LET'S MEET THE FIRST GUEST TONIGHT!
HE IS A FANTASTIC EMMY-NOMINATED ACTOR YOU KNOW FROM
"SILICON VALLEY," "MIDDLEDITCH & SCHWARTZ," AND HIS BRAND-NEW
SITCOM ON CBS CALLED "B-POSITIVE."
PLEASE WELCOME, THE MAGNIFICENT, MR. THOMAS MIDDLEDITCH!
♪ ♪
♪ >> James: THERE HE IS!
HEY, THOMAS!
HOW ARE YOU?
>> PRETTY GOOD.
HOW ARE YOU, JAMES?
>> James: I LOVE YOUR BOLO TIE YOU'RE ROCKING.
>> I'M A BOLO TIE CORDUROY BOY.
>> James: NOT MANY PEOPLE CAN BE BOTH.
>> I'VE DONE IT.
2020 IS LOOKING UP.
>> James: YOU ALWAYS LOOK SHARP OTHER THAN THE LAST TIME
YOU WERE ON THE SHOW WHERE IT WAS I WAS WORRIED YOU WITH
RESPECT GOING TO MAKE IT OUT OF YOUR HOME.
WE WERE DOING THE SHOW EARLY IN LOCKDOWN.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN COPING?
>> GOOD.
VERY GOOD.
>> James: YEAH?
NICE TO SEE THE SUN.
HEY, I SPENT AT LOT OF TIME ALONE AS A CHILD, SO WHEN THE
WORLD WAS, LIKE, HEY, STAY INDOORS BY YOURSELF, I WAS,
LIKE, CAN DO, I HAVE BEEN TRAINING FOR THIS MY WHOLE LIFE.
>> James: YOU'RE A PAR PILOT.
YES.
>> James: DURING LOCKDOWN YOU WERE FLYING RESCUE DOGS AROUND
THE COUNTRY?
>> HERE AND THERE.
NOW, LOOK, YEAH, I TAKE LITTLE TRIPS, SOMETIMES FOR MYSELF AND
THEN SOMETIMES I SIGN UP WITH THIS ORGANIZATION PILOTS AND
PAWS, AND THEY'LL HAVE DOGS OR CATS OR SOMETHING THAT NEED, YOU
KNOW, TRANSPORT FROM A SHELTER THAT'S TOO FULL OR A SHELTER
THAT HAS ROOM OR TO A FOREVER HOME AND YOU CAN KIND OF AS A
PILOT VOLUNTEER AND SAY, I'LL TAKE THEM, AND YOU END UP IN
REDDING, CALIFORNIA OR SOMEPLACE IN INN AND BE LIKE, ALL RIGHT,
LET'S CHECK THIS PLACE OUT FOR A WEEKEND.
BUT YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING NICE.
I FEEL VERY FORTUNATE I CAN FLY A PLANE, SO, YEAH.
>> James: HOW MANY DOGS ARE ON THE PLANE WERE THE MOST DOGS
YOU'VE HAD?
>> NOTHING CRAZY.
IT'S A TINY PLANE, A LITTLE FOUR-SEATER.
I'VE HAD A PASSENGER, THREE OTHER DOGS, AND A LITTLE SCRUFFY
TERRIER WHO WAS NOT IN A GOOD MOOD, BUT THAT'S OKAY, HE WENT
TO DEAD, A MASSIVE DOBERMAN PINSCHER AND A TINY PUPPY THING
THAT WAS RIDING CO-PILOT.
I HAD A COUPLE OF BULL TERRIERS THAT WERE A LOT OF ENERGY.
I PUT THEM IN A CRATE, SNIFFED AND I THOUGHT, OH, THE DOG MADE
A BIG OLD DOO DOO?
IT WAS JUST A TOOT.
>> James: OKAY.
I LANDED EXPECTING TO SHOVEL OUT ALL THIS CRUD.
BUT IT WAS NERVOUS.
LITTLE TOOTS.
HAPPENS TO EVERYBODY.
>> James: THAT'S A LOVELY STORY.
>> YEAH.
YEAH, THE STORY IS -- >> James: LOVELY STORY.
IF YOU NEED A SUMMARY, ONE TIME I BROUGHT A DOG ON THE
PLANE AND I THOUGHT IT MADE A DOODY BUT IT JUST MADE A TOOT.
>> James:ING I THINK WE'VE GOT IT.
>> SO HOW HAVE THINGS BEEN GOING FOR ME IN QUARANTINE?
FANTASTIC.
>> James: YOU'RE SUCH A BRILLIANT COMEDIC PERFORMER.
YOU'RE SO GREAT.
WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW IS EARLY IN YOUR CAREERS YOU GOT YOUR
STRIPES PERFORMING COMEDY ON A CRUISE SHIP.
>> YES.
>> James: I'M INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT THAT'S LIKE.
>> WORKING ON THAT CRUISE SHIP WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUR VEAL,
WEIRDER PARTS TO HAVE THE WHOLE JOURNEY OF BEING AN ENTERTAINE.
>> James: YEAH.
IT WAS LIKE A MIX OF, LIKE, ENDLESS LEISURE TIME AND THEN NO
ESCAPE.
IT WAS LIKE A LUXURY PRISON BECAUSE YOU'RE ON A BOAT AND YOU
CAN'T GO ANYWHERE AND THERE ARE ALL THESE RULES YOU HAVE TO
ABIDE BY BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, LIKE AT 11:00 AT NIGHT, YOU CAN
GO GET CREPES.
( LAUGHTER ) THAT WAS, LIKE, MY FIRST
EXPERIENCE WITH REAL -- BECAUSE THE FIRST CRUISE, YOU DID TWO
TOURS FOR FOUR MONTHS.
THE FIRST ONE WAS OUT OF NEW YORK CITY, AND THAT WAS THE
FIRST TIME I MET, YOU KNOW, LONG ISLAND, STATEN ISLAND,
GUIDO'S WITH THE HAIRCUT AND THAT.
THE FIRST CRUISE YOU'RE JUST A PERSON ON A CRUISE, THEN THE
SECOND SHOW WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS THE SHOW, YOU WALK AROUND
AND THEY SAY, LET ME BUY YOU A SHOT!
THIS GUY'S HILARIOUS, YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON "SNL"!
GETTING NUGGETS.
YOU SON-OF-A-GUN!
THAT WAS FUN TO BE THE CHAMPION OF THE GUIDOS.
THEN THE FALL TOUR HAPPENS AND YOU GO TO BARR HARBOR, QUEBEC
CITY TO WATCH THE LEAVES CHANGE, AND ALL THE PARTY BOYS ARE GONE
AND THEY PUT ON ANDREWS SISTERS IN THE PA, EVERYONE'S IN BED BY
7:00 P.M.
>> James: OH, WOW.
BUT A SHORT LINE AT THE CRAP STANDS.
>> YOU KNOW IT, MY MAN.
>> James: LET'S CALCULATE YOU ON YOUR BRILLIANT NEW SITCOM
"B-POSITIVE."
IT HAS THE MOST INCREDIBLE REVIEWS.
TELL THEM WHAT IT'S ABOUT AND WHO YOU PLAY.
>> I PLAY A MAN WHO NEEDS A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT AND WHO
DOESN'T HAVE A LONG LIST OF FRIENDS AND HE GOES THROUGH THEM
QUICKLY, AND HE STUMBLES ON SOMEONE HE HASN'T KNOWN SINCE
HIGH SCHOOL.
SHE'S A BIT OF A MESS BUT GENEROUSLY OFFERS TO DONATE HER
KIDNEY AND IT'S THE COMING TOGETHER OF TWO VERY DIFFERENT
WORLDS.
>> James: HAVE YOU ENJOYED SSILICON VALLEY, A MORE
TRADITIONAL NETWORK COMEDY?
>> YEAH, I WAS TALKING TO REGGIE, BEING IN SMALL COMICS
AND DOING THE MOST ALIENATING COMEDY I CAN THINK OF.
TO DO SOMETHING WITH SUCH BIG APPEAL IS FUN.
THE DELIVERY OF IT IS KIND OF LIKE A PLAY.
YOU'RE ON SETS THAT DONT'S HAVE A WALL, RIGHT?
>> YEAH.
AND THE PILOT WE GOT TO SHOOT IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE.
I WAS, LIKE, OKAY, I GET THE EXCHANGE.
NOW WE'RE JUST HOLDING FOR LAUGHS WITH ABOUT THAT, WITH THE
CREW GOING -- ( SMALL LAUGH )
>> James: AND THEY'LL SHOW THAT TO AN AUDIENCE AND PUT THE
LAUGHS ON.
>> YEAH, ACTUALLY I DON'T KNOW THEIR PROCESS.
I'M SURE THEY'VE GOT HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS OF LAUGHS
RECORDED THAT THEY CAN, LIKE -- SOMEONE TOLD ME -- MIKE JUDD
TOLD ME A STORY ABOUT -- MIKE AND ALEC BURKE WHO WROTE FOR
SEINFELD TOLD ME HOW THEY WOULD GO, AND I DON'T KNOW IF HE STILL
WORKS IN THE BUSINESS, BUT APPARENTLY THERE IS A GUY WHO
DOES THE LAUGH TRACKS FOR A LOT OF SITCOMS.
HE'S BEEN IN BUSINESS A LONG TIME.
HE'LL WATCH IT, AND HE HAS AN OLD, ARCHAIC MACHINES AND HE
DOES SLIDERS, FADES THE LAUGHS, AND THERE ARE FOOT PEDALS.
>> James: NO!
AND HE IS APPARENTLY THE MOST STOIC MAN.
''S A DEAD BEEN MAN CONTROLLING ALL THE LAUGHTER
( LAUGHING ) THAT'S THE LEGEND.