Gotta Be Done - A Bluey Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

So it's been a while, but when one half of Gotta Be Done sneaks up into Blueyland/ Brisbane... podcast magic happens!  

Mary caught up with Justin and Lou from Bluey's Brisbane for this fun and frenetic crossover episode, on the for-real-life location of iconic Bluey ep Markets (the West End Markets, every Saturday at Davies Park!)

Now in their fourth year of exploring the real life world of our favourite Heelers, Justin and Lou have plenty of local knowledge to share.

And the superfans also spill theories, feelings and insights about new Bluey music (listen to the brand new single 'Octopus' with Arnhem Land legends King Stingray on Spotify), possible mascots for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics (bring it, Unicorse!), life post-The Sign, Bluey dollarbucks released by the Royal Australian Mint (maybe a rip off? and since this was recorded, epically ripped off!), Bunnings-bought husbands, and Bluey's World in Brisbane set to open in November (just 90 days away!)

If you haven't already discovered amazing Bluey's Brisbane, dive into Justin Rouillon and Lou Bromley's back catalogue here - and follow them on Facebook and Instagram @blueysbrisbane.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful slice of Blueyland, team!

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Adelaide/ 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 or on Twitter at @blueypodcast - and use #blueypod to join in.

Did you know it took nearly two years from Ludo Studio putting finishing touches on The Sign, to actually getting that biggest ever Bluey episode onto our screens??

So really, the fact that Kate and Mary interviewed Bluey creator Joe Brumm after the The Sign dropped on Sunday, and now you're getting the episode on Wednesday - pretty quick turnaround! 

Joe is back in the wagon to talk through his favourite ever Bluey episode, the only one that has involved every single member of the incredible production team, and the one that ripped out our hearts, ran them through a few rollercoasters, then cradled them back to where they belong. 

Hear how Meg Washington's stunning Lazarus Drug came into the episode (and helped shape the ending), why Joe wrestled with who gets to be happy (fictional characters, definitely), a long history animating Dunk Island/ Ulysses butterflies (and following signs), and even a surprise in store next...  

Oh and in case you missed the signs, this conversation has SPOILERS!

The Sign and Ghostbasket are streaming now on ABC iView and globally on Disney+ and are glorious.

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Adelaide/ 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 or on Twitter at @blueypodcast - and use #blueypod to join in.

CONTENT WARNING: In this episode, Mary and Kate talk pregnancy loss, infertility, and grief... and life in lockdown, because this is a 2020 throwback. It can get heavy.   

Bluey is known for tackling big issues - and in 2023 we know there's definitely a miscarriage storyline in The Show. (Back then and now, there's still plenty of hope, hilarity and happiness to take from this gorgeous episode too.)

And in these overwhelming times (i.e, all times!), who doesn't need a helpful checklist on hand?  

While this trip down memory lane takes Gotta Be Done deep into July 2020 feelings, it gets happy again, via Aussie power pop memory lane, as we compare episode notes with Lenka's The Show! Also, exactly when are jacarandas meant to be blooming?!

(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.) 

Big thanks to episode sponsors mathsonline.com.au in Australia, and mathonline.com in the US!  

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Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Adelaide/ 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 or on Twitter at @blueypodcast - and use #blueypod to join in.

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 least because this is our final recap for the current season! Huge thanks to all the listeners old and new who have travelled with Gotta Be Done for the past 90 episodes and 78 recaps. (If you've missed any, what a great time to dive into the archive!)

Stay in touch on socials folks, and keep calm and watch Bluey. We're off to sleep in our own beds. (Well, hopefully!) 

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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.

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-episode-relevant thing to get excited about: Mary is on Hard Quiz! No spoilers - except all over our socials! - but if you're in Oz watch here, and everyone else preview here!)

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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.

"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 of Mary's rage when a childhood game is destroyed. (Looking at you, The Floor Is Lava.)

"Bye-eee!"

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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.

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 music's familiar (tell us if you know!), and we share our new obsession with Bluey TV Tropes!

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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.

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 with us!)

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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.

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.

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.