Gotta Be Done - A Bluey Podcast

Flat 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. 

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Tickle 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 later!

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

BONUS 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 Nanna will hand over - this (almost-movie-length) episode is a joy! (Also, full of spoilers.)  

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Piggyback (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! 

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

The 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 more happy, a trip down Aussie power pop memory lane, as we compare episode notes with Lenka's The Show! 

(Thanks for sticking with a weightier episode of Gotta Be Done. It was a tough one to record - but as usual and of course, the show must go on.) 

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Fancy 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! 

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Favourite 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!

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Bingo (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!

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Trains (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!  

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.

Bus (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!  

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too!

Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon, Twitter at @blueypodcast, or Facebook at @blueypod.