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Ready for a nostalgic trip back to the 80s? 🎵 Join Ryan and Ruban on the Worst of the Best Podcast as we dive into the iconic TV theme songs of the decade, picking the worst of the greatest! From Miami Vice to The Golden Girls, we’re reliving childhood memories, sharing laughs, and debating which theme song misses the mark. Buckle up for some retro vibes and hilarious banter!
We’re breaking down the top 25 TV theme songs of the 80s, as ranked by underscorefire.com, and picking the one we think is the worst of the best. Expect plenty of nostalgia, funny stories from our childhood (like renting a VCR in a suitcase!), and our hot takes on classics like Thundercats, Cheers, and The Cosby Show. Whether you grew up in the 80s or just love retro TV, this episode is packed with fun and memories you’ll relate to!
Creators and Guests
What is The Worst of the Best Podcast?
Join host Ryan Rebalkin and his rotating guest hosts on The Worst of the Best Podcast, where they dive into the flaws of the best in pop culture and more. Covering genres like films, music, food, true crime, historical events, celebrity culture, and quirky societal trends, this podcast delivers a humorous, irreverent critique of the finest’s shortcomings.
0:00
oh reliable ready boy oh boy stand by
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stand by stand by stand by stand by
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stand by this is the worst this is the
0:08
worst the best is
0:10
coming welcome to the worst of the best
0:14
podcast you wanted the best well they
0:18
didn't freaking make
0:20
it so here's what you get from Canada
0:23
Ryan and Reuben
0:25
[Applause]
0:35
[Applause]
0:42
all right I'm really excited for today's
0:43
episode Ruben and I we were raised on TV
0:46
yes we have to keep in mind I was born
0:49
in 75 I was born in 77 welcome to the
0:52
worst of the best podcast I'm your host
0:53
Ryan with me as always is my brother
0:54
Ruben today we're we're picking the
0:56
worst of the greatest TV themes of all
0:58
time there you go that's our topic today
1:00
we watched a lot of TV Y and anord
1:03
amount of TV I only say that because I'm
1:05
I'm recollecting how much TV I watch
1:07
when I saw the this list of 25 odd TV
1:10
themes and how many of them I just
1:13
knew and the only way I knew them was
1:15
just by repeat viewings I could tap my
1:17
feet and sing along whatever it might
1:18
have been we didn't have a VCR no we'd
1:20
have to watch this live yeah if we want
1:23
if we wanted a VCR our dad would Rent
1:24
One in a suitcase any of our listeners
1:27
do that rent rent the VCR yeah the big
1:29
suitcase come home with those tapes and
1:31
how exciting that was the plug in the
1:32
VCR and the frustration of watch do you
1:36
remember how old you were when you first
1:37
had the VCR R we own one I think we were
1:41
like in junior high yeah I was 14 I
1:43
never I don't know why I remember the
1:44
age but I remember I was 14 you would
1:46
have been 12 and we owned our first VCR
1:49
at that age and how excited it was to
1:51
record things and watch things later
1:52
fast forward commercials 40 commercials
1:55
well that was a dream and now kids
1:57
nowadays they'll never know what it's
1:58
like have to suffer through commercials
2:00
or to stay up when things are on or
2:02
whatever the case might be Let's uh
2:04
sorry just give me a second here sure
2:05
there you go okay so I'm really excited
2:07
for this one because brings back a lot
2:09
of memories cuz a lot of these TV themes
2:11
are quite frankly from our day and age
2:13
whatever the cut was this is the uh top
2:16
25 TV theme songs of the ' 80s oh this
2:18
was specifically of the 80s my bad
2:19
that's why that's wild I was like why
2:21
are these songs from the ' 80s what what
2:23
a magnificent time the 80s was it's what
2:25
it was the TV theme songs usually had
2:28
lyrics and Jason her brother Jason just
2:30
chimed in thanks Jay thanks for
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listening sorry that again oh yeah the
2:33
lyrics L songs have lyrics yeah tells
2:35
the story you of a man named Brady which
2:38
would didn't make the ' 80s cut cuz it
2:39
was the 70s so here we but they stopped
2:41
that yes they did do that did they they
2:43
don't sing lyrics and songs anymore then
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they started like using songs that were
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previously written like friends right or
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the unbreakable Kimmy schit they kind of
2:52
did oh that was fantastic all right so
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here we go this is an order of I guess
2:57
their order maybe it's I think they did
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do it in their order of what they like
3:02
the what site is this s this is unders
3:04
scopf fire.com so this is whoever wrote
3:07
this article the team to put this
3:08
together put it in order so we're going
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to go in their order from least to
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greatest and we'll pick what we think is
3:13
our overall or the worst of the best TV
3:16
themes and if we didn't watch the show
3:19
enough we're just going to skip it we're
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not going to even listen to it sure we
3:22
watched The Cosby Show we did we did
3:24
like the whole world did we watched
3:25
Cosby what's uh what's he been up to
3:28
what's Bill been up to I haven't quite
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seen him huh is he okay is his health
3:33
okay oh the recording terrible that's
3:35
the recording yeah someone's recording
3:37
off their phone onto the TV but and then
3:39
onto podcast yeah but no lyrics no yeah
3:44
all right I remember this this
3:47
theme all right all right oh Bill he's
3:52
hilarious okay number 24 is Fame the r
3:55
from 82 to 87 I I know Fame I never
3:58
watched it but it's yeah but I wonder if
4:00
the theme song is what I think it is
4:02
Fame you're going to live for is
4:11
that it can't be the worst no
4:14
[Music]
4:27
no beautiful beautiful
4:30
the music
4:33
oh what's that Baseline all right I
4:35
don't want us to get kicked off well
4:37
it's okay we'll be kicked off now uh
4:39
this one I had to do manually Miami Vice
4:42
number I already know I know this one
4:43
off by heart I'm telling you this is
4:44
there's no way in heaven was it Friday
4:46
nights I think so oh I just we're
4:49
listening to the story
4:57
[Music]
5:02
[Applause]
5:03
[Music]
5:11
I love that drum
5:14
there the Ritz and Glam of my I I great
5:18
show great show I don't think that's
5:21
going to pick our worst so far no
5:23
there's no way and there's no way that I
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shouldn't start talking about them all
5:27
but right in this show what we have to
5:29
do is take take the good take the bad we
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take the bad and there you have us the
5:32
worst the best of the i i mumbled that
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yeah you did you messed that up all
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right so we're going have to do this
5:37
manually roed it cuz they're not kicking
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in some of these ones aren't kicking in
5:41
okay let's just do it let's just do it
5:42
let's see how far we can go no no no I
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got I got to s c up here we
5:49
[Music]
5:51
go
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what oh she's singing it I never caught
5:58
that before
6:01
never so she said never yeah she these
6:05
nuances the show keeps on giving all
6:08
these years
6:09
later cro Blair was the hot one right I
6:12
was in love with Joe yeah I think
6:14
everyone was I think she was my my very
6:16
first like TV Crush was Joe where is she
6:19
where's Joe is she even in there she
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must be was she not in the first season
6:22
maybe I think maybe she came in later as
6:24
like the tough kid yeah cuz it's Nancy I
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don't know who Nancy is is like a
6:28
woman's boarding school something like
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that a girls boarding school or
6:31
something yeah anyways poor Nancy so the
6:33
Smurf is number 21 and then we got
6:37
family ties right after so let's do the
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[Music]
6:53
Smurfs easy lyrics to remember yes they
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knew Their audience we watch the Smur
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love
7:00
and we watched Family Ties which is
7:01
funny that we watched Family Ties as
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much as we did because the humor a lot
7:06
of it was the political humor we didn't
7:09
get you know like yeah I don't
7:10
understand about him being
7:12
Republican and he was a Democrat so he
7:14
was a republican yeah he Fox was I had a
7:17
crush on the mother on the mom
7:21
yes marith baxer is that her name yeah
7:25
they will be together for million
7:32
there's Jason B's sister Justine
7:39
bman yeah I love this
7:42
show
7:43
baby
7:46
without what would do Meredith MTH baxer
7:51
I had a crush on
7:53
her I don't know what it is what do you
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want me to say yeah well it is what Love
7:59
Is Love Love Is Love she never wrote
8:02
back Thundercats Thundercats sorry for
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our live listeners but this will be it
8:06
you got to hear the stuff the site that
8:08
gives us the YouTube videos is like
8:10
takes forever to load I don't know why
8:11
that is so yeah Thundercats did you ever
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watch it yes yeah do you remember the
8:17
Thundercat
8:19
Oh I was never really really into it no
8:21
but we it was more of like something I'd
8:23
watch
8:25
[Music]
8:30
they talked about doe a live version I
8:31
think it' be pretty cool if they
8:34
did thund
8:38
[Music]
8:40
Thunder I don't love how long their
8:42
intros were back then like a minute and
8:43
a half eh at all the
8:47
characters I love that Thundercats hole
8:49
at the beginning there look like a
8:50
he-man it's kind of like a basically
8:53
it's a feline He-Man chips I remember
8:55
watching chips when was like four years
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old yeah we watch chips all the time I
9:00
love chips punch what was the guy blond
9:02
hair guy's name do you remember if I
9:04
heard it I would
9:05
know
9:07
[Music]
9:11
ooh where the Baseline
9:13
[Music]
9:18
yeah that's like I don't think I
9:20
appreciate the Baseline as a
9:22
[Music]
9:25
kid oh there we go there
9:30
look how close look how close they're
9:31
driving to each other check this out
9:33
really close it's it's almost if you saw
9:36
two cops driving their bikes down the
9:37
road like
9:39
that did you watch the Remake the movie
9:42
I heard it was terrible yeah I heard it
9:43
was terrible as well I didn't watch it
9:45
all right so People's Court H I already
9:47
know this is a terrible one I I don't
9:49
think it's my worst yet but but we
9:50
watched the show so I have to we have to
9:52
play what for a long time oh People's
9:54
Court I was thinking of Night Court as
9:55
people but yeah of course people Court
9:58
yeah oh yeah yeah here we
10:02
go it's kind of little
10:11
yeah there you go
10:14
wow that's pretty impressive
10:17
[Music]
10:19
yeah
10:23
nice okay I I forgot it was that funky
10:26
to be honest with you all right so let's
10:27
try Night Court I like how they put
10:29
night court and People's Court next to
10:30
each other for the not a baseline they
10:32
really were having a base back in the
10:33
80s these te
10:35
[Music]
10:45
songs Mary Anderson he just died didn't
10:48
he did
10:53
he oh it's all right it's just as I
10:56
remembered just as I remembered oh
10:58
growing people did you watch Growing
10:59
Pains yeah I was listening to an audio
11:01
book recently that made me think of
11:03
Growing Pains the woman kept on using it
11:06
was a
11:08
dated hold on right it was uh probably
11:11
written in the late '70s early ' 80s the
11:14
the book I listening to and she kept on
11:17
talking about how her friend kept on
11:19
making a flub okay okay list but she
11:22
didn't use the word
11:24
flub she goes he kept on making a boner
11:27
every time I look he would make a boner
11:28
he he kept on making a boner
11:31
yeah I'm like lady stop saying this yeah
11:35
and I was laughing and I told my wife
11:37
about it she's like what that was never
11:39
meant that I'm like no that was if you
11:42
made some type of Gaff it was called a
11:45
boner yeah and that was the name of the
11:47
Buddy the and I said yeah there's the
11:49
show Growing Pains there was a character
11:51
whose name was boner yeah and she's like
11:53
there was not yes there was great I you
11:56
know it's funny thank you for bringing
11:57
that up I I forgot forgot about that but
12:00
was boner growing paines or no I thought
12:03
it was um alen Rickman is that no Al
12:06
what's his name Alan thick alen thick
12:08
yeah are you sure I'm pretty sure boner
12:10
was Family Ties boner
12:12
is I I can hear Alan Thick saying boner
12:15
in my head no I can
12:17
hear Michael P Keaton saying boner oh
12:21
you know I my
12:23
memories let me let me Google boner yeah
12:26
well be careful I would recommend
12:29
this way here well we have well while
12:31
you're while you're Googling boner let
12:33
me do groin
12:45
[Music]
12:46
pains okay before you get
12:51
there each yeah that's gr pains
12:55
unfortunately boner committed suicide oh
12:58
man and in Vancouver Birch Columbia
13:01
really yeah and yes he was on growing
13:03
pains he was growing pains he was 41
13:05
same age as me at the time of his
13:07
suicide right eight nine years ago oh
13:09
wow rest in peace boner that's too bad
13:12
it is too bad of course it is he was
13:14
Walter said some guy said that he was in
13:17
a lot of
13:19
pain no sorry that's what it says well
13:23
he was a lot of
13:24
episodes wow anyways yeah that's too bad
13:27
that's too bad of course I didn't ever
13:30
watch St Elsewhere so I'm not going to
13:31
speak to it did you ever watch St
13:32
Elsewhere okay fragle rock
13:36
uh care for I remember thinking I wanted
13:38
to like it and I just never did so I'm
13:41
going to bring up frag Rock the theme
13:42
song because people are going to get mad
13:44
if we don't cuz there's a lot of people
13:45
love fragle rock and I never got into I
13:47
always thought it was like the Twisted
13:48
weird Muppet Show and I never liked it
13:51
but before we do let's he this
13:54
one love this picture Gadget
13:59
[Music]
14:03
Inspector
14:04
Gadget
14:07
woohoo
14:08
inspector yeah I love Inspector Gadget
14:10
okay fun cartoon I watched it probably
14:13
to my teen years quite frankly here is
14:14
the fro Rock theme
14:20
[Music]
14:22
song away worries for another day let
14:27
the music play
14:29
know a fun little song I think that was
14:31
the highlight of the show was the theme
14:32
song quite frankly I appreciate your
14:34
frankness yeah Fall Guy didn't watch so
14:37
I'm not going to speak to that of course
14:39
Transformers man if we actually were
14:41
smart enough to do a show that was the
14:42
best
14:43
of Transformers might be up there what a
14:46
great opening theme song this was here
14:49
we go I never had Optimus Prime no that
14:52
was
14:53
like the the toy nobody did it's like
14:57
$100 when they were out they were like
14:59
$100 Optimus Primes that's a lot of
15:02
money in
15:03
83 lot of money
15:06
now that'd be
15:10
$173 I love this
15:13
starcream starcream man he's the best
15:15
right
15:16
here sry sorry Soundwave I love look at
15:20
that it's awesome I had Soundwave or we
15:22
had sound wave out as cassette tapes and
15:24
they transform it's so cool so hip yeah
15:27
yeah I don't know I just love it I love
15:28
it but all right Transformers we watch
15:31
that all the times kids we watch the CR
15:32
out of that and we saw the the
15:33
Transformers movie in the theaters the
15:35
best one of course is the cartoon way
15:37
better than the Michael Bay films Dallas
15:39
we never watched magn Pi we did watch
15:42
and great great theme song by the way do
15:44
you recall it I will when I hear it yeah
15:47
you will once you hear it you'll be like
15:48
oh yeah oh
15:56
yeah Tom C we still watched Tom so my
15:59
wife and I watched that show Blue Bloods
16:01
on CBS what we watched that show Blue
16:03
Bloods on CBS was good it's good
16:06
yeah there you go look at that just out
16:10
there did you know that he was supposed
16:12
to be in Dan Jones but he couldn't do
16:14
the filming because of this TV show
16:16
really yeah huh I could I could see that
16:19
I could see it yeah we're getting near
16:20
the top 10 here boys so M Pi is great
16:23
gii Joe come on do we even have to play
16:25
it we do but everyone knows this song
16:28
remember the had the new version when
16:29
they did Cobra la la la yeah yeah we how
16:32
much we flipped out when that
16:35
[Music]
16:38
happened yeah this is the this is the
16:40
newer one I'm going to put the newer
16:43
one yeah here we go yeah yeah I love
16:48
that the Cobra Commander screaming
16:52
yeah Tak
16:54
[Music]
16:57
FL that's pretty cool man who is the
17:00
person doing that I
17:03
[Music]
17:04
know and then uh J comes in at the end
17:07
here
17:08
for look at the
17:11
violence I love itan deted to rule the
17:16
[Music]
17:18
world so
17:21
great I have so many fun memories of
17:24
just watching this yeah
17:26
like our brother Dion had the original G
17:30
Jo doll that was like a foot big or
17:32
something like that oh that's awesome
17:34
you know I always tell my kids and
17:36
especially my older boys who can
17:37
understand this we lived in a great time
17:39
of cartoons and movies the ' 80s man
17:41
were just they were it was just awesome
17:43
Night Rider and Grace American hero
17:45
will'll play those two back to back we
17:47
all know Night Rider but we got to
17:50
what's his head David uh Hasselhoff
17:52
Hasselhoff big in Germany he is big in
17:54
Germany so I had a customer do we have a
17:57
moment for this yeah I'm just gave a
17:58
keto by so so I I had a customer she's
18:00
from Germany and summer came and she's
18:02
wearing a tank top and I was surprised
18:04
cuz she's got no arm tattoos that she
18:06
would have a shoulder tattoo from here
18:07
to to there you know stretching across
18:10
and I was like oh nice ink or something
18:13
like that you know and right and oh yeah
18:15
you know I can't do German accent it's
18:17
so and so's a lyric from so and so and I
18:21
forget the guy's name I gave her like a
18:23
quizzical look and she's like you know
18:25
Tina Turner's composer You Germans have
18:27
have quite the reputation and she's like
18:29
we do and I was like
18:34
Nazis like that yeah you kind of
18:36
interrupted me but like yes you do have
18:38
a reputation but I didn't want to go
18:40
that you try to rule the world twice
18:42
Hasselhoff oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
18:44
yeah his song Blah Blah Blah help
18:47
Inspire like you know people to break
18:49
down the wall and stuff I'm like really
18:51
like you still listen to Hasselhoff oh
18:53
yeah yeah it's true he's a hero there
18:55
it's crazy he's a hero and this is why
18:58
right here Ruben
19:07
Night Rider a shadowy flight into the
19:10
dangerous world of a man who does not
19:13
exist
19:15
oh so digital yeah digital guys
19:20
oh turn it off Night Rider will
19:22
[Music]
19:24
drive there's the Hof right there look
19:27
at him wow look at that hair beautiful
19:29
he must been like our age at that time
19:31
yeah he would have well he would have
19:32
been younger would have been younger he
19:33
still looks older though yeah it's funny
19:35
when they they're younger than us but
19:36
they look older but they have the style
19:38
that was you know popular then it's got
19:40
this old look to it you know this song
19:42
Don't You Greatest American Hero this is
19:44
a weird this was a weird TV
19:47
[Music]
19:56
show it not I'm Walking on
20:01
Air feel so
20:07
fre basically I've watched this show it
20:10
was just weird that it existed yeah
20:12
basically he was a bumbling hero yeah is
20:14
that the idea yeah okay now we're
20:16
getting to the Heavy Hitters here we're
20:18
almost done boys I mean we almost don't
20:20
have to play this but no it' be a shame
20:23
not to play it so I remember when the
20:26
18am came out our parents were kind of
20:28
ify about us watching the show it's
20:30
Thursday nights at 8:00 it was a school
20:32
night this is back of course we didn't
20:34
have a VCR I think I was in the third
20:36
grade when it came into my and it was
20:38
basically the equivalent of playing
20:39
fortnite tonight like on a late night on
20:41
a school night this is what this was
20:43
like to be able to watch this back then
20:44
sure it' be
20:47
really really good to watch this late at
20:51
[Applause]
20:57
night get that snare drum the military
21:00
you know
21:01
snare I want to hear this one part
21:03
coming up here we know we know what it
21:05
is here we go get a little
21:08
heavier this is where ba Brock starts
21:10
throwing the table around all right and
21:13
okay Dukes of Hazard I love Dukes of
21:16
Hazard I watched it as a kid all the
21:17
time did you I didn't just because of
21:21
the Confederate flag oh wow you were I
21:24
was already woke by then oh wow good for
21:26
you
21:30
the damage these cars went through I
21:31
know I know such a great show
21:34
[Music]
21:36
yeah look at this that car is not
21:38
surviving that
21:41
impact sliding over the hood like that
21:46
epic Superman's Dad
21:50
[Applause]
21:51
yep oh Daisy dudes pretty so you been up
21:56
to I'm not too sure and did you watch
21:59
Golden Girls R like every episode yeah I
22:01
love Golden Girls we're getting we're
22:03
closer to their age than we are to the
22:04
kids in you know what I mean yeah we're
22:07
getting
22:09
older oh yeah I actually forgot what
22:11
it's
22:15
like your heart is true you're a and a
22:20
confid yeah it's all right it fits the
22:22
Gen Betty White was the oldest I believe
22:26
on the show at the time and the the one
22:28
play the old lady was the youngest yes
22:30
and and Betty White's the only one
22:32
that's still living that's crazy and we
22:34
all know this one not this one but
22:37
cheers we watched cheers as well cheers
22:40
it was great it was fun Sam and Diane
22:42
way better than C Ali Norm all those
22:45
nights when You' got no lights the check
22:47
is in the
22:49
mail and your little angel H the cat oh
22:53
it's like a really long intro go where
22:57
everybody knows
22:59
remember the series finale oh yeah yeah
23:02
Sam turn off the lights and they walked
23:04
out hey take off is top his hairpiece
23:07
you took it off
23:08
yes what a brave
23:11
man imagine just people knowing that
23:14
you're bald it's okay to be bald it's
23:16
okay it's okay all right Ruben do you
23:19
have your worst pick yes is is the CP M
23:23
too it's weird how this is like a couple
23:26
episodes in a road the first song or the
23:27
first yeah happened to be yeah it was
23:29
boring it's actually kind of boring the
23:32
the little horror section and of course
23:33
in later years they do the little
23:35
dancing little kind of old man dancing
23:38
just pretends he's playing the trumpet
23:39
or whatever but yeah as music that I
23:41
would actually listen to cuz a lot of
23:43
the songs I would actually listen to
23:45
yeah if this was on your Spotify or
23:47
whatever came on the full version You'
23:48
listen to it and be happy to like Miami
23:50
Vice and like those are great night rer
23:53
one was fun to listen to yeah but yeah
23:55
the the Cosby one yeah what's he up to
23:58
again right did you say do we do want to
23:59
Google that have you heard what's
24:01
happened no I I I haven't he must have a
24:03
Netflix special coming up but a lot of
24:05
these guys have those he must be it must
24:07
be so all right so until we hear from
24:09
Bill Cosby thanks for watching and
24:11
listening yeah remember in front of
24:13
every Silver Lining there's a cloud and
24:16
we're here to help you find that thank
24:18
you
24:20
[Music]
24:44
where did I
24:47
go thanks buddy thank you thank you that
24:52
was fun we had a good time I was looking
24:56
forward to it this week yeah it was good
24:57
good topics sorry for the chaos at the
25:01
beginning oh crazy