Parasocial Activity artwork

Parasocial Activity

22 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 29 ratings

Do you like friendship? Do you like media? You’ll love Tess and Celina’s cutting-edge deep dives on the following topics: movies, TV, musicals, TV musicals, movie musicals, books, book adaptations, music, celebrities, TV celebrities, movie celebrities, and Fran Drescher. Every other Thursday! @parasocialactivitypod on Instagram and TikTok.

TV & Film Arts Performing Arts film movies musicals musical theater literature celebrity
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Episodes

Bad Tropes

May 27, 2022 01:00 - 1 hour - 55.5 MB

A definitive list of the 7 worst bad tropes in media, and the 3 best bad tropes in media.  Spoilers for: Inside Out, My Girl, Hereditary, Strangers Things s3, Gilmore Girls, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, One Day by David Nicholls, Mockingjay, Romeo and Juliet, Sex Education s3, The 100, The Guest List, The Sanatorium, The Woman in Cabin 10, One by One, The Woman in the Window (2021), Life as We Know It (2010), Love Hard (2021) Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess ...

Murder Mystery Book Club

May 07, 2022 21:00 - 1 hour - 56.8 MB

We revisit the hallowed ground of the Clue mansion to discuss Celina's favorite kind of mystery novel: the closed circle of suspects murder mystery. Many many spoilers ahead—listen at your own risk, or better yet come back after you've read everything on the spoiler list (except for Nine Perfect Strangers. That book was bad). Spoilers: And Then There Were None (book & 2015 miniseries), The Guest List, The Hunting Party, One by One, Nine Perfect Strangers  CW: Sexual assault, racial slurs H...

Bill Wurtz (w/Sam Walters)

April 21, 2022 04:00 - 1 hour - 65.4 MB

Do you like to wear pants? Do you love to fly planes? Bill Wurtz asks the important questions about pants and planes, and we ask the important questions about Bill Wurtz.  Celina's roommate (and composer of the theme song, and namer of this show) makes his long-awaited debut to tell us more than we ever knew we needed to know about his hero, the internet's sincerest musical memer.  Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Icarus

February 24, 2022 05:00 - 1 hour - 47.1 MB

We talk about the many allusions to the myth of Icarus in pop culture, and why everyone is referencing him for the wrong reasons.  Spoilers for: Terminator 2 Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Clue

February 10, 2022 05:00 - 1 hour - 63.2 MB

Come for the trivia. Stay for the DEAD-ON character impressions (get it??).  Spoilers for: Clue, Knives Out Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

NFTs

January 27, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 46.1 MB

What is art? What is money? What’s the point of “owning” art? Tess forces Celina to learn about NFTs and Celina loves every second of it! Spoilers for: Doctor Who (Series 7) Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Keanu Reeves (w/Emma Nash)

January 13, 2022 05:00 - 1 hour - 70 MB

Parasocial Activity welcomes its first-ever guest, Keanu Reeves scholar Emma Nash! Gather round as she waxes poetic on the timelessness of My Own Private Idaho, the romanticism of Speed, and the unstable selfhood Keanu consistently portrays so well. Stay til the end for some bonus takes on Supernatural.  Spoilers for: My Own Private Idaho, Point Break, John Wick, The Fast and the Furious, The Matrix, Something's Gotta Give, River's Edge, Permanent Record CW: sexual assault, suicide, murder,...

Stephen Sondheim's Evening Primrose

December 30, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MB

Do you like musicals? Do you like people who pretend to be mannequins? Then you'll probably like Evening Primrose, Stephen Sondheim's 1966 made-for-TV musical that basically plays like a Twilight Zone episode with singing. Join us as we honor the master by discussing his weirdest project of all. Spoilers for: Evening Primrose, Psycho, The Sound of Music Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Happiest Season

December 16, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MB

All we wanted for Christmas was a fun and heartwarming lesbian holiday romance movie starring Kristen Stewart. Instead, we got a sad and disappointing lesbian holiday romance movie. But Kristen was still great. Spoilers for: Happiest Season (2020), Underwater (2020) Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

The Secret History

December 02, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 81.3 MB

Is The Secret History the best novel ever written? Should Ansel Elgort play Henry in the  (nonexistent) film adaptation? Is the pursuit of the picturesque to the exclusion of all else a moral failing? Is Harry Potter dark academia? Can two pals have the same favorite book, but disagree about every aspect of it? Find out now! Spoilers for: The Secret History, The Talented Mr Ripley Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Call Me By Your Name

November 04, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 65 MB

A tiny Italian shoe and a tall glass of American milk frolic together in the Italian countryside. Celina and Tess try to think of a single queer romantic movie that isn't full of gay angst. Spoilers for: Call Me By Your Name (book & movie), Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Half of It, But I'm a Cheerleader CW: sexual assault, predatory behavior/grooming, cannibalism, pooping NOTE: Some people may not want to listen to us go into the specifics of Armie Hammer's cannibalistic behavior. Those ...

Astrology

October 21, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 68.9 MB

Learn EVERYTHING you need to know about Astrology in just 90 short and fun-filled minutes. After you listen to this, you'll finally fit in. Spongebob is an Aries. Buffy is a Capricorn. Don't worry too much about the 13th sign.  Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

(S)he's All That

October 07, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 63.2 MB

Literally no one asked for a She's All That remake, but if the pandemic has taught us anything it's that Netflix is the king of making things no one is asking for and then advertising them so aggressively that you eventually watch them in the hopes that Netflix will stop looping the trailer on your home screen. Come share our pain. Spoilers for: She's All That, He's All That, Grease, Sex Education seasons 2-3, Succession Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel & Tess Ho...

National Treasure

September 23, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 60.2 MB

This movie may be full of mansplaining, bad fashion choices, and early-aughts blind patriotism, but it's still Disney's best best best property ever. Don't let Tess convince you otherwise.  Spoilers for: National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme Song by Sam Walters Cover Art by Celina Siegel

Singin’ in the Rain

September 09, 2021 22:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MB

Tess explains why the greatest movie musical of all time is actually just OK.  Celina recites the entire movie from memory.   Spoilers for: Singin’ in the Rain (1952). And that's it.  Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Cole Sprouse

August 26, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 62 MB

Celina's choice! Is Cole Sprouse simply a former child actor/current angsty heartthrob/kind of weird dude? Or is he the conduit for a broader re-contextualization of so-called "bad acting"? Let's get tangential. This episode contains spoilers for: Five Feet Apart, Riverdale (through season 3), and Borrasca. Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

#3: Sherlock Holmes

August 14, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 52.2 MB

Tess’s choice! Tess explains why there has never been a good Sherlock Holmes adaptation EVER. Celina sings the praises of Sherlock Holmes (2009) even though it’s actually a terrible movie.  Spoilers for: Any Sherlock Holmes story you can think of, Misfits, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice series, Set it Up, My So-Called Life, Carmilla, Vertigo Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme Song by Sam Walters Cover Art by Celina Siegel

Sherlock Holmes

August 14, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 52.2 MB

Tess’s choice! Tess explains why there has never been a good Sherlock Holmes adaptation EVER. Celina sings the praises of Sherlock Holmes (2009) even though it’s actually a terrible movie.  Spoilers for: Any Sherlock Holmes story you can think of, Misfits, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice series, Set it Up, My So-Called Life, Carmilla, Vertigo Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Tess Hotz Theme Song by Sam Walters Cover Art by Celina Siegel

#2: Musical episodes of TV shows

July 31, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MB

Celina's choice! Join us for a brief history and assessment of the musical episodes of non-musical TV shows. Along the way, we ask ourselves: are Willow and Tara actually a good couple? What is Taran Killem's greatest performance to date? Why is Grey's Anatomy like this? This episode contains spoilers for: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scrubs, Community, Grey's Anatomy, Riverdale Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Musical episodes of TV shows

July 31, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MB

Celina's choice! Join us for a brief history and assessment of the musical episodes of non-musical TV shows. Along the way, we ask ourselves: are Willow and Tara actually a good couple? What is Taran Killem's greatest performance to date? Why is Grey's Anatomy like this? This episode contains spoilers for: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scrubs, Community, Grey's Anatomy, Riverdale Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

#1: Pippin

July 13, 2021 22:00 - 1 hour - 47.1 MB

We kick off the show with a discussion on the 1972 Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin. Does this musical have a plot? Is the Theo ending the superior ending? Did Dear Evan Hansen deserve to beat The Great Comet at the Tonys?? (spoilers: no) Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel

Pippin

July 13, 2021 22:00 - 1 hour - 47.1 MB

We kick off the show with a discussion on the 1972 Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin. Does this musical have a plot? Is the Theo ending the superior ending? Did Dear Evan Hansen deserve to beat The Great Comet at the Tonys?? (spoilers: no) Hosted by Celina Siegel & Tess Hotz Edited by Celina Siegel Theme song by Sam Walters Cover art by Celina Siegel