Now you’re wondering what marathons you can catch this weekend, right? Well, there are a few good ones out there, to be sure:

Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America (Travel Channel, 9am-3pm Thursday)
ALF (The Hub, 3pm Thursday – 3am Friday)
The Andy Griffith Show (TV Land 4pm-9pm Thursday & Friday)
Behind the Music (VH1, 2pm-10pm Friday)
Beverly Hills, 90210 (SOAPNet, 8pm Friday – 1am Saturday)
Breaking Amish (TLC, 11am-9pm Saturday)
Castle (TNT, 10am-11pm Thursday)
Chef Race: UK vs. US (BBC America, 8am-5pm Sunday)

CSI (Cloo, 6pm Friday – 3am Saturday)
Dark Shadows (1991 version) (Chiller, 6am-5pm Thursday)
The Dick Van Dyke Show (TV Land, 8am-12pm Friday)
Duck Dynasty (A&E, 3pm-midnight Friday)
Extreme Couponing (TLC, 2pm-8pm Sunday)
The First 48 (A&E, 3pm Friday – 4am Saturday)
Forever Knight (Chiller, 6am-5pm Friday)
Friends (TBS, 10am-6pm Thursday)

Fringe (Science, 10:30am Saturday – 2:30am Sunday)
Gold Rush (Discovery, 1pm-10pm Friday)
Happily Divorced (TV Land, 6pm-11pm Saturday)
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land, 3pm-10:30pm Sunday)

House (Universal HD, 6am Thursday – 6am Friday)
How It’s Made (Science, 6am-7:30pm Thursday & Sunday)
I Love Lucy (TV Land, 12pm-4pm Thursday)
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Oxygen, 2am Friday – 2am Saturday)

Law & Order: Special Victims United (USA, 12pm Saturday – 2am Sunday)
Leave It to Beaver (Antenna TV, 12am Wednesday – 3am Friday)
Mall Cops: Mall of America (Destination America, 4pm Thursday – 5am Friday)
Moesha (BET, 8am-3pm Thursday)

NCIS (USA, 6am Wednesday – 6am Friday)
Psych (Cloo, 6am Thursday – 6am Friday)
Ripley’s Believe It or Not (Chiller, 2pm-7pm Sunday)
Rocky & Friends (VH-1 Classic, 11am-7pm Thursday)

Roseanne (CMT, 2pm-6pm Thursday)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (BBC America, 12pm Thursday – 6am Friday)
Tattoo Nightmares (Spike, 9am-12pm Thursday)
Undercover Boss (TLC, 1pm-7pm Saturday)

Yeah, I know, it’s just not the same without a proper “Law & Order” marathon on TNT, but we make do with what we’ve got. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Bullz-Eye: With your performance on “The Middle,” you’re quickly developing a reputation as one of the most fearless comediennes on television.

Eden Sher: Wow, thank you! I appreciate that. I’ll try to limit the growth of my head after a compliment like that. [Laughs.] When people say that, though, I’m not sure how to take it, because it doesn’t seem…I feel like if you’re not going big, if there’s any sort of fear in the way or if there’s any thought process that gets in the way of being funny, you’re not going to be funny. So I don’t really consider it to be a special thing. I’m just doing my job!

BE: Well, you’re certainly not afraid to “Sue it up” as far as your appearance goes, but you also seem to be game for any and all physical comedy gags.

ES: Yes! Yes, I am, because I say the sweatier I am, the more bruised I am, the dirtier I get, the funnier it probably will be! [Laughs.] Because, I mean, you know the scene when I’m practicing to be the mascot, with the cardboard box on my head? I have realized this: falling or hitting something or physically hurting yourself is always funny. In real life or TV. Always is.

BE: So do you have any formal training as far as physical comedy goes?

ES: Uh, you mean aside from being clumsy and accidentally hurting myself? [Laughs.] No! I mean, I’ve taken acting classes forever, but I’ve actually never even taken a class that’s strictly comedy. I’ve taken improv classes before, but not a comedy class, per se. Do they offer physical comedy classes? Is that actually something they do?

BE: Not being an actor myself, let’s say, “Sure, they do!”

ES: [Laughs.] Well, either way, I’ve never actually taken one.

BE: DeAnn Heline has confirmed that it was actually you who went careening across the countertop in “The Test” last season, but did you do the swing set face-plant in this year’s season premiere (“The Last Whiff of Summer”)?

ES: That was not. I tried to do it, and I just…it was too dangerous. But it did take awhile, because it’s actually the stunt girl you see walking to do it, too, and it was quite an ordeal having to help her master my walk. [Laughs.] I had to show her how to walk like Sue! But I will say, because this is something you don’t even see my face for, that the mascot face-plant…? That was me in the suit. That was actually me.

BE: Is that a regular occurrence? How much of what we see the mascot doing is you inside the suit?

ES: Anytime I’m doing anything physical other than standing, it’s me. All of the dancing stuff, that’s all me.

BE: Regarding to the physical transformation, what’s involved in the process of turning Eden Sher into Sue Heck?

ES: Well, first of all, I appreciate you noting that there is actually a transformation required! But it’s actually helped me to retain my anonymity a lot, because either people aren’t expecting it, or…I usually get, “You know, you look a lot like that girl on that show? Have you seen it?” It’s not actually that extensive of a process, because it’s mostly a case of coming in with dirty hair…oh, but I’m revealing too much. [Laughs.] Seriously, though, what happens is that I usually don’t wash my hair, because they have to flatten it out and make it a little stringy-ish. Or stringier than it usually is, anyway. And then they don’t put any makeup on me. They kind of fill in my eyebrows to make ‘em a little bushier. And then they just put the braces in, and that’s pretty much it.

BE: You’ve obviously revealed, if perhaps unintentionally, that there’s a bit of Sue in you at all times, but do you have any sort of Sue mindset that you try to get into before filming?

ES: That’s a good question, but…I think I actually think much less about it than people give me credit for. It sort of was a revelation during Season 1, when I was getting too act-y about it and I would kind of try to justify every single step of the way. There was a turn I had to do – I think it was in Episode 8 – where I had to flip from extreme sadness to extreme jubilation, as Sue often does, and I was having a lot of trouble executing the joke because I was trying to justify it in my head. I was, like, “I don’t understand how someone could be that sad and then go straight into being exuberant. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not real. I can’t do that. I can’t do it!” The director was, like, “You are thinking about this way too much. There is no justification. There is no actor justification. There is no, like, intellectual justification for why someone would be that way, because there is no justification for why someone would ever be that way. That’s just how she is. That’s just how it’s going to be. If she’s sad one second and then exuberant, that’s how Sue is, and…just accept it.” And I was, like, “Oh, my God, this is a lesson for life!” [Laughs.] Sometimes you can’t rationalize something. It just is. And since then, I don’t think about getting into Sue or why she does the things she does. I just sort of let it be and let it go.

BE: Yet at this point, now that you’ve been doing the character for so long, you probably know her well enough at this point that you actually could rationalize why she does the things she does.

ES: Totally. It was weird when, last year, I realized that…it just sort of clicked. I really kind of got the character. Like I said, I still don’t really do anything, but there’s definitely now a distinct difference between when I’m acting as Sue and when I’m just being myself. A lot of Sue has come to light just through acting it out, not through thinking about it.

BE: How did you find your way onto the show in the first place? Was it a standard audition situation, or did they know you from your earlier work on ABC’s “Sons and Daughters”?

ES: I don’t think they did. It was a very standard audition. I actually didn’t even meet with the producers until, like, four auditions in or something. I had a bunch of pre-reads, so I kept going back under the impression that these were callbacks, but they 100% were not callbacks. They were also bringing new people in that they hadn’t seen. So I was getting increasingly insulted, but my manager was, like, “No, just keep going back, they want to see you.” And I was, like, “No! They don’t want to see me, because they still want to see more girls. They want to see other girls, and I don’t even think they like me, because they’re still bringing back other people. So, no, I’m not going back!” And finally my manager said, “Okay, this one is a real callback, it’s with the producers, would you just go?” And I went…and they seemed to hate me! [Laughs.]

I was going, “I’m not doing this right, they don’t like me, this is stupid, I’m never gonna get this job…” Plus, all the other girls were, like, 12 years old, and I was 17 years old at the time. But my manager said, “They like you! Just keep going back!” And finally the number of 12-year-old girls started to dwindle, and by the time of the actual screen test, it was between me and two 11-year-olds. And at that point, I was, like, “Okay, if they want a younger girl, they’re gonna go for the younger girl,” so I sort went in there going, “All right! This is me! Let’s see what we can do!” And I left the screen test feeling like, “Okay, well, I bombed that one. Oh, well.” And then I got the call about an hour later, saying, “You got it! They loved you!” And I cheered. [Laughs.] “All right! I did it!”

BE: Your onscreen parents were both well-established sitcom figures: Patricia Heaton from “Everybody Loves Raymond” and Neil Flynn from “Scrubs.” Did you find it intimidating to be paired with them? Or were you even a fan of those shows?

ES: Oh, yes. “Everybody Loves Raymond” was a show that my family watched. “Raymond,” “Seinfeld,” and, uh, “Felicity.” I’m not sure how appropriate it was that we watched “Felicity” together, but those were the shows that we watched as a family. So I went in, and I was, like, “Okay, I’m not going to be intimidated, this is gonna be just fine.” And it was the same with “Scrubs.” I loved Neil, loved The Janitor. And I tried. I really tried not to be intimidated. But if you can tell anything from this conversation thus far, you can probably tell that I’m not really what you’d call a chill person. [Laughs.] So I tried my best to be super-chill, but I doubt I was. But thankfully they were super-nice from the get-go and really warm and welcoming, so it was all good.

BE: You and Charlie McDermott and Atticus Shaffer all seem to get along well off-screen. How did you guys first start bonding?

ES: I don’t know, we just…instantly fell into that brotherly/sisterly dynamic. I think acting with someone, you automatically are putting yourself in the position to be vulnerable, and I think that’s really the key to getting close to someone fast. If you’re both in the position to embarrass yourself, then you’re both gonna be more empathetic towards each other and you’re just gonna feel closer as people. And with Charlie, we’re really close in age, and we just realized that we’re both really cool people. [Laughs.] So that helped. And Atticus…I mean, he was just a super-cool little kid!

BE: It’s got to be rough on him this season, with his voice changing.

ES: Uh, yeah. I would not have wanted to go through that onscreen. [Laughs.] But he’s handling it like a pro!

BE: Sue’s evolved over the run of “The Middle,” thankfully, but in the early episodes of the series, were you ever concerned that she was being portrayed as a complete loser a little too much?

ES: Well, I wasn’t concerned, because I was playing her, and Sue wasn’t really all that concerned about it, so it was an easy thing to not think about. [Laughs.] But I definitely got concerns from my friends and family, who were, like, “How hard is it to play this girl that’s always losing?” “It’s fine. She doesn’t care, so I don’t!”

BE: Has it ever bothered you that she might seem too clueless? Not that there’s anything wrong with being perpetually optimistic, but there are moments where it’s, like, “I know this is a comedy, but in the real world, she’d be eaten alive!”

ES: It’s never really bothered me, but I can understand that. I mean, there are certain things that Sue does where I’ve gone, “Okay, this is too naïve even for Sue. This is pushing it a little bit.” But I think you have to suspend disbelief for a little bit. Like, with the French-kissing bit, it was a little bit…I was, like, “Okay, she’s 15, she’d probably know what French kissing is.” [Laughs.] But for the joke, it sort of worked. In that sense, though, yeah, I was a little concerned that she might be being portrayed as a little too innocent. As far as the losing goes, though, no, I’ve never had a problem with that. It’s actually way easier to be optimistic than you think, even as a teenager. Because you can control it. If you’re a happy person, if you can see things through that lens, then you generally do.

BE: What would you say that you’ve brought to the character of Sue that you can specifically say, “That was my contribution”?

ES: Well, there are a few things. One of the lines that they’ve sort of written in regularly now…it was the first time I just felt so good about the way I’d delivered something, but the line was written simply as Sue asking, “Really?” And…I don’t know, but I just decided to say it in a really funny way. And a few episodes later, they wrote in the script in italics or whatever, “In classic Sue style, ‘Really?’” And I was, like, “What?” They said, “Yeah, the way you said it before, that was just perfect.” That’s just something I kind of do in real life, so that was great.

Also, Sue’s victory dance? I am proud to take credit for that dance. Only because it seems so ridiculous that you’d be, like, “Wow, who made that up? I can’t imagine how they would’ve choreographed that…” And I’m proud to say that no one did, because I do that in real life! [Laughs.] We were thinking what would be the best way for Sue to be super-excited, since she’s already super-excited all the time, anyway, and I was, like, “Well, I don’t know, but this is what I do when I’m super-excited.” And I launched into the dance, and they were just, like, “Done. You got it. We’re going with that.”

BE: Were you disappointed that Sue’s most recent boyfriend, Matt (Moisés Arias), only lasted for a few episodes before moving away, or did the whole idea of a romantically-successful Sue comprise the integrity of the character?

ES: I was a little disappointed, mainly because Moises is, like, the coolest guy. So, yeah, I was disappointed that I didn’t get to work with him for longer, but, no, I don’t think it compromised the integrity of the character. [Laughs.] But at the same time, it…well, it was what it was, but I did sort of think it got played out. Which unfortunately happens in TV.

BE: But they’ve been very good about not overusing the characters of Sue’s friends, Brad and Carly, thankfully.

ES: Yes! In fact, I’m actually on set right now and just finished filming a scene with Brock (Ciarelli), who plays Brad. It’s nice that they’ve let Brad in particular be more of a character rather than a caricature, which I’m super pleased about.

BE: Actually, my AV Club review of “The Hose,” I made particular note of how pleasant it was to see Brad turn up without the recurring “Sue doesn’t realize he’s gay” gag.

ES: Yes! Oh, my God, I totally, totally agree. In fact, I…well, I read the script, but I tend to forget about scenes that I’m in, let alone the ones I’m not in, so when I watch the episode, it seems like new. [Laughs.] But when I saw that episode…well, for one thing, it was odd to actually watch that scene and not be in it, because I’m usually the one filming with Blaine (Saunders, who plays Carly) and Brock. But it was just such a perfect Brad scene, with him talking about all the different ways he was available to chat and nothing to do with anything about him being gay or whatever. It was just perfect. I love that direction.

BE: You may not be able to speak to this if it’s already in the cards, but do you think the “Sue doesn’t realize he’s gay” joke is played out? Not that it hasn’t been funny, but at this point, it seems like we’ve really got to be on the cusp of Sue going, “Oh, my God, you’re gay!”

ES: Yeah, I think it’s something that…it’s a scene that will probably continue in some fashion, but I agree that the latent gay jokes are kind of played out, just because…well, I mean, they’re in 10^th grade, they’re not complete idiots…someone’s got to say something. It can’t just be flying under the radar anymore. [Laughs.]

BE: Did you feel the transition of the show as it kind of started to phase out the parent-workplace stories and started to focus in more specifically on the family?

ES: I didn’t think about it until… [Starts to laugh.] It was last season, when I realized that I had not had a day off in, like, months. From January to April, I just didn’t have a day off at all. And I was talking to some of the writers, and I was, like, “Yeah, what happened to the Elhert days?” There were days that would be just a Patty (Heaton) day, and they’d film at Elhert’s and I’d get to sleep ‘til 9 AM. What happened to that? And they explained it to me. They said, “We felt that the family stories were way stronger, and we’d much rather give you an A-line story than use the time to get Bob and Elhert onscreen. We’d rather give you or Charlie or Atticus your own A-line story and not go there. We realize where the gold is.” [Laughs.] So I was, like, “Ohhhhhhh, okay! I’ll take it! I may not get a day off, but that’s a major compliment, so okay!”

BE: As the father of a daughter, I’ve particularly enjoyed the way the Mike and Sue relationship has been evolving over the course of the show’s run.

ES: Oh, my God, I am such a baby: I cry every time Sue has a storyline with Mike. I cry when I read the episode, I cry after I’m done filming the scene, I cry when I watch the episode. [Laughs.] So I’m so happy that you also appreciate that relationship, because it’s my favorite relationship on the show!

BE: Watching Sue and Mike in the car as he attempts to teach her how to drive, that’s just so spot-on with the relationship between my daughter and I.

ES: Oh, really? [Laughs.] The freak-out. Oh, that was a fun time.

BE: One thing that’s interesting, however, is how their relationship veers somewhat dramatically at times, from Mike being completely oblivious as Sue is trying desperately to express her love for him to…well, to bring it back to “The Hose,” when she’s freaking out about the size of his paycheck, he’s very aware of how she feels and we see the sensitive side of him that doesn’t come out very often.

ES: Yes! I agree. But I think it’s pretty reflective of a normal father/daughter relationship in that way. Sometimes his sensitivity will sort of shine through, like when he saves the cat. But not always. [Laughs.]

BE: A couple of obligatory questions. First, who have been your favorite guest stars?”

ES: Oh, my God, I mean, there’s no question: Whoopi, Whoopi, Whoopi. [Laughs.] Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi “Movie Star” Goldberg. She is a godly woman. Whoopi Godberg…? She was fantastic, and I think she had a really good time working on the show, too. It was a good opportunity for her, and then the actual experience of it for both of us was, I think, a positive one. I can only speak for myself, but we emailed a little bit after, and she seemed to enjoy it herself, so… I was certainly super-pleased, anyway!

BE: How has Norm MacDonald been to work with on the show? He would seem to be the complete antithesis of a family-sitcom guy, but I know he’s got that history with DeAnn and Eileen ( they were all writers on “Roseanne”).

ES: Yes, he… [Starts to laugh.] That’s a good observation. He is awesome. An awesome human being. I talked with him a lot, mostly about…oh, what is his name? Wittgenstein! We were talking about what is real, what is true, and we talked about that for a long time. But that is a very astute observation about him not being, like, a real family-sitcom type. He’s a little bit of a loose cannon, but in the best way possible.

BE: This may coincide at least partially with your Whoopi answer, but do you have particular favorite episodes that were Sue-centric?

ES: Yeah, (“The Guidance Counselor”) definitely is one of them. And also the one in Season 1 where I got to kung-fu fight. That was mighty fun.

BE: Which is funny, because I just revisited that episode in conjunction with Brooke Shields coming back on the show.

ES: Oh, yeah, that was Brooke’s first episode! Yeah, Brooke’s another one where it’s just, like, “Oh, my God, you are such a chill person. Why are you so perfect? You need to leave!” [Laughs.]

BE: Now for a few flashbacks to your pre-“Middle” career. To start off, I’m curious what this credit of “Caterpillar Girl” is all about.

ES: [Laughs.] Oh, my God! Okay. Funny story, actually. That was my first job ever, and it was a short film that I did, but the director is a TV director now who’s pretty well known. Her name is Jamie Babbitt, and she directed a few episodes of ‘The Middle’!

BE: Now, I guess the question is, did she recognize you when she walked onto the set? Or did she already know that you were on the show?

ES: I doubt she would’ve…if she hadn’t known my name, she might not have recognized me, because I was, like, nine or ten when I did the thing. But I was going, “Jamie Babbitt? Why do I know that name?” So I Googled her and saw that one of her first projects was “Stuck,” and I just started freaking out, going, “Oh, my God! I was in ‘Stuck’! That’s Jamie from when I was nine!” And when we were at the table read, she sort of stuck her hand out and introduced herself, and I was, like, “No, Jamie, I don’t know if you remember me, but I did ‘Stuck’!” And she said, “Oh, my God, of course you did! Of course you did! I remember you! Yes!” And I don’t know if she was trying to play it cool or if she actually didn’t remember, but it was still sweet that she remembered me eventually. [Laughs.] And it was great. I was, like, “This is so crazy!” And she was, like, “Yeah, it is…but that’s the industry!”

BE: It’s funny to look back at “Weeds” and see that there are two future ABC sitcom stars in there: you and Allie Grant (of “Suburgatory”).

ES: Oh, I know! And we’re on the same night!

BE: What was the experience of “Weeds” like for you, given that it was a high-profile show and a pretty early role in your career?

ES: Yeah, it was a, uh, pretty different experience. [Laughs.] All sets are different, but I think that one…I was particularly green, and everyone else comparatively had worked so much more. It was very easy to get inundated. I had a great time, it was definitely a learning experience, but I was far less comfortable then than I am here now and likely will be on future jobs.

BE: Now if we could just get Alexander Gould to show up as your boyfriend on “The Middle.”

ES: Oh, my God, I love Alexander Gould, and I would love for him to be on this show.

BE: I know “Sons and Daughters” was at least partially improvised, but did that extend to you and the other younger members of the cast?

ES: Yeah, it was actually pretty… [Hesitates.] Well, I don’t want to say it was wholly improvised, because there was an outline, but the actual words that people were saying changed from take to take, and that did apply to all actors. Of course, for the really little ones, it didn’t, because they could barely speak at all. [Laughs.] But, no, I was able to…it was sort of weird, actually, because “Weeds” I had booked right after “Sons and Daughters,” and I really did not understand the role of the script supervisor. Because this woman kept coming up to me, correcting me, and that’s a pretty word-perfect show. As most are. People think a lot of shows are improvised that really are not. But I remember that I’d be corrected on one little word, and I actually turned to someone and was, like, “Who the hell is this person? All I missed was one word!” And they’re, like, “That’s the continuity person, the script supervisor!” “But continuity…doesn’t that mean that they make sure you pick someone up with the same hand, or you lead with the right foot rather than the left?” “No, they correct you on the lines.” I had never experienced that! I’d only ever experienced improvisation! Which is crazy, when you think about it.

BE: I’d think “Sons and Daughters” would’ve been both a great training ground as well as an incredibly intimidating experience.

ES: Well, no, actually. If I did it now, it would be very intimidating, but because I’d never experienced anything outside of that, I didn’t even question it. I wasn’t scared. Also, Fred Goss and Nick Holly are two amazing people, and they did this really intelligent thing, which was, before we started filming, to have a weekly cast meeting / improv session where we would just sort of…it was sort of just talking, but we sort of built our characters from the ground up that way. We would do scenes and we would improv, and then they would go, “Okay, now do it but have this end goal.” And we’d do it again, and…it was enlightening. It was a little mini improv course, and it was very helpful.

BE: I presume it served you well on “Party Down.”

ES: Well, yes, but that’s one of those shows that’s shockingly more scripted than you think. They do love to play around. It’s much looser than, say, here on “The Middle.” But it’s definitely a scripted show. And I say that because I think the writers deserve a little bit more…not that people don’t respect them, but people just assume that the actors are coming up with a lot more jokes than they really are. [Laughs.]

BE: You and Ryan Hansen got to share a tender moment, as it were.

ES: Yes, we did…and it was so awkward. [Laughs.] Because he was way older than me. And also married. And I was 17 and had a boy friend at the time. And we were both just, like, “Oooooookay, let’s do this!”

BE: I may be the only one who feels this way, but Sue’s obsession with teen pop stars on “The Middle” could almost be a callback to your one-off appearance on “The Middleman.”

ES: [Bursts out laughing.] Oh, my God! Did you see that episode?

BE: I have the complete-series set, I’ll have you know.

ES: Oh, my God. Yes, that was…wow, I sort of forgot about all of my past jobs! [Laughs.] This is so refreshing! I get to talk about something other than what I’m doing right now! Yeah, that was fun. That was super-fun.

BE: I’m curious how you ended up on an episode of Sonny with a Chance. Not that there’s anything wrong with the series, but given the shows you’d done up to that point, it just seems like an odd choice to do a Disney ‘tween-com.

ES: Yes. It does, except for – a moment of honesty here – when someone offers you a role, unless you’re super-busy, you generally don’t turn it down. [Laughs.] This is why I ended up doing an episode of a Disney Channel show this summer, too. It was sort of the same thing, where I was offered the role. I didn’t have to audition or anything, and I just thought, “Okay, this’ll be a few days of filming, I know the people that I’m working with…it’ll be fun!” And…I will leave the story at that. That’s what I thought going into it, and…done with story.

BE: That’s quite all right. And all I will add is that I have talked to at least one other person who did an episode of “Sonny with a Chance” (Bobby Slayton), and he did not leave his story at that, so it’s possible that you had a similar experience to his.

ES: [Laughs.] I would just like to say that, as a rule, the people were so nice. They were such lovely people working on that show, and just to be sure it comes across in print, I am being completely sincere.

BE: Lastly, there’s a credit on your IMDb page for “ImagiGARY,” which Charlie McDermott has both written and directing. If you could offer any details about that project whatsoever, that’d be great.

ES: Yes! I am down to promote this, because it was such an amazing experience. Yeah, Charlie and another one of my best friends, Nate Hartley, wrote this movie. I was involved in the process of them writing it for the last two years, and with every new draft, I was, like, “Okay, I call this role!” And Charlie wanted to direct it himself and wanted to film it in Pennsylvania. It’s this awesome coming-of-age story about a kid – played by Charlie – and his first week of college, just experiencing crazy loneliness, so he re-imagines his old imaginary friend from childhood. And I play the amazing, sure-to-be-critically-acclaimed role of Drunk Girl. [Laughs.]

BE: Wow! That was only listed as “rumored” by IMDb!

ES: [Laughs.] That should not be rumored, because that is fact! And is it also on there that I produced it?

BE: It is. In fact, I was just going to ask you what the experience was like to work behind the camera for a change.

ES: You know, it wasn’t quite as involved as…like, I actually wrote and directed a short film myself in April, and that was pretty stressful. I think Charlie took the brunt of the stress on this. But I was definitely able to help with some of decisions, and I was giving a lot of notes. It’s a lot of note-giving. That’s what producing is. [Laughs.] It’s interesting, though. And watching Charlie…it’s so stressful! I think I’d like to do more behind the camera eventually, but it is a far more stressful position than being an actor, I will say that!

BE: Well, I think that’s about it, except to reiterate that it’s really been great watching you evolve along with your character on “The Middle” over the course of the show’s run to date, and I’ll say it again: you really are a fearless comedienne.

ES: Oh, man, thank you so much! And thank you for this awesome interview! Seriously, these were great questions.

BE: That’s what I get for reviewing the show every week on the AV Club: I’ve actually ended up knowing what I’m talking about.

ES: You really do know what you’re talking about, though. It’s only when I have a really good interview that I realize that there’s really a difference between good interviews and bad interviews. [Laughs.] I try to be really forgiving of those people asking questions, because I know it’s hard, but not until I have a really awesome interview do I go, “Wow, there’s such a difference between someone who knows what they’re talking about and someone who doesn’t!”

BE: Well, I’ll take your praise if you’ll take mine.

ES: Absolutely. Mutual respect! [Laughs.]

Music alone couldn’t keep the coffers filled, alas, which forced the Aquabats into second position in favor of a gig that actually paid the bills with more regularity, so Jacobs returned to TV, this time working behind the scenes. In doing so, he was responsible for co-creating one of the most successful kids shows in recent years: “Yo Gabba Gabba!” Flush with the excitement that success brings, Jacobs and company have used a combination of creativity and show-biz connections to simultaneously kick-start a new series for the youth of today and fulfill a dream.

Ladies and gentlemen: The Aquabats! Super Show!

Bullz-Eye: Having seen the first two episodes of “The Aquabats! Super Show!,” it seems safe to suggest that Sid and Marty Krofft have been a major influence on you guys.

Christian Jacobs: [Laughs.] Definitely! I’m glad you caught that point of reference, for sure.

BE: So what are the origins of this “Super Show”? Was the idea of doing an Aquabats TV series always in the back of your mind, or was this a recent development?

CJ: No, it’s always been there, really. I mean, you know, it’s one of those things where…we started the band in ’94, and at the same time, I was doing video production, making music videos and skateboard videos, so I was in production already. And I grew up working in television as well, so we started the band, just for goofing around, but pretty much within a year I was, like, “This could be an amazing kids show! We could incorporate all those fun things we used to watch that were weird and trippy and action-packed…” We were influenced by shows from Japan, too. Those were there right away. So we started to incorporate them into the band, and from there we immediately set out to try and start a TV show…and this was, like, ’95 or ’96. [Laughs.] So it’s taken some time to finally happen, but it was one of those things where, right away, we were telling people, “We’re gonna make a TV show!” And it started to feel a little bit like that book The Carrot Seed, where there’s the little kid and no one believes the carrot’s gonna grow, but the kid does, and he knows the carrot’s gonna come up at some point. I feel like that was us a little bit. It was just up to us to stick it out and keep trying and keep trying and keep trying. But, yeah, it was definitely something that we always wanted to do.

BE: When did it first look like it was going to become a reality? Certainly the success of “Yo Gabba Gabba!” couldn’t have hurt.

CJ: Well, I think that’s what finally took us over the hill. But back in ’98, you know, we did a pilot for this studio, and then in ’99 or 2000, we did another development deal with a different studio, and…it was one setback and weird thing after another. And then we had pitched it to all of the networks by 2002 or 2003 – we pretty much ran the table, so to speak – and no one was biting, so it just seemed like a dead project. But in the back of our minds, we were, like, “I know this can still be a great kids show, but let’s focus on something else.” And that’s when we came up with a bunch of ideas, and one of those ideas was “Yo Gabba Gabba!” And just from pitching the Aquabats so much around the industry, we had some contacts, so we started pitching “Yo Gabba Gabba!,” and we immediately realized that we were going to run into the same problem unless we just took matters into our own hands and independently did it ourselves. And that’s really where the ball started rolling, and we realized, “Hey, if we’re going to do this, then we’re just going to need to go and make it on our own somehow.”

BE: Just as a sidebar, I’m a member of the Television Critics Association, so I’ve been there to witness “Yo Gabba Gabba!” walk away with the Best Children / Family Programming for two years in a row, which has been pretty cool.

CJ: Yeah, I mean, two years in a row…? That’s awesome. And a highlight of my life, to be sure. The first year, we were sitting next to Bryan Cranston from “Breaking Bad,” and then the next year we were, like, two tables away from Tom Hanks. So that was just totally weird. It was, like, “How did we get in a room with all of these awesome people?” [Laughs.]

BE: Yeah, I’ve actually got a picture – if not a great one – of Tom Hanks standing with Muno, Brobee, and the gang.

CJ: Oh, yeah, I was right there at ground zero with ‘em, just going, “This is totally bizarre and weird and awesome.” [Laughs.]

[Writer's note: That's kind of where I'm at when I look at this picture of myself from the same evening.]

BE: As you say, it was a lengthy evolution from concept to fruition for the series, but when you finally got down to brass tacks for the Hub incarnation of “The Aquabats! Super Show!,” presumably you guys pretty well had it down as far as what you wanted it to be.

CJ: Yeah, well, by the time we got through with the pilot of “Yo Gabba Gabab!” and had shot a whole season of it, I think we all felt that “Yo Gabba Gabba!” was… We really believed in that show, and this was even before the TCA Awards, but right away we thought, “Okay, we know this show is awesome, so let’s try to make the Aquabats’ show.” So at the end of Season One, we got some money together and went out and independently shot a pilot for the Aquabats’ show exactly how we always wanted to shoot it. That was the big difference. When we’d developed it before for networks and studios, there’s always a little bit of a compromise, because you come in, you pitch them on your idea, and then they buy your idea, and that idea becomes their idea, and they change it all around.

So we shot this pilot between seasons of “Yo Gabba Gabba!” and started pitching it around, and it took a little while, but it finally landed in the hands of the people from The Hub, like Margaret Loesch and Ted (Biaselli) and Donna (Ebbs). They’re all very creator-friendly, they’re producers themselves, they come from the world of production, and when they saw the show, they were, like, “This is perfect: it’s risky, it’s crazy…let’s do it!” And Ted was also an early big fan of “Yo Gabba Gabba!” We actually met Ted when we were pitching the pilot for “Yo Gabba Gabba!” He was working for Disney, and he really wanted to pick “Yo Gabba Gabba!” up, so a couple of years later when we came in with the pilot for the Aquabats, he said, “Guys, we gotta finally work together and do this.” [Laughs.] So, y’know, luck and time and effort and blood, sweat, and tears, and…there you go!

BE: For those who haven’t seen the series yet, Sid and Marty Krofft are – as already noted – clearly a very strong influence, but what are some other points of reference that might help viewers decide if they’d be into “The Aquabats! Super Show!”?

CJ: Well, I think there’s a lot of TV being made today that… [Hesitates.] For this show, we’re really building a lot of the influences from TV of the past, and it’s a lot more cinematic, like “Batman” or the old “Wild Wild West” with Robert Conrad. You know, those single-camera action shows from the ‘60s or the ‘70s that we all just grew up watching and idolizing. Even “The Twilight Zone.” Like, very single camera, very set up. And it’s tricky, because we’re trying to do so many set-ups in so little time, but there’s definitely an influence from there, there’s also an influence from across the water, like Japan. There’s a huge influence from “Godzilla” to “UltraMan” to all those early Power Rangers shows. They’re just ridiculous. And, y’know, there’s Shaw Brothers stuff in there from China, like the weird kung stuff, which we get into a bit more as the season goes on. But, also, the Aquabats are very self-deprecating and silly, yet we try to make a good balance between action and crazy and then just silly and random. [Laughs.]

We’re all really big pop culture fans and geeks and love all those action shows, or the attempts at action shows, so many that we watched try and fail. Like, there’s references to super-obscure stuff that I remember watching and being so excited about, like “Supertrain” or “Manimal.” All those weird shows around that time, with talking motorcycles and “Knight Rider.” So there’s a good 30 years worth of television culture packed into these 22-minute episodes for kids. And I think what makes it exciting is that, y’know, I have kids myself, so showing them some of the shows from the past…they’re not that interested, sadly. I mean, some of them they really love, but part of it, I think, is the pacing. So with the Aquabats’ show, my kids love it and they’re really into it because I think the pacing’s more attractive to them. They’re so used to things coming so fast and hitting them so quickly, whereas with shows like “Wild Wild West” or “The Twilight Zone,” it’s not so instant. It takes some time to build. So you put in all those stylish references and cool things from Japan or from here or there, and you fire them out a mile a second, and…I think it’s working. Either way, it’s been fun. [Laughs.]

BE: As far as the band itself goes, it seems rather insulting that the Aquabats tend to be lumped in with a group of artists described as “third wave ska.”

CJ: Yeah, you know, we’re not, really. We were all originally in different bands – I was in an indie rock band, Chad (Larson) was in a punk band, I know Ian (Fowles) was in a punk band – and we all got together and kind of formed a Voltron of bands. [Laughs.] And it was kind of a satirical take on a ska band, we invited our own uniforms or costumes, and we all played different instruments. We liked ska, but it more kind of having fun by playing with it, satirizing it, spoofing it, and generally not taking it super-seriously. Most ska shows were fun, the people were having fun and dancing, but then there were the people who were taking it so seriously, and that just seemed ridiculous to us, so we were, like, “Okay, let’s make this giant ska orchestra,” making it kind of a joke, but as the band evolved over the years… It was never a deliberate thing, but I think it just naturally happened, because there’s a lot of different styles of music that we play.

I’ve always been into bands like Ween and things like that, that can chameleon-like drift from genre to genre and play whatever music they want. I mean, even Weird Al: you add a little bit of humor in there, and you kind of have a license to do that. You have the opportunity write a country song, write a hip-hop song, write whatever you want. And that’s always been more attractive to me, because there’s no boundaries. If you set yourself up as a punk band, then you pretty much just have to play punk. Or if you’re a ska band, you just play ska. So that was a natural evolution that was always going to come out of our band. We do still get lumped in with that because that’s where we began, playing with other ska bands, but we were secretly always having a laugh, so to speak. [Laughs.]

BE: With the music for the show, will it be strictly new songs, or are you going to be reviving some of the older songs?

CJ: I think we’ll bring some of the old songs back. I don’t think we did any for this first season. No, wait, I take that back: there are a couple of older songs. But, y’know, I think we were just so happy to be able to do the Aquabats full-time as a job this year… [Laughs.] …that the amount of music that came out was pretty significant, and we just came off of writing an album that came out last year, so I guess we were just kind of in that mode of writing new music and being excited about it. Because, y’know, we haven’t been full-time as the Aquabats as a job since the very beginning. I think in 1997 we had a record deal that permitted us to be the Aquabats for about two years full-time, but then that was it. For this whole time since then, it’s been a part-time thing and very much more like a hobby. So, yeah, there’s lots of new stuff as a result of that, but we do want to bring back some of the old classics and weave them into the fabric of the show, for sure. If we get the chance to do a second season, that’d be awesome.

BE: This really must be a case of living the dream for you: not only do you get to do the Aquabats full-time, but you’re also able to utilize this other career you’ve built in TV production at the same time.

CJ: It is literally a dream come true. This is something that we always thought… I mean, we’d be on the road, going out and playing for maybe only 50 to 100 people, and having a great time, but we’d be thinking, “Man, this would be awesome if we could do this full-time.” There was just no way to sustain it. But we always thought, “If we could turn this into a television show and get some exposure and grow the Aquabats…” It just seemed like something that could take off, so that’s why it’s always been a goal to make into a TV show. We’d be, like, “We’ll be the Aquabats during the day and sleep in our own beds at night!” [Laughs.] So it is. It’s the dream job. And we’re also doing “Yo Gabba Gabba!” at the same time, so it’s been crazy. I’ve never been so busy and slept so little and been so happy.

BE: To bring this conversation full circle, it’s pretty fantastic that the first episode features Rip Taylor playing a genie, given that he played Sheldon the Sea Genie in “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.”

CJ: [Laughs.] Of course! See, you got it. It’s perfect, right? We wrote these really elaborate scripts for every episode, then we looked at our budget and realized, “Wow, we’re basically writing cartoons that we can’t possibly pay for.” So we slimmed and trimmed and cut stuff down – the character of Man-Ant had this elaborate back story that we had to just cut out – and then someone just made the suggestion, “Hey, what if, like, Crash found a lamp, and there was a genie in it?” “Beautiful. Go with that.” And then it was, “Well, who’s gonna play the genie?” And everyone said at the same time, “Rip Taylor.” [Laughs.]

BE: Are there any other guest stars in upcoming episodes?

CJ: Oh, yeah. There’s Rip Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips is in an upcoming episode, “Weird Al” Yankovic is in two episodes, and we’ve got Jon Heder from “Napoleon Dynamite.” Samm Levine’s in an episode, too. It’s similar to “Yo Gabba Gabba!” in that, like, on that show, you’ve got guys like Mark Mothersbaugh, who’s a music legend, and then these new up-and-coming bands. With the Aquabats’ show, we’re doing the same thing, except with guest stars. So you’ll have someone like Rip Taylor, and then we’ll be spotlighting some newer and more underground comedians who are really good as well.

BE: Having “Weird Al” Yankovic as a guest star certainly makes sense, given his own history with a kids show.

CJ: Oh, yeah, and that was fun talking to Al about that on the set, not only his experience making “The Weird Al Show,” but how much we loved it. And, of course, “UHF” is in my top-10 movies of all time, for sure. And it especially was at the time it was released, because, y’know, it spoofed everything, it was silly, and, most importantly, it was just Weird Al on film. [Laughs.] And Al’s so down to earth. He actually cameos as two different people in the series…or he could be the same person. We kind of leave that open. But he’s great. We’ve got such a tiny budget on this show, but we’ve had such a great response from people. It’s just been really, really cool.

The Aquabats! Super Show! premieres at 11 AM EST / PST Saturday on The Hub.