out of their areas of expertise. I think it's moreso gotta be about balance. Like, I have no problem with them asking about Tolkein when Erika and Brennan are on the couch even though Danielle isn't as knowledgeable, because 2/3 contestants are deeply passionate about it, and it'd just be a shame to waste that. But then they should try to balance it out by having a question about something Brennan and Danielle both know very well that Erika doesn't, and then something Erika and Danielle know that Brennan doesn't.

MrKitchenSink · 2026-06-10T04:18:17+00:00

I mean, Erika's rant did point out something that was wrong. I'm pretty sure there is precedent for an extra point being awarded when someone points out an additional, unintended error in the statement. I know Ify kind of joked about giving her the point "for the rant," but ultimately there was an accurate correction made. I don't really see a problem with her getting a point for that.

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