How High Potential Hooked Us

Barbara and Teja share their love of ABC’s High Potential, a fresh twist on the civilian-helps-detective formula. We compare it to other quirky-genius shows we’ve loved and why High Potential is different. Morgan isn’t just brilliant. She’s neurodiverse while being relatable and genuinely connected to the people around her.

A clever take on a familiar genre, it might just become your next binge-worthy favorite.

Find us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok: @loidunk

#highpotential #comedy #neurodiversityaffirming

Transcript

Speaker 02 0:00

They s they say that it is the most popular A B C show in six years.

Speaker 00 0:08

Wow. And the title also got promotes the idea that it implies It's got potential.

Speaker 02 0:16

That it's kind of a good idea.

Speaker 00 0:17

Although it kind of limits the credibility if you say it's got high potential, as opposed to. Because then it's like what if the show didn't do very well and it was still called high potential? Were they changed the name of the show?

Speaker 02 0:32

Not so high potential. I don't know.

Speaker 00 0:35

Maybe it's got low potential.

Speaker 02 0:37

No, it's got extra potential. It's got potential. It's fun.

Speaker 00 0:40

It's just a show. It's got potential.

Speaker 02 0:42

I love it.

Speaker 00 0:43

It's a very good show.

Speaker 02 0:44

I I have to admit though, I do have a soft spot for the trope of the person who comes in and becomes part of law enforcement, working with the police, even though they're not really part of law enforcement. Like remember um White Collar is one of them. Castle.

Speaker 00 1:07

Psyche.

Speaker 02 1:08

Psyche, yep.

Speaker 00 1:09

Absolutely.

Speaker 02 1:10

Castle, uh, the mentalist.

Speaker 00 1:12

Ooh, yes.

Speaker 02 1:13

Right?

Speaker 00 1:14

Right.

Speaker 02 1:14

All these shows. All of these shows where Columbo?

unknown 1:19

No.

Speaker 02 1:20

No, he was a cop. He was a cop.

Speaker 00 1:23

He was just quirky.

Speaker 02 1:25

Quirky.

Speaker 00 1:26

I mean, they're all quirky. Yes, and and Morgan is Morgan in High Potential started off as a night janitor.

Speaker 02 1:36

Yes.

Speaker 00 1:36

And she wore a mini skirt. I always thought that was a little bit incredible. Are you really gonna be wiping down the floor, mopping, and dusting in a mini skirt?

Speaker 02 1:49

She has got her own way about her.

Speaker 00 1:53

That's a really good way to say, how do you catch an audience?

Speaker 02 1:59

You catch an audience with a mini skirt.

Speaker 00 2:01

Her miniskirt had very high potential.

Speaker 02 2:04

Ah, I see. I see. But it did not take long for them to realize her value.

Speaker 00 2:11

Mmm. Because she solved something that the others hadn't been able to solve while she was dusting.

Speaker 02 2:19

Right. With these tropes, that is always the case. They come in and they perform some miracle, they solve some case that the cops just can't solve. And then next thing you know, they're just embedded.

Speaker 00 2:35

You know how I often can't find my coffee because I put it somewhere during the day? It ends up in the microwave on a cold hours later, or it's on the bookshelf because I get distracted easily. Right? If I wore a mini skirt, would it my potential to be able to find that coffee cup, would that increase?

Speaker 02 2:57

I don't, I I I don't think so. So her miniskirt has nothing to do with No, but it might have something to do with the ratings.

Speaker 00 3:04

That's what I'm saying. That's exactly what I'm saying.

Speaker 02 3:07

Although, well, yeah, because she continues to dress, you know, fun. She has got all kinds of if she wore sweats.

Speaker 00 3:17

Right?

Speaker 02 3:18

Could she still be she wouldn't be Morgan if she was in sweats?

Speaker 00 3:25

That's always the argument.

Speaker 02 3:26

Oh, exactly.

Speaker 00 3:27

And even her daughter. Even her Ava.

Speaker 02 3:31

Yeah.

Speaker 00 3:31

Even her daughter doesn't wear mini skirts. What if her daughter, who's a teenager, started wearing mini skirts?

Speaker 02 3:37

Then Morgan would go, I don't think so.

Speaker 00 3:39

I don't think so.

Speaker 02 3:40

I don't think so. You're gonna have to go upstairs and change.

Speaker 00 3:43

That's low low potential. And right.

Speaker 02 3:48

But at least, at least, unlike Psyche, Morgan's sort of superpower is real.

Speaker 00 3:57

Right, yeah, yeah. She's she really does have uh very high IQ, like 160 something.

Speaker 02 4:04

I know, but she also has something, and I forgot to look this up beforehand. So what um super intelligence factor does Morgan have in high potential. No, there's something, it's got a name. Blah blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is making everyone who doesn't have a high potential diagnosis is a real condition, according to Collider.

Speaker 00 4:42

And now does that correlate directly with your real life diagnosis. Okay. But the word potential is the anomaly here.

Speaker 02 4:51

Yeah, I don't understand, like, yeah.

Speaker 00 4:55

Anomaly is not the right word. I don't know what to do. Maybe if I had HPI, I'd know exactly which word to use in that moment.

Speaker 02 5:02

Maybe. But like, why potential? She seems to be like living that potential. Well, see, originally. She notices things, she makes connections, and she will just look at something and remember it.

Speaker 00 5:15

Right. Which is that's not potential.

Speaker 02 5:17

That's exactly the opposite of me.

Speaker 00 5:19

See, when I first saw the title High Potential, I didn't read the description. I thought it was a show about drugs.

Speaker 02 5:29

Just because the word high was in there? That's what I was thinking. Okay, wow. All right. That's uh that's very specific. High potential intellectual.

Speaker 01 5:45

Oh.

Speaker 02 5:46

Oh, intellectual, that's the name of it. High intellectual potential or giftedness. That's what they used to that's what they used to call it when I was a kid. Gifted.

Speaker 00 5:56

Giftedness.

Speaker 02 5:57

Gifted.

Speaker 00 5:58

She's gifted. You know, gift in German means poison.

Speaker 02 6:02

Poison, yes.

Speaker 00 6:04

So yes.

Speaker 02 6:07

I am not dumb, but I am not gifted.

Speaker 00 6:12

I potential.

Speaker 02 6:14

I am I'm just I'm just average.

Speaker 00 6:19

Average pot av potential.

Speaker 02 6:21

Av potential.

Speaker 00 6:23

There you go. Ave potential.

Speaker 02 6:26

Average intellectual potential intellectual. I'm an API.

Speaker 00 6:32

You're an API.

Speaker 02 6:33

Mm-hmm. Average potential intellectual.

Speaker 00 6:36

Average potential intellectual.

Speaker 02 6:39

But she has that, what do they call it, idetic memory where you just look at something and you remember it.

Speaker 00 6:44

Yeah, you just remember it. And that is certain elements of that I I I have.

Speaker 02 6:50

That could be a curse, though. It could be. But yeah, like like when you're watching a movie with you and you remember every single edit if we've seen it before.

Speaker 00 7:01

I'm not sure if it's the same thing. Every single one. I'm not sure if it's this. I'm not sure it's the same kind of thing, though.

Speaker 02 7:07

No. You know, if I was like, I'm just going to read, you know, the dictionary, and next thing you know, I just know all the words in the dictionary.

Speaker 00 7:16

Yeah, well, I had a roommate who had that ability. Uh we would be watching That just makes me mad. Like 10:30 at night. We're watching, obviously, at that time, this was in the 80s, the first season of, let's say, the first iteration of Star Trek, the original.

Speaker 02 7:35

The original Star Trek. The original Star Trek.

Speaker 00 7:38

And we'd be watching that 10:30, 11 o'clock at night. David, let no, is this a bit? Johnny Carson is on.

Speaker 02 7:45

Uh at the same time as the original series?

Speaker 00 7:49

Usually after we're watching that.

Speaker 02 7:51

Okay.

Speaker 00 7:51

Because I think that was on at 11. I don't remember.

Speaker 02 7:53

Okay.

Speaker 00 7:54

Anyway, so he's in the back. His room faced the living room where we had the TV.

Speaker 02 7:59

Okay.

Speaker 00 8:00

And he would be studying for, he was a pre-med. He would be studying biology or chem, whatever. I don't know. Does some does one study chemistry when they're when they're pre-med?

Speaker 02 8:12

I I am told the answer to that is yes.

Speaker 00 8:15

Yes. Okay. So, and then he'll he'll be like watching, studying, flipping through the pages, and then he'd close the book, and one of us would say, Are you done? He goes, Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm I'm I'm ready for tomorrow. So um, anyway, that was great. That last scene was great. It's like, so not only was he memorizing what was.

Speaker 02 8:35

And then did you say, like, what was on page 36?

Speaker 00 8:38

And he would probably tell you.

Speaker 02 8:39

Yeah, probably, but did you test that theory?

Speaker 00 8:43

Probably did. So you do not have the potential for me having had asked that question is pretty high.

Speaker 02 8:51

Ah, yes, because that that would be a very you thing. That is true. That is true. Although, now, so one thing I like about this series, though, is that it doesn't make the police look stupid.

Speaker 00 9:03

I don't like when these TV shows make the anomalous person be the smarter than everybody else.

Speaker 02 9:11

And this knows everything about how to make things happen, and then the the the police and the detectives, oh my goodness, they could never, they could never make it happen without them. Although in psych, it was really funny.

Speaker 00 9:27

True. Lassiter who was the head detective, or he was the chief.

Speaker 02 9:32

He was the lead detective.

Speaker 00 9:33

Lead detective, that's right.

Speaker 02 9:34

Lassie.

Speaker 00 9:35

Lassie. He he was smart, but he also was always overrun by He was two in his own head. He was two in his own head. That's true. But but Tim Omenson was really great, so he was really or Lupin the third.

Speaker 01 9:52

Oh, okay.

Speaker 00 9:53

Um that series that became a very popular. Very different.

Speaker 01 9:59

Sansei.

Speaker 00 10:00

Sansei. Sansei. San means three. Sansei means the third. Lupin Sanse.

Speaker 02 10:06

So then my Sansei sensei would be my third teacher.

Speaker 00 10:13

No, that would mean your third teacher who is the third of his kind or his Sansei Sensei. Sansei sensei.

Speaker 02 10:21

Sansei sensei. Say that ten times faster. I'm sorry, what were you saying? Okay. Lupin the third.

Speaker 00 10:27

Yeah, uh-huh. Oh, in that series, he was a criminal.

Speaker 02 10:35

Like white collar.

Speaker 00 10:36

Correct. But he always got away with everything except Fujiko, who was his love interest, who he always melted for. But the detective always always one step behind Lupin and Lupin and his colleagues.

Speaker 02 10:54

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 00 10:55

Just one step behind.

Speaker 02 10:57

Always.

Speaker 00 10:57

Never quite there.

Speaker 02 10:59

Okay.

Speaker 00 10:59

That was pretty typical. It's pretty typical ubiquitously. Wow.

unknown 11:03

Yeah.

Speaker 00 11:03

I'm using big words today.

Speaker 02 11:04

Wow. That's because we're talking about high potential. Potential.

Speaker 00 11:08

Yeah, I'm trying to match that. Yeah.

Speaker 02 11:10

Yes.

Speaker 00 11:10

I'll never be there. I do have potential, but not high potential. No. But that's alright, because neither does she. She's a fictitious character.

Speaker 02 11:22

You might be right.

Speaker 00 11:24

Right? We don't actually. I mean, the actress could be. We don't know that. You know, did they cast her based on her ability to be off book within minutes?

Speaker 02 11:35

Should be like the script.

Speaker 00 11:37

We're only we're down to three. We're down to three potentials.

Speaker 02 11:45

But it's an it is an interesting take on neurodivergence because I think that the tendency really is that everything is all about autism.

Speaker 00 11:57

Or if someone is on the spectrum and they are like solving crimes, they don't it's like it's not just crimes. And Sue Watson. Or Sherlock.

Speaker 02 12:09

Sherlock.

Speaker 00 12:10

But he's he he's he's so far he's so far over the edge that he doesn't able to connect with people. Right. Which is it it's a everyone's on the spectrum at some point, somehow. But but I'm not so sure about that. But or maybe not, but there's a lot of people.

Speaker 02 12:31

Well, I mean, I suppose if it's a as a spectrum, then it's an endpoint, and that would mean that on each of the endpoints, then it's true.

Speaker 00 12:41

Yeah, is is white or black a color? I mean, it's on the spectrum. Is it a color? It's either all or it's none.

Speaker 02 12:48

Anyway, so yeah, okay. Wow, this is I didn't realize this was gonna be a philosophy class, but that's okay. All right. Yes. But this is different. It's not that she doesn't know how to. I mean, she she makes gaffes like all people do because she gets she her mind is working so quickly that she just like and then people are like, huh? What?

Speaker 00 13:14

Her shortcoming is in the form of um of being messy. So her desk, right? I love that. And is that an indication of someone who's unable to no, it's not, because you know, at any given point most people's desks will be messy, unless you're so intently focused on everything always being in order. Yeah, even when you make a face like that, especially when you make a face like that, that pretty much gives it away.

Speaker 02 13:51

Yes. Yes. So that's fun though. That's a fun aspect of the series.

Speaker 00 13:57

I don't know what we were talking about.

Speaker 02 13:58

Oh the neurodivergence. Yes, and she's finished off a it's a different type of thing.

Speaker 00 14:06

She does connect with people very well, including her children. And she has 18 of them. No, she's got three children.

Speaker 02 14:15

No.

Speaker 00 14:16

She does not look in any way like she's ever had a child.

Speaker 02 14:21

Well, I don't know. She's protein shakes.

Speaker 00 14:27

I mean, and that's pretty typical of most TV shows.

Speaker 02 14:31

Yeah, that's pretty typical.

Speaker 00 14:34

She does not look like someone who's had children. And not three children.

Speaker 02 14:40

Well, you know, maybe she used a surrogate.

Speaker 00 14:43

Maybe, maybe. We just don't know. Maybe that will potential.

Speaker 02 14:49

Yeah. Exactly.

Speaker 00 14:52

Well, actually, we that that that's a backstory we don't even know about.

Speaker 02 14:57

Right. So, exactly. I mean, we do see her ex-husband because who pretty much spends most of his time at the house, right? Which is fascinating. Right? So there's her ex-husband.

Speaker 00 15:13

Who the first ex-husband who's missing.

Speaker 02 15:16

Right. See, that's the thing. The first ex-husband is missing.

Speaker 00 15:19

Right.

Speaker 02 15:20

And of course, you know, the the chief says that, you know, as part, well, we'll definitely help look for him if you help us. Okay, cool. Um. But then the second ex-husband, I like don't even know why they got divorced. They get along.

Speaker 00 15:39

Yeah, they get along so well.

Speaker 02 15:41

And he's always over there helping to take care of the kids because the department like decided that she was so important that they're gonna pay him to be the child care option for Morgan.

Speaker 00 15:53

Wow. That's like if police departments had that kind of money.

unknown 15:58

I know.

Speaker 00 15:59

They barely have money to keep up with new tires for the cars.

Speaker 02 16:03

I know. I know. Oh, well, just do this. And meanwhile, probably all the female cops are coming in going, um, excuse me, do I get child care paid for too? And the answer to that is probably no.

Speaker 00 16:18

Probably no.

Speaker 02 16:19

Probably no. So uh that may be a little unrealistic.

Speaker 00 16:25

Well, most of these shows are on you know how when they've got they've got the one geek who does all of the sort of, you know, the anything to do with computers or technology, and they always have like a display of uh like three monitors. Yeah, three three to thirty monitors. And then they'll do something like, um, would you like to see the footage? And then they go, and then it like it's projected onto another screen. I know, and then they go and then it does something that's three becomes three D or they enhance, enhance, enhance the image, just like that.

Speaker 02 16:59

It just goes and it's just just 3D hologram.

Speaker 00 17:03

Then they move it around with their hands.

Speaker 02 17:05

Yeah. And of course it's real, it's all real.

Speaker 00 17:08

The police department is like eight people, right? And they've got no budget, but somehow they've got, you know, AI everywhere.

Speaker 02 17:17

No, what I love in so many of the shows is there's like they do have a whole police department, probably like 30, 40, 50 people. But the only people that are ever working, and no matter what time of day or night it is, those three people are the ones with for whom the whole city would fall apart if they weren't the one to go out at two o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 00 17:39

That's right.

Speaker 02 17:40

Something tells me that's not how real police departments work.

Speaker 00 17:43

Although sometimes, like in uh rookie, you'll see them, you'll see the other who are extras walking out or walking in for a shift change. And uh, but then you still follow the main characters, right? And then who are off duty in plain clothes end up solving a crime anyway. Because their colleagues are just you know eating gummies at the uh at the oh goodness.

Speaker 02 18:21

But but we will we will ex explain one thing though that's really really important that that we needed to like clarify for you. So the actress's name is Caitlin Olson, who plays Mallory Gillery.

Speaker 00 18:41

And I'm not good with names, I thought not one of the Olsen twins.

Speaker 02 18:48

Who are she is blonde. She looks like she looks like a taller in all fairness version, she looks like she could be related to the Olson twins.

Speaker 00 19:02

That's right. That's what she's saying. However, maybe she is.

Speaker 02 19:05

We don't do we know her name is Olson S-O-N. Oh, and they are the Olsen twins S-E-N.

Speaker 00 19:12

S-E-N, okay.

Speaker 02 19:13

Yes, and they are Mary Kate and Ashley.

Speaker 00 19:18

I see. It could be just a SAG thing, not Caitlin. Changing their name. Okay. Not Caitlin. That just might be your screen name.

Speaker 02 19:27

It could be. It could be.

Speaker 00 19:29

Like I once, um, for Afra, my name is just Tea.

Speaker 02 19:35

Oh, right. Well, before they merged.

Speaker 00 19:37

Right. So for Afra, my name is just Teya because I asked for just one name. I wanted to make it unique. Because you are a little bit flavor. But SAG said no, you can't. So AFTRA is Teya. SAG is my full name.

Speaker 02 19:53

Not anymore, though.

Speaker 00 19:54

But they they said SAG said I couldn't because there was someone else who had a similar name who only used that name that was too similar to mine, which I think is BS, because there are many actors who have very similar names.

Speaker 02 20:12

Right, but they but they don't necessarily have only one of them on their SAG card.

Speaker 00 20:19

True. Right? Right.

Speaker 02 20:20

So that that was the point.

Speaker 00 20:22

Right.

Speaker 02 20:23

But they merged, and that is irrelevant now because Wow.

Speaker 00 20:29

You just wiped that one.

Speaker 02 20:31

Yep.

Speaker 00 20:32

It's done. Oh wow. It's done. Okay.

Speaker 02 20:35

Alright. But I'm very excited because season two just started. Oh. And and so we're of course watching, and I hope we're going to be able to do that.

Speaker 00 20:44

Well, we saw the last episode. We had to excuse me.

Speaker 02 20:47

Well, yeah, I had to.

Speaker 00 20:48

We had to watch the last episode of the last season.

Speaker 02 20:50

Yeah, because we were like, what's going on here? And those things with like this game thing, but we don't want to give spoilers. Um spoilers are bad, but the way they left it with us was that this one criminal sort of was targeting specifically Morgan with her intellectual skill set, shall we say? Yes. And I don't, I think there's like a couple more episodes that are going to be dealing with that. Let me see, hold on. So here on the IMDB page here in the Okay, whoa, where are the episode lists?

Speaker 00 21:35

Usually we're looking on the I know, usually I look on my phone. The user interface is a little bit different.

Speaker 02 21:41

Okay, so we had episode one that came out on the 16th. Right. Okay. So the next one comes out uh in two days.

Speaker 00 21:55

Yes. Oh, yes, as of the time we are recording this. Affirmative and cheering on is yes.

Speaker 02 22:02

So, yeah. Alright, so that's right. So they are still looking. They're still looking.

Speaker 00 22:11

All right.

Speaker 02 22:12

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 00 22:13

Okay.

Speaker 02 22:13

But it's got very high, high ratings. If you are not already watching this show, you must watch the show.

Speaker 00 22:20

That's a must.

Speaker 02 22:20

It's high potential. It is fun. It is hijinks.

Speaker 00 22:25

She said must.

Speaker 02 22:26

It's hijinks. Hijinx. Yes.

Speaker 00 22:28

So it's a must.

Speaker 02 22:29

Yes. It's a must. Wonderful. So, another media recommendation. That's right.

Speaker 00 22:36

And it's got your friends here at Loi Dunk. It is high potential. Loi Dunk is the best. It's about high potential.

Speaker 02 22:44

Eight stars.

Speaker 00 22:45

Eight eight stars? And a thumbs up.

unknown 22:49

Yeah.

Speaker 02 22:50

Yeah.

Speaker 00 22:51

Okay.

Speaker 02 22:51

Sounds good.

Speaker 00 22:52

Eight stars.

Speaker 02 22:53

Yeah. Right. I don't know why not ten, just because nothing's perfect, I guess.

Speaker 00 22:59

So everything is on the spectrum.

Speaker 01 23:05

Yes.

Speaker 02 23:06

Yes, it is.

Speaker 00 23:07

I know it was.