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The So Weird Podcast - Belinda Metz Interview Part 1

Today, January 18th, is the 25th anniversary of So Weird's debut on Disney Channel.

We are celebrating with a new cast interview! The So Weird Podcast interviewed Belinda Metz, aka "Irene Bell"!

Part one includes Belinda sharing her journey into the film & voice industry, on set So Weird stories, and her vision for a So Weird reboot.

Stay tuned for part two! You can listen in YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

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Happy 25th(!!!) Anniversary, So Weird!

Happy 20th Anniversary, So Weird! The show premiered on January 18, 1999.

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Earlier this month So Weird Podcast co-host Emily pointed out that we hit 25,000 downloads across all 84 episodes of the show on Podbean!

The So Weird Podcast has come a long way since summer 2016 when the only people we thought would listen was one another.

Thank you so much for the downloads and we appreciate you spending your time with us (even if sometimes we all disagreed 😉).

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Hello, Weirdos! (Pinned Post)

If you have stumbled upon this blog, welcome! This blog is now in archive mode, for the most part. Years ago, I created many gifsets for Seasons 1&2 of So Weird (before we got good video quality versions of the episodes, I must say) and posted them here. Below are some links, if you’d like to go through my tags.

Season One

Season Two

Characters

Miscellaneous 

If you’d like to follow a So Weird blog that is still active, check out SoWeirdonDisney. You can also tune into our podcast for episode discussions and interviews, and browse our forum for behind-the-scenes information.

Keep the faith!

Emily

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For the followers, who has named a pet (or child or anything else) after a So Weird character? I have a Siamese cat, Fiona.

That's cool! I always said if I had a baby boy, I would name him Jack. :) There's another person in my family with a name similar to Fiona's, so that would be a no, probably.

Followers, have you named anyone or anything after a So Weird character?

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2021 saw the world begin to reopen and with it So Weird content was prominent in plenty of on and offline ways. Let’s take a look!

This year, Weirdos:

Sent a get well video to Mackenzie Gray as he went through physical therapy

Embraced Secrets of Sulphur Springs

Were impressed with s2 of Are You Afraid of the Dark’s reboot

Received an official copy of Rick and Rachel’s Twin Code (Everyone say, “Thank you, Jon Cooksey.”)

Freaked out (in a good way) when the Twin “Behind the Ears” promo was uploaded in Better-Than-144p-Quality

Uncovered remnants of Fi’s old site

Completed #SoWeird20 as The River turned 2 decades old

The So Weird Podcast:

Hosted its first ever script reading

Then went on to do 3 more live script reads

Interviewed executive producer and showrunner Ali Marie Matheson

Reviewed Secrets of Sulphur Springs and AYAOTD’s s2

Celebrated its 5th anniversary with an interactive livestream

So Weird as a show was featured in:

USA Today as one of “The 20 Best TV Shows on Disney+ Right Now”

Retropond’s “Top 5 90s Live Action Creepy Kids Shows”

A 2000+ word Vulture piece that dived into “10 Essential Episodes”

ET Online as one of the “22 Reasons to Sign Up For Disney+”

America: The Jesuit Review about its use of faith and sacrifice

Decider’s “Best Halloween Movies and TV Episodes to Stream”

The official Disney+ Hallowstream list

Regarding the cast, well…

Patrick Levis returned to movies in The Man from Nowhere

Mackenzie Phillips co-launched the podcast America Recovers and attended Chiller Theatre Expo

Jewel Staite wrapped s2 of Family Law after attending Galaxy Con for a Firefly reunion

Erik von Detten was interviewed by E! News and welcomed his second child

Alexz Johnson was a guest on Survival of the Artist Show to walk through her career and discuss artist-parent balance

Kyla Pratt returned to Disney Channel for a prime time airing of The Proud Family Movie

Dave Squatch Ward uploaded a Mother’s Day tribute song

Belinda Metz shared pics from her Disney days on IG Story and told her followers to stream So Weird

Dionne Warwick continued to be the icon she is in a 60 Minutes interview, as a surprise guest on Saturday Night Live, and collaborator with Chance the Rapper on a new song

Elsewhere… State Senator from Delaware, Sarah McBride, tweeted about Erik von Detten and asked if anyone knew So Weird. She even linked the theme song! And Saturday Night Live featured Brink! during Weekend Update.

All of this (and tons more) kept the fandom going through a year filled with uncertainty, and we’re grateful for every moment.

We’re also grateful for you. Your interactions through likes, tags, reblogs, retweets, follows, and listens helped keep us connected over a show so many of us felt alone in watching.

So Weird and its fandom have come a long way in 20 years because of that outreach and we’re all not so alone anymore.

Wishing everyone a happy New Year, let’s keep the faith in 2022. 👽

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Get your cocoa sleigh rides ready! Join The So Weird Podcast crew TOMORROW (12/12/2021) for our live script reading of “Fountain”. 5:30pm PST/7:30pm CST/ 8:30pm EST

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The forum highlights page has been updated even more recently to include a script for “Listen” AND the OFFICIAL version of Fi’s So Weird website! Check it out in the link above!

Been on the So Weird forum lately?

We have tons of new behind-the-scenes info on the forum, the latest being scripts for “Nightmare” and a new one for “Family Reunion,” the Twin code from Jon Cooksey, and an old Mackenzie Phillips interview from the time the show aired.

Check out our forum highlights regularly to stay up-to-date!

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So Weird in 2020

This year was a whirlwind in many ways and a lot of it was negative, but let’s focus on the positive before we put it entirely behind us.

🎧 In 2020 The So Weird Podcast:

interviewed So Weird musician Annmarie Cullen/Montade

interviewed Molly’s bass player Dino DiNocolo

debunked show rumors

reviewed the entire So Weird soundtrack

and opened video submissions for interactive episode premieres  

🛍 Regarding merch, So Weird had a four page feature in Rue Morgue and the new designs in the Redubble shop have gotten so much praise!

In August, the first two seasons of #SoWeird20 wrapped and culminated in a weekend-long celebration of Twin. October was the first Halloween So Weird was available on a public platform! 🎃 And November was the one year anniversary of Disney+. 🥳

🎥 Not coincidentally, 2020 saw a boom in YouTube reaction and review videos about So Weird as fans rediscovered the show or saw it for the first time.

In cast news:

Mackenzie Phillips is now program director at Breathe Life Healing Center

Patrick Levis welcomed his fourth daughter

Alexz Johnson became a mother and opened a Patreon and P.O. Box to connect with fans

Chris Gibson shared never before seen set photos with us

Erik von Detten joined Cameo

Kyla Pratt signed on to reprise her role as Penny Proud in The Proud Family revival

Dave Squatch Ward hosted FB livestreams with his band and performed solo on YouTube

Erik and Patrick teamed up for a Brink! Reunion

Henry Winkler attended (virtual) SDCC, published another book in his Alien Superstar series, and turned 75

Dionne Warwick turned 80 in between being on The Masked Singer, hosting the National Covid-19 Remembrance, and becoming a Twitter icon

And that was all before a design from one of our forum members made it to Jon Cooksey for Christmas!

Phew… Still there?

One more thing: THANK YOU for helping keep this blog - and the other So Weird accounts - active. Every read/like/comment/listen/reblog are small gestures that add up to a big impact. It keeps the faith for our favorite show and momentum going for the community that’s grown around it. 👽

2020 wasn’t easy, but if you’re reading this, you made it through. No matter where you are or how you celebrate, we wish you a safe and lovely New Year.

💕 Thank you for letting So Weird be part of your life, and we’ll see you in 2021 to help that continue.

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The comparisons get even more interesting when you read up on Eric Kripke’s original pitch for Supernatural. Mary was originally going to die in an apparent drunk driving car crash that they would realize was caused by demons. Sounds like Rick’s accident in So Weird, right? Also, John Winchester was originally named JACK.

Hey, so I've thought for a long long time that Supernatural was familiar to me. More like something I grew up with right?

So, get this.

There's this show that came out in 1999-2000 and it only had three seasons. It was called, So Weird.

The main protagonist is this girl named Fi, short for Fiona. They explore different occult and supernatural oddities, while she and her family tour on their rock n roll bus across the USA.

Wanna put off the feelings about the Supernatural ending? Its old, but still kinda...oh, just watch it.

It. Is. Brilliant.

SUPERNATURAL WAS A COPY???? NOOOOOOOO #sarcasticgasp

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So Weird Soundtrack on Vinyl?

As we know, appealing to Disney directly hasn't been remotely effective in the past for getting the show to air on DisneyReplay, getting the show on iTunes/DVD, etc. That's also the case for getting a soundtrack for the show. So why don't we ask someone else to talk to Disney for us? Enjoy the Ride records has been able to collaborate with Nickelodeon to get the rights for various soundtracks for their shows, most recently Hey Arnold! whose soundtrack has never been released in any format. As they say on their website, they "are always looking for recommendations regarding future vinyl re-issues, So do not hesitate to to message us with requests." So let's do it! Send them a request for the So Weird soundtrack HERE. A few of us have already done so, and the standard response is: Hi Emily, Thanks for the suggestion. We are in talks with Disney about a few other things right now although nothing is definite yet. When & if we start working with them then we will try to keep this in mind & see what the legal situation is with it. Thanks again for reaching out to us, follow us on social media and/or sign up for our mailing list to stay informed. Doesn't hurt to try! Even if you don't have a record player, getting the soundtrack in one format may lead to the soundtrack being released in another.

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I commissioned this painting and it just arrived today. I have been so pleased with the entire process, and the painting is beyond what I could have ever hoped for.

The artist has said that she is open to more So Weird commissions. I would highly recommend her! You can find her on instagram or check out her website.

An oil painting of Fiona Phillips in the “Rebecca” episode done by @aesirly.

Check out the previous post for the Jack Phillips one!

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Do you think there was an explanation for how Rick was going to live again? Fi was going to Hell to rescue his soul, but once rescued whose body was it going to live in? Were they going to exhume Rick's body? Or would it have been a body/soul combination that Fi rescues?

Hi @rockett-to-the-purple-moon​! I asked a very similar question during our interview with Jon Cooksey, show runner and head writer, on The So Weird Podcast. 

Here is Jon’s answer, pulled from the transcript:

Emily:  One more question about original season three for me. As you mentioned earlier, you all planned on having Rick come back to life, so I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about how you think that would have happened. We know he would have had a new body, because you said that in the FAQ, but would it look like his old one and would his relationship with the family have been any different?

Jon: Questions like “would it have been his body?” usually are dependent on whether the actor is available at the time, and that actor would have been available, so I probably would have gone for putting him back in his old body. That’s a conundrum that I’ve addressed in different stories at different times of where that body comes from. The body has to be kind of reconstructed from something. He’s not just brought back into his old, moldering skeleton. He’s coming back as a real, human body that’s alive. We would have had to solve that logistical problem, but I think he probably would have looked like himself, because that would have been the most emotionally affecting way.

I think that would pretty clearly be the end of the series, so to some degree, you’re thinking “happily ever after,” which is, again, to Lee’s point, kind of problematic.  The truth is, a) people that have lost their loved ones don’t get them back, and b) the day would have come when the toilet clogged up and he was watching a football game and they would have argued, so nothing’s perfect forever, right? There is no happily ever after. But if I was going to go for wish fulfillment, I think you would have seen Jack cry, and they would have all kind of expressed their relief in the way that they most wanted to.

Check out the video of our interview here. I also made a transcript of the interview which can be found here. 

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Jon Cooksey Interview Transcript

Hey everyone! I transcribed the Jon Cooksey interview that we did on the So Weird Podcast last month. Jon Cooksey was show runner, head writer, executive producer, and lyricist for the first two seasons of the show.

Here is the link to the transcript. The video interview is here.

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@liesellisabeth replied to your video “soweirdondisney: The So Weird Podcast - Episode 59 NOW AVAILABLE! ...”

OMG I'm so thankful that yall put so much work into this! Thank you <3 Keep going. #KeepTheFaith

Glad you’re enjoying it! The interview didn’t feel like work at all, but a complete joy. I feel like we could have gone on for hours (well, more hours, haha). It was one of the coolest experiences, and I’m so grateful to have been a part of it.

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The So Weird Podcast - Episode 59 NOW AVAILABLE!

In this episode, Jon Cooksey, the executive producer/show-runner/head writer of So Weird, answers all of your questions! We go in depth talking about original season 3 plans, the song writing process, his favorite episodes and songs and what they mean to him, what happened during “Twin” filming, the cast and crew, Rugrats, and more!  I hope you enjoyed this episode and we hope to have more interviews for you all.

Want to download the podcast ep? Go here: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/thesoweirdpodcast/episodes/2019-01-18T15_58_15-08_00

Bingo card :p :http://mfbc.us/m/fwzyxq

Please take a listen and let us know what you think!

Follow us on social media! Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoWeirdonDisney Forum: http://so-weird.proboards.com Livestream: https://original.livestream.com/sowei… Zack’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/lastmonsterkid Emily’s Tumblr: https://fi-phillips.tumblr.com Cat’s Tumblr: http://thats-so-weird.tumblr.com/ Buy So Weird Merch: http://www.redbubble.com/people/sheissoweird Jimmie’s cast site: http://soweirdcast.blogspot.com/ Favorite and Reblog!

Now available on iTunes and Google Play!

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Happy 20th Anniversary, So Weird! The show premiered on January 18, 1999.