YPB: Episode 048 – WWF WrestleFest (1991)

This week in Your Parents Basement, we are putting our enemies in the Perfect-Plex, the spike slam, and the Million Dollar Dream before dropping the leg on them! From 1991, we’re playing WWF WrestleFest by Technos Japan for the arcade.

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TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 – The intro, from one of the most famous wrasslers! Plus, special guest Dale! WOOOOOO!
• 50:00 – We check the ole email bag!
• 1:15:00 – As we say our goodbyes for this episode, a bit of a musical interlude and kind words from Hulk Hogan.
• 1:18:00 – The snifferoo from next week’s game! It has tentacles, but is not pornography.

SHOW NOTES

- There is one console of WWF WrestleFest available on Amazon, refurbished, and it costs about $2,500. That doesn’t include roughly $500 to ship it. Circuit boards for the game are available for about $80, if you know how to install them and what not.

TV Review: The Grinder, the best legal show ever

Dean (Rob Lowe) with frenemy Timothy  Olyphant (Timothy Olyphant).

 In the past, I’ve heaped praise on Lookwell, the brilliant pilot by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel that only got one episode in 1991. It starred Adam West as a wash-up actor who had played a detective on television, who now believed he had the skills to be an actual detective, with the help of his acting class. Spoiler: He did not have the skills, and hilarity ensued. (The full episode is available here on YouTube.)

It took 24 years, but a network has finally decided to run back that concept. The Grinder stars Rob Lowe as a successful actor, Dean Sanderson, finishing up his stint on an over-hyped, super sexualized show called… The Grinder. The show-within-a-show is awesome, and basically an over-the-top parody of things like CSI: Miami and NCIS. Each episode of The Grinder starts with a 30-second snippet of Dean’s acting, and the ridiculous situations of the show.

The actual show itself has Dean struggling to assimilate back to “real life,” with the main dynamic being the strained relationship between him and his brother, Stewart, played by Fred Savage. Stewart and his wife, The Waitress from Always Sunny (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), are seemingly the only ones not star-struck by Dean. Stewart is routinely exasperated by Dean attempting to practice law without a law degree, even more so when he manages to succeed (or at least, to succeed in his delusional mind).

Beyond the brothers, the main thing The Grinder has going for it is a deep and excellent ensemble cast. Dean and Stu’s dad, Dean Sr. (played by William Devane), is one of the standouts, as the small town lawyer partner of the firm they both work for. Natalie Morales from Parks and Recreation is another lawyer at the firm, who is annoyed and unimpressed by Dean. And Todd (Steve Little) gets laughs as being completely in the bag for everything Dean does. Even Stu’s kids are played by sharp, funny actors (Hana Hayes and Connor Halopsis) and have unique aspects, as opposed to being cloying and stereotypical.

The casting excellence extends to the guest stars. The show is only in its first season, but already, Maya Rudolph and Christina Applegate have stolen episodes as the therapist for the brothers and a single mother interested in Dean, respectively. Timothy Olyphant plays Timothy Olyphant on the show, a former friend of Dean who stabs him in the back by starring in The Grinder's New Orleans spin-off. 

Applegate and Lowe had my favorite meta exchange of the show, which can be seen here on YouTube. “You look exactly the same.” “So do you! Almost in a scary way, exactly the same.” (The other great meta moment: The latest episode is a flashback one to the early 1990s, with Jenna Fischer as Dean’s former girlfriend, and Dean complaining about how women get all of the great roles in Hollywood.)

If you’re looking for a satisfying, 23-minute weekly sitcom, then The Grinder is what you need to check out, especially since Modern Family has fallen off a cliff into a deep ravine, never to return to quality. As a result, The Grinder is my favorite network sitcom by far, edging out Mom, which is more of a mixture of comedy and drama.

Steveats: The Dunkin’ Donuts GranDDe Burrito

Debuting a new, semi-regular feature! I tryout questionable fast food items so that you don’t have to in… Steveats. (Note: Title developed in about 10 seconds of brainstorming.)

Dunkin’ Donuts is seemingly going through an identity crisis. They’re not content with just being the OK quick option for hot and iced coffee, and fatty confectionaries, and super fatty frozen drinks, that we want them to be. Instead in recent years, they’ve come out with a slew of other, odd options, like deli sandwiches on toasted, overly-buttery bread, and hash browns, and knockoff cronuts.

Their latest thing is a burrito supreme, and surprisingly, it’s not bad! Well, except that it has an incredibly stupid name – The GranDDe Burrito. I tried one with sausage, and while it was clearly microwaved, it was spicy and filling. It’s got a bunch of rice, some roasted red pepper and the meat of your choice, and it’s reasonably priced at $3.99. At least at my local Dunkin’ Donuts, they let me add hash browns for 79 cents, and those weren’t bad either.

Caution though – They definitely microwave the hell out of them. I left mine out of the wrapped in my car for about 20 minutes, and it was still hot, not even warm, to bite into. Like the ole Omwich sandwiches Dunkin’ used to offer, it’s a dish you need to wait a good, long time to cool  down properly, or you just have to aggressively cool it down. Also, by the way, it’s 710 calories according to the DD website, which means it’s probably actually more.

While the burrito itself is delicious, it continues the distressing trend of Dunkin’ Donuts needlessly rearranging their menu. They’ve added the burrito, but they’ve taken away the classic #1 combo of two donuts and a coffee. Outrage! Part of the appeal of the store is that they have the cheap combos. I don’t really want to get microwaved sandwiches from Dunkin’ Donuts unless they’re really cheap, because I could just get an actual decent sandwich or burrito from pretty much any fast casual place for an extra couple bucks. Dunkin’ Donuts, why can’t you just be happy being Dunkin’ Donuts? You were created by Fred the Baker, after all, not Fred the Sandwich Maker.

(Side note for South County, Rhode Island people only – Bess Eaton is still open on Kingstown Road near Dale Carlia, and they absolutely still have the #1 combo. So lately, they’ve been getting my donut and iced coffee money. They also still have THE TANK, of course.)