Comedy Bang Bang: Bonus Bang — Hot 4 Scott

Episode Title: "From Candy Boy to TV Boy"
Guests: Adam Scott, Will Hines (as Thomas Mashed Potatoes), Suzi Barrett (as Mariska Binobaude)
Host: Scott Aukerman
Release Date: September 4, 2025
Original Episode Date: April 3, 2022 (Ep. 751)

Episode Overview

This Bonus Bang episode is a re-release celebrating Adam Scott’s recurring appearances (“Hot 4 Scott” series), focusing on his journey from humble "candy boy" beginnings to acclaimed TV star in "Party Down" and "Severance." The episode blends real showbiz anecdotes with Comedy Bang Bang's trademark character-driven improv. Also joining are Will Hines as shoe designer Thomas Mashed Potatoes and Suzi Barrett as eccentric romance novelist Mariska Binobaude, creating a symphony of absurd, rapid-fire comedy.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Adam Scott’s Career Arc: Candy Boy to TV Success (13:00–24:00)

• Scott Aukerman introduces Adam Scott, reminiscing about his origins working at Marini’s on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as a “candy boy.”
• Adam Scott details the literal use of the term “candy boy” and his taffy-making days.

  "We were the boys that made the candy at Marini's. Still there. You can go... There are candy boys there dressed in white, making taffy and waving to tourists." (13:41)

• Discusses the shift from movie aspirations to TV stardom:

  "I thought I was going to be a movie boy... instead of a movie, you became a TV boy." (13:18)

• Scott teases Adam for “selling out” by moving away from the candy profession.

Notable Moments

• Satirical banter about the struggles and supposed failures of rebooting “Party Down.”
  • Adam parodies the pressures and complaints about making TV:

    "The writing was bad... and we all got together and kind of looked at each other and thought, it's been 12 years for a reason." (09:42)

• A running gag about actors' schedules and petty on-set issues.

2. Inside "Severance" (TV Show Banter) [13:56–26:22]

• Scott and Adam riff on the premise of “Severance” as the “age-old question” of work-life separation.
  • Exchanges satirize TV promo language and Adam’s deadpan commitment to bit:

    “It’s that question we all stay up all night thinking about… How do you keep them apart?” (14:02, Adam)

• Questions about Ben Stiller’s role as director and recurring jizz-hair jokes (“Something About Mary”).
• Parody of title brainstorming:
  • “Horndogs” and “Peculiar Jerk and his Wacky Neighbors and Friends” considered as alternate show titles.
  • “Severance was number one… because we ran out of time.” (20:34, Adam)

3. Game Show-Style Absurdity & Character Introductions [31:24–58:24]

a) Thomas Mashed Potatoes, Shoe Designer (Will Hines) [31:42–58:24]

• Thomas unveils his identity as a specialist in Oxfords, launching a detailed (and deranged) description of shoe taxonomy.
  • “Usually it's a narrow toe is a traditional Oxford. If you got a wide, fat toe in an Oxford, that ain't an Oxford.” (35:46)
• Spirals into braille, semaphore, and aggressive, self-critical tangents.
• Backstory: Apprenticeship under a conservative, unhappy cobbler, an affair with his mentor’s wife, and subsequent therapy.
• Etsy Shop Drama: Thomas’s shop banned for hate speech “from customers, not me,” and defensive branding (“the real side of the story wingtips”).
• Shoes classified by “weak, normal, or woe” sizes.

Most Memorable Quotes

“Now I should say I don't walk around in my Oxfords too, because that's a dress shoe for formal occasions. It's not a walking shoe.” (39:41, Thomas)

b) Mariska Binobaude, Dutch Romance Novelist (Suzi Barrett) [62:13– End]

• Mariska explains her Dutch surname, cultural proverbs (“the tallest flower gets its head chopped off by the lawnmower”), and critiques perceived American weirdness.
• Describes her debut romance novel, The Polder Model, a deeply Dutch, anti-Steamy, bureaucratic satire:
  • The lead is a model (from the polders) featured on banking pamphlets; the “romantic” interest involves split checks, dry butter, “fingernail” slices of onion, and hard-boiled egg sabotage.
  • Explicitly no sex in the book:

    “There is no sex. Not actual sex, but … what is sexier than someone being honest about what they want?” (86:12)

• Adam Scott: “This book sounds horrible...”
• Mariska’s personal confession: She’s never had sex—"It's so much work.” (87:03)

4. Meta Podcast Bits & Cameos

• Scott and Adam joke about U2 and REM podcasts, recurring Comedy Bang Bang gags, and a running meta-bit about starting a show where they recap every episode of Comedy Bang Bang itself.

  • “I’m committing fully right now to all 751 episodes.” (93:40, Scott)

Notable Quotes

• On TV schedules and showbiz:

  “Sometimes you have to wake up at like 10:30am... They just assume you have a car. [...] It's like, hey, ask me!” (10:16, Scott & Adam)

• Thomas’s Oxfords Philosophy:

  “If you got a wide, fat toe in an Oxford, that ain’t an Oxford.” (35:46, Thomas)

• Mariska on romance:

  “What is sexier than someone being honest about what they want?... There is no sex.” (86:12, Mariska)

• Adam’s Oscar Promise:

  “If you won an Oscar, you promised our listeners that you would go on stage and say, 'I'm going to shove this up my butt.'” (25:30, Scott)

• Mariska on Dutch culture:

  “In Holland, we have a saying, the tallest flower gets its head chopped off by the lawnmower.” (64:17)

Section Timestamps

| Segment | Description | Time | | --- | --- | --- | | Opening Banter | Adam Scott’s TV career; Party Down & Severance | 13:00–24:00 | | “Severance” Satire | Pitch jokes, Ben Stiller jokes, TV meta | 13:56–26:22 | | Thomas Mashed Potatoes Intro | Shoe design, Oxfords, shoe fandom, therapy | 31:42–58:24 | | Mariska Binobaude Intro | Dutch novelist, romance plot parody | 62:13–End | | Plugs | Show plugs, meta-podcast banter | 88:30–End |

Memorable Moments

• Title brainstorming for “Severance”:
  • "Horndogs" nearly made the cut.
  • “Peculiar Jerk and his Wacky Neighbors and Friends” joins as a dark horse.
• Imelda Marcos tangent:
  • “Are you worried that if you were to own a lot of shoes, you would be dead, too? It only stands to reason.” (52:22, Scott)
• Dutch romance novel satire:
  • The entire premise of The Polder Model lampoons both Dutch practicality and genre expectations.
• Shoe philosophy crossover:
  • “No human faces on Oxfords!” and a digression into Happy Days/Beatles analogies.
• Meta moments:
  • Jokes about starting a recap podcast of CBB itself (93:40).

Tone & Style

• Quick, collaborative absurdity; surreal “game of the scene” escalation.
• Self-referential, delightfully rambling banter, mutually roasting and supportive.
• Classic CBB mixture of highbrow/literary and gleefully dumb material.

For Listeners Who Missed the Show

This episode is equal parts Comedy Bang Bang nostalgia and top-tier character improv: fans of Adam Scott’s earlier appearances will delight in the stilted, tongue-in-cheek banter about his career, while new listeners will enjoy the layered parody of Dutch romance novels and shoe design epistemology. Will Hines and Suzi Barrett create oddball characters who slot perfectly alongside Adam’s dry wit and Scott's relentlessly silly hosting. Lively, unpredictable, and as always, very, very dumb—in the best way.

Must-listen if you want:

• TV industry satire
• Surreal character improvisation
• Parodies of podcast and literary genres
• Recurring in-jokes and callback gags

Listen For

• [13:41] Candy boy origins
• [20:33] Alternate "Severance" titles
• [35:46] Shoe taxonomies — Thomas Mashed Potatoes explains Oxfords with gusto
• [62:14] Mariska’s introduction and Dutch proverbs
• [86:12] The anti-sexy “romance” climax
• [93:40] Scott and Adam promise a CBB recap podcast

(End of Summary)