ABOUT
Van Lee
What is there to say about Van Lee that hasn’t already been said? The man, the myth, the legend is a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none whose cranky demeanor is unrivaled amongst his peers. Often you can find him complaining loudly about whatever is nearest his foul, worthless body. To hear his well-known catchphrase “Crack open a window, will ya?” is to experience the sweetest of sounds. If he’s not watching “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” he’s probably sitting in a dark room thinking of jokes only he will find funny, while also abandoning half-completed projects.
What’s Your Favorite Animal?
Cheetahs are best, full stop.
What’s a Fun Fact You Know?
Did you know that for 16 consecutive seasons, Ricky Rudd won at least one race a year, which is a modern NASCAR record?
What Would Your Optimal Superpower Be?
An aggressively large hat.
What Will People Say at Your Funeral?
“I never knew a human body could contain that much blood!”
What’s Your Favorite Podcasting Moment or Episode?
This is tricky. We’ve had so many great moments on the Boob Tube Boys and Podcast: A Star Wars Story, so it’s hard to choose! I’ll provide one for each.
When I picked Babylon 5 as a show for BTB, I figured we were in for standard sci-fi fare, but instead in Episode 49, “TKO,” we witnessed the coolest thing we’ve ever seen: the Mutai fighting event and its champion Gyor. The three of us have rarely been funnier than we were that episode, and it’s a personal favorite.
For Star Wars, creating the bonus ads/skits has been an utter blast, and it’s resulted in some of what I would call our best stuff. I really enjoyed “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Darts,” featuring Dexter Jettster. Honestly though, I believe the best is yet to come.
Brian Vaughan
Brian Vaughan co-hosts Boob Tube Boys and Podcast: A Star Wars Story on the Bootu Inc. network. He is also a musician, writer, and friend to cats. In his downtime, Brian enjoys pondering goblins, pro wrestling, and the inherent corruption of wealth.
What’s Your Favorite Animal?
Koopa, my alarmingly large cat, but going with a specific (albeit perfect) pet feels like taking the easy way out. I’ll go with pugs and snakes, but I would be remiss to forget the pygmy marmoset, an impressive up-and-comer.
What’s a Fun Fact You Know?
Contrary to popular belief, over 40 percent of people have Morton’s toe (a second toe longer than the power toe).
What Would Your Optimal Superpower Be?
Mystical exemption from wage labor.
What Will People Say at Your Funeral?
How can we be sure it has not entered another vessel?
What’s Your Favorite Podcasting Moment or Episode?
I’ll go with our second Silk Stalkings episode. The special part of doing Boob Tube Boys is that we all legitimately have been close friends for 20-plus years now, so there’s a built-in history the audience isn’t immediately privy to, but it always spills out into the show. That Silk Stalkings episode guest-starred Tim Thomerson, who we all three knew from his time-defying role as Jack Deth when we watched Full Moon’s Trancers series together years ago. There was something about talkin’ Thomerson with these two weirdos that gave me a sense of deja vu in the best way, and it made me grateful we pursued making something fun together.
Spencer Hendricks
After unceremoniously being conceived on Mountain, Spencer Hendricks knew there was only one thing to do: podcast from it. Like the Dothraki, Spencer understands that all the biggest moments in life can only happen in the great outdoors. To balance his wanderlust, he enjoys a wide variety of exclusively indoor hobbies, such as reading, admiring his growing Steam library, and planning his next breakfast. Although Spencer knows a great deal, he finds it better to withhold that knowledge so as not to burden others with its heavy weight. So if it ever sounds like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or is just completely wrong, it’s by design.
What’s Your Favorite Animal?
It’s obviously the common housecat, but that’s too obvious, so I’ll go with something disgusting instead: big toad.
What’s a Fun Fact You Know?
Bats can eat over a pound of mosquitoes a day! Wait, why do I know that?
What Would Your Optimal Superpower Be?
I think we determined it was mind reading through some random kids quiz in a BTB bonus episode. I have the superpower of insight!
What Will People Say at Your Funeral?
“Boy, Spencer sure hated forced gatherings where people say meaningless things to each other. Why didn’t he leave explicit instructions not to have one of these upon his death?” (Note to self: contact lawyer to set this up.)
What’s Your Favorite Podcasting Moment or Episode?
My favorite part about being on the Boob Tube Boys podcast are the moments where the three of us get caught on a side tangent that is so bizarre and absurd that I completely forget I’m being recorded and start giggling wildly to the point where I can’t even speak clearly, which is a pretty important skill for podcasting. We had one of those moments in our first Knight Ryder episode discussing Barth’s natural habitat being a swamp, and I smile every time I think about it. I smile every time I think of Barth. And that’s why, as a child of the 90s, I always knew I wanted to be a podcaster.