General Questions | S1E9 "Belly Full of Turkey"

Summary

How We Made Your Mother: Episode Summary – General Questions | S1E9 "Belly Full of Turkey"

In this engaging bonus episode of How We Made Your Mother, hosts Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas delve into a series of general questions surrounding the ninth episode of the beloved sitcom, "Belly Full of Turkey." Joined by producer Alec Lev, the trio offers fans an intimate look behind the scenes, shedding light on everything from set design to character inspirations, casting decisions, and even Josh's personal experiences on tour. Below is a detailed breakdown of the key discussions and insights shared during the episode.

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1. Introduction to the Episode

Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas kick off the episode by introducing the segment as "General Questions," a dedicated space to answer fan inquiries about specific episodes—in this case, "Belly Full of Turkey."

Josh Radnor [00:00]: "Hello, and welcome to a special bonus episode of How We Made Your Mother. I am Josh Radnor. I am joined as ever by my good friend and How I Met Your Mother co-creator Craig Thomas."

2. Behind the Scenes: Set Design of "Belly Full of Turkey"

The conversation begins with an in-depth discussion about the complex set arrangements required for "Belly Full of Turkey." Craig Thomas elaborates on the multiple sets constructed on Stage 22 of the Fox lot, including Ted and Marshall's apartment, a convenience store, a jail cell, and a soup kitchen.

Craig Thomas [02:38]: "It's a convenience store in St. Cloud outside St. Cloud, Minnesota... Stage 22 on the Fox lot stage. Think of it as our stage."

Josh marvels at the efficiency and magic of the set transformations, noting how entire environments could be dismantled overnight to accommodate different scenes.

Josh Radnor [03:56]: "I always found it incredible that you would go home at night, you'd come back the next morning, and there's an entire new house built. It was extraordinary."

3. Character Inspirations: Marshall's Minnesota and Vikings Allegiance

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Marshall Eriksen's deep-rooted love for Minnesota and the Minnesota Vikings. Craig reveals that the inspiration stemmed from writer Chuck Tatham's personal fandom, despite him being Canadian.

Craig Thomas [05:55]: "Chuck Tatham was legitimately a hardcore Vikings fan since childhood. ... everything about Marshall loving the Vikings came from Chuck Tatham."

They also touch upon the intentional decision to have Marshall hail from Minnesota to contrast Lily's Brooklyn background, thereby enriching the characters' dynamics.

Josh Radnor [07:27]: "It could be as casual as, like, what about Minnesota? And someone's like, yeah, yeah, let's do Minnesota."

4. Casting Marshall's Parents: The Story Behind Bill Faggerbach's Role

A pivotal moment in the episode is the recounting of the casting process for Marshall's father. Initially, another seasoned actor was considered but was abruptly replaced due to personality clashes. This led to the last-minute casting of Bill Faggerbach, whose warm and authentic portrayal became a cornerstone of the character's development.

Craig Thomas [15:54]: "But we were in a fricking panic. We were like, what are we gonna do? ... we had to cast Marshall's dad, but it just wasn't happening. ... We reached out to Bill, and he jumped in and yes, end this motherfucker."

Josh reflects on how sometimes being the "last-minute solution" can lead to the perfect casting choice.

Josh Radnor [17:08]: "Sometimes as an actor, I actually like to be the last-minute solution to people's problems because... you actually feel like, oh, they're in trouble. And I think I might be the answer to their prayers."

5. The Role of Stand-Ins: Eben Ham and Others

The hosts pay homage to the invaluable contributions of stand-ins like Eben Ham and Ron Nicolosi, who played crucial roles during rehearsals and shot setups. These actors not only facilitated smooth filming processes but also occasionally influenced script adjustments with their performances.

Craig Thomas [19:02]: "The stand-ins are really a part of the world of that stage... They were great actors and would help us out so much."

Josh shares fond memories of Ron Nicolosi's dedication, highlighting his efforts to match Barney's physique.

Josh Radnor [21:04]: "He would wear those heels like he had like 4 inches Frankenstein heels. ... he was much shorter than Neil."

6. Music in the Episode: Collaboration with The 88 and the "Mr. Roboto" Story

Music plays a pivotal role in "Belly Full of Turkey," particularly the inclusion of "Mr. Roboto." The hosts discuss how the band The 88 was approached to create an emotional rendition of the song for the episode's finale. Although an alternative song, "You Belong to Me," was ultimately used, Josh expresses regret over not featuring their cover.

Craig Thomas [27:24]: "The craziest thing is because of the Mr. Roboto reference earlier, we all thought it would be cool to get the 88 to do a cover Mr. Roboto for the final scene."

7. Josh Radnor's Music Tour Insights

Transitioning from the show's behind-the-scenes, Josh shares experiences from his recent music tour. Battling a sinus and respiratory infection, he recounts his performances across cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Despite health challenges, Josh emphasizes the joy of connecting with fans and the rewarding aspects of live performances.

Josh Radnor [10:09]: "I started in Seattle, and the people there were lovely because I showed up with a terrible sinus infection... it was really extraordinary."

He humorously reflects on fan interactions, including meeting enthusiasts who traveled internationally to see him perform.

Josh Radnor [11:28]: "People said, I flew in from Fiji, I flew in from the Philippines, I flew in from Mexico to see you."

8. Audience Questions and Additional Trivia

Throughout the episode, Josh, Craig, and Alec address various fan-submitted questions, offering anecdotes and clarifications about specific scenes and character traits. Notably, they discuss the creation of the infamous "seven-layer salad" and how filler elements like unexpected accents from stand-ins added unique flavors to the show.

Alec Lev [23:16]: "Samuel Perez asks... how you cast Marshall's family... did you just request, quote, the tallest actors of all time?"

Josh Radnor [26:10]: "We got character payments every time a character we introduced in our script was reused."

9. Conclusion and Acknowledgments

Wrapping up the episode, the hosts extend heartfelt thanks to stand-ins like Ron Nicolosi and acknowledge the collaborative spirit that fueled the show's success. They also share updates on future episodes and projects, maintaining a warm connection with their dedicated fanbase.

Craig Thomas [22:18]: "We had these wonderful people that were really part of the team... thank you guys."

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Notable Quotes:

• Josh Radnor [03:56]: "I always found it incredible that you would go home at night, you'd come back the next morning, and there's an entire new house built."

• Craig Thomas [05:55]: "Everything about Marshall loving the Vikings came from Chuck Tatham."

• Craig Thomas [15:54]: "We reached out to Bill, and he jumped in and yes, end this motherfucker."

• Josh Radnor [17:08]: "Sometimes as an actor, I actually like to be the last-minute solution to people's problems because... you actually feel like, oh, they're in trouble."

• Craig Thomas [19:02]: "The stand-ins are really a part of the world of that stage... They were great actors and would help us out so much."

• Josh Radnor [11:28]: "People said, I flew in from Fiji, I flew in from the Philippines, I flew in from Mexico to see you."

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Final Thoughts

This episode of How We Made Your Mother offers a treasure trove of insights for fans eager to uncover the nuances behind one of their favorite episodes. From the meticulous set designs and heartfelt character developments to the camaraderie with stand-ins and the personal journeys of the hosts, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of what makes "How I Met Your Mother" a timeless classic. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the series, this episode provides a meaningful exploration of the show's enduring legacy.

Transcript

[Josh Radnor]

Foreign. Hello, and welcome to a special bonus episode of How We Made youe Mother. I am Josh Radner. I am joined as ever by my good friend and How I Met yout Mother, co creator Craig Thomas. Hello, Craig.

[Craig Thomas]

Hello, Josh.

[Josh Radnor]

And this is a. These are episodes that we call General Questions.

[Alec Lev]

General Questions.

[Craig Thomas]

General Questions. I was waiting for you. It's always a lag. I was trying so hard and it was gonna be pretty much. We tried again.

[Josh Radnor]

We tried again. This is. Let's go. General Questions. General Questions.

[Craig Thomas]

General Questions. We're never. No, but that was a little better.

[Alec Lev]

I think it's actually like. Like in Einstein terms, the time of the space time continuum. I think we did do it all at the same moment. We just had to wait for it to go into space and come back.

[Josh Radnor]

Here's how I hear. I hear this is how we did it on the show. I'm just honoring. And I know, Alec, you created this in some ancient past, but I say that's a general Questions beat. General Questions. There's a. You have to just honor a beat.

[Craig Thomas]

I panic.

[Josh Radnor]

Can't be too long. You panic. You give too long a beat. Yeah, General Questions.

[Alec Lev]

General Questions.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Alec Lev]

See, Josh and I are getting. It's Craig. We've. We've figured this out.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I'll take the head.

[Alec Lev]

All right. Someone, by the way, I don't know who it is. Someone put a. Did a super cut of us.

[Josh Radnor]

Did you put that on Instagram or something?

[Alec Lev]

I. I shared it. I liked it. I. I did something. I clicked. I clicked the button.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, thank you.

[Craig Thomas]

Now, am I screwing it up or am I. Or am I geniusly, ingeniously extending a runner? No. Who could say?

[Josh Radnor]

Well, you just want the bit to go on. Your comedy. Your comedy brain is like. We got nine seasons.

[Craig Thomas]

I see it as material.

[Josh Radnor]

So we're following up with some additional stuff around episode nine, Belly Full of Turkey, written by Chris Miller and Phil Lord. And what do we got, Alec? We went pretty deep on this episode last time, but let's. Let's finish it off.

[Craig Thomas]

And lightning round.

[Alec Lev]

Yeah, we do. We did. We got a few questions here. Something that I'm gonna. I have a question. I'm just going to point out that once you. Once we went to the. The. The. The store where. 7:11. Where. Where did Lily go? I'm sorry, I didn't watch the show. I don't watch tv.

[Craig Thomas]

I don't remember what it was named, and I've seen it many times, but it's a convenience store in St. Cloud outside St. Cloud, Minnesota.

[Alec Lev]

Right. So they went.

[Craig Thomas]

That's his name.

[Alec Lev]

They went to the convenience store. There's a jail. All of a sudden, I start going, how many sets were in this episode?

[Craig Thomas]

There's a lot.

[Alec Lev]

There's a lot.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. I mean, that would have. This would have been a week where. See, this is fun to talk about how amazing our crew was, how amazing our set designers were, how amazing how things had to be Jengaed around. And just like, there wasn't. It's a big soundstage. Stage 22 on the Fox lot stage. Think of it as our stage. I don't know who's there right now, but get out. It's ours. And they would have to. When we'd have this many sets, almost surely have had to, like, overnight dismantle one or two of these sets to put in other ones. Right? Because you have all. You have multiple spots within the Ericsson. The Ericsson household. Then you have the jail cell. You have the convenience store. You have the Thanksgiving. The charity place where the food. The soup kitchen place. And that's two rooms, right? There's like a backstage. And then Ted runs out and throwing the mushrooms out. That's another. In addition to everything else, I may be even leaving some out that there's no way that all fit and just stayed there for three days, for sure. The set magic was happening at night.

[Josh Radnor]

I always found it incredible that you would go home at night, you'd come back the next morning, and there's an entire.

[Craig Thomas]

It's gone.

[Josh Radnor]

New house built. Like, it was extraordinary. Like, how quickly they. They. They would tear it. One thing down. And also, like, this is maybe for people who want to believe a little more deeply in the fiction of. It might not please you, but. So, you know, you're in the soup kitchen, right? In. In. In New York, and you walk 20ft to your left, and you're in St. Cloud, Minnesota. And then you turn around and you're staring at Ted and Marshall's apartment. And then you walk 20ft to the left, and you're in McLaren's bar. One thing I wanted to say that struck me as funny that I forgot to mention. There's something funny. And it's kind of a convention that people use, and we've. We used it a couple times. I think I met your mother. But, like, when. When Lily has her breakdown in the convenience store, like, it's clearly just like a high school kid, like. Like with a. With a job, like, trying to do his best. You know, it's like he's. He's got this, like, sad person thrown in his lap, and he has to suddenly be like a therapist to her. I think that.

[Alec Lev]

I thought.

[Josh Radnor]

I just thought that was really funny. I thought that guy was good.

[Craig Thomas]

He was really good.

[Josh Radnor]

He was great.

[Craig Thomas]

You are taller than described. I love that. Right.

[Josh Radnor]

And also the thing the seven fatal.

[Craig Thomas]

Ericsons are always telling everyone, Marshall's got this tiny little thing of a girl back in New York.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. But also, like this small town, like, everyone knows everything.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, everyone knows everything. Everyone knows. Oh, you know, the Ericsons. It's just the flavor of that was fantastic.

[Josh Radnor]

Perfectly done.

[Craig Thomas]

That guy was really good. It would have been nice to learn his name, but we didn't. But, hey, you were good guy. You know who you are.

[Alec Lev]

Becky Strauss, 11, asks, can you talk about the inspiration behind Marshall's love for Minnesota and the Vikings and his two brothers and everything? Marshall Erickson. Where did Minnesota. Is that where Jason's from?

[Craig Thomas]

No, no, Jason's from la. And the character's. A little. Parts of the character are, of course, based on me, and I am from Long Island. So. No, it was. You know, we had some Midwesterners represented on the writing staff early on.

[Josh Radnor]

Was Chuck Tatham already on the show?

[Craig Thomas]

Chuck Tatham wasn't on the show yet. What's funny is Chuck Tatham, a very funny writer who joined a few seasons in and was. Is a Canadian. He from just outside. Near. Near Toronto in Guelph. And he's a very funny Canadian. As it's so often the case with Canadians, they seem a little extra funny and brilliant. And he was those things. And he. But he had. You know, he's just over the border there in Toronto, and he. There were people in his world that would be fans of the Minnesota Vikings, like, there. It wasn't that huge of a trip to, like, you could get in there and sort of, like, travel and go to a Vikings game, which he did a bunch of times. He became this lifelong Vikings fan despite being a Canadian. And so everything about Marshall loving the Vikings came from Chuck Tatham. Chuck Tatham was legitimately a hardcore Vikings fan since childhood. But why was Marshall from Minnesota? I think we just arrived at it. We thought, lily's a Brooklyn girl. Right. We don't want Marshall also to be from New York. We just wanted them to be from two different worlds. And meeting at Wesleyan, we didn't want it to be too similar to Ohio. We knew we wanted Ted to be from Ohio, like Josh. Kobe's Canadian. I think we just landed on Minnesota. It wasn't because anyone from the writing staff was literally from there. We just thought, it's a world, a world to explore. It's a cool other world and energy than we have in the group. So that's why we did it.

[Josh Radnor]

You know, it strike. It strikes me that you make these decisions and you might make them, like, pretty flippantly or offhandedly, like, just like. Like, it could be as casual as, like, what about Minnesota? And someone's like, yeah, yeah, let's do Minnesota. But then you do a show for nine years and Minnesota becomes like, pretty consequential choice. Like, Minnesota fuels a lot of comedy. Minnesota is. Yeah, it just becomes a bigger deal because of the longevity of the show.

[Craig Thomas]

Totally. And it inspires whole episodes. There's a whole episode about finding a Minnesota Vikings bar in New York City. It's like, that's just because of some random. We sort of threw a dart at the map of America and arrived at that. And it becomes this defining thing about Marshall and his love of the Vikings and the flavor of who his family is and all these things. It is amazing. TV is building the car while you're driving it. Right. You're never ceasing to build new parts of that car, but it has to also remain in motion the entire time. And that's kind of what's hard about it. And it's what's thrilling and wonderful about it too.

[Josh Radnor]

I always felt Jason had a particular glint in his eye around that family, like when those brothers would show up and the fa, like, I don't know. I think one Jason, like, he kind of got a kick out of being like the runt of the litter because he's always the tallest person. And it was just. I could really tell that he enjoyed those Minnesota scenes.

[Craig Thomas]

So funny, that three month old baby. It's like clearly one years old. All of that stuff was so funny. And Jason was energized by that story. He likes the idea that he got to go be in this whole other world, that it's not his own world. And that's. Yeah, it's not based on Jason. Even though Ted and Robin are both like, right, we made their hometowns match your guys actual hometowns.

[Josh Radnor]

Koby, you retrofitted it to her. You made her from Canada.

[Craig Thomas]

After Carter is from Ohio.

[Josh Radnor]

Carter's from Ohio. So I stepped in and it was somewhat coincidental that I also have.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, that's true.

[Josh Radnor]

I think it didn't hurt me getting the role, but.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, that's what I mean. It was like, so right away you were Also Ohio, that it feels. It feels of a piece.

[Josh Radnor]

And I wrote you this little ditty to sing to you in New York City.

[Craig Thomas]

Josh Radner, we've missed you very much. No one knows this. This is how the sausage is made to kind of talk. You were away for a couple weeks. We got a little bit ahead recording our little show here, and then now we're catching back up. Now that you're back in between those two times, you were out on the road on tour, playing amazing music in various places around America. We have not heard much about it. Could you, like. Can you just paint us a little word picture of what the tour was like?

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. I started in Seattle, and the people there were lovely because I showed up with a terrible sinus infection that turned into a respiratory infection. So I really had to recruit this crowd in Seattle to be on my side, which I did. And they were amazing. And it was, you know, the joy of live performance. Like, look, I'm lowering everything half step. I'm gonna do the best I can. My opener, Ari Tibby, is a great friend of mine, and she has the most extraordinary Linda Ronstadt effortless voice. And I said. When I opened, I said, you know, that. That phase of the evening, that effortless, beautiful voice. That time's over. That time's over now.

[Craig Thomas]

You're gonna hear a real strain after.

[Josh Radnor]

I just. I said, tonight's gonna be like Steve Earle meets Leonard Cohen meets Kermit the Frog. And I realized, like, that's a cool voice. That's a soulful.

[Craig Thomas]

I'd pay for that show.

[Josh Radnor]

Right?

[Craig Thomas]

You sold me. I want to see that.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. So I was down there. My second show in Portland, my voice was like, almost mostly back. San Francisco, it felt fully back. And then we had great shows in. They were all great in their own way. In Sacramento, in Los Angeles, at the Troubadour, where Doug and Alec came and saw me. And then San Diego, we were at the House of Blues, the Voodoo Room. That was a huge, awesome show. And then I ended up at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, which I don't know if you've ever been, but if you are in Phoenix, please go to the Musical Instrument Museum. It's about. It's like the greatest.

[Craig Thomas]

Did you go to it? You went. You performed at that museum?

[Josh Radnor]

I'm telling you, Elliot would freak out of this museum.

[Craig Thomas]

My son Elliot. That would be. That's Field of Dreams. That is Field of Dreams, My little music.

[Josh Radnor]

And I also, you know, because you go on the road and, you know, some people I Like, I realize some people are coming there because they love how I met your mother, and they're wearing ducky ties, right? And. But then by the end, you're like, I think I converted them into fans of music of mine. You know what I mean? Like, I don't care how people. People come in, but I think they leave feeling that they've spent a nice evening with me. And, you know, it was great to meet people from just all of, you know, people came in, people said, I flew in from Fiji, I flew in from the Philippines, I flew in from Mexico to see you. I mean, it was really extraordinary. So a lot of how I met your mother tattoos. A lot of people, you know, hand you art, you know, the bracelets they've made and all kinds of stuff. I mean, it was really. It was quite moving. It was really sweet.

[Craig Thomas]

So you're feeling. I'm getting the vibe. Like you're feeling pretty content, pretty satisfied, pretty involved, pretty good about yourself. Yeah, well, feeling pretty good about yourself.

[Josh Radnor]

I don't know, Craig. I mean, I had a good, meaningful time that was also hard. But most things that are meaningful have some struggle in them, don't you think?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I definitely think that. And I'm about to add a little more struggle as I blow your mind. What?

[Josh Radnor]

What is it?

[Craig Thomas]

While you were on this tour, you could have been making some extra cash by hosting your place on Airbnb.

[Josh Radnor]

Boom.

[Craig Thomas]

I've just destroyed the entire tour. You'll never think about it the same way again because now it's a missed opportunity.

[Josh Radnor]

I'll never leave home without, you know, hosting my home on Airbnb.

[Craig Thomas]

I mean, that would be the smart move. In fact, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host.

[Alec Lev]

I was noticing Kobe in this one, who plays a very. A true straight man. Straight man. Straight woman. Straight man. Yes. Ending the whole thing. There's nothing she doesn't break in terms of. Isn't it weird that we're here in this soup kitchen and bar? Isn't it weird that we're here in a strip club? She just. She plays it so nicely. Just. Yep, yep. This is what we're doing along for the. We're doing right now.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alec Lev]

Hannah Jo Little asks, oh, this is nice. What was it like working with Bill Faggerbaki? Did I pronounce that correct?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. Fagabaggy.

[Alec Lev]

As a 90s 2000s kid, I always just hear Patrick Starr's voice, but he played Marshall's dad so well. He was perfectly cast. And he quotes plain food is ass. Tell us about Bill, who was with you for quite a while.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, wasn't he. He was on Coach, right?

[Craig Thomas]

He was on Coach. He was dauber on Coach. And then he was on. He was on spongebob. He's so funny and good in that episode. And, like, not to tell this is the gossipy part, and I won't name names, but we had somebody else cast in that role who we wound up letting go of very last minute to be Marshall's dad. It didn't work like we were rehearsing for the episode. There were some personality clashes. Josh, do you remember this at all? Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm not gonna name the names. Remember it? Yes.

[Josh Radnor]

We're not gonna name names, but yes, there was another. Also another kind of somewhat legendary TV actor. Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my God. Right? We can't name. It would be crappy to name names, but it just. There was a personality conflict, kind of. It just wasn't fitting. The energy wasn't fitting.

[Josh Radnor]

I do remember coming in the next day and him being gone and it being like. It wasn't like one person thought he should leave. It was like. Everyone was like, no, no, no. He was. He was dangerous to the health and safety.

[Craig Thomas]

Okay, fine, it was Kevin Spacey. I'll just say it.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. But no, I wasn't. I wasn't there obviously, for, like, when it went down, or maybe I was because it was like a weird run through, but because he was replaced, I don't think he shot anything. Right? He was replaced.

[Craig Thomas]

No, he didn't shoot anything. But that's how last. That's why I feel like I have to talk about it to answer that question. Because we were in a fricking panic. We were like, what are we gonna do? We have to shoot this hugely important role that's probably gonna recur in series. And think about it. It recurred beautifully in series. There's big shit that happens with Marshall's dad later in series. And you have to love him. You have to love Marshall's dad. You have to care for him.

[Josh Radnor]

You.

[Craig Thomas]

You have to know Marshall adores this man. And Marshall is who he is because of this guy. And boy, would that not have worked with the actor that we fired from. It just wasn't happening. It wasn't clicking. It was just weird. And, I mean, we probably got Bill Fagerbachi in the span of half a day. We just reached out to him. I don't know. Maybe it Was like a last minute idea. Had we had that idea sooner, I feel like we would have cast him. He's so great. I don't know why we didn't just start there. Wish I remembered. It would be such a better story if I can remember. But we was a last minute idea. We're like, yes, him.

[Josh Radnor]

Sometimes as an actor, I actually like to be the last minute solution to people's problems because you don't, you don't feel like you're going up against every other actor in the world. You actually feel like, oh, they're in trouble. And I think I might be the guy. Like, I think I might be the answer to their prayers. So there's something almost nice about being the guy who actually just happened to be available when you needed him and it turned into a great multi year gig for him. But it's kind of. To me, it's like, however you get a role is the right way to get a role. Like, that's just how it happened.

[Craig Thomas]

It was meant to be in some way. It was a very convoluted process. It wasn't like he, I don't think he had come in and auditioned and we didn't cast him. God, I hope I'm not wrong about that. But I think it was just like, he's great. Maybe somebody knew him. Pam Freeman knew him. Somebody knew him and said, I bet if we called Bill, he'd show up in three hours from now and just jump in and yes, end this motherfucker.

[Josh Radnor]

He had that kind of energy of like, like real, like, like utility man on the team. Like would just do anything to get the.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. So joyful and warm and everything you needed out of that role.

[Josh Radnor]

Susie Plaxton, she was wonderful, always wonderful. I thought she was such a good choice for Marshall's mom. She seemed like Marshall's mom. I don't know. She just really. I know she's supposed to. That's her job, but she was one of those.

[Craig Thomas]

They were a, they were a Bill. Bill and Susie. And how about her take when Lily says she's not gonna take the name and she's like, but the aprons. Like, I made you a Mrs. Erickson apron. You have to now be named to that. How will this work? She's so innocent and scandalized and sort of hurt in that moment. She's funny. She's probably six feet tall. She was so tall, maybe taller and hilarious and perfect. With Bill, you just, I mean, we just. The casting gods frowned upon us and then smiled upon us all within 24 hours. And then we had Bill for the rest of the series and got to do some really emotional stuff with him later. And God, were we lucky that he had those chops and that warmth to merit to support that storyline later. And I won't say what it all.

[Alec Lev]

Is, but absolutely I wanted to point out, maybe have you guys talk about someone that we don't talk about very much in this show, which is Eben Ham and the stand ins and Eben's cameo at the end of this, at the end of the show. I mean he was with you guys for the entire time.

[Josh Radnor]

Eben, who's so good as the sheriff or the jail warden, I don't know.

[Craig Thomas]

What they call him.

[Josh Radnor]

But Eben was the stand in for Marshall, for Jason. Right.

[Craig Thomas]

For many, many years.

[Josh Radnor]

For many years. Like since day one. He did all nine years.

[Craig Thomas]

Can you explain what that is for people when things are camera blocked and rehearsed and different things? Eben would sort of like do, you know, Jason would sort of step out of rehearsal and Eben would sort of do the camera blocking with the cameraman and with lighting.

[Josh Radnor]

So they would lighting and that's sort of like what a thing. Frame the shots.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, yeah. But so much more than that too because Eben and Higita and like we had these, we had a wonderful group of stands. Ron Nicolosi, may he rest in peace, we had all these wonderful people that were really part of the team. The stand ins are really a part of the world of that stage. In fact, when we would do rehearsals and run throughs, when we didn't have the actors playing all the other side parts, the stand ins would play those parts. They're actors, they're good actors. Ron, Gida and Eben, they were really good actors. And so they would run throughs in front of the studio and the network and when they got a laugh, it was great. It helped our writing, it helped our performance of run throughs and rehearsals that they were so good and then sometimes they were so good we'd say, you're gonna do that part. And that's probably what happened. I bet Eben did it at the studio network run through. And we had. And we're thinking we're going to cast someone. We said screw it, we're not going to cast someone. We'll just let Evan do it. That happened a couple of times that.

[Josh Radnor]

I mean every, every stand in. I mean Ron had a recurring role at the, at the tv.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, Ron was recurring.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, yeah. Well, I just want to say something about Ron and he passed recently and he was just a delight. Ron Nicolosi sure was. And he was Neil's stand in. And if you saw a picture of Neil and Ron next to each other, normally they try to get like same height, same build, like. Cause they have to light it. Right. So they want the framing to be. And nothing like that.

[Craig Thomas]

He's not an NPH type. He's not a. He was not. He was. You wouldn't.

[Josh Radnor]

But he also remember he would wear those heel like he had like 4 inches Frankenstein heels. Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Like what Peter Boyle was wearing in Young Frankenstein.

[Josh Radnor]

To try to get to be Neil's.

[Craig Thomas]

Height, to be the right height. He was much shorter than Neil. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

And also when Neil like either maybe Neil was out sick or something during a run through and Ron would do Barney, he would crush. But in a totally different way than Neil because he had like a real New York or a Boston accent.

[Craig Thomas]

Right.

[Josh Radnor]

Wasn't he from Boston?

[Craig Thomas]

Boston accent.

[Josh Radnor]

And he had a real thick Boston accent. So just picture a guy who doesn't look like Neil. Gray hair.

[Craig Thomas]

Gray hair.

[Josh Radnor]

Just crushing Barney. But in a totally different way than Neil. So funny.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, so funny. Every time to the point where he had fans and the executives like the studio and network run throughs. Sometimes Alex Jaffe would whisper to me, she's like, oh, I see that Ron's gonna have a lunch. I wanna hear what Ron's gonna do with this. And she was like, oh, of Ron. And this is all to say that we loved Ron and he rip and.

[Josh Radnor]

Gita also Geeta was I think Kobe's stand in or was she Ali's? I can't remember. But Gita was on the show. She'll pop up, we'll point her out.

[Craig Thomas]

You see Gita, all of them were on the show because they were all so good. They were great. They're such a part of the fabric of the show and they are good actors. And they would score at run throughs and they'd help us out so much and then we'd often give them a part because they were so good in it or you know, so there. Thank you guys. Thank you.

[Josh Radnor]

Shout out to the stand ins.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, shout out to the stand ins. And an rip to Ron Nicolosi who was a real heart and soul. Part of. Part of the team.

[Alec Lev]

Oh, hey everyone, there's a little more. There's a bonus to our bonus episode here. If you are watching on YouTube, you'll notice we are all dressed differently. It is the next day because after we recorded our general Questions, General questions.

[Josh Radnor]

That was me. I was late.

[Alec Lev]

I just surprised you on that one. We got an email from Chris Miller with a little more information about this episode and we were able to match up his answers with some more of your questions.

[Craig Thomas]

Chris and Phil were sorry they couldn't be with us. We wanted to get them for that episode. Maybe we can have the two of them on for a special combo Lord Miller episode sometime in the future. We'll see. They're doing posts on another huge, amazing movie and. But Chris wanted to make sure he threw in a few tidbits and that's what this is. So.

[Alec Lev]

All right, so Hannah Jolittle asks, have any of you ever been arrested for public urination?

[Craig Thomas]

I'll start it off because I was in the writers room with Chris and I will say that I forgot almost all of this and was delighted with Chris throwing this out there. So he says, Chris's answer to that question is, barney getting arrested was based on my brother in law, David Mergio. You're welcome for the shout out here. David, whom I have met in real life and is a lovely man, the brother of Robin Mergio, Chris's wife, who is the loveliest person. But apparently one night, David Mergio, he got stopped by cops for peeing in the alleyway behind a bar in New York and was forced to do community service again. David Mergio, we love him. We love Robin, we love Chris. And that is blame Chris. If David, if you're upset that we talked about that. You talked to Chris about that.

[Josh Radnor]

I love that he's like, he includes the foot full name. He's not saying, yeah, I know. You want to check this guy out. He's on LinkedIn.

[Alec Lev]

Abhaja Ikesh asks, love the thanks, Teeny. I haven't tried it, but would like to tell me it tastes amazing. I want Thanksgiving in my mouth. What? What is that from?

[Josh Radnor]

Well, Chris. Chris writes, the thanks Teeny was a gimmick we invented so Lily would have an excuse for. For barfing. That wouldn't give away the pregnancy scare. And I made one to test it out. The bullion cube was removed after five seconds and it was, as you would expect, disgusting.

[Craig Thomas]

I completely forgot about that. But that did happen, I think, in the room. That was amazing. Or maybe Chris did it at home. But yes.

[Alec Lev]

So there are many questions, of course, about the salad. And Takiya Esan asks, who came up with the salad recipe? Is that someone's actual family recipe?

[Craig Thomas]

Chris Miller writes, visiting Marshall's family was based on a trip Phil and I took to visit our friend Lynn Ricketts. We're calling out everybody's name in here. And her family in upstate New York. They made a seven layer salad that had mayonnaise and I think, marshmallows. And we thought it was like a foreign planet, which is very much in the spirit of what Lily feels. The salad we made for the episode had potato chips, gummy bears, mayo, and more. Yes, I remember everyone had some. Had crossed paths at some point with some salad kind. Like there's a lot of people in the room, but I forgot specifically this. Lyn Ricketts, great salad. Thank you for the inspiration.

[Alec Lev]

Samuel Perez, 1909, says, this is one of those episodes that looks fantastic while watching it. But with all the tall people in this episode specifically, how are. What changes did you make to make everyone seem bigger? And what are some of the challenges to capture Allison compared to the tall talent around her? And Jessica Wallace, XOX similarly asks, when you cast Marshall's family, did you just request, quote, the tallers actors of all the tallest actors of all time?

[Josh Radnor]

Chris writes, the big thing that we thought was funny was little Allison imagining giving birth to a giant baby. So the episode was mostly about casting the tallest people we could. So Marshall was the shrimp, 6 foot 4, Jason Siegel. And we learned we got character payments every time a character we introduced in our script was reused. So we were very excited to cast the brothers. And every time they came back, we would high five them because they were getting work and we were getting like $100.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. And those guys really still need that 100 bucks because they've only each won one Oscar apiece.

[Josh Radnor]

I don't know that I knew that. That if you introduce a character in your episode and then they recur, you get a little.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, yeah, we get them. For this character we created, Ted Mosby.

[Josh Radnor]

I think you should just sign those checks over to me.

[Craig Thomas]

We can talk, Ella. We can. We can cut that apart out right now.

[Alec Lev]

Nope, nope. Apparently I don't edit. We get people offering to edit the show all the time. Nellet win4 says this isn't specific to the episode, but I'd love to hear more about the music selection for Himyam and how the music supervisor job worked. I've sort of chosen that as a question to lead into this information. We got about some music in the episode.

[Craig Thomas]

This is what Chris says. This is a story about the band the 88 that Chris and who Chris and Fo were friends with and helped us out a few different times on him. And Chris says Okay, so I'll tee it up. Since it wasn't the question really teed up in Belly Full of Turkey. You hear the song Mr. Roboto, which is a hilarious song to be playing at a strip club. I just love that on Thanksgiving, that's the song. She's dancing on a strip club. And the idea was going to be that we would then at the end of the episode have the sweet touching song be like this really sort of indie rock, acoustic, slow, emotional version of Mr. Roboto. And the 88, who are awesome dudes, said, we'll make that for you. That's hilarious. We'll do it. And they made like actually a really moving, pretty sounding version of Mr. Roboto. Chris says about it. The craziest thing is because of the Mr. Roboto reference earlier, we all thought it would be cool to get the 88 to do a cover Mr. Roboto for the final scene. Adam and Keith, who run that band, I think did it and it's awesome. But ultimately their song you Belong to Me was more emotional. But I always regret we didn't get to unleash a cover on the Way World. I still have it and use it in playlists sometimes. And thank you.

[Alec Lev]

Yes, and thank you Chris Miller for for sending us all of that and we got a few more questions answered.

[Josh Radnor]

I am guilty. Please acquit me. All sins are forgiven in New York City.

[Alec Lev]

How We Made your Mother is hosted and executive produced by Josh Radner and Craig Thomas. The show was produced by me, Alec Lev and our co producer is Doug Matica. Our audio producer and mixer is Alex Reeves at Point of Blue Studios and our digital content producer AKA Gen Z Master is Emily Blumberg. Artwork by John Morrow. Please follow rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or your podcast player of choice. It really does help the show. Our theme song is NYC by our own Josh Radner, with additional music by Craig Thomas and Andrew Majewski. Special thanks to Lola Kennedy and Elliot Connors. Visit how we made your mother.com to sign up for our substack mailing list and for links to our social media. You can also click on the contact page to send us an email or a voice message. Your stories and questions are an important part of the show. Want some merch? Click on the story link or go to howyougetyourmerch.com subscribe to Josh Radner's Muse Letters on Substack. Order Craig Thomas debut [e-mail] novel and you can subscribe to My Dead Fathers Society also on Substack. To learn about how you make a difference, this show's ongoing campaign to raise money for congenital heart disease research. Check out out the Make a Difference tab at the top of our website. This episode was made possible by the support of Backyard Ventures. People will, in fact, dance.

[Josh Radnor]

The real question it just hit me. Am I in love with you or just New York City?