# What We Do In The Shadows - the tv series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721 "2019-03-29T17:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/101 "2020-04-16T23:08:36Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The 3 vampires all having ghosts since they all technically died was interesting. Also Guillermo may ent up fully snapping, that could be fun. And what of his twin brother? They’ve been teasing that (as part of the show’s opening graphics) since the beginning. Loved Haley Joel Osment’s performance. (He works for dead people!) And also loved the new clues about Colin–one in each of last night’s two episodes. The Colin back-story is a slow-burning fuse… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/102 "2020-04-17T02:14:53Z")
I see undead people! (Sorry, had to get the obvious out of the way.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/103 "2020-04-17T02:18:54Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And also loved the new clues about Colin–one in each of last night’s two episodes. The Colin back-story is a slow-burning fuse… Yeah looks like he’s a modern day person. What are the clues you saw? (I am terrible at watching closely) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/104 "2020-04-17T07:32:08Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And what of his twin brother? They’ve been teasing that (as part of the show’s opening graphics) since the beginning. Is that supposed to be a twin or one of those bad 80s/90s dual headshot photos? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/105 "2020-04-17T12:30:58Z")
Too much updog. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/106 "2020-04-17T12:38:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yeah looks like he’s a modern day person. What are the clues you saw? (I am terrible at watching closely) The only one I recall, is Colin isn’t even sure about his origin. He doesn’t think he died. Interesting his grandmother didn’t seem to be from far enough back in time, I think the opening credits show Colin looking like Colin for over 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/107 "2020-04-17T14:04:10Z")
Remember Colin when he was in Better Call Saul? [Better Call Saul (Best of Pryce) 4 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmk6z3qqfIw&feature=youtu.be) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/108 "2020-04-17T14:27:32Z")
Holy crap! I would never have identified Topher as Haley Joel Osment! Good job on that. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/109 "2020-04-17T15:04:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Holy crap! I would never have identified Topher as Haley Joel Osment! Good job on that. It was easy for me because Adult HJO was already familiar to me from _Future Man_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/110 "2020-04-17T15:12:41Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It was easy for me because Adult HJO was already familiar to me from _Future Man_. For me, I had just seen him on [The Boys](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190634/). ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/111 "2020-04-17T20:10:00Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The only one I recall, is Colin isn’t even sure about his origin. He doesn’t think he died. Interesting his grandmother didn’t seem to be from far enough back in time, I think the opening credits show Colin looking like Colin for over 100 years. Hmm, maybe Colin’s grandmother was also an energy vampire and she only died a few decades ago. Or the writers could just be messing with us. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/112 "2020-04-17T23:59:36Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yeah looks like he’s a modern day person. What are the clues you saw? (I am terrible at watching closely) > [@What\_Exit](#): > > The only one I recall, is Colin isn’t even sure about his origin. He doesn’t think he died. Interesting his grandmother didn’t seem to be from far enough back in time, I think the opening credits show Colin looking like Colin for over 100 years. Yes, What Exit?, that was one of the clues I was talking about. The other is that Topher was, apparently, immune to Colin’s power. Before this we’ve seen Colin successfully drain not only humans, but vampires. The only time he’s been anything other than completely ascendant in every situation is when he met another energy vampire (played by Vanessa Bayer). So I was seeing Topher’s immunity, as well as Colin’s lack of knowledge of his own origin, as a potential clue that Colin may have a bigger role in the direction the show’s overall plot is going. (I hope so, as I love that character. We shall see…) > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Is that supposed to be a twin or one of those bad 80s/90s dual headshot photos? You could be right. But ‘80s/90s dual headshot photos’ are a VERY specific cultural artifact—one that many viewers might not know about. Also, if Guillermo was about 10 in 1990, then he’d be about 40 now. The actor who plays him is a decade younger. It’s an interesting idea, but because of these other factors, IF they’re _not_ implying that Guillermo has a twin, they’re not playing fair (in my opinion, anyway). Another ‘we shall see’… > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Too much updog. 😉 _Updoc_, wasn’t it? For the obvious joke when someone asks ‘what’s updoc?’… ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/113 "2020-04-18T00:01:41Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > For me, I had just seen him on [The Boys](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190634/). He did a _Silicon Valley_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/114 "2020-04-18T00:46:49Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > 1.) So I was seeing Topher’s immunity, as well as Colin’s lack of knowledge of his own origin, as a potential clue that Colin may have a bigger role in the direction the show’s overall plot is going. > > 2.) But ‘80s/90s dual headshot photos’ are a VERY specific cultural artifact—one that many viewers might not know about. > > 3.) _Updoc_, wasn’t it? For the obvious joke when someone asks ‘what’s updoc?’… 1.) I saw it as two jokes–a.) Topher was so aggressively positive that nothing could get him down and b.) A “leaning on the 4th wall” joke that the writers haven’t developed much of a background on the exact details of an energy vampire. 2.) Not any more than expecting people to understand that tintypes and woodcuts and old styles of painting are specific cultural artifacts. 3.) [Nope](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/updog). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/115 "2020-04-18T23:35:01Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 3.) [Nope](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/updog). No kidding. Odd that the site refers to “the colloquial expression “what’s up, dog?”” without any mention of the MUCH earlier colloquial expression “what’s up, Doc?” It also seems odd that Colin would be more inclined to use the “dog” version, being something of an embodiment of Whiteness. Interesting, anyway. As for the other points: could be. Maybe we’ll find out one way or the other by season’s end. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/116 "2020-04-19T02:20:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > No kidding. Odd that the site refers to “the colloquial expression “what’s up, dog?”” without any mention of the MUCH earlier colloquial expression “what’s up, Doc?” > > It also seems odd that Colin would be more inclined to use the “dog” version, being something of an embodiment of Whiteness. Interesting, anyway. Because it was never an _extremely_ widespread meme 15-20 years ago to say “updoc” to try to get people to say “What’s up Doc?”? The point of the energy vampire attempting that tired old joke was that everyone on the planet already knew it except for a long-dead woman (and you.) Befor the next episode, you might better get a dicfor. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/117 "2020-04-19T02:30:21Z")
BTW, as for “whiteness”, the rise of the “updog” meme was possibly related to the equally widespread [“You’re the man now Dog!” meme](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22You%27re+the+man+now+dog%22&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijxaecuPPoAhWJU80KHWEUC6AQ_AUIBygC&biw=408&bih=646) taken from a line from _Sean Connery_ in the movie _Finding Forrester_. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/118 "2020-04-19T03:18:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Because it was never an _extremely_ widespread meme 15-20 years ago to say “updoc” to try to get people to say “What’s up Doc?”? The point of the energy vampire attempting that tired old joke was that everyone on the planet already knew it except for a long-dead woman (and you.) > Befor the next episode, you might better get a dicfor. If you don’t catch ligma first. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/119 "2020-04-19T15:17:57Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > If you don’t catch ligma first. My first car was a 1971 Henway. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721/120 "2020-04-19T23:31:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Because it was never an _extremely_ widespread meme 15-20 years ago to say “updoc” to try to get people to say “What’s up Doc?”? The point of the energy vampire attempting that tired old joke was that everyone on the planet already knew it except for a long-dead woman (and you.) > Befor the next episode, you might better get a dicfor. Your capacity for logical thinking appears to have deserted you. Why would I have posted about the dialogue if I didn’t recognize it as a joke? The only dispute was over whether Colin would be more likely to use the newer “dog” version of the joke as opposed to the well-established (for decades) “Doc” version of the joke. Didn’t you understand that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-the-tv-series/831721.md?page=7)