Shows
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMr Monkeyjocks (aka The Potential or Theoretical Benefits of a Salt Lamp)We're knee-deep in toys, but who's really to blame for this outrageousness? As Mary and Kate ponder the usefulness of a salt lamp, coolness of a pair of Wayfarers, and treasureability of a baby gift, perhaps all-encompassing consumer culture is a little too close for comfort.
Mr Monkeyjocks also has us wondering if overwhelm is to blame for the "I'm bored" kid chorus? And if a box of toys gets "lost" in Mary's house move, is it unethical to blame the removalists?
And of course, all the reasons that Mr Monkeyjocks ends in tears. So s...2021-04-1543 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDouble Babysitter (aka Don't Turn to The Crown for Your Romance Needs)It's Gotta Be Done's most-demanded recap - clearly we all want more romance in our lives!
And Double Babysitter has stars aligning for Mary and Kate, as they finally get to deep-dive Rad and Frisky's characters - knowing there's a wedding on the horizon!
Plus post-lockdown demand for happily ever afters and kids' birthday parties, and our favourite other podcasts right now - oh hai 60 Songs that Explain the 90s and How to Change a Life!
Oh, and our most belated "We Know that Now" yet - get ready to be blown away b...2021-04-0841 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Joe Brumm in 2021!)It's nearly two years since Gotta Be Done first caught up with Joe Brumm, the incredible creator of Bluey.
Since then, the sheer perfection of Flat Pack and Sleepytime has happened. An Emmy happened (and a million more awards.) Bloody 2020 happened (and after this we'll never speak of it again.) Books and toys and Bluey's Big Play are still happening. And time and time again, Bluey has spoken to us/ saved us amidst it all.
So after all that, how many questions do Kate and Mary have for Joe now?
In the immortal wo...2021-04-0141 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDunny (aka Feel Like Royal Visits Are Pretty Well Pre-Advertised)So Mary and Kate are all for staying in bed longer in the mornings, but not sure the Heelers' hijinks quite capture the restful vibe we're after?
Dunny has us wondering which of the Queen's high standards we'd meet, vocabulary-based or otherwise. (Hint, not many!)
Plus, how many versions of Ten in the Bed/ Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes/ Jingle Bells, Batman Smells are the right number of versions?!
Squish-squash!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on every Bluey epi...2021-03-2440 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBad Mood (aka The Episode that Divided the Internet)Neuroscience, vaguebooking, trashing the place and hitting the chocolate - a Bad Mood is a journey, and this Gotta Be Done is no exception!
Can our little people actually help their big (bad/naughty/cheeky?!) feelings? And if parents (in Viking helmets) can drive the bad mood, is it up to us to drive the good one too? Don't mention emotional labour!
Plus the world's most annoying song and its breakout moment - you're welcome!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on...2021-03-1843 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastTypewriter (aka Solving All of Literature's Problems and Most of Humanity's)From the yellow brick roads of Oz to the bamboo forests of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the lusty libraries of Bridgerton, this literary-quest episode takes us everywhere!
Typewriter also reveals that Kate used to own a typewriter and used to love Wizard of Oz, while Mary still owns a typewriter and is still terrified of Return to Oz.
Then, is Calypso just hiding a typewriter, or revealing the secret to the creative journey? Ira Glass has lots to say about that too.
Okay, we're out - it's a long way to the sh...2021-03-1146 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Bluey's Big Play!)Since December 2020, Bluey's Big Play has been wowing sold-out theatres - or as Rose Myers puts it, "thousands of screaming fans"!
The Artistic Director of Windmill Theatre Company jumps in the wagon with Mary, and shares some of the challenges taking our favourite "barrel-shaped" Heelers from screen to stage - and the sheer delight of it all coming together.
Plus, Grannies, bin chickens, lorikeets, and should we be looking for a long dog on stage??
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on...2021-03-0418 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastLibrary (aka Heroic Felines in the Blueyverse?)Sure the Library's nice, but have you seen Cat Squad?! Okay so technically Mary and Kate haven't met those pawfect pals (here for your puuurrtection!) but they're a great excuse to talk kids TV themes - good, bad and ugly. Hi, Kangaroo Beach!
Meanwhile, is it always the parents to blame for a "spoilt" kid, or can we handball that honour to human nature? We're gonna try!
And of course, Stripe's plush lifestyle needs further analysis - or would that get us in trouble with the law??
++
Gotta Be Done is...2021-02-2539 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastCafe (aka Dropping Bluey into Parent Patter to Find Potential Soul Mates)It's the first time in a year that Kate and Mary are on the same microphone! (And also one very vocal nine-month-old, how did that even happen?!)
Well, more easily than adult friendships, as we discover in Cafe - why was making friends so much easier in our pub crawl days?!
From the Latin roots of famous Fidos, to the mathematical impossibility of two kids that both sleep in, to what even is sleep anyway, this episode is as delirious as Bandit on a pre-dawn park trip. Can we get through to brekkie and save b...2021-02-1831 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBurger Shop (aka Haven't Put My Kid in Any Death Matches Today)Surviving bath time's boredom, mislabeled brachiosauruses and code browns is always tough, so Mary and Kate are thrilled to see Bandit's looking for external guidance too. (Anything's better than adopting the Cobra Kai model, right?!)
Burger Shop has us wondering where one does source parenting wisdom (spoiler: mainly podcasts) and also money (Rich Uncle Pennybags is our best chance). Also, do kids actually make up games anymore, or just steal them all from Bluey?
Excuse us, gotta get back to writing our parenting book!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums...2021-02-1137 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBarky Boats (aka Those People Who Need to Click Wikipedia's 'Donate Now' Button)It's 2021, school's back and so is Gotta Be Done - but is anyone ready for all the going-one-way-then-the-other-way growing up it requires?? Going by our torrents of tears in Barky Boats, Mary and Kate definitely are not!
At least some things never change, specifically schoolyard strategies for divining future marriages. (Bluey and Mackenzie sitting in a tree!)
Also in a tree, is it God's Eye or just lazy craft? Then fairy gardens put us on a cool Cucumber Quest, and the perfect (and chart-topping!) Bluey Album sends us to Creek heaven.
Kiss kiss...2021-02-0442 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastChristmas Swim (aka A Christmas Treat and Schweppes Classic Catches)WE MADE IT TO CHRISTMAS! Or at least to Christmas Swim, which definitely meets the 2020 near-enough-is-good-enough standard for Mary and Kate.
And it's our second Heeler Christmas - is that too early to be demanding invites to weddings? (Looking at you, Rad and Frisky!) Plus we bear gifts: the true meaning of Bartleby, and the (world exclusive) solved mystery of the missing Bluey season two episode!
Now excuse us, we've got to follow a star that guides us to Thy Perfect Light/ proper gravy. (Happy Christmas to all the Gotta Be Done family, and may all...2020-12-1753 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMovies (aka The Great Sock Crisis of 2018)Gotta love a special guest appearance on the big screen, and Gotta Be Done does Movies with some serious cinematic assistance - writer and movie buff Cam Williams, thanks for getting in the wagon!
From our earliest celluloid experiences to the best way to get kids contained in the cinema, via Willow and "I want" songs and Seinfeld spin-offs and Dreamworks dance parties, it's a blockbuster. (Also, an exclusive extended cut of Joff Bush's Chunky Chimp soundtrack!)
This summer, get ready to BEE (listening to an extra long podcast episode) YOURSELF!
++
...2020-12-1055 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Quiet Game (aka Don't Ask Questions I'll Just Go Get the Cowbell)We know our kids never want to play the quiet game - but this episode is proof that team Gotta Be Done isn't so crash hot at it either. (More cowbell!)
Besides Mary's determination to ruin all Kate's noisy fun, we're both playing spot-the-Easter-egg in The Quiet Game - did we get them all?
Plus first days on the job, ponies and bronies, great Madges of Australian TV, and orchestra requirements for silent movies - look, you'll understand one day!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Ma...2020-12-0340 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastCircus (aka Never Had More Faith in the Democratic System)Has anyone else noticed a lot of democracy around lately? What better time to break bread and talk Circus!
This Bluey episode premiered on Queensland Election day, but Mary and Kate are finding more to talk about across the Pacific as they compare these playground politics with the real thing. And how do explain elections to little kids - when they only talk in goodies and baddies?
Plus, Kate wonders whether perfect politician Bluey has been reading How to Win Friends and Influence People? And when she is Prime Minister, any chance of a friendly s...2020-11-2638 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastIce Cream (aka The Bougainvillea as Nature's Commentary)We all want life to be fairly fair, but can we really insist on VERY fair? Gotta Be Done does Ice Cream via childhood sharing techniques and Die Hard: With a Vengeance - it's (fairly) relevant!
Plus inspirational Fantasia, celebrity spotting on Brisbane's South Bank (hi Nick and Jazz!) and in future Bluey episodes (hi baby Croc Hunter!), and the importance of keeping buskers happy.
Awww go on give us a double-choc in a cup extra large!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we d...2020-11-1237 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastGrandad (aka Do You Drink If It's True or If It's False?)Finally getting to meet Chilli's Dad in Grandad has got Gotta Be Done giddy - we don't even care he's not voiced by Russell Crowe!
There are movie references aplenty though, and Kate deep-dives the bluegrass in this episode, and gets a Handel on the ups and downs of Seesaw's score too.
Plus, our hot takes on what the Grandad message means for our hot mess world. Because couldn't it be up to us?
(Also, if you're listen while this is fresh, make sure you check out the extended Bluey theme song that's ju...2020-11-0540 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS (aka Our Queen and Yours, Chilli/ Melanie Zanetti!)New Bluey episodes always mean one thing - that supermama Chilli is finding new ways to win our hearts.
So what better time to chat to the lady who brings her to life, amazing Aussie actor Melanie Zanetti!
Melanie tells Kate and Mary the serendipitous story behind getting cast as Chilli, shares her close-to-home inspiration for the character, and lets us in on some of her favourite moments since Bluey's taken over the world!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Blu...2020-10-2934 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastSeesaw (aka Kids Just Want to Take Us Down)NEW EPISODES!! Fresh Bluey has landed on Australia's ABC TV, and Gotta Be Done is at the ready with a brand new recap (thanks ABC and Ludo Studio for the handy preview!)
The playground games of Seesaw are a palate cleanser after the highs of Sleepytime and Flat Pack says Kate, while Mary is seeing the tried and true "smallest character makes all the difference" trope.
Plus new characters on screen and Bluey royalty behind the scenes, hints about episodes to come, and Kate's got a good Handel on the score too. Hooray!
++...2020-10-2639 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS (aka Brisbane's Beethoven, Melbourne's Mozart, Australia's Most Formidable Bluey Experts)We're back, baby!
Yep, just a few days out from new Bluey in Australia (trailer here!), and Gotta Be Done is diving deep into hints about what's to come.
There's chippy-lipped cakes (ahoy Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book!), mystery dogs (Uncle Rad?!) and even possible guest stars (another Rusty?!)
Plus, we relive Mary's Hard Quiz glory, get excited about Bluey music (album, stage show, everything!), and Kate asks Gotta Be Done music hero Ari Danaher-Flavell what he loves about Bluey, too.
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Me...2020-10-2137 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastSleepytime (aka Keeping the Dream at Least Half Alive)Finally at the interplanetary pinnacle of the Blueyverse, and Gotta Be Done has gotta wonder - can words ever do justice to sublime Sleepytime?
Well, we hope so, because Kate and Mary have just rambled through an hour's worth!
We wax lyrical about bedtime (it's kind of a solar-system-sized deal) and the politics of parenting, share lunar theories about moon rabbits (they've got Saturn surrounded!), describe what we see when we look into the sun, and reveal which Bluey genius had the idea for the perfect Holst score.
Prepare for tears - not l...2020-09-241h 06
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMum School (aka Not Wanting to Do Anything and Always Being Hungry)We all fail Mum School sometimes - but damn Mary and Kate are glad there are no adjudicators in our respective showers at the moment!
Get ready to deep-dive pedagogy, feel weird about balloons in baths, and hear a lot about unconditional love - what we're feeling, and the book Kate's reading too. Also, Kate sings!
Big love to all the people out there parenting, teaching, and wrangling every type of balloon/child. Hope we can all take Chilli's guide-on-the-side wisdom.
We might just go start again tomorrow.
(One non-failure and non...2020-09-1743 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHelicopter (aka The Marshmellow Chapter of Our Lives)"Things pop up that you can't control. You just have to go with it."
Yet another message for our times - or is locked-down Gotta Be Done just at the point of co-opting any encouragement we can get?
Beyond Chilli truth-bombs, Helicopter has Bluey at her steely-eyed best, and Mary and Kate are loving the parade of colourful characters reminding us of school life. Also, the delights of Longreach (including these amazing Bluey LEGO designs!), distant memories of bushfires (what year is it?) , and baby Joe playing a velociraptor!
Finally, discover the heights...2020-09-1040 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHairdressers (aka Swiping Left on Bert Handsome)Sooo, been up to much? Oh that's very interesting!
Gotta Be Done definitely hasn't been up to hair maintenance, so what better time to tackle Hairdressers? And also, whether Mary and Kate would let the kiddos touch our hair, or even hang us from a tree and rake us (don't worry, Bandit clearly consented!)
From judgey stylists to George of the Jungle and when parents need to find ears too, it's the full Gotta Be Done treatment! Plus, Mary can't remember the name of the movie with McLovin' (it's Superbad), Kate isn't sure why the m...2020-09-0338 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastRug Island (aka Lucky's Dad the God We're All Looking For)It may seem like the classic castaway-made-of-pens story, but Gotta Be Done is digging deeper on Rug Island, and Mary and Kate have an ocean of questions, including:
- What is pre-dawn?
- How do connector textas actually connect?
- WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO MAKE KIDS THINK THAT PADDLE BOARDS CAN GLIDE ALONG GRASS??
Plus Kate has a cracker theory about Rug Island's true meaning.
(Oh, and one for the Gotta Be Done folks listening before Saturday 12 September 2020 - move fast if you want to play Bluey trivia w...2020-08-2741 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastFlat Pack (aka So Much to Unpack)It's an episode 14 billion years in the making, but how far have we come really? Straight out of the box for this Flat Pack recap, Gotta Be Done eats the frog (dog) and addresses the dinosaurs in the room: there's still plenty more building to do.
So props Ludo Studio and ABC for making changes to Bluey that help make a better world for everyone.
Now that's dealt with - what IS the meaning of life? Kate and Mary muse Flat Pack's version, and find it pretty close to home.
++
Gotta Be...2020-08-2046 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastTickle Crabs (aka You Can Never Google Bluey Too Much)If you can't score an uninterrupted half hour on the couch, is hiding in the cupboard the next best option?? These are the philosophical questions locked down Kate and Mary are tackling as Gotta Be Done does Tickle Crabs.
There's reassurances for parents suffering a Bluey-inspired tickle crab infestation - it could have been worse! (Pinchy pinchy!) Ultimate parenting #lifehack, having an imaginary glue stick on hand pays dividends. And has Bluey gone full please-face stylist??
Plus Telemachus leads us (via the pantry) on a wild Greek goddess seagull chase. Obviously.
Leucothea ya lat...2020-08-1332 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Cinematic Bluey)Strap yourselves in, kids - this is epic Gotta Be Done as we go full film special, thanks to some excellent guest expertise!
Podcast legend Blake Howard of One Heat Minute productions jumps in the wagon to share his grateful-dad love of Bluey, and cinema-conditioned eye for spotting silver screen homage.
Mary and Kate are reeling as Blake calls Joe Brumm's 2001: A Space Odyssey obsession (it goes beyond Sleepytime!), finds whole genres in Army and Work, and sees a post-apocalyptic classic bearing down in Escape.
Grab the jumbo popcorn and as many choctops as...2020-08-0652 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastPiggyback (aka Cool Scooter Mums Not Normal Mums)It's the journey of a thousand shiny distractions, but is Piggyback the quintessential road trip movie episode, or have we just been trapped in lockdown for too long?
From Kate's new scooter, to Bluey's ongoing exploration of second-tier Australian wildlife, and even a rare sighting of Ludo Studio art director Costa, it's a wild ride.
Plus, a how-to for tackling too-big problems that's definitely coming in handy right now - though honestly, we'd prefer a piggyback!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we dee...2020-07-3037 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Show (aka Advice for the Ages)CONTENT WARNING: In this episode, Mary and Kate talk pregnancy loss, infertility, and grief. If you already know why, you've probably noticed what Gotta Be Done has noticed about The Show. If you don't - prepare for things to get heavy.
Bluey is known for tackling big issues - and there's more than a few little hints of a second storyline in The Show. (As usual, there's still plenty of hope, hilarity and happiness to take from this gorgeous episode too.) And in these overwhelming times, who doesn't need a helpful checklist on hand?
Plus even...2020-07-2342 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastFancy Restaurant (aka McFlourished Me Guts Up)It's a smorgasbord of squeamishness as Gotta Be Done does Fancy Restaurant - but is it food we're off, or feelings?
With plenty of their own romantical shortcomings to confess, Mary and Kate have Asparagus-level aversion to Bluey and Bingo's feral feast - and the keytar isn't helping!
Plus long dogs, old mate Antonio, It's a Date, and the most very romance words a parent can hear. It's McFlourishing!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of det...2020-07-1643 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastFavourite Thing (aka Tomato Sauce on T-bones and Vegemite in Fridges)The second episode in our didn't-save-the-first-time-around double, and Mary and Kate aren't feeling philosophical about their tribulations - but does Favourite Thing deserve their rage?
This inscrutable Bluey episode has us wondering we're meant to be grateful for, traumatised by past playground encounters with "what's your name?", and struggling with the Heelers' weirder food habits.
Or, is it just our fixer tendencies at breaking point? And can Jetpack Bingo save the day? Jeremy, no!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every B...2020-07-0941 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBingo (aka So Nice We Did It Twice)Get ready to go orange - finally, it's Bingo's turn to win musical statues! (Which is what they're playing in the Bluey titles, just in case you didn't know!)
So is this Bingo episode of Bluey/Bingo a make-good on last year's Bingo shortage, or are there bigger problems at play?
Plus, a potted history of Kiwi comedy and/or mockery, a weird detour into an unnamed Lonely Island offering, and the practicalities of island-shaped snacks.
And finally, we know that now with dings, chings, jings - chin chin!
++
Go...2020-07-0244 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastTrains (aka A Real Piece of Poo)Sleep, sleep, sleep - oh sleep! Bingo's perfect little life in Trains has just one downside, and we have the same problem (and also, so many problems!)
Gotta Be Done is on the rails as we do the second in this public transport double - but won't somebody think of the floorboards?!
Plus, triple (quadruple?!) threat Chilli doing heavy theatrical lifting, Bandit's classic cartoon injuries, and what's the connection between all-in-character episodes and The Grannies? Hope the Golden Girls is the next step Rita! Me too Madge!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex...2020-06-2530 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBus (aka A Whole Lot of Bullock Going On)Get ready for rush hour, this meandering people-mover is a movie-reference-a-minute!
Kate and Mary get on the Bus and immediately notice a Sandra Bullock theme - or are we just revealing our decidedly 1990s tastes? (Marry us, Bill Pullman!)
And who hasn't made a horror bus journey - or a haphazard attempt at a love-lorn happy ending?
Oh, and joy of joys, here comes the (Grannies) leitmotif - just in time for the figurines, too!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we d...2020-06-1827 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastQueens (aka Lorikeets Are Quite Nice Birds Really)We don't mind claiming a royal title now and then, but is Queens also bestowing a sly crown on Gotta Be Done? Or is Team Bluey calling us poo-scrubbers?? It's just another case of fantasy versus reality in this rags to riches game of thrones!
Mary and Kate go head to head on the monarchy debate (can you guess who has the royal biccie tin collection?), wonder about the influence of Netflix bingefest The Crown on this episode, and even spot a future Ludo offering on the horizon (stay tuned for Nibling!)
Plus, it's the fi...2020-06-1139 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastEscape (aka Personal Life Troubled, Alcoholism, Oh Well)To understand this escapade movie of a Gotta Be Done episode, you probably need to know one of Mary's boys is named Bonaventure.
Now that's dealt with, strap yourselves in kids - it's Escape! Inspired by the offbeat art in this adrenaline-charged Heeler family chase, Mary and Kate compare other kid-drawing-style cartoons. And how good is an "educational" excuse to pop the poppets in front of them!
Meanwhile, how do the Barbie Dream Houses of our collective childhoods drive our current-day commitment to consumerism and/or pink spa baths?
But mainly, can us long-suf...2020-06-0429 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDaddy Dropoff (aka Are You There Jesus? It's Me, Marjorie)We haven't had to do it in a while, but has the morning rush out the door ever failed to chill the blood of the responsible parent? Daddy Dropoff is no different - and the trauma is rushing back!
But are endless games the only things holding us up? Or is it just the constant rushing that's the problem? (In Mary's case, the games/phone calls/kisses definitely aren't helping.)
And of course, Bluey's emotional highs leave us a mess - and Kate wondering how to pick the moments that will change the kids' lives f...2020-05-2835 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastStumpfest (aka Quintessential Festival Girl Who Goes Too Hard Too Early)We've called it, Stumpfest is the Coachella of the Blueyverse - but really, lockdown life means any excuse to get day drunk would feel like Coachella right now!
Gotta Be Done's gender wars are back (is Nail Salon a girls' game? Do blokes need a manly excuse to talk feelings?), there's prehistoric community-building, and is Bandit chanelling the Working Dog types over at Utopia? Oh, and as usual we're living for Myf Warhurst's transcendent one-liners.
Oh, and the tunes! With a lineup including Johann Sebastian, 80s hair metal, Suzanne Vega, Nelly and schoolyard hand clapping, th...2020-05-2136 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (The Musical Wisdom of Wade)There's three in the wagon for this symphony of sounds (and season two spoilers!), as long-time Gotta Be Done music correspondent Wade Gregory gets on the mic - and he's brought his melodica!
A former Brisbanite and Queensland Conservatorium grad (alongside Bluey composer Joff Bush!), Wade brings a maestro's take to every tiny tune and massive movement.
Get ready hear Bluey with fresh ears, as we deep dive original melodies, all the classicals (really, every single one), the meaning of the word "Joffify", and so many more musical delights. Thanks Wade for getting on board G...2020-05-1441 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDad Baby (If You're Listening to This Now, We Have a Baby)Welcome to the world, little Joseph Robert, and go mama Kate! (And please note when you are old enough, just how organised we have been with this perfectly-themed Bluey episode for your arrival!)
Of course, birth can be a drawn-out affair, and this Dad Baby recap takes the long way. There's cravings, Vegemite-based Ozzest 100 conspiracies, the Croc Hunter's Crocoseum funeral - and of course, how bloody amazing are mums?? (Happy Mother's Day, all you Chillis!)
Plus long dogs, episode cross-overs, Mary's persistent new puppy theories, and more!
Look out, we might have to go...2020-05-0737 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastArmy (aka The Only Memorable Feature of 1987's Predator)It's a Gotta Be Done episode as long as War and Peace (more or less) - it's Army of course!
Mary and Kate salute with good dog/soldier Rusty and his suspiciously weapon-free war games, wonder if Jack Russell's family are unsympathetic or merely driving narrative, and revel in some mighty military drumming.
Plus, there's plenty of long dogs in our sights, good intel on a Classical Bluey playlist, and even tips for keeping kids occupied amidst lockdown. Forward march!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary...2020-04-3040 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastSticky Gecko (aka Never Shoot the Bolognese Bringer)At a time when no one's leaving the house, isn't it great that Sticky Gecko reminds us it's impossible anyway!
Get ready for deep truths about time (a construct), friends (don't have judgey ones), and lasagna (you can have too much), as Mary and Kate take on Chilli's spectacular turn at Take Away.
With bonus Bluey armed forces theories, you don't have to hurry up and wait for this SNAFU of an episode!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on every Blu...2020-04-2336 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastSquash (aka Overrun with Vines and Wild Goats)It's an epic grudge match, and Squash inspires an epic episode from Gotta Be Done!
Wide-ranging from formative squash court memories, to lack of games consoles in our households, magic and/or positive thinking and/or sports psychology, sportsball shortages, and even the feral inhabitants of Great Keppel Island, all welcome to whatever the hell is going on.
So crank your 80s synths and put on your best montage face, this is some yellow-dot-ball level analysis!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we de...2020-04-1638 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastCharades (aka Negotiating with Terrorists)(After one glorious episode using our new mics, this week they didn't work - Skype crackle is back!)
Happily, Charades means gorgeous Nanna Heeler is also back - cue nationwide tears as we all miss our grans! Kate gets reminiscent about visits to her grandparents as a littlie... then staying at Mary's grandparents as a not-so-littlie!
But are there also nationwide culture wars between parents and grandparents, and who's wrecking the kids more? Mary has outrage to share.
Finally, an epic rabbit hole as we ask the question everyone wants to know: who is t...2020-04-0931 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastFeatherwand (aka There's More than One Movie with a Wizard?)Life feels a bit heavy right now - what better time for a Featherwand? And Bluey and Bingo are as magical as ever!
But what's magic, and what's just mayhem? Hard to tell, especially when Lucky's Dad gets involved.
Of course we go into the Hall of the Mountain King, and spin-offs soundtracks from Inspector Gadget to the Winklevoss twins. Also, how Greig felt about his most famous piece, and why composer types have such cool names (Edvard, Wolfgang, Ludwig, Joff... and of course Ari!)
Plus, Mary shows off her dismal dearth of po...2020-04-0237 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHammerbarn (aka Single-handedly Trying to Kickstart the Economy)We're getting in quick while its still open - Gotta Be Done goes to Hammerbarn/Bunnings!
Back on Skype amidst the self-isolating and social distancing, Mary is taking topical life lessons from this Bluey instructional, while Kate's belting out the Hallelujah Chorus (and not just because Lucky's Dad is back!)
Plus, our new segment "We Know that Now" takes up half the episode as we make amends for all our big misses in Dance Mode. (Let us know what we've stuffed up with Hammerbarn!)
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mu...2020-03-2636 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDance Mode (aka We Would Have Said Yes/No for Free)Bluey is back, and just in bloody time - what a shining light for some pretty grim days.
Gotta Be Done's coming from the immuno-compromised/baby-growing home fortress for Kate, and the socially-distant work-from-home warzone for Mary - but never fear, we've still been playing Dance Mode non-stop since this episode dropped!
From managing public meltdowns to the going price for a nicked chip, Bluey's long-awaited return has everything we hoped! We detour via Upper Middle Bogan and some Zac Efron movie that Kate didn't finish, and seriously lose our way in downtown Brisbane, but ma...2020-03-1932 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMagic Xylophone (aka Not Wearing 'Genius at Work' Tshirts)LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! We will now play for you... the absolutely very final Gotta Be Done episode for Bluey season one! Yep, with season two just hours away, we're going back to where it all began - it's Magic Xylophone!
And it wouldn't be Gotta Be Done without some extreme and far-fetched conspiracy theories. This time, we're tracing episode origins right back to some The Simpsons circa 1997! Or is it just Mary going crazy? (Ahem, I withdraw my question.)
Plus a deep-dive on Wolfgang Amadeus, Bandit-Chilli romance theories, season two excitement, and whether it's really pl...2020-03-1631 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastTrampoline (aka Prepared to Eat Wet Lettuce)Our penultimate take on Bluey season one, and it's a tale of trampolines past, present and future on Gotta Be Done: their relative safety checklists, and tolerance for sprinklers and firecrackers. (Speaking of cautious behaviour, here's the video of the burning piano song by episode music man Pluto Jonze!)
Mary is wowed by Bluey's big-picture talent for game invention (and has a bone to pick with Bingo and her insect-affinity), while Kate's not convinced on the average kitchen's requirement for a salad spinner, and feeling Bandit's struggle to make a clean escape to work.
Oh, an...2020-03-1535 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHospital (aka Questionable Medico-Legal Decisions)Is there a doctor in the house? Well, we've got one in the wagon at least, and not for any epidemic reasons, thankfully - it's Dr Michael Toon of the life-changing Instagram account @bluey_locations!
Dad, anesthetist and eagle-eyed Brisbanite Michael has been finding and sharing for-real-life Brisbane destinations that feature in Bluey since 2018, and now he's joining us to discuss his close-to-home favourite episode, Hospital.
Get ready to compare Bluey and Bingo's bedside manners, relive those dreamy 80s days were (Australian) life revolved around The Afternoon Show (the Telemachus-inspiring show Mary can't remember the na...2020-03-1234 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHotel (aka Red Heelers Under the Bed)Hotels hold plenty of secrets behind the doors, and this Gotta Be Done is no different - from Mary's infrequent sheet-changing habits to Kate's yearning for a full morning of grooming, prepare for overshare!
Plus, the perfection of the kids/no kids game, British comedies that dad make us watch, and our ongoing inability to use Shazam.
And finally, is there a militant message to take from little (red) Bingo? There is power in a union, folks!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we...2020-03-1223 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Dump (aka Robots Need to Help at the Dump)It's a long weekend at Gotta Be Done HQ, so we're taking our lead from Bandit and throwing out some... more episodes!
The Dump has us trash-talking - from suspicious recycling processes, to cathartic car-jumping, and how best to "file" the kids' art.
Plus, tales of less-than-ideal parenting, and the importance of admitting our stuff-ups - even though they will probably be used against us. Ah, we love the dump!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on every Bluey episode, with ple...2020-03-0824 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Weekend (aka Recording a Podcast and Jogging at the Time)It's finally here! Yes, The Weekend (and any weekend really) is cause for celebration, especially as the first-ever Bluey episode created. Like, wow.
But first, we take a step back to the pilot version and spot some crucial differences - all hail Chilli and her casual running ways! But what's a Bandit if not a Bandit?
Plus parenting toilet habits (and we make excellent podcast Sh*tting with the Door Open sound way worse than it is), cricket WAGs, the fabled existence of walking leaves, and more. And best of all, there sure is more w...2020-03-0527 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHorsey Ride (aka Who Could Possibly Have the Kids??)Married life was never meant to be smooth, and this wedding coverage starts with a slight hiccup - but don't worry Tim, we're not here to play the blame game!
Horsey Wedding has us on our high horses as we talk about normalising dads sharing parenting duties - can Bluey finally end the "dad's babysitting" narrative? Even/especially when it comes to footballers?
Then, so many questions! Is Socks teething? Do we really need back-ups of our kids' favourite toys? And is starting a whole-of-family entertainment empire actually as fun as it sounds?
Fi...2020-03-0322 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastShadowlands (aka People That Categorise People and People That Don't)Remember the days in the old school yard, we used to talk about crocs a lot. Well, that's how we recall it, as we get misty-eyed about primary school games in this Shadowlands recap. But does everyone have the same fond memories?
Bluey vs Coco gets Kate thinking about Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies (Upholders, Questioners, Obligers and Rebels, obvs - take the quiz!) But Mary has no time for categorising humans (or books about the topic, apparently!) The bigger question though - is Bluey all about rule-following, or rule-breaking?
Plus Lydian Mode delivers a magical...2020-02-2723 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDaddy Robot (aka Does This Feel Familiar? Totally Don't Recall)Gonna be totally up front - this Gotta Be Done recap of does not mention Total Recall. Not the Martian moonscape, not the dream kiss. Mary maybe (??) gets in the right universe when she wonders if robot-fixing-genius Chilli is channeling Sarah Connor, but then again, wasn't every movie an Arnie blockbuster back then?
And yet, even as we miss this classic 90s allusion, there's still plenty of big Bluey moments in this box office hit. From fridge-door-food-shovelling and indoor plant care, to never-ending toy clean-ups, and when parents can sneak in a bit of romance, Daddy Robot de...2020-02-2626 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Before Bluey Was Our Lives' Obsession, Roller Derby Was Our Lives' Obsession!)We've said we're not recapping the first-ever Bluey ep The Magic Xylophone until we've gotten through the rest of S1 - but if you can't wait that long, this Gotta Be Done bonus is for you!
Mary catches up with fellow Bluey obsessive (and former roller derby team mate) Dotti, who had the whole family waiting with bated breath in front of the telly when that first episode aired back in October 2018. Dotti shares the highlights of that first viewing for her family, and where Bluey has taken them since.
From knowing where to start...2020-02-2321 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMount Mumandad (aka Every Theme Park Is Essentially Crazy World)Ready or not, we're headed up Mount Mumandad!
It's the go-to metaphor of every earnest Insta #inspo, but is climbing mountains really that relatable? Mary thinks the standard comparison should be getting a whole household out the door on a work day - props to all the fellow climbers facing that monster!
We talk mountaineering history, looming theme parks (is Bluey going to Dreamworld??), and old Hollywood themes with some help a new music correspondent (thanks Wade!)
Plus, are we Blueys or Bingos when it comes to packing? Or can we just get...2020-02-2025 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastKids (aka Little Trolleys Already a Traumatic Premise)Is Kids the most divisive Bluey episode, or are parents made to sit in toilet paper chairs just out to get revenge?
Hard to believe a grocery run with the kids could get more traumatic, but like the Heelers, Mary and Kate are yet to take the extreme step of Click and Collect.
Also, is this episode a sneaky look at Chilli and Bandit's secret #parentfails? Mary reckons so - we can all take some hope for our parenting if the Heelers are dropping the occasional exasperated "do you think I'm made of money?!" Plus...2020-02-1621 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Season Two So Very Soon!)IT'S NEARLY HERE! No, not Kate's bub (although he's pretty imminent too) - it's BLUEY SEASON TWO!!
Enjoy this bonus ep of us mainly hyperventilating at the thought of new Bluey eps, FINALLY hitting ABC TV and iView from Tuesday 17 March! That is just over a month away, and you can watch the S2 trailer on Facebook right now.
Meanwhile, Gotta Be Done still has ELEVEN eps of S1 to smash through - can we get there before S2 drops?? Where should we start? What are you still desperately waiting for us to deep dive? An...2020-02-1408 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastDaddy Putdown (aka Babies Do Love Onesies)The Heeler home has never looked so heavenly in Daddy Putdown, but hell awaits a parent who tries to mess with a kid's routine! We wonder what is with our offsprings' parental preferences - but is it just small humans who hate change??
Outrage continues as we tackle Mary's workplace training modules, Kate's mixed feelings about baby showers, and clothing companies that underestimate demand for Bluey onesies (WHY?!)
But it's not all fury - we're also flummoxed by Follow the Leader music, and Mary delivers Kate a hospital hand pass with the pronunciation of Prokofiev (sorr...2020-02-1327 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastButterflies (aka Searching the Word 'Bluey' to Cheer Ourselves Up)Another friend in the wagon/ fabric swing today - podcast aficionado Peter Wells! Pete found Gotta Be Done soon after we launched, and won our hearts when he featured us in this Age/SMH podcast column in 2019 - now he's joining us for the ultimate heartbreaker Bluey ep, Butterflies!
Are Judo and mum Wendy the 'baddies' of the Blueyverse? Or is Judo just the latest victim of ye olde tv trope Only Child Syndrome - or worse, Bad Mother Effect?! We've had fan mail on that very topic from WhiteChoclatte - and strap yourself in, it goes d...2020-02-0630 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastNeighbours (aka Inserting Our Own Laugh Track)We know everybody needs good Neighbours, but can you construct a cubby without couch cushions? Mary thinks not, and this episode of Bluey has prompted some big (housing) developments in her lounge room!
Meanwhile, Kate's gone down a 90s sitcom rabbit hole, and there's tons of TVs most annoying neighbours at the bottom. But Mary's going into bat for Bandit's stereotype - is it really true that nobody likes a bogan/her?
And finally, can a good hard stare save the day, or was it Chilli's peace lily that really fixed the feng shui on M...2020-01-3022 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastZoo (aka The Art of Todder Distraction)Lots of animals live in the Zoo, but how has it taken 36/37 years and this episode of Bluey to enlighten Kate and Mary on the existence of pademelons?!
We're also wondering when Bandit last got through his weekend newspaper - and should we persist with ours? More importantly, will we ever be as good on the up-sell as Bluey? Her zoo keeper character is one cool capitalist, but Kate suspects the skills started elsewhere.
Then there's speculation about the Bluey live show (how will they talk?!), reminiscing about Arthur the Aardvark, and a menagerie of we...2020-01-2330 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastSpy Game (aka There Is No Kisser, Consent Is Everything)From shoveling food into our children to it coming out the other end, Spy Game is the Bluey episode tackling all the issues close to our heart/daily horrors.
We consider an international incident sizzling over trans-Tasman sausage skills, and all the features of New Farm Park in Brisbane that make this episode so very @bluey_locations friendly. Mary remembers a childhood full of useful passwords, and Kate needs a horticultural expert - are the jacarandas ever not blooming in that beautiful city??
Finally, we debate the origin of man - well, the origin of t...2020-01-1624 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastKeepy Uppy (aka Unqualified to Parent with Ceiling Fans)It's a new year, it's a fresh start - and dammit, we're not letting the 12 Days of Bluey go! Enjoy as we splutter our way through a recap of Australia's most favourite Bluey episodes as voted by you - and the fact that small children don't exactly share our excellent taste (RIP Bike).
But the upside - an excuse for Keepy Uppy, which came in at #6 (not to get all mathematical on you, but that's practically top five).
We consider all the different ways that balloon use can distribute bodily fluids around the house, and Ma...2020-01-0931 minGotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Masterful Musical Bluey!)So we're meant to be on a break (it's Gotta Be Done!), but Mary couldn't resist the chance to chat all things Bluey music, and hear a seriously smart takes on why it sings to us all.
Dr Liz Giuffre is an expert in music and sound design in film and tv, and the University of Technology Sydney senior lecturer reckons she could write a whole book about the music in Bluey. (Please do!) She's also a mum who found Bluey through her daughter's tv habits, and is hanging on for dear life amidst a sea of t...2019-12-1926 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastVerandah Santa (aka And to All a Good Night!)SPOILER ALERT! We know every episode of Gotta Be Done is spoilers galore, but there's high risk you haven't actually seen Verandah Santa yet BECAUSE IT JUST DROPPED AT 6AM TODAY! (In Australia, that is - get ye to ABC iView, Aussies!) But if you have already done the early wake-up and delighted in this long-awaited Bluey Christmas episode, we invite you to strap yourselves in, kids!
It's the most wonderful time of the year - but if we're honest, Verandah Santa feels like a bit of a lone festive highlight amidst the shopping centre madness, packed...2019-12-1137 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastFairies (aka A 6ft1 Fairy Named Gareth)There's a new chaotic force on Gotta Be Done - but are fairies really to blame?? Gareth from Celtic Punkcast joins us in the wagon, and shares his Fairies wisdom on everything from building a fairy ring and knocking on wood, to Irish dancing, tunes, and more!
Not sure it reduces the confusion though - for Mary, this Bluey episode is up there with Donnie Darko for creepy unresolved plotlines, while Kate's spotting equally confounding chemistry between Heeler neighbours Wendy and Lucky's Dad!
The first of a few new voices to be getting on Gotta B...2019-12-0533 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBlue Mountains (aka Googly Eyes the Peak of Parenting Organisation)Okay, seriously. Has anyone ever organised a family event to the extent that they are up a mountain, with a picnic, and a picnic blanket, AND there's googly eyes and felt-tip pens for post-lunch games? We ask ourselves the question (the answer will shock you!)
Yep, it's Blue Mountains, and yet again, Chilli is over-delivering on both game-play and life-lessons. Can we ever compete?! (Luckily it's not a competition, unless the competition is to sneak Dad-insults into the narrative. In which case, game on!)
Plus, Mary shares some terrible parenting (lollies from a stranger, anyone...2019-11-2819 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastTeasing (aka Peekaboo As Your Child's Worst Nightmare)After a start that's more confusing than the name Sharalanda, we're away with some Teasing - or as Kate sees it, easy-games-to-play-with-kids 101!
But when is it okay to tease your (our) kids, and when is it too much? Mary analyses the child development theory (or pop-psychology clickbait, you decide), and we wonder whether kids know what sarcasm is (duh, nooooooo!) Can Bluey-style teasing can actually build resilience? And, what are parents being belted for this week - being under-involved in kids' sporting activities, or over-involved? (Spoiler: we can't win!)
Plus, get on board in Kate's n...2019-11-2129 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBob Bilby (aka The Hunt for Bingo Heeler)Is Bob Bilby the most Bingo episode of Bluey so far? And why is it so hard to find a bloody Bingo on the toy shelves?? And why would schools think us parents want to spend a high-pressured weekend setting up snapshots of a bleeping puppet when we can barely get our kids to look good in a photo?! Especially when we've got five different Kmarts to visit looking for Bingo!
We're asking all the tough questions for this too-cute tale of screen-time perils (don't think we haven't noticed that you're making us watch it on a...2019-11-1432 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Plushies and Cookies and Books, Oh My!)Like any great party, this episode is all over the place.
You're going to be shouting "what did you say?" over the noise. (Sorry, new mics are on our Christmas wish list!)
There's a couple of really amazing outfits. (Hi Bluey, hi Bingo!)
Some random guy keeps relating everything back to movies. (The world of Bluey is just like Hurt Locker, Terminator, and Gremlins, according to Ludo Studio co-founder Daley Pearson.)
And when it's all done, there's always one annoying person who won't stop talking about it. (The party is the B...2019-11-0721 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Adventure (aka Ooh, Ahh, I Lost My... Mainstream Education)Everyone loves a good adventure, but have you ever been on one that involved Beyonce, Wonder Woman, and getting pulled out of grade three because of schoolyard rhymes? Well strap yourselves in kids, Gotta Be Done's take on The Adventure has it all!
Mary starts with a detour for Megan Washington worship (Take 5 episode and TEDx Talk included!) while Kate opens up about past tales of heroism (Raymond the Champion Farter, anyone?) We both wonder if the new generation of girl power fairytales are changing games in the playground, and can't believe Chloe's Dad's rookie drive-home mistake. ...2019-10-3123 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka All Our Children Are Our Favourites!)One dedicated listener has done it, but can we?? And more importantly, will you?!
A quick Gotta Be Done ramble inspired by super-fan Nathan, and his effort to rank his favourite Bluey episodes - ALL 51 OF THEM.
And now, we have a helpful Surveymonkey to help you! So, be like Nathan (thank you Nathan!) and RANK YOUR FAVOURITES HERE! (Or at least a top ten - we'll be back with the results eventually!)
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on every B...2019-10-2306 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Creek (aka A New Zealand Cultural Renaissance)We're ditching the playground and heading for The Creek - but first, a few more branches on the family tree! Is cousin Rusty's family on the outer with the Heelers, we wonder, or is there another reason they never get invited to family events?
Then who's more scared of the creatures of the creek - is it our kids, or Kate? Snakes are a real and present danger... just like drop-bears, right Bandit?! (Jks, our international listener friends, please come visit!)
Finally, welcome to all the new New Zealanders discovering Bluey now she's on TVNZ...2019-10-1724 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastCopycat (aka A Hair's Breadth Away from Expletives)Nothing's certain but death, and kids really taxing your patience. But while Copycat delves into serious subjects, our take certainly finds peculiar purgatories - collectible tea-towels and biscuit tins, anyone? Just don't put a corpse in there, or you'll be dead to Kate!
We wonder how pets actually work in Bluey's anthropomorphic world (a certain pig sneaks in, again), hope Bandit hasn't overstepped with Wendy, and appreciate an empathetic vet nurse (oh hai, Stephanie Hex Bendixsen!)
Finally, companion viewing recommendation: Play School's Beginnings and Endings. Oh, and can you stop your kids horrifying their grandparents...2019-10-1023 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastShaun (aka The Redemption of the Recorder)Oh, Shaun's back. But enough about him - is Bandit-with-the-emu-hand the ultimate (or any kind of) "thirst trap"? We weigh up Clementine Ford's assessment of our favourite Blue Heeler dad - right after we rush to Urban Dictionary to look up thirst trap!
Also, it's the music that makes the emu, as they say - but even if it's from a recorder?? Joff Bush gives us a bit of behind-the-scenes on this Bluey score (created with Steve Peach), and we're pretty excited.
But stay calm and controlled folks, this is all about parental tactics for...2019-10-0322 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBBQ (aka The Undeniable Evolution of Salad)It's BBQ time, and the gender wars are sizzling! Mary wants to know why a barbie always sends both blokes and sheilas scrambling to the stereotypes, while Kate's more interested in where Socks fits - he, she, or pet puppy? Even capsicums can't avoid our efforts to assign binary labels, but your salads and stirfrys will thank us!
Speaking of salads, we have opinions on those too! Plus Mary's big reveal about sausages, and a challenge to start the feel-good Bluey soundtrack of the summer - from Bach to Custard! We'll get round to it just as...2019-09-2624 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (Bluey Tattoo!)It's what it says on the packet, folks - we have Bluey tattoos! Well, "we" being Mary and great mate of Gotta Be Done Alana (Kate's take: "looks awesome, I remain unmoved". Fair enough!)
So what happens when two mamas get some kid-free time under the (tattoo) gun? Well, we talk Bluey, of course - including at what age your big kids might still watch a bit of Bluey, whether you can play Shadowlands indoors, and where the Heelers would head if they visited Rockhampton (which is where we are!) What a buzz - and if this i...2019-09-2308 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Doctor (aka Medical Disaster Relevant Toys)The first "play date" for Mary and Kate since the Queensland holiday, and we're counting the kids running in and out of scene for The Doctor - play dates, unsurprisingly, are next level at the Heelers' place!
The chaos unfolds a bit like that classic crocodile attack ad ("my leg went that way, and my head went that way!"), and Kate's got theories about triage frustration, while Mary's wondering about equitable lollipop distribution.
But killer hippos and expensive band-aids and hypochondriac relatives aside, this Gotta Be Done ep all comes back to how to be a...2019-09-1922 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastChickenrat (aka Sauerkraut Is High in Histamines)They promised us that they'd never betray the Aussie accents - but Ludo never said anything about bodily functions. Um, what?
Prepare to get mind-boggled and bewildered as we dive into Bluey's most confusing episode, but there's more to Chickenrat's intrigues than we ever suspected! Mary wonders if sneezing doesn't exist in America, Kate is confident that she, at least, has sneezed there.
Plus Kate discovers "overboots" (or in Bandit's case, over-paws?), we wonder how many occasions Brahms Lullaby can adapt to, and Mary admits that she, like Bandit, doesn't mind getting stuck into Rupert...2019-09-1225 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound (aka We Need to Hug This Out) Take a deep breath, folks - this one's a biggie! Kate's spent more time in hospitals than most, and Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound is a window to get real and raw.
You really just have to listen to understand - but once you have (and once you've got whatever it is out of your eye), if you want to check out the organisations Kate mentions, they're Syndromes Without a Name Australia, and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. And for more about why Kate and co have spent so much time in ho...2019-09-0534 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastWork (aka Casualisation of Work and the Futility of the Capitalist System)Gotta Be Done gets socio-political - but Bluey went there first! Or is that just Mary reading too much into this drama of drudgery, drainpipes and dance?
We talk side hustles and monetising your passion (and/or your podcast), and teaching your children well and feeding them on your dreams (the one they pick's the one you'll know by, etc.)
Plus, who's the prima ballet fan in the Heeler household? And did the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games actually happen? And what's the Mexican Hat Dance got to do with anything? You'll be dancing to keep u...2019-08-2924 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastYoga Ball (aka Too Many Opportunities to Take on Nazis)As we bounce around Yoga Ball, we really hope our bosses aren't tuning in - this is not a good sell for working from home!
But even with distractions we get there eventually - via the many alternate identities of Bingo, the confusing Heeler house layout, and whether it was dino bones or Nazis battles that made 80s archaeology more appealing.
Like a resilient second-born child, it's the episode that keeps on going - hope you can too!
++
Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as...2019-08-2222 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMarkets (aka Toffee Apples Disappointing Post-Peter Combe Generations)We're off to the Markets, and what must be some of the most quotable moments to come from the Blueyverse... do we hear "FIVE BUCKS?!"
This Gotta Be Done ep has everything, from the role Myf Warhurst was made to play, to toffee apple skepticism, the existence of unicorn ponyrides and who needs them, wild German sausage theories, and the greatest Christmas movie ever made.
A bit like a good market, if you look hard enough you'll find something you really wanted - or at least come away with a sparklingly cleansed aura!
++2019-08-1519 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastHide and Seek (aka Where Do We Get a Dog-Gnome-Buddha?)We've given up on our own destroyed attention spans, but what are the chances of imparting mindfulness on our munchkins? And do we need a dog-gnome-buddha to make it happen?
As we tackle Hide and Seek, we explore napping in yoga classes and games of dead fish, to 1990s toy craze Furbies and how the hell you shut them up. Also, why do any toys have accessories - and will Kate's toy-tub life hack fix the problem?
And of course, the one piece of advice we can all take to the bank - when you're...2019-08-0824 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastAsparagus (aka Victim Blaming and Our Convict Past)At long last, an episode of children's television for all the parents who want dinner to be a more drawn-out and hysterical affair. Oddly, that's not Mary and Kate - and when it comes to Asparagus, we're not eating it.
Of course, we are quick to note some great moments, and pay serious homage to the creativity of the animators in turning phone-shaped Blue Heelers into a cast of other zoological wonders.
But still, these curmudgeons are (apologetically) not apologising - we are not into Asparagus and its chaos-inducing horrors. What is this, a show fo...2019-08-0120 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBackpackers (aka Rivers of the Opposite of Gold)We've darkened many a dodgy backpackers' doorway, but those days were before our little darlings - lucky the Heelers' realistic re-eneactments can refresh our recollections!
We debate the benefits of guide books, our abilities at haggling, and whether every couple on the road face the same relationship dynamics as Bandit and Chilli... or just us?!
Also, will our kids ever appreciate our travel tales from days of yore? Or should we just bundle them up and create new ones? Suddenly home (and/or our Sunny Coast holiday) has never felt more comfortable - to quote a...2019-07-2524 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastJoe Brumm (aka The Interview)When Bluey creator Joe Brumm offered us a hand "if you're ever stumped with a question" - we were never going to stop at just one!
We had the longest list of things we wanted (needed!) to know, and Joe had thoughtful and generous answers for all of them.
From the challenges of writing new episodes for the millions of fans, to childhood inspiration from across the ditch, and the earliest versions of Bluey (R-rated Peppa Pig, anyone??) - Joe shares plenty of backstories, and takes us behind-the-scenes of new season production.
And we...2019-07-1835 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastGrannies (aka Please Don't Say Solid Number Two)Determined to deflect public outrage about our never-ending holiday, we give the people what they want: Grannies! But is this the most popular Bluey ep so far? Kate suggests it's a particular variety of number two, and suddenly we're flush with toilet humour!
We also ponder dance trends (or in the case of flossing, "dance" trends), boomer technology uptake, and what exactly Bandit is constantly hanging on the washing line??
Finally, we get excited about hints of a Bluey soundtrack release, and release our own theories about Heeler family history. Nice episode Rita! Thanks Janet! 2019-07-1126 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka When in Brisbane, Visit Bluey!)Without getting too "what I did on my holidays" on everyone, thought you might like to know - WE WENT TO LUDO STUDIO! The exciting destination is a well-kept secret that far outstrips anything that Dreamworld/Movie World/Australia Zoo has to offer, and even better - we left the kids at home!
Not only did we see where the Bluey magic happens, we also recorded a whole Gotta Be Done ep with creator Joe Brumm, who had heaps of Bluey backstories and behind-the-scenes stuff to share. And while we haven't had time to actually edit the...2019-07-1007 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Claw (aka Lessons in Disappointment Only Two Dollars)Still in Queensland, Kate gets a for-real-life Bluey moment as she takes on a claw machine at the RSL/surf club - and disappointment swiftly becomes the theme of the episode.
Which is fitting, Mary reckons, for any attempt to take your kids out for a feed - is the theoretical convenience ever worth the suffering?
We also celebrate nicknames (and our podcast heroes over at Chat 10 Looks 3), trashed backseat zones (there's no point trying to clean up, right?), and Chilli's "neither of those things are happening" zinger - realistic parenting for the win!
2019-07-0422 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBONUS EP (aka Bluey at the Logies!)UPDATE: Our first post of this ep cut it off at 8.25 (Oscars-style technical error, whoops!) - but you can now listen to the full and glorious 13.30. Sorry about that, but rest assured, that final five minutes is worth it!
We can't wait til Friday folks - Bluey's got a Logie, and we're too bloody excited! (Well, we were once we finally got out of bed.)
This cheap and cheerful bonus ep sees us in Queensland, just as Bluey grabs the gong for Most Outstanding Children's Program. And Mary is sure there's plenty more on the...2019-07-0208 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastBike (aka A Water Fountain of Our Tears)It's THE favourite episode for both of us, and Bike presents our ultimate podcasting challenge - can we make it through without a flood of tears??
We worship Bluey musical genius Joff Bush (and Beethoven also gets a mention), aspire to Bandit's hands-off approach to persistence, and wonder how our determination (or lack thereof) in childhood shaped our adult lives.
It's a free-wheeling episode through big Mary's church, little Kate's next-door paddock, and across a series of bitumen surfaces good for learner cyclists - come along for the ride!
++
Gotta Be Done...2019-06-2724 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastTakeaway (aka Mysterious Contents of Spring Rolls)Sure Scorsese and Seinfeld tell a decent story, but have you people seen Takeaway?? There's so many reasons this episode is a masterpiece - we hope we can remember to mention them all! (And Mary does remember to mention Aussie film of the nearly-same-name Take Away - has anyone ever seen this?? Should we bother?!)
Plus we debate the merits of spring rolls, wonder what "Chutney Chimp" might be referring to, and question whether we can be "yes parents" without civilisation crumbling around us.
Anyway, praise be that UberEats hasn't muscled out this our little ta...2019-06-2024 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastThe Sleepover (aka To Absent Drunk Friends)We've all been there (but some more recently than others, go Kate!) - managing that drunk friend drunkenly on a drunken night out. Yet again, wrangling toddlers is not so different to your carefree 20s - and The Sleepover is cross-over proof!
Underslept Muffin has (equally underslept?!) Mary and Kate stumbling down memory lane, while hoping our little people never drop their day sleep. Plenty of coping mechanisms in this episode though - we've both been putting Chilli's "no you won't!" to work!
Plus, classic hits of the 80s, 90s and the baroque period, how t...2019-06-1320 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastMums and Dads (aka Division of Household Labour and Also Affairs)It takes us a while to get to the actual episode this week, because damn, talking about equitable division of household labour is hard! And that's pretty much what Mums and Dads is about, Mary reckons (and with her bloke succumbed to man flu for the past five weeks, don't even get her started...)
Kate has a different perspective though - is this ep actually about stepping out on your spouse? (And does that make Calypso whoever it is that hosts Wife Swap Australia??) Luckily Indy and Rusty are set to discover the grass isn't always greener...2019-06-0624 min
Gotta Be Done - A Bluey PodcastWagonride (aka When a Sequel Isn't Really a Sequel)Following last week's new-episodes high, we roll back into old favourites, and analyse different creative play styles with Wagonride.
(Like distracted mums, we also forget to shout out to the most romantic exchange in recorded history:
Kids: Monkey bars??
Bandit: Argh, Chilli!
Chilli: Asleep!
Bandit: Okay, let's do this!
Us: Swoon!)
Mary appreciates a little old lady-dog's approval (or any approval she can get, really), while the attention to scenery detail has Kate dreaming of Brisbane.
Also, are the new Blueys getting a bi...2019-04-2509 min