[NANCY GUPPY] Dana Gould is one of my all-time
favorite stand up comedians with a confessional style
that is darkly funny and strangely inspiring.
In addition to standup,
Dana was a writer for "The Simpsons," created the horror
sitcom "Stand Against Evil" and recently costarred
in the documentary film "Joy Ride"
with his frenemy Bobcat Goldthwait.
Dana's latest project is "Hangin with Dr.Z"
a hilarious
and original talk show in which Dana plays the starring role.
[DR. Z] Hey, thank you very much.
Oh, stop it.
Thank you.
[NANCY GUPPY] Well, great to see you, Dana.
And congratulations on season two of "Hanging with Dr. Z."
[DANA GOULD] Thank you.
[NANCY GUPPY] All right.
For the uninitiated, who is Dr.
Z and what is the premise of the show?
[DANA GOULD] Yeah, it's it's a it's a bit of a journey.
Doctor Z is from Dr.
Zaius who was the original villain
in the original 1968 "Planet of the Apes" with Charlton Heston.
And if you remember the movie, he was basically the orangutan,
Mitch McConnell. He was the
hard ass keeper of the ape culture.
And the premise of the show is that
he really was just an actor.
He was a talking orangutan
that was an actor in Hollywood in the '50s and '60s and '70s.
And that was one role that he played.
But he was just one of those ubiquitous actors
that knew everybody and did everything.
[ Dr. Z] That's right.
And and you and I last saw each other.
I'm going to blow your mind.
Jet skiing with Bob Gula.
Hilarious.
And it was the day the tiger took down Roy.
[DANA GOULD] The guests are all contemporary,
but he's kind of frozen in 1970.
It's very groovy
because I love that era.
[NANCY GUPPY]
So the show makes fun of pretty much everything, which I love.
But there is a likability to Dr.
Z that allows him to say snarky things without coming off
as mean or petty.
[DANA GOULD] It's not snarky and crappy.
It's like, No, you're the greatest. You're the great.
No, you're the greatest.
[Dr. Z] You know what you are.
You're better than me.
You're the meat in my hobo stew.
You have more star power than Ace Frehley's makeup kit.
I look at you as somebody who was born
at the intersection of razzmatazz and sparkle.
You're Santa's toy bag, but instead of toys,
they're full of guts.
And the guts belong to you
because you're the bag and you're driving a Santa.
And your name is Jeff Garlin.
[JEFF GARLIN] Thank you, Dr. Z.
Thank you.
[NANCY GUPPY] Wearing the costume,
being the character,
does it give you license to say
and do things that you, as Dana, wouldn't do?
[DANA GOULD] Yeah. What's great about it is, is
I'll watch the show
and I will say stuff like, I have no memory of saying that.
[Dr. Z] But Maria, women comics are really
they're coming into their own.
Oh, this is really the era of the of the woman comic.
Oh, that's good to hear, that's good to hear.
So I think what people want to know
is who are your favorite male comics? (laughter)
(laughter)
[DANA GOULD] And that's a question I don't remember thinking up,
but it was like, Oh, yeah, that's funny.
♪♪
[DR. Z] Boppity bang.
[NANCY GUPPY] So the shows house band Rusty Steel and the Steel Wheels
which is one guy pretending to rock
to play a bunch of instruments.
[DAN GOULD] The brill...the brilliant Paul Greenberg from Vacant Lot.
[NANCY GUPPY] So good.
[DR. Z] Thank you very much.
We have Rusty Steel in the Steel Wheels over there.
How are you, Rusty?
Did you get a good night's sleep?
[RUSTY STEEL] I finally did get a good night's sleep.
I tried a new technique, which really worked for me.
[DR. Z] And what's that? [RUSTY STEEL] Weeping.
(laughter)
[DANA GOULD] I don't know what Paul's going to say.
That's all. It's all improvised.
[RANDY STEEL] I was at the airport, you know, I was flying to a gig,
and I got stuck in one of the X-ray machines.
[DR. Z] Oh, no. [RANDY STEEL] Yeah. And apparently now I'm sterile.
[DR. Z] So from the X-ray machine at the airport?
[RANDY STEEL] Yeah.
[NANCY GUPPY] Is it satisfying when you get these people on the floor?
I think of Tim Meadows around the whole...
You guys had a marriage come divorce. Marriage.
And he. He lost it.
He couldn't pull it together.
[DANA GOULD] Yeah. Yeah.
[DR. Z] You know, I have to tell you, when.
How long were you married?
-Ten years. Ten years.
-That's a good.
Just like SNL.
What happened at the end of your marriage? Did Lauren bring you in and go
I just don't think it's working for me anymore.
(laughter)
What happened?
(laughter)
-Nobody
ever compared my career to my marriage life.
Wow. Dr. Z
you really got me there, man.
-I am a doctor.
[NANCY GUPPY] "Hanging with Dr. Z.,"
Seasons one
and two are available on YouTube or at hangingwithdoctorz.com
♪♪
Catch Art Zone Friday nights at 8
and anytime online at seattlechannel.org/artzone