Family Guy to Star Trek and Beyond with Seth MacFarlane

Summary

Dropping Names ...and other things with Brent Spiner & Jonathan Frakes

Episode: Family Guy to Star Trek and Beyond

Date: March 12, 2026
Guest: Seth MacFarlane

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Episode Overview

This episode of "Dropping Names ...and other things" showcases an engaging, laughter-filled, and candid conversation between hosts Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes—Star Trek: TNG legends—and their guest, multi-hyphenate creator Seth MacFarlane. The discussion meanders delightfully through Seth’s Hollywood journey, covering everything from his animation empire ("Family Guy", "American Dad", "The Orville"), celebrity encounters, musical accomplishments, family stories, and behind-the-scenes of TV showbiz. The tone is nostalgic, witty, self-aware, and playfully irreverent, as three accomplished entertainers swap industry tales and dreams both realized and yet to come.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Ritual of Repeating Stories and Senior Moments

Timestamps: 02:09–04:39

• Brent and Jonathan joke about how podcasting is now their main way of catching up, reminiscent of "Smartless".
• Jonathan admits to "senior moments"—forgetting names and repeating stories, an occurrence he says started in his 30s.
  • Quote: "The other senior moment thing you folks out there can count on, is that I will repeat stories that I’ve already told at least three or four times with no awareness that I’ve already told them." — Jonathan Frakes (03:21)
• Brent shares a family policy: if he starts retelling a story, his kids call out "repeat" or "dad hole". He justifies himself by asking if anyone hasn’t heard it yet.

2. Name Dropping, Theatre, and Musical Interludes

Timestamps: 04:39–07:14

• Jonathan's early connection with actors like Mandy Patinkin and Diane Wiest ("did a play with Mandy… at the Public Theater”).
• The hosts affectionately drop names and reminisce about their and Seth’s extended networks.
• Brent and Seth riff on the pronunciation of "Nana Visitor" and the tradition of "ringing the bell" when a name is dropped.

3. Seth MacFarlane’s Showbiz Range

Timestamps: 12:26–15:08

• Jonathan and Brent marvel at Seth’s multi-faceted work (animation, singing worldwide, producing, Oscar-hosting).
• Seth tells of singing with Barbra Streisand and Ariana Grande and delights in Jonathan’s “name drop bell” tradition.
  • Quote: "This is crazy. It's like I’m on The View." — Seth MacFarlane (13:27)
• Jonathan shares that his son, an aspiring filmmaker, thinks Roger the Alien is "maybe the greatest character ever on television, if not in all of fiction." (14:01)

4. Family and Ancestry Stories

Timestamps: 15:44–18:15

• Seth discusses his maternal grandfather, Olympic javelin thrower in 1928, who later became a public speaking guru.
  • Quote: "He was a public speaking guru who would teach corporate types and celebrities and executives how to effectively engage in public speaking events." — Seth MacFarlane (17:02)
• Jonathan connects by mentioning a woman he dated whose father was also an Olympian and public speaker.

5. Writer & Director Anecdotes: On Set, On Orville

Timestamps: 19:19–21:29

• Humorous story about a Southern actor mispronouncing "Tarzan" during a Family Guy recording:
  • Quote: "You look like Tarzan in that thing." — Seth MacFarlane (18:34)
• Brent and Jonathan recount working under Seth’s direction for "The Orville", including tales of strict set rules, Seth’s involvement in technical details, and eventually being “rotated out” as directors:
  • Quote: "Would you rather be my friend or would you rather direct on the show? Let’s stick with the first." — Brent Spiner (21:21)
  • Seth: "It got to a certain point where… it's just better that I... I'll just do it myself." (21:29)

6. Hollywood Parties & Celebrity Moments

Timestamps: 22:33–24:49

• Brent celebrates Seth’s legendary Christmas parties, recalling one with guests like Sacha Baron Cohen and RFK Jr.
  • Seth confesses to being "really drunk" and remembering little of the specific night.
• Jonathan asks Seth: Which celebrity has truly made you star-struck?
  • Seth recounts the "table of Star Trek actors" experience ("...this stupid grin spreads across his face...").
    • Quote: "Patrick is telling a story about you. 'So Seth MacFarlane walks in, and he sees us all sitting there at this table, and this stupid grin spreads across his face...'" (25:11–25:34)

7. Musicianship & Appreciation for Live Musicians

Timestamps: 29:32–31:32

• The trio discusses jazz great Jack Sheldon, the Hollywood club Vibrato, and Seth’s dedication to using proper orchestras.
  • Quote: "You take really good care of real musicians in a way that a lot of people have forgotten." — Brent Spiner (30:04)
• Seth notes: "The most famous player you can think of… somewhere there’s an anonymous studio player who can play circles around them." (30:38)

8. Broadway Dreams and Musical Comedy

Timestamps: 41:39–43:37

• Seth expresses wanting to do a film musical and reflects on almost joining "Spamalot" on Broadway.
  • Quote: "I don’t know that I’m someone who would function well doing the same score night after night..." — Seth MacFarlane (42:30)
• The three riff on musical standards, breaking into snippets of "Carousel", "Music Man", and "Sit Down, John".

9. Stage Mishaps and "The Show Must Go On"

Timestamps: 44:05–47:12

• Jonathan and Seth swap horror stories about on-stage disasters—forgetting props, bleeding from hitting a wall, and legendary tales (Jackie Gleason’s heart attack mid-show).
  • Quote: "There are days in my everyday life when I’m just like, can the understudy do this today?" — Seth MacFarlane (48:46)

10. Shakespeare, Gargoyles, and Audience Etiquette

Timestamps: 56:11–59:59

• Seth’s “pet peeve” about audience laughter during Shakespeare plays. He suspects some laughs are performative rather than honest responses.
  • Quote: "You want me to know that you get the joke even though it’s written in Elizabethan tongue." — Seth MacFarlane (57:20)
• The trio launches into a discussion of "Kiss Me, Kate", "Taming of the Shrew", and Shakespeare connections in animation (notably, Frakes’ work on "Gargoyles").

11. The State of Seth’s Projects: Orville, Ted, Brigadoon

Timestamps: 61:11–62:32

• Orville Season 4 is "written and ready," awaiting production; a movie project is also in pre-production; Seth is considering a Brigadoon remake.
  • Quote: "Orville Season 4 is written and ready to rock. It’s a question of when we shoot it." — Seth MacFarlane (61:37)
• Seth jokes about feeling overwhelmed by ongoing and potential projects.

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Notable Quotes

• “This is like Data’s telling me. He’s giving me numbers that I’m not able to access on my own.” — Seth MacFarlane, on Brent’s encyclopedic recall of episode counts (49:55)
• “You could do the fourth season of Orville 10 years from now and it'll be kind of standard.” — Jonathan Frakes (62:02)
• “I will always find time to come here.” — Seth MacFarlane, on the joy of hanging with Brent & Jonathan (62:38)
• “You and Streisand, I think, would be really good.” — Jonathan Frakes, urging Seth to make a podcast (53:21)

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Memorable Moments & Running Gags

• The Name Drop Bell: Seth relishes (and lampoons) the ongoing ringing of a bell every time a celebrity or legendary figure is mentioned.
• Family Guy vs. Star Trek Fandom: Jonathan’s son thinks Roger the Alien is a greater character than his own father’s "Data", to general hilarity.
• On Aging and Memory: Jonathan’s open embrace of “senior moments” and the inevitability of story repetition in life and showbiz.
• Seth’s humility: Seth, despite his towering list of accomplishments, remains tickled and a little starstruck by his hosts and the sci-fi pantheon.
• On live performance mishaps: The trio laugh together at the unpredictability of live theatre—the forgotten cookies, ad-libbed solutions, and unexpected injuries.

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Important Timestamps

• 02:09 – The art of story repetition and “repeat” policy
• 13:27 – The bell for name dropping, and Seth’s comparison to The View
• 14:10 – Roger the Alien lauded by Jonathan’s son
• 17:02 – Seth’s grandfather: Olympian and public speech guru
• 18:34 – The “Tarzan” pronunciation anecdote
• 21:21 – The Orville directing experience and friendship boundaries
• 22:43 – Legendary Seth MacFarlane Christmas parties
• 25:11 – Seth’s "poker face" upon meeting the Star Trek cast
• 30:04 – The importance of nurturing “real musicians” in studio work
• 42:30 – Seth’s thoughts on the Broadway grind
• 57:20 – Seth’s take on performative Shakespeare laughter
• 61:37 – Orville Season 4: written and waiting
• 62:38 – “I will always find time to come here.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in Hollywood storytelling, equal parts camaraderie and industry insight. The guests’ mutual respect and affection shine through, as does their infectious joy in music, performance, and the absurdities of show life. Fans of Star Trek, Family Guy, musical theater, or just top-tier banter will find plenty to love in this sprawling, heartfelt episode.

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For Further Listening

• Seth MacFarlane’s orchestral albums
• Brent Spiner’s "Dreamland" (with Maude Maggart)
• Previous "Dropping Names" episodes with Star Trek alumni

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NOTE:

• Intros, ads, and promos have been excluded from this summary for clarity and conciseness.
• Timestamps are in MM:SS format for easy reference.

Transcript

[Hayden]

Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan Fellas. I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.

[Stephen]

And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball. But you can call me the Smash Daddy.

[Hayden]

And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.

[Stephen]

That's right.

[Brent Spiner]

Hey hey.

[Stephen]

So each week you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.

[Hayden]

And along the way we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.

[Stephen]

Newsflash. I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday, and you can find Fantasy Fan fellows wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Jonathan Frakes]

ACAST powers the World's Best Podcasts Here's

[Brent Spiner]

a show that we recommend.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Do you like being educated on things

[Seth MacFarlane]

that entertain but don't matter? Well, then you need to be listening to the Podcast with Knox and Jamie.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Every Wednesday we put together an episode

[Seth MacFarlane]

dedicated to delightful idiocy to give your brain a break from all the serious and important stuff.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Whether we're deep diving a classic movie, dissecting the true meanings behind the newest slang, or dunking on our own listeners

[Seth MacFarlane]

for their bad takes or cringy stories,

[Jonathan Frakes]

we always approach our topics with humor and just a little bit of side eye. And we end every episode with recommendations

[Seth MacFarlane]

on all the best new movies, books,

[Brent Spiner]

TV shows, or music.

[Jonathan Frakes]

To find out more, just search up

[Seth MacFarlane]

the podcast with Knox and Jamie wherever you listen to podcasts and prepare to make Wednesday your new favorite day of the week.

[Brent Spiner]

ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Everywhere. Acast.com let me talk to you.

[Brent Spiner]

You find that you don't talk to me between episodes of the we have Schmoozing Time podcast.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Exactly.

[Brent Spiner]

That's what the kind of you don't

[Jonathan Frakes]

call each other anymore. Is that right?

[Brent Spiner]

They used to get together for dinner. They'd call it their Sunday dinner. And then they talk about where each of them has separated to do different works, but they seem to be catching up on Mike, which I think is effective. We could do worse than have Smartless's success.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Those are great. We did the live show. I remember. I don't generally read the feedback, but I thought, well, let me see what people are saying. Excuse me. Let me see what people are saying.

[Brent Spiner]

You're not supposed to read the comments.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, exactly.

[Brent Spiner]

Because social.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's like reading reviews and you do a play or a movie, and they're never good enough.

[Brent Spiner]

And they remember. All I ever remember. The bad.

[Jonathan Frakes]

The bad ones kill you, and the good ones are never good enough that you're looking for. This was the single greatest performance of all time. And anything less than that is a disappointment. Oh, God, it hurts, actually. But here's what I was gonna say about the feedback from the fans. There were a few people who mentioned the fact that I was having what they call senior moments where I couldn't think of somebody's name. And I just want.

[Brent Spiner]

I have that all the time.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, well, I just want the fans to know that will continue.

[Brent Spiner]

You can look forward to that for

[Jonathan Frakes]

both of us, please. And feel free to pretend you don't

[Brent Spiner]

have those same things.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know what I was going to say? In my 30s, I used to say I wish people would wear name tags because I couldn't remember anybody's names. So I was having senior moments in my 30s. The other senior moment thing you folks out there can count on, count on is that I will repeat stories that I've already told at least three or four times with no awareness that I've already told them. You'll know. Everybody here will know, but I will not know. And that'll be the fun of it.

[Brent Spiner]

We have a policy in my family that when I start to repeat a story, the kids can call repeat. Or what they usually say is dad hole, repeat. But then the repeat I defend by saying, is there somebody here who hasn't heard it yet? They roll their eyes and admit that maybe there is.

[Jonathan Frakes]

In my house, I know for a fact I have never told a story I haven't told before. You know, that's the. That's the feedback I get at home. Yeah, we know. You told us.

[Brent Spiner]

We think they're amusing, these stories, or

[Jonathan Frakes]

important or they're interesting. How about that?

[Brent Spiner]

My father used to say when we'd go to the theater, he said, I really like the set. And that meant the place.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, exactly. I've Been watching Ken Burns. American Revolution.

[Brent Spiner]

Hurt is great.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's so informative. It's. It's.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So.

[Brent Spiner]

Why does he have such magic?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, he's brilliant.

[Brent Spiner]

He's informed, he's calm, and yet the style is so simple that. Wonderful. Pushing into the photograph.

[Jonathan Frakes]

This one has no live footage, obviously, because it's American Revolution, and it doesn't

[Brent Spiner]

bother to do any kind of fake reenactment that other documentaries would attempt. Does he have guests and voiceover guys?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, yeah. Mandy Patinkin is Ben Franklin.

[Brent Spiner]

Tell me about man.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Hold on. Yeah, Mandy. Give it to me.

[Brent Spiner]

Tell me about Mandy.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Mandy. Well, I've known Mandy for years and years and years.

[Brent Spiner]

Did you know him before Sunday in the Park?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes, I did a play with him at the Public Theater.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Public Theater.

[Brent Spiner]

This is why he's the head of Name Dropping or Dropping Names and Other Things.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. Did a play with Mandy, Diane Wiest.

[Brent Spiner]

Wonderful, wonderful, underrated, unappreciated, brilliant actress.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We thought at the time we were working with her, Mandy would say she's. She's the greatest there is. She's fantastic. You know, Mandy and Catherine, his wife, have a podcast now, I believe.

[Brent Spiner]

Have you seen any of that? I've seen their clips of it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Stuff at home.

[Brent Spiner]

It's a riot. Yeah, it's so Hamish. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But, yeah, so I did this play, Leave it to Beaver is Dead. It was called Waiting for the. It was 79, because I sang a song called waiting for the 80s to come and. Really? Yeah. Saul Rubinek was in it, Maury Chaikin, all these Canadians. And it was directed by Des Macanough,

[Brent Spiner]

who went on to run the theater

[Jonathan Frakes]

in San Diego, and he created Jersey Boys and Big river and a bunch of others.

[Brent Spiner]

You were in Big river too, weren't you?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I was.

[Brent Spiner]

Did you replace Rene Aubergenois?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I did. Oh, man.

[Brent Spiner]

I know a lot about your career.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, Rene was the greatest. He really was.

[Brent Spiner]

Oliver Schulman. He was not only his talent, his heart and his spirit, his sense of humor.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Loved him so much. He was a great, great guy.

[Brent Spiner]

I'm cold now. I need more coffee.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

If I can't take my coffee break, my coffee break, my coffee break. If I can't take three daily trips and taste cardboard between my lips, you

[Jonathan Frakes]

know more songs than anybody.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Dropping names and other things. Where the whiskey flows and the laughter sings. Pull up a seat, join the game

[Stephen]

of Bread and Johnny Podash Show.

[Brent Spiner]

You know, the premise of the show is this, like.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What's that New Yorker cartoon? It's like we Have a podcast where we, me and my buddy, talking about movies. But the twist is we also joke around a lot,

[Brent Spiner]

dropping names and other things. The Brent and Johnny show and who more than you could drop names, probably. No, you're a name. Seth MacFarlane's with us, ladies and gentlemen.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Tell me if this is true. Knowing Cool Whip as well as you do, I've heard, and I don't know if this is true, that there's only one ingredients difference between Cool Whip and the container it comes in.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that true?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I know what I've heard.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I don't know.

[Brent Spiner]

I need to read that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Years I've been. I've been spouting that. I don't even know if it's true anymore.

[Brent Spiner]

It could be bullshit.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It could be.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is like. This is a Roddenberry here.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

At least according to Brannon. Is that solo cup full of booze, right?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, please. Indeed. Oh, yeah. And. But you have to have egg salad on your face.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's where I always wonder where synthal came from. And then I got old enough to drink. I'm like, oh, okay, that's what it is.

[Brent Spiner]

I get it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's what it is.

[Brent Spiner]

But you can shake it off. Synthal you could shake off.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's the whole point. Right? The desire to.

[Brent Spiner]

Exactly. I discovered at 70 from Nana visitor that Reposado does the same thing.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Does, really?

[Brent Spiner]

Because I used to drink Johnny Walker Blanc.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that how you pronounce? Is it Nana Visitor.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Na, na, na, na.

[Brent Spiner]

Visitor. How do you say her name?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I used to sound like. You were saying it, like a Spanish accent.

[Brent Spiner]

It is Na, na. Visitor.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Na, na, na, na.

[Brent Spiner]

Visitor.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Na, na.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I won't talk about this. I know this is not a Star Trek podcast.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's okay.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I know this is about, like.

[Brent Spiner]

No, but Star Trek is why it

[Jonathan Frakes]

works its way in.

[Brent Spiner]

Why.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Why we.

[Brent Spiner]

We joined your world.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's right. That's right.

[Brent Spiner]

We were invited on Family Guy.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I mean, you know, I was thinking, you've got a real Graham Norton vibe going on right now with that drink. Right.

[Brent Spiner]

Did you ever do Graham?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah. I saw you on Graham Norton.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. That's a great show.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's a great show. It's a huge audience.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

But it encourages people to drink, which I think is.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He does.

[Brent Spiner]

He does. Because I watched a bit of Bill as well.

[Seth MacFarlane]

A bit of what?

[Brent Spiner]

Bill Maher.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

He told a story on one of his. On one of his TV episodes. He said, well, I sometimes mix up the drinks. I Mean, one time I screwed Seth MacFarlane up and I gave his drink to some TV.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It was Darrell Issa. It was the politician Darrell Issa, who was. And I, And I remember because he was out there for the, you know, one on one interview with Bill and.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, the pre.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, it was live. And he was sipping out of his cup, he was going like this and he was like, wow, there's booze in here. And Bill thought he was doing a bit and he's like, there really is booze in here. And he keeps drinking. And then I got out and you hey, there's water in here. And then Bill kind of did the math. Oh, wait a minute. And then Darrell Issac comes back out at the end, like, hands me his half drunken mug. So I finished it off and we all had a nice time.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But have you done Bill's podcast? Oh, did you?

[Brent Spiner]

That's what I watched yesterday.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, yes, I have done his podcast.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Where is that?

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's at his. I'm allowed to say it's at his home.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's his house. I would tell you where he lives.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

He has the same vibe. He's got these kind of chairs.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He does. He's got these kind of chair. These kind of like this kind of vibe. Like the man cave basement.

[Brent Spiner]

But you two are friends. Old friends.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah. No, he's. He's great. We've been friends a long time and it's. There's a lot of. He smokes a lot of pot in the podcast.

[Brent Spiner]

He's one of the great, proud representatives.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah. And you have booze.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He spoke. Smoke spot. To get straight. Right. I mean, because I can't imagine it really affects him anymore.

[Seth MacFarlane]

No, that's. I think it's like, it's the reason people take like, you know, Xanax or whatever, like when they're in stressful situations, like to get you down to like normal.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Right.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Not to, you know, fall asleep, but just like, I just want to be like the rest of you.

[Brent Spiner]

So host number one didn't sleep at all last night.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Really?

[Jonathan Frakes]

No. I tell you what, let me mention that again. Thank you for mentioning it. I don't know what happened last night. I. I've said before, I laid in bed doing my mantra for eight hours, thinking eventually it will put me to sleep.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What's your.

[Brent Spiner]

Thank God you ask. I thought you'd never ask.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Let me share what it is, but I think.

[Brent Spiner]

What gonna share your mantra?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, but I think because it won't work. Oh, wait, it didn't work.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is it like a birthday wish where if you say it out loud, it's not gonna come?

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's what they say. You know what? That's what they tell you. I don't know, but that's what Jeff Goldblum in any hall. Right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. I forgot my mantra.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I think what it was, was so much anxiety about being in your presence. I think all night I was thinking, yeah, think how Heath is coming, Seth is coming, and then say my, you know, nami oranga kios or whatever over again. Yeah, yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So you're lying in bed going, seth is coming.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, that was my mantra. Think of that.

[Brent Spiner]

That was like low hanging fruit. I'm not even. I'm not even gonna. It was right there.

[Bill.com Advertiser]

Really?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I let it go, people.

[Brent Spiner]

I let it go.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, please. I released it. Yeah, yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Thank God. It's like. That's like putting a steaming pie on a windowsill for you, man.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Seth, you have done everything in show business. Seriously. Your body of work is. Can you just share? I mean, it's unbelievable. You've done everything.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You guys are doing pretty well.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You said, well, we're doing okay. But he at least can sing. Well. Yeah, but Seth sings, does concerts all over the world.

[Brent Spiner]

Tenor. I saw the clip of you doing. Were you at the bowl in a white tux?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes, I was. Yes.

[Brent Spiner]

And were you doing.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I think that was the John Williams show. That was a few years back.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. I can't remember the last time I sang with Streisand, can you? You sang with Barbara, right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Ariana Grande.

[Seth MacFarlane]

She was great. She was wonderful. Yeah, Yeah. I think I was hungover that day. Which for some reason, well, didn't help, but whatever it was, I was.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Wait a minute.

[Brent Spiner]

Barbra Streisand, Please. Is that what happens?

[Seth MacFarlane]

You drop a name and you gotta ring your bell?

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is. Man, this is like. This is crazy. It's like I'm on the View.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Very similar to the View.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Don't walk off in a house.

[Seth MacFarlane]

No, no, no, no. I'm here. No, I don't have the energy to walk off.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I do want to say something right off the bat.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

My son Jackson, who is a aspiring filmmaker, he's a. Thank you. He. He. Jackson, you got a bell. I. He is a screenwriting major, graduated from Chapman, and he. He wanted me to share this with you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That he thinks that Roger the alien is maybe the greatest character ever on television, if not in all of fiction.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Really?

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

The greatest character in all of fiction.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. He Just thinks it's just such a genius character.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And saying that to you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Saying that to me and saying that to me and say, hey, will you tell Seth that I think. And I said yes, Done.

[Seth MacFarlane]

His dad's fucking data, and he's saying Roger is the idea. That's insane.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, he's never seen mind shows.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He hasn't?

[Jonathan Frakes]

No. He maybe seen my college and he

[Brent Spiner]

wrote to me or called me from college. He said, my roommate took me to see First Contact. Pretty good movie. Dad.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I said, you were, too.

[Brent Spiner]

He was like, what?

[Seth MacFarlane]

So he didn't, like, visit you on set? He didn't, like.

[Brent Spiner]

He was scared of the Borg.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh. Oh, okay.

[Brent Spiner]

Terrified you. He had to hold him, and he was scared shitless of the Borg. But they. They had no interest.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

No interest.

[Seth MacFarlane]

The Borg were scary.

[Brent Spiner]

Borg were great.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, they were pretty great.

[Brent Spiner]

Ron and Brannon. How's Brannon?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Brannon. Well, you're not gonna ring the bell for.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, come on. That was the song.

[Brent Spiner]

I'm gonna go back to Ron.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And that was for Ron and Brannon. Exactly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I always feel so sorry for the editors of these podcasts who have to make sense of all this shit.

[Brent Spiner]

Well, fortunately, it's in my friend Eric, our producer and editor and everything. Cut the bell out of our first. We did the first episode with LeVar, and we got to take a look at it, and we reference the bell.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We talk.

[Brent Spiner]

He makes fun of the bell. Yeah, no bell. But now how do you feel?

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's back in.

[Brent Spiner]

Thank God.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Speaking of no bell, you're telling me. No, I don't want to talk about that. You know, I know you don't. You don't like to discuss your personal life too much, and this is going to get too scary.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is one of those dishy podcasts,

[Jonathan Frakes]

but this is about dropping names, too. But I want to know, did you know your grandfather?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes. Oh, I knew.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I knew your maternal grandfather.

[Seth MacFarlane]

My maternal or paternal?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Maternal, I believe. Maternal. Was he the 28 Olympics?

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was, yes. Wow. Done your research?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. Well, Seth's grandfather on his mother's side was in Amsterdam for the 28. 1928 Olympics. He was on the track and field team.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He threw the javelin.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He threw javelin. Well, that's track and field.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Isn't it?

[Brent Spiner]

That's field.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Basically, you're asking, like, the least athletic person on the planet, so. Yeah, well, sure. Let track and feed.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You don't throw javelin.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I don't. I don't.

[Brent Spiner]

That's how Yamamoto warms up, by the way, is that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Right.

[Brent Spiner]

The Dodger picture. He throws a javelin across in the outfield. Have you seen that?

[Hayden]

Huh?

[Brent Spiner]

That's part of his.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He wasn't in the 2811. No.

[Brent Spiner]

Okay, continue.

[Jonathan Frakes]

So. But that's the Olympics.

[Brent Spiner]

That was Yamamoto.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Who is that? What, the Admiral.

[Brent Spiner]

That's the picture of the Dodgers save the World Series.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Was there also an Admiral Yamamoto? Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

You are good.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But at that. 20th World War II.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Or is that Star Trek?

[Brent Spiner]

That was Star Trek. Okay.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Your grandfather, he didn't continue to throw the javelin the rest of his life, did he?

[Seth MacFarlane]

He didn't, no. He became sort of a Dale Carnegie figure.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was a public speaking guru who would teach corporate types and celebrities and executives how to effectively engage in public speaking events.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Wow.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's interesting.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He wrote a book called Speak youk Way to Success.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Is that right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I knew. I used to date a woman whose father.

[Brent Spiner]

Those are the days.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Whose father was in the Olympics as well. And he was in a later Olympic. He was in the. In the Olympics in Berlin, in 30s, 1936 Olympics. He was the one with Jesse Owen

[Seth MacFarlane]

and Hitler, I think.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And Hitler. Yeah. Turned his back on Jeff. Jesse Owen.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He made his career after that doing public speaking. Really? And maybe your father taught him. It's possible because they all knew each other from Olympics.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But your grandfather was at the Olympics when Johnny Weissmuller won two gold medals.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was Tarzan.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Played Tarzan. Right. And the great Finnish. And you'll know about this. The great Finnish runner Pawo Nurmi. And I have to say, I think at this moment in time, in the last 10 years, I could be the only person who said Pavo Nurmi out loud.

[Brent Spiner]

Does Paavo Nurmi get one?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I think so. He was a great, great runner.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Speaking of Tarzan, we had a writer. I'm gonna try and tell the story. Cause it's not that funny, but it's kind of funny if you've directed. We had a writer on Family Guy who was running a show, which I will not name, working with an actor who I will not name. And there was a line. Yeah, no bells.

[Jonathan Frakes]

So far, so good.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. There was a line where he had to say the word Tarzan and the actor was from the south. And he kept pronouncing it Tarzan. Hey, you look like Tarzan in that thing. And the director to say, you know, it's actually the. The accent is on the second syllable. And he goes, all right, I'll get it. Hey, you look like Tarzan in that thing. And that's the kind of Pain. That. That. How. How do you. What do you. How do you. How do you do that without giving a line reading? How do you fix that?

[Brent Spiner]

I'm not above line readings. Are you?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'm not. I mean, it depends on the person.

[Brent Spiner]

I've seen you give them.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes.

[Brent Spiner]

I've never seen you take them.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, I do take them. On things like American dad and Family Guy occasionally. Now that I'm not there every day, I will take.

[Brent Spiner]

But not on the.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Orville, I think I would definitely give

[Brent Spiner]

you a line reading.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I mean, from who, though?

[Brent Spiner]

My point exactly. Which brings me to the experience of working for you on Orville. Have you heard this story?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I've heard stories. I've heard lots of stories.

[Brent Spiner]

First of all, he loved our stuff so much he hired Brannon and Robbie, Duncan McNeil and myself and Marvin. And it was Surround and Goodman who wrote Post Mustache.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Marvin Rush.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

And Post the. He used to have a two way radio to remember he was following the invasions of Afghanistan or Iran or Kuwait. He was mad. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He used to drive. He used to come to our set on his bicycle that he lived miles away.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He lived on a boat, I think,

[Brent Spiner]

as I would call it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He lived on a boat. He would come all the way from the marina to Paramount Pictures on his bicycle. But I think he took the freeway so he could go fast.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is the director of photography for Star Trek the Next Generation.

[Brent Spiner]

And Orville.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And Orville. Yes. And Orville as well. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. So Marvin. Fantastic. DP actually. Did you get on with him?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

I loved him.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He did Hell on Wheels. He know John Castell.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He did, that's right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Beautiful.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes, yes.

[Jonathan Frakes]

So go ahead, tell your story.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was just looking down. He wasn't asleep. He was looking at the.

[Brent Spiner]

They're counting the bells. Marvin didn't get one. Kassar certainly gets one.

[Seth MacFarlane]

God. So I did watch Ally McBeal. All these bells.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, my goodness. And the third season comes around, or the second season comes around. And I said, hey, Seth, how come I got taken out of the rotation? I thought we did okay. He said, come on, Frakes.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that what I said?

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, come on. You've worked with me.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Am I a nightmare to work with as a director? Because there were rules on the set. You don't call action without Seth there. Seth created the show. He knows from being a brilliant animator the angle and the frame. So he'll adjust the camera and when we finish a setup or you finish, he has a note.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, hell, I could have directed that.

[Brent Spiner]

My point Exactly. So he said, would you rather be my friend or would you rather direct on the show? Let's stick with the first.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It got to the certain point where it's like, you know what? Let's just. It's just better that I don't want to put anyone through this. I'll just do it myself.

[Brent Spiner]

For fuck's sake.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It was great.

[Brent Spiner]

And you double teamed and you got through the episode.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes, yes. Brilliant, brilliant director.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, tell us about it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'm the problem, not him. Let's be very clear about that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I wasn't there, so I came.

[Brent Spiner]

Who we had on one of the episodes? Charlize Theron.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes, Charlize.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Charlize Theron.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I love Charlize. Fabulous. She's a great actor.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Good for you for pronouncing her name properly because so many people say therone.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, I love her. I thought she.

[Brent Spiner]

She's a buddy of yours, no?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. She's great.

[Brent Spiner]

I did the voice of the. In the book, the 10,000 Ways to Design.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's right, you did.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's right.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Charlize's voice. I can tell you she would be delighted to know that you did her voice. She adored you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

How much? Enough to come on our show.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I mean, you could ask. I could ask her.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And no is not okay, by the way.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Clearly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You didn't live through 26. Brent. I'm ashamed of you.

[Brent Spiner]

You have beautiful home for fundraising events. Is that how you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Brent Spiner]

Which brings me to my next question. What happened to the Christmas party?

[Jonathan Frakes]

You're just not invited?

[Brent Spiner]

No, no.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's what happens.

[Brent Spiner]

No, I missed one or two. First of all, for anyone viewing and I say this, it's the coolest, biggest, most fabulous party I have ever been to. And I bet I'm not the only person who told you that. It's magnificent. Have you ever been invited?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I have been invited. I haven't come. Cause I'm, you know, I'm bad at parties.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I wouldn't go New York if it won your party.

[Brent Spiner]

You had to. Fabulous food, fabulous booze. There's like knitting, T shirt making, there's all kinds of crafting. And there sings with an orchestra. He sings with an orchestra. And if you're privileged, as I was one night at this party, to go downstairs into the bar. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, it was you and me, Sacha Baron Cohen and RFK Jr. What? Is that possible?

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is. I must have been really drunk. I have no memory of this Is that. Are you sure it was me and not Donny Osmond? Maybe I was the one who wasn't there.

[Brent Spiner]

You were there.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I went there.

[Brent Spiner]

Sasha Bartone. Makes sense, right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes, that one makes sense. Yeah. I don't remember, though. I don't. It's. But again, that was like. I used to like and vibe at those parties.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, we all did.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Just.

[Brent Spiner]

We were encouraged to use Uber or Lyft.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I remember.

[Brent Spiner]

And there was a. There was a golf cart. Took you up to the point. It was spectacular, by the way, and I appreciate. Okay, enough about that. I'm glad it wasn't rfk. That's all I could tell you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Sacha Baron Cohen, you gotta ring the bell.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, rfk. Sasha, please. I want to ask you about somebody. Well, first of all, I want to ask you.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, yeah, this is the whole point

[Jonathan Frakes]

of this whole series. Or we call it a series. This. This podcast. I. Who have you. Because you know, everybody. You freaking hosted the Oscars. Who have you met? Who have you been in a room with that you fanboyed over that you just couldn't believe you were there?

[Seth MacFarlane]

You know, happening right now.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, thank you, man. Please. I can only imagine.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You mean.

[Brent Spiner]

You mean a slide from.

[Seth MacFarlane]

There is.

[Jonathan Frakes]

There is.

[Seth MacFarlane]

There was a moment. There was a moment where you remember Jonathan Ames, who ran Blunt Talk, the show that Patrick was on.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I love Blunt Talk.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It was after one of the first table reads, I guess, and he was going to Sunset Tower, and he texted me and he said, I'm going to meet Patrick. And.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, I remember this.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. And the rest of the cast of Star Trek is gonna be there.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Were you there?

[Seth MacFarlane]

And he said, do you wanna come? And I. You know, before he finished the M and cum, the car was doing a U turn.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And I showed up, and I didn't realize how bad my poker face was, because later on on, I think it was Conan. Patrick is telling a story about you. So Seth MacFarlane walks in, and he sees us all sitting there at this table, and this stupid grin spreads across his face, and I'm like, you're not wrong. He is not inaccurate. He is a truthful man.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You produced Blunt Talk, right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I did, yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I love Blunt Talk. I think it's among the best things Patrick ever did. He is so brave in it and so funny.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And Jonathan is a fantastic writer.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Love Jonathan.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Very textured.

[Brent Spiner]

He loved doing it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Patrick really loved doing that show. Sir Patrick.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Sir Patrick. Jonathan. I had a tiny bit. I played a character on Blunt Talk.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Oh, I know.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Phil the Piano player. And I did, I think, three episodes, and I just saw Jonathan Ames somewhere and he said, oh, it's too bad they canceled. You were gonna be featured heavily in the next season.

[Brent Spiner]

Famous last words. Great, you're recurring. You'll probably be back next season. It's going to work out fine for you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You'll be a recurring character.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But this.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This set is, by the way, very. This is you guys, huh?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Brett and Johnny.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, that's us.

[Brent Spiner]

Dropping names.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Do people call you Johnny?

[Brent Spiner]

Only he.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Is that right? And he?

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, only he.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Johnny, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, Johnny.

[Seth MacFarlane]

No one else calls you Johnny.

[Brent Spiner]

I don't think so.

[Jonathan Frakes]

They will now.

[Brent Spiner]

That's my plan.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Johnny Frakes.

[Brent Spiner]

What do you call me?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Freaks.

[Brent Spiner]

Most people call me freaks.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Like when you were growing up, did they say, oh, look at little Johnny Frakes made good out there on the spaceship?

[Brent Spiner]

Never. My grandmother used Joe Nathan. Joe Nathan for Jonathan.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh.

[Brent Spiner]

That was as weird as my name got. And everyone in the world calls me Franks, obviously. And my kids say, what the is? They don't say, what the. What is up with Franks? Why do people say Franks? I said, they imagine that Frakes is an impossible name. It has to have an N in it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, like Spinner. I'm Spinner.

[Brent Spiner]

Brent Spinner.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Does Frakes have an N in it?

[Jonathan Frakes]

You can have mine. No way.

[Brent Spiner]

Not this time. Who's the tallest man you ever saw?

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's.

[Brent Spiner]

You ever want to write your name in wet cement? You ever want to go wandering beneath the deep blue sea? Beyond belief, Fact or fiction?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, very good. I love.

[Brent Spiner]

There's a nice reference. So nice.

[Seth MacFarlane]

There's a video on YouTube that is like, Jonathan Frakes telling you you're wrong for five minutes straight.

[Brent Spiner]

Our writers made that one up.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Not this time.

[Brent Spiner]

Not this time.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, it's good.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's a fantasy. We made it up.

[Brent Spiner]

We made that one.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Seth. Do you ever have any time to just relax?

[Brent Spiner]

Have you ever been out for a drink with Seth?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, only at the. That. That dinner we had.

[Brent Spiner]

No, we went. Yeah, to the old hotel. Chateau.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Chateau.

[Brent Spiner]

He finds time.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Because I'm like, listen, listen, I've said this to him. I've said this to Dorn to you. Like, any one of you guys calls me up at, like, you know, 11 o' clock at night, listen, I need to go drinking right now. I'm there.

[Jonathan Frakes]

All right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'm there.

[Jonathan Frakes]

All right.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Special place in my heart for you, gentlemen.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, thank you. And back at you. Thank you. Who do I want to ask you about then? You know who I want to know about? Jack Sheldon. Oh.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, wow.

[Brent Spiner]

I was going to talk Sheldon as well.

[Seth MacFarlane]

There's no way that you do your own research, because this is deep dives. This is like somebody's briefing you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, no, we talked about Sheldon when

[Brent Spiner]

we were on the Orville.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Because if you do. I'm impressed.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, I'm impressed, Brent. Nobody would have.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's almost like you have this internal file system.

[Brent Spiner]

I could turn that shit off. I know how to turn it off.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Start doing the head.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Jack Sheldon.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes. I love Jack Sheldon.

[Brent Spiner]

He was on our show. He was here. No, he was on Star Trek.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, I guess that's.

[Brent Spiner]

He was in the episode of Minuet. Oh, he was.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was the trumpet player.

[Brent Spiner]

He was the trumpet player.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Was that the one where Sean Connery walked through the room?

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, that was great.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. We were doing a scene on a holodeck in a. In a bar, and they were shooting Untouchables and. And they were rolling. And all of a sudden, through one of a door comes Sean Connery, walks right onto the set. Wait a minute. Yeah. He's looking around at all of this going on, and he goes, does anyone know where Alan King is

[Seth MacFarlane]

looking for Sean Connery? Just looking for Alan King. Wandering around. If I was an editor, I would find a way to at least get the walk.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Exactly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But Jack Sheldon, great jazz trumpet player.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yep.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And a really funny, funny guy. Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And. And a textured singer. Oh, I love his singing Schoolhouse Rock for. For those people who have made the connection. Yeah, it's.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But I've heard some of his recordings and. And just. He's fantastic.

[Brent Spiner]

Used to go see him on his birthday at that club in Hollywood.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He's Herb Albert's place.

[Brent Spiner]

No, Vibrato. That's where I see Seth. Have you been up there?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. I mean, not in years, but I will if I move.

[Brent Spiner]

Seth has added to the orchestra. You take such good. This is all serious. You take really good care of real musicians in a way that a lot of people have forgotten.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And I.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He's speaking sexually.

[Brent Spiner]

Well, there's that, but there's also the fact that you record with a proper orchestra.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes.

[Brent Spiner]

And you play with 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 musicians on stage at the vibrato.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, it's.

[Brent Spiner]

It's really fabulous.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And by the way, these are all the same musicians that play on Family Guy. They play on American Dad. They play on. I mean, take your pick of movies. I mean, they're amazing studio players who are some of the best. Also some of the Best soloists around, doesn't it? It's interesting. The lesson I have learned from working with these folks is like the most famous player you can think of on any instrument. Somewhere there's an anonymous studio player who can play circles around them. That's very interesting.

[Jonathan Frakes]

The one time I went to Vibrato, there was a jazz player, Mintz. Somebody named Mintz.

[Brent Spiner]

Brent Mintz.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, no, it was this, this player's name was Mintz. His last name? I don't. Anyway, I thought, wow, this is a great club. I. I had a. At the time, I had a one man show that I did and I sang and told stories and I thought, yeah, I'd like to do it here. So I. I asked who hires the. The music? So this guy. I met this guy and they said, he's. He's the contractor here. And I said, well, any chance I could do my show here? And he said, well, what do you do? And I said, well, I have a show, sing standards and do stories and things like that. You know, it's a pretty good show. And he said, well, I don't know. As you can see, it's not the vibe we do here. And I said, yeah, I get it. And he goes, what is your name?

[Brent Spiner]

I said, that's exactly what Seth does.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. And he says, what's your name? I said, brent Spiner. And he says, I played for you. And he was one of the, the band. And out to sea. And he was on stage with me and out to sea.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, out to see Jack Lennon, Walter, Matt.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He said, anytime you want to come in and sing. And I said, I said, you know better. Do you know Seth MacFarlane? He'd be great in here.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You still do it?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I haven't done it in a while. Like three years.

[Brent Spiner]

He used to crush it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Three years is not that long.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's not that long, but yeah, my wish.

[Seth MacFarlane]

We should do like a. Like a tune on stage together somewhere, sometime.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I think that'd be great.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Yeah, I'd be down for that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. Look, you know, I.

[Brent Spiner]

Him at the, at Vibrato. It's a great song.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I love it.

[Brent Spiner]

The food's great because that's my music

[Jonathan Frakes]

too, you know, I love, you know,

[Seth MacFarlane]

the Great American Back.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, indeed. And the great American song, Only you.

[Brent Spiner]

I. We've had people on here. I've tried to reference that. And you have pulled it right out.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Were you singing the Music man something from the Music man on stage? Is that what I saw?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Which it was probably for the Writers Guild Awards. I think that's what it was. It was. We had to rewrite the lyrics. It was around the time when they were really down on

[Hayden]

Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Fellas.

[Hayden]

I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.

[Stephen]

And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball. But you can call me the Smash Daddy.

[Hayden]

And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic the Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.

[Stephen]

That's right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Hei.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Hei.

[Stephen]

So each week, you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.

[Hayden]

And along the way, we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.

[Stephen]

News flash, I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday, and you can find Fantasy fanfellas wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Seth MacFarlane]

Reality shows putting writers out of work. And so we had to rewrite. You got trouble from the music man.

[Brent Spiner]

Yes. And that's what you did.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

You're a wonderful entertainer. Go ahead.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I mentioned this before.

[Brent Spiner]

It's all yours. Host 1 well, I think I mentioned

[Jonathan Frakes]

this before with one of our other guests, but. So I did a second album after Dreamland. I mean, after all Yellow eyes called Dreamland.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

And I sang with a woman, Apple's sister.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Fiona's sister. Do you know Maude Maggart? Oh, you should. She is a brilliant singer of standards and I think. I think really one of the greats. And check her out on. I don't know where you find her music. It's like on. You can find it on Napster. Yeah. Or look up Dreamland, because I sing with her on Dreamland. It's on Apple or itunes, whatever. And. But you would love. You really should sing with her. She is a wonderful singer and she sings just like a dream.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. So. But. But me too, by the way. I still like to do that. I think it'd be great.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I think that would be fun. Yeah, I think that'd be fun.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I see in my notes that I. That I wrote myself that. That you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You have this man's fabulous profile.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's just.

[Bill.com Advertiser]

That's just.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Look at that face.

[Brent Spiner]

Just look at it. Look at that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Fabulous.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is why there are stars and then there are writers who put themselves in their own work. That's the difference.

[Brent Spiner]

That's you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I know. I know.

[Brent Spiner]

It's a dream. Wasn't it a dream since you were nine years old?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes.

[Brent Spiner]

To be a spaceship captain.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's the spaceship captain.

[Brent Spiner]

That's the wrap on you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to be a welder, and then that didn't pay. I'm gonna do this.

[Brent Spiner]

When you were at risd.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, when I was at risd.

[Brent Spiner]

I remember.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Who was I? Oh, yeah. Jack Sheldon. Well, Jack, did you know he had a TV series at one time, beyond Schoolhouse Rock? Yeah, he was a star.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'm just a Bill.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, he was the star of a sitcom.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. When he was much younger, and I loved it, and that's how I knew him. First was from that sitcom, Don't Think. It's Run, Buddy, Run. Can you look and see?

[Seth MacFarlane]

It was also about a welder, I think. Right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I think so.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Weldon Sheldon.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. I don't remember what it was actually called, but.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, I'd love to sing with you sometime. I saw that you sang. I was referring my notes again. You've sung at the Hollywood Bowl. Yeah. Was that a thrill?

[Seth MacFarlane]

That was a thrill. The bowl itself is a thrill. And then to sing with John Williams conducting was like, if there's one celebrity that I've. Not that I didn't think to tuck in my shirt today, but the first time I met John Williams, I was like, I have to tuck in my shirt. I have to wear a belt. I have to, like. I might even put on a vest.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I met him at the club where he's a member for lunch, and it was like, one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I just. That's just an absolute legend.

[Jonathan Frakes]

John Williams.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, John Williams.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's amazing.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Jerry Goldsmith.

[Brent Spiner]

I felt that way about him.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What a genius.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No kidding.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What an absolute genius. Not talked about enough. Jerry Goldsmith.

[Jonathan Frakes]

The score, by the way, for First Contact.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's gorgeous.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Is so beautiful. It's gorgeous.

[Brent Spiner]

The opening credits.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I really think if it wasn't a Star Trek movie that's gonna win an Academy Award or at least be nominated. It's a beautiful score.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He Was. And as prolific as he was talented.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And there was always the stories about him that he would always take the movies that everyone else would turn down because. Yeah, because of the money. And yet even the worst movie that you've seen that he scored was more worthy of an Oscar, music wise than the movie that probably won that year. He was a genius.

[Brent Spiner]

Chinatown.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, yeah, Love Chinatown.

[Seth MacFarlane]

The Great Train Robbery. I mean, poltergeist.

[Brent Spiner]

What a poltergeist. That's what it was like.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Dissonant and gnarly and thorny.

[Brent Spiner]

And he had that great white ponytail.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

His studio was above his garage in Beverly Hills. And Rick and I went over to listen to Rick Berman. Sweet Rick. And he played that theme. He played this theme on his. Just to preview it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I looked at Rick and really, you know, unafraid of. The other thing I always heard about Jerry was that he was always interested in what's the new kind of technological sound that, like, he would work in synths. He would work in technology, but the orchestra always carried it. But he would find a way to kind of meld the two in ways. Yeah. Boy. God damn, I was a. I wish I had met Jerry Goldsmith. There's one person I wish I'd met before he died.

[Brent Spiner]

Or he changed. He was listening and listening. He said, hold on, we're going to go back to measure 46. Let's give that to the French horns instead of the trumpets. Go back in. And you hear just that much change. That's the kind of ear.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

And everybody in the room goes, oh, no wonder you're Jerry Goldsmith.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's kind of. And if you look at his scores, like, I've had the luxury of, like, looking at the actual music, and it's like so much of it is empty. He was so lean in how he wrote that there are only the notes that you absolutely need, and everything else is empty.

[Brent Spiner]

What's his score?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Score? Yeah. He's like the Hemingway of musicians.

[Brent Spiner]

Tell me about getting there.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's the smartest thing I've ever said.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, that's good, though.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I like that.

[Brent Spiner]

At least you didn't misspeak and say the Faulkner of musicians. You can't get through a fucking sentence.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That'll be me in another hour. But, yeah, go ahead.

[Jonathan Frakes]

While we're in that oeuvre, I just like using the word. It's a completely. It's completely inappropriate word. I just like to say it. No, but you've also sung at Carnegie Hall.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And was that incredible?

[Seth MacFarlane]

That was. That was a Family Guy show. Oh, it was Family Guy Live at Carnegie hall with an orchestra on our cast.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, I know you did that. The only reason I know that is because I dug deep. Dig deep, actually.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Alex Borstein.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, I love Alex.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, Lois. Some Family Guy. We did a show at Carnegie Hall. I think after that, that was just a straight musical show. It was songs from A to Z, and we picked a song from every. Every letter of the Alphabet. Wow. And did it with the orchestra. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

While I'm in this ouvre, is that

[Seth MacFarlane]

O, U, V, R, E with a little thing over it?

[Jonathan Frakes]

E, U, E, R, V. I play

[Brent Spiner]

Scrabble with an open dictionary, by the way.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Do you?

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah. What? Open dictionary? Scrabble. We play at my house.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Really? What does that mean? You don't trust the people you play with?

[Brent Spiner]

It's just easier to find the words instead of challenging. Oh, that's not a real word.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You already have it open, so you're already assuming that your opponents are lying. Who are you playing fucking Scrabble with?

[Brent Spiner]

He's looking for my wife.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So it's hardy. What does that mean?

[Brent Spiner]

We're competing to get the highest possible score.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Collectively.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh. So you see, he lets her win, by the way.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So you look through.

[Brent Spiner]

I'm working with my tiles.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

And I think. Is that a word? Is that a word?

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's, like, not fun, actually.

[Brent Spiner]

It's more fun.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is it really?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Well, that's another podcast. Go back to your Uber.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Taking a test. The math test with your calculator.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It is. Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Which I guess you can do now. Yeah, I guess you could do. When I was in school.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Apropos of what we were talking about. I like saying that word, too, by the way. Yeah. Apropos of your oeuvre.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You're, like, in Horteuv.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, exactly. Well, what. Is there something you want to do that you have not done, that you're just dreaming about doing one day and will undoubtedly do?

[Seth MacFarlane]

You know, at some point, a film musical is on my.

[Brent Spiner]

Is that not in the works?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, it might be, Jonathan.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I have it on my list.

[Brent Spiner]

I didn't. Am I allowed to bring it up?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Might be. Johnny. You can if you. I mean, it can if you want. Sure.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Did you mention that I sing? I just. Just want to throw that out there

[Brent Spiner]

just in case I was desperate to bring it up.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, I mean, you can if you want. I don't care.

[Brent Spiner]

Look, it's like remaking Brigadoon.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. Yeah. Remaking. Making Brigadoon as a feature film isn't that is something that is. That stands the test of time. Yeah, that's always been on my list.

[Brent Spiner]

Have you ever done a Broadway show?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I haven't.

[Brent Spiner]

Desire works eight a week.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It has come up more than one time. I had an offer at one point to do Spamalot.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, that would make sense.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I was busy on Family Guy. Didn't have the time. And it's also. I don't know that I'm someone who would function well doing the same score night after night after night after night. I would really have to be something like Carousel. If somebody said, hey, you know what? Come do Carousel on Broadway and play Billy Bigelow. I would be like, how soon, my boy Bill? How soon can I be there?

[Brent Spiner]

We'll be tall and as tough as trees.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Broadway performers are impressive. The. The things that. Yeah. Yes, by the way, right there, I've done it, but. Yeah, I've never done it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, you should.

[Brent Spiner]

76.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Sit down, John.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, exactly. I think you'd be great in Carousel. I think it's a real interesting idea.

[Brent Spiner]

You're a great age for it, too.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's a shutdown if ever I heard one. No, no, you're right. You're right. It's the time. That time has passed.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes.

[Brent Spiner]

For Billy Bailey, for doing a Broadway show.

[Seth MacFarlane]

There's a handful of shows that if you. If you came to me and said, listen, this is.

[Brent Spiner]

What about Music Man?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

You could kill it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's a. There's no way. You don't fuck that up at least once.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You got trouble. There's some night where.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, well, that's okay. That's part of the.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What do you do on Broadway if you forget the words? Cause it's not like you make a bomb.

[Brent Spiner]

Carry on.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's true. Everywhere you look, music keeps going.

[Brent Spiner]

You carry on and you get through it. And only those 1500 people.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What does that mean? That's easy for an actor to say. You carry on. You do.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's. It's uncomfortable when it happens, I have to say. Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Has it happened to you?

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know what? I. I'm sure it has. I've. I've. I've blocked it out of my memory, but I'm sure it has. And. And it is like you say, if you're doing dialogue, you can. You can pad and make up stuff, but the music just keeps going. What's that?

[Brent Spiner]

Hopefully your scene partner helps you if you try.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I have been on stage and had catastrophe. Well, I was doing a play on Broadway.

[Brent Spiner]

Here we go.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. With

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'll ring the bell for Broadway.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, there you go. I was doing a scene with John Turturro. Wonderful actor and great guy. Give him another bell. Wave. Okay. And I. The whole scene was about this bag of cookies that I had in my hand. And we sit down, the two women in the show, they exited, should I say Helen Hunt and Linda Eamond walked off. And I sit down with John to do the scene, and I realize I forgot to bring the cookies with me. You forgot your cookies? The whole scene is about the cookies. And I look at him, and he looks at me, and I could not think of a thing to say. And I thought, I'm screwed. I have no. I can't keep going. And he started laughing, which was a good thing to do. And then these two great actresses walked on stage with a bag of cookies, delivered. Either of you like, a bag of cookies? Oh, thanks. I love these.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Oh, my God, you must have loved them in that moment.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It was real floppy, as everyone loves another. Yeah, well, I did love them. I still love them.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's like, what a God. What a moment.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, it's horrible. It's horrible. But the audience doesn't have a clue that anything went wrong, ever.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Wow. And then. But do you remember it to this day?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I do.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I've been bleeding on stage. My face, literally, blood running down my

[Brent Spiner]

face

[Jonathan Frakes]

from actually hitting the wall on my entrance. And I took the top layer off my nose and. And it just kept bleeding. And I had friends in the audience who thought that was part of the

[Seth MacFarlane]

show, that your character was bleeding.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, it happened to be a Little Shop of Horrors. Yeah, it helped.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That or Sweeney Todd, you're fine.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, exactly. If it'd been Pretty Women. Yeah, exactly. But, yeah, so it worked out.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Isn't there that story about. I think it was Take Me Along.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Gleason.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, Gleason. That Gleeson had a heart attack on stage. Was it Take Me Along?

[Jonathan Frakes]

He did do Take Me Along. Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Where he. He. I'm amazed that I thought I was the only person in the world who remembered that show.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, man.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Take me along if you love me

[Seth MacFarlane]

take me along if you love me, take me yeah, yeah. That he had a heart attack on stage, and then he walked off and was like, take me to the hospital. And finished the act. Yes, Finish the act. While he was having a heart attack.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Because the show must go on no matter what happens, which was the philosophy at the time. I don't know if that's why anymore.

[Brent Spiner]

You don't say that anymore.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Think if you're having a heart. Guys, if you're having a heart attack on stage, you can stop, get help, stop the show, go to a hospital,

[Jonathan Frakes]

Take Me along, by the way, is based on a Eugene o' Neill play. It's his only comedy. It's his only kind of.

[Seth MacFarlane]

If I were a smarter guy, I would reel off like a whole. Not the Harry Jean o' Neill plays.

[Brent Spiner]

Oh, no, no.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's not long days.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Gene o' Neill play about.

[Jonathan Frakes]

See, this is a senior moment.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I have a thing about the fire department. Right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Wilderness.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Wilderness.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And he plays Uncle Sid, who's a really great part.

[Brent Spiner]

Sit.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Old kid.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But I'm told Sidd. Old kid. Exactly. Yeah. And that one night, because he change. Smoked Chesterfields and one night he started coughing, and he was coughing and coughing and coughing. And he turned to the audience and went. And they are mild. So he stopped the Broadway show to do an aside. To do an aside.

[Seth MacFarlane]

To advertise a cigarette brand. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And of course, the audience loved it. Yeah. But you should think about doing Broadway sometime. I mean, you know, you're big enough to do just six a week.

[Brent Spiner]

Yes. Your other side, you could do the other two.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That happens.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Six a week is. Oh, just Monday through Saturday.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, it's.

[Brent Spiner]

You give up your matinee on.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You don't do the Wednesday matinee and you don't do one other matinee. Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So is it two or is it Manet every day?

[Brent Spiner]

No, matinee Wednesday, Equity day off.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Monday, Saturday, and sometimes Friday, sometimes Sunday.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, yeah. Two. Saturday through Sunday. Take both of those afternoons off.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Or take the. And let your understudy go get a vacation.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That would be me. It's the same role, only much older.

[Seth MacFarlane]

There are days in my everyday life when I'm just like, can the understudy do this today?

[Jonathan Frakes]

You don't have an understudy.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Can the understudy take this?

[Brent Spiner]

How could he have an understudy? He can't even roll on his set until he's there.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, that's true. That's true.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. I am someone who is either all there or all gone. So, you know, on Orville, I was all there. All there to great success. Yeah. And on Family Guy, at this point, I'm never there.

[Brent Spiner]

You're all gone.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And I say that not as, like, a dismissal. I say that as a credit to the guys that are running it now. I can't do that halfway thing that some folks can do where it's like I'm juggling my time between this show and that show and this movie and that movie. I can't do it now.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Am I crazy to think that the premiere of Family guy is the 450th episode?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Brent, that's not why you're crazy.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's other reasons.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's a very good question. I wish you had done your research, because then you could answer that for me. I don't know.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I think so. I believe it premieres in February. Right?

[Brent Spiner]

400. It's 400.

[Jonathan Frakes]

400. American Dad. 450 of Family Guy.

[Brent Spiner]

450 on Family Guy.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Good. This is, by the way, how? Like, this is like Data's telling me.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He's giving me numbers that I'm not able to access on my own.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, exactly.

[Brent Spiner]

I just think that's cool. Did you plug Ted 2?

[Seth MacFarlane]

That came out in 2015.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, no, the series.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Right. Yes. Ted, season two on Peacock, which is a streaming service.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That starts February 8th. No. Is it February 8th?

[Brent Spiner]

Dude, I got you covered.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Completely wrong.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Did they try to cut you guys down to, like, an hour from what you originally wanted?

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that what happened?

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's what they did.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You can have the additional time if you want.

[Brent Spiner]

All right, so we don't want.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's the last thing we need is

[Brent Spiner]

more time with you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Brent Spiner]

Ted premiered.

[Hayden]

Howdy, howdy, ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Fellas.

[Hayden]

I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.

[Stephen]

And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball, but you can call me the Smash Daddy.

[Hayden]

And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.

[Stephen]

That's right.

[Brent Spiner]

Hei, hei.

[Stephen]

So each week, you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.

[Hayden]

And along the way, we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.

[Stephen]

News flash, I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday, and you can find Fantasy Fanfellas wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bill.com Advertiser]

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[Brent Spiner]

That's also on Peacock.

[Seth MacFarlane]

No, Ted, I never sent the text back to say that, like, you can give Frakes and Brent whatever time they want.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know what? We thought you would do that. We really did. We said, once we get him going, he's gonna stay. So let's get this straight. Ted premieres March 5th on Peacock.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes.

[Brent Spiner]

Season two of Ted.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Season two of Ted. The Burbs premiered in February. February 8th.

[Brent Spiner]

That's coming up, dear heart.

[Jonathan Frakes]

February 28th is February 8th, and we're in. This show airs in March.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I so relate to what just happened, because that's how my brain works.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Did February happen yet?

[Jonathan Frakes]

No. Yes, February happened. It was horrible. We tried to get it out of our memories. January, the only good thing that happened

[Seth MacFarlane]

was because you're from the future, the merch came off because you're from the future and you had a little lapse there where, like, I.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Exactly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I wasn't playing the part properly, and I'm like. I let things slip. Oh, right. February, the future as opposed to the past. Yes.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know, they made us really aware of the fact the show is not going to air till March. And so your show premiered. The Burbs premiered in February.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Right. And this airs when March.

[Brent Spiner]

God knows.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is shit. I can never keep track of either.

[Jonathan Frakes]

1st of March, 1st week of March.

[Seth MacFarlane]

First week.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. Do you want to write that down?

[Brent Spiner]

Do you have a podcast, too?

[Seth MacFarlane]

No, I don't. I'm the only person.

[Brent Spiner]

It's the last thing that I'm the

[Seth MacFarlane]

only person left who doesn't have a podcast.

[Brent Spiner]

It's ridiculous, is it not, to have a podcast?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I don't think it's ridiculous. You and Streisand, I think, would be really good. Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'll give her a call in the morning and see if that is on the table.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Talk to Jim Brolin. He makes all her arrangements for her.

[Brent Spiner]

What about Nora Jones?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I love it when people, like, abbreviate names. Like, you know, Bobby De Niro.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Like we know him.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Andy Hopkins. Right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Somebody must call him that.

[Brent Spiner]

Andy.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Stevie Spielberg.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. Well, there are. I think people do call him that. I think.

[Seth MacFarlane]

His wife, I would imagine. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Anything else we need to do on that department?

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know?

[Brent Spiner]

No.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Ted 2 premieres.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

2015 of. No, it's Ted Season 2 premieres on

[Jonathan Frakes]

Peacock on the 5th of March, which

[Seth MacFarlane]

could be this week.

[Brent Spiner]

The week that we're in or pretending to be.

[Seth MacFarlane]

If you haven't seen Ted. It's interesting. Peacock is still emerging as a force in the streaming world. We always say Netflix has Netflix and Chill. We have Peacock and Fuck. So we are still working on our place. I just said hour. Like, I have hour.

[Brent Spiner]

You feel like you're a peacock.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I feel like I'm a peacock.

[Brent Spiner]

You have a little peacock in you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So Ted season one, I feel like, is still. People don't know that it's out there. I encounter a lot of people who say, like, I love the movie. And I say, well, you know, there's a show and they say, oh, wow, I'll check it out.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's most of the work I've done, by the way. People don't know I did it or that it exists.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I think they know most of you know Independence Day, for Christ's sake.

[Brent Spiner]

And Independence Day, Day 2 revisited. What's it called?

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yellow Eyes is back.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No. Well, some people know that, but yeah. Independence Day resurgence. Most people didn't see that.

[Brent Spiner]

You were great in it, though.

[Seth MacFarlane]

If I. If I say old Yellow Eyes is back enough.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. People will look it up, right? Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Find it on ebay.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But Dreamland. Go for Dreamland.

[Brent Spiner]

That's the better one.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's the one.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You want to listen to that because you need to hear mod. You'll. You'll love her.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Do you get tired of people saying, is it spinner or spiner?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, it's just like the Franks, you know, they put the N. An N in everybody's name. You know, it's like almost like Seth McFarland. Oh, it is McFarland. McFarland.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, it's McFarland or McFarland. McFarland.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, yeah. They put a D on your name. They put a D. Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Scotty Grimes.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Scotty Grimes is good. Yes. You. You know, Scotty Grimes from the Orville.

[Brent Spiner]

What a great cast.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You did something else with it. Did he do the live show with you at Carnegie Hall?

[Seth MacFarlane]

He did. God, he's done American Dad. He's Steve on American dad. He is. Maddie on.

[Brent Spiner]

I think gets one.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But Patrick was on American dad, right?

[Seth MacFarlane]

He was, yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Regularly is.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah. As Stan Smith's boss.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He's. He's. He's wonderful.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I'm sure he is. I'm sure he is.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You guys, the number of great scenes you guys had together.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, we had a lot of great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A good acting partner.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Really good.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And both, like, kind of Shakespeare scholars.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, I mean, he's really a Shakespeare scholar.

[Brent Spiner]

He intimidated me right out of ever wanting to do Shakespeare.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Did he? Oh.

[Brent Spiner]

Not that I had any aspirations, but when he would quote, yes, I have,

[Seth MacFarlane]

like, a weird pet peeve when I'm at a play that is a Shakespeare play.

[Brent Spiner]

Right.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And the audience laughs out loud. That's a weird pet peeve of mine. You don't like them because I don't think it's honest.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Because you think they don't even understand it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I think they understand it. I think that they're laughing for other members of the audience.

[Brent Spiner]

I get it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yes. If somebody makes a joke in, like, Midsummer Night's Dream or Twelfth Night and somebody in the audience goes, ha, ha, ha.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But they laugh like that.

[Brent Spiner]

No wonder you hate it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'm like, that's not for anybody but me sitting next to you. You want me to know that you get the joke even though it's written in Elizabethan tongue.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I get it. I think you're right. For the most part. I did a.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And then maybe I'm betraying my, like, modest Connecticut upbringings.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, I did a performance. Oh. I did a reading of Midsummer Night's Dream with the. Yeah. Thank you. Shakespeare. Brush up your Shakespeare. Well, I got another one for you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that from Kiss Me King?

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's Kiss Me Kate. That show man.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Kiss me.

[Brent Spiner]

K. You be great.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Listen to the way you guys just said that together.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Brent Spiner]

Say it again. And the women. You will.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Wow. No, but. Oh, strange dear. But true dear. That's how I'm close. The stars so in love. Am I right? Yeah. It's Petruchio from. Yes, He. It's an actor playing Petruchio and his wife playing Kate. And it's a really great show. Great score. And Cole Porter. Cole Porter. And that. That role is right up your alley. It really is.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You know, I've never seen it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, no.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Listen, all these references.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's the one for you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that the one that's based on Taming of the Shrew?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's the Shrew.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Another Shakespeare comedy that people shouldn't laugh at unless they're trying to impress.

[Brent Spiner]

Interesting pet peeve it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Really.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well. But I did this reading of Midsummer Night's Dream with the LA Philharmonic behind me playing the Mendelssohn. Midsummer.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Were you Puck?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I was bottom.

[Seth MacFarlane]

You were bottom.

[Brent Spiner]

You were Puck on Gargoyles?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I was. Oh. I played all the Shakespeare characters in cartoon.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Summer Night's Dream on gargoyles.

[Brent Spiner]

Sort of.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It was a cartoon show when I was a kid.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You were a baby. I knew when I was playing bottom and I could. I could feel it. That's an actor proof part. And there are actual laughs in it. And I could feel that. I go, they're going to fall apart when I say this next line because it's so funny. So there are actual laughs.

[Seth MacFarlane]

So you're defending Shakespeare's comedy?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I just. I. I am. I mean, some of it.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Not some of the plays, not so much, but. Oh, I gotta say this. I did a reading one time of a play, a Shakespeare play. Can't remember what the play was, but the character was the shepherd. And it's a small part and clearly Patrick knows the play so well, maybe it was as you like it or something. And I came back from doing it to the set the next weekend and I said, I mean, after the weekend. And I said to Patrick, you've done this play? And he said, oh, yes. And I said, well, what? I said, have you ever done a production of this where the shepherd brought the house down? Literally huge gales of laughter? He went, no. I said, I just did this. Tommy Smothers played the shepherd and.

[Seth MacFarlane]

No shit.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I mean, every word out of his mouth, the audience fell apart. He was hilarious.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's a good thing it wasn't Dicky.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, because that would have been funny. Yeah, because, you know, he's just the straight man.

[Seth MacFarlane]

He's just the straight. Well, who's the one that doesn't talk?

[Brent Spiner]

Tommy didn't talk as much as. I mean, Dicky didn't talk as much as Tommy.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's like a conversation for, like, nobody under 50.

[Brent Spiner]

Exactly, exactly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

One of the Smothers brothers didn't talk as much.

[Jonathan Frakes]

By the way, our whole show is for people.

[Brent Spiner]

We're happy because we're looking for a younger audience.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Exactly.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I'm so sorry, Seth. I've disappointed you, too.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Seth MacFarlane. Seriously, look into. You gotta listen to Kiss Me Kate.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's really a great part for you.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Which one?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Petruchio. Petruchio? Well, it's not Petruchio. It's an actor playing the husband and wife, playing Tamia the shrew. And they're having marital problems at the same time. They're doing Damien the Shrew.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Somebody pretending to be somebody who is pretending to be somebody else.

[Brent Spiner]

You could do that?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Kind of.

[Seth MacFarlane]

It's like Victor Victoria.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I play a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Exactly.

[Brent Spiner]

I think.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But that's a great Billy Bigelow, though,

[Brent Spiner]

I think Carousel as well. We'll leave you with all these ideas because you don't have enough on your fucking plate. Now, what about the Brigadoon before we go.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What about the Brigadoon?

[Brent Spiner]

State of the Union. Is it in.

[Seth MacFarlane]

What's. It's, it's, it's. It depends on when this air is really. It's changes daily, you know, but look, we'll see. We'll see.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know, I mentioned that I sing. Did I mention I danced with Kelly?

[Seth MacFarlane]

We have. The funny thing is Orville Season 4 is written and ready to rock. It's a question of when we shoot it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

What about that?

[Brent Spiner]

It's your schedule. You run this show.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Yeah, I know it's all written. It's just dependent on when this movie goes well.

[Brent Spiner]

When do you think the lead is available?

[Seth MacFarlane]

There's a lot of making a movie and a TV show today is very different than it was. Well, you know, this 10 years ago. It is different. Bag of Worms.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, you could do the fourth season, right. You could do different Ball of Worms wax. You could do the fourth season of Orville 10 years from now and it'll be kind of standard. Yeah, you know, that's the way.

[Seth MacFarlane]

That's kind of the way we look at it. But yeah, it's done. It's written, it's, it's, it's, it's, you know, it's not fiction. It's. Well, it's still fiction, but it's done and it's gonna depend on. Yeah. What happens. Brigadoon is on my docket too. There's a lot of stuff on my to do list.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's just a question of. I'm surprised.

[Seth MacFarlane]

This is Hollywood. What materializes first? What becomes real first?

[Brent Spiner]

Glad you found time to come here.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I will always find time to come here.

[Brent Spiner]

I knew you'd say yes.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Maybe have him once a month.

[Brent Spiner]

Yeah, he's a good guy.

[Seth MacFarlane]

I imagine you've said that at many points in your life. I knew you'd say yes.

[Brent Spiner]

No. Oh, those are the days.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I have said, can I have you once a month? Many times in my life.

[Brent Spiner]

Have you got enough, Eric?

[Jonathan Frakes]

You got enough? Oh, we're gonna set the off the hook here. Have you seen the Mel Brooks documentary?

[Seth MacFarlane]

I haven't.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Okay.

[Seth MacFarlane]

And several people have.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's great. But he has a line in it that's just too great that he says he's doing a live performance, you know, in front of an audience and question, answer. Somebody says to him, do you prefer briefs or boxers? And he goes, depends.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Seth MacFarlane]

Is that a great help if that wasn't written.

[Bill.com Advertiser]

Over 90 of the top 100 US accounting firms trust Bill to handle bill pay processes. Why? Because our tools are built on over a trillion dollars of secure payments. We're not just moving money, we're powering financial workflows for half a million customers. That's a level of expertise you just can't fake. Ready to talk with an expert? Visit bill.comproven to get started and grab a $250 gift card as a thank you. Terms and conditions apply. See Offer page for details.

[Jonathan Frakes]

ACAST powers the World's Best Podcasts Here's

[Brent Spiner]

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[Jonathan Frakes]

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In a First on Mind of a Monster, we dive into a case that's still active. Did Michael's murderous rampage start in the 1990s when he was just 17?

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His impulsivity and his rage was starting to peak around that age.

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Listen to Mind of a Monster, the Hollywood Ripper Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brent Spiner]

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[Jonathan Frakes]

Acast. Com.